Hi i just read about the i9295 and the i537 and they are the same device accept the different in the frameware version (the i9295 - 4.2.2, i537 - 4.4.2).
so i have the question can i install the i537 4.4.2 stock rom on the i9295?
and if not i'll be happy if you can explain why (just so i can understand).
thanx ahead! :laugh:
solokiller11 said:
Hi i just read about the i9295 and the i537 and they are the same device accept the different in the frameware version (the i9295 - 4.2.2, i537 - 4.4.2).
so i have the question can i install the i537 4.4.2 stock rom on the i9295?
and if not i'll be happy if you can explain why (just so i can understand).
thanx ahead! :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While the i9295 and the i537 have the same hardware, they have different software. More specifically, the i9295 has an unlocked bootloader while the i537 has a locked bootloader. What this means is that the i9295 is able to flash/install a custom recovery, custom kernel, and custom ROM while on the i537, in order to flash anything it must be signed by Samsung. Only official firmware is signed by Samsung, so there is no way to flash a custom recovery or custom kernel. There is a way to flash custom ROMs, but that's not important here.
To answer you question, theoretically you could flash the i537 firmware on your i9295, but you will most likely end up with a bricked phone because bootloaders are only compatible with their intended models. So the i537 bootloader will only work with the i537 and will brick the i9295.
If you still really want the i537 4.4.2 firmware on your phone, I'd be more than happy to trade my i537 for your i9295. This is a great phone and works great in every respect, I only wish it had an unlocked bootloader like the i9295. If I could do it all over again I would have bought the i9295 instead.
EDIT: I think @mythi is working on a stock 4.4 ROM for the i9295, you might want to ask him about it.
Devo7v said:
While the i9295 and the i537 have the same hardware, they have different software. More specifically, the i9295 has an unlocked bootloader while the i537 has a locked bootloader. What this means is that the i9295 is able to flash/install a custom recovery, custom kernel, and custom ROM while on the i537, in order to flash anything it must be signed by Samsung. Only official firmware is signed by Samsung, so there is no way to flash a custom recovery or custom kernel. There is a way to flash custom ROMs, but that's not important here.
To answer you question, theoretically you should be able to flash the i537 firmware on your i9295, but you will end up with a locked bootloader and no way to revert it. Your phone would still work and you'd still be able to use it, but it would be locked down so that you'd only be able to use AT&T firmware. If you really want 4.4 on your phone, I suggest you flash one of the custom ROMs in the development section.
If you still really want the 4.4.2 firmware on your phone, I'd be more than happy to trade my i537 for your i9295. This is a great phone and works great in every respect, I only wish it had an unlocked bootloader like the i9295. If I could do it all over again I would have bought the i9295 instead.
EDIT: I think @mythi is working on a stock 4.4 ROM for the i9295, you might want to ask him about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thank you very much for your answer it helped me a lot.
and about the locked bootloader, are you sure that it can't be revert?
and one more thing i bought this phone like two weeks ago so what is the best custom rom for now? (i saw only the carbon rom 4.4.2)
and one more question, if the i537 4.4.2 is signed by samsung but with locked bootloader and the i9295 4.2.2 is also signed by samsung and with unlocked bootloader so cant i just flash back the i9295 framewere over the i537 framewere?
solokiller11 said:
Hi thank you very much for your answer it helped me a lot.
and about the locked bootloader, are you sure that it can't be revert?
and one more thing i bought this phone like two weeks ago so what is the best custom rom for now? (i saw only the carbon rom 4.4.2)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you have a locked bootloader, the only way to get another bootloader on the phone is to flash one that has been signed by Samsung. Samsung uses a different signature on unlocked bootloaders, so there is no way to revert.
I don't think you really looked? I just opened the Development forum and found the following on the first page:
[S4-I9295● KK 4.4.2][05.05 M1][SOKP》》SONIC OPEN KANG PROJECT][AIO][Weekly Builds]
[Rom] Updated [Unofficial] Carbon Rom 4.4.2 based on CM11.0 [24.04.14]
[Rom] [Unofficial] BeanStalk 4.4.2 based on CM11.0 [24.04.14]
[ROM][4.4.2]Unofficial Dirty AOSB Build]
[ROM] 4.4.2 | MoKee Opensource | CM & AOSP | HALO][Dirty-Build]
[ROM][4.4.2][Unofficial Dirty SlimBean Build][New Build Available][Slim Weekly 3.0]
In the Original Development forum there is [ROM][Unofficial/Experimental][Android 4.4] CyanogenMod 11.0 for SGS4A (int'l). It's under constant development and I hear good things about it, but again, I have an i537 so I can't try any of these.
Devo7v said:
Once you have a locked bootloader, the only way to get another bootloader on the phone is to flash one that has been signed by Samsung. Samsung does not sign unlocked bootloaders, so there is no way to revert.
