Hi all. Please excuse if this has been asked (and answered), but I just spent two days with this phone and have just about torn my hair out.
I have a Verizon S4 (SCH-I545). I got it second-hand, so I don't know if the previous owner took any OTA updates. I wanted to put CM12 on it. However, in that thread, it's made very clear that it won't work without being on the MDK bootloader.
Well, when I execute the command "getprop ro.bootloader" from within Safestrap, I get "I545VRUFNC5".
Obviously, this is not MDK. Is this a bootloader that came after MDK as part of an OTA update? Either way, am I no longer able to Odin flash the MDK bootloader?
Thanks in advance.
Yes..This Bootloader is newer, and locked and cannot be reverted using ODIN. You would need to find a manual copy/change method to revert the Bootloader.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Hi KaosMaster. Thanks for your quick reply. So, does a manual copy/change method exist? You can probably surmise that I tried Odin'ing several stock ROMs with MDK packaged in and each one failed for various reasons. Can I do this copy/change action or would Verizon themselves have to do it? If the latter, would they do it without charging me a small fortune?
While I'm on the subject, are there any other gotchas you know of regarding this I545VRUFNC5 bootloader? What other ROMs won't work with it?
Thanks again!
Odin Won't work.
JTAG won't work(tested, phone bricks)
nc5 has root and safestap + limited ROMs with a touchwiz base
Some ROMs:
Hyperdrive
Echoe
Super6 Port
KitPop
Eclipse
Hi XxD34THxX. When you say the phone bricks using JTAG, do you mean it brick bricks? As in, turning the phone into a doorstop?
Do you know if Verizon would revert it back if you made such a request? If so, would it cost anything?
Well... with JTAG, I am pretty sure it turns into a soft brick. I can't confirm.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Verizon will just laugh in your face if you asked them that.
XxD34THxX said:
Well... with JTAG, I am pretty sure it turns into a soft brick. I can't confirm.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Verizon will just laugh in your face if you asked them that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Arggh! Locked bootloaders are a complete and utter PITA.
What I don't understand is why CM12 requires a specific bootloader to function. To me, that sounds like Windows needing a specific BIOS or bootstrap to work.
Does CM10 have this requirement as well?
BTW, thanks for the rom list. I'll definitely check 'em out.
Yes, it needs an unlocked bootloader(any CM). It DOES need a specific bootstrap to work...
fleggett1 said:
Arggh! Locked bootloaders are a complete and utter PITA.
What I don't understand is why CM12 requires a specific bootloader to function. To me, that sounds like Windows needing a specific BIOS or bootstrap to work.
Does CM10 have this requirement as well?
BTW, thanks for the rom list. I'll definitely check 'em out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately you are stuck as no one has successfully downgraded the bootloader. Many developers have tried without success.
CyanogenMod will only work on an MDK device because the kernel is replaced during the flash process. This can only be accomplished with a custom recovery or unlocked bootloader.
FWIW, the MDK bootloader is technically not unlocked. There is a process called "loki" that took advantage of an exploit that was present on MDK which allowed the installation of a custom recovery. It did not unlock or overwrite the MDK recovery.
All bootloader versions past MDK have had this exploit closed.
Related
For those of you looking to root your N3, @Chainfire has updated his one-click app for N3 variants. No official support for the Verizon variant yet, but it's something to keep an eye on. No word on the bootloader as it's not anyone's hands yet.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2466423
That's good to know. Thx.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4
unlocked BL NEEDED.
Indeed. This method will not work with a locked bootloader. We have to wait for an exploit in order to root.
suzook said:
unlocked BL NEEDED.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was not aware that this method needed an unlocked bootloader. I should have read more.
Banggugyangu said:
Indeed. This method will not work with a locked bootloader. We have to wait for an exploit in order to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely not true. It's completely possible to root a phone with a locked bootloader. It's also possible to install a custom recovery with a locked bootloader.
I'll be working with two of the top Verizon exploit devs from day one to get this device cracked. I won't be stupid enough to promise anything, but I will say this:
1) There was a day one OTA for the Sprint Note 3. No one knows what it did yet. DO NOT TAKE ANY OTA's. As soon as I get the device in my hands and tinker a bit, I'll post how to stop OTA's.
