[Q] towelrooted gs5 question, samsung security updates, and att ota - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 5

There are a few questions here about my gs5 and note8.0, sorry for the long post, I rarely post but need a little guidance. Sorry if this post isnt exactly up to the standards of the rules, I also tried the search feature but didnt have any luck. I have spent countless hours reading threads. Ihave successfully rooted every, all 10, of the android devices I have owned which includes two tablets. SO TO ALL WHO POST INSTRUCTIONS HERE, THANK YOU.
I rooted my gs5 with towelroot pretty much immediately when it was released. I havent had any real issues, other than the phone freezing on rare occasion, and web pages get stuck loading about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way finished, when this happens I usually toggle the apn on and off and then the page will load. This happens kind of often, I attribute it to some bug in the stock TW rom. Of course im still hoping for a way to unlock the bootloader.
I get a notified of samsung security updates here and there, I have never updated that since I rooted, I assume that updating samsung security would most likely take away my root access.
I have a note 8.0 wifi tablet also and it is rooted, I had to root with odin on the tab, towelroot didnt work. I also get secuirty update notifications on my note 8 which I also ignore.
Will samsung security updates block root>
Will the new ATT gs5 update that was released this week block towelroot? I can easily unroot and update ota then try to re root with towelroot apk, I am worried that towelroot will not work anymore if I do that.
Anyone know if the att update blocks root, and is it even worth worrying about trying to download?
My note 8 is rooted via odin, but it still has stock recovery, how do I get twrp or clockworkmod? I am pretty sure there is not a locked bootloader on this wifi tab, but I do want custom recovery.
So any help with installing clockworkmod recovery on the note 8, I know the CWM app allows you to install cwm recovery but I have only done it once and forgot to check to see if the BL was locked, well it was and It was a pain to unbrick that device.

Related

[Q] Galaxy S4 Active - downgrade?

This is my first Android phone i have owned for a few years now and i made the mistake of doing the OTA update to 4.3. I would love to root this phone because that was a big reason why i got it. I hated waiting for a jailbreak for my iPhone and i want a phone that i have control over. is it possible to "downgrade" from the OTA update to the leaked update? or even downgrade back to 4.2.2? I have looked around but cant find anything to helpful for the galaxy s4 active. also reading around multiple people say they end up having issues after downgrading or the KNOX counter going from 0x0 to 0x1, therefore voiding warranty.
RobbieHag said:
This is my first Android phone i have owned for a few years now and i made the mistake of doing the OTA update to 4.3. I would love to root this phone because that was a big reason why i got it. I hated waiting for a jailbreak for my iPhone and i want a phone that i have control over. is it possible to "downgrade" from the OTA update to the leaked update? or even downgrade back to 4.2.2? I have looked around but cant find anything to helpful for the galaxy s4 active. also reading around multiple people say they end up having issues after downgrading or the KNOX counter going from 0x0 to 0x1, therefore voiding warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While the OTA upgraded Android to 4.3 it also included a new bootloader. The new bootloader prohibits "downgrading" to a firmware version below ML2. Currently there is no way to downgrade with the locked bootloader. However there is a new thread just started by @TransformixS4 that is looking at injecting root into the ML2 Odin files, so it may be possible in the future to root ML2. There are a couple threads in the regular S4 forums exploring ways to exploit the bootloader and flash custom kernels.
Back to your situation: you're completely stuck. Next time you see there is an update or OTA check XDA before you install it. There are a couple threads that explain the pros and cons of any updates. There is also a thread summarizing all the AT&T i537 firmwares which will be updated in the future and you may find useful.
Devo7v said:
While the OTA upgraded Android to 4.3 it also included a new bootloader. The new bootloader prohibits "downgrading" to a firmware version below ML2. Currently there is no way to downgrade with the locked bootloader. However there is a new thread just started by @TransformixS4 that is looking at injecting root into the ML2 Odin files, so it may be possible in the future to root ML2. There are a couple threads in the regular S4 forums exploring ways to exploit the bootloader and flash custom kernels.
Back to your situation: you're completely stuck. Next time you see there is an update or OTA check XDA before you install it. There are a couple threads that explain the pros and cons of any updates. There is also a thread summarizing all the AT&T i537 firmwares which will be updated in the future and you may find useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My issue was I kept telling it not to upgrade, and then it went ahead and did it anyway! On 4G, not wifi even. I was so mad when I got home and started reading that all the stuff I downloaded to root it *that day* would no longer work.
Caboose27 said:
My issue was I kept telling it not to upgrade, and then it went ahead and did it anyway! On 4G, not wifi even. I was so mad when I got home and started reading that all the stuff I downloaded to root it *that day* would no longer work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're only allowed to delay the update 4 or 5 times before it installed automatically. You can prevent it from upgrading in the future by freezing some system apps with Titanium Backup. I don't remember which ones right now, but if you search it's pretty easy to find.
Caboose27 said:
My issue was I kept telling it not to upgrade, and then it went ahead and did it anyway! On 4G, not wifi even. I was so mad when I got home and started reading that all the stuff I downloaded to root it *that day* would no longer work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just checking, you do have the i537 not i9295, right?