I don't think you really looked? I just opened the Development forum and found the following on the first page:
[S4-I9295● KK 4.4.2][05.05 M1][SOKP》》SONIC OPEN KANG PROJECT][AIO][Weekly Builds]
[Rom] Updated [Unofficial] Carbon Rom 4.4.2 based on CM11.0 [24.04.14]
[Rom] [Unofficial] BeanStalk 4.4.2 based on CM11.0 [24.04.14]
[ROM][4.4.2]Unofficial Dirty AOSB Build]
[ROM] 4.4.2 | MoKee Opensource | CM & AOSP | HALO][Dirty-Build]
[ROM][4.4.2][Unofficial Dirty SlimBean Build][New Build Available][Slim Weekly 3.0]
In the Original Development forum there is [ROM][Unofficial/Experimental][Android 4.4] CyanogenMod 11.0 for SGS4A (int'l). It's under constant development and I hear good things about it, but again, I have an i537 so I can't try any of these.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Samsung doesnt sign unlocked bootloaders so how the i9295 have one?
and thank you for the custom roms
solokiller11 said:
If Samsung doesnt sign unlocked bootloaders so how the i9295 have one?
and thenk you for the custom roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The just flash it to the phone. To simplify the way the bootloader works, it is the first thing that loads when you power on the phone, it then tells the phone what other pieces of software to load (aboot, sbl, kernel, etc.).
With an unlocked bootloader, it does just that, it loads the next piece of software during the booting of the phone. With a locked bootloader, the bootloader checks the signature of the next piece of software to load, if the signature matches the signature that the bootloader expects then the next piece of software loads. If the signature doesn't match, then booting stops.
When you flash something to the phone using Odin (currently the way you flash bootloaders), with an unlocked bootloader Odin will flash it, for better or worse. But with a locked bootloader, the bootloader checks the signature of the file you are trying to flash and if they match then it can be flashed, if it doesn't match then the flash aborts without any changes being made.
So, how can Samsung put an unlocked bootloader on the phone without it being signed? When you start with empty hardware you can essentially put any software you want on the phone, there is nothing there preventing it, but once you put a locked bootloader on the phone if will then check every single piece of software you try to flash to the phone.
TL;DR Think of the hardware as an empty room. You can put anything you want in the room to start with, but if the first thing you put in the room is a door with a lock, then the only things you can put in the room from then on are things that have a key to that lock.
Devo7v said:
The just flash it to the phone. To simplify the way the bootloader works, it is the first thing that loads when you power on the phone, it then tells the phone what other pieces of software to load (aboot, sbl, kernel, etc.).
With an unlocked bootloader, it does just that, it loads the next piece of software during the booting of the phone. With a locked bootloader, the bootloader checks the signature of the next piece of software to load, if the signature matches the signature that the bootloader expects then the next piece of software loads. If the signature doesn't match, then booting stops.
When you flash something to the phone using Odin (currently the way you flash bootloaders), with an unlocked bootloader Odin will flash it. But with a locked bootloader, the bootloader checks the signature of the file you are trying to flash and if they match then it can be flashed, if it doesn't match then the flash aborts without any changes being made.
So, how can Samsung put an unlocked bootloader on the phone without it being signed? When you start with empty hardware you can essentially put any software you want on the phone, there is nothing there preventing it, but once you put a locked bootloader on the phone if will then check every single piece of software you try to flash to the phone.
TL;DR Think of the hardware as an empty room. You can put anything you want in the room to start with, but if the first thing you put in the room is a door with a lock, then the only things you can put in the room from then on are things that have a key to that lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi man Thank you very very much for the explanation about the bootloaders and i think i gonna install the carbon rom
Devo7v said:
While the i9295 and the i537 have the same hardware, they have different software. More specifically, the i9295 has an unlocked bootloader while the i537 has a locked bootloader. What this means is that the i9295 is able to flash/install a custom recovery, custom kernel, and custom ROM while on the i537, in order to flash anything it must be signed by Samsung. Only official firmware is signed by Samsung, so there is no way to flash a custom recovery or custom kernel. There is a way to flash custom ROMs, but that's not important here.
To answer you question, theoretically you should be able to flash the i537 firmware on your i9295, but you will end up with a locked bootloader and no way to revert it. Your phone would still work and you'd still be able to use it, but it would be locked down so that you'd only be able to use AT&T firmware. If you really want 4.4 on your phone, I suggest you flash one of the custom ROMs in the development section.
If you still really want the 4.4.2 firmware on your phone, I'd be more than happy to trade my i537 for your i9295. This is a great phone and works great in every respect, I only wish it had an unlocked bootloader like the i9295. If I could do it all over again I would have bought the i9295 instead.
