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Questions regarding OTA and being rooted

Please forgive me if my questions have been answered many times but I really don't know what to look for in the search menu to address my questions.
1. I have rooted my phone and installed Liquid smooth but I went back to stock (still on 4.1.2 TW) and would like to update to at least 4.3 or higher. One issue I'm having is that when the OTA comes through and I go to update it gives me an error. But even before that as I am rooted it boots into TeamWin and wants me to install from there. It has been a while since I've done anything with the boot loader and I'm afraid to install from there and/or if that is wise. (frankly I've forgotten how)
Honestly I just want a quick way to install the update to 4.3 or 4.4 or whatever the next OTA is so that I can move on. I really don't even want to mess with it much right now as my life is way to busy.
2. My search so far has shown me that others are having similar issues but they are saying that the ota update is messing up certain things with their rooted phones (haven't found the answers I'm searching for either). Should I wait on updating? If so, how do I get the ota to stop wanting me to update my phone?
Thank you for any help you can provide.

wouldn't you know, that as soon as I submit this post I find another thread dealing with the same thing... Sorry for the clutter.
Here is the thread I found http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=49249510

Sithlyone said:
Please forgive me if my questions have been answered many times but I really don't know what to look for in the search menu to address my questions.
1. I have rooted my phone and installed Liquid smooth but I went back to stock (still on 4.1.2 TW) and would like to update to at least 4.3 or higher. One issue I'm having is that when the OTA comes through and I go to update it gives me an error. But even before that as I am rooted it boots into TeamWin and wants me to install from there. It has been a while since I've done anything with the boot loader and I'm afraid to install from there and/or if that is wise. (frankly I've forgotten how)
Honestly I just want a quick way to install the update to 4.3 or 4.4 or whatever the next OTA is so that I can move on. I really don't even want to mess with it much right now as my life is way to busy.
2. My search so far has shown me that others are having similar issues but they are saying that the ota update is messing up certain things with their rooted phones (haven't found the answers I'm searching for either). Should I wait on updating? If so, how do I get the ota to stop wanting me to update my phone?
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since your life is too busy and you don't want to mess with your phone anymore, your best bet is go back to stock 4.3 which is very good by the way, very stable, smooth and bug free. After so many complaints from my wife I rolled it back to stock 4.3 and she's so happy now.
1. Flash stock MF1 here http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23134718111254196 , just unzip the flash with Odin
2. Your phone should take the 4.3 OTA update and you're home free.

buhohitr said:
Since your life is too busy and you don't want to mess with your phone anymore, your best bet is go back to stock 4.3 which is very good by the way, very stable, smooth and bug free. After so many complaints from my wife I rolled it back to stock 4.3 and she's so happy now.
1. Flash stock MF1 here http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23134718111254196 , just unzip the flash with Odin
2. Your phone should take the 4.3 OTA update and you're home free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much, but now that I've put a little more research into this update I'm seeing that others are having issues with tethering and that would be a serious issue for me.
Also I used twrp to root my phone and did not use odin so I don't know how to flash with odin (or even have the files on my computer) is there a way to us twrp?
It looks like I will need to put a little more time into this than I wanted. Anyway, thanks for the help.

Sithlyone said:
Thanks so much, but now that I've put a little more research into this update I'm seeing that others are having issues with tethering and that would be a serious issue for me.
Also I used twrp to root my phone and did not use odin so I don't know how to flash with odin (or even have the files on my computer) is there a way to us twrp?
It looks like I will need to put a little more time into this than I wanted. Anyway, thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No issue with tethering for me, just root then install wifi tether router.

Questions about updating from 4.1.2 to 4.3. What Do I loose?