[Q] Root AT&T galaxy S5 with lollipop

Hi all I'm confused I got a galaxy S5 on Wed with Lollipop already installed. I've read multiple posts and still have one question, "Can this phone be rooted?" I keep finding different answers. If not can I reload an older version of android that can be rooted, I need root for my anti-theft and Titanium Backup. Not to mention root is needed for removing Bloat(crap)ware that Samsung and AT&T install.
Thanks
Zb
ZKornecki said:
Hi all I'm confused I got a galaxy S5 on Wed with Lollipop already installed. I've read multiple posts and still have one question, "Can this phone be rooted?" I keep finding different answers. If not can I reload an older version of android that can be rooted, I need root for my anti-theft and Titanium Backup. Not to mention root is needed for removing Bloat(crap)ware that Samsung and AT&T install.
Thanks
Zb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As this time, no, the G900A with the completely stock 5.x load can not be rooted.
Since the bootloader is locked, and they bumped one of the counters with the 5.x loader, you can not install a previous version. You're welcome to try but if it fails you will likely have an unrecoverable brick - unless the AT&T Store or Samsung Experience Store has the complete ODIN file to re-flash your device with.
Until someone determines a way of rooting the stock L load, you're stuck without.
Regards.
ZKornecki said:
Hi all I'm confused I got a galaxy S5 on Wed with Lollipop already installed. I've read multiple posts and still have one question, "Can this phone be rooted?" I keep finding different answers. If not can I reload an older version of android that can be rooted, I need root for my anti-theft and Titanium Backup. Not to mention root is needed for removing Bloat(crap)ware that Samsung and AT&T install.
Thanks
Zb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im in thesame boat as u. I have been told by a bunch of high ranking devs that it will come its just a matter of time. If u downgrade im almost positive u will end with a very expensive paper weight. Just relax it will come
somebody can check language on 5.0 ? can be enabled multilanguage with language enabler or more locale etc ?
C0derbear said:
As this time, no, the G900A with the completely stock 5.x load can not be rooted
...snip......Until someone determines a way of rooting the stock L load, you're stuck without.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the quick reply. I'll wait as I'm sure it's just a matter of time before someone cracks this version or a compatible ROM is published
I only root to get rid of bloatware. While lollipop seems to be handling the ram and battery usage better, it still makes me angry when I see one of those crap apps running that I can't uninstall.
One would think the FCC would make AT&T and others allow this stuff to be uninstalled when the consumer owns the phone.
Kingo root method
just watched a video on WWJOSHDU youtube page, about kingo rooting at&t devices any idea whether that includes the S5 with lollipop?
I found on my wife s5 which I had to unroot and return to stock for warranty when I got the replacement & upgraded to lollipop that in app settings you can disable all the bloat
Doubclub said:
just watched a video on WWJOSHDU youtube page, about kingo rooting at&t devices any idea whether that includes the S5 with lollipop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No
Zoey2014 said:
I only root to get rid of bloatware. While lollipop seems to be handling the ram and battery usage better, it still makes me angry when I see one of those crap apps running that I can't uninstall.
One would think the FCC would make AT&T and others allow this stuff to be uninstalled when the consumer owns the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can download PackageDisabler.apk and disable all bloatware. It also fixed the "Unauthorized Actions......." recurring prompt after the latest security update by disabling all KNOX related packages.

