Database Info

Should I, shouldn't I

Hi folks,
I'm thinking of picking up the galaxy s, the samsung vibrant from t-mobile to use on my carrier.
i had a few questions and hope you fellas can help me out.
1st, what would be involved in unlocking it? Would I have any problems getting it unlocked?
Also i'm a total noob to android but i've been reading up. What exactly is "rooting"? will rooting allow me to put a stock 2.2 on it? is that even possible and is it recomended on this phone?
and lastly from people who have been using this phone, do you recommend getting it?
thanks

oh snap! i posted this in the wrong board. it should have been in the "Galaxy S I9000 General"
sorry mods.

Rooting allows you to get access to parts of the phone you otherwise wouldn't have access to. Compare it to having administrator rights on windows, you can access more files, do more stuff. Programs can perform more actions when your phone is rooted.
Putting 2.2 on it is completely seperate from that and at this moment is not possible. However, Samsung already stated that the first 2.2 update will be somewhere in august (not for euro/usa regions though) so perhaps withing the month after that it will also be available for other regions. Samsung has officially announced that it WILL be updated though, so no need to worry about that.
Without the 2.2 update it's already pretty damn fast though (with some tweaks its faster then the Nexus one WITH 2.2) so I would certainly already recommend it.
This is my first android phone (after symbian, windows mobile and more) and it's really easy to get used to and works just great. The screen is beautiful (good colors, vibrant although reading text on it is a less great experience) and it's very fast. Also feels light, in a good way, great screen, etc. I can totally recommend it.
ps. No idea what the status on unlocking is, mine was unlocked already so never looked into it.

you might want to make sure the frequency bands of the one you acquire will work on the carrier you want to use it on
if not, it may not work at all, or may not give you 3G data svc

personally i didnt think any phones are locked down anymore, at least not in the UK?
you should buy the phone, its the best ive owned, not saying its the best on the market but id like to hear of an arguement for why it isnt.
rooting was done on this device even before release, and with already 300k sales in south korea alone it looks like its going to have some great support and updates in the future

Docomo SH-03C (Lynx 3D)

Is there any known way of cracking the NAND protection on this phone yet?
Or if not, does anyone know where I should look for the latest news on rooting this Japanese-only phone?
I've been looking all over the internet for months and turned up nothing. I could really do with some help here please guys!

I am also interested in an answer to this question. I have been in talks with a few of the Japanese users currently trying to figure out the phone, and I would like to post a bit about what we know, what progress has been achieved and why this is important for other people outside of Japan.
First and foremost, Sharp has every intention of getting their 3D phones into the hands of overseas users. Now, I could be patient and wait for this to launch, and then for the teams to get to work and crack the bootloader open properly. But why not get an early jump on the work so that the phone can arrive, on the Western shores, fully ready for custom roms and root permissions? The three major 3D phones Sharp currently is pimping (the IS03, the 003SH and the SH-03C) are essentially the same phone with minor tweaks. Serious progress on one could lead to a bit step forward for all! And as the Lynx is currently stuck at 2.1 (and won't be 2.2 till "summer"), it's in the greatest need for an upgrade (the 003SH is already 2.2, and the IS03 goes to 2.2 this week). I know that I'm being a little selfish in this endeavor, but I also know I'm not the only one with this phone, and not the only one interested. Perhaps I'm just the most vocal.
Now, for a quick rundown:
rageagainstthecage: doesn't work, freezes up, phone must be hard rebooted with battery removal.
psneuter: offers root access, but cannot modify /system due to NAND protection/locked bootloader.
SuperOneClick: see above.
Z4root: see above.
Universal Androot: doesn't work. Attempts to root, gets the "no good fuu~~" response.
Visionary: crashes when attempting soft root.
Unrevoked apk: fails immediately. No harm to the phone, but no success either.
gfree: No luck, can't toggle S-off but that may be due to the fact that the phone is definitely not the G2.
Unrevoked app: can't recognize the phone.
I'm hoping that someone in the UnrEVOked community is willing to try and work with me/us on this. We're not a large group by any means (and a majority of the users don't have an expansive English grasp) but we are dedicated, and I'm trying something new everyday. Sharp has even released the kernel as open source, so, if an exploit can be found, work can begin immediately. This could be something big, something wonderful. If anyone could please contact me and let me know, I'm really hopeful.
And sorry for hijacking your thread Eliott.