So I tried reading some other threads, but honestly, alot of it just sounds waaaaaay too technical to me. I have a rooted 4.1.2 Verizon S3. Im getting the OTA notification to instal 4.3, but I cant install it until I go back to stock and then install it after Im unrooted. But I dont know if doing any of this is what I'm getting for what Im loosing. I dont know what a difference in modems will make, or things like that, but the big one I see is that it locks out Bootloader and able to install custom roms. Does that mean I also loose my ability to boot into Clockwork Mod? Or the ability to boot to the rom installation screen (Vol Down, Home and Power, then Vol Up)?
So can someone just help me out, and to pull a phrase from the reddit book, explain it to me like im 5.

MattDusza said:
So I tried reading some other threads, but honestly, alot of it just sounds waaaaaay too technical to me. I have a rooted 4.1.2 Verizon S3. Im getting the OTA notification to instal 4.3, but I cant install it until I go back to stock and then install it after Im unrooted. But I dont know if doing any of this is what I'm getting for what Im loosing. I dont know what a difference in modems will make, or things like that, but the big one I see is that it locks out Bootloader and able to install custom roms. Does that mean I also loose my ability to boot into Clockwork Mod? Or the ability to boot to the rom installation screen (Vol Down, Home and Power, then Vol Up)?
So can someone just help me out, and to pull a phrase from the reddit book, explain it to me like im 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, if you update to 4.3, it will lock your bootloader and you CAN NOT install custom rom/kernel or recovery (CWM/TWRP) any more. Your phone will be just like stock phone with stock recovery. The only option is you still can root. Just FYI, there is a work around called safestrap, basically it allow you to install custom recovery (CWM/TWRP) on a separate partition and so is your custom rom, don't want to get into this too much). Hope you got your answer.

Thanks. Thats really what I wanted to know. Do you know if this is something that will most likely forever be permanent or something that a fix or workaround to re-implement that ability back in the future?

MattDusza said:
Thanks. Thats really what I wanted to know. Do you know if this is something that will most likely forever be permanent or something that a fix or workaround to re-implement that ability back in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on history, we never hack the bootloader, the reason we could unlock the bootloader is there a leaks. So I won't hold my breath on this...However, currently we have a work around which called safestrap, an app that use a separate partition to install custom recovery and rom, kind of dual O/S. The negative is it support limited custom rom and cut down the storage space.

buhohitr said:
Based on history, we never hack the bootloader, the reason we could unlock the bootloader is there a leaks. So I won't hold my breath on this...However, currently we have a work around which called safestrap, an app that use a separate partition to install custom recovery and rom, kind of dual O/S. The negative is it support limited custom rom and cut down the storage space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have faith that loki will work for our phone. If it does all we would need to do is lokify our aosp rom after we flash them in safestrap or have a pre edited rom. I think all we need to do is have the right aboot.img or someone who knows more about what to do than myself.

Is there a version of safestrap for the S3? I can only find ones for the s4 and the note 3 for samsung products.

MattDusza said:
Is there a version of safestrap for the S3? I can only find ones for the s4 and the note 3 for samsung products.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its in the development section. And just a FYI I was wrong Loki will not work with safestrap unless hash code applies the Loki patch to safestrap. I have a strange feeling Loki exploit is patched for our boot loader but we will see.

[Q] Want to wipe and keep root in 9.16.6 Razr Maxx HD - what are my options?

