Database Info

Do not flash or wipe using any ics leak repack

Just saw this on Reddit. Not sure if anyone on the Skyrocket knows this or not.
Here is the OP: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1633938

No mentioning of our device in this post. This would mean we are not affected, or am I missing something?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Danielk425 said:
No mentioning of our device in this post. This would mean we are not affected, or am I missing something?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was about to ask the same thing!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

UCLD3 ICS leak for the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II (SGH-I777) - Other leaks may also be affected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's all I see there too. Hmmm.. But, that's not our device it's the "Other Leaks" that worries..

I'm not educated enough on all of this and may be way off base, but the Note is mentioned...could this be why some people have had serious issues related to using the leak Note modem?

Well considering the Samsung Galaxy S II is listed, even though it .is a different model, I would think it would be safe to assume that the Skyrocket could also be effected by this since it is kernel based.

Swisser said:
Well considering the Samsung Galaxy S II is listed, even though it .is a different model, I would think it would be safe to assume that the Skyrocket could also be effected by this since it is kernel based.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is also safe to assume that I will continue to use the leak. Happy star was day. May the forth be with you!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Our kernel is nothing like gs2 we have totally different hardware
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

Remember those mystery bricks we thought were user error months ago? I think this is device specific and not kernel or rom dependent. Called this months ago
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

dakpluto said:
I'm not educated enough on all of this and may be way off base, but the Note is mentioned...could this be why some people have had serious issues related to using the leak Note modem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was wondering the same thing.

Reminds me of smoking pot in the late 70's. You enjoyed it too much to stop, but you worried about paraquat.
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This belongs in general section I think
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

Anyone who's been using the leak and flashed stuff in CWM over 20 or so times yet?
Just curious. Haven't heard of too many people bricking in our community that (most likely) wasn't user error. Of course I'm excluding dev's.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA

slotstik04 said:
Anyone who's been using the leak and flashed stuff in CWM over 20 or so times yet?
Just curious. Haven't heard of too many people bricking in our community that (most likely) wasn't user error. Of course I'm excluding dev's.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lord knows I've flashed tons of ICS leak roms. No brick yet. But I also never had issues from the Note radio either.

That is disconcerting.
I guess there is no news yet what the source of the issue is exactly?

Here is my concern(s) with all of this. I'm not questioning the legitimacy of the original poster(s) of this, but:
A. Where is the origin of all of this? How was it discovered.
B. How can it be confirmed as a Kernel bug if it can't even be identified as to which exact source it originated from or how it works?
It seems to me that there will always be hard bricks when flashing because of user error, hardware failures, unexpected glitches, or a combination of all three. So how exactly was it determined that this is caused by a "bug" that Samsung put in certain kernels to hardbrick peoples phones?
Even though these are leaks and not "official" releases, Samsung would still be liable for damages because it is still reasonably argued that people will still use these leaks (even though unauthorized) and by doing so will damage their phones. Samsung would only purposely put a bug in the kernel for the sole purpose of damaging someone's phone. Thereby holding Samasung liable for knowingly damaging property. It is the same as if you put traps in your house to hurt people that might break in. You are still liable for enjuring them even though they illegally broke into your house because it is reasonable to assume that you knew the traps would cause harm. I'm not agreeing with it, but its is the law.
So people brick their phones. How do we know for sure it is due to a bug Samsung put in the kernel??

Yeah I am questioning the recommendation on recovery in the OP's link. The recovery has its own kernel, that does not seem to gel very well with that assessment (unless the recovery is using the same buggy kernel, at least the recovery I use for the SR, is based of 2.6.x kernel source).
But I will agree with the assessment that the buggy kernel (via ROM flash) can cause the eMMC corruption, although I would suspect the layers above (e.g. vold configuration, but cannot rule out kernel bug).

scott14719 said:
Here is my concern(s) with all of this. I'm not questioning the legitimacy of the original poster(s) of this, but:
A. Where is the origin of all of this? How was it discovered.
B. How can it be confirmed as a Kernel bug if it can't even be identified as to which exact source it originated from or how it works?
It seems to me that there will always be hard bricks when flashing because of user error, hardware failures, unexpected glitches, or a combination of all three. So how exactly was it determined that this is caused by a "bug" that Samsung put in certain kernels to hardbrick peoples phones?
Even though these are leaks and not "official" releases, Samsung would still be liable for damages because it is still reasonably argued that people will still use these leaks (even though unauthorized) and by doing so will damage their phones. Samsung would only purposely put a bug in the kernel for the sole purpose of damaging someone's phone. Thereby holding Samasung liable for knowingly damaging property. It is the same as if you put traps in your house to hurt people that might break in. You are still liable for enjuring them even though they illegally broke into your house because it is reasonable to assume that you knew the traps would cause harm. I'm not agreeing with it, but its is the law.
So people brick their phones. How do we know for sure it is due to a bug Samsung put in the kernel??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read through the thread that first brought the issue up. It is provided in that warning thread. Under various occasions did people brick simply by CWM on their GS2's. In each case, they have flashed their version of the UCLD leak via odin and concequently bricked after a few CWM flashes. There is some credibility to these claims. Entropy is a great dev-I'd take his word for it. I am so glad I didn't flash the UCLD leak onto my girlfriends S2. Stuck with AOKP
BUT this leaves us with the question: Are we infected as a variant of the gs2 family?
Their leak was also provided by an unnamed source through DG and at the same time as ours was leaked. But...
So far I haven't seen any claims in our forums about a CWM brick after our UCLD leak. But then again I have limited internet access right now and can't search our threads to see if there actually were any. (Just basing off what I've read in the forums since the leak came out)
Also, no one is putting Samsung to blame. They are all just trying to pinpoint the issue. We understand it is our choice to use a leak. (Same with any rom. No one blames the rom builder if their flash goes bad) So far all occcurences have been from flashing a few times after the UCLD leak like I mentioned before, so it indicates that it most likely has something to do with it.
Edit: sorry misread your post. I still don't think I could blame Samsung for it. Its our choice to flash anything onto our devices and we should be held liable.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA

From what I read it specified I-777. But still who knows for sure without further research.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Given the number and popularity of the many ICS roms for skyrocket and how many of them recommend one to three data wipes and system formats every time you flash it would seem like this is not a problem for the skyrocket.

[Q] Upgrade/Downgrade/headaches.

This is my first post here so please be gentle. I have a Note pro 12.2 (p900/WiFi) tablet that I purchased last year after 2 months of reading/doing research/and hands on between it and the Surface3 pro. Biggest problem was I had to go to Florida to actually get my hands on a Pro because no one in the tri state area (MD/PA/NJ) had it in stock or even as a display. And when I bought it i HAD to order it.
Past all that, the Note has been invaluable to me, 64GB plus 128GB card. I use it every day, 8-12 hours minimum. I have not rooted it because I am worried about support. I also have a Note 3 running 4.4.2 - I turned off the auto updates and have refused to allow the upgrade to Lollipop on that device because of all the problems I have been reading about. That device works perfectly. My wife's first S4 did and auto update which completely messed up that phone. So I have experience trying to get those children at the Sprint store to try to help. _anyway, I digress. Today, I checked, an update is available for the Note Pro (+1GB file to download by the looks of it) I would not mind trying it but first I want to do a complete backup snapshot of my device. Just like I do on my pc's and laptops. For example, I use Clonezilla and can image the whole thing, perfectly, and restore it COMPLETELY - at will. I have not found ANY tool that allows me to do that to ANY android device. It is like I am being help hostage. I hate it.
1. I want to be able to get a complete (Clonezilla style image) of my NOTE PRO and I want to be able to restore that should the Lollipop experience be Lollypoop.
2. I want to be able to capture that snapshot of the device with all its settings intact - including the Knox
Can this be done? What tool is there that allows a real complete snapshot of an android device and allows you to restore a previous or older version, SHOULD I CHOOSE TO (from 5.02 to 4.4.2 - something the Sprint children told me is not possible with android)
Any useful help and pointing into a direction that can do this would be greatly appreciated. I know that I am not alone in this frustration with Google forcibly controlling EVERYTHING ( I was livid last year when my Notes upgraded to 4.4.2 and I lost the ability to write to the external card on nearly every app that I had paid for, even sent multiple e-mails to Samsung, to no avail)

Following along
I'm curious about whether that is possible as well beyond a nandroid backup. I'm not likely to upgrade to the 5.02 firmware because I have the logitech keyboard case. If
I've been an XDA member for nearly 7 years, but I don't usually ask much in the way of questions. I hardly post at all, actually. I can usually find my answers by searching and reading the forums. This is my first Samsung device (I've always had either Nexus or HTC phones. & Nexus tablets) and I find working with it to be kind of frustrating. I've kept it stock at 4.4 because it works 95% of the time. The only problem I have is with wifi at times.
I'd like to put an alternate ROM on it and find a way to keep most of the S-pen functionality, but so far the array of "X works, but Y" doesn't info associated with various roms I've read about is daunting.

serious lack of understqnding
Can you imagine, making an upgrade and blowing out a major manufacturer like Logitec? Not some hokum chinese knockoff, but a name brand. This is exactly what is wrong with android. It seems inexperienced and oblivious children are driving it. That is one of the major reasons android was lacking serious professional support and respect all these years. Making boneheaded decisions that destroy existing functionality, for what? A new color scheme? A flat screen lay out? Really, thats what we need?
And when they PUSH the upgrades, its like you are trapped. A cloned backup and the ability to restore to a previous good setup is absolutely essential. I have looked at all these mods of the kernel and tweaks, etc. The fact is that NONE of them have 100% functionality. You always lose something, sometimes a lot. And the gains do not seem to be worth destroying the stock setup. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CAN NOT UNDO IT.
The loss of direct access to external sd cards for example, because google is pushing phones with no external sd slots. Really? I avoided apple products EXACTLY because there was no expansion slot. Then google goes and kills it.
Here is a suggestion. NOT ALL DEVICES ARE PHONES. Tablets have been around for years. Enough already with phone upgrades for tablets. Tablets should have their own firmware and operating system.
Here is a novel idea. You want loyal customers? Give them what they are clamoring for. Give them the ability to save their systems. Then upgrade fo your hearts content. BUT IF IT IS A CRAP UPGRADE. Allow them to undo it. Think about how much less bad feedback and emergency support you can avoid. Thats real dollars being save.
And by the way, as unresponsive as Samsung has been, they see the writing on the wall. Android on Samsung devices is heading the way of the dodo. Some skinned version of a tablet/phone linux replacement is coming. It will be one of the first major rejections of google power grab by a major player in the market.
So give us the ability to backup our systems. WITHOUT HAVING TO ROOT, when even that does not guarantee 100% sucess

and the list grows
Judging by the slew of problems, an ever increasing list, Lollipoop is so not a worthwhile upgrade. This is exactly why we need to be able to snapshot/backup the complete system BEFORE ANY UPDATES.
After two days of waiting, it is disappointing to me that no answer has been posted. I thought if any place had it it would be here. I might be wrong.