Sent from my SH-03C using Tapatalk

Sharpen3d said:
I am also interested in an answer to this question. I have been in talks with a few of the Japanese users currently trying to figure out the phone, and I would like to post a bit about what we know, what progress has been achieved and why this is important for other people outside of Japan.
First and foremost, Sharp has every intention of getting their 3D phones into the hands of overseas users. Now, I could be patient and wait for this to launch, and then for the teams to get to work and crack the bootloader open properly. But why not get an early jump on the work so that the phone can arrive, on the Western shores, fully ready for custom roms and root permissions? The three major 3D phones Sharp currently is pimping (the IS03, the 003SH and the SH-03C) are essentially the same phone with minor tweaks. Serious progress on one could lead to a bit step forward for all! And as the Lynx is currently stuck at 2.1 (and won't be 2.2 till "summer"), it's in the greatest need for an upgrade (the 003SH is already 2.2, and the IS03 goes to 2.2 this week). I know that I'm being a little selfish in this endeavor, but I also know I'm not the only one with this phone, and not the only one interested. Perhaps I'm just the most vocal.
Now, for a quick rundown:
rageagainstthecage: doesn't work, freezes up, phone must be hard rebooted with battery removal.
psneuter: offers root access, but cannot modify /system due to NAND protection/locked bootloader.
SuperOneClick: see above.
Z4root: see above.
Universal Androot: doesn't work. Attempts to root, gets the "no good fuu~~" response.
Visionary: crashes when attempting soft root.
Unrevoked apk: fails immediately. No harm to the phone, but no success either.
gfree: No luck, can't toggle S-off but that may be due to the fact that the phone is definitely not the G2.
Unrevoked app: can't recognize the phone.
I'm hoping that someone in the UnrEVOked community is willing to try and work with me/us on this. We're not a large group by any means (and a majority of the users don't have an expansive English grasp) but we are dedicated, and I'm trying something new everyday. Sharp has even released the kernel as open source, so, if an exploit can be found, work can begin immediately. This could be something big, something wonderful. If anyone could please contact me and let me know, I'm really hopeful.
And sorry for hijacking your thread Eliott.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all, thanks for the great info!

As crazy as it might sound, one thing I recommend doing is to continue monitoring other roofing methods that aren't exactly for the sh-03c and seeing what happens. Recently a new method for the Thunderbolt has been unveiled, and I have every intention to try it out. Obviously the likelihood of it working is slim, but it's a ton better than running z4root over and over and hoping for different results.

Sharpen3d said:
As crazy as it might sound, one thing I recommend doing is to continue monitoring other roofing methods that aren't exactly for the sh-03c and seeing what happens. Recently a new method for the Thunderbolt has been unveiled, and I have every intention to try it out. Obviously the likelihood of it working is slim, but it's a ton better than running z4root over and over and hoping for different results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a bit hesitant to use untested methods. This is my first Android phone and I have never rooted a phone before so it would be wise for me to wait for someone else to find a reliable way first.
I have flashed many older phones and PSPs in the past but this scene is quite new to me.
I am still checking many Japanese sites daily for news of a root. I will send you a PM if I find anything

figured to bump the thread as I`m also a Lynx3D owner looking for root access and a way around the NAND protection. I would be nice to free up this phone .

I'm still searching daily but it seems to be impossible, I'm not sure if it will ever be rooted.
Never mind though, at least we get android 2.2 this month

Recently there's been some success for the IS03 since receiving their 2.2 update. A new process labelled is03break has apparently been great for soft rooting. It hasn't worked on the SH-03 due to it still being on 2.1, but perhaps there will be a breakthrough after our update drops in June (July?).
Additionally, certain other blogs (specifically the Japanese blog Androot) has reported a failure in attempting all conventional root methods, confirming that the Japanese teams are on the same page we are. Both good and bad, as it does give us a baseline, but I refuse to accept there isn't a solution yet.

Sharpen3d said:
Recently there's been some success for the IS03 since receiving their 2.2 update. A new process labelled is03break has apparently been great for soft rooting. It hasn't worked on the SH-03 due to it still being on 2.1, but perhaps there will be a breakthrough after our update drops in June (July?).
Additionally, certain other blogs (specifically the Japanese blog Androot) has reported a failure in attempting all conventional root methods, confirming that the Japanese teams are on the same page we are. Both good and bad, as it does give us a baseline, but I refuse to accept there isn't a solution yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That certainly gives me hope, looking forward to 2.2 even more now!
And Docomo have announced that 2.2 is coming this month (May). It has been widely reported and they confirmed it in the Docomo shop this morning for me

Despite my better judgement, I went ahead and ran the is03break on my phone yesterday. Not only was it not successful (ran until it timed out) but it managed to adjust my settings enough that my phone wasn't able to see the cellular network, effectively destroying it's "phone" capabilities. I was able to hard reset it through psneuter/adb and now it's back to normal, but it was definitely a bit of a scare.
When 2.2 comes out, I may give it another go, but in the meantime I'll just play nice. Docomo staff confirmed 2.2 is coming before the end of May, and there's a chance we'll need to do it through the PC like the AU folk had to.

Looks like the update may well have been delayed until next month -
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlynx%2B3d%2B2.2%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DG75%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGHP_en-GB___JP427%26tbs%3Dqdr:d%26prmd%3Divns&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ja&twu=1&u=http://juggly.cn/androidrumors&usg=ALkJrhgmfYRu8El9AjAHz_UeNb1s85EhZw
This is getting a bit much now. 6 months I've been waiting for them to update this phone. I'm considering taking it back and demanding a refund.

For what it's worth, even if there's a delay, at least it's a bit more definitive than things have been. Way back in March when the Quake hit, we were told it was being delayed from March to "Summer." Then they really brought it forward for May, which I don't really consider summer. That rumor blog (and remember, the key word there is rumor) suggests it will be delayed until early June. Worst case scenario, that means that, instead of getting it this week, we receive it in two weeks. I agree it's a pain in the ass, and the fact remains that, stuck at 2.1, we can't use a lot of conventional rooting tools (not to mention run flash, do App2SD, JIT, etc). But returning the phone at this point accomplishes next to nothing. The summer Docomo lineup is a bit underwhelming, in my opinion. You're paying for the camera, and the phone is attached to that. Even if you get the Galaxy S (a really nice phone, no doubt) it's starting to become a bit older. IF we can hold on till SH-03C receives 2.2, I honestly believe a world of possibilities open up. This community may not be large, but we can still tout a 3D phone proudly, and getting 2.2 really legitimizes its abilities.
Just be patient man.