2) We will work tirelessly the first few days to get this done. There's a whole community out there waiting to tinker.
docnok63 said:
I was not aware that this method needed an unlocked bootloader. I should have read more.
Absolutely not true. It's completely possible to root a phone with a locked bootloader. It's also possible to install a custom recovery with a locked bootloader.
I'll be working with two of the top Verizon exploit devs from day one to get this device cracked. I won't be stupid enough to promise anything, but I will say this:
1) There was a day one OTA for the Sprint Note 3. No one knows what it did yet. DO NOT TAKE ANY OTA's. As soon as I get the device in my hands and tinker a bit, I'll post how to stop OTA's.
2) We will work tirelessly the first few days to get this done. There's a whole community out there waiting to tinker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is great to hear!!1
It sounds as if within days of release we are likely to haveca method for rooting. I would be grateful for unlocking but expect to use Safestrap
docnok63 said:
Absolutely not true. It's completely possible to root a phone with a locked bootloader. It's also possible to install a custom recovery with a locked bootloader.
I'll be working with two of the top Verizon exploit devs from day one to get this device cracked. I won't be stupid enough to promise anything, but I will say this:
1) There was a day one OTA for the Sprint Note 3. No one knows what it did yet. DO NOT TAKE ANY OTA's. As soon as I get the device in my hands and tinker a bit, I'll post how to stop OTA's.
2) We will work tirelessly the first few days to get this done. There's a whole community out there waiting to tinker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read what I said again.... And you're wrong. You can't write to the recovery image on a locked bootloader phone. That means no custom recovery. What you CAN do.... is bootstrap a recovery. Different process, different results.
If you had read my post more closely, I said that we are going to have to wait on an exploit for root capabilities. Once we have root, I'm sure a bootstrap will follow. Hopefully, exploitative rooting won't trip knox. If it doesn't, then a bootstrap recovery also shouldn't. At that point, a custom ROM (especially if hashcode creates a safestrap) should bypass the software side of knox preventing tripping from that as well.
Banggugyangu said:
Read what I said again.... And you're wrong. You can't write to the recovery image on a locked bootloader phone. That means no custom recovery. What you CAN do.... is bootstrap a recovery. Different process, different results.
If you had read my post more closely, I said that we are going to have to wait on an exploit for root capabilities. Once we have root, I'm sure a bootstrap will follow. Hopefully, exploitative rooting won't trip knox. If it doesn't, then a bootstrap recovery also shouldn't. At that point, a custom ROM (especially if hashcode creates a safestrap) should bypass the software side of knox preventing tripping from that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you want to argue sematics and I'm just in that kind of mood, my post never stated that SafeStrap involved writing to the recovery partition; simply that it was possible to have a custom recovery run on a device with a locked bootloader.
Neither the ME7 root method nor SafeStrap triggers Knox on the S4 and I don't expect them to for the N3. Of course, all this will be unnecessary if we get the bootloader. We only have a few days to wait for the devices and then a few days more to know for sure.
docnok63 said:
Since you want to argue sematics and I'm just in that kind of mood, my post never stated that SafeStrap involved writing to the recovery partition; simply that it was possible to have a custom recovery run on a device with a locked bootloader.
Neither the ME7 root method nor SafeStrap triggers Knox on the S4 and I don't expect them to for the N3. Of course, all this will be unnecessary if we get the bootloader. We only have a few days to wait for the devices and then a few days more to know for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You also never stated anything about a bootstrapped recovery. You posted about chainfire's root method, then argued (wrongly) against those that stated that method wasn't possible due to locked bootloader. Not one person in this thread said anything about not being able to root because of a locked bootloader, just that this particular method wasn't going to work. FFS admit that you were wrong and move on...
Banggugyangu said:
You also never stated anything about a bootstrapped recovery. You posted about chainfire's root method, then argued (wrongly) against those that stated that method wasn't possible due to locked bootloader. Not one person in this thread said anything about not being able to root because of a locked bootloader, just that this particular method wasn't going to work. FFS admit that you were wrong and move on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
docnok63 said:
I was not aware that this method needed an unlocked bootloader. I should have read more.
Absolutely not true. It's completely possible to root a phone with a locked bootloader. It's also possible to install a custom recovery with a locked bootloader.
