[Q] Stock i9295 int - best way to set up - Galaxy S 4 Active Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

so, ive had two s4 i9295 for almost a year now and tried diffrent combinations with it. stock, upgrades, custom roms (the few that are available).
i decided to start the thread to get all the questions answered in one place, it can be usefull for others trying the same thing.
after trying all sorts of roms, i got back to stock 4.2.2. (ML3), rooted with cf autoroot and removed bloatware with titanium backup
what i like about the stock rom is: camera (hdr, drama, eraser, panorama, etc), nfc, phone audio, calendar widget, reliability, etc. things i didnt find in any other custom rom to be either working properly or have the same amount of options. what i didnt like was having to use a third party browser to display flash content.
i tried the 4.4.2. both NE1 and NH2. after NE5 you cant downgrade, apparently. i didnt realy like the 4.4.2 then, it heated more, ate up the battery faster, etc.
i like to keep things simple and clean, so here are my questions:
1. is there a way to revert back to 4.2.2. after upgrading to NI1, for example?
2. whats the best way to root NI1, without triggering knox?
3. how to remove knox in both 4.2 and 4.4?
4. how to use native browser to display flash in 4.2 or 4.4?
5. which are all bloatware safe to remove without losing NFC and other functions specific to the S4?
thanks

When you have NH2 in Download Mode,
it is of interest to know the status of lines and most interesting of KNOX.
This is what
CWM 6.0.5.0, CM11, NE4
say:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GT-I9295
CURRENT BINARY: Custom
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
KNOX KERNEL LOCK: 0x0
CSB-CONFIG-LSB: 0x30
BOOTLOADER AP SWREV: 1
WRITE PROTECTION: Enable
eMMC BURST MODE enabled
What is written in upper left corner of your screen?

the phone that i have now only had NE1, and i was able to downgrade to ML3, which i had until today, when i gave custom roms a last shot with PAC rc2 4.4.4.
it now says:
ODIN MODE
CURRENT BINARY: Custom
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
CSB-CONFIG-LSB: 0x30
WRITE PROTECTION: Enable
eMMC BURST MODE enabled
and thats it, no other lines about bootloader, knox, etc.
i dont have the one on which i tried NH2 anymore, so sorry, cant tell you. the story with that one is here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55287647&postcount=23
the thing i mainly want to know is if i try the latest NI1, can i revert back to ML3, which is the best for me so far.

Suspect some differences between bootloader NE4/NE5 and newer ones, like NH2 or NI1.
Check here to identify bootloader and important LTE modem (NON-HLOS.BIN) relationship: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=56049236
This is of course open for discussion because it is my understanding of a collection of xda-forum postings (with links). One of these is from Chainfire (provider of root) spending hundreds of hours looking into Knox.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45666586
KNOX 0x1 cannot be reversed once tripped. Once updated to Knox enabled bootloader you can't go back. Going back can trip Knox 0x1. Removing all Knox apps from ROM do no difference if Knox is tripped 0x1.
Unless responsible developer has altered something, the bootloader and modem stay untouched when flashing CM or AOSP based ROM on S4 family device.

yes, i have read about the bootloader being changed, thats why i thought its better to ask first and then update.
and most threads about rooting and the bootloader arent up to date. as far as i know, the only way to root after NH2 is with custom recovery and superSU through odin. at least that was the only way when i tried back then. chainfire and towelroot didnt work with NH2. and modifiying recovery after NH2 triggers knox. that secured bootloader didnt allow me to downgrade even to the ML3 on my other phone, because it had an unlocked bootloader, same as NE1. similar reasons here, i think http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2447832. please correct me if im wrong, and if there are other tested ways to root.
but anyway, i dont care about knox, as i bought the phone second hand and dont have warranty. i care about not being able to downgrade if i dont like the stock 4.4.2. is that possible?