globalsearch said:
Judging by the slew of problems, an ever increasing list, Lollipoop is so not a worthwhile upgrade. This is exactly why we need to be able to snapshot/backup the complete system BEFORE ANY UPDATES.
After two days of waiting, it is disappointing to me that no answer has been posted. I thought if any place had it it would be here. I might be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you've guessed, you're basically looking for an answer that doesn't exist, at least not the specific one you want. The one you don't? . . . Root and install custom recovery? . . that's the only answer at this point . . and yes it trips Knox . . it is what it is . . Trust me, you're not the first or only person to lament about the situation. I've been up on my own soap box many times too.

ah..
muzzy996 said:
As you've guessed, you're basically looking for an answer that doesn't exist, at least not the specific one you want. The one you don't? . . . Root and install custom recovery? . . that's the only answer at this point . . and yes it trips Knox . . it is what it is . . Trust me, you're not the first or only person to lament about the situation. I've been up on my own soap box many times too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a premonition, considering how no one touched my question. You can get a lot of answers by just by asking the right question, even when they don't answer.
As long as Android remains attached to this childish, closed sandbox and its restrictions, then its days are numbered. From the standpoint of a business owner, if I was a major company with product in the pipeline that needs something to run as the basic operating system, I WOULD BE LOOKING SOMEPLACE ELSE.
Google is not the end-all be-all of software. There were other operating systems before them and there will be operating systems after they move into the dustbin of history. I hope they are paying attention here. I personally have been in the field since the mid-70's, I see a strong pattern here.
Anyway, thank you for flipping on the light bulb. I will contain my rage and re-direct it to something more productive (like those dweebs at Papyrus - jesus)

I was searching the forum looking for an answer to something like this... I have to say, I'm also shocked there have no answers given
regarding Knox... no you cannot restore that under any circumstances.
snapshot of everything else... yes and no. you cannot snapshot (aka nandroid aka twrp backup) your bootloader or STOCK recovery.
bootloader: you can only change this via Odin or OTA updates, and depending on the specific update cannot downgrade these below a certain point of the currently installed (if at all)
recovery:
you can freely flash new versions without a pc, but you cannot backup the stock recovery in a nandroid because the nandroid is generated using twrp -- a custom recovery that takes the place of stock recovery (mostly useless). if you find a copy of the stock recovery on the forum, you could then flash it back using Flashify from Google Play, but you'd then lose the ability to restore your nandroid until TWRP is restored.
also, you cannot take OTA updates while TWRP is installed, and in some cases at all / ever again after installing TWRP or root.
edit:
I can confirm that OF4 (the initial lollipop update) can be downgraded to NK1 (the newest kitkat update). if anyone can confirm for me whether or not OI1 can be downgraded to kitkat NK1 I would greatly appreciate it!

Depending on what version of Note Pro you have, LTE versions have locked bootloader, so they cannot downgrade.
Wifi Note Pro doesn't have locked bootloader, but downgrade from Lollipop to Kitkat you need bootloader for Kitkat along with the firmware NK1. If you read the threat LogicTech keyboard not working after update to Lollipop, you will see the link to Kitkat bootloader.
Without this bootloader, your tablet will hang at boot up after you flash the Kitkat firmware.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62371717&postcount=125
This is my current Lollipop OI1
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I downgrade it to NK1, this process only takes 5 minutes
I did it only for demonstration but personally I think Lollipop has a better graphic interface, then I go back to Lollipop .
I can go back and forth from Kitkat to Lollipop with ease as long as right bootloader is loaded.
Since I loaded the OH2, the tablet is updating now to OI1 and it's wifi version SM-P900 Note.

Beut said:
LTE versions have locked bootloader,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not entirely true.
The USA LTE versions have a locked bootloader.
The International P905, however, does not. (Device-locking of any kind is illegal under EU law.)
Now, whether you can downgrade the P905 I really can't say, because mine has been comfortably sitting on 4.4.2, and I have no desire to let Lollipop anywhere near it. :laugh: Just thought I'd clarify that the US and EU devices are not the same