The goal: Get my sluggish phone (Razr Maxx HD, JB 4.1.2, currently 9.16.6.XT926.Verizon.en.US, rooted, bootloader locked) to be less sluggish.
The proposed method: Wipe phone and start over.
The "problem": Because I am rooted and want to stay that way, I am aware that I can't just do a factory reset. I believe that I need to unroot first, then wipe, then reroot. But there are many more possible methods to do this than there were before and I'm having trouble figuring out which might be the best method for me (or which will even work, at all).
Background: If I had just blindly done what I did the last time I wiped (I think I was starting from ICS 0.7.2 last time, not JB), I would have backed up everything, used DROID_RAZR_HD_Utility1.10 which I have from before (dates appear to be 1/28/2013) to go back to 0.6.25.X926., and, using the zip files I have from before, go from 0.6.25 to 0.7.2 to 9.1.41 to 9.16.6. (I was never able to successfully take OTA updates). Like this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024423 BUT, now that I'm on JB, it's not clear to me that I can even do this. One post is telling me that if I'm on 9.16.6, I should NOT use Droid Razr HD Utility 1.10. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33610625#post33610625 and when I found the thread for the 1.21 utility, it also says no 9.16.6.
I've been wandering around the relevant posts that are linked from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2247250
but for whatever reason, this is just making my head spin. I'm more confused about what I can and cannot do, than I was before I started. I think too many OTA versions have passed me by... I was happy with the way things were working so I just didn't care about updates, KitKat, etc. I don't have a good feel for how many versions there are between 9.16.6 and current.
My actual question: I think I could really use some help narrowing down my options. Do I have any options at all? If so, can anyone suggest what my realistic options actually are? I don't care if I end up in JB or KitKat at the end; I do want to be able to restore some of the data from some of my apps using Titanium Backup and/or MyBackup Pro; and I want to be rooted when I am done. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, dlc

dlc2001 said:
The goal: Get my sluggish phone (Razr Maxx HD, JB 4.1.2, currently 9.16.6.XT926.Verizon.en.US, rooted, bootloader locked) to be less sluggish.
The proposed method: Wipe phone and start over.
The "problem": Because I am rooted and want to stay that way, I am aware that I can't just do a factory reset. I believe that I need to unroot first, then wipe, then reroot. But there are many more possible methods to do this than there were before and I'm having trouble figuring out which might be the best method for me (or which will even work, at all).
Background: If I had just blindly done what I did the last time I wiped (I think I was starting from ICS 0.7.2 last time, not JB), I would have backed up everything, used DROID_RAZR_HD_Utility1.10 which I have from before (dates appear to be 1/28/2013) to go back to 0.6.25.X926., and, using the zip files I have from before, go from 0.6.25 to 0.7.2 to 9.1.41 to 9.16.6. (I was never able to successfully take OTA updates). Like this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024423 BUT, now that I'm on JB, it's not clear to me that I can even do this. One post is telling me that if I'm on 9.16.6, I should NOT use Droid Razr HD Utility 1.10. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33610625#post33610625 and when I found the thread for the 1.21 utility, it also says no 9.16.6.
I've been wandering around the relevant posts that are linked from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2247250
but for whatever reason, this is just making my head spin. I'm more confused about what I can and cannot do, than I was before I started. I think too many OTA versions have passed me by... I was happy with the way things were working so I just didn't care about updates, KitKat, etc. I don't have a good feel for how many versions there are between 9.16.6 and current.
My actual question: I think I could really use some help narrowing down my options. Do I have any options at all? If so, can anyone suggest what my realistic options actually are? I don't care if I end up in JB or KitKat at the end; I do want to be able to restore some of the data from some of my apps using Titanium Backup and/or MyBackup Pro; and I want to be rooted when I am done. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, dlc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to get rid of the slowness of the phone i recommend going to a lolipop rom , LP has to be the quickest my phone has ran... ever.
-step 1 use rsd lite to flash [4.4.2] 183.46.10 fxz (make sure it ends with a 10 not a 14 or 15 or you wont be able to unlock bootloader)
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/45494-fxz-442-1834610/
-step 2 root and unlock use TR.apk (root)and motopocalypse.apk (bootloader unlock)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2783912
-step 3 use ADB fastboot to Flash custom recovery, i personally use twrp there are others you can use if you decide to do the research
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/51883-recoverytwrp-2810-11-01-14/
-step 4 flash LP custom rom, i use blisspop, it seems to have the most updates at the moment . it has really impressed me
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/60153-rom502lollipopmsm8960-kkbl-blisspop-official/
that rom comes with supersu built in so you will have root. if your reason for having root is to have exposed, it doesnt work on lolipop so stop at sstep 3 and either flash a KK custom rom or just flash supersu which will give you root on stock kitkat

OK, I will spend a little more time absorbing/reading and then I'll give it a shot, thanks muchly. I want to do some backups just in case, so it'll take a while...
Couple of followup questions based on the reading I've done so far from the links you provided, just so I know what I'm doing before I do it:
1. I think I get Steps 1 and 2. After Step 2 I am rooted and on stock KK, correct? So if I stop there do I still need to "flash supersu" per your comment at the end? Does the root in step 2 put supersu in my apps, and if not can I not just install it from google play?
2. Seems like I can use the Step 1 method to flash back to JB (or any other FXZ I can find) if I want. If I do that, is there any way to root JB, or is this trip I'm about to take, a one-way trip? Just to clarify, JB hasn't always been slow for me... it's just slowed down recently. Not saying I want to go back to JB for sure, but I like to know what options I am closing off when I move forward, and reviews of KitKat are not universally splendid.... I hear you about the custom ROM but for various work-related reasons I may be better off staying stock (well, stock + root) for a while at least.
Again, thank you for your help.

dlc2001 said:
OK, I will spend a little more time absorbing/reading and then I'll give it a shot, thanks muchly. I want to do some backups just in case, so it'll take a while...
Couple of followup questions based on the reading I've done so far from the links you provided, just so I know what I'm doing before I do it:
1. I think I get Steps 1 and 2. After Step 2 I am rooted and on stock KK, correct? So if I stop there do I still need to "flash supersu" per your comment at the end? Does the root in step 2 put supersu in my apps, and if not can I not just install it from google play?
2. Seems like I can use the Step 1 method to flash back to JB (or any other FXZ I can find) if I want. If I do that, is there any way to root JB, or is this trip I'm about to take, a one-way trip? Just to clarify, JB hasn't always been slow for me... it's just slowed down recently. Not saying I want to go back to JB for sure, but I like to know what options I am closing off when I move forward, and reviews of KitKat are not universally splendid.... I hear you about the custom ROM but for various work-related reasons I may be better off staying stock (well, stock + root) for a while at least.
Again, thank you for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can install it from playstore, but once your bootloader is unlocked you can always root by flashing in custom recovery. you dont need exploits anymore

All done, worked great!

Need a little guidance

Hey everyone. I was wondering if some here with a HTC One can point me in the right direction. I am looking to finally take the plunge and permanently root, flash a custom recovery, backup my stock, and install a new custom rom on my Verizon M8.
This is my first HTC device playing with, I have always had Motorola stuff and am pretty familiar with the process on those, but this HTC stuff is still a little blurry. S-on/off, CID, MID, RUUs????
I have been reading these forums for quite a bit and still a little unsure about what the steps would have to be. I am currently on the latest stock VZW temp rooted with the new weeksauce basically just to have tethering via a 3rd party app (Wifi tether router). I actually really, really like the stock Sense 6.0 UI and this phone is pretty much perfect all around.
What I want to do is, permanently root, install TWRP as that's what i've used on Moto and my Sammy Tab, backup my stock system so I can go back, and then install a custom ROM. Can TWRP on this do more than one ROM slot and run dual roms? What if everything gets jacked up and I have to go back to complete out of the box stock? How is that done with HTC? I think with Moto it was like an .FXZ file or something like that and you boot the phone into download mode and just flash that file from the computer and you're back to 100% stock. Same with Samsung using ODIN.
I'm also not sure what ROM I want to try, so I am open to suggestions there too. I would like to maybe try a pretty clean Lollipop ROM with good battery life and very stable. Would that be the GPE?
Thanks for reading and for any help.