[Q] Unroot to install an OTA

I’m guessing this has already been asked but I didn’t find a good answer for it, so I will ask here. I recently got my Verizon S6 Edge (SM-G925V) and was able to root it using Ping Pong and had no problems at all (with Super SU installed) – kudos to Keen Team. I’m on G925VVRU1AOC3 now (stock) but maybe a week ago, I started receiving a notice to install an OTA update. Should I install the OTA and if so, should I unroot my phone prior to installing the update? Sorry if I seem cautious but I've not seen this discussed about the S6 Edge and I definitely don't want to trip KNOW or brick my phone.
Thanks in advance,
UCG
UnderCoverGuy said:
I’m guessing this has already been asked but I didn’t find a good answer for it, so I will ask here. I recently got my Verizon S6 Edge (SM-G925V) and was able to root it using Ping Pong and had no problems at all (with Super SU installed) – kudos to Keen Team. I’m on G925VVRU1AOC3 now (stock) but maybe a week ago, I started receiving a notice to install an OTA update. Should I install the OTA and if so, should I unroot my phone prior to installing the update? Sorry if I seem cautious but I've not seen this discussed about the S6 Edge and I definitely don't want to trip KNOW or brick my phone.
Thanks in advance,
UCG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read the q&a section on the ping pong root sub forum you will learn that thee ota cannot be installed after you have achieved root. Perhaps the best thing to do is unroot using odin then install the ota
sent
Download smart switch onto your PC and update thru that way. It will update and you will loose root but all your data is not touched. Then you use pingpong to reroot.
dansto82 said:
Download smart switch onto your PC and update thru that way. It will update and you will loose root but all your data is not touched. Then you use pingpong to reroot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks @dansto82 and @Snowby123, I actually did those things. I did the ODIN thing, it didn't work (the reason I posted this thread was because I saw what to do for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, but no Verizon steps). So when ODIN and factory resets didn't work, I ran the Verizon utility that comes with the phone and I did the "repair" (which downloads and installs a fresh copy of the stock ROM) and then I updated from OC3 to OE2 and that toasted my phone (and I can't downgrade either). The device actually works until it finishes booting up, then the touch screen has issues and performance is slower than my big wheel in a blizzard, but at least root is gone because I have to send it back now. The setup process runs without issue until it completes (so it isn't the physical screen). Either way, my S6 Edge 128GB OC3 phone ended up not liking the OE2 update. and I just got off the phone with Verizon and they are sending me another one. Let's hope that works.
Got my replacement phone (came with OC3). Updated to OE2 and rooted, works great. I guess caution when unrooting the Verizon S6 Edge to do an OTA.
It appears that once you install the OF1 update you can't flash back to OE2
Sent from my SM-G925V