ShadowLea said:
thought I'd clarify that the US and EU devices are not the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can post your tablet with back cover removed, I can tell if it's different from US device. I once opened a tablet sold in England, I did not see any differences from US device except the hardware code indicates it's not from US. I swap a mainboard from SM-P907A, an LTE tablet from AT&T to SM-P905V, an LTE tablet from Verizon, it runs normally except the software customized for AT&T. I don't change anything from the Verizon tablet, except the mainboard from AT&T.
Even with a LTE mainboard, I can use any part of a Wifi Note Pro SM-P900 except the rear camera as they are exactly the same.
Or I can change a LTE Note Pro to a Wifi Note Pro by swapping the mainboard and rear camera, the rest are identical.
From my experiences of varieties of Samsung tablets, I don't see any major differences of Note Pro LTE and Wifi versions as they almost use the same parts.
By using a mainboard of Tab Pro in a Note Pro tablet, I can even change a Note Pro to a Tab Pro as they are using the same parts except the Tab Pro mainboard doesn't have S Pen cable connector, it works normally as a Tab Pro.
That means I can downgrade a LTE Note Pro to Wifi Note Pro or Wifi Tab Pro by only swapping mainboard and rear camera.
Given the fact that LTE tablets sold in US have different names but actually they are Identical , I can tell Samsung makes the same tablet but the differences
are software and firmware loaded into it, like SM-P905A, SM-P907V, SM-P907T, they're branded by LTE providers but the hardwares are the same

YA 4.4.2 Bootloader Discussion

Hey there remaining Verizon S3 users!
Coming from my favorite device the T959V this has been quite a trip. This device's bootloader is seemingly impossible to unlock on the 4.4.2 NE1 firmware.
I've got a slightly modified Superlite rom rolling with SafeStrap already strapped. And it is great to say the least. Added some initd and utilities. Evie launcher is pretty nice btw- recommend a try :good:
However. I still really want this thing to be unlocked. The T959V has multiple working Fro, GB, ICS, JB, KK, L, M, AND Nougat ROMS. Totally different devices yes but-- even the newer S4-S6 have cracked loaders now.
There has to be a special way to change this things firmware.
Right now I have 2 ideas to throw out to the wind-
1- Would be that there could be a way to trick the device into thinking it is receiving a new update. Maybe somehow with CSC or something. Also I saw a file named authorized.xml and was reading through to find traces of knox. Would unauthorizing knox strings somehow render it useless?
2- I was reading a suggested post about AVB boots and how they can be resigned on devices such as the Google Pixel and allows the newer patches to still install. Including what was described as a forced re-sign method.
--- Could we somehow resign the bootloader on our device so as to gain control of it? Has anybody tried anything like this since around 2015?
I'll gladly talk about all of this more whenever I feel like popping on- and atm I have no web besides this service. :silly: so no DOS updates and no shiny linux for now.
Gladly tell me that it is "impossible" but I'm not asking that. I'm trying to add some ideas to possibly do the impossible.
Edit: This seems to be an interesting lead on emmc cracking this device. It's probably why people in other threads were in search of a "dev" edition.
http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f777/unlock-samsung-devices-bootloader-emmc-backdoor-2142981/

graycow9 said:
Hey there remaining Verizon S3 users!
Coming from my favorite device the T959V this has been quite a trip. This device's bootloader is seemingly impossible to unlock on the 4.4.2 NE1 firmware.
I've got a slightly modified Superlite rom rolling with SafeStrap already strapped. And it is great to say the least. Added some initd and utilities. Evie launcher is pretty nice btw- recommend a try :good:
However. I still really want this thing to be unlocked. The T959V has multiple working Fro, GB, ICS, JB, KK, L, M, AND Nougat ROMS. Totally different devices yes but-- even the newer S4-S6 have cracked loaders now.
There has to be a special way to change this things firmware.
Right now I have 2 ideas to throw out to the wind-
1- Would be that there could be a way to trick the device into thinking it is receiving a new update. Maybe somehow with CSC or something. Also I saw a file named authorized.xml and was reading through to find traces of knox. Would unauthorizing knox strings somehow render it useless?
2- I was reading a suggested post about AVB boots and how they can be resigned on devices such as the Google Pixel and allows the newer patches to still install. Including what was described as a forced re-sign method.
--- Could we somehow resign the bootloader on our device so as to gain control of it? Has anybody tried anything like this since around 2015?
I'll gladly talk about all of this more whenever I feel like popping on- and atm I have no web besides this service. :silly: so no DOS updates and no shiny linux for now.
Gladly tell me that it is "impossible" but I'm not asking that. I'm trying to add some ideas to possibly do the impossible.
Edit: This seems to be an interesting lead on emmc cracking this device. It's probably why people in other threads were in search of a "dev" edition.
http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f777/unlock-samsung-devices-bootloader-emmc-backdoor-2142981/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been around this and many many other forums for years now. If there was an unlock method it would of been found years ago. Devs have long moved on from the old S3. I still have my S3 lying around, bootloader unlocked but I really haven't messed around with it for quite a long time now
And yes the dev edition would of been nice had someone actually had one, it would of of course made it easier to crack the bootloader option maybe. I don't know much about the ins and outs of the device but I know many are permanently locked and will probably never be unlocked.
As far as certain other Samsung devices being unlocked those are far and few between. VZW got smart and started just locking them from the start. This is a huge reason why I left Verizon. The S3 was my last device on big red. I since have had a Nexus 5 and 6 and now a oneplus 3t. I really don't like locked devices and the ability to unlock them and customize them just intrigues me to no end. Good luck however in finding something that may work, but I highly doubt it will ever be cracked
Sent from my OnePlus 3T

