I can't keep my mirror up due to increasing need for more space with all the projects I'm working on, sorry guys.
DOWNLOAD
You can find Odin at:
https://build.nethunter.com/samsung-tools
I am no longer hosting firmware for the Note 3. fw.updato.com provides an alternative, and allows wget/curl. (with --referer="link to the download page"))
Example:
N900W8VLU2DPG1 - MTA clicked on at http://updato.com/firmware-archive-select-model?q=N900W8
Code:
wget "http://fws01.updato.com/GALAXYNOTE3/SM-N900W8/BMC/SM-N900W8_1_20160729160241_v4dg1gvbce.zip" --referer="http://updato.com/firmware-archive-select-model?record=3C39D6E6701111E69B2DFA163EE8F90B"
READ INSTRUCTIONS BELOW, OR IT WON'T STICK AFTER FLASHING!
Each zip file contains a _HOME.tar.md5 containing each flashable partition of your device. You can flash the entire tar.md5 for a complete factory restore, or you can extract individual partitions and re-tar them to make individual flashable partition files. There's a tool for tarring them here:
https://build.nethunter.com/samsung-tools/img2tar.zip
GETTING YOUR FIRMWARE TO STICK
When flashing bootloaders (BL) and modems (CP), you must cold boot your phone for the flash to succeed.
To perform a cold boot into Odin, follow these instructions carefully:
Power down your phone
Unplug any cables from your phone
Pull the back cover off and remove the battery completely
Place the battery back in your phone (there is no need to wait)
Place 1 finger on volume down key, and 1 finger on home key
While holding those keys down, place another finger on the power key
Release the finger from the power key when you feel a vibrate
Release your other fingers once you see the Odin warning screen
You may plug your phone cable back into the phone now, or after the next step
Press volume up key to enter Download mode
SOME ODIN OPTIONS EXPLAINED
Auto Reboot - Once the firmware finishes flashing, the phone will attempt to reboot into your current ROM
Re-Partition - Used to flash a PIT file over the current one. See more information below.
F. Reset Time - Enabled by default. Not entirely sure what it does yet.
Nand Erase All - May have different effects on other devices. On the Note 3, it wipes the just the userdata partition to zeros. (your ROM settings, apps, and internal storage)
Phone Bootloader Update - Doesn't seem necessary to select when flashing bootloaders from cold boot, so unsure of purpose.
Phone EFS Clear - Reformats your EFS partition. This deletes calibration data and some small caches, you will want to flash full stock ROM when using this so it can properly restore itself. It's safe to use, and won't wipe your IMEI.
I advise not touching the other options!
When flashing firmware, you can and should leave the default options selected. Confirm that it is just Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time.
RE-PARTITIONING
Re-partitioning may be necessary in the rare scenario that updating to a newer firmware requires more storage than is available in the current layout.
It is possible to back up your PIT file (partition layout) for flashing in Odin later on or sharing with others that are having trouble flashing firmware that you were able to successfully flash.
PIT files are model specific!
Do not flash a PIT file for N9005 on an N900W8 for example. The partition layout will end up pointing to the wrong locations and you'll end up with a blank IMEI / EFS partition or worse.
If you want to back up your PIT file, you must have a rooted phone or be in TWRP which is an environment already running with root privileges.
Executing these commands will back up your PIT to a file (your-device-name.pit) on your internal storage:
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of="/sdcard/$(getprop ro.product.name).pit" bs=16 skip=1088 count=257
You can open the PIT file in a text editor and make sure it starts with v˜4 to be ensure validity.
Restoring a PIT file is as simple as using the PIT tab in Odin and putting it in the box there, then selecting the Re-Partition checkbox in Options tab. Re-Partitioning will not delete any data, however if your PIT file varies from your previous then partition locations may point to completely different places resulting in a no longer functioning modem or worse, a bricked phone.
WIPING YOUR DATA FOR RESALE
You can use the Nand Erase All option in Odin to make your Userdata partition unrecoverable. When the Userdata partition is nand secure erased, all data on it becomes zeros.
In order for Nand Erase option to work, you need to fill an Odin slot. Flashing your bootloader in the BL slot is usually a safe method.
Most ROMs (kernel boot images actually) can't recover from this and will not boot. In order to fix this you have to boot into a recovery.
In TWRP: Go to Wipe -> Format Data -> type "yes" -> Go
In stock recovery: Use the "factory data reset" option
Both of these perform identical procedures that restore a proper format and ext4 layout to your Userdata partition.
ROMs should now be able to boot.
You can confirm through TWRP that your userdata partition has indeed been secure erased by typing in adb or terminal:
hexdump /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata
It should display:
0000000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
*
After a few minutes it should complete. The asterisk means that hexdump found that same last row of data (0000...) repeating.