EDIT: I think @mythi is working on a stock 4.4 ROM for the i9295, you might want to ask him about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NONONONONONONO ... never ever i say never ever repeat what u said in here ... flashing a other devices bootloader will destroy your phone and you will need something called jig to fix it ... this happens because every device that sammy realeses has a private key for certain partitions on the mmc like the bootloader the rbm etc ... flashing other devices partitions even if the share the same hardware (yes) even if they are from the same family will kill your phone and you will end with a paper that need 200$ service . i request you to edit your comment since alot of the people here are noobs or have little knowelge .
mythi said:
NONONONONONONO ... never ever i say never ever repeat what u said in here ... flashing a other devices bootloader will destroy your phone and you will need something called jig to fix it ... this happens because every device that sammy realeses has a private key for certain partitions on the mmc like the bootloader the rbm etc ... flashing other devices partitions even if the share the same hardware (yes) even if they are from the same family will kill your phone and you will end with a paper that need 200$ service . i request you to edit your comment since alot of the people here are noobs or have little knowelge .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to edit my post, but I'm also going to disagree with you. Back when I had a Samsung Captivate you were able to flash Galaxy S i9000 ROMs with some minor tweaks. Inadvertently I accidentally flashed an i9000 one-click to my i897. The flash finished and my was messed up, but not so bad that it made the phone unusable (i.e. buttons were mapped incorrectly and the display was inverted). I discovered I had installed an i9000 bootloader on my phone because the partitions were different and I couldn't boot the phone after flashing i897 stock firmware. The only way I could get stock firmware back on my phone was to flash i897 bootloaders which lead me to believe that my phone had the i9000 bootloader on it. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe Samsung has changed the way things work in the past 4 years, but I do not believe this was always the case.
That said, I will make sure that everybody understands that they could brick their phone if they flash a different bootloader.
Devo7v said:
I'm going to edit my post, but I'm also going to disagree with you. Back when I had a Samsung Captivate you were able to flash Galaxy S i9000 ROMs with some minor tweaks. Inadvertently I accidentally flashed an i9000 one-click to my i897. The flash finished and my was messed up, but not so bad that it made the phone unusable (i.e. buttons were mapped incorrectly and the display was inverted). I discovered I had installed an i9000 bootloader on my phone because the partitions were different and I couldn't boot the phone after flashing i897 stock firmware. The only way I could get stock firmware back on my phone was to flash i897 bootloaders which lead me to believe that my phone had the i9000 bootloader on it. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe Samsung has changed the way things work in the past 4 years, but I do not believe this was always the case.
That said, I will make sure that everybody understands that they could brick their phone if they flash a different bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the captivate is another story the developers got a leak of a signed rbm of the chipset of (i suspect) the humming bird chipset ... when you have something like that minor modifications can be done ... the same happened a while ago with some 8xx and i not sure of the 6xx -which runs in our phones- the leaked rbm would help devs to make other variants easily compatible in the low level side .
bootloaders :good:are also different story ... each and every device these days has a private key as i said earlier this key gets checked before booting by something in chipset (hardware side) and if key mismatch the device will enter a qcom mode for debugging etcetcetcetc........
trust me you don't want to brick a 600$ for simply to flash a bootloader :good:
mythi said:
Well the captivate is another story the developers got a leak of a signed rbm of the chipset of (i suspect) the humming bird chipset ... when you have something like that minor modifications can be done ... the same happened a while ago with some 8xx and i not sure of the 6xx -which runs in our phones- the leaked rbm would help devs to make other variants easily compatible in the low level side .
bootloaders :good:are also different story ... each and every device these days has a private key as i said earlier this key gets checked before booting by something in chipset (hardware side) and if key mismatch the device will enter a qcom mode for debugging etcetcetcetc........
trust me you don't want to brick a 600$ for simply to flash a bootloader :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. So here a related question, what would happen if you took an i9295 with 4.2.2 on it and flashed the i537 4.2.2 firmware minus the bootloader? Would it fail to boot due to partitioning or would it work?
mythi said:
NONONONONONONO ... never ever i say never ever repeat what u said in here ... flashing a other devices bootloader will destroy your phone and you will need something called jig to fix it ... this happens because every device that sammy realeses has a private key for certain partitions on the mmc like the bootloader the rbm etc ... flashing other devices partitions even if the share the same hardware (yes) even if they are from the same family will kill your phone and you will end with a paper that need 200$ service . i request you to edit your comment since alot of the people here are noobs or have little knowelge .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi man i dont think you right because my last phone was xtreamer joyz which is the exact same phone as the newman n2 and i could install both official framewere with no problem and those two phones have the exact same specs and also the i537 and the i9295 so i think it should work just fine.
but my knowelge isnt good as yours so correct me if im wrong here but i think it should work
EDIT: I still asking my question but also joining to Devo7v question about what will happen.
Devo7v said:
Thanks for the info. So here a related question, what would happen if you took an i9295 with 4.2.2 on it and flashed the i537 4.2.2 firmware minus the bootloader? Would it fail to boot due to partitioning or would it work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we get a way of unlocking the bootloader we can do this ... I will explain further ...