Ya I expected your negatude Shapes. Already seen that you have been searching but it isn't just some application you run. It's an unknown exploit that I'm sure exists. There are exploits right now that can be considered viral potentially exploiting my device as we speak. Maybe not granted my semi-precautious take on things.
Quadrooter and dirty cow could be used to exploit the S3 and gain access to a quoted "all" physical memory. So I find it hard to believe that things can't work in our favor.
Being open minded here. After all, this is technically hacking your own device. Which--
Got me thinking the other day, becausr I was setting up my laptop proper- could we run a nix distro and poke through the bootloader's parameters via exploitation tools? Referencing Kali or it's elder BTrack. But I think it is possible and I just haven't gotten around this loop mounting issue.
To be clear, running a distro ON the device. My flat is already running square.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Also a purposely separate post- I'm building a ROM for this locked firmware and the goal is to have some specific updated apps and yet trim it nicely so as to save space and RAM it's mostly stock style-wise but it'd be cool to re-theme it. I haven't gotten things deodexed yet- being I haven't gotten my apktools working proper yet.
Is there anybody left to be interested in this? I haven't posted anything I've made before- usually just keep them lying around for emergency flashes.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

graycow9 said:
Ya I expected your negatude Shapes. Already seen that you have been searching but it isn't just some application you run. It's an unknown exploit that I'm sure exists. There are exploits right now that can be considered viral potentially exploiting my device as we speak. Maybe not granted my semi-precautious take on things.
Quadrooter and dirty cow could be used to exploit the S3 and gain access to a quoted "all" physical memory. So I find it hard to believe that things can't work in our favor.
Being open minded here. After all, this is technically hacking your own device. Which--
Got me thinking the other day, becausr I was setting up my laptop proper- could we run a nix distro and poke through the bootloader's parameters via exploitation tools? Referencing Kali or it's elder BTrack. But I think it is possible and I just haven't gotten around this loop mounting issue.
To be clear, running a distro ON the device. My flat is already running square.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think shapes was trying to act negative at all, just stating the obvious. Nobody is going to try to unlock the Verizon S3, it's pretty much a dead end.
The unlock method used on the S5 will most likely work on this phone, but we need a developer CID to rewrite to the emmc as the series chip used on the S3 likely has the same vulnerability. This is what happened on the S5.
If you read some of the other posts (sounds like you have), we looked for an S3 developer edition but had no luck in tracking one down. For one, it's an incredibly old device. Secondly, you'd have to be semi retarded to purchase one as the original unlock method was around before the developer edition was released.
So yes, if you can find a developer S3 this will likely be an unlock method. It tricks the S3 into thinking it's a developer phone and unlocks the bootloader if the method to write it works the same as in the S5.
As for your questions,
1. I think you're underestimating the amount of security that goes into the bootloader itself. If you want to learn a lot about Android security in general, in the Android security discussion section located under general forums, there's tons of info regarding how complex this all is. But basically, in order to send an update patch, it needs to be signed (you can't just fake the signature) and it must agree with the current bootloader. The way the bootloader is written, it simply won't allow a reversion back to earlier versions or it'll abort the boot.
An easier way to think of this is understanding that the changes made are preinstalled before the actual boot. There's no way for us to change this through normal methods as the emmc has to be written to directly. There is no way to do this from download or recovery mode. Wouldn't matter if you flashed it or used and update package, they are essentially the same thing.
So the only way to actually change the bootloader is to write to the emmc directly through use of the JTAG port. This changes the code of the entire bootloader before the boot and the phone will boot up with any version of the S3 bootloader you write.
2. I think I kind of answered that?
Hope it's clear.

BadUsername said:
I don't think shapes was trying to act negative at all, just stating the obvious. Nobody is going to try to unlock the Verizon S3, it's pretty much a dead end.
The unlock method used on the S5 will most likely work on this phone, but we need a developer CID to rewrite to the emmc as the series chip used on the S3 likely has the same vulnerability. This is what happened on the S5.
If you read some of the other posts (sounds like you have), we looked for an S3 developer edition but had no luck in tracking one down. For one, it's an incredibly old device. Secondly, you'd have to be semi retarded to purchase one as the original unlock method was around before the developer edition was released.
So yes, if you can find a developer S3 this will likely be an unlock method. It tricks the S3 into thinking it's a developer phone and unlocks the bootloader if the method to write it works the same as in the S5.
As for your questions,
1. I think you're underestimating the amount of security that goes into the bootloader itself. If you want to learn a lot about Android security in general, in the Android security discussion section located under general forums, there's tons of info regarding how complex this all is. But basically, in order to send an update patch, it needs to be signed (you can't just fake the signature) and it must agree with the current bootloader. The way the bootloader is written, it simply won't allow a reversion back to earlier versions or it'll abort the boot.
An easier way to think of this is understanding that the changes made are preinstalled before the actual boot. There's no way for us to change this through normal methods as the emmc has to be written to directly. There is no way to do this from download or recovery mode. Wouldn't matter if you flashed it or used and update package, they are essentially the same thing.
So the only way to actually change the bootloader is to write to the emmc directly through use of the JTAG port. This changes the code of the entire bootloader before the boot and the phone will boot up with any version of the S3 bootloader you write.
2. I think I kind of answered that?
Hope it's clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Truthfully after being around the forums for as long as I have I'm really surprised there is any interest in unlocking this device at this point in time. There are just so many other options and unlocked vzw s3s are not that hard to come by.
And I wasn't being negative it's about being realistic. Thanks for sticking up for me brother
Sent from my OnePlus 3T

Are there any updates to this by any chance, I am interested :C

any hope?