I'll be working with two of the top Verizon exploit devs from day one to get this device cracked. I won't be stupid enough to promise anything, but I will say this:
1) There was a day one OTA for the Sprint Note 3. No one knows what it did yet. DO NOT TAKE ANY OTA's. As soon as I get the device in my hands and tinker a bit, I'll post how to stop OTA's.
2) We will work tirelessly the first few days to get this done. There's a whole community out there waiting to tinker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Silly rabbit. I did admit I was wrong and I my link was for the SafeStrap recovery for the S4. It's time YOU moved on. There's more important issues in life. I'm done with you.
Realistic chance?
I've got an unlocked Droid Bionic. I was chicken and waited till it was out of warranty though. I wanted root so I could do full backups, something I believe was not possibly without it. Like you, I'm waiting for my VzW N3 to come in. I"m not sure how to restore some of my apps, or actually some of the data saved with that. TBpro wont help unless there is root. I've purchase the Asurian extended protection, not to much fine print info on it.. people say manufacturer warranty is voided with root. what about standard extended warranties like Asurian?
Bottom line.. just a guess, and I'll not hold anyone to it. What the odds that the guru's here will unlock our Vzw N3 without tripping knox, or somehow else voiding warrranty.
I'm probably sticking with stock rom for now..but without root, not sure how to get all my app data back. Someone said EZ file could make an apk but didnt see how. Someone else suggested helium makes good app backups without root, but that doesnt work on Motorola..so it wont work for my Droid bionic
Please familiarize yourself with the Forum Rules at the top of every Forum. This is a discussion thread and not a Development thread. It has no place in the Development Forum. I have moved this to the General Section where it should have been all along.
I look forward to your future attention and cooperation.
EFM
docnok63 said:
I was not aware that this method needed an unlocked bootloader. I should have read more.
Absolutely not true. It's completely possible to root a phone with a locked bootloader. It's also possible to install a custom recovery with a locked bootloader.
I'll be working with two of the top Verizon exploit devs from day one to get this device cracked. I won't be stupid enough to promise anything, but I will say this:
1) There was a day one OTA for the Sprint Note 3. No one knows what it did yet. DO NOT TAKE ANY OTA's. As soon as I get the device in my hands and tinker a bit, I'll post how to stop OTA's.
2) We will work tirelessly the first few days to get this done. There's a whole community out there waiting to tinker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Docnoc we all appreciate this post and are confident the people working on this will find something for us. Fingers crossed and donations ready!
edfunkycold said:
Please familiarize yourself with the Forum Rules at the top of every Forum. This is a discussion thread and not a Development thread. It has no place in the Development Forum. I have moved this to the General Section where it should have been all along.
I look forward to your future attention and cooperation.
EFM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I read your post I hear Nucky's voice from seeing your avatar and sig plus your words is how we would talk lol
Apparently Chainfire's method helped designgears root the AT&T version. This took about 3 days. Good news!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2472760
Does this work for the Verizon Note 3 ? Thanks guys.
Ok so a couple of things to note here.
First off it is about a 2% chance that you can just flash a custom recovery. There was a phone recently where the recovery partition had no verification check. With that being said it would be a big over sight. The next thing is that with Hashcode already working on a qualcomm kexec and SS I would be very supprised to see it not work, or there not be a strap method. As for root, if I'm not mistaken, and i could be, but Chainfire relies on you having an unlocked bootloader, as his image just has an init script in the recovery to boot, change ro.secure to false and then flashback the old recovery. With this being said THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH LOCKED DEVICES. If the bootloader allows for a unsigned kernel recovery to boot you can do it, or if it allows for stacksmashing you can do it, but those are two very iffy things. As for a root on this device, its more then likely going to have to come from a security tag that has been created in the linux kernel, that allows unverified code to run.
Second off I think there's something important to point out here, and I'm going to post it back to the days where there was no android. As of right now we have achieved a semi unlocked state (see loki and SS) however this is much like Musclenerd and geohotz grabbing the source code and finding injection points, the big difference was when geohotz found the holygrail, an architecture level exploit. What this translates into our world is much harder since the iPhone has one chip and we have... well Qualcomm, TI, and Samsung to name some. With this being said, and I know its easier said then done, but I think we are going to need a Qualcomm level exploit to really unlock all of these phones. We have seen in the recent couple of days that there are interrupts early on in the boot chain, see rumrunner, are not impossible. The reality is that our holy grail lies in one of two places, a leek, which in reality is more likely to happen since the other option is not always possible, or a base level exploit. The thing to keep in mind is that it too geohotz 2 years to discover the A4 hole, and he was just one man. While a community is much bigger, I urge everyone looking for exploits on new phones to realize that YOU SHOULD NEVER BUY A PHONE THAT YOU DON'T LIKE STOCK.
Hope you all are enjoying your GN3. They really are a great device with or without an unlock!!!
On a side note:
docnok63 said:
Apparently Chainfire's method helped designgears root the AT&T version. This took about 3 days. Good news!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2472760
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason for this is it seems there is a leek there that is allowing him to run a script that flashes over files to the FS. Look at:
designgears said:
As usual, a big shout out to my anonymous source for the file hook-ups!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This means that he most likely has some sort of System dump that is signed and has RO.secure disabled. If you look there's actually a full 2.2 GB image that you have to download and flash, meaning that it most likely has something that allows for root, and not actually an exploit.
So I have my stock S4 on MJ7 rooted already, now I want to flash custom recovery or boot strap recovery, but when I run the safestrap .apk on my phone it just makes Titanium Backup and KNOX both crash, and then I try booting into recovery but my phone just boots like normal, with no recovery option. How can I get this custom recovery on my MJ7 phone so I can start flashing custom ROMs? I absolutely can not stand this stock touchwiz crap. Sorry if this has been explained before, but the verizon section is so full of threads its impossible to find anything.
All we have is root on 4.3 right now. No Safestrap or Loki, so no custom recovery. Sorry.
We should presumably be able to get Safestrap soon since hashcode has it working on the Note 3 with 4.3 but at this point yes there is currently nothing other than a root. A totally unlocked bootloader isn't anywhere in sight either.
thcaddict said:
So I have my stock S4 on MJ7 rooted already, now I want to flash custom recovery or boot strap recovery, but when I run the safestrap .apk on my phone it just makes Titanium Backup and KNOX both crash, and then I try booting into recovery but my phone just boots like normal, with no recovery option. How can I get this custom recovery on my MJ7 phone so I can start flashing custom ROMs? I absolutely can not stand this stock touchwiz crap. Sorry if this has been explained before, but the verizon section is so full of threads its impossible to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's sort of an understatement. You could have used search and found your answer in about 5 seconds.
LemonSlice said:
We should presumably be able to get Safestrap soon since hashcode has it working on the Note 3 with 4.3 but at this point yes there is currently nothing other than a root. A totally unlocked bootloader isn't anywhere in sight either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply. I was unaware there is no custom recovery, or anything else besides root. I can't wait until I can put a new ROM on this phone. I really wish I would not have ran the update as soon as I bought it. Coming from an s3 with custom roms for the last year its a real bummer having to run TouchWiz.
may I ask what is loki? I just moved to Verizon from another carrier... didn't have to put up with locked bootloaders or anything ridiculous like that with my old carrier
Loki is an exploitation method to bypass bootloader checks, which allows you to run full custom recoveries, kernels, etc.
Unfortunately, only the first firmware that this phone came out with, MDK, can use Loki.
I was in your situation, if you want to run AOSP on a VZW S4, buy an MDK version on Swappa, that's what I did.
Sent from the 215
Crawshayi said:
That's sort of an understatement. You could have used search and found your answer in about 5 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So true, someone needs to make a sticky so we don't get 5+ new threads a week with the same question.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
richii0207 said:
So true, someone needs to make a sticky so we don't get 5+ new threads a week with the same question
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That won't help. Sadly, most people won't read the sticky threads.
mateopase said:
All we have is root on 4.3 right now. No Safestrap or Loki, so no custom recovery. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is the directions for root on MJ7
Crawshayi said:
That's sort of an understatement. You could have used search and found your answer in about 5 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if the OP tried to use the search - but I've tried to use it several times over the past week and have gotten error messages from the site each & every time.
As a matter of fact - prior to submitting this reply - I received two different error messages when trying to search the word "root" in the "Search This Forum" box - just to test it out before I reply.
The "usual" error I get is: Search is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The other one lists actual trouble codes & has a link to notify an admin.
Believe me - I'm all for searching out info on forums - but when there are 7 sub-forums for the Verizon Galaxy S4 - and the search function isn't working - it's pretty easy to not find the info you're looking for.
Also - to the person asking about root on MJ7 - see the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4 General forum - and find the post titled "How to Root Build MJ7 and get SuperSU installed"
skny said:
Not sure if the OP tried to use the search - but I've tried to use it several times over the past week and have gotten error messages from the site each & every time.
As a matter of fact - prior to submitting this reply - I received two different error messages when trying to search the word "root" in the "Search This Forum" box - just to test it out before I reply.
The "usual" error I get is: Search is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The other one lists actual trouble codes & has a link to notify an admin.
Believe me - I'm all for searching out info on forums - but when there are 7 sub-forums for the Verizon Galaxy S4 - and the search function isn't working - it's pretty easy to not find the info you're looking for.
Also - to the person asking about root on MJ7 - see the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4 General forum - and find the post titled "How to Root Build MJ7 and get SuperSU installed"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no working safestrap version or custom recovery for MJ7. Custom recovery can only be installed on MDK. Safestrap works on ME7 and MI1, but flaky on MI1 from what I have read. You are SOL.
dincodee said:
Where is the directions for root on MJ7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2511815&page=1
If we are all SOL for now, do we know if anyone is working on this? I would love to flash a custom ROM and rid myself of this garbage....
MJ7 Root
dincodee said:
Where is the directions for root on MJ7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is also this video by Tomsgt123 which lays it out nicely and tells you how to delete the chinese superuser app (if you are worried about that). I have not tried this method myself, just found the video while searching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mCsDyW-TI&feature=youtu.be
Good luck.
CoMtnMan said:
There is also this video by Tomsgt123 which lays it out nicely and tells you how to delete the chinese superuser app (if you are worried about that). I have not tried this method myself, just found the video while searching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mCsDyW-TI&feature=youtu.be
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works well, rooted my dad's S4 this way and it put the american/english supersu app in there in place of the chinese one at the end
No unlocked boot loader/custom recovery yet but I check back every week
Can you achieve more on loki than safestrap?
Specifically, can you flash custom kernels?
If so I may jump ship for the g2 since it has loki support
I thought they had the same limitations.
crazysoccerman said:
Can you achieve more on loki than safestrap?
Specifically, can you flash custom kernels?
If so I may jump ship for the g2 since it has loki support
I thought they had the same limitations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not speaking about the G2, but loki allows you to bypass the locked bootloader, which then permits you to flash whatever recovery, kernels, and ROMs that you want. On the I545, once you're past MDK, Loki won't work.
k1mu said:
Not speaking about the G2, but loki allows you to bypass the locked bootloader, which then permits you to flash whatever recovery, kernels, and ROMs that you want. On the I545, once you're past MDK, Loki won't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought safestrap did the same thing?
You can't flash kernels on safestrap, right?
crazysoccerman said:
I thought safestrap did the same thing?
You can't flash kernels on safestrap, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, which is why it's not the same thing as Loki'd MDK. On anything later than MDK, you can't replace the stock recovery (but can boot into a Safestrap recovery), can't flash custom kernels, etc. On MDK, you can flash any ROM that's compatible with the phone's hardware. Using Safestrap, you can only use ROMs that are compatible with the stock kernel.
Safestrap gets you most of what you get from an unlocked bootloader, just not everything.
Thanks for your help. I made sure to hit the thanks button.
I'm going to return my s4 for a g2.
I don't think samsung and verizon considered the cost of returned phones because of lack of mod ability. Hopefully users on verizon and at&t aren't witnessing the end of a modding era.
It's sad to see what two years since I purchased my gnex has brought to the modding community. Rather than making awesome new features, developers are fighting for the ability to mod at all.
I also find it hypocritical that newer versions of android and proprietary interfaces have copied features that were originally on custom mods.
I accidentally installed a factory image with the ME7 baseband. My phone is now on ME7 and there is apparently nothing I can do to bypass the bootloader (aside from Safestrap) until someone hacks it - if anyone is ever able to. I am also aware that you can't flash an MDK based ROM from the stock recovery. But one thing I did notice is that I have multiple backups on my computer from when I had MDK. (I know they are MDK because of the names of the folders; for example "2013-10-07.11.02.07_JDQ39.I545VRUAMDK".)
My assumption is that restoring these backups would not work, and for the same reason, but since I'm having flashing withdrawal I figured it wouldn't hurt to confirm that this is the case. Also, I can imagine that if this did work someone would have made a generic backup of an MDK-based ROM long ago and posted it publicly, and with this in mind I am not holding particularly high hopes, but it sure would be nice. So, to restate the question, is it possible (and safe) to restore an MDK backup while on ME7? Thanks in advance.
Super Sam Galaxy said:
I accidentally installed a factory image with the ME7 baseband. My phone is now on ME7 and there is apparently nothing I can do to bypass the bootloader (aside from Safestrap) until someone hacks it - if anyone is ever able to. I am also aware that you can't flash an MDK based ROM from the stock recovery. But one thing I did notice is that I have multiple backups on my computer from when I had MDK. (I know they are MDK because of the names of the folders; for example "2013-10-07.11.02.07_JDQ39.I545VRUAMDK".)
My assumption is that restoring these backups would not work, and for the same reason, but since I'm having flashing withdrawal I figured it wouldn't hurt to confirm that this is the case. Also, I can imagine that if this did work someone would have made a generic backup of an MDK-based ROM long ago and posted it publicly, and with this in mind I am not holding particularly high hopes, but it sure would be nice. So, to restate the question, is it possible (and safe) to restore an MDK backup while on ME7? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you can't downgrade. You're stuck with ME7 or later now. Trying to flash those backups will fail and leave you soft-bricked in downloader mode.
k1mu said:
Nope, you can't downgrade. You're stuck with ME7 or later now. Trying to flash those backups will fail and leave you soft-bricked in downloader mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhhhhh, that's what I was afraid of. :crying: What a bummer, it would be nice if things were that simple but I guess I didn't really expect them to be. :silly: Thanks for the reply.
Super Sam Galaxy said:
Ahhhhhhh, that's what I was afraid of. :crying: What a bummer, it would be nice if things were that simple but I guess I didn't really expect them to be. :silly: Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can load safestap to run several 4.2 base ROMS and hashcode is working on safestrap for 4.3 based ROMS right now.
decaturbob said:
you can load safestap to run several 4.2 base ROMS and hashcode is working on safestrap for 4.3 based ROMS right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply! I am familiar with Safestrap, and I appreciate the suggestion but I think I'm going to hold of and try to figure out a way (or wait until a method becomes available) to get KitKat on it. I was using KitKat for a few weeks and really enjoyed it.
Hello, from some what site, I heard that Safestrap 3.75 allowed to install Cyanogen Mod. I installed Safestrap 3.75, made a back up, and installed a nightly version from Cyanogen Mod
After installing CM from safestrap and rebooting, I got the yellow sign with "System Software Not Authorized By Verizon Wireless". I couldn't even go back to Safestrap to restore back. I used the NC5 build rooted with Towelroot.
From some websites, I found that I could just flash the stock firmware using Odin_v3.07 but even installing the correct "I545VZWFNC5" md5 file, I get an error saying
"Can't open the specified file. (line 1949)"
Is there a way I could apply my back up made using safestrap or just clean wipe my phone so that I can make my phone functioning? Thanks!
-Edit
I am trying again using Odin_v1.83 since I saw some posts that Odin_v3.07 had problems on my phone.
-Edit
lol Using Odin_v1.83 solved the issue. Thanks myself XD
coreymu said:
Hello, from some what site, I heard that Safestrap 3.75 allowed to install Cyanogen Mod. I installed Safestrap 3.75, made a back up, and installed a nightly version from Cyanogen Mod
After installing CM from safestrap and rebooting, I got the yellow sign with "System Software Not Authorized By Verizon Wireless". I couldn't even go back to Safestrap to restore back. I used the NC5 build rooted with Towelroot.
From some websites, I found that I could just flash the stock firmware using Odin_v3.07 but even installing the correct "I545VZWFNC5" md5 file, I get an error saying
"Can't open the specified file. (line 1949)"
Is there a way I could apply my back up made using safestrap or just clean wipe my phone so that I can make my phone functioning? Thanks!
-Edit
I am trying again using Odin_v1.83 since I saw some posts that Odin_v3.07 had problems on my phone.