Yeah, you are right.
I'm just getting frustrated at having to keep deleting applications. I'm really looking forward to using flash, bumping up the CPU and trying out that new Tegra app for playing Tegra games!

I'm just really hoping for App2SD. This is getting severely limiting. Additionally, I'm pretty sure that rooting will become significantly more likely once we're up on 2.2. I'm confident that, once we get to Froyo, our phones might be able to piggyback on methods utilitized by other NAND locked phones (example: EVO) that have been successfully rooted.
I just want to uninstall that stupid 3D golf game. It takes up so much memory it's insane.

This sounds promising -
"May 27, 2011
The previous model, LYNX 3D SH-03C in Android 2.2 update seems to be out soon. The details will be announced separately, "there is no update, that will never" Yes."
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlynx%2B3d%2B2.2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D5Ye%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGHP_en-GB___JP427%26biw%3D1120%26bih%3D927%26tbs%3Dqdr:d%26prmd%3Divns&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ja&twu=1&u=http://ch00288.kitaguni.tv/e1805281.html&usg=ALkJrhgPutM5T2orqoipGRQTi3kSISqnlg

The woman at the Docomo helpline, having started to recognize my voice, totally leveled with me. The update was planned for the end of this month, and they got screwed in timing. They hope for the first weeks of June, but it may be even later than that. Truth be told, I bought my SH-03c aftermarket, so I can't return it even if I wanted to. But I'm not bailing. I'm confident we will see the update before the 15th, and, really, as long as it doesn't start malfunctioning, I can wait.

More rumors, looks like July 7th is the day -
"NTT DoCoMo's "Galaxy S SC-02B", "Galaxy Tab Sc-01C", "LYNX 3D SH-03C" on the OS version is effective from June 7, "will" is a rumor.
According to rumors, the version of June 07, Galaxy S Tab and the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) to, LYNX 3D SH-03C is Android 2.2 (Froyo) is going to be provided.
LYNX 3D SH-03C
Changes as part of the Android 2.2
-Flash Player 10.1 or later for
- Micro SD card can move the app (the app only support)
- Respond to voice the character input
- Application for Automatic Updates to bulk update
- The application "search" and "News and Weather," in some of the sharp changes in their own additional
- Launch applications list "end all" button added
- Power management notification bar menu (Wi-Fi or BT) is added
- Supports multi-line display in the profile email address and telephone chat
- Added ability to integrate similar contacts in the phone book
- Added the ability to transmit infrared applications infrared receiver
- Change the background color
- Change display Antenapikuto
- Text resize cursor display
- Improved slightly phenomenon events
How to update, download the update tool from the site WEB Sharp, PC and USB connection seems the only way to do. "
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://maruta.be/news_japan_2100/828&ei=Pq7jTdb4DYuSuwP4x_D0Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CG4Q7gEwBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlynx%2B3d%2B2.2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Dvf4%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGHP_en-GB___JP427%26biw%3D1120%26bih%3D927%26tbs%3Dqdr:d%26prmd%3Divns

That makes a ton of sense. June 7th is when Nintendo is launching a huge update for their platforms as well, and Japan seems to like to do a ton of updates all together.
I want this so badly, I can't believe it's going to be another week.

The product page for the SH-03C over at nttDOCOMO just went 404. I really hope it's because they're busy updating with new information, and not because I'm going to be furiously angry.

Galaxy S4 i9507 (Aus/HK only) custom firmware success!