Are there any phones actually worth rooting anymore?

Due to a little frustration I decided to create a whole thread for this.
I suck at computers and I have no idea what I am doing so I ended up bricking my device lmao.
In theory, the thought of rooting your device, and installing a custom OS sounds great! (Like communism) but when put in practice never really works out. The reason for that (I think) is because there are so many different versions, models, and brands. I end up spending all my time trying to refine my search to the right software and versions, and then when I do, I am stuck with some stupid site like (every damn rom site) with a 20kb/s download rate, and a page full of ads! Why? Because they are storing like 2 billion different 2GB roms. In my opinion paying for faster download speed from these websites is ridiculous. I don't even know why they offer (you would have to be stupid(like me)).
(tl;dr: Android SUCKS)
So, now to my actual question...
With the release of the Librem 5 phone, there really is not going to be a point to rooting phones anymore, because google with already be decimated from it... But that comes out in April/May and I still need a phone in the meantime.
So.. Are there any cheap phones ($500+/-), that are not a pain in the ass to root? And one that the developers actually care about to actively develop. All I wan't is a phone I can install stock android with root, and that can be installed without google or gapps. Also I live in Canada, which is another reason why it's a pain in the ass to find a decent phone because all our carriers deadbolt their firmware, and bootloaders like their storing the coordinates to some secret location with a pot of gold.

starscrpt said:
Due to a little frustration I decided to create a whole thread for this.
I suck at computers and I have no idea what I am doing so I ended up bricking my device lmao.
In theory, the thought of rooting your device, and installing a custom OS sounds great! (Like communism) but when put in practice never really works out. The reason for that (I think) is because there are so many different versions, models, and brands. I end up spending all my time trying to refine my search to the right software and versions, and then when I do, I am stuck with some stupid site like (every damn rom site) with a 20kb/s download rate, and a page full of ads! Why? Because they are storing like 2 billion different 2GB roms. In my opinion paying for faster download speed from these websites is ridiculous. I don't even know why they offer (you would have to be stupid(like me)).
(tl;dr: Android SUCKS)
So, now to my actual question...
With the release of the Librem 5 phone, there really is not going to be a point to rooting phones anymore, because google with already be decimated from it... But that comes out in April/May and I still need a phone in the meantime.
So.. Are there any cheap phones ($500+/-), that are not a pain in the ass to root? And one that the developers actually care about to actively develop. All I wan't is a phone I can install stock android with root, and that can be installed without google or gapps. Also I live in Canada, which is another reason why it's a pain in the ass to find a decent phone because all our carriers deadbolt their firmware, and bootloaders like their storing the coordinates to some secret location with a pot of gold.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get something that is not a Samsung, not carrier branded(an international model) and is factory unlocked or can be unlocked.
I suggest you just do some searching to find some devices that you are interested in, then write down the model number of each device and then do some Google searches using those model numbers one at a time to see if a known rooting method exists for each model, then do some Google searching to see if TWRP exists for each model number, then do some searches to see if there are ROMs available for each model number.
We can't predict the future and say which devices will have a rooting method, we can only point you to devices that have already had a known rooting method discovered for that model, you can find that information yourself by doing the Google searches listed below.
To find root methods for the devices:
"Root for (specific device model number here)"
That should find root method for the device in question.
To find TWRP or custom recovery for the devices:
"TWRP for (specific device model number here)"
Or
"Custom recovery for (specific device model number here)"
That should find TWRP or custom recovery if it exists for the device in question.
To find custom ROMs for the devices:
"Custom ROMs for (specific device model number here)"
That should find ROMs if they exist for the device in question.
You might want to consider getting an international device directly from the manufacturer that is factory unlocked or can be unlocked(also known as SIM/carrier unlocked) instead of getting a carrier branded/sold device. Factory direct doesn't come with bloatware and unlocked/unlockable means it should be able to be activated on your carrier network.
Also, make sure the device has a factory unlocked bootloader(this is not the same thing as SIM/carrier unlocked) or can at least be unlocked using a known and verified unlock method. The unlocked bootloader is required if you want to flash custom recovery or custom ROMs.
If you just want to use the stock firmware and modify it to remove the Google stuff, unlocked bootloader won't be required for that. But, if you are going to just modify the stock software already on the device, I will advise you to make sure that the stock firmware for that device is available for download and then download a copy of it just in case you mess something up in the process of removing Google and its components, then you can just flash the firmware on the device to fix it(if you don't screw it up too bad, that is).
I would really recommend that you choose a device that has:
1) an unlocked/unlockable bootloader so that you can flash TWRP on the device
2) has an available downloadable stock firmware so that you can repair the device, if needed
3) has a TWRP recovery available so it can be installed on the device and then used to create a backup of your unmodified stock ROM, then you can modify the device and if you screw something up, you can use TWRP to restore the backup that you create, this will return the device to working condition.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven pretty much covered it extremely well.
With regards to rooting:
It often can raise the stress levels beyond normal. Set aside time and take each step slowly and deliberately. Some guides can be much worse than others.
PS. Your idea of a cheap phone is at least 3x the cost of my idea of a cheap phone

The Asus Zenfone 6 just released bootloader unlock and kernel source so there should be a fairly healthy dev community when its released in the US.
The librem 5 ?? I dunno , on my list for sure . but hardware specs soundsmeh for the price . And will we be able to install ubuntu software like clementine music play ? jeez if so that would make up for the lack hardware.
looks like 2019 q3 is going to be an exciting time. I want the zenfone 6 but I dunno..... that librem 5 ubuntu phone is going to need to be checked out once rc is released .

a novice question about Exynos?