baune7 said:
Hey everyone. I was wondering if some here with a HTC One can point me in the right direction. I am looking to finally take the plunge and permanently root, flash a custom recovery, backup my stock, and install a new custom rom on my Verizon M8.
This is my first HTC device playing with, I have always had Motorola stuff and am pretty familiar with the process on those, but this HTC stuff is still a little blurry. S-on/off, CID, MID, RUUs????
I have been reading these forums for quite a bit and still a little unsure about what the steps would have to be. I am currently on the latest stock VZW temp rooted with the new weeksauce basically just to have tethering via a 3rd party app (Wifi tether router). I actually really, really like the stock Sense 6.0 UI and this phone is pretty much perfect all around.
What I want to do is, permanently root, install TWRP as that's what i've used on Moto and my Sammy Tab, backup my stock system so I can go back, and then install a custom ROM. Can TWRP on this do more than one ROM slot and run dual roms? What if everything gets jacked up and I have to go back to complete out of the box stock? How is that done with HTC? I think with Moto it was like an .FXZ file or something like that and you boot the phone into download mode and just flash that file from the computer and you're back to 100% stock. Same with Samsung using ODIN.
I'm also not sure what ROM I want to try, so I am open to suggestions there too. I would like to maybe try a pretty clean Lollipop ROM with good battery life and very stable. Would that be the GPE?
Thanks for reading and for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First you need s-off/unlocked boot loader to perma root..also there is multi ROM support for this device. An if you want to return to pure stock cause something got messed up then you download the ruu an use fast boot via pc to flash your ruu.zip it will wipe your whole phone an return you to out of the box. if your looking for a sense Lollipop from. Santod has a nice ROM an you can also check out the ROM by andybones is also runs very nice an has themes an mod support. If you like GPE then there is one of those also for our device.

Thanks for the info. So in my reading up on doing this, is the "firewater" method of achieving S-off and root no longer working on this phone with 4.4.4? And also, as I understand it, the Sunshine method of achieving the two may or may not work on 4.4.4 either, kind of a 50/50 shot??? So I guess at this time it might just be worth it to wait until either the new sunshine is released or Verizon pushed the 5.0 update out and see what that is like.

baune7 said:
Thanks for the info. So in my reading up on doing this, is the "firewater" method of achieving S-off and root no longer working on this phone with 4.4.4? And also, as I understand it, the Sunshine method of achieving the two may or may not work on 4.4.4 either, kind of a 50/50 shot??? So I guess at this time it might just be worth it to wait until either the new sunshine is released or Verizon pushed the 5.0 update out and see what that is like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firewater is dead....sunshine might work you can download the app for free an run it to see if it will work with your device is free too. Then if you want to run sunshine that's when you pay the 25...so I would advice against taking anymore ota till you r able to s-off.

Roms for BOK3 allready on Lollipop?

I just got the S5,Had an S3 but I destroyed it accidentally, so work bought me an S5.
The S3 was fairly easy to work with, Rooting, installing roms and such but the S5 is much more difficult.
I have it rooted thanks to the XDA threads but am not having any luck with roms. The phone came with Lollipop on it so I know its challenging.
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out the locked bootloader and how to safely install a rom given Safestrap has no rom slots.
Any help would be appreciated!
I rooted to remove bloat and customize. Not thrilled with stock rom

kmaris64 said:
I just got the S5,Had an S3 but I destroyed it accidentally, so work bought me an S5.
The S3 was fairly easy to work with, Rooting, installing roms and such but the S5 is much more difficult.
I have it rooted thanks to the XDA threads but am not having any luck with roms. The phone came with Lollipop on it so I know its challenging.
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out the locked bootloader and how to safely install a rom given Safestrap has no rom slots.
Any help would be appreciated!
I rooted to remove bloat and customize. Not thrilled with stock rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay there's a few things... yes there are roms available for OK3 just check the developer thread for all of them it's fairly easy you just flash it in safestrap and you're correct the rom slots were removed because they didn't work instead you save it on your SD card and install it through safestrap the locked bootloader we can't do anything about I believe someone is in legal talks with Verizon about it (I wouldn't count on anything happening though) and you can still remove bloatware download root Uninstaller it'll appear as a red trashcan in the playstore