CHANGES
2016-02-26 - Add Nordic SM-N9005XX firmware N9005XXUGPOK2
2016-01-12 - Add SM-N9005XX firmware N9005XXUGBOL3 and N9005XXUGBOJ2 (modem)
2016-01-01 - Add Mexican SM-N900W8UB firmware N900W8UBU2DOL1 and N900W8UBU2DOK1 (modem)
2016-01-01 - Add T-Mobile SM-N900T firmware N900TUVUFOL1
2016-01-01 - Add Exynos SM-N900XX firmware N900XXUEBOL2
2015-12-18 - Add Exynos SM-N900UB firmware N900UBUEBOK1
2015-12-15 - Add Exynos SM-N900XX firmware N900XXUEBOK7 and N900XXUEBOK3 (modem)
2015-12-15 - Add Exynos SM-N900ZS firmware N900ZSUEBOK3 and N900XXUEBOK3 (modem)
2015-12-15 - Add SM-N9005DX firmware N9005DXUGBOK3
2015-12-15 - Add SM-N9005XX firmware N9005XXUGBOK9 and N9005XXUGBOD3 (modem)
2015-12-15 - Add SM-N9005ZS firmware N9005ZSUGOK2
2015-12-15 - Add KT Corporation SM-N900K firmware N900KKKU0GOK3 & N900KKKUGOJ4 (modem) (thanks to Freyelis)
2015-12-11 - Add SK Telecom SM-N900S firmware N900SKSU0GOK3 & N900SKSU0GOJ4 (modem)
2015-12-11 - Add LG Uplus SM-N900L firmware N900LKLU0GOK3
2015-12-02 - Add Sprint SM-N900P firmware N900PVPUEOK2
Why
fingerprinted said:
Why
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I just wanna fit in with everybody else!!!!!!!!11
It just seems like a better idea to make all the latest modems and bootloaders for every variant easily available for people who don't want to wipe their custom ROMs or in case of emergencies.
Everything seems to be spread out among multiple threads, and some variants don't even have firmware threads.
Also this post gives me somewhere to send people to when I need it, regardless of what Note 3 variant they have!
Your profile made me chuckle, interests :single females
fingerprinted said:
Your profile made me chuckle, interests :single females
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its kinda look cute and honest. Btw,Thanks for a great work.
You are a very organized man, amazing work. Thank you
+1 very neat thread and you can get the files easily. Oh almost forgot to mention that your guide is very detailed.
There are numerous threads regarding Bootloader and Modems, but none as good as this .
Thanks for the effort mate, while this is supposed to be for Note 3, some information inside has a lot of stuff inside worthy of forwarding people to, pretty much a lot of general Samsung stuff explained.
:good:
EDIT: just wanted to add one thing. Sammy tends to confuse us, and we tend to inherit that confusion to other users. I.e, CP and BL are not consistently the same, we have right now K6 as a BL, but the modem seems still to be K1.
We should have a way to identify the real internals through *OUR* naming conventions.
guys
I am facing very low gsm signals after installing a custom rom
I cleaned flashed it wiping al that was needed
Anyway to check if i am using a wrong modem where i am located?
Question
I am having SM-n900k. Can I flash bootloaders from another model? I am sick of korean language in the download mode.
5.1.1 BL and CP?
I using N900W8 (hltcan) on 5.1.1 and im facing some Camera issues, some memers suggested me to update my BL.
This is my BL and CP version; n900w8UBUCNH1
im trying to flash OK6 BL and CP but odin fails every time (FAILED! auth)
(Does OK6 is a newer version? maybe thats the problem)
I've already disabled Device manager, remote controls and reactivation lock.
This:
BL UBU2DOI2
CP UBU2DOE4
are a newer version than UBUCNH1? do they work on 5.1.1?
thanks in advance!
HazeMC said:
I using N900W8 (hltcan) on 5.1.1 and im facing some Camera issues, some memers suggested me to update my BL.
This is my BL and CP version; n900w8UBUCNH1
im trying to flash OK6 BL and CP but odin fails every time (FAILED! auth)
(Does OK6 is a newer version? maybe thats the problem)
I've already disabled Device manager, remote controls and reactivation lock.
This:
BL UBU2DOI2
CP UBU2DOE4
are a newer version than UBUCNH1? do they work on 5.1.1?
thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes those are the ones you should flash if you want to update. for N900W8, CNxx is KitKat (4.4), 2DOxx is Lollipop (5.0)
OK6 is for international/N9005XX models only, which is why it failed auth, and good thing it does or you'd have bricked your phone!
your camera issues are more likely related to incompatible kernel and proprietary .so files (they need to match up)
these are a few possible paths that commands can take to the hardware, sorted by most common to least common AFAIK:
1. android -> translation layer & extra functions libraries (proprietary .so files) -> kernel -> hardware
2. android -> kernel -> hardware
3. android -> translation layer & extra functions libraries (proprietary .so files) -> kernel -> firmware -> hardware
4. android -> kernel -> firmware -> hardware
see the firmware stage of communication. sometimes this firmware is included as part of the kernel, and the respective kernel drivers will flash the firmware for you if it needs updating. sometimes, very rarely, the firmware will be part of the modem or bootloader binaries instead of flashed from kernel. this is a situation where updating bootloader/modem could potentially help.
this is only from reading lots of samsung kernel sources, so some of it is only assumed. i can't know everything.
if anyone wants to share more accurate information than what i can provide, we would all be thankful!
Whats the lastest bootloader and modem for sm-n9005
im using cm13
now i have
CP_N9005XXUGPOF3.tar.md5
BL_N9005XXUGPOF3.tar.md5
sajmon1983 said:
Whats the lastest bootloader and modem for sm-n9005
im using cm13
now i have
CP_N9005XXUGPOF3.tar.md5
BL_N9005XXUGPOF3.tar.md5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For N9005XX, OK6 is the latest bootloader, OJ1 is the latest modem. XXUGP series is specific to Nordic regions like Finland, Sweden, etc. only as far as I can tell.
There's probably no difference in bootloader and modem code between the XXUGB and XXUGP series.
In any case, OI2 is the latest bootloader and modem for the N9005XXUGP Nordic firmware. I will add it to the mirror soon. (it's added now)
is there any reason to update to the latest bootloader/modem?
(I use XSP firmware. haven't been able to find or make my own BL or CP files)
jcadduono said:
For N9005XX, OK6 is the latest bootloader, OJ1 is the latest modem. XXUGP series is specific to Nordic regions like Finland, Sweden, etc. only as far as I can tell.
There's probably no difference in bootloader and modem code between the XXUGB and XXUGP series.
In any case, OI2 is the latest bootloader and modem for the N9005XXUGP Nordic firmware. I will add it to the mirror soon. (it's added now)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant find the link for the differences, but apparently they do actually differ, if i'm not wrong, it has something to do with a different development tree. People have reported issues flashing non-nordic roms after the nordic ones itself, but only when the values change.
jcadduono said:
yes those are the ones you should flash if you want to update. for N900W8, CNxx is KitKat (4.4), 2DOxx is Lollipop (5.0)
OK6 is for international/N9005XX models only, which is why it failed auth, and good thing it does or you'd have bricked your phone!
your camera issues are more likely related to incompatible kernel and proprietary .so files (they need to match up)
these are a few possible paths that commands can take to the hardware, sorted by most common to least common AFAIK:
1. android -> translation layer & extra functions libraries (proprietary .so files) -> kernel -> hardware
2. android -> kernel -> hardware
3. android -> translation layer & extra functions libraries (proprietary .so files) -> kernel -> firmware -> hardware
4. android -> kernel -> firmware -> hardware
see the firmware stage of communication. sometimes this firmware is included as part of the kernel, and the respective kernel drivers will flash the firmware for you if it needs updating. sometimes, very rarely, the firmware will be part of the modem or bootloader binaries instead of flashed from kernel. this is a situation where updating bootloader/modem could potentially help.
this is only from reading lots of samsung kernel sources, so some of it is only assumed. i can't know everything.
if anyone wants to share more accurate information than what i can provide, we would all be thankful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for a very complete response!
I've realised that the front camera has the same issue recording video, so as far i understand you response, i will try to update the kernel, or try a different rom.
Thanks mate.
I flashed AP_N900W8VLU2DOH1_KERNEL.tar.md5 using Odin, on my N900W8, and when it reboot it get stuck and wont boot into the ROM. What is wrong?
yes ok
jorioux said:
I flashed AP_N900W8VLU2DOH1_KERNEL.tar.md5 using Odin, on my N900W8, and when it reboot it get stuck and wont boot into the ROM. What is wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on 5.0 LL you have to use DOI2
Since a lot of people will have their Galaxy S22 Ultra soon and I myself am thinking about either getting an S21 Ultra or S22 Ultra, I wanted to summarise a lot of information I found out during researching as Samsung devices are quite different from OnePlus or Google devices in that they don't support fastboot but only ODIN.
If you've enjoyed it or it has helped you, a thumbs or or thanks is always appreciated! Feel free to share and link to this thread for newbies to Samsung devices like I am
Which ODIN version to use?There are a lot of ODIN versions out there. Even reputable sources seem to copy & paste files without checking them first. The lastest version is v3.14.1. Any newer version as of now is a hoax as they simply renamed the version to v3.14.4 without any changes
How to check if you have a trustworthy version?
First of all: it should be version v3.14.1.
In the ZIP file there is a file called "odin.ini". The second line should be"Title=odin“. If not, some website has changed that.
In the same .ini file there should NOT be a:
[UIOption]
LED=0
(Someone apparently ticked that checkbox in ODIN, saved it and uploaded it. The default .ini file does not contain it unless you checked it yourself in ODIN.)
In the ZIP file there should NOT be a file called "cpprest141_2_10.dll“. This is a Microsoft file that is not malicious, but doesn't belong in there.
Since most ODIN files are copy and paste, it should be easy to identify whether you have the right version or not. (Source)
ODIN: AP, BL, CP, CSCPeople love to spread information without questioning it. So I came across thing like "BL" stands for bloatware etc. No, it does not.
BL (Bootloader)
This contains all bootloader relevant files (like the BIOS on your PC). This is quite essential as a broken bootloader can brick your device permanently.
AP (Application Processor or PDA)
This contains Android and all relevant files you might know from other device manufacturers. As of now, most devices use a "payload.bin" inside the firmware ZIP. This is exactly that but you can simply unzip the .tar file without needing any tool like Payload Dumper. Though, unzipping it does not help you at all since you can't flash the .img file separately.
CP (Core Processor)
CP contains modem files. On other devices it is included in the payload.bin as "modem.img". Here it is inside CP.tar
CSC (Consumer Software Customization)
CSC contains the country and carrier specific stuff like which apps are pre-installed, which bands are available, 4G/5G, VoWiFi, VoLTE etc. Nowadays it is a multi-CSC but more on that later.
PIT (Partition Information Table)
This contains the partitions if you ever need to re-partition your device. It can be used in the PIT section in ODIN but on newer devices it is contained within the CSC.tar file. So you probably never ever have to worry about it.
(Source)
What is the deal with CSC and Home_CSC?
CSC and Home_CSC are pretty similar. They mostly contain similar files and are flashed by selecting them in the CSC slot. You never ever have or can flash both simultaneously!
CSC
Flashes the CSC part including the PIT file, meaning it will wipe the device entirely and reformat the super partition containing everything from /boot, /system and /vendor
Home_CSC
Flashes the CSC but without the PIT file, meaning it will simply update the firmware but NOT wipe your device. This is what to use for an update. Use the other CSC for a full wipe
What about F. Reset Time, Auto Reboot and Userdata in ODIN?You should not have to check any boxes if you just want to root. Some people claim to disable "auto reboot". That is a relict from the past and is copy & pasted. Disabling auto reboot will prevent the device from rebooting automatically after an ODIN flash. For stock firmwares and rooting it is not necessary. If you do not want to reboot automatically (because of a custom recovery etc.) you may disable it. But you don't need to do it for rooting.
F. Reset Time is enabled automatically and resets the flashing counter. There is no reason to not do it afaik. So you don't need to deal with that.
Userdata is not used on newer devices as it is included in the AP file and used if you use the CSC file to wipe your device. It should be left empty on newer devices.
(Source)
Multi-CSC and why changing the CSC is mostly deprecatedA lot of questions are asked everyday about the CSC. There are different CSCs for different countries and carriers. Here in Austria we have ATO (Open Austria) for unbranded devices, MAX for T-Mobile devices (now called Magenta here) and so on. Nowadays, there are multi CSC firmware like OXM. They contain many CSC codes within it.
If you go into Settings > About phone > Software information > Service provider software revision you'll find different CSC codes: AAA/BBB/CCC/DDD
AAA is the current CSC
BBB is the best CSC for SIM card 1
CCC is the best CSC for SIM card 2 (if dual SIM is possible)
DDD is the factory CSC that cannot be changed
e.g. DBT/MAX/MOB/ATO meaning DBT (Open Germany) is the current CSC, MAX (Magenta Austria) is the CSC for SIM card 1, MOB (A1 Austria) for SIM card 2 and the device has a factory CSC for Open Austria.
(Source)
With Android 12 changing the CSC is afaik impossible.
If the multi CSC contains both CSC codes (like if I want to switch from MAX to ATO), flashing the same multi CSC firmware in ODIN will do nothing as it is the same firmware.
Very important: the multi CSC firmware is the same for every CSC included. If I were to download ATO and MAX firmwares, I will get the same OXM file with the same SHA256 hash (checked it myself). Flashing it would either update your phone (Home_CSC) or wipe it (CSC) and not change the CSC as it will find your current CSC in the multi CSC and leave it as-is.
A device with XEF (France) will always be XEF even with a different SIM card. Despite showing "XEF" it will use the appropriate settings for the carrier as long as the multi-CSC (e. g. OXM) contains the necessary files.
Some builds are released only for a certain amount of CSC codes or with a different minor revision (see down below under "Firmware" for an explanation). For example: MAX has minor revision 5, but ATO has 7 now. I could flash ATO revision 7 on my MAX device, but wouldn't receive any OTA updates until I have a firmware that exists for MAX (so either I have to flash minor revision 5 or wait until the next update). Multiple CSCs can be asynchronous despite having the same base firmware. MAX could have more minor updates (e. g. the carrier wanted something fixed) while others are fine at revision 1. That's why some CSC codes have more updates listed and some receive the update earlier.
DBT for example could be the first to get the new March security patch and other CSCs will follow. Though other CSC codes might have a higher minor revision as there were changes being made afterwards. In some cases DBT will receive another update with these changes, in other cases DBT revision 3 is the latest while other CSC codes are at revision 9. The changelogs are almost always equal though so there is no information to the public on what has changed.
Think of it like an upgrade path. Major steps are always synced, but minor ones can be CSC specific until a new update syncs them again.
More information can be read here: Source
Multi-CSC Release Cycle
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Multi-CSC firmwares are a "master" firmware that contains multiple CSCs. For the S21 Ultra it is called "OXM in Europe. Inside that firmware can be different regions like DBT, AUT, HUI and so on. An update usually isn't released at the same time for everyone. In this example graph above you can see how the release usually goes:
One or a few "open" CSCs for unlocked devices starts rolling out, usually DBT (Open Germany)
Other open CSCs and carrier CSCs (e. g. ATL for Vodafone Spain) start rolling out)
After that, sometimes specific carrier patches are released that increment the firmware version but is only available for a specific CSC code.
At the end of the month, sometimes minor bug fixes are also released to one or multiple CSC codes.
Next month we start that cycle again. All patches that have been released along the way are now integrated and released. (Example: HUI got an update at the end of the month, but that fix is not included in any other firmware. Next month that patch will be included along with the new security patch for every CSC).
Think of it like a GitHub project. You publish a stable release for everyone, fix a bug for a specific device, release that bug fix as a minor release only for those affected, then on the next stable release upstream that fix to the release. Doesn't make sense to include a minor hotfix immediately for a 2019 MacBook Pro if the fix is only for the 2022 MacBook Air, right?
In that regard: you can always flash any OXM firmware on a device using OXM. I could flash a DBT (Open Germany) firmware on an ATL (Vodafone Spain) device and it will work. I can even grab the security patch release at the beginning of the month before it is widely rolled out and flash it using ODIN.
People saying how happy they are because they get their updates early or others who complain about waiting weeks for it. The latters ones could fix it by manually flashing the released firmware. But keep in mind: if you still can receive software updates on your device (e. g. not rooted) then you need to be on an update path that is supported.
Say I update to the carrier fix release intended only for HUI on my DBT device. It'll work and I can update next month with ODIN as usual. BUT: Samsung's on-device software update won't show any update. Why? Because it checks DBT and if I'm on a minor release not intended for DBT, it won't give me an update path. It will search for an update from release A to release B but by flashing the carrier fix only for HUI, I'm between those. Something like A1. Since DBT doesn't have an update path from A1 to B, it won't show any updates until I'm back on B (and ready for B > C next month and so on).
Tripping KNOXIf you unlock your bootloader, KNOW will be tripped. I'm simply gonna quote another post here as it explains the impact very well (and I hereby explicitly state that I'm not affiliated in the service the source advertises. I do not vouch for or endorse the use of UNSAMLOCK).
- Knox will be tripped after a custom binary flash.
- Samsung Pass, Samsung Pay will never work after root. Safetynet, Samsung Health and Secure folder could be fixed.
(Source)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if you flash a signed Samsung firmware, it shouldn't trip KNOX. If you flash an unsigned firmware, it will trip it. But as a general rule of advice: signed firmware are flashable in ODIN with a locked bootloader. If you unlock the bootloader, you are at risk of tripping KNOX and you are responsible for that happening either way. No matter what I or someone else says on XDA or any other website. So never unlock the bootloader if you can't accept tripping KNOX.
People say it is a physical fuse that is blown. I can't confirm if this is true but it could also simply be a part of security key stored within the device and deleted when unlocked. Since there is no way of backing it up, it will be lost for good (much like the /persist partition on devices that contains sensor data and is unique and never deleted or else your device becomes messed up permanently). There is no way of knowing but keep that in mind.
Firmware
Firmware versions
The firmware numbers actually have meaning. Something like "G998BXXU4BVB1/G998BOXM4BVB1/G998BXXU4BVB1" means build version/CSC version/baseband version.
The first letters are the model version (G998B = S21 Ultra). The last letters (e. g. G998BXXU4BVB1) can be read as follows:
U4 B V B 1
↓ ↓ ↓
Boot loader version
Android version
Year
Month
Minor revision
For this example that means:
U4: bootloader version 4 (you can't use any firmware with a lower version than what you have)
B: Android version 2 (for the S21 Ultra that shipped with Android 11, B is Android 12)
V: 2022 (W = 2023, X = 2024, etc.)
B: February (A = January,..., L = December)
1: minor revision 1 (this is a hexadecimal that can be 1–F, with F being version 16)
The firmware information including the colour coding comes from the CheckFirm app (Source). The provided information and the colour coding is awesome so I took that information and condensed it even further.
How do I check for firmware updates?
There are websites out there listing/hosting the firmware files that are easy to find. Other methods are:
CheckFirm: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.illusion.checkfirm
You can try to scan for a new firmware. It uses other users to find a new firmware but according to the dev, it might be able to scan automatically in the future (though no ETA)
Use Samsung's own version.xml: https://fota-cloud-dn.ospserver.net/firmware/DBT/SM-G998B/version.xml
This is an example (replace DBT with the CSC code and SM-G998B with your model version. It will list all firmwares with the newest firmware number at the top.
Use Samsung's changelog: https://doc.samsungmobile.com/sm-g998b/dbt/doc.html
This is an example (replace DBT with the CSC code and SM-G998B with your model version.
Or ultimately use a firmware downloader like Frija on Windows, SamloaderKotlin on Windows, macOS, Linux or Android (thanks @alecxs) or something that requires a bit of setup though works on non-Windows devices aswell like samfirm.js (NodeJS) or Samloader (Python).
(Thanks to topjohnwu for listing those firmware downloading options: source)
Rooting, OTA updates while being rooted and what not to doThere is a lot of misunderstanding regarding rooting and OTA updates afterwards. I'm not explaining how to root your device. There are a lot of XDA threads out there. But I'm going to explain some important information that is not explained well very often.
When is your bootloader acutally unlocked?
Simply toggling "OEM unlock", going into download mode and unlocking the bootloader will not actually unlock it. There is a reason why after enabling the bootloader unlock in download mode, you should go to the developer settings and "confirm" it.
By opening up the developer settings and checking the "OEM unlock" toggle, the bootloader actually becomes unleashed and accepts non-signed images. Meaning an AP file modified by Magisk will now be accepted. If you do not do this, it will not.
If you flash in ODIN, always flash AP, CP, BL and CSC!
As explained by topjohnwu: if you just flash the modified AP file to root your device without selecting CP, BL or CSC, ODIN could shrink the /data partition. Always flash all of them (not like on other devices "fastboot boot boot.img" but everything!
OTA updates are gone...sort of
If you are rooted, you can't use Samsung's built in OTA updater anymore. That's why you should update your firmware before rooting. You can and may update it via ODIN though:
Patch the AP file in Magisk
Flash the modified AP, CP, BL and Home_CSC (HOME_CSC NOT and I repeat NOT the normal CSC)
Let it reboot and you're up-to-date
(Source)
Do not restore the stock boot image!
topjohnwu also states to not flash the stock boot image (stock AP) as it could brick your device. There should be no reason to unroot (you can leave Magisk and simply not use it). If you flash the stock AP, your device won't boot (probably because it fails to verify the unmodified system). I could flash the modified AP (with CP, BL and Home_CSC) back and it worked fine but YMMV. And what if you've installed some module and you're bootlooping now?
I'm in a bootloop!
Since TWRP never supported decryption on Samsung devices (thanks @alecxs) and you probably don't want to stay unencrypted, you can't use TWRP. There are two ways of fixing a bootloop caused by a Magisk module:
Via ADB debugging:
Use adb on your PC (lot of tutorials out there), and type in:
adb shell
magisk --remove-modules
However: that requires you to have adb debugging enabled and to have your PC already confirmed as a computer that is allowed to connect via adb. If you have not done this, do this:
Boot into safe mode:
Much like Cydia Substrate back on the iPhone, you may disable Magisk and its modules during boot:
If you use the device's hardware keys to boot into safe mode by pressing certain keys during booting (look it up, it varies from device to device. It can be volume up/down etc.), Magisk will disable all modules and you can remove them safely without every having to need TWRP, enable ADB debugging beforehand or needing to start from scratch. Everything is explained in the source link down below.
(Source)
Does my device have a ramdisk or not?
Most threads you find about this were at a time when some devices had it and other didn't. To stop you from searching hours about whether this is the case for the S21 or S22 series: they have a ramdisk and system-as-root. There is no need for hijacking the /recovery partition and always boot into recovery to boot into the system with root. You can just root your device with the patched AP file and you're good to go!
Just please stop wiping /cache in recovery!There is no use in wiping /cache in recovery. It is simply a cache partition for updates and is not used on a live system. There is no use in doing that and you're just wasting your time. But there is a cache that can be wiped and rebuilt: the dalvik-cache. (Source)
Dalvik cache/ARTThis is no Samsung specific but actually very good to know:
Android converts system apps in the background since Android 10 I believe. Meaning that the system apps are only really optimised, if the Dalvik cache has been built. This doesn't apply to user apps from the Play Store as they are re-compiled during installation. When does Android do this?
If your device is at 100%, plugged in and not in use. But if you're like me and not charging your device past 80%, it will not be built(!)
To force it, the easiest solution is to use Galaxy App Booster which does exactly that: https://galaxystore.samsung.com/pre...session_id=W_2323c8f409a1da0534d7dcad55e671fb
Or you can force it with root or via adb without root, you can use "adb shell" and then enter:
Code:
cmd package bg-dexopt-job
after an update and it will populate /data/dalvik-cache with arm and arm64 folders.
After an update, you can (but don't have to) delete the folders "arm" and "arm64" inside /data/dalvik-cache (DON'T DELETE the "dalvik-cache" folder itself), reboot and then execute the command above in a terminal with root access. This is the only relevant caching that Android does. It has nothing to do with /cache.
You may also check the folder: usually there are about 200+ files inside arm64. If you've only got a few dozens, the cache probably hasn't been built yet. Keep in mind that since Android 11 building the cache doesn't take a few minutes like Android 10 but sometimes half an hour or an hour as it uses few resources to not slow the device down during optimisation. That makes it quite user-transparent.
Fix Netflix, Amazon Prime,... playback issuesOn my OnePlus 7T Pro I had no issues using any of these services (if MagiskHide or now Zygisk is active). Though on my S21 Ultra it always failed to play whatever I did. Turns out that Widevine L1 is good as long as you're not rooted. It works with an unlocked bootloader but fails if you have installed Magisk no matter what you do.
Turns out there is a Magisk module called liboemcrypto disabler by @ianmacd which essentially removes the file and forces Widevine L3 for as long as the module is active. With this module I could get every streaming app to work again including my cable company's own TV app. You won't have anything higher than SD quality but I have to admit that Netflix and Amazon Prime look okay. It definitely is better than nothing and I just found this by coincidence.
So if you experience playback issues while being rooted, give this module a try
Note: Since the Magisk repo is obsolete, the only flashable ZIP I've found is from a fork found here: https://github.com/ScRuFFy7/liboemcryptodisabler. You can create the module yourself though, but for a flash-and-forget-ZIP this is the only ZIP I could find.
General InformationLast, but not least: Samsung devices aren't A/B devices. There is no mirrored partition or anything else. You just have your good old super partition and if it is messed up, you need to reflash it. No A/B stuff here.
I may update this thread in the future
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Macusercom said:
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Spoiler: Hey!!
Macusercom said:
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Hi
Good info for new samsung usres!
Have you any report anyone have rooted Exynos as well SD with routine magisk patched methos? I have seen another thread how to root but I think no one yet confirmed (unless I have missed)
dr.ketan said:
Hi
Good info for new samsung usres!
Have you any report anyone have rooted Exynos as well SD with routine magisk patched methos? I have seen another thread how to root but I think no one yet confirmed (unless I have missed)
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Thanks!
I don't think so. We'll have to wait and see if a new Magisk update is needed but since Android 12 works fine on the S21 Ultra, I don't think the S22 Ultra wouldn't work. But as of now, I have not read anything about a successful root but also nothing about not being successful.
Macusercom said:
Thanks!
I don't think so. We'll have to wait and see if a new Magisk update is needed but since Android 12 works fine on the S21 Ultra, I don't think the S22 Ultra wouldn't work. But as of now, I have not read anything about a successful root but also nothing about not being successful.
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Thanks for info. Yes, I don't expect too that it won't work but we never know when samsung give us surprises!
One major thing I have noted on S22 is system partition is now having f2fs format instead of ext4 and as of now we can't extract stock firmware because of this. (I don't know if any available tool can do it)
dr.ketan said:
Thanks for info. Yes, I don't expect too that it won't work but we never know when samsung give us surprises!
One major thing I have noted on S22 is system partition is now having f2fs format instead of ext4 and as of now we can't extract stock firmware because of this. (I don't know if any available tool can do it)
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Dr. ketan: Does f2fs format affect magisk root?
donkeyman1234 said:
Dr. ketan: Does f2fs format affect magisk root?
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No, it shouldn't.
Glad to hear that.
dr.ketan said:
No, it shouldn't.
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dr.ketan said:
Thanks for info. Yes, I don't expect too that it won't work but we never know when samsung give us surprises!
One major thing I have noted on S22 is system partition is now having f2fs format instead of ext4 and as of now we can't extract stock firmware because of this. (I don't know if any available tool can do it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just checked the AP file of the S22 Ultra firmware. Magisk is able to patch the boot.img and goes straight through.
Not(e) S22 Ultra specific, but good to know (sorry for the pun )
Magisk can patch the extracted boot.img without lz4
Magisk can't patch boot.img.lz4
Magisk can patch the AP.tar that included boot.img.lz4 and stores it without compressing in the modified AP.tar
Hasn't f2fs been adopted way earlier with the Note 10? I can't seem to extract the S21 Ultra or S22 Ultra firmware with EXT4 extractor in any case. I can just decompress lz4
Macusercom said:
I've just checked the AP file of the S22 Ultra firmware. Magisk is able to patch the boot.img and goes straight through.
Not(e) S22 Ultra specific, but good to know (sorry for the pun )
Magisk can patch the extracted boot.img without lz4
Magisk can't patch boot.img.lz4
Magisk can patch the AP.tar that included boot.img.lz4 and stores it without compressing in the modified AP.tar
Hasn't f2fs been adopted way earlier with the Note 10? I can't seem to extract the S21 Ultra or S22 Ultra firmware with EXT4 extractor in any case. I can just decompress lz4
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Yes, file can be patched with magisk, still we need to confirm if patched file working fine or not as no one yet confirm it (at least in my knowledge)
F2fs adopted earlier was for "data" this is first time for "system" (and also for "vendor")
Since oneui 4.0 recent update I have seen S21 also added support for system f2fs (fstab showing both) but yet still system is ext4 formatted and that's why no issue extracting S21 firmware (just two days ago I released rom with latest base VB1 Feb security patch)
dr.ketan said:
Yes, file can be patched with magisk, still we need to confirm if patched file working fine or not as no one yet confirm it (at least in my knowledge)
F2fs adopted earlier was for "data" this is first time for "system" (and also for "vendor")
Since oneui 4.0 recent update I have seen S21 also added support for system f2fs (fstab showing both) but yet still system is ext4 formatted and that's why no issue extracting S21 firmware (just two days ago I released rom with latest base VB1 Feb security patch)
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Also, Samsung removed the system_ext folder and put it into its own img file. I mounted both system.img/system_ext.img, and copied both into an N20U system folder created by superr kitchen for my N20U. I was able to deodex framework-res.apk ans SystemUI.apk. I made mods to SystemUI, but cannot test as I do not have an S22U.
gcrutchr said:
Also, Samsung removed the system_ext folder and put it into its own img file. I mounted both system.img/system_ext.img, and copied both into an N20U system folder created by superr kitchen for my N20U. I was able to deodex framework-res.apk ans SystemUI.apk. I made mods to SystemUI, but cannot test as I do not have an S22U.
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What you have used to extract system.img of S22?
dr.ketan said:
What you have used to extract system.img of S22?
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superr kitchen. will extract .img files but will not extract contents
gcrutchr said:
superr kitchen. will extract .img files but will not extract contents
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What I mean is how you have extracted SystemUI and Framework-res , as kitchen not able to extract it
dr.ketan said:
What I mean is how you have extracted SystemUI and Framework-res , as kitchen not able to extract it
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I used Fedora to mount both .img files.
After copy S22 system.img/system_ext contents into N20U folder, I used superr to deodex system folder. Then copy SystemUI.apk and framework-res.apk to my development folder
sudo mount -o loop system_ext.img tmp
sudo mount -o loop system.img tmp2
As a general information in case anyone was wondering. Root on the S22 Ultra GM-S908B variant has been confirmed: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-firmware-noob-friendly.4404283/post-86473679
Just to update : Today have got hand on demo and I can confirm indian users will get S908E and also OEM unlock option already available in dev settings out of box.
Question: I'm looking to get a newer laptop and was looking at the Surface Pro 7 or 8. I know ODIN won't work on the Surface Pro X, but has anyone used it on a SP7/8? I can't see why it won't work. It uses the same i5 processor and 64-bit OS as a full size/normal laptop.