Related
This guide is intended to be an all-in-one resource for people coming to Samsung phones after using other devices. It is a general introduction to the S4 and a glossary/explanation of terms you may see here in the forums.
This thread is slightly out of date but the info is still good, I will be updating again soon!!! Remember to hit thanks if this was useful
Disclaimer "Just because I am trying to be helpful does not make me responsible for anything that you do to your phone. Playing with any of this stuff could destroy your phone"
The layout of this post is as follows:
Welcome
FAQ
Glossary of terms
First off, welcome to XDA
The XDA community is home to the most talented and helpful phone developers on the planet.
These developers spend lots of their free time working on making all of our phones better. You should be nice and respectful to them and follow the rules. WHY? If the statement above isn’t enough reason then think selfishly, the less time they are dealing with redundant questions, the more time they have to develop stuff for all of us!
Help them help you by following the following basic rules:
1.If you are confused or have a question, the first thing to do is READ! Read lots, look things up both on xda and using google.
2.If after searching you still have not answered your question, then post in the Q&A forum.
3.Asking for ETAs on ROMs, updates, etc. is considered rude.. DON’T DO IT!
4.Don’t report bugs to a developer unless:
a.You know 100% that it hasn’t already been reported,
b.You know how to reproduce it
c.You can get a logcat of the problem (more on this later)
Some advice if you are new to all this and don’t want to ruin your phone:
1.Be patient. Don’t be the first or even the tenth person to flash anything. Wait until you see others using whatever Rom or kernel with success.
2.If you have any doubts about what you are doing, read more. Don’t flash.
3.Make sure you are in the forum for your device, not some similar or related device.
FAQ:
Q. Is my bootloader locked?
A. Only if you have an AT&T or Verizon phone
******* Info for AT&T users *******
Q. What is LOKI?
A. Loki is an exploit for phones with locked boot loader that allows us to bypass the locked boot loader in order to install custom roms or recoveries. More Loki info down below
Q. Whats the deal with MF3?
A. MF3 is the current firmware from AT&T that comes on any new phone. Your phone may also auto update to MF3 if you are not careful. MF3 patched the ability to use Loki to install custom roms/recoveries so if you are on MF3 things are much more difficult.
Q. How can I keep my phone from updating to MF3?
A. If you want to avoid the update, you should root your phone and freeze the following three apps using titanium backup or some similar app.
1. AT&T Software update Vxx_x_xxxx_x_x
2. FWUpgrade x.x.x
3. LocalFOTA vx_xxxx_x_x
Why flash?
by flashing your device you can make your phone act differently, look different, and enable new or disabled options. you could ,for example:
enable native tethering
enable call recording
change the look of your phone
add custom toggle buttons
overclock or undervolt
increase battery life
etc..
Kernel vs Rom vs Recovery vs Modem
Kernel is the layer between the phone hardware and the rom. it controls things like Wi-Fi power, touch sensitivity, possible range of screen brightness, phone logging, and processor max and min speed. kernel must be designed not only for your device but also for the type of rom you are using (Sammy rom or Aosp) some kernels support all roms, others are specific.
Rom is the operating system of your phone. there are three main categories of roms.
roms that are based off of the Samsung stock rom (Sammy rom)
roms that are based off of Android open source project aka AOSP (AOSP, AOKP)
roms based off of the miui project (these used to be a branch of AOSP but recently they have also used Sammy base for miui)
recovery is a partition that you can access at boot by holding down a combination of keys. (volume up and home button in the case of our sgs4) every phone has recovery stock but it doesn't do much. you can replace stock with clockwork mod recovery which is extremely useful for flashing all kinds of things and making backups before you do. There are other alternative recoveries besides clockwork but that seems to be the most common. TWRP is also gaining popularity these days. You can easily switch between recoveries and or upgrade your current recovery. All that needs to happen is for a new image to be flashed onto the recovery partition. See the rooting guide for more info on how to flash a custom recovery.
modem is a file that controls the cell radio of the phone. Helps determine what frequencies to use and settings for a particular network. It is important when flashing a radio that you flash a radio that is for the AT&T sgs4
Methods for flashing files - Odin vs mobile Odin vs. clockworkmod(cwm) vs adb
Odin is the internal Samsung tool for flashing. I believe it only exists on Windows platform. This tool is mostly used to initially flash an insecure kernel or rooted kernel, OR to return to completely stock rom.. Files for flashing in odin generally should end in .tar or .tar.md5 although sometimes they come zipped and the tar is inside the zip. Read more about Odin before using it as it can easily break your phone. !!!as a general rule make sure you never check the "partition" checkbox EVER!!!
Mobile Odin (THIS TOOL DOES NOT SUPPORT ALL S4 MODELS...make sure you check that it specifically works with yours first. I think at this time it works on your phone unless you have locked bootloader but STILL DOUBLE CHECK) is a phone based version of Odin made by the very talented developer Chainfire. It can be installed on a rooted phone and used to flash the same .tar based files as the desktop version. Mobile odin has a few advantages. 1 you can use it from your phone. 2 it can auto root a stock rom (nice if you want to try out a brand new update that has not been rooted yet)
clockworkmod(cwm) or TWRP is recovery based tool that can make backups of your entire phone, flash new roms, kernels etc.., and do many other useful tasks. Once you have this on your phone my guess is that most of your flashing will be done through this tool. The files for flashing through clockworkmod are .zip files.
ADB is the android develpment bridge. It allows for command line interface with your phone through its debugging options. ADB can do most anything as I understand it. In my several years of flashing I have only had to use it once, and i could have waited for someone to come up with another solution. In general as a noob i recommend you stay away from ADB.
open source vs Samsung base(aka Touchwiz or TW) vs miui
Open Source Roms such as AOSP/AOKP are built using Google's open source android code as a base. The developers then add functionality specific to the device. The advantages of these builds are that they often have tons of options built in to the rom that change the behavior and look of the phone. They usually allow you to change the toggles in your notification pull down, change the battery display, make all kinds of adjustments to sounds, vibration etc... Some people also prefer the "vanilla" android look and feel. These roms often provide "bleeding edge" concepts, design, and modifications. The Disadvantages of these roms is that some of the hardware coding is done closed source by the phone manufacturers, which means that things like Infrared, bluetooth, camera, video recording, and MHL video out often don't work or take much longer to get working by the developers. Basically anything that relies on the Samsung framework will not work in an open source build. This means Svoice, Snote, and the Samsung camera app will not work.
Samsung based roms (aka Touchwiz/TW) are taken from the Samsung original phone software and modified by the developer. Usually, these roms are modified in order to be faster and to make changes to some of the features. Expect to see changes to the stock rom like: debloated (ATT and samsung software removed), de-odexed (explained later), enable tethering, unlimited sms recipients, added notification toggles, etc. Most of these changes are made to: make the phone faster, improve battery life, make the phone easier to theme. The advantage of these roms is that they still use the Samsung framework so all the proprietary stuff like camera, bluetooth, MHL still work, the disadvantage is that they will never be as customisable as open source roms.