A stock Sammy ROM comes in the form of a tar.md5 package the .md5 part holds the signature of Sammy , this signature is a type of code that makes the bootloader understand that this package is a signed one with a Sammy key ... When we take the bootloader out of The package (sbl1.bin , sbl2.bin and sbl3.bin) we have to take other parts such as the rbm after taking these we have to repackage the remaining parts in a new tar package ... After doing this we can sign it with an md5 key but this key will give missmatch errors during flash so we have to get the keys of Sammy ... Even if we find those we will have find away to unlock the bootloader to unlock more things
mythi said:
If we get a way of unlocking the bootloader we can do this ... I will explain further ...
A stock Sammy ROM comes in the form of a tar.md5 package the .md5 part holds the signature of Sammy , this signature is a type of code that makes the bootloader understand that this package is a signed one with a Sammy key ... When we take the bootloader out of The package (sbl1.bin , sbl2.bin and sbl3.bin) we have to take other parts such as the rbm after taking these we have to repackage the remaining parts in a new tar package ... After doing this we can sign it with an md5 key but this key will give missmatch errors during flash so we have to get the keys of Sammy ... Even if we find those we will have find away to unlock the bootloader to unlock more things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to say that i didn't really understand why i cant install the official samsung i537 over the official samsung i9295 because the both signed by Samsung.
like if i have flashed the i9295 4.2.2 official stock on my i9295 so i can flash the i537 4.4.2 official stock no? they both have the Samsung key no?
solokiller11 said:
I have to say that i didn't really understand why i cant install the official samsung i537 over the official samsung i9295 because the both signed by Samsung.
like if i have flashed the i9295 4.2.2 official stock on my i9295 so i can flash the i537 4.4.2 official stock no? they both have the Samsung key no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So u have a gt-i9295 i thought you have i537 :crying::crying: any way that can be possible as i did it already just wait and you will get it ... i have ensured it won't brick any phone but wifi and camera are not working
mythi said:
So u have a gt-i9295 i thought you have i537 :crying::crying: any way that can be possible as i did it already just wait and you will get it ... i have ensured it won't brick any phone but wifi and camera are not working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thank you very much for your answer :laugh:.
And if I will choose to install the i537 4.4.2 on my i9295 do you know if i can fix the camera and the wifi?
solokiller11 said:
Hi thank you very much for your answer :laugh:.
And if I will choose to install the i537 4.4.2 on my i9295 do you know if i can fix the camera and the wifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any idea what must be done ... But I need to investigate more on this .
Related
Hi all.
I was a big xda user / developer around the times of x8 / x10.
Things have changed alot
I've now got Xperia sp and is rooted via towelroot and Installed the recoveries. Bootloader is still locked and I am on stock everything
I NEED help. Can I flash a custom rom. Really want to but not.sure.if this will brick my phone. So here I am asking.for help
Thanks in advance and.if.you help I'll be clicking your thanks button.
Thanks again
Yes you can install custom roms, head over the roms zone and find the ones that in their names says "LB" which means Locked bootloader, the ones that say "UBL" are for unlocked bootloader and if the roms says both it means they work on both locked and unlocked bootloader
xAD3r1ty said:
Yes you can install custom roms, head over the roms zone and find the ones that in their names says "LB" which means Locked bootloader, the ones that say "UBL" are for unlocked bootloader and if the roms says both it means they work on both locked and unlocked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks mate, I was wondering what lb stood for. Not be too long until I am contributing to builds here. I use to help build kernel and bug fixes on xda back in 2010
I love the android Dev section just don't want to brick my.device
Thanks again
Where is thanks button gone?
Also can I flash rom just like I use to
Download on my phone put in sd card boot to recovery then.flash
Going.to go for it soon will keep you informed what roms I try etc
Found the thanks button.
Need more help before I will flash a rom if you can pal?
I have build number end In.. . 205
Does a custom rom I want have to have same build number as my stock rom
Can I install this rom onto my phone.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2654422
I see now I must flash. 254. And.root via doomlord
That guy needs a medal, he's been awesome in this.scene from the beginning
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2758935
Please do me a favour and have a look at that
Can I install it I have root via towelroot and have recoveries installed and.the same build number 12.1.a.1.205?
Yes you can, that rom is for both LB and UBL, and thanks alot mate! i've been browsing xda for a long time now but never had a chance or didn't want to make an account, but oh well, anyway's.. i think there might be better roms for you to try, that one seems like it won't get any more updates..
Also, there's cm, paranoid, pac-man for Locked bootloader, you can take a look on them too
Just make a backup of your current rom in case you want to go back
And sorry for the late reply, wasn't at home!
What about the build number do I have to find one same as my.stock build number.
Nah, anyways, there's a FTF thread that has stock firmwares to download in case you want to flash stock firmware via FlashTools
Hi
I have been flashing for many years, but I think for the first time in 7 years, I am not feeling safe to flash on the Nexus 6.
I upgraded the stock to 5.1, and had a hard time figuring out what people did, other then flashing the CM 12 5.01 to brick thier phone.