Updating from 4.4.2 up to 5.1 Lollipop on a unlocked AT&T S5 using Odin

First of all, hi everyone owo/
Well, as the title says, my dad bought two unlocked S5's from Amazon and both of them come from AT&T and we use them here with Personal which is an Argentinian network carrier
Everything works fine, 4G works great, but one of the issues is this one
Since it passed 3 years when KitKat got the latest update (4.4.4, on the phone is 4.4.2 .-.) some apps do not want to upgrade at the Play Store since sometimes on Android when is not upgraded, some apps lose compatibility with the device (On this I doubt, I'm not 100% sure) and I want to ask to you guys if you can help me with steps to at least upgrade my mom's phone and mine (since my dad is getting a new one and gives me his S5) to Lollipop without rooting the device, because here on XDA I saw a post on how to do it but it requires root and I'm not going to do it just to be safe, so I was curious to see if there's a possibility of upgrading the system through Odin, which I do have a little bit of experience (I did have it with an older Sammy phone, not the newest ones) without losing the carrier unlock thing
If you guys can remember there was a code to let you know if the network was unlocked or not but sadly it does not work anymore so I don't have any idea if it is permanent or not other than switching the cards, so my question is, I will lose the unlock if I update the system through Odin??
Also I don't have a AT&T specific SIM card to do the upgrade (Which for me is BS having only the AT&T card to do system updates) and I saw some posts on XDA on how to update it but only I saw the root method to update fom KK to Lolli and I don't want to root it, I want to do it just normally through Odin saving me some time
I'm not against root, is fine but I always prefer a much safer way instead of tinkering with some important system stuff and also I'm new into this forum (And I visited XDA since 2012)
Have a good day
Rodoko (my username is old, so I use this one written here, my account was made in 2013 so... I am unable to modify it u.u )
Meipuru Kuurisu said:
First of all, hi everyone owo/
Well, as the title says, my dad bought two unlocked S5's from Amazon and both of them come from AT&T and we use them here with Personal which is an Argentinian network carrier
Everything works fine, 4G works great, but one of the issues is this one
Since it passed 3 years when KitKat got the latest update (4.4.4, on the phone is 4.4.2 .-.) some apps do not want to upgrade at the Play Store since sometimes on Android when is not upgraded, some apps lose compatibility with the device (On this I doubt, I'm not 100% sure) and I want to ask to you guys if you can help me with steps to at least upgrade my mom's phone and mine (since my dad is getting a new one and gives me his S5) to Lollipop without rooting the device, because here on XDA I saw a post on how to do it but it requires root and I'm not going to do it just to be safe, so I was curious to see if there's a possibility of upgrading the system through Odin, which I do have a little bit of experience (I did have it with an older Sammy phone, not the newest ones) without losing the carrier unlock thing
If you guys can remember there was a code to let you know if the network was unlocked or not but sadly it does not work anymore so I don't have any idea if it is permanent or not other than switching the cards, so my question is, I will lose the unlock if I update the system through Odin??
Also I don't have a AT&T specific SIM card to do the upgrade (Which for me is BS having only the AT&T card to do system updates) and I saw some posts on XDA on how to update it but only I saw the root method to update fom KK to Lolli and I don't want to root it, I want to do it just normally through Odin saving me some time
I'm not against root, is fine but I always prefer a much safer way instead of tinkering with some important system stuff and also I'm new into this forum (And I visited XDA since 2012)
Have a good day
Rodoko (my username is old, so I use this one written here, my account was made in 2013 so... I am unable to modify it u.u )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is highly suggested that you root with towelroot and upgrade with flashfire. You can't root on Lollipop and you can't downgrade back to KK. May as well root now just in case you ever need it. Root doesn't modify system files on its own, the end-user does that.

Question Will root persist after an OTA update?