-Edit
lol Using Odin_v1.83 solved the issue. Thanks myself XD
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I don't know if you figured it out but safestrap and CM(and pretty much all other aosp roms) aren't compatible, sorry to break it to you
Quite Sad :S
Raymondlikesroot said:
I don't know if you figured it out but safestrap and CM(and pretty much all other aosp roms) aren't compatible, sorry to break it to you
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Ahh, That's unfortunate :S
I've been so fond with CM ever since I used it on my old GS3.
I bet the smart developers are working on it right? I gotta cheer for them
coreymu said:
Ahh, That's unfortunate :S
I've been so fond with CM ever since I used it on my old GS3.
I bet the smart developers are working on it right? I gotta cheer for them
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Unfortunately, not really. A dev called surge was making great progress but he has since left the s4. Really, our hope is some dude on the s5 forums claiming to have a universal root and bootloader unlock. However, it is becoming more and more likely that it is just hoax.
coreymu said:
Ahh, That's unfortunate :S
I've been so fond with CM ever since I used it on my old GS3.
I bet the smart developers are working on it right? I gotta cheer for them
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Not really.
CM requires its own kernel (or at least a kernel designed to work with what ever custom features it has), safestrap is loaded AFTER the kernel so it cannot load a different one. There has been work done on this, but nothing really came of it and its closer to abandoned then working at this point.
Would there then be a way to install a lower version bootloader, which is unlockable, using safestrap so that I could install CM's kernel? Or is that impossible since NC5 is still locked?
Thanks for the information!
coreymu said:
Would there then be a way to install a lower version bootloader, which is unlockable, using safestrap so that I could install CM's kernel? Or is that impossible since NC5 is still locked?
Thanks for the information!
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In a word - NO. Even going back to the MDK bootloader is not possible once you have taken the OTAs. And even then, MDK is still locked. The likelihood of the bootloader getting unlocked is slim and none. Kexec is the next choice and even its development has slowed as it is very hard to crack the bootloader issue.
As is often repeated, read the FAQs and search topics before posting.
I am currently on a galaxy s4, just started messing around with android a little. I am interested in switching to a slightly newer phone. Assuming I get a g3 that is on the latest OTA update, is it possible to unlock the bootloader or install any type of custom recovery? I am interested in flashing different roms, which I currently can't do on my verizon OF1 S4. If I can't on this phone, what about a g4? I am really only interested in phones with user replaceable batteries that I can swap out, so my options are somewhat limited. Thanks for any help.
James.
I got a G3 that was on 35B -- which I believe is the latest version. You pretty much have to TOT back to 10B (see the thread regarding flashing back to stock), and then you can root, install TWRP, etc from there. Once you've got that, you can pretty much do what you want.
Personally, I had some fussing about with USB device drivers and so on -- I think it took me more time to get the device properly recognized in windows than any other parts of the process!
You'll notice that there are various different ROMS, some based on stock and some that are AOSP, Cyanogen, etc...
jamesvmccann said:
I am currently on a galaxy s4, just started messing around with android a little. I am interested in switching to a slightly newer phone. Assuming I get a g3 that is on the latest OTA update, is it possible to unlock the bootloader or install any type of custom recovery? I am interested in flashing different roms, which I currently can't do on my verizon OF1 S4. If I can't on this phone, what about a g4? I am really only interested in phones with user replaceable batteries that I can swap out, so my options are somewhat limited. Thanks for any help.
James.
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Hey, thanks for the quick reply. That is excellent news. Sealed the deal for me, I will be buying this phone sometime this weekend. Not familiar with any of the LG tools, or this TOT method you mentioned, so I will read through the threads carefully. Thanks again.
Sure thing!
back to stock, using TOT is this thread.
To get back to 10B from 35B you'll need the dll file in here
Once I was back at 10B, I used stumproot to get root and then used adb to push a bumped TWRP onto the device.
Other tip: Backup your phone's EFS partition before you do too much, you want to keep a copy of that around just in case...
jamesvmccann said:
Hey, thanks for the quick reply. That is excellent news. Sealed the deal for me, I will be buying this phone sometime this weekend. Not familiar with any of the LG tools, or this TOT method you mentioned, so I will read through the threads carefully. Thanks again.
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just to clarify what was said,
there is NO way to unlock the bootloader
there is a bypass called Bump, similar to loki, but not. yes, you can do anything you would with a real unlock, but we also have no fastboot, and thats not fixable.
if this is ever effectively patched, and you take the update, flashing roms is over.
just wanted to make sure you understood, there was no true unlock.