Could someone Help compile a list of what not to do on the Nexus 6 and upgraded to stock 5.1?
What should I and others do in stead to insure we can unlock teh bootloader, flash recovery and flash custom rom safely
Thanks in advance
Flashed 5.1 BL and Modem on euphoria 5.0.2, then flashed back to stock 5.0.1, then flashed euphoria again, the same build upon which i flashed the 5.1 BL and Modem.
I didn't flash CM, still bricked my phone . And i don't know why. Coz after flashing it worked for a while and next morning it was bricked.
pallefar said:
Hi
I have been flashing for many years, but I think for the first time in 7 years, I am not feeling safe to flash on the Nexus 6.
I upgraded the stock to 5.1, and had a hard time figuring out what people did, other then flashing the CM 12 5.01 to brick thier phone.
Could someone Help compile a list of what not to do on the Nexus 6 and upgraded to stock 5.1?
What should I and others do in stead to insure we can unlock teh bootloader, flash recovery and flash custom rom safely
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the others relocked their bootloader after flashing the full 5.1 image and ended up in a bootloop. Not the end of the world but now the "enable OEM unlock" unsets every time you boot so if you lock the bootloader and end up in a bootloop, you cannot unlock the bootloader which means you cannot flash anything to recover.
Dont relock your bootloader?
So would you say that if you have unlocked the bottloader then dont relock it untill a fix for the brick has been found?
Also if you update to 5.1, the stay with 5.1 Roms to be on the safe side?
Thanks in advance, just want to help pthers with same questions
pallefar said:
What should I and others do in stead to insure we can unlock teh bootloader, flash recovery and flash custom rom safely
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think people are bricking b/c they are attempting to downgrade the bootloader and/or the partition table. In general, you should never do that with a Motorola phone. There are some examples when it could be done in the past, but those are few and far between.
The best advice is to know what you are flashing before you flash and make sure you never attempt to downgrade the bootloader or partition table. And never take an OTA until you revert back to stock.
Also, always enable OEM lock and USB debugging. If that makes your phone too insecure for you b/c you keep trade secrets, classified information or pictures of your private parts on your phone, then you shouldn't be unlocking and rooting your phone to begin with.
So based on what has helped avoid bricks on the Moto X:
1) ensure your bootloader is unlocked before you flash anything to your phone;
2) do not attempt to downgrade the bootloader or partition table*;
3) know what you are flashing and make sure whatever it is does not include files that would attempt to downgrade your bootloader or partition table*;
4) make sure OEM unlock and USB debugging are enabled each time you flash;
5) never take an OTA unless you have reverted back to stock completely;
6) never upgrade the bootloader w/o also upgrading the partition table* and vice-versa; and
7) use mfastboot for flashing**.
* there is apparently no partition table on a Nexus
** this may or may not be necessary on the Nexus 6
Now the above is a bit overkill - for instance, there may be situations in which you can take an OTA w/o reverting completely back to stock or there may be situations in which you can downgrade your bootloaders. But if you follow those rules above you should be safe from bricking your device.
As long as your bootloader is unlocked and you can get into bootloader mode and you have the factory images, you aren't bricked.
---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:57 PM ----------
randy6644 said:
Flashed 5.1 BL and Modem on euphoria 5.0.2, then flashed back to stock 5.0.1, then flashed euphoria again, the same build upon which i flashed the 5.1 BL and Modem.
I didn't flash CM, still bricked my phone . And i don't know why. Coz after flashing it worked for a while and next morning it was bricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you flash the 5.1 partition table when you flashed the 5.1 bootloader? I would never have a mismatch of versions b/t the bootloader and the partition table.
Once you upgraded the bootloader to 5.1, do you know if any of the subsequent flashes you did included earlier versions of the bootloader or the partition table?
pallefar said:
So would you say that if you have unlocked the bottloader then dont relock it untill a fix for the brick has been found?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally.
I'm not on 5.1 yet so I cant say if the "Enable OEM lock" is controlled by the bootloader at boot or the Kernel / OS..
Better be safe then sorry
JulesJam said:
I think people are bricking b/c they are downgrading the bootloader and/or the partition table. In general, you should never do that with a Motorola phone. There are some examples when it could be done, but those are few and far between.
The best advice is to know what you are flashing before you flash and make sure you never attempt to downgrade the bootloader or partition table. And never take an OTA until you revert back to stock.
Also, always enable OEM lock and USB debugging. If that makes your phone too insecure for you b/c you keep trade secrets, classified information or pictures of your private parts on your phone, then you shouldn't be unlocking and rooting your phone to begin with.
So:
1) ensure your bootloader is unlocked before you flash anything to your phone;
2) do not attempt to downgrade the bootloader or partition table;
3) know what you are flashing and make sure whatever it is does not include files that would attempt to downgrade your bootloader or partition table;
4) make sure OEM unlock and USB debugging are enabled each time you flash; and
5) never take an OTA unless you have reverted back to stock completely.