Related

New to N3, quick questions regarding ATT and Root

Hey all, so Ive been lurking for a few weeks now about about to order a N3 thru ATT. Im actually coming from a Nexus 5 where things are very easy so bear with me. Just wanted to get clarity before I made a purchase
1. Not so much related to root but Im planning to get the phone, root it, and apply the Xposed modules, to see if I can live with Touchwiz. Im assuming (will need to confirm) that ATT would take back within 14 days if it doesnt go so well, assuming I dont trip warranty flags, etc. Anyone know their policy?
2. From my reading, to root this, I actually need to run a lower firmware. Is this still 4.3 or is it like 4.2.2?
3. The general process is to open device, keep off wifi, oneclick it, odin it, apply root. They to disable OTAs via Titanium Backup. Is this correct?
4. Does doing the above method trip any flags? I believe there are two, a KNOX one and a general Custom one
5. Similarly, if the answer is yes, are there methods to get it back.
6. Limitations of the root method above is that still no access to custom recoverys, so no ROMs, but the xposed framework should work just fine. Also TB cannot do restores? Anything else Im missing?
7. Last one, regarding the older firmware, any idea what is different between the rooted firmware and the 'now current' one? I mean besides probably added security to prevent root. Any actual bug fixes or features?
Sorry if most of these are obvious but appreciate the confirmation!
Thanks
1. You don't need to live with touchwiz - you can hack it up (there are modded versions with minor changes) or just replace it with Nova Launcher. Nova doesn't even need root....
2. No, this is not true. You can root via RDLV on MI9 firmware, or use Kingo root on later versions (however, there has been debate over whether kingo has malware). If you have MJ5 firmware, you cannot root via RDLV, at least not at the moment (and cannot downgrade). You can keep root with RDLV after upgrading by using supersu survival mode, according to others (I haven't tried this myself, since the update checks builtin apks and won't install if you've modified SecLauncher4.apk to customize touchwiz, so i'd have to revert that...)
3. No. See the RDLV thread, it's a bit more complicated. For kingo, I don't know anything about the process.
4. Makes it custom, but does not trigger Knox flag.
5. Custom can be undone by returning to stock. Knox is an e-fuse and can never be reset.
6. XPosed and TB work fine.
7. Was wondering the same thing myself.
Thanks. Regarding Touchwiz, as soon as the device is rooted I plan to put Nova Beta on there as well as Wanom for Xposed to more simulate the stock experience. Plus drop most of the stock Samsung apps in favor of Googles.
It sounds like a need to read up more on the firmware and root method. I suppose the RDLV was for an older firmware which, if Im buying the phone now, may no longer be possible
Is MI9 the default stock firmware the phone had been shipping with, or is it now shipping with MJ5? (or is MJ5 an OTA update only)?
Thanks!