I've wondered this ever since my Tab S8+ reported it's device status as official despite me having flashed the tablet with magisk-patched firmware and asked me to update. This same exact scenario has happened with my rooted Tab S7+. However, I rooted that by flashing Magisk in TWRP rather than flashing patched firmware with Odin. I don't think anyone has tried applying an OTA update on their rooted Tab S8 device since the latest firmware isn't available yet, and could result in needed to flash patched firmware again. Then again, most rooted device will have their devices report as custom instead of official, so that may be why.
I'm willing to try this out on my Tab S7+ first as that device has TWRP, and I can easily restore my device to a rooted state afterwards. Since both tablets are relatively similar, I'll assume that if root persists after updating in the Tab S7+ then it should be safe to do so on the S8+ I'm curious of doing this solely for stability and performance updates in combination with everything root access grants.
With any part of the firmware patched, OTAs won't work - they'll fail. You could also wind up with a brick - most likely one you can recover from but I wouldn't bet either way on that. As always, have everything backed up in case the worst happens.
Since I still won't get my Tab S8 Ultra for another 10 days (unless they delay again), I haven't paid too close attention to the rooting instructions specific to this, and have only made note of them, however, the basic rule still applies - if any part of the firmware has been modified from stock, then OTAs will recognize that it's been modified and fail to apply - or as I said, it could possibly try to apply what it can but you could wind up with a mix and match of different firmware versions due to the OTA failing eventually, which would need some manual work to recover from - or very worst, you might need to start over from scratch and lose everything.
When I'm on any rooted device, I go into Developer options and disable Automatic system updates. It's still possible you could get an update prompt if you manually check for an update, but it's not advised to use OTAs when rooted.
I've always been a practitioner on all devices of flashing the full new firmware updates and re-rooting, however, I know that at least with devices with dual system partitions like Google Pixels (as far as I'm aware, Samsung still hasn't adopted dual partitions yet), there have been ways to apply Magisk to a manually sideloaded OTA, although I've observed other users who do this and something inevitably goes wrong with the process from time to time.
Not that full firmware flashes are immune to things going wrong.
Edit: If you try an OTA on yours, by all means, let us know what happens.
Edit 2: Adding TWRP to the mix may, or may not, affect the viability of applying OTAs. I've hardly used TWRP on any device in the last five years, so I'm not sure if it's smart about some things and can take root into account, but since TWRP doesn't exist on the Tab S8 (I don't have any older Tab), it won't matter for me.
roirraW edor ehT said:
With any part of the firmware patched, OTAs won't work - they'll fail. You could also wind up with a brick - most likely one you can recover from but I wouldn't bet either way on that. As always, have everything backed up in case the worst happens.
Since I still won't get my Tab S8 Ultra for another 10 days (unless they delay again), I haven't paid too close attention to the rooting instructions specific to this, and have only made note of them, however, the basic rule still applies - if any part of the firmware has been modified from stock, then OTAs will recognize that it's been modified and fail to apply - or as I said, it could possibly try to apply what it can but you could wind up with a mix and match of different firmware versions due to the OTA failing eventually, which would need some manual work to recover from - or very worst, you might need to start over from scratch and lose everything.
When I'm on any rooted device, I go into Developer options and disable Automatic system updates. It's still possible you could get an update prompt if you manually check for an update, but it's not advised to use OTAs when rooted.
I've always been a practitioner on all devices of flashing the full new firmware updates and re-rooting, however, I know that at least with devices with dual system partitions like Google Pixels (as far as I'm aware, Samsung still hasn't adopted dual partitions yet), there have been ways to apply Magisk to a manually sideloaded OTA, although I've observed other users who do this and something inevitably goes wrong with the process from time to time.
Not that full firmware flashes are immune to things going wrong.
Edit: If you try an OTA on yours, by all means, let us know what happens.
Edit 2: Adding TWRP to the mix may, or may not, affect the viability of applying OTAs. I've hardly used TWRP on any device in the last five years, so I'm not sure if it's smart about some things and can take root into account, but since TWRP doesn't exist on the Tab S8 (I don't have any older Tab), it won't matter for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just attempted to OTA update on my Tab S7+ after making a backup, and it failed. When it rebooted to start applying the update, it booted into recovery to start flashing, but since I have TWRP installed, it booted to that instead, went straight to the main menu, and didn't apply the update. It's extremely ironic; my tablet says it's running unauthorized software and will no longer receive firmware updates, but it also says my device status is official and allows me to download and install updates if I check for them (it'll even mention there's an update available without having automatic download installed).