Now the above is a bit overkill - for instance, there may be situations in which you can take an OTA w/o reverting completely back to stock or there may be situations in which you can downgrade your bootloaders. But if you follow those rules above you should be safe from bricking your device.
As long as your bootloader is unlocked and you can get into bootloader mode and you have the factory images, you aren't bricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate, I think for now it is better to be dafe then sorry and follow your steps above
i believe it would be controlled by the kernel/OS...and thats how it gets disabled upon boot of 5.1
pallefar said:
Thanks mate, I think for now it is better to be dafe then sorry and follow your steps above
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I would add to that not to do anything to cause a version mismatch b/t the bootloader and the partition table. And since you shouldn't be downgrading those, what that means is never upgrade the bootloader w/o also upgrading the partition table and vice-versa.
Again, maybe you can get away with upgrading the bootloader w/o upgrading the partition table but I can't think of any reason not to have those both be on the same version.
One more thing - use mfastboot not fastboot to flash. mfastboot may only be needed for the larger files like system.img but I just use mfastboot all of the time and then I don't have to worry about it.
benefit of mfastboot
What is the benefit of mfastboot compared to normal fastboot flashing? just want to make sure everyhitng is covered
thanks in advance
pallefar said:
What is the benefit of mfastboot compared to normal fastboot flashing? just want to make sure everyhitng is covered
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-mFastboot.htm
pallefar said:
Hi
I have been flashing for many years, but I think for the first time in 7 years, I am not feeling safe to flash on the Nexus 6.
I upgraded the stock to 5.1, and had a hard time figuring out what people did, other then flashing the CM 12 5.01 to brick thier phone.
Could someone Help compile a list of what not to do on the Nexus 6 and upgraded to stock 5.1?
What should I and others do in stead to insure we can unlock teh bootloader, flash recovery and flash custom rom safely
Thanks in advance
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Click to collapse
The issue with bricking is that after updating to 5.1 people flashed CM which for some reason includes a bootloader. (no rom should include a BL and radio) When they flashed CM it tried to load an older bootloader which caused bricks. This will be seen by any roms that pretty much is just a renamed CM rom. My advise would be to know what your flashing by always inspecting the zip file before you flash it.
Is the nexus locking its bootloader itself now...I unlocked mine and never have knowing locked it back....So on every flash or after every reboot always turn OEM unlock on?
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
safe side
So basicly to be on the safe side, stay away or evestigate any Rom which is using the CM 12 source.
I guess AOSP is a safer bet at the moment? like Chroma rom
pallefar said:
So basicly to be on the safe side, stay away or evestigate any Rom which is using the CM 12 source.
I guess AOSP is a safer bet at the moment? like Chroma rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much. Many claim to be based off of AOSP but most are just using CM sources. I know Slim and DU are based off of AOSP. DU uses the theme engine from CM but thats about it. Slim doesnt use anything from CM last I knew. Many are moving away from using anything CM related so there may be more.
zelendel said:
Pretty much. Many claim to be based off of AOSP but most are just using CM sources. I know Slim and DU are based off of AOSP. DU uses the theme engine from CM but thats about it. Slim doesnt use anything from CM last I knew. Many are moving away from using anything CM related so there may be more.
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Click to collapse
Yep. I think @zephiK chroma is aosp no-cm.
awesome thanks guys, I think this thread will guide people to not brick thier phones
kenbrownstone said:
Is the nexus locking its bootloader itself now...I unlocked mine and never have knowing locked it back....So on every flash or after every reboot always turn OEM unlock on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it doesn't relock itself but lots of people who are on these forums don't really understand what they are doing/flashing and so to be extra safe, I put that in there for people always to double check that OEM unlock is enabled.
People may think they have unlocked when they haven't or may not realize they relocked. I know that seems hard to do but I have never seen so many bricked nexi in my life before.
Just trying to help the less experienced from bricking. If you know what you are doing you don't need to take advice from me.
---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:32 PM ----------
zelendel said:
The issue with bricking is that after updating to 5.1 people flashed CM which for some reason includes a bootloader. (no rom should include a BL and radio) When they flashed CM it tried to load an older bootloader which caused bricks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, that will do it - downgrading the bootloader is a no-no on a motorola phone except in rare cases when it was possible.
zelendel said:
My advise would be to know what your flashing by always inspecting the zip file before you flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Always!
Great write up! Saved my a$$ for sure. I updated my bootloader and radio the day it was available and I'm running a 5.0.1 CM12 based ROM. Here's where sometimes you get lucky, I was on v8.7 of this ROM, after I did the 5.1 bootloader and radio flash, an update came out to 8.8, I'm usually flash happy, but I figured why bother if I can wait for the 5.1 integration! I did unzip the update and no bootloader.img to be found, so I suppose the dev was wise enough not to put it in, but still.
I was curious about why most are moving away from CM? Because of these types of oversights? Their"interesting" business model?
JulesJam said:
I think people are bricking b/c they are attempting to downgrade the bootloader and/or the partition table. In general, you should never do that with a Motorola phone. There are some examples when it could be done in the past, but those are few and far between.
The best advice is to know what you are flashing before you flash and make sure you never attempt to downgrade the bootloader or partition table. And never take an OTA until you revert back to stock.
Also, always enable OEM lock and USB debugging. If that makes your phone too insecure for you b/c you keep trade secrets, classified information or pictures of your private parts on your phone, then you shouldn't be unlocking and rooting your phone to begin with.
So:
1) ensure your bootloader is unlocked before you flash anything to your phone;
2) do not attempt to downgrade the bootloader or partition table;
3) know what you are flashing and make sure whatever it is does not include files that would attempt to downgrade your bootloader or partition table;
4) make sure OEM unlock and USB debugging are enabled each time you flash;
5) never take an OTA unless you have reverted back to stock completely;
6) never upgrade the bootloader w/o also upgrading the partition table and vice-versa; and
7) use mfastboot for flashing.
Now the above is a bit overkill - for instance, there may be situations in which you can take an OTA w/o reverting completely back to stock or there may be situations in which you can downgrade your bootloaders. But if you follow those rules above you should be safe from bricking your device.
As long as your bootloader is unlocked and you can get into bootloader mode and you have the factory images, you aren't bricked.
---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:57 PM ----------
Did you flash the 5.1 partition table when you flashed the 5.1 bootloader? I would never have a mismatch of versions b/t the bootloader and the partition table.
Once you upgraded the bootloader to 5.1, do you know if any of the subsequent flashes you did included earlier versions of the bootloader or the partition table?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does nexus have a partition table to flash? I've never heard of that from a nexus forum. I just flashed the 5.1 BL and went back to 5.0 stock rom ,then flashed euphoria. I believe that you flash via Fastboot if your bootloade is mismatched, that you can't acutally flash it. Not unless you use dd command. I'm not sure about this, though. I'm no way a dev or someone with knowledge in this field. But for nexus devices i owned, i never saw any nexus could be bricked this easy. Yes, they're made by motorola, but it's still a nexus . LG makes nexus 4 and 5, doesn't mean LG locked their bootloader as well. I don't think it's a fault of Motorola or has anything to do with its manufacturer. It's a nexus.
Hello!
I've done some reading and having not gotten a satisfactory answer I thought I'd throw my question out to the community.
I'm currently running Twisted Lollipop v7.
I can Odin back to stock 4.4.2 whenever and redo towelroot and install safestrap etc.
I've been unsuccessful at flashing an AOSP rom and wanted to confirm once and for all if it is truly impossible to flash Blisspop or Cyanogenmod or Sonic or any of those I enjoyed on my trusty old S3 onto my unlocked At&T S5 Active.
If it is not possible I will get rid of this unlocked AT&T S5 active and get a used what? The T-mobile variant? The international variant? I just want to be able to flash whatever the hell I want without too much hassle! I do like the phone other than that though!
Looking forward to any advice!
Thanks!
Edbogue
edbogue said:
Hello!
I've done some reading and having not gotten a satisfactory answer I thought I'd throw my question out to the community.
I'm currently running Twisted Lollipop v7.
I can Odin back to stock 4.4.2 whenever and redo towelroot and install safestrap etc.
I've been unsuccessful at flashing an AOSP rom and wanted to confirm once and for all if it is truly impossible to flash Blisspop or Cyanogenmod or Sonic or any of those I enjoyed on my trusty old S3 onto my unlocked At&T S5 Active.
If it is not possible I will get rid of this unlocked AT&T S5 active and get a used what? The T-mobile variant? The international variant? I just want to be able to flash whatever the hell I want without too much hassle! I do like the phone other than that though!
Looking forward to any advice!
Thanks!
Edbogue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you can not flash any AOSP roms on a device that runs safestrap, the bootloader isnt unlocked so you cant install a custom recovery the closest thing to a recovery is safestrap, and with a locked bootloader you can not install kernels which is why you cant install AOSP based roms.
mcmellens said:
No you can not flash any AOSP roms on a device that runs safestrap, the bootloader isnt unlocked so you cant install a custom recovery the closest thing to a recovery is safestrap, and with a locked bootloader you can not install kernels which is why you cant install AOSP based roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your response!
Blues! It's what I suspected. I intend to offload this phone as a result and get another. Which variant would you recommend I get so I can flash happily and not worry about a locked bootloader? The SM-G900F, or what else would you recommend?
Thanks for your help!
Edbogue
edbogue said:
Thank you for your response!
Blues! It's what I suspected. I intend to offload this phone as a result and get another. Which variant would you recommend I get so I can flash happily and not worry about a locked bootloader? The SM-G900F, or what else would you recommend?
Thanks for your help!