I apologise ahead of time if this is a dumb question but I don't know the answer so I've come here to find out.
I am looking to upgrade from my very old Samsung Note 4 SM-N910V to a newer device that can be rooted. I am considering the Note 20 Ultra but I read that only the phones using the Exynos chipset can be rooted. I am in the US and use Verizon. Will a Note phone using Exynos work for me here in the States?
I love the functionality of my Note 4 and had hoped to stick with the Note line but I am open to suggestions too if anyone has an idea of a better device that performs similar to what I have (something about old dogs and new tricks comes to mind).
Thanks in advance and I apologise again if this is something I am supposed to know already

The Snapdragon variant is preferable but hard to root. I keep my N10+'s stock, use a package disabler and Karma Firewall. They run well.
Android 11 and 12 are dogs. There are still new N10+'s available running on Android 10.
Be careful buying a N20U's or N10+'s, a lot of scamming, misleading specs, etc going on.
Lol, either way brace yourself for future shock.

blackhawk said:
The Snapdragon variant is preferable but hard to root. I keep my N10+'s stock, use a package disabler and Karma Firewall. They run well.
Android 11 and 12 are dogs. There are still new N10+'s available running on Android 10.
Be careful buying a N20U's or N10+'s, a lot of scamming, misleading specs, etc going on.
Lol, either way brace yourself for future shock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I thought about keeping it stock too. I just don't care for all the bloatware and the crappy updates that are designed to make your phone fail.
Incidentally and regarding updates, I ended up proving this to myself by accident when I bought a replacement Note 4 several years ago after my original quit fast charging after an update and quit reading the sd card. They were separate issues and the phone had one day left on its warranty so they gave me an S7. I hated it and bought another Note 4 on ebay. I started installing updates and discovered that the update after 5.1.1 caused the phone not to fast charge. I reset and tried again, same thing. After a few more attempts, I concluded the update was at fault so I rooted it with the 5.1.1 system and it's been running great since. The update at fault just happened to be released around the same time as when the next Note version was coming out. It could all just be coincidence but there was so much talk about phone companies creating updates that intentionally make your phone run like crap just to get consumers to buy new ones that I felt what I found going on with the update was just another example of the same thing (phone manufacturers deliberately causing phones to fail so consumers will buy more).
Other than replacing screens, I haven't had any problems at all with my Note 4. I would keep it forever if it wasn't for this 5g bs. They already started modifying towers near where I work and I cannot send or receive texts or calls within 3 to 4 blocks of my office. I can have full 4g service with 4 bars but as soon as I try to call someone, the service drops completely and goes to zero bars. When I try to text, I get a message saying there's no service available and the message will be sent when it becomes available. The phone works flawlessly everywhere else in my area but not there. I have complained several times to Verizon but they won't do anything but offer me more crap to buy. So upgrading is unfortunately inevitable.

fosgate3 said:
Thanks for the reply. I thought about keeping it stock too. I just don't care for all the bloatware and the crappy updates that are designed to make your phone fail.
Incidentally and regarding updates, I ended up proving this to myself by accident when I bought a replacement Note 4 several years ago after my original quit fast charging after an update and quit reading the sd card. They were separate issues and the phone had one day left on its warranty so they gave me an S7. I hated it and bought another Note 4 on ebay. I started installing updates and discovered that the update after 5.1.1 caused the phone not to fast charge. I reset and tried again, same thing. After a few more attempts, I concluded the update was at fault so I rooted it with the 5.1.1 system and it's been running great since. The update at fault just happened to be released around the same time as when the next Note version was coming out. It could all just be coincidence but there was so much talk about phone companies creating updates that intentionally make your phone run like crap just to get consumers to buy new ones that I felt what I found going on with the update was just another example of the same thing (phone manufacturers deliberately causing phones to fail so consumers will buy more).
Other than replacing screens, I haven't had any problems at all with my Note 4. I would keep it forever if it wasn't for this 5g bs. They already started modifying towers near where I work and I cannot send or receive texts or calls within 3 to 4 blocks of my office. I can have full 4g service with 4 bars but as soon as I try to call someone, the service drops completely and goes to zero bars. When I try to text, I get a message saying there's no service available and the message will be sent when it becomes available. The phone works flawlessly everywhere else in my area but not there. I have complained several times to Verizon but they won't do anything but offer me more crap to buy. So upgrading is unfortunately inevitable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the carriers that update trash the phones. AT&T, Verizon are partnered with Samsung and actively spec the firmware. AT&T broke my S4+ with the Lollipop update. It changed the layout from line to a grid one for many system apps making it next to unusable. Yet the newer AT&T models running on Lollipop still had the line format on apps like contacts. So yeah, carriers deliberately break phones...
No root is needed especially on newer phones and may destroy features you want.
You'll want to use a a package disabler though.
You can easily block firmware updates with it.
4G LTE will be around for at least 5 years if not longer. That's not an issue. Not sure what the N4's specs are. The N10+ 4G works fine.
Check Access point names, this is the current AT&T one:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Try a network reset on your end, clear sim toolkit data and clear the system cache.
Try creating a new profile with the current carrier access point info. Talk to the carrier advance tech support about this. Have them do a network reset on their end.