Hi all, made an account in anticipation of my night spent mucking around with my new Galaxy S4 i9507. I had been reading about people who have had success and some who have had less success with getting custom ROMs on their devices. None said what methods they used, so I decided to compile together what I did today.
UPDATE 3/6/14
I installed a snapshot of CM 11 (KitKat) onto my device with little issues. I'll update this guide with the links to that firmware, and also update the existing links because of changes CyanogenMod made to how they aggregate their S4 devices now. They are treating them all as derivatives of 'jftle', so basically one firmware fits all devices, including the i9507! (even if not official yet).
Please read the bottom of this post if you wish to install KitKat on your device.
CUSTOM FIRMWARE ON SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 i9507 - Aus/HK
Tonight I have managed to root the device's stock firmware (I have the Australian Optus/Virgin device); install ClockworkMod Recovery on the stock firmware, and then use it to install CyanogenMod 10.2.0 (jfltexx) on the device.
If you're looking to root this device, I found that by treating it essentially as an international i9505 I was able to fulfil all three of the things I mentioned above.
UPDATE: THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY AND RESULT IN 'KNOX WARRANTY VOID 0x1' BEING DISPLAYED WHEN YOU ENTER DOWNLOAD MODE ON THE DEVICE. PLEASE BE SURE YOU ARE OKAY WITH THIS HAPPENING BEFORE TRYING THIS FOR YOURSELF. AS IT STANDS, KNOX CANNOT BE RESET, IT IS AT A HARDWARE LEVEL.
[ROOT i9507]
Using Chainfire's guide to CF-Auto-Root in the Galaxy S 4 i9505 Original Android Development section of this forum; I was able to root my device despite it being an i9507. Being a new user, I wasn't sure exactly what things to test out whether the root worked/was permanent, but I did install AdBlock Plus and it asked me for Superuser privileges, then proceeded to work. I also restarted the device and tested whether the root was still present; it was.
[INSTALL CLOCKWORKMOD]
I decided to install CyanogenMod as I have heard from friends that have it; and read online about it being one of the more stable custom ROMs available. It has been a while since I last owned an Android device! So, continuing with my theme of treating this device as being an international i9505, I obtained CM 10.2.0, a stable release of the jfltexx CM, based on from their website (as of December 2013, this was the most recent). Their custom installer app on Windows did not support my phone, so I had to use their guide for manual installation.
Their guide contained steps to installing ClockworkMod Recovery as well as the ROM installation. Following the guide, I installed it without a hitch. When rebooting the phone from ClockworkMod, it prompted me about the fact that the phone may reflash its own recovery tool, but this did not happen. Once again, a success.
[INSTALL CYANOGENMOD]
The last task was to install CM. This was quite an endeavour as I decided to use someone else's Windows 8 laptop (being the only Windows device I had access to at the time) and I forgot how much of a struggle it can be! Again, I used CM's guide to installing 10.2.0 (which by the way is Android 4.3.1, whereas the stock firmware is bloated and heavy at 4.2.2). This went off without a hitch once I reminded myself how the ADT works. I also did as CM suggested and installed the Google Apps pack alongside the ROM.
So, currently this is where I'm at. The device boots and reboots fine. Some users in certain threads had issues with loading 4.4 (KitKat) ROMs or custom ROMs that they didn't allude to the names of, so I don't know if they were having issues with CM or not. There are other threads, but that was the one that kickstarted my attempts to get this all to work. Their issues with the custom ROMs seemed to be related to the 4.4 ROM not recognising the modem of the i9507; I'm not sure why this is but the i9507 was made specifically for Australian/Hong Kong networks so perhaps 4.4 has not been updated yet or something of the like. Anyway, on 4.3.1, or CM 10.2.0, my SMS, calling, and internet are working fine (it displays Virgin Mobile as my carrier). My 4G reception is somewhat iffy in this town (or in particular my house), and the reception seems to be switching between 3G and H so whether that is indicative of 4G not working, I'm not sure. LTE is definitely checked in the settings, however, and my area does have 4G, but my parents' iPhone 5Ss sometimes do not have 4G in this house either. I'll report back tomorrow after having tested the phone for a day to see if the 4G does activate.
As it stands, however, the phone seems to be functioning well. Oddly the Settings report that the phone is an i9505, I assume that's normal as I'm using a ROM for that particular phone!
[CONCLUSION]
So, I hope that anyone who has been looking for a way to remove the carrier/Samsung bloat from their i9507 device will have a good time using the guides I've used. I followed them to the letter and I had no issues.
DISCLAIMER: I had no troubles, but that's not to say you won't either. Please be careful, as you may potentially risk affecting your phone negatively. I'm simply telling you what I did, not giving you a 100% correct and flawless guide that will work no matter what.
Also if you're looking for a 4.4 ROM then you might be out of luck, least till some dev or coder takes notice of this device's existence and helps out to develop a specific way of rooting this phone/installing custom ROMs for this phone. Overall though, it seems to all work fine so perhaps the 4.3.1 CM isn't such a bad thing.
If you try this and want the original firmware back on your phone, use this link. I believe that OPS is the Australian firmware, the other one is for Hong Kong. So, for the second link, HK is Hong Kong, and the one without is for Aus.
UPDATE 3/6/14
I've successfully managed to install a Nightly build of CM 11, based on KitKat. Read my latest post in this forum for more info. I essentially found that upgrading from within the phone itself caused a number of issues so I did a fresh flash. Please note that such a flash of a new OS wipes all personal data but not things like images, videos, etc. I lost all my contacts, SMS, browsing history, apps etc. But my Gallery, Downloads folder, etc remained intact.
I followed my guide to flashing the phone again, but I used a Nightly build of CM 11, based on KitKat. As I write this, there are actually stable versions of CM that you can use in place of the CM 10.2.0 I used in the above guide. If you follow those steps but use this firmware you'll find no issue. Feel free to use CM's guide, but don't, under any circumstances, forget to flash Google Apps to your phone!!!
If you need a hand or want a question answered, feel free to post here and I'll do my best to help you out. Thanks!

kaiserwatson said:
Hi all, made an account in anticipation of my night spent mucking around with my new Galaxy S4 i9507. I had been reading about people who have had success and some who have had less success with getting custom ROMs on their devices. None said what methods they used, so I decided to compile together what I did today.
Tonight I have managed to root the device's stock firmware (I have the Australian Optus/Virgin device); install ClockworkMod Recovery on the stock firmware, and then use it to install CyanogenMod 10.2.0 (jfltexx) on the device.
If you're looking to root this device, I found that by treating it essentially as an international i9505 I was able to fulfill all three of the things I mentioned above.
[ROOT i9507]
Using Chainfire's guide to CF-Auto-Root in the Galaxy S 4 i9505 Original Android Development section of this forum; I was able to root my device despite it being an i9507. Being a new user, I wasn't sure exactly what things to test out whether the root worked/was permanent, but I did install AdBlock Plus and it asked me for Superuser privileges, then proceeded to work. I also restarted the device and tested whether the root was still present; it was.
[INSTALL CLOCKWORKMOD]
I decided to install CyanogenMod as I have heard from friends that have it; and read online about it being one of the more stable custom ROMs available. It has been a while since I last owned an Android device! So, continuing with my theme of treating this device as being an international i9505, I obtained the latest stable release of the jfltexx CM from their website (it was the most recent stable release at the time, may be out of date by the time you get to doing this yourself). Their custom installer app on Windows did not support my phone, so I had to use their guide for manual installation.
Their guide contained steps to installing ClockworkMod Recovery as well as the ROM installation. Following the guide, I installed it without a hitch. When rebooting the phone from ClockworkMod, it prompted me about the fact that the phone may reflash its own recovery tool, but this did not happen. Once again, a success.
[INSTALL CYANOGENMOD]
The last task was to install CM. This was quite an endeavour as I decided to use someone else's Windows 8 laptop (being the only Windows device I had access to at the time) and I forgot how much of a struggle it can be! Again, I used CM's guide to installing 10.2.0 (which by the way is Android 4.3.1, whereas the stock firmware is bloated and heavy at 4.2.2). This went off without a hitch once I reminded myself how the ADT works. I also did as CM suggested and installed the Google Apps pack alongside the ROM.
So, currently this is where I'm at. The device boots and reboots fine. Some users in certain threads had issues with loading 4.4 (KitKat) ROMs or custom ROMs that they didn't allude to the names of, so I don't know if they were having issues with CM or not. There are other threads, but that was the one that kickstarted my attempts to get this all to work. Their issues with the custom ROMs seemed to be related to the 4.4 ROM not recognising the modem of the i9507; I'm not sure why this is but the i9507 was made specifically for Australian/Hong Kong networks so perhaps 4.4 has not been updated yet or something of the like. Anyway, on 4.3.1, or CM 10.2.0, my SMS, calling, and internet are working fine (it displays Virgin Mobile as my carrier). My 4G reception is somewhat iffy in this town (or in particular my house), and the reception seems to be switching between 3G and H so whether that is indicative of 4G not working, I'm not sure. LTE is definitely checked in the settings, however, and my area does have 4G, but my parents' iPhone 5Ss sometimes do not have 4G in this house either. I'll report back tomorrow after having tested the phone for a day to see if the 4G does activate.
As it stands, however, the phone seems to be functioning well. Oddly the Settings report that the phone is an i9505, I assume that's normal as I'm using a ROM for that particular phone!
[CONCLUSION]
So, I hope that anyone who has been looking for a way to remove the carrier/Samsung bloat from their i9507 device will have a good time using the guides I've used. I followed them to the letter and I had no issues.
DISCLAIMER: I had no troubles, but that's not to say you won't either. Please be careful, as you may potentially risk affecting your phone negatively. I'm simply telling you what I did, not giving you a 100% correct and flawless guide that will work no matter what.
Also if you're looking for a 4.4 ROM then you might be out of luck, least till some dev or coder takes notice of this device's existence and helps out to develop a specific way of rooting this phone/installing custom ROMs for this phone. Overall though, it seems to all work fine so perhaps the 4.3.1 CM isn't such a bad thing.
If you try this and want the original firmware back on your phone, use this link or this one. I believe that OPS is the Australian firmware, the other one is for Hong Kong. So, for the second link, HK is Hong Kong, and the one without is for Aus.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I'll post later tomorrow when I've tested the phone for a day to see if it's still working, and to see if the 4G/LTE does actually work. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong in the meantime!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had my i-9507 rooted for about a month now with foxhound rom, also on the optus variant.
One thing i've noted is, its next to impossible to update the MODEM for it.
I think because our latest modem for this variant is the one we have stock. And new updates haven't been put in terms of modem specifically for our variant yet.
We should keep this thread stickied for Australian OPTUS GT-i9507 discussion.
OR open up a sub forum for it.

kaiserwatson said:
I'll post later tomorrow when I've tested the phone for a day to see if it's still working, and to see if the 4G/LTE does actually work. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong in the meantime!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly, thank you for creating this complete description of your experiences with customising the i9507.
Secondly, just wanted confirmation that you do now have the pesky "KNOX WARRANTY VOID: 0x1" displayed when your device is in Download mode, right?
Lastly, any updates, issues? All still working, including 4G/LTE?

Hey sorry its been more than a day, I've been swamped with work, that Christmas time feel.
I do have the Knox 0x1, which I assume means my warranty is void. There's conjecture as to whether that will actually affect warranty for this device in Australia, as I've read up on the Knox system but i think the ACCC would have serious issues with this system actually affecting the warranty. But yes, it would seem my warranty is void, let's hope the phone lasts two years!
I have been able to access 4G, the phone says 4G or LTE, sometimes switching between the two. Again, the reception in the town I'm currently staying in is pisspoor so I can't say for certain whether the antenna/modem is fully functioning to the degree it would be on the stock firmware, but I can definitely access the Optus 4G network.
One issue I did have was that I sent an SMS then immediately turned my screen off, 40 minutes later the message was still 'sending'. I have recreated the same scenario but I haven't been able to get it to happen again, perhaps just a weird tower-side quirk. I know people were having issues with the modem and the phone sleeping but this doesn't seem to be related. Overall I'm really happy with how this has all gone. My battery life has been increased by at least 40% and the phone is so much faster. Very pleased.

kaiserwatson said:
Hey sorry its been more than a day, I've been swamped with work, that Christmas time feel.
I do have the Knox 0x1, which I assume means my warranty is void. There's conjecture as to whether that will actually affect warranty for this device in Australia, as I've read up on the Knox system but i think the ACCC would have serious issues with this system actually affecting the warranty. But yes, it would seem my warranty is void, let's hope the phone lasts two years!
I have been able to access 4G, the phone says 4G or LTE, sometimes switching between the two. Again, the reception in the town I'm currently staying in is pisspoor so I can't say for certain whether the antenna/modem is fully functioning to the degree it would be on the stock firmware, but I can definitely access the Optus 4G network.
One issue I did have was that I sent an SMS then immediately turned my screen off, 40 minutes later the message was still 'sending'. I have recreated the same scenario but I haven't been able to get it to happen again, perhaps just a weird tower-side quirk. I know people were having issues with the modem and the phone sleeping but this doesn't seem to be related. Overall I'm really happy with how this has all gone. My battery life has been increased by at least 40% and the phone is so much faster. Very pleased.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That occurs because the modem signal cuts out after you switch your phone off, or lock it.
This issue can be resolved by updating our modems, but with our current variant we can't update it yet apparently, until the correct new modem for our specific variant has been released.

Hi guys,
I thought I would also post here.
I have the optus 9507 and I tried a couple of different kitkat 4.4 roms. They all worked perfectly except for the fact that they lost data completely as soon as the phone went to sleep. the weird thing is, the phone showed 0 bars but i could take calls just fine, just had data issues.
i tried the slimkat rom and the echoe rom with the same issue
i went back to stock firmware, rooted, ran a debloat script i found on xda, removed a bunch more apps, then unrooted again because i need to run good for enterprise for work.
im getting decent battery life with the debloated stock rom but i would like to move to 4.4 if theres a rom that works. ive been watching the optus and sammobile site hoping there will be a newer modem for the hk version because i think optus will take their time releasing 4.3 for this model.

kaiserwatson said:
Hi all, made an account in anticipation of my night spent mucking around with my new Galaxy S4 i9507. I had been reading about people who have had success and some who have had less success with getting custom ROMs on their devices. None said what methods they used, so I decided to compile together what I did today.
Tonight I have managed to root the device's stock firmware (I have the Australian Optus/Virgin device); install ClockworkMod Recovery on the stock firmware, and then use it to install CyanogenMod 10.2.0 (jfltexx) on the device.
......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your experience sharing,
I also started with Cyanogen and shared about the same experience.
Just didn't know the Knox thing before I started.. should had read up more before doing it.
So you did the Recovery with Heimdall also? What has made you switch to the customized Rom camp

kaiserwatson said:
Hey sorry its been more than a day, I've been swamped with work, that Christmas time feel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, no worries at all, anyone who works weekends can take all the time they need...
But yes, it would seem my warranty is void, let's hope the phone lasts two years!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I've done some reading also and you're right, it seems to be all conjecture, I really doubt handset warranty refusal can be based on the KNOX Warranty chip. I think the Samsung Enterprise Security Group VP explains it well here.
Overall I'm really happy with how this has all gone. My battery life has been increased by at least 40% and the phone is so much faster. Very pleased.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great to hear, based on this I can ge ahead and 'burn out' my eFuse, happy in the knowledge that my Knox warranty has gone to a good cause. :fingers-crossed:
---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------
opelcalibra said:
then unrooted again because i need to run good for enterprise for work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can only assume your "enterprise for work" has nothing to do with KNOX, right? Coz that option would be closed for you now...

CuriosityBrah said:
That occurs because the modem signal cuts out after you switch your phone off, or lock it.
This issue can be resolved by updating our modems, but with our current variant we can't update it yet apparently, until the correct new modem for our specific variant has been released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That odd message not sending was the only issue I've had with this sort of thing; I can still download things, receive messages and calls just fine while my phone is sleeping, how do you know if the modem signal is cutting off? Perhaps it's just a selective thing, not sure. Don't know how to test if it's happening to me because it doesn't seem to be, lol.
opelcalibra said:
I have the optus 9507 and I tried a couple of different kitkat 4.4 roms. They all worked perfectly except for the fact that they lost data completely as soon as the phone went to sleep. the weird thing is, the phone showed 0 bars but i could take calls just fine, just had data issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate if you check the forum that I linked to the Knox issue; someone on there posted a fix for sound/WiFi issues post-Knox voiding, maybe that fix'll work for you. Sorry I can't link you to the exact post but it was about 10-20 pages in.
opelcalibra said:
i went back to stock firmware, rooted, ran a debloat script i found on xda, removed a bunch more apps, then unrooted again because i need to run good for enterprise for work.
im getting decent battery life with the debloated stock rom but i would like to move to 4.4 if theres a rom that works. ive been watching the optus and sammobile site hoping there will be a newer modem for the hk version because i think optus will take their time releasing 4.3 for this model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I reckon they'll take ages, they have pretty much left everyone who's getting this phone in the next couple of months in the dark because of the (as I can tell) severe lack of devs etc in Aus who have Samsung phones and are willing to hack them to the ****. I wish I could help out somehow, but I don't have the time to learn so I figured I'd help out by putting up my experiences. I'm still learning as I go haha.
As for your KitKat problem, I have read that 4.4 didn't do so well in terms of battery life and bloat, what are your reasons for wanting to go to it? I wanted the most recent build also but I figured that if they're still having issues with it then it was better to go with something I knew would work (ie. 4.3.1).
phileasx said:
Thanks for your experience sharing,
I also started with Cyanogen and shared about the same experience.
Just didn't know the Knox thing before I started.. should had read up more before doing it.
So you did the Recovery with Heimdall also? What has made you switch to the customized Rom camp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed the Windows process on the CM wiki to the letter, so yeah I did the Heimdall also.
Mate legitimately I went from my stock firmware taking up so much space on the hard drive to the real lightweight CM, seeing as I haven't bought a micro SD yet that was a big deal. Also battery life was a major reason for me buying the S4 so to be able to further improve it is just hella.
siganid said:
Hey, no worries at all, anyone who works weekends can take all the time they need...
Yea, I've done some reading also and you're right, it seems to be all conjecture, I really doubt handset warranty refusal can be based on the KNOX Warranty chip. I think the Samsung Enterprise Security Group VP explains it well.Great to hear, based on this I can ge ahead and 'burn out' my eFuse, happy in the knowledge that my Knox warranty has gone to a good cause. :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Australia I think we're pretty good. Funny that Samsung and Optus have given us this nice present and it's only a matter of time before someone cracks it open and remains above the warranty voiding
I have read that Knox may be software-based, which would make sense, and maybe it's a matter of time before someone cracks that too. Hehe.
Go ahead, post here if you have any issues and I'll see if I can help you out. What ROM would you be planning on using? A 4.3.x one?

kaiserwatson said:
I followed the Windows process on the CM wiki to the letter, so yeah I did the Heimdall also.
Mate legitimately I went from my stock firmware taking up so much space on the hard drive to the real lightweight CM, seeing as I haven't bought a micro SD yet that was a big deal. Also battery life was a major reason for me buying the S4 so to be able to further improve it is just hella.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the rom flashing side
After read up more, I realize Odin is a more popular method for Galaxy S4 flashing,
Besides that, Stock rom battery life should also be all right. Samsung did quite some efforts to make the software user friendly.
Anyway, the Bloatware chunk are really irritating have to say.

because i cant keep still i have flashed my phone again lol.
i flashed the official CM 11 (4.4.2) and gapps for kitkat and all is working awesome so far.
no issues with losing signal when going to sleep. seems very fast. right now im happy with it.

Could someone please find new links for the original software posted in the OP?
Links are dead, would be greatly appreciated! =)
Also, Opelcalibra, you have no issues with network/signal on CM 4.4.2 with the Optus i9507?
I better give it a try then lol

RE: Signal issues
Hi,
I also have the AU i9507 Opus S4, I flashed the Omega based 4.4.2 KitKat (i9505 version) and had wifi problems (Greyed out) I tried various fixes and went back to 4.3 based Omega, this had its problems with cell signal being lost when locking the mobile.
I fixed this by going into settings and experimented with mobile networks i.e. Settings, more networks, mobile networks, network mode and tried all 4x options with (for me at least) the GSM ONLY option selected, great rom and worth losing the 4g which is very patchy in my part of Melbourne.
D

Anyone else had any sort of success rooting this phone without tripping Knox.
Also, is it just me, or does it suck pretty hard that we Aussies get stuck with an inferior version of a phone? (Snapdragon 600 in the I9507 vs the 800 in the other international versions)

Update
Hi
Just wondering if anyone has an update on this? Success or otherwise...
One of the main reasons I'm looking to root is to boost volume levels - I find the volume to be way too low. Does anyone know of a way to do that without rooting? Of course I'd like to remove bloatware but could live with it if volume was fixed.
Thanks in advance.

thestuntman80 said:
Anyone else had any sort of success rooting this phone without tripping Knox.
Also, is it just me, or does it suck pretty hard that we Aussies get stuck with an inferior version of a phone? (Snapdragon 600 in the I9507 vs the 800 in the other international versions)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bro, no one has cracked without tripping Knox yet because as far as I can tell it's a phone specific fix/hack. So, because our phone is a different and 'rare' model, I doubt that the major heads in the Knox-proofing scene (CF comes to mind) will have the time to make a fix for the knox trip. So for now, either suffer in your jocks (QQ) get a different phone (uh, not likely) or wait for the minute chance that someone actually cares about Aussies )
As for your second point, yeah, it does suck. We get shafted with all sorts of things like prices, release dates, localization...the list goes on. Unfortunately the people who make these ploys know we're desparate and will pay the exorbitant prices anyway :/
jameshef said:
Hi
Just wondering if anyone has an update on this? Success or otherwise...
One of the main reasons I'm looking to root is to boost volume levels - I find the volume to be way too low. Does anyone know of a way to do that without rooting? Of course I'd like to remove bloatware but could live with it if volume was fixed.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate, the rooting was probably the easiest part of the whole situation. You can follow my guide in the OP if you're having trouble. Just be aware about the warranty issues etc because your audio issue may be hardware related rather than software? Is the volume issue in the headphones or the speaker? Some apps may not utilise the phones full volume and also be sure to go into the settings of the phone and make sure the volume limiter is turned OFF. This **** me to tears for the longest time but once I figured out what the issue was, all good!
The only thing I'd say is just make sure its not a hardware issue because you don't want to root your phone, find out that it wasn't a software issue, take your phone into Samsung and have them tell you that your warranty is voided because you rooted. Obviously that's a worse case scenario but just be on the safe side.
I hope I helped you guys!

kaiserwatson said:
Hey mate, the rooting was probably the easiest part of the whole situation. You can follow my guide in the OP if you're having trouble. Just be aware about the warranty issues etc because your audio issue may be hardware related rather than software? Is the volume issue in the headphones or the speaker? Some apps may not utilise the phones full volume and also be sure to go into the settings of the phone and make sure the volume limiter is turned OFF. This **** me to tears for the longest time but once I figured out what the issue was, all good!
The only thing I'd say is just make sure its not a hardware issue because you don't want to root your phone, find out that it wasn't a software issue, take your phone into Samsung and have them tell you that your warranty is voided because you rooted. Obviously that's a worse case scenario but just be on the safe side.
I hope I helped you guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm fairly certain it's a software issue. I've done a fair bit of reading on it and the low volume is a very common complaint about the S4. My volute limiter is turned off - thanks for that tip though!
I'm going to try to root this weekend. I really hope that it works and I don't have any issues with reception dropping when the phone goes to sleep! Feels risky.

I've changed my firmware from Optus to XSA, but am still on 4.2.2, how do I upgrade now?
Kies says I have the latest release.

has anyone got links to newer modem files for this phone? been given one to update it to 4.4, but i know from experience that doing so without at least a 4.4 GSM modem, it wont behave right.
to the people without working wifi after updating: flash the Ktoonz kernel, he has a fix for that.

Hi All,
I recently updated to the new official 4.3 update from optus in order to update my baseband etc.
Then i immediately updated to the i9505 Goldeneye 4.4.2 rom. Ran a ebloat script to get rid of alot of the extras and its running very nicely.
Since updating the modem I get 4g at home which i never did before.
optus rom here
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=27109
flashed via odin (will lose root and custom recovery). re-root and install recovery after flashing this room.
goldeneye rom here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2313469
obviously this will flag knox, mine was flagged long ao

[Completed] Finally got my SM-T217a running 4.4.2 rooted

But because for so long the bootloader seemed unlockable, and because when they finally did get it unlocked, it was with a device that was almost 200$, there was a complete lack of development on this particular device once it was given the 4.4.2 upgrade. Over the course of a year, I have found many things about the tablet that I have been unable to find out on my own to get into.
I found that the tab 3 lte was actually designed as a really big phone, but the dialer, phone and dialer storage were blocked by AT&T, so even with a sim chip, the tablet just will not function as a phone without getting a VOIP app, and I really shouldnt have to considering that I have a perfectly good phablet capable of actual phone calls. I dont know how to use terminal emulator very well, or if the language changes drastically between versions of Android.
I was also wondering if it was actually possible to unlock the bootloader from Terminal emulator now that I have full root.
Is there a way of finding out if my current stock rom is one of those that have the SO- attached to the system folders so that I cant write anything to the system folders without reverting to out of the box system restore. And lastly, I was wondering if there was ever any custom recovery that was made for this device that would be usable now, considering that when the device came out it was on Jellybean, not kitkat. If anyone could help me I would be greatly appreciative. I know it sounds like a lot of work for a tablet , but I am not exactly overflowing with money to go and buy a new one. This was a gift and I just want to try to avoid bricking it when I just now finally got the damned things rooted.

TrustInSin said:
But because for so long the bootloader seemed unlockable, and because when they finally did get it unlocked, it was with a device that was almost 200$, there was a complete lack of development on this particular device once it was given the 4.4.2 upgrade. Over the course of a year, I have found many things about the tablet that I have been unable to find out on my own to get into.
I found that the tab 3 lte was actually designed as a really big phone, but the dialer, phone and dialer storage were blocked by AT&T, so even with a sim chip, the tablet just will not function as a phone without getting a VOIP app, and I really shouldnt have to considering that I have a perfectly good phablet capable of actual phone calls. I dont know how to use terminal emulator very well, or if the language changes drastically between versions of Android.
I was also wondering if it was actually possible to unlock the bootloader from Terminal emulator now that I have full root.
Is there a way of finding out if my current stock rom is one of those that have the SO- attached to the system folders so that I cant write anything to the system folders without reverting to out of the box system restore. And lastly, I was wondering if there was ever any custom recovery that was made for this device that would be usable now, considering that when the device came out it was on Jellybean, not kitkat. If anyone could help me I would be greatly appreciative. I know it sounds like a lot of work for a tablet , but I am not exactly overflowing with money to go and buy a new one. This was a gift and I just want to try to avoid bricking it when I just now finally got the damned things rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for using XDA Assist!
Please post here for further assistance:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-3/help
Your device experts are located there.
Good luck!
Thread closed.

XtreStoLite ROM with Canadian G920W8

Hey guys,
New to posting on xda but have used it in the past as a resource for all things android. Bought my Galaxy S6 shortly after it had been released and since then it has gotten progressively worse. I immediately noticed the mass amounts of useless apps loaded onto my device from the factory/service provider. It has gotten to the point that at any given time if I unlock my phone i can see that the ram usage is at 85% or higher. For a phone with these specifications I don't think that is acceptable at all.
Just last night I attempted to make some changes to the phone and had it soft brick on me. I was able to get it back up and running again (thankfully) using a factory image from Bell (im a Virgin Mobile customer). Now im stuck with the choice to allow the phone to automatically update to a newer version of the factory software or take the plunge and get something bloat free that will do the phone justice.
Looking for some insight as to how to go about this without making myself a $600 paper weight, as I know the different versions of the phone can cause compatibility issues.
Haven't seen too many posts from users in Canada so I'm hoping that I can at least pick someones brain on the topic.
Thanks in advance!