MIUI is a rom that focuses on theming. Official MIUI (Chinese) gets updated weekly on Friday and then there are lots of miui developers who adapt it to other languanges and make some tweaks to it. MIUI can be built from AOSP source or Samsung source and depending will have different features. The first MIUI rom for our phone just appeared in these forums and it is based off of AOSP. MIUI has a unique look and is also highly customizable through theming. There are tons of themes available for download through the rom itself and you can mix and match any part of any theme you want. This includes icons, lockscreen style, etc.. Some people criticize while others praise MIUI for being very "iphone like". This is because the icons look more iphone like and there is no app drawer in the MIUI launcher. However, you can still use any launcher you like within MIUI.
odexed vs de-odexed
odexed is how the phone comes stock from Samsung. Odexed means that system files and apps are split into two pieces and kept in different places on the phone. This is done to speed things up a bit. However, it makes it harder to theme the phone because the apps are split up. Most custom roms choose to de-odex (basically regroup the files back into one) so that custom themers can make themes more easily for the phone.
Flashing "dirty" vs flashing "clean"
Clean
Doing a clean install of a rom means erasing or formatting all the data from the previous rom before you flash the new one. This is the prefered way to flash a rom to ensure that it will run smoothly. It is necessary if you are switching from one rom type to another (CM to Samsung base). In order to do a clean flash you need to boot into recovery and select the following options: wipe user data (this wipes all apps and personal data, but not your photos/videos), wipe cache, advanced>wipe dalvik cache, storage/mounts>format system. This will ensure that no trace of the former rom is left on the phone. Beware that at this point your phone will not boot until you install a new rom. I suggest using titanium backup to backup apps and smsbackup+ for texts to make getting your new rom configured easy.
Dirty
Doing a dirty install means just flashing a new rom right over the top of the old one without wiping any data. The advantage to this is that you don't lose any apps or account info. The disadvantage is that you open up the possibility for problems. Generally you only want to flash this way if you are upgrading a rom (CM10 nightly to the next nightly, or from one samsung based rom to another). If you decide to flash over the top and have any issues, you should not report bugs, but try flashing clean first.
Logcat
Logcat is a way to access the android system log for everything that is going on behind the scenes. This tool is used to help developers pinpoint problems in a rom. If you want to actually be helpful to a dev when reporting a bug, you should really learn to use this tool. I am no expert on logcat but you can find some good information in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1726238
What is the Bootloader?
The bootloader is basically what it sounds like...it loads the boot image of the device. Basically it is one of the first things to run on the phone and it shows the phone where to find the boot image and how to start. The bootloader is also responsible for allowing access to the recovery part of the phone.
Locked Bootloader?
This seems to confuse a lot of users so here goes: The AT&T and Verizon versions of our phone have a locked bootloader. What does this mean? To the noob, it means that the devs had to figure out how to bypass or unlock this part of the phone in order to be able to boot custom recoveries such as CWM and TWRP. Getting a custom recovery means being able to backup the phone as well as flash custom roms. Luckily for us, Djrbliss (make sure and thank him! his thread is here:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292157) figured out how to bypass the locked bootloader. The exploit he used is known as Loki. Please remember that the loki exploit is not the same thing as unlocking the bootloader, it is a bypass/trick. AT&T and Verizon have fixed the exploit that allowed loki to work in there newest firmware. Loki patch will not work for MF3 firmware or later.
Loki
refers to the exploit that allows us to run custom recoveries as well as custom roms. You only need to have a loki'd rom if you have a model with a locked bootloader (AT&T). Thankfully, you can install a custom recovery that will auto-Loki any rom you flash so that you can install almost any rom built for our model phone (see below). I strongly recommend flashing an auto loki recovery if you have a phone with locked bootloader. I use this one here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2291956
Compatible Roms
you should be able to run any rom built for AT&T, TMobile, or the I9505 international model (NOT I9500!!) as long as you flash with an auto loki recovery. You can check out this thread for more info. Make sure and thank TheAxman! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
You may have to manually set the APN. If you encounter problems with the rom look in that roms thread for answers.
Sticky!!
Well damn, I thought I knew a lot, but after reading this thread, I really didn't. Well done. :good:
Incredible resource for those coming in from a different ecosystem.
Thanks much!!
Thread stuck!! Nice work!
Got my new At&t Samsung Galaxy S4 and this will definitely help me!!
this is another thread that really helped me as well these two have really helped me so far i have rooted several divices and just relied on everyone else and not i am starting to take a lot more of an interest ant these threads have been the most helpful
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42055644#post42055644
WoW
Great work! I'm sure this thread will be very helpful to a lot of people (Myself included). Tanks bro! :victory:
More! More! :d
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
KINGDROID25 said:
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly are you trying to do?
If you want to install a custom ROM or kernel, you need a custom recovery. The ROM or Kernel developer will have LOKI-fied it for you.
For TWRP (my custom recovery of choice) Download GooManager from the Play Store and install.
Inside the goo.im app, go to menu>Install OpenRecovery Script
then you can boot into recovery to apply kernels, ROMs, etc to your hearts desire
joeybear23 said:
What exactly are you trying to do?
If you want to install a custom ROM or kernel, you need a custom recovery. The ROM or Kernel developer will have LOKI-fied it for you.
For TWRP (my custom recovery of choice) Download GooManager from the Play Store and install.
Inside the goo.im app, go to menu>Install OpenRecovery Script
then you can boot into recovery to apply kernels, ROMs, etc to your hearts desire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its tht ez just root and add custom recovery??.. The whole loki thing is what's been throwing me off
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
KINGDROID25 said:
Its tht ez just root and add custom recovery??.. The whole loki thing is what's been throwing me off
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes... the difficult part is if you are a developer. They make our lives much easier.
joeybear23 said:
Yes... the difficult part is if you are a developer. They make our lives much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx ima root tonight I jus need to get a copy of the stock firmware
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
KINGDROID25 said:
Thanx ima root tonight I jus need to get a copy of the stock firmware
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock Firmware:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
That is a HUGE download, but the process is simple.
im not a newb but i need to boost my post count lol...soooo spam
KINGDROID25 said:
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have updated the OP to explain Loki, hope that helps :good:
Noob here first time posting I rooted my phone and installed cwm using casual method, created backup and installed mint rom love it but after a couple of post I see I didn't backup EFS should I be worried?
I'm not sure what the deal is with backing up the IMEI number on our phones yet. I have not seen anyone post about losing their IMEI yet so I wouldn't be too worried. On the s3 only the international model phones could be backed up by saving the efs folder. The backup process for AT&T phones was much more complex. I assume the same holds true on the s4. Will update when I find out more
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
I wanted to make sure Thx. Is it to late to back EFS or can I just restore my backup and do it?
On July 20th 2013, I bought a new Verizon Galaxy S3 i535 (no contract due to I need unlimited data). As a 50 year old guy, I admit that I never rooted before. I decided to do some research on the web which also included this XDA site. By the way, this is the best site!!
As someone who never rooted, I found multiple different ways of rooting which caused great confusion. Some told me to download Odin, while some did not. Some told me to download a superSU or something like that, while other directions did not, and so on and on......
But what really concerns me is that most of the directions were written back in 2012. Should this be a concern?
I don't want to seem like a retard or impose, but would someone do a video skype with me and walk me thru rooting my phone for the very first time? Perhaps during that skype session I could ask a few questions? I would pre download all files so that the session would not take too long.
Any volunteers?
Respectfully,
Bryan
All you need to Do is visit this link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42791826
Those are the most straight forward directions you can find. And it will Root, unlock your bootloader, and install a custom recovery.
thank you for the reply. this is yet another way off rooting. why does this not use Odin? will this method allow me to undo or fix something if something goes bad?
BKSinAZ said:
thank you for the reply. this is yet another way off rooting. why does this not use Odin? will this method allow me to undo or fix something if something goes bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't use Odin because it doesn't need to. The one click solution includes all the tools needed to make the necessary changes to your phone.
If something goes wrong, then you would use Odin to go back to stock no matter what root /unlock method you used. This is because Odin has the lowest level access to your phone, and can rescue it as long as you can boot into download mode.
As long as you don't flash files intended for other phones (including s3s from other carriers) your phone should be safe.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and Help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
funnyperson1 said:
It doesn't use Odin because it doesn't need to. The one click solution includes all the tools needed to make the necessary changes to your phone.
If something goes wrong, then you would use Odin to go back to stock no matter what root /unlock method you used. This is because Odin has the lowest level access to your phone, and can rescue it as long as you can boot into download mode.
As long as you don't flash files intended for other phones (including s3s from other carriers) your phone should be safe.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok... here is one of my last questions before I begin the root process....
Do I need to make a backup of my stock phone? There are no pictures or music, but do I need to make a backup in anyway first so if things go bad I can return to stock?
BKSinAZ said:
Ok... here is one of my last questions before I begin the root process....
Do I need to make a backup of my stock phone? There are no pictures or music, but do I need to make a backup in anyway first so if things go bad I can return to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to pop in here and help out. Once you do the casual root process, it will also install a recovery for you. You can make a nandroid backup with your recovery and just keep that somewhere safe. There are also directions on how to recover and return your phone to Verizon here. Hope that answers your question.
BKSinAZ said:
Ok... here is one of my last questions before I begin the root process....
Do I need to make a backup of my stock phone? There are no pictures or music, but do I need to make a backup in anyway first so if things go bad I can return to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as I said above, as long as you can reach download mode on your phone you can always Odin back to stock. If you somehow break download mode, then your phone is pretty much bricked without sending it out to someone with a JTAG programmer. The risk of that happenning though is minimal unless you flash a ROM intended for a different device (such as the international i9300 S3).
funnyperson1 said:
No, as I said above, as long as you can reach download mode on your phone you can always Odin back to stock. If you somehow break download mode, then your phone is pretty much bricked without sending it out to someone with a JTAG programmer. The risk of that happenning though is minimal unless you flash a ROM intended for a different device (such as the international i9300 S3).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK... did exactly what you and the directions stated. Upon the phone booting up, there is a 'padlock' and the option to swipe. When I swipe, I am not as the home screen that I am accustomed to. I am in the Team Win Recovery Project" with the only option to 'select zip to install" and 6 buttons to press (install, backup, mount, advanced, wipe, restore, settings, reboot)
This was an unexpected step and was wondering what to do next?.... or did I mess things up?
BKSinAZ said:
OK... did exactly what you and the directions stated. Upon the phone booting up, there is a 'padlock' and the option to swipe. When I swipe, I am not as the home screen that I am accustomed to. I am in the Team Win Recovery Project" with the only option to 'select zip to install" and 6 buttons to press (install, backup, mount, advanced, wipe, restore, settings, reboot)
This was an unexpected step and was wondering what to do next?.... or did I mess things up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you were successful in rooting and unlocking your phone's bootloader. The program you are seeing (TWRP recovery) allows you to flash roms/mods (install), backup your phone, wipe and restore your phone. However, this shouldn't be what you see on bootup unless you pressed volume up while booting. Your stock ROM may have been wiped during the root process.
I suggest you dive into the world of Custom ROMs with CleanROM which is basically a de-bloated and tweaked version of the stock ROM.
Download the file from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070
Use your PC to put it on a microSD card. In TWRP recovery, perform a Factory Reset (from the Wipe Menu), then navigate to the external_sdcard and install CleanROM (from install menu). Wipe caches and reboot once installation is finished. You should boot straight into CleanROM.
funnyperson1 said:
It sounds like you were successful in rooting and unlocking your phone's bootloader. The program you are seeing (TWRP recovery) allows you to flash roms/mods (install), backup your phone, wipe and restore your phone. However, this shouldn't be what you see on bootup unless you pressed volume up while booting. Your stock ROM may have been wiped during the root process.
I suggest you dive into the world of Custom ROMs with CleanROM which is basically a de-bloated and tweaked version of the stock ROM.
Download the file from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070
Use your PC to put it on a microSD card. In TWRP recovery, perform a Factory Reset (from the Wipe Menu), then navigate to the external_sdcard and install CleanROM (from install menu). Wipe caches and reboot once installation is finished. You should boot straight into CleanROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that when I went into the backup area and made a backup (a backup of what, I do not know because I am totally new to this) and after the backup the phone rebooted to the normal home screen with all the normal icons. I even just received a phone call so I guess all is good.
I don't know what to do now that my phone is rooted. My goal was just to uninstall unwanted programs etc, So when I get the courage, I will use the CLEANROM.
Question.... do I now have to constantly update my existing root or Cleanrom once installed? Do I now avoid Verizon or Samsung updates?
BKSinAZ said:
OK... did exactly what you and the directions stated. Upon the phone booting up, there is a 'padlock' and the option to swipe. When I swipe, I am not as the home screen that I am accustomed to. I am in the Team Win Recovery Project" with the only option to 'select zip to install" and 6 buttons to press (install, backup, mount, advanced, wipe, restore, settings, reboot)
This was an unexpected step and was wondering what to do next?.... or did I mess things up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're not ready to flash roms just touch reboot and you'll be back to your stock jellybean. In regards to the padlock, I also got that after using CASUAL and underneath the padlock it says custom. I haven't gotten a definitive answer about that but the general consensus is that it's nothing to worry about. I suppose it's just Verizon letting you know that they detected changes to your phone.
Do yourself a favor and read for days and days before you start flashing roms. You'll find the answers here and YouTube.
BKSinAZ said:
It seems that when I went into the backup area and made a backup (a backup of what, I do not know because I am totally new to this) and after the backup the phone rebooted to the normal home screen with all the normal icons. I even just received a phone call so I guess all is good.
I don't know what to do now that my phone is rooted. My goal was just to uninstall unwanted programs etc, So when I get the courage, I will use the CLEANROM.
Question.... do I now have to constantly update my existing root or Cleanrom once installed? Do I now avoid Verizon or Samsung updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. The backup you made is what is called a "nandroid" backup. By default it includes the Android System, your apps, and associated application data and settings. This is great because it basically includes everything you need to restore your phone to it's previous state. So if you were to flash a custom ROM and ended up not liking it you could always restore this backup and it would restore your phone to how it is now.
Being rooted allows you to install and use applications from the Play store that require root. There are tons of them. The one I use most often is called Titanium Backup. It's primary purpose it to backup and restore your data and applications on an individual basis. I use it mostly to save my text messages and game save data between ROM flashes. It also allows you to uninstall, wipe data, and freeze (disable) any application on your phone.
Right now since you are still running stock rooted, you want to avoid installing any official updates, otherwise you may have to re-root. Beanstown may have disabled system updates through the rooting method, but I am not sure. If a new update is released, keep your eyes on the forums here, someone will create a flashable zip of the new firmware that maintains root/unlocked bootloader, you can then flash that in TWRP. Also once you flash a custom ROM like CleanROM, they removed the Samsung Firmware updater most likely so you don't have to worry about it.
Hi all, I'm newly registered here, however, I have been coming here to XDA for over two years now as unregistered to browse and become more knowledgeable regarding rooting, unlocking and ROMing my phones. I would like to use the Casual Root/Unlock/Recovery AIO Toolkit and finally have more freedom over my locked down Verizon Galaxy S3. I am currently running MF1 and I'm completely 100 percent stock. I've downloaded Casual, have all the Samsung drivers installed and am anxious to pull the trigger. I just want to confirm I'm on the right page and do diligence first. After I run Casual and Root, unlock the bootloader and install TWRP, would it be wise to immediately boot into recovery and then backup the rooted MF1 firmware and then back up my imei by copying the efs folder to the SD card and my PC? Is this method correct for backing up the imei or is there a specific program for it? I have searched through many custom ROM's and I am planning on flashing Beanstown106's Jelly 'Beans' Build 19 ROM, as I love the fact it's AOSP themed but has a lot of features from Touchwiz. Does this ROM happen to back up the imei automatically by chance? I've already backed up my contacts and important information, so are there many things I'm missing or am I on the right track? Before flashing Jelly 'Beans', would I need to wipe the cache / davlik at all? Or is that only when coming from a different ROM? Any help wouwould be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance for your time!
K20Z1 said:
Hi all, I'm newly registered here, however, I have been coming here to XDA for over two years now as unregistered to browse and become more knowledgeable regarding rooting, unlocking and ROMing my phones. I would like to use the Casual Root/Unlock/Recovery AIO Toolkit and finally have more freedom over my locked down Verizon Galaxy S3. I am currently running MF1 and I'm completely 100 percent stock. I've downloaded Casual, have all the Samsung drivers installed and am anxious to pull the trigger. I just want to confirm I'm on the right page and do diligence first. After I run Casual and Root, unlock the bootloader and install TWRP, would it be wise to immediately boot into recovery and then backup the rooted MF1 firmware and then back up my imei by copying the efs folder to the SD card and my PC? Is this method correct for backing up the imei or is there a specific program for it? I have searched through many custom ROM's and I am planning on flashing Beanstown106's Jelly 'Beans' Build 19 ROM, as I love the fact it's AOSP themed but has a lot of features from Touchwiz. Does this ROM happen to back up the imei automatically by chance? I've already backed up my contacts and important information, so are there many things I'm missing or am I on the right track? Before flashing Jelly 'Beans', would I need to wipe the cache / davlik at all? Or is that only when coming from a different ROM? Any help wouwould be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance for your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To backup your imei/eri check the synergy rom thread. They have a zip to back them up. It's in the attachments. It only takes a few seconds but will save you a world of headache. If you want my opinion that's the first thing you should do once you root, unlock and have your custom recovery. Store that zip on your SD card, PC and cloud(Dropbox, Copy, Box, Mediafire, etc).
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
TheAfroSamurai said:
To backup your imei/eri check the synergy rom thread. They have a zip to back them up. It's in the attachments. It only takes a few seconds but will save you a world of headache. If you want my opinion that's the first thing you should do once you root, unlock and have your custom recovery. Store that zip on your SD card, PC and cloud(Dropbox, Copy, Box, Mediafire, etc).
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I greatly appreciate your insight and input TheAfroSamurai. I will check that thread out and get that zip to backup the imei / eri.
K20Z1 said:
I greatly appreciate your insight and input TheAfroSamurai. I will check that thread out and get that zip to backup the imei / eri.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go : http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1281376&d=1345868740
Once you get root and unlock the bootloader, backing up your EMEI is recommended (I did not until I flashed my first ROM). There is a great
thread that the previous poster may have pointed you too (if so, sorry for the repost): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1852255
Previously you were pointed to the Synergy method (B). But A is very easy too, requiring you to have a terminal emulation app on your phone (I have Rom Toolbox Pro, which has a terminal emulator). Type in the two commands as instructed and it reboots. I then did B and hopefully I am doubly covered.
After that, flash your preferred ROM (lots of really good ones, I use BoneStock 3.4) and you are ready to go.
TheAfroSamurai said:
Here you go : http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1281376&d=1345868740
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, thanks very much for the link, even easier to find.
Nomad1600 said:
Once you get root and unlock the bootloader, backing up your EMEI is recommended (I did not until I flashed my first ROM). There is a great
thread that the previous poster may have pointed you too (if so, sorry for the repost): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1852255
Previously you were pointed to the Synergy method (B). But A is very easy too, requiring you to have a terminal emulation app on your phone (I have Rom Toolbox Pro, which has a terminal emulator). Type in the two commands as instructed and it reboots. I then did B and hopefully I am doubly covered.
After that, flash your preferred ROM (lots of really good ones, I use BoneStock 3.4) and you are ready to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I greatly appreciate your help and advice as well, it's nice to know of other possible options backing up the imei. Something else I just thought of, once I root, unlock and get recovery using Casual, should I expect to see a message from Verizon stating that the software running is not official and to visit one of their stores? I have seen others mentioning this, but I'm not sure if and why that pops up. If it does, does it continue to pop up or stay on the screen at all? Or is it something that you can dismiss and you don't see it again?
Do you guys know if terminal emulator comes already installed on the Jelly beans rom by chance? Because that seems the easiest way to do it just by typing in those two commands. However, I would still download that .zip tool from Synergy as backup. Or would that not be needed at all if I was to use terminal emulator?
TheAfroSamurai said:
To backup your imei/eri check the synergy rom thread. They have a zip to back them up. It's in the attachments. It only takes a few seconds but will save you a world of headache. If you want my opinion that's the first thing you should do once you root, unlock and have your custom recovery. Store that zip on your SD card, PC and cloud(Dropbox, Copy, Box, Mediafire, etc).
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After using casual, do I just place that zip on my sdcard pc and cloud and then run it if and only when the imei is lost? Or run it prior to placing it on the SD card and such? Sorry for all the newb questions.
K20Z1 said:
After using casual, do I just place that zip on my sdcard pc and cloud and then run it if and only when the imei is lost? Or run it prior to placing it on the SD card and such? Sorry for all the newb questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you finish casual place the zip on your external sd card. If you haven't flashed a custom rom with boot to recovery menu you'll have to get to your recovery the hard way. Power down phone, hold vol up and home button at the same time you press power. Keep holding home and vol up key and let power button go. Phone should boot to your custom recovery, either CWM or TRWP depending on what you choose to use. Next go to install and navigate to the Synergy zip and choose install just like flashing a rom, kernel,etc. It will place a Synergy folder on your external sd. That folder will contain the backup zip you'll need in case you lose your IMEI/ERI. Make at least a couple backups of that.
Awesome! I really appreciate the help and quick responses. So once I've done that, if my imei should become lost, I would open that synergy folder and use the backup to restore the imei?
K20Z1 said:
Awesome! I really appreciate the help and quick responses. So once I've done that, if my imei should become lost, I would open that synergy folder and use the backup to restore the imei?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you should ever need to just flash the zip in the Synergy folder, hopefully you won't ever need to. Once I got mine restored I haven't had to yet...fingers crossed.
Ok, perfect. That really sums it all up for me. Yea, hopefully you won't ever need it.
K20Z1 said:
Hi all, I'm newly registered here, however, I have been coming here to XDA for over two years now as unregistered to browse and become more knowledgeable regarding rooting, unlocking and ROMing my phones. I would like to use the Casual Root/Unlock/Recovery AIO Toolkit and finally have more freedom over my locked down Verizon Galaxy S3. I am currently running MF1 and I'm completely 100 percent stock. I've downloaded Casual, have all the Samsung drivers installed and am anxious to pull the trigger. I just want to confirm I'm on the right page and do diligence first. After I run Casual and Root, unlock the bootloader and install TWRP, would it be wise to immediately boot into recovery and then backup the rooted MF1 firmware and then back up my imei by copying the efs folder to the SD card and my PC? Is this method correct for backing up the imei or is there a specific program for it? I have searched through many custom ROM's and I am planning on flashing Beanstown106's Jelly 'Beans' Build 19 ROM, as I love the fact it's AOSP themed but has a lot of features from Touchwiz. Does this ROM happen to back up the imei automatically by chance? I've already backed up my contacts and important information, so are there many things I'm missing or am I on the right track? Before flashing Jelly 'Beans', would I need to wipe the cache / davlik at all? Or is that only when coming from a different ROM? Any help wouwould be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance for your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man i was right there with you. Not quite two years, but maybe two months of reading, researching, watching vids, etc. I downloaded the casual too because i am not great with adb commands, etc. I will tell you from personal experience exactly what my opinion is of what you should do. Someone else more experience may have a better way but now that i have become a serial flashaholic hindsight is always 20/20.
1. Find the stock firmware for the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 any version whether is be VRBMF1 or older and download Odin. That way if anything happens short of a hard brick you can ALWAYS Odin back to stock if you are completely out of options.
2. Run CASUAL to (a) Root (b) Unlock the Bootloader and (c) download TWRP ; I have used Clockword Mod and TWRP and I personally found TWRP much easier to use
3. First thing I would do is download the Synergy HWkeys backup zip and flash it while you are still stock rooted to backup the imei. Thank God i haven't lost the imei before i backed mine up but that way you have plan b and plan c, etc.
4. Make a TWRP Nandroid backup of your stock rom that way you can always restore back up stock.
After you do that you are good to flash away my brotha. And a note too, remember that for most roms you need to flash gapps separately. I freaked my first flash and thought i broke my phone because i had no google apps but that was noob stuff on my end.
I hope this helps but all these roms and everything are really cool. the reason i came to android in the first place. and i dont donate as much as i should but you gotta give it up to these developers. anyways. later man
happy flashing
Synergy backup works. I recently lost mine and had to restore it. It was super easy to do, but I wasn't sure at first if it was going to work. Couldn't tell you what caused it because I am super careful to download all the correct files to flash Roms. Also all AOSP Roms require you to download the GAPPS for whatever version of android it is running. All TW based Roms already have the GAPPS included in the ROM zip file. Just be careful when switching back and forth between AOSP and TW Roms. A good practice is to wipe everything 3 times to make sure you got everything. Sometimes also there are residual files and/or folders left over from AOSP Roms when switching back to TW so I have a practice of wiping internal storage before I switch back to TW. Just move whatever files you want to save to your external SD card. I switch Roms often so I usually don't have to move very much. I also don't restore apps or data from titanium backup. This most likely can cause problems if you're restoring data from a different ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
I have a rooted Moto G with CWM Recovery and by stupidity installed the 4.4.4 OTA.
CWM aborts the installation, the phone reboots and unfortunately after the ROM is booted it automatically reboots to once more try and install the OTA.
So what are my options now? When a similar thing happened on my Nexus 7, I just flashed the factory image and all was fine. But I'm not sure what image to use for the Moto G. Is there even an official flashable image? If not, which is closest to stock?
Or is it possible to prevent the phone from automatically rebooting? I can access it with adb and have 10-20 seconds after the boot where I could open some apps.
bur2000 said:
I have a rooted Moto G with CWM Recovery and by stupidity installed the 4.4.4 OTA.
CWM aborts the installation, the phone reboots and unfortunately after the ROM is booted it automatically reboots to once more try and install the OTA.
So what are my options now? When a similar thing happened on my Nexus 7, I just flashed the factory image and all was fine. But I'm not sure what image to use for the Moto G. Is there even an official flashable image? If not, which is closest to stock?
Or is it possible to prevent the phone from automatically rebooting? I can access it with adb and have 10-20 seconds after the boot where I could open some apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find all the stock firmware images here:
http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=14
Flash either with RDS (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2637338) or fastboot (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542219)
Thanks, there's no 4.4.4 for O2 Germany though. Do I need the right carrier/country? Otherwise I'll just go with 4.4.2
I also found this ROM (it's 4.4.4 despire thread titel). Is there any harm in trying it? I did a backup of the current half-broken system.
bur2000 said:
Thanks, there's no 4.4.4 for O2 Germany though. Do I need the right carrier/country? Otherwise I'll just go with 4.4.2
I also found this ROM (it's 4.4.4 despire thread titel). Is there any harm in trying it? I did a backup of the current half-broken system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash any firmware you want, except the ones for dual sim version (but if you want to be totally safe flash the retail de image). 4.4.4 images aren't available currently, you have simply to restore the stock 4.4.2, flash the stock recovery and take the OTA update.
The ROM you linked is for Moto G dual sim variant (XT1033), flashing it will probably cause a soft brick.
I have the exact same problem.
1. Is there any way to get the phone out of this loop and get it usable again without a computer?
2. How can I flash the rom if the phone keeps doing this?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
fertchen said:
I have the exact same problem.
1. Is there any way to get the phone out of this loop and get it usable again without a computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say no. Theoretically it might be possible to quickly do something before the phone reboots.
2. How can I flash the rom if the phone keeps doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just follow the fastboot link in the post by Azarielz. WARNING: If you don't want to loose you user data don't do the mfastboot erase userdata step. For me that still removed the reboot loop while retaining my data and apps. I had some problems with the mobile connection though, only after I manually searched for available carriers and pressed "select automatically" it connected. After that no problems.
bur2000 said:
After that no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much. I will try that when I get home next week. Will be a nice exercise in living without a phone for some time...
bur2000 said:
I would say no. Theoretically it might be possible to quickly do something before the phone reboots.
Just follow the fastboot link in the post by Azarielz. WARNING: If you don't want to loose you user data don't do the mfastboot erase userdata step. For me that still removed the reboot loop while retaining my data and apps. I had some problems with the mobile connection though, only after I manually searched for available carriers and pressed "select automatically" it connected. After that no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just did the same mistake with unlocked & rooted XT1032. I use TWRP and ended up there after every reboot. What I did is use the File Manager under "Advanced" to delete the .zip under /cache. Alternatively you could just wipe cache/ dalvik cache and the update zip should be gone, phone should reboot normally and after app optimization (if you wiped dalvik cache) everything should be back to normal. The first few seconds I got an error when checking for an update, but it went away after a minute.
Not sure if I should go through the trouble of updating to 4.4.4 or wait for Android L that's supposedly coming to the Moto G and X...
I was in the same situation, with bootloader active from cmd:
mfastboot erase cache
or whatever you use
Any improvement?
Hello everyone,
I had the same problem and had to restore a backup.
But can anyone tell us why this happens? Is Google aware of this and is a fix on the way?
I've seen that the update would fix the annoying incompatibility problem with the class 10 SDCards so I'd like to install this update.
I have seen that some of the improvements would also be :
- coloured tiles in the phone dialer
- ability to pause when you record a video
But I can already do that with my phone right now (I'm in 4.4.3 on a Moto G 4G), is this normal ?
Thank you.
suiller said:
I was in the same situation, with bootloader active from cmd:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much, suiller. This:
fastboot erase cache
did it for me.
gnayug said:
Not sure if I should go through the trouble of updating to 4.4.4 or wait for Android L that's supposedly coming to the Moto G and X...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What would be the easiest/most foolproof way to apply an OTA update when the Moto G is rooted?
fertchen said:
What would be the easiest/most foolproof way to apply an OTA update when the Moto G is rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I want to know as well. XDA has all these devs and freaks and advanced tutorials but nothing at all for the most simple and popular issues for the average user such as applying an OTA with a rooted device. Apparently it's supposed to work with Phil's Flash Recovery, well it didn't, it gave me the same error message that CWM gave me. Or you're supposed to use "stock recovery", but nobody tells you how to get that in the first place.
...Help?
gnayug said:
That's what I want to know as well. XDA has all these devs and freaks and advanced tutorials but nothing at all for the most simple and popular issues for the average user such as applying an OTA with a rooted device. Apparently it's supposed to work with Phil's Flash Recovery, well it didn't, it gave me the same error message that CWM gave me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is that there are just too many versions of phones out there and too many different prerequisites (differences in how the phone was rooted, which apps might have been de-installed, which rom/recovery installed etc) that it is extremely hard and laborious to provide a truly foolproof way. That might be different if there was one standardized manual/tutorial on "Hot to root foolproof and OTA proof for the future" and everyone would follow that precisely.
gnayug said:
Or you're supposed to use "stock recovery", but nobody tells you how to get that in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a page that lists all the available stock Moto G Roms in different versions. It would be great if there was such a page for the recovery as well.
If there was a person that decided to take care of all these issues for the Moto G on this forum, he or she could maintain a page with direct links to all the tools, roms and recoveries as well as one general (foolproof) and possibly a handful of alternate ways and fixes.
That is a lot of work, particularly dealing with people who are not willing to read more than one sentence in order to get what they want. And certainly it must be frustrating for a "freak" or dev to encounter us newbies on a daily basis. A 101/primer on what boot/recovery/rom etc is would be helpful - and it does even exist in the wiki. It's that many of us don't find it. That could be changed by a very well thought-out and structured sticky post that provides all the necessary links and knowledge but not too much so that a beginner is frightened by 10 pages of instructions.
But I am certain that a person would be willing to do that if this forum allows it (which I assume is the case). Maybe this person has not been identified yet. Or maybe we have just missed it. I know I will not be this person simply because it would take me a lot of time to gather the necessary knowledge for such a position and right now I have other priorities and I usually use my phone once every 10 days or so.
I am aware that as a user I am not entitled to anyone providing this service. At the same time I am pretty sure that there is someone, maybe even within this great community, who would be willing to do it.
By the way, here is how I ultimately fixed the rooted-Moto G-OTA-update-problem: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g/help/how-to-update-rooted-moto-g-t2828857/post54528345
Thank you for the link and everything you wrote! I was actually thinking the same the last few days... If only I was qualified enough or had the time to gather and polish all the information. I realize I shouldn't have written "Freaks". They're hard-working, skilled individuals that provide us with all this amazing software for us to use free of charge. I just wish they'd put some effort into explaining and laying out the basics etc. for all the "newbs" they encounter each day, because what good do their stuff do when nobody knows how to use it? All those devs that put out kernels and ROMs and then make a thread with changelogs and download links WITHOUT actually saying what they contain and why anyone should use them - I'm looking at you.
I'll go try to get my Moto G to 4.4.4 without losing my stuff using your link now, thanks again!:good:
hello i am rooted with twrp recovery installed. I was able to unroot and download the latest 5.0.2-01001 ota but im not able to install the update it would just take me to twrp recovery and stop there.?? i found the update zip and tried to flash it in twrp but it says it cant mount and failed to flash any help would be appreciated.
OTA updates will require a stock recovery. I'm in the process of getting an Idol 3 but I used to have an Idol 2 and, to return to a completely stock ROM, I had to use the Alcatel Mobile upgrade too which identified my phone, downloaded the correct firmware, and restored the phone. Prior to restoring back to stock, I had cwm and root.
Thanks for the reply I tried the software update but its not working keep saying I have the latest even when I did a full wipe. Using the latest 4.9.2 version...is there a way to make a twrp flashable ota zip from the downloaded update file in the ota cache..
lude86 said:
hello i am rooted with twrp recovery installed. I was able to unroot and download the latest 5.0.2-01001 ota but im not able to install the update it would just take me to twrp recovery and stop there.?? i found the update zip and tried to flash it in twrp but it says it cant mount and failed to flash any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot be rooted and install a stock update...it's mentioned in several places throughout the forum. Quickest solution is to use the mobile q to restore the whole phone to factory (and in the process it will put the latest version on it). Otherwise you have to fully unroot AND if you have modified any files such as build.prop or other system files it still won't work. You CAN install with TWRP however in the process of the install it will overwrite it with stock recovery. If I had to guess I'd say you did not do the supersu FULL unroot.
famewolf said:
You cannot be rooted and install a stock update...it's mentioned in several places throughout the forum. Quickest solution is to use the mobile q to restore the whole phone to factory (and in the process it will put the latest version on it). Otherwise you have to fully unroot AND if you have modified any files such as build.prop or other system files it still won't work. You CAN install with TWRP however in the process of the install it will overwrite it with stock recovery. If I had to guess I'd say you did not do the supersu FULL unroot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mobile Q is horse manure now. I ran into the same problem, whereby it says you're up to date (which it's not), even if you're running 5.0.2.7SMA-UEA1 ! I only know that one because I inadvertently flashed 5.0.2.7SMA-UEA1 today when I meant to flash 5.0.2.7SRA-UEA2.
Speaking of 5.0.2-01001, 5.0.2.7SRA-UEA2 is on longer the latest yeah... anyway we can update the firmware page? http://forum.xda-developers.com/idol-3/general/want-to-able-to-install-ota-updates-t3163745
I just tried to OTA update to 5.0.2-01001, but OTA of course does not work if TWRP is acting recovery; it just reboots to TWRP and then if you reboot system, nothing happens. Although seemingly never mentioned, we must remove TWRP (even read only TWRP) before updating OTA?
tekka-maki said:
mobile Q is horse manure now. I ran into the same problem, whereby it says you're up to date (which it's not), even if you're running 5.0.2.7SMA-UEA1 ! I only know that one because I inadvertently flashed 5.0.2.7SMA-UEA1 today when I meant to flash 5.0.2.7SRA-UEA2.
Speaking of 5.0.2-01001, 5.0.2.7SRA-UEA2 is on longer the latest yeah... anyway we can update the firmware page? http://forum.xda-developers.com/idol-3/general/want-to-able-to-install-ota-updates-t3163745
I just tried to OTA update to 5.0.2-01001, but OTA of course does not work if TWRP is acting recovery; it just reboots to TWRP and then if you reboot system, nothing happens. Although seemingly never mentioned, we must remove TWRP (even read only TWRP) before updating OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thread is closed. There is also no reason you NEED the most recent posted as you can flash any of them and then do an update. Mobile Q is the recommended method to re-do your phone if you can't manage to make a backup before messing with it. It has apparently worked just fine for people in this forum for every model type mentioned so the burden of proof is on your part if you can't get it to work.
famewolf said:
The thread is closed. There is also no reason you NEED the most recent posted as you can flash any of them and then do an update. Mobile Q is the recommended method to re-do your phone if you can't manage to make a backup before messing with it. It has apparently worked just fine for people in this forum for every model type mentioned so the burden of proof is on your part if you can't get it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would the thread be 'closed'. OP's problem is unresolved.
'Worked' is the operative term for. Perhaps you haven't used to Mobile Q tool lately? As OP (and I) said (today), running OTA from 6045 now just reboots to TWRP, no install. Alternately, when attempting to update 6045 from Mobile Q, it just throws a funny English 'update no needed' kinduva message (pic). Incidentally, have you been to their website to find an update to this tool? Holy crap, in that respect, Mobile Q must be a virtual breakthrough for these boys! :laugh:
You're so helpful here famewolf. I've both appreciated and have been comforted by seeing your knowledge all over this subforum, since day 1. Please provide help. You tell me where this 'people' person is, and I'll wank on his boner for you. Then we have a definition of 'working fine' in stead of 'worked fine'. ? :angel:
tekka-maki said:
Why would the thread be 'closed'. OP's problem is unresolved.
'Worked' is the operative term for. Perhaps you haven't used to Mobile Q tool lately? As OP (and I) said (today), running OTA from 6045 now just reboots to TWRP, no install. Alternately, when attempting to update 6045 from Mobile Q, it just throws a funny English 'update no needed' kinduva message (pic). Incidentally, have you been to their website to find an update to this tool? Holy crap, in that respect, Mobile Q must be a virtual breakthrough for these boys! :laugh:
You're so helpful here famewolf. I've both appreciated and have been comforted by seeing your knowledge all over this subforum, since day 1. Please provide help. You tell me where this 'people' person is, and I'll wank on his boner for you. Then we have a definition of 'working fine' in stead of 'worked fine'. ? :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thread that is closed is the one YOU mentioned.... not the op. http://forum.xda-developers.com/idol-3/general/want-to-able-to-install-ota-updates-t3163745
I dont use mobile Q as I use Linux and they don't have a linux version. I use 3rd party roms such as AICP with the ARDE non OC rom. TWRP puts a log in /tmp...did you look at what the error message says? OTA updates will NOT apply if you have updated system files such as build.prop. Thats all I can tell you because I can't try what you are using.
famewolf said:
The thread that is closed is the one YOU mentioned.... not the op. http://forum.xda-developers.com/idol-3/general/want-to-able-to-install-ota-updates-t3163745
I dont use mobile Q as I use Linux and they don't have a linux version. I use 3rd party roms such as AICP with the ARDE non OC rom. TWRP puts a log in /tmp...did you look at what the error message says? OTA updates will NOT apply if you have updated system files such as build.prop. Thats all I can tell you because I can't try what you are using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't updated the build.prop, I doubt the OP has either.
'There is no greater software version available to upgrade your phone,actual version of your phone is the latest'
Hehe! Only thing that would make this funnier is if they misspelled 'version'. At least I can derive some amusement from that message and their ****ty, convoluted website.
Shame you can't help on that front, but maybe you can at least guide me on what should be normal flow of this procedure.
When one does OTA update unrooted (but with custom recovery), at the point that the phone reboots, it should not (in theory) boot into TWRP right? I would think just continue with update, and maybe that's why I would need to remove TWRP in favor of stock recovery.
It would be easier to attack it from that angle as opposed to their crappy win32 program. which they probably didn't pay the GoDaddy bill on.:laugh:
I don't even know why I'm bothering as it's just a backup phone now. I just find it ridiculous that I can get their last measly update either from Q or from device (ostensibly so long as custom recovery remains). Holy bejebus, updating Shamu is so painless (6.0.1)
---------- Post added at 08:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:22 PM ----------
likely they have not updated their server side to to UEN0 from UEA2 for their craptacular tool which would explain that problem.
Curious, did you lose Band 12 with UEN0. I haven't heard anything positive from this most recent update that is giving me a headache to get to. Perhaps it's for naught. They don't even have a changelog do they. Meh... I'm going to forget about it until something notable comes along or maybe even just sell this thing while I might still get over a hundred.
tekka-maki said:
I haven't updated the build.prop, I doubt the OP has either.
'There is no greater software version available to upgrade your phone,actual version of your phone is the latest'
Hehe! Only thing that would make this funnier is if they misspelled 'version'. At least I can derive some amusement from that message and their ****ty, convoluted website.
Shame you can't help on that front, but maybe you can at least guide me on what should be normal flow of this procedure.
When one does OTA update unrooted (but with custom recovery), at the point that the phone reboots, it should not (in theory) boot into TWRP right? I would think just continue with update, and maybe that's why I would need to remove TWRP in favor of stock recovery.
It would be easier to attack it from that angle as opposed to their crappy win32 program. which they probably didn't pay the GoDaddy bill on.:laugh:
I don't even know why I'm bothering as it's just a backup phone now. I just find it ridiculous that I can get their last measly update either from Q or from device (ostensibly so long as custom recovery remains). Holy bejebus, updating Shamu is so painless (6.0.1)
---------- Post added at 08:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:22 PM ----------
likely they have not updated their server side to to UEN0 from UEA2 for their craptacular tool which would explain that problem.
Curious, did you lose Band 12 with UEN0. I haven't heard anything positive from this most recent update that is giving me a headache to get to. Perhaps it's for naught. They don't even have a changelog do they. Meh... I'm going to forget about it until something notable comes along or maybe even just sell this thing while I might still get over a hundred.
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As I mentioned here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64967202&postcount=4 you CAN install an OTA update with twrp...it will install it just fine however at the completion of the update you will no longer HAVE twrp installed because it will have been overwritten with stock recovery. (it does that at the END) This will be apparent the NEXT time you try to load recovery. Where do you imagine the update is processed? It's processed by the recovery app...it can't be done inside the rom because files would be in use. The last version I ever ran was UER0..was not even aware UEN0 was out. As I indicated, I switched to a rom based on cyanogenmod with some features I wanted...if I was going to switch NOW I'd choose blisspop and it's the one I intend to install the next time I have to do a reinstall. I don't see why you fight on 5.02 when 5.1.1 is available in various flavors and with the ARDE NON OC Kernel is rock steady. If you made full backups of your device (ie dd images of ALL partitions using the Backupall bat file or shell script running around the forum restoring to a previous radio is as simple as reflashing the partition using fastboot commands.
The radio is stored in the "modem" partition fyi.
famewolf said:
As I mentioned here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64967202&postcount=4 you CAN install an OTA update with twrp...it will install it just fine however at the completion of the update you will no longer HAVE twrp installed because it will have been overwritten with stock recovery. (it does that at the END) This will be apparent the NEXT time you try to load recovery. Where do you imagine the update is processed? It's processed by the recovery app...it can't be done inside the rom because files would be in use. The last version I ever ran was UER0..was not even aware UEN0 was out. As I indicated, I switched to a rom based on cyanogenmod with some features I wanted...if I was going to switch NOW I'd choose blisspop and it's the one I intend to install the next time I have to do a reinstall. I don't see why you fight on 5.02 when 5.1.1 is available in various flavors and with the ARDE NON OC Kernel is rock steady. If you made full backups of your device (ie dd images of ALL partitions using the Backupall bat file or shell script running around the forum restoring to a previous radio is as simple as reflashing the partition using fastboot commands.
The radio is stored in the "modem" partition fyi.
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So where is the latest update to flash with twrp (good dry run for me should a decent upgrade come out that isn't UEN0)? I just went with UER0 posted on yer thread thr with all the megaupload firmwares & flash restored system & boot (after full wipe); as an aside, it took, & I still have TWRP in tact. I'm well aware of your fastboot method & orig backup of ALL partitions. Seemed like a waste of space at the time, still kinda does.
Regarding your rhetorical question, I was referencing Alcatel's w32 Q tool. It seemingly wasn't updated to be keyed in on the latest update either. No wait, it said the same 'no greater version' crap even when I restored the original 6045i US system/boot fw from twrp, lmao
tekka-maki said:
So where is the latest update to flash with twrp (good dry run for me should a decent upgrade come out that isn't UEN0)? I just went with UER0 posted on yer thread thr with all the megaupload firmwares & flash restored system & boot (after full wipe); as an aside, it took, & I still have TWRP in tact. I'm well aware of your fastboot method & orig backup of ALL partitions. Seemed like a waste of space at the time, still kinda does.
Regarding your rhetorical question, I was referencing Alcatel's w32 Q tool. It seemingly wasn't updated to be keyed in on the latest update either. No wait, it said the same 'no greater version' crap even when I restored the original 6045i US system/boot fw from twrp, lmao
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Why are you assuming I should know where the latest and greatest update for stock should be? Updates are customized based on the rom version you are running at the time you submit a request. I've already stated I'm using a 3rd party rom and using an OS that doesn't allow me to run their software. You consider my recommendations a waste of time so I'll quit making them and continue using my perfectly working device on 5.1.1.
famewolf said:
Why are you assuming I should know where the latest and greatest update for stock should be? Updates are customized based on the rom version you are running at the time you submit a request. I've already stated I'm using a 3rd party rom and using an OS that doesn't allow me to run their software. You consider my recommendations a waste of time so I'll quit making them and continue using my perfectly working device on 5.1.1.
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Omfg buddy, you said, '... you CAN install an OTA update with twrp' ; all I did was point out that I flashed previous updates (presumably the same way you're talking about), TWRP remained in tact afterward, & asked you to follow through with that point with, you know, the actual update in question here that defies many of your assertions. One of your recommendations is broken (Q), the other is hindsight (full backup) & last (update via TWRP) seemingly not feasible (unless someone were to submit updated /system) . Anyway it's all a moot point now since we're just measuring our junk.
I'm tickled you're running 5.1.1, as you've said repeatedly... I tried it briefly on Shamu & was happy to leave the LP quagmire all together & get to 6.0.1. Sufficed to say, there isn't anything perfect about this device or 5.1.1, which is why I'll leave as is & sell it. :good:
Thanks anyway.