No knox status in ODIN mode? Need to warranty rooted i537

So I bought this i537 used a while back, the previous owned never registered it with samsung but I did when I bought it so I do have a warranty on it. I know it was previously rooted then unrooted before I bought it but I don't know if it ever had a custom rom on it. I rooted the phone with activeroot (still on 4.2.2 stock rom) and have since unrooted it with superSU.
I am having problems with the touchscreen and samsung has confirmed warranty coverage and gave me a shipping label but I want to be totally sure it a-ok before I send it in.
When I boot into odin mode there is no KNOX status, is that normal for this device? Did 4.2.2 not come with knox on this device?
Also the status says custom? When the phone WAS rooted it said official ??? seems bass ackwards.
Also, I would like to reload stock 4.2.2 via ODIN just to make sure everything is kosher before sending it it, would this void my warranty?
My phone is also sim unlocked, i imagine this is okay as far as warranty goes? Would reflashing with ODIN break my sim unlock?
Thanks so much!
CaseyR22 said:
So I bought this i537 used a while back, the previous owned never registered it with samsung but I did when I bought it so I do have a warranty on it. I know it was previously rooted then unrooted before I bought it but I don't know if it ever had a custom rom on it. I have rooted the phone with activeroot (still on 4.2.2 stock rom).
When I boot into odin mode there is no KNOX status, is that normal for this device? Did 4.2.2 not come with knox on this device?
Also, I would like to reload stock 4.2.2 via ODIN just to make sure everything is kosher before sending it it, would this void my warranty?
My phone is also sim unlocked, i imagine this is okay as far as warranty goes? Would reflashing with ODIN break my sim unlock?
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's start from the top:
This phone came with MF2 (4.2.2), which was then immediately updated to MF3 (4.2.2). Both of these versions came with Knox enabled. If he just rooted then he probably didn't trip the Knox flag, but there could have been other things he did or tried to do that did trip the flag.
If it is indeed the i537, I can guarantee he did not flash a custom ROM. The i537 has a locked bootloader which means no custom recovery and no custom ROMs. However there is the ability to use TouchWiz-based ROMs, if you want to learn more about this and how it works read about SafeStrap.
We do not have official 4.2.2 stock firmware available to flash. We have a pre-release of 4.2.2, a pre-release of 4.3, official 4.3, and an OTA to go from 4.3 to 4.4.2. You can read more about the different firmwares in the i537 Firmware Thread.
Flashing firmware with Odin will erase your SIM unlock, but you can either enter the unlock code again or there are other methods that can be used. I'm not familiar with SIM unlocking so you'll have to do a little searching.
You never mentioned what you're sending the phone in for. I would try flashing the MF1 firmware first to see if it's a software issue. If it's a hardware issue then unfortunately you'll have to send it in.
Devo7v said:
Let's start from the top:
This phone came with MF2 (4.2.2), which was then immediately updated to MF3 (4.2.2). Both of these versions came with Knox enabled. If he just rooted then he probably didn't trip the Knox flag, but there could have been other things he did or tried to do that did trip the flag.
If it is indeed the i537, I can guarantee he did not flash a custom ROM. The i537 has a locked bootloader which means no custom recovery and no custom ROMs. However there is the ability to use TouchWiz-based ROMs, if you want to learn more about this and how it works read about SafeStrap.
We do not have official 4.2.2 stock firmware available to flash. We have a pre-release of 4.2.2, a pre-release of 4.3, official 4.3, and an OTA to go from 4.3 to 4.4.2. You can read more about the different firmwares in the i537 Firmware Thread.
Flashing firmware with Odin will erase your SIM unlock, but you can either enter the unlock code again or there are other methods that can be used. I'm not familiar with SIM unlocking so you'll have to do a little searching.
You never mentioned what you're sending the phone in for. I would try flashing the MF1 firmware first to see if it's a software issue. If it's a hardware issue then unfortunately you'll have to send it in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the quick response. I edited the first post to add more details but you must've already quoted me before I hit send.
Basically the problem is the screen will randomly detect 1, 3 or 5 nonexistent touches across the center of the screen (confirmed by enabling "show touches" in the developer options). While this is happening the touchscreen becomes unusable, rebooting several times will eventually fix it but the problem comes back randomly, sometime within a couple minutes and sometimes after several hours.
I did confirm my device is running MF3 and it is absolutely a i537. I'm using the phone on straight talk not ATT so I have not received any OTA updates beyond this point.
So,anyhow I understand I can fix the device status:custom with triangleaway but I don't understand why there is no KNOX counter in ODIN mode and how this may effect my warranty.
Also, if I did ODIN to 4.3 or 4.4 would this trip the knox counter? (Assuming it isnt tripped already).
Thanks for your input, truly appreciated!
CaseyR22 said:
Thank you for the quick response. I edited the first post to add more details but you must've already quoted me before I hit send.
Basically the problem is the screen will randomly detect 1, 3 or 5 nonexistent touches across the center of the screen (confirmed by enabling "show touches" in the developer options). While this is happening the touchscreen becomes unusable, rebooting several times will eventually fix it but the problem comes back randomly, sometime within a couple minutes and sometimes after several hours.
I did confirm my device is running MF3 and it is absolutely a i537. I'm using the phone on straight talk not ATT so I have not received any OTA updates beyond this point.
So,anyhow I understand I can fix the device status:custom with triangleaway but I don't understand why there is no KNOX counter in ODIN mode and how this may effect my warranty.
Also, if I did ODIN to 4.3 or 4.4 would this trip the knox counter? (Assuming it isnt tripped already).
Thanks for your input, truly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like it might be a software issue so it would be worth it to try to flash the official 4.3 firmware. Flashing official firmware shouldn't trip the Know flag, but I'm not really an expert on Knox. I have read that Knox being tripped doesn't affect warranty repairs.
Devo7v said:
It sounds like it might be a software issue so it would be worth it to try to flash the official 4.3 firmware. Flashing official firmware shouldn't trip the Know flