Database Develop

After being scared to do it, I flashed my Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active (I537) to KitKat

This is my first post and I'm going to try my best to not break a rule. If I do, I apologize in advance.
Thread thread is a sort of, "This is how I updated my phone from 4.2.2 to 4.4.2 and rooted it but your mileage may vary."
First, thanks goes to Sunderwear for his directions on how to push KitKat to the Samsung S4 Active as well as ROOT it. I rooted my 4.2.2 phone a few months ago and didn't realize doing so would prevent OTA updates. I went to the AT&T store to have them put 4.4.2 on the phone only to be told that the store didn't have the image (or whatever they said) and couldn't put it on my phone. Instead, they put 4.3, which turned out to be great because the directions pretty much have you going back to 4.3 in order to root.
BTW, if you are uninitiated, you may want to read this glossary page.
After having root in 4.2, I knew I wanted it in 4.4.2!
For the most part, I've been hesitant to flash the phone. I tried like hell to flash my first Android (Samsung S2 Skyrocket) only to brick it. (FWIW, if you can tell me how to fix it, I'd be gracious! It buzzes once and then twice and repeats.)
Anyway, I started in the thread above only to find that I now needed to download Odin. This, surprisingly, was difficult. I found this site (http://odindownload.com/) which I am convinced is some sort of hacked version of Odin because when I tried to install from there, my Symantic warned me. When I disabled it, the file tried to install a bunch of bloatware/spyware. It EVENTUALLY gave me Odin.
FYI, this thread was of no use. No download links.
Later on, after searching for something unrelated, I got to a "better" site. Unlike the link above, this site has a zip file compared to the bloat-ridden executable.
I learned that I had to use Odin 3.07 and NOT Odin 3.09. Odin 3.09 did not have the PDA button that would be central to me flashing the ROM to the phone.
I started my journey on the thread for the Stock AT&T Firmware Collection. I learned that the thread uses the last three characters of the build name to identify the build. For example, 4.3's build name is I537UCUBML2 but was referred to as "ML2". This was a bit confusing but I got the hang of it. I then went over to the 4.4.2 rooting thread. It was there that I read Sunderwear says that you need to downgrade to 4.3 to root 4.4. I was grateful that AT&T only updated me to 4.3!
Sunderwear's second post described how to root 4.4.2 if you had a rooted 4.3. Since I hadn't done that yet, I proceeded back to the firmware collection and found the thread to root my 4.3 phone.
I downloaded the files and loaded up the first file to flash. I made the mistake of keeping my phone plugged in while trying to put it in download mode. It was when I stumbled upon this page that gave me the clue that my phone had to be disconnected first before going into download mode.
Once done, I clicked Start and Odin flashed my phone! It took about 2-3 minutes.
The next step was to do saferoot. The thread didn't link it so here it is.
SafeRoot requires your phone to be in USB debugging mode. Directions were found by googling. You go to Settings, About Device, and click Build Number until you get a message saying you have enabled developer mode. Then go back out one screen and go into Debugging options and enable USB debugging.
One installed I rebooted the phone and everything worked...except for wifi and "some other stuff". The thread warned you about this so I didn't worry. I flashed the next file and rebooted. Updated SuperSU and everything worked!!
I verified that I had root by installing Root Checker.
All was great with 4.3! Now for what turned out to be the more agonizing part: Upgrading to 4.4.2.
Going back to the 4.4.2 rooting thread, I learned that all I needed to do was install SafeTrap to update to KitKat and then flash a couple more files. I downloaded pwnedkitkat.zip (link in the thread) and then installed SafeTrap. I presume that SafeTrap is some sort of bootstraping method of updating the firmware.
I copied the SafeTrap apk file, along with pwnedkitkat and the updated superSU zip files to my external SD card. Once everything was copied, I installed SafeTrap and then opened it. SafeTrap then offered me the option to install Recovery Mode. Once done, I restarted my phone.
I noticed a new splash screen after the Samsung splashscreen. I clicked the Menu button (left of home) to start the recovery process. I clicked "Install" and pointed it to the pwnedkitkat.zip file. This took the longest. Probably took 15 minutes but felt like an eternity. I wasn't sure if my phone bricked when the screen turned off! But upon turning it back on, it was still going.
The bar moved very slowly. But remained patient. After a long 15-20 minutes, it updated! SafeTrap gave me the option to reboot there but I followed the directions and installed SuperSU from the SD card. It was a quick install.
I restarted the phone! I was done!! Right?
My phone got stuck on the AT&T splash screen! I started to panic! What did I do wrong?!
I missed Sunderwear's step five:
5.Put your phone in download mode and flash the 4.4.2 stock boot.tar.md5 kernel and your phone will boot after a few minutes with root access enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Goes to show you to read everything. I missed it due to the line break. I downloaded the boot.tar.md5 file and put the phone back into download mode and push it via PDA in Odin (I presume PDA. It wasn't explicit.)
After a few hours of chewing my nails and wondering if I bricked it:
http://imgur.com/a/UFg6u#F5qFTdq
So thanks to everyone! Now if I could only unbrick my Skyrocket!

Outstanding instructions! Thank you for this. I wish all the instructions were as clear and detailed as this is.
:good:

I tried like hell to flash my first Android (Samsung S2 Skyrocket) only to brick it. (FWIW, if you can tell me how to fix it, I'd be gracious! It buzzes once and then twice and repeats.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you mean it vibrates every 2 seconds and doesn't turn on?

:good:

Great instructions and great story. Sounds like what most people like me go through every time we try to do something like this.

jimmietilt said:
do you mean it vibrates every 2 seconds and doesn't turn on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. The last time I looked into this was almost two years ago. It just sits in my drawer now.

dajabec said:
Great instructions and great story. Sounds like what most people like me go through every time we try to do something like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think what got me was all the new terminology and unfamiliarity of flashing. Jailbreaking an iPhone (which I've done before I had an Android) is pretty simple. It's pretty much point and click. But ROMs, flashing...these all have definitions which can be a bit overwhelming, even to a technical person such as myself. I've compiled Linux kernels from scratch!
But there's something about making your phone unusable. Something that I cannot live without, especially as I'm searching for a job.
It's nerve-wracking and I especially got nervous when I was putting KitKat on since it took so long. But overall, I'm glad I did it.

Mike, I wish everyone's instructions were like yours. I am in a similar boat as you, currently on 4.2.2 rooted and unable to do an OTA. I am not really sure what to do as I do not want my phone to be wiped. Did you bring your phone to an ATT store or a Device Support Center? And when they flashed 4.3 did your phone lose anything?

Agent. said:
Mike, I wish everyone's instructions were like yours. I am in a similar boat as you, currently on 4.2.2 rooted and unable to do an OTA. I am not really sure what to do as I do not want my phone to be wiped. Did you bring your phone to an ATT store or a Device Support Center? And when they flashed 4.3 did your phone lose anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup using Samsung kies and go find the 4.3 Odin package. Hell I just use the Google backup feature which is good enough for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

rdh28 said:
Backup using Samsung kies and go find the 4.3 Odin package. Hell I just use the Google backup feature which is good enough for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to go through all of the trouble of reconfiguring all of my settings, restoring all of my app specific stuff, and just getting everything back the way I had it. Does Kies backup every little thing or just app data and contacts etc?

Agent. said:
I don't want to go through all of the trouble of reconfiguring all of my settings, restoring all of my app specific stuff, and just getting everything back the way I had it. Does Kies backup every little thing or just app data and contacts etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but if you really want to upgrade it's worth the thirty minutes it takes to reconfigure
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Agent. said:
I don't want to go through all of the trouble of reconfiguring all of my settings, restoring all of my app specific stuff, and just getting everything back the way I had it. Does Kies backup every little thing or just app data and contacts etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Titanium Backup. Just make sure you don't restore system apps and you'll be fine.

rdh28 said:
Not sure but if you really want to upgrade it's worth the thirty minutes it takes to reconfigure
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, I will probably do it this summer, I'm just really busy right now and can't afford to risk anything happen to my phone
Devo7v said:
Use Titanium Backup. Just make sure you don't restore system apps and you'll be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The system apps are one of the primary issues as that is what needs to be reconfigured, other apps can be backed up and restored easily.

Agent. said:
I am not really sure what to do as I do not want my phone to be wiped. Did you bring your phone to an ATT store or a Device Support Center? And when they flashed 4.3 did your phone lose anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took mine to the AT&T device support center. I called before going in and they pretty much told me it was going to be destructive. I had previously wiped my phone earlier that day in the hopes that it would receive the OTA update.
I'm not going to lie: it's nerve-wracking, but straight forward. I know sometimes it helps to have someone hold your hand while you do it. And for me, it was definitely in the camp of, "What am I going to do if my phone craps out on me?"
But like what someone else said: you can back up your settings within Keis. I didn't. I just did a wipe. I backed up my photos but that's about it. Everything else was in the cloud. The one thing I should have done was transfer my Authenticator keys to another device because I couldn't log into AWS (which does not give out backup codes like Google). I did end up switching to Authy (I can't link to it since I'm such a new user but you can find it in the Play Store) which allows you to have more than one device. It shares your secret key between devices so it's technically less secure. But I needed the flexibility in case my phone crapped out on me again.
Pro Tip: to install all your apps again, go to the Google play store on your device and click "My Apps". Long hold one of the apps and then select the check boxes of the apps you want to install.

And hey if you run into anything there's plenty of people who check this forum regularly. I've managed to root 4.2.2 , 4.3, and 4.4.2 while retaining full functionality, just from this forum...the information is out there good luck!!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Agent. said:
I know, I will probably do it this summer, I'm just really busy right now and can't afford to risk anything happen to my phone
The system apps are one of the primary issues as that is what needs to be reconfigured, other apps can be backed up and restored easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What system apps need to be reconfigured? I can't really see that many that it would take you more than 15 to 20 minutes.

Thank you guys, I need to get my phone serviced anyway as there is a yellow dot in the top left of the screen that won't go away. So if AT&T sends me a new phone I can do all of the dirty work and then transfer everything side by side from the old device. If they won't for whatever reason I will do what you guys suggested. So just to be clear I should follow the instructions to Odin to 4.3, root, then follow the upgrade/root instructions to 4.4.2?

Agent. said:
So just to be clear I should follow the instructions to Odin to 4.3, root, then follow the upgrade/root instructions to 4.4.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally thing this is better since if you have 4.4.2 already, you have to downgrade to 4.3, root it and then put 4.4.2 on it.

At&t S 5 Active Restore Thread (NE4) (NO MORE SUPPORT)

NO MORE SUPPORT.....GAME OVER
Did you delete your data, system, safestrap is gone, only download mode and stock recovery are available? Do you want to start fresh and out of the box new?
(( FOR s 5 ACTIVE )) NE4​Thanks to @ted77usa & @Intub8 for the help. SAM MOBILE for the Firmware and steps. KNOX was not tripped. Nothing was after this. It worked perfectly.
Just FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
Do this at your own risk. If you don't read and mess up your phone, its not my fault . As long as you can get into download mode, this will help out a lot. I am not responsible for what you do to your device.
Odin Back to s5 Active Stock. NE4​
Make sure you have the Samsung drivers installed before starting.
Samsung USB drivers
Make sure USB debugging is checked under settings/developer options. If you don't know how to do that, go to "about device" in settings, and click on "Build Number x5 till you unlock Developer options".
Extract (unzip) the firmware file (NE4) HERE
Download Odin v3.09 HERE
Extract Odin zip-file
Open Odin v3.09
Reboot phone in Download Mode (press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons)
Connect phone and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin
Add the firmware file to AP / PDA
Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked
Click the start button, sit back and wait a few minutes
Note : Some users are getting stuck at long At&t screen, once odin finishes and you happen to get stuck, reboot to stock recovery and factory reset your phone.
It should boot up just fine after that. The At&t screen sometimes takes a while.
​
You can do this below if you want. I have done this about 5 or 6 times. #6 and 7 happens sometimes.​
I wanted to be totally fresh and wanted to use "Wipe Data (YES)" in safestrap. Here is what I did and what happened.
My phone has been really good since this and all is smooth.
Things to do to be fresh and start all the way over out of box style:
1. Make sure you have done a back up, and your ready to restore with Odin.
2. Go into Safestrap
3. Go to WIPE tab > Factory reset
4. Advanced wipe, (Wipe > Dalvik Cache, "NOT Micro SDcard"> Data, Cache, System)
5. For really starting over > next to Advanced wipe is "Format Data" do that and type YES
6. This will get rid of safestrap and everything so you will get a black screen once it deletes all.
7. Try to catch it and go into download mode before it boots to the Samsung screen (Which it will stay there FOREVER)
(As soon as your phone does this, try to catch it before the samsung screen and go into download mode. When it turns black, quickly hold Power + Volume down + home button. )
8. While in download mode, flash the restore firmware.
9. Let it do its thing and you will be factory new.
10. After it all settles down and you are back up and running, you can start like I do.
(Root with V3 (Make it Rain), Install and update SU, Reboot 3 times lol, install busybox, install safestrap, install xposed, reboot, install your modules, reboot, power down and boot back but go into safestrap and wipe dalvik cache and regular cache. Reboot. lol- Install all your apps you like or have your backups from titanium on your sd card and restore) Reboot and go into safestrap again and fix permissions and reboot lol...... BAM. (Your phone should be sick and you should throw up on it)
LINKS
NE4 (THE MAIN FILE YOU NEED)
[KITKAT:ND3]
LATEST BETA FILE: Safestrap-KLTEATT-ND3-3.75-B03.apk
XDA Downloads Safestrap
Mirror 1 (Crackflasher) Safestrap
BUSYBOX
SUPERSU

Just make sure the model number matches yours and you should be all set. That file should contain everything you need to get back to stock. Follow the directions listed underneath the firmware.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Thanks. All is good and I can confirm this works on the At&t S 5 Active (NE4).
I am fresh to start over.
Edit: All is good. Rooted, Busybox, Froze bloat etc. Safestraped, Backuped, Phone is running great!!

Intub8 said:
Just make sure the model number matches yours and you should be all set. That file should contain everything you need to get back to stock. Follow the directions listed underneath the firmware.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Its working!!!!! I thought this wasn't out yet. Looks out to me.
I will update OP and get on my XDA app to hit thanks. Thanks for pointing out the simple directions I failed to see on SAM mobile. My phone is back

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Thanks. Its working!!!!! I thought this wasn't out yet. Looks out to me.
I will update OP and get on my XDA app to hit thanks. Thanks for pointing out the simple directions I failed to see on SAM mobile. My phone is back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad that worked out for u bud.....[emoji41][emoji106]
☆Swyped From SFive SS Edition☆

I wonder if this would work on the regular S5? If someone tries and it does please report back....THanks

LuckyColdJohnson said:
I wonder if this would work on the regular S5? If someone tries and it does please report back....THanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WWWHYY would you even want to know if this will work when you have your own firmware?! Then you try and convince someone else to take the plunge and try instead of you doing it? Just wondering why... cause i'm very baffled right now.

Caliesv said:
WWWHYY would you even want to know if this will work when you have your own firmware?! Then you try and convince someone else to take the plunge and try instead of you doing it? Just wondering why... cause i'm very baffled right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhhhh. I'm sorry you feel that way. I was running s 5 ROMS just fine on my phone. Their basicly the same but with a few different specs.
What plunge are you talking about dude? I have soft bricked my phone (formated data) and used this to start fresh. The more we know the better. I have done it. Its fine. I have ran NCE NE4, you must not know whats going on here. That what this thread is for. Restoring your phone to factory defaults. I have done it for the Active and if someone did it on their regular s 5 than I want to know.

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Uhhhh. I'm sorry you feel that way. I was running s 5 ROMS just fine on my phone. Their basicly the same but with a few different specs.
What plunge are you talking about dude? I have soft bricked my phone (formated data) and used this to start fresh. The more we know the better. I have done it. Its fine. I have ran NC2 NE4, you must not know whats going on here. That what this thread is for. Restoring your phone to factory defaults. I have done it for the Active and if someone did it on their regular s 5 than I want to know. THATS IT. Now go here for being mean > CLICK ME @Caliesv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL! nice actually made me laugh! lol i hear ya man. i was just wondering why. and you full fulled my wondering. thanks

Caliesv said:
LOL! nice actually made me laugh! lol i hear ya man. i was just wondering why. and you full fulled my wondering. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all good. I'm glad I made you laugh too. Really. I'm just messing with ya a little....This thread is for Active users. Like I said, if this can work for the regular S 5, then I will update the OP for S5/S5 Actives only. Thats all. I was on NCE (A regular S 5 ROM) when I did this and it worked perfectly.