I rebooted to system, it said they the update failed, and prompted me to download the update again and try again. I can't tell if anything got affected since it seems like because the update failed, nothing got applied or changed. This makes me slightly less willing to try and OTA update on the Tab S8+. However, since the stock recovery is still in place (no TWRP yet), the update process would probably go a long smoother. Not to mention, if something was to go wrong, and I needed to flash patched firmware again, I could just flash HOME_CSC instead of the regular CSC so I can keep my data. There's no guarantee that will work, as a failed update could require my system to prompt me to factory data reset anyway, but it's definitely an option that's available.
I'll backup whatever I can before attempting this, and I'll post the results later.
Answer would be no, doing OTA requires bootloader to be locked. But since you rooted, then you have unlocked the bootloader. So if your tab s8+ has locked bootloader then OTA will pass without a problem.
Jake.S said:
Answer would be no, doing OTA requires bootloader to be locked. But since you rooted, then you have unlocked the bootloader. So if your tab s8+ has locked bootloader then OTA will pass without a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I thought having an unlocked bootloader would be a non-issue since you can flashing official and unofficial firmware with an unlocked bootloader. Not to mention that the recovery has remained unaffected, and stock recovery needs to be accessed to apply the update.
SavXL said:
Really? I thought having an unlocked bootloader would be a non-issue since you can flashing official and unofficial firmware with an unlocked bootloader. Not to mention that the recovery has remained unaffected, and stock recovery needs to be accessed to apply the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when unlocking bootloader you have to manually flash the stock firmware. Since OTA becomes unavailable when bootloader is unlocked. So if root is done in for example android 12 and you get a monthly patch then it will revoke the root since root usually modifies the OS files and gives you the root access sort off and flashing a update will write over those files and your root privileges will be removed.
Jake.S said:
when unlocking bootloader you have to manually flash the stock firmware. Since OTA becomes unavailable when bootloader is unlocked. So if root is done in for example android 12 and you get a monthly patch then it will revoke the root since root usually modifies the OS files and gives you the root access sort off and flashing a update will write over those files and your root privileges will be removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh. I thought that doing an OTA update wouldn't remove anything that was already a part of the system and would just just update whatever needed to be updated and called it a day. With the method of patching the firmware and flashing it, I assume root would just be a regular part of the system, and an OTA update wouldn't affect it. Odd...
SavXL said:
Huh. I thought that doing an OTA update wouldn't remove anything that was already a part of the system and would just just update whatever needed to be updated and called it a day. With the method of patching the firmware and flashing it, I assume root would just be a regular part of the system, and an OTA update wouldn't affect it. Odd...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is because your normal access is only admin not root. So it has almost full rights, but when you add root access it is mostlikely a modification that you have to do, either by a command or flashing a file. But updating the OS will revoke the root since method you used becomes unavailable for next update which is why it can reset your changes backwards so your root privileges becomes lost and your access is back to default as before. But I wouldn't touch bootloader since doing that also bricks KNOX so features for KNOX will become permanently disabled since it requires a working Knox chip to work, but since KNOX chip fuse becomes blown when bootloader is unlocked then feature like Samsung pass, samsung secret folder and such will no longer work.
Jake.S said:
That is because your normal access is only admin not root. So it has almost full rights, but when you add root access it is mostlikely a modification that you have to do, either by a command or flashing a file. But updating the OS will revoke the root since method you used becomes unavailable for next update which is why it can reset your changes backwards so your root privileges becomes lost and your access is back to default as before. But I wouldn't touch bootloader since doing that also bricks KNOX so features for KNOX will become permanently disabled since it requires a working Knox chip to work, but since KNOX chip fuse becomes blown when bootloader is unlocked then feature like Samsung pass, samsung secret folder and such will no longer work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turns out you were absolutely correct. I downloaded and attempted to install the update, it booted into the stock recovery and got to 25% before erroring out. It booted back into Android and said that the update failed. Thankfully, nothing ended up getting removed or corrupted, and I still have root access. Guess I gotta stick to finding the latest firmware and patching it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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