blackhawk said:
It's the carriers that update trash the phones. AT&T, Verizon are partnered with Samsung and actively spec the firmware. AT&T broke my S4+ with the Lollipop update. It changed the layout from line to a grid one for many system apps making it next to unusable. Yet the newer AT&T models running on Lollipop still had the line format on apps like contacts. So yeah, carriers deliberately break phones...
No root is needed especially on newer phones and may destroy features you want.
You'll want to use a a package disabler though.
You can easily block firmware updates with it.
4G LTE will be around for at least 5 years if not longer. That's not an issue. Not sure what the N4's specs are. The N10+ 4G works fine.
Check Access point names, this is the current AT&T one:
View attachment 5457313
Try a network reset on your end, clear sim toolkit data and clear the system cache.
Try creating a new profile with the current carrier access point info. Talk to the carrier advance tech support about this. Have them do a network reset on their end.xzc
blackhawk said:
It's the carriers that update trash the phones. AT&T, Verizon are partnered with Samsung and actively spec the firmware. AT&T broke my S4+ with the Lollipop update. It changed the layout from line to a grid one for many system apps making it next to unusable. Yet the newer AT&T models running on Lollipop still had the line format on apps like contacts. So yeah, carriers deliberately break phones...
No root is needed especially on newer phones and may destroy features you want.
You'll want to use a a package disabler though.
You can easily block firmware updates with it.
4G LTE will be around for at least 5 years if not longer. That's not an issue. Not sure what the N4's specs are. The N10+ 4G works fine.
Check Access point names, this is the current AT&T one:
View attachment 5457313
Try a network reset on your end, clear sim toolkit data and clear the system cache.
Try creating a new profile with the current carrier access point info. Talk to the carrier advance tech support about this. Have them do a network reset on their end.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my phone, I do not have an option to reset the network--or at least not one that is easily found. When I go to Settings and then to Backup and Reset, I have an option for "Factory Data Reset" and "Reset settings". I haven't used either because I am worried I will lose root and I don't want to have to go through the trouble of re-rooting it again (I don't even know if I can find the thread I followed when I first did it years ago). I think I would lose root with the first option but I'm not sure about the second. I thought it would be under the "More Networks" option but it isn't. I can't find SIM toolkit under the Manage Applications setting so I'm not sure how to reset it.
I know I've had the phone forever and I probably should know all these details but to be honest, I never needed to do anything like this before. Everything simply worked until mid-July of this year and then suddenly, I had all the problems I described around my office (and it seems to be *only* around my office).

It's in Settings under Connections.
I'm pretty sure my S4+ running on Kitkat had it.
How it looks on the N10+ Pie:

Unfortunately, I do not have an option for Connections. Here's what I have in order as it appears when I scroll...

fosgate3 said:
Unfortunately, I do not have an option for Connections. Here's what I have in order as it appears when I scroll...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I go to Backup and reset, I have this...

Under more networks

blackhawk said:
Under more networks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought too but nada...

fosgate3 said:
That's what I thought too but nada...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And under Mobile networks (the next logical place)...

Try this.
Settings> General management>Reset>Reset network settings
It should be on that reset menu above the factory reset option.

I wish I could but I don't have General management settings listed anywhere.
The only option I have to reset anything is under "Backup and reset", where I am given a choice to either do a Factory Data Reset or Reset Settings. I don't know what Reset Settings will do and if it will affect root access so I've never used it.

This is all I have to choose from under Backup and reset...

fosgate3 said:
This is all I have to choose from under Backup and reset...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And when I select "Reset settings", I get this...

So I don't know where I would go to reset my network settings. I don't know why there isn't an option anywhere. As for the SIM toolkit, I don't know where to find it. I know it exists because I can see it listed in an app I use to freeze or remove unwanted programs called Chef's Freezer. But I don't know how to access it, use it, or clear the cache.

fosgate3 said:
And when I select "Reset settings", I get this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not it.
Just booted and looked through my S4+, nothing.
Guess I'm wrong. Damn that's so painful to navigate and slow compared to my N10+, think I lost a couple IQ points just using it
I'll play with it more latter...

fosgate3 said:
So I don't know where I would go to reset my network settings. I don't know why there isn't an option anywhere. As for the SIM toolkit, I don't know where to find it. I know it exists because I can see it listed in an app I use to freeze or remove unwanted programs called Chef's Freezer. But I don't know how to access it, use it, or clear the cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should show as a system app.

I found the SIM Toolkit. I was looking in the wrong place in app manager. Is it strange that the cache us empty?

And now, as of tonight, it is starting to do the same thing here at my house. When I try to text, I am getting a message stating there's no service in spite of having two bars which is enough to send a text. When I try to make a call, the bars immediately disappear and the call is stuck on "dialing" but us never made. When I hang up, the bars reappear.