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Its all good. I'm glad I made you laugh too. Really. I'm just messing with ya a little....This thread is for Active users. Like I said, if this can work for the regular S 5, then I will update the OP for S5/S5 Actives only. Thats all. I was on NCE (A regular S 5 ROM) when I did this and it worked perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries man lol. yeah i have an active too. i hope we get our own thread soon. And thanks for the steps, tons of people are going to need it lol

Caliesv said:
No worries man lol. yeah i have an active too. i hope we get our own thread soon. And thanks for the steps, tons of people are going to need it lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10-4.....It really helped me when I screwed up. This worked 100% for me. I have flashed over 5 different ROMS from T-Mobile, International, as well as At&t ROMs we have. Sometimes its better to start all the way over fresh. Sometimes we get into a pickle and need to start over. This will help us.....Thanks !!!!

Continued thanks for being our official S5 Active tester. I'm glad to hear you got it back to running and that you were able to find the firmware for our G870A. This will come in handy when I get my phone past the point of no return, it usually takes me a month or so but I'll get there.
Please keep us informed as your tests, trials and discoveries continue!

thepktrckt said:
Continued thanks for being our official S5 Active tester. I'm glad to hear you got it back to running and that you were able to find the firmware for our G870A. This will come in handy when I get my phone past the point of no return, it usually takes me a month or so but I'll get there.
Please keep us informed as your tests, trials and discoveries continue!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. Looking at a GPS issue now. Something has screwed it all up. Probably a module or two (exposed) Almost tempted to restore again and test before each install.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

If you go back to stock and the GPS still doesn't initiate let me know. There was a way to hard reset the GPS that I came across on the gs3 that may work. Every time I flash a rom if it's acting goofy I wipe everything and go back to 100% stock. Sometimes things get stuck and left behind that can muck things up. Think of it like a colon clense for your phone. Glad the Odin worked for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app

Intub8 said:
If you go back to stock and the GPS still doesn't initiate let me know. There was a way to hard reset the GPS that I came across on the gs3 that may work. Every time I flash a rom if it's acting goofy I wipe everything and go back to 100% stock. Sometimes things get stuck and left behind that can muck things up. Think of it like a colon clense for your phone. Glad the Odin worked for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Please share if you don't mind. I broke the GPS lol. I don't believe flashing this official firmware did it though, I think flashing different ROM's did it but who am I......I found a GPS fix I used for my Note 3 (Kit Kat) You have to flash it in recovery. Is that how yours is? Here is the file for you to check out if you want to. I haven't flashed it yet though. >>>> Deleted Link ....That didnt work. Got random reboots.

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Yes, Please share if you don't mind. I broke the GPS lol. I don't believe flashing this official firmware did it though, I think flashing different ROM's did it but who am I......I found a GPS fix I used for my Note 3 (Kit Kat) You have to flash it in recovery. Is that how yours is? Here is the file for you to check out if you want to. I haven't flashed it yet though. >>>> Deleted Link ....That didnt work. Got random reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found it after about an hour of looking , You must Odin back to a stock ROM first.
((((2. Enter into dialer *2767*3855# (Will do a HARD reset, no internal storage will be lost except the usual data)
3. Boot up again and run... )))
keep in mind this was the method to fix the gps on the note 2 and it may or may not still be a good dialer code for your s5.

Intub8 said:
Found it after about an hour of looking , You must Odin back to a stock ROM first.
((((2. Enter into dialer *2767*3855# (Will do a HARD reset, no internal storage will be lost except the usual data)
3. Boot up again and run... )))
keep in mind this was the method to fix the gps on the note 2 and it may or may not still be a good dialer code for your s5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I restored a back up and it's working again. Something I installed did it. I'm trying to figure out what did. It could be anything. Thanks for this.

Caliesv said:
WWWHYY would you even want to know if this will work when you have your own firmware?! Then you try and convince someone else to take the plunge and try instead of you doing it? Just wondering why... cause i'm very baffled right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And @Caliesv I would ask you Why Not? The whole point of unlocking/rooting/building custom ROMs is because WE CAN, and how better to learn what we can and can't do then by trying? Just because a device has its own firmware has absolutely no bearing on what ROM you flash, granted as the default firmware it likely wont flash do to a signature mismatch but as a custom ROM why not?
I might just build one for the Heck of it.

GPS is a problem still. About to re-flash the restore and see what happens without root. Will report back.

[Q] G Flex to be delivered tomorrow. External memory/Root/Wifi tether Q's. : )

New day new horizons.
1) External card
Bummed that I have no external memory.
I have purchased titanium backup. The backup is on my sd card.
I assume I need to copy the whole card to pc then copy it to my internal memory?
Suggestions much appreciated.
2) Rooting
I saw a few rooting threads for the flex. Would really appreciate suggestions for rooting methods which worked.
3) Wifi tether
I have the Miller/Lemons wifi tether which I purchased. Once the flex is rooted I will give it a go.
Suggestions?
Thank you so much for any assistance. I really appreciate it.

Towelroot for rooting ... I don't have the link but you can google it, and bump to get system recovery..
Sent from my LG-D959

maldito.boss said:
Towelroot for rooting ... I don't have the link but you can google it, and bump to get system recovery..
Sent from my LG-D959
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Once rooted Ill try my wifi app.
As far as sd card I guess Ill have to plug into pc and upload/download from there.

WOW
Towelroot is off the charts!!!!!! Holy Cremoley easiest root ever. Thanks again. You just saved me hours. Thanks.

maldito.boss said:
Towelroot for rooting ... I don't have the link but you can google it, and bump to get system recovery..
Sent from my LG-D959
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Towel root is at www.towelroot.com

It was so easy, it took longer to donate to the kid then it did to root.

Use playfulgod's apk that is posted in the dev section to get twrp recovery on KitKat but there are no ROMs at the moment. We just got custom recovery on KitKat so I'm sure the dev will take off. I've been working on playful god's cm11. Got it to boot and got data now but no sound and no phone. Text work and data works.

maluminse said:
New day new horizons.
1) External card
Bummed that I have no external memory.
I have purchased titanium backup. The backup is on my sd card.
I assume I need to copy the whole card to pc then copy it to my internal memory?
Suggestions much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use one of these for my SD card needs. I have also used and OTG cable with a sd card reader. The meenova is a little bit cleaner though.
Also, I used towel root a few moths back and I agree it is a superb root method. However, I recently had to replace my phone through geek squad warranty (phone casing was peeling apart) and the new one came with 4.4.2. I also took all the latest OTA updated from AT&T, and I couldn't get Towelroot to work. I even tracked down the tr v.1 apk which I originally used, but nothing worked. I decided to give Stumproot a try and worked great.
tl;dr... if towelroot doesn't work in the future, try stump

I tried towelroot on my d950 I just upgraded to 4.4.2 but it says device not supported when I click make it ra1n. Any suggestions?

odd
Did you get the latest towelroot?
Im on 4.4.2.
Like a dunce i got my phone and allowed the update dying to load.
Maybe wipe? Idk. I basically got the phone, did some minor changes and then allowed update.
Then rooted with towelroot.
----
WIFI tether update. Im pasting this from a few threads I posted this in:
Long awaited.
Are you ready? It might seem complicated but in reality, the simulated reality, its actually quite simple.
Step 1)
Root your phone. Towelroot is awesome. Google.
Step 2)
Install this wifi tether. All thanks to Fabio who is fab yo.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.snclab.wifitetherrouter
Step 3)
Use mouse 3 to scroll down to flex. OR for advanced users ctrl-f type in flex hit enter
Follow the directions:
https://sites.google.com/site/wifitetherrouter/home/device-configuration
Step 4)
Have a pralines and cream scoop of ice cream. (crucial)
Use at your own risk!!
Not responsible for global warming, obesity or malaria.
peace

[Q] Whoops... Wiped System. Mayday!

Good Evening XDA Note 4 Devs/Users,
The Bad News;
I seem to have gotten myself into a pickle. and, Hopefully.. one that isn't permanent.
So, I was planning on reinstalling Firekat 4.4.4 after being on CM12 (Lolipop) Remix. everything went super till I went to wipe my data/cache. In the process of being yelled at by two people and in the stress of it all I accidentally wiped the system data too. Which, seems to have deleted just about everything.. including the original backup of my device, the two ROMS and the system OS. The phone is also claiming not to be rooted now and TWRP seems to have been deleted too. The only thing I can really do is boot into download mode which ODIN keeps refusing to detect. and, Windows 8.1 keeps thinking the phone is a Banana.
The Good News;
I May have a Backup of the Original Unrooted TMO KitKat stored on my Laptop from ODIN.
I May Be able to push the Unrooted ROM by ADB / ODIN
I can boot into Download mode.
So, knowing my predicament and knowing I screwed up. Any advice or help from here to get the device working again?
Also, I promise not to try and turn the phone into a brick again. :good:
Thank you in Advance! :highfive:

Odin

follow this http://forum.xda-developers.com/not...sy-steps-stock-odin-n910tuvu1anih-cf-t2903733

I'm on FK, I always wipe everything. As long as my Zip (for install) is on the external SD card, I'm good. So what's wrong?
As for not having TWRP, I would also just Odin to stock, reinstall it. Should be an easy fix.

madmike23 said:
I'm on FK, I always wipe everything. As long as my Zip (for install) is on the external SD card, I'm good. So what's wrong?
As for not having TWRP, I would also just Odin to stock, reinstall it. Should be an easy fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from a phone that if you end up deleting everything like this. You bricked the device completely with it not even turning on. (Older android phone). So, Naturally. I thought I had screwed myself with it. lol
I did fix it though right after I posted the thread. I managed to get one of the rom's to flash through odin. (so, I guess I did not accidentally unroot it). I think I Love Samsung phones now that I can accidentally brick it and then still get myself out of trouble with the help of you all

I dont know anyone who has bricked a samsung in a while. Odin is great. Only mess up would be if you delete pit file

BACARDILIMON said:
I dont know anyone who has bricked a samsung in a while. Odin is great. Only mess up would be if you delete pit file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I regret to say this is my first Samsung device.. was a Motorola and HTC fanboy before both which I bricked one way or the other..

BACARDILIMON said:
I dont know anyone who has bricked a samsung in a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would still be careful. I managed to brick my Note 3 so hard that JTAG couldn't bring it back to life. They are easy to recover from soft bricks, but they aren't invincible...

Face_Plant said:
I would still be careful. I managed to brick my Note 3 so hard that JTAG couldn't bring it back to life. They are easy to recover from soft bricks, but they aren't invincible...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really. I was working on 3 phones and flashed the wrong rom on my note 3. It was from a totally different phone. Took 6 hours to bring back to life. Odin would install a part then fail so just kept pushing and wiping and finally went in. I was mad as hell since i qas going on vacation the next day. Lol.

BACARDILIMON said:
Really. I was working on 3 phones and flashed the wrong rom on my note 3. It was from a totally different phone. Took 6 hours to bring back to life. Odin would install a part then fail so just kept pushing and wiping and finally went in. I was mad as hell since i qas going on vacation the next day. Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't get into download mode. The phone was completely unresponsive to all button combos and my laptop. I tried a USB jig, an unbrick image flashed on an SD card, yelling at it, and sending it off for JTAG but nothing could bring it back. I was quite sad because I had a lot of good memories with that phone, but my Note 4 fills the void nicely.

Hi
I managed to get in trouble with note 3...I have listed my entire trial & error here, can someone please help me bring this phone back to life.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...ed-samsung-note-3-n9005-t3058408/post59580154

Note 3 N900A 5.0 Lollipop root problems! Help!

Hey guys!*
First time posting on this site but I'm hoping you guys can help!
I have a Note 3 N900AUCUEOC2 5.0 Lollipop version.
My ultimate goal is to root my Note 3. Since in the past I have rooted my old phones and love it. But with the Note 3, specially the N900a 5.0 lollipop version, it seems hardest to get accurate root instructions for.*
After days of searching over many forums, I came to the conclusion that I need to flash my version (using Odin) Lollipop 5.0 OC2 back to Kitkat 4.4 NC2 and then from there I can use Towel Root to root my device and then upgrade to 5.0 again. So I thought..?
First of all, I backed up all my contacts and apps and everything using Easy Back Up. To my ext SD card an then I removed my ext SD card for safe keeping. Then I downloaded the required (working) Odin N900AUCUCNC2 files. Which was 4 separate files. I then put my phone into Odin Mode and connected to PC and ran Odin with the files selected. Everything went smooth, passed and my phone rebooted.. of course I was expecting a full factory reset with the new version. But when I check the version it says I'm still on 5.0??? And I even tried to fire up Towel Root and it won't even let me go to the site anymore and gives me a 404 error messege. All other sites seem to work tho.
Also to confuse things more, I turned off my phone and put my SD card back in to retrieve my back up and everything else on it. But... there's nothing there! It's complete wiped clean! Which doesn't make sense since I didn't have it inside my phone during the flashing progress.*
So now I basically flashed my phone for nothing and lost all my data in the process.*
I thought I was more computer savy than this but I guess this one stumped me and I could really use your guys help.*
Where did I go wrong and how can I fix it?

Monstrous22 said:
Hey guys!*
First time posting on this site but I'm hoping you guys can help!
I have a Note 3 N900AUCUEOC2 5.0 Lollipop version.
My ultimate goal is to root my Note 3. Since in the past I have rooted my old phones and love it. But with the Note 3, specially the N900a 5.0 lollipop version, it seems hardest to get accurate root instructions for.*
After days of searching over many forums, I came to the conclusion that I need to flash my version (using Odin) Lollipop 5.0 OC2 back to Kitkat 4.4 NC2 and then from there I can use Towel Root to root my device and then upgrade to 5.0 again. So I thought..?
First of all, I backed up all my contacts and apps and everything using Easy Back Up. To my ext SD card an then I removed my ext SD card for safe keeping. Then I downloaded the required (working) Odin N900AUCUCNC2 files. Which was 4 separate files. I then put my phone into Odin Mode and connected to PC and ran Odin with the files selected. Everything went smooth, passed and my phone rebooted.. of course I was expecting a full factory reset with the new version. But when I check the version it says I'm still on 5.0??? And I even tried to fire up Towel Root and it won't even let me go to the site anymore and gives me a 404 error messege. All other sites seem to work tho.
Also to confuse things more, I turned off my phone and put my SD card back in to retrieve my back up and everything else on it. But... there's nothing there! It's complete wiped clean! Which doesn't make sense since I didn't have it inside my phone during the flashing progress.*
So now I basically flashed my phone for nothing and lost all my data in the process.*
I thought I was more computer savy than this but I guess this one stumped me and I could really use your guys help.*
Where did I go wrong and how can I fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sounds like you did everything typically right, but i dont have this device to verify the steps. best to post your question in the note 3 q&a forums for quicker and possibly more accurate answers.
just my opinion, but im betting your sd wasnt wiped, just something wrong with your phone and cant read it, i could be wrong. you could use an adapter and put it in your pc to verify if its clean or not.

bweN diorD said:
sounds like you did everything typically right, but i dont have this device to verify the steps. best to post your question in the note 3 q&a forums for quicker and possibly more accurate answers.
just my opinion, but im betting your sd wasnt wiped, just something wrong with your phone and cant read it, i could be wrong. you could use an adapter and put it in your pc to verify if its clean or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh okay. Yeah I wasn't sure where exactly to post, so I'll post it in Q/A.
And I didn't think to check my sd card on my computer. I'll try that.

Monstrous22 said:
Ohh okay. Yeah I wasn't sure where exactly to post, so I'll post it in Q/A.
And I didn't think to check my sd card on my computer. I'll try that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its ok to post here, but if your device has its own forums, you will generally get more detailed help there faster