Edbogue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any phone that has a carrier would be locked for the most part, i know sprint and maybe t-mobile usually don't lock there bootloaders, but that doesn't mean anything they could still be locked down. Your best bet if your looking to get a new phone for whatever reason stick with the ones straight from samsung the international versions. they usually don't have locked bootloaders.
Hi recently few members oriented me about the note 3 att version issues when trying to add a new port to it. I read a little and now i am looking for recommendations to get the best (fastest, clean, uptodate) por for my phone. Opinion recommendations are welcome. I am looking for something stable.
If the n900a is running a 4.3 or newer bootloader, the bootloader is locked which means twrp cannot be installed to the phone and the phone will only run custom roms that can be flashed with safestrap or possibly flash fire.
audit13 said:
If the n900a is running a 4.3 or newer bootloader, the bootloader is locked which means twrp cannot be installed to the phone and the phone will only run custom roms that can be flashed with safestrap or possibly flash fire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think is running the old version. I checked the AP and it ends in OC2
With oc2, the bootloader is locked.
audit13 said:
If the n900a is running a 4.3 or newer bootloader, the bootloader is locked which means twrp cannot be installed to the phone and the phone will only run custom roms that can be flashed with safestrap or possibly flash fire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and there is a way out of this? i cant really be sure some posts says you cant soe post there are ways to get something up
Nope, I know of no way around the locked bootloader. Same situation exists for the AT&T Samsung s4 which also has a locked bootloader.
I have never seen a post where someone can run twrp or cwm on an at&t s4 or note 3 with a locked bootloader.
Ohh well there goes my hope i guess i cant do anything. Any other kind of modification i can do to this phone?
You can root to remove bloatware. You can also use safestrap to flash some custom ROMs. Look in the development thread for ROMs that work with a locked bootloader. Here's an example: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786666
audit13 said:
You can root to remove bloatware. You can also use safestrap to flash some custom ROMs. Look in the development thread for ROMs that work with a locked bootloader. Here's an example: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786666
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a link to any tutorials showing how to root a n900a without needing TWRP? All the guides I am seeing are not n900a specific or tie-in custom ROM flashing as well which is obviously not applicable in this case.
This post may help: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59666958&postcount=2
audit13 said:
You can root to remove bloatware. You can also use safestrap to flash some custom ROMs. Look in the development thread for ROMs that work with a locked bootloader. Here's an example: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786666
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh well you try no note 7 port for me thanks for the help
audit13 said:
This post may help: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59666958&postcount=2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would help, but I'm already on 5.0 OC2. Is is even possible to root at this point?
It only takes 10 minutes to Odin back to 4.4.4, which can be rooted.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/kitkat-4-4-4-n900aucudnl1-odin-tars-t2999317
Then I highly recommend the AryaMod ROM. Insanely fast and the battery lasts forever.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/development/rom-aryamod-v8-3-tw-lollipop-att-t3422443
I am fairly new to using the Galaxy Note 3, but an experienced user and firm believer in flashing roms and gaining root access to our Android devices. I have tried multiple roms on my device, and with every single rom they fail to install. I get an error that says "E: Error executing updater binary in zip" I have tried reinstallimg, wiping the device, even formatting the system with no luck. Any answers are very much appreciated.
Btw, I know my bootloader is locked with the AT&T variant and am using the Safe Strap version 3.75 specifically for my model N900a on kitkat firmware NC2 if this helps any!
With a locked bootloader, only custom ROMs based off a stock Samsung rom can be flashed to the n900a.
I'm new, and not sure if this is the right place to comment haha
audit13 said:
With a locked bootloader, only custom ROMs based off a stock Samsung rom can be flashed to the n900a.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rom I was trying to flash was supposed to be based off of Samsung's touchwiz, a full port from the g9200. I'm a little confused here, on the download page here in XDA forums, the instructions and download page said it was specifically for my model and that it would work. The rom's name is Aurora Note 3 Full G9200 Port v3
Often, an updater script error during the flash process indicates that the phone's minimum requirements are not met for the ROM to install.
Is this the ROM: https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/development/10-11-15-t3223180 ?
This appears to be a Lollipop ROM as indicated in the first post which means the phone probably needs to be running a Lollipop bootloader and modem.
audit13 said:
Often, an updater script error during the flash process indicates that the phone's minimum requirements are not met for the ROM to install.
Is this the ROM: https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/development/10-11-15-t3223180 ?
This appears to be a Lollipop ROM as indicated in the first post which means the phone probably needs to be running a Lollipop bootloader and modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a screen shot of the directions I was following in order to be able to update to the rooted lollipop ROM.
Thread closed, you must use instructions (posted here on forums) to update to rooted lollipop for you to be able to flash custom roms for your N900a device. You must root lollipop, with root access you flash NC2 flasher apk to flash the kernel needed to use safestrap after that boot into safestrap and then flash the rom of your choice and flash the OC1 kernel so your device will boot back on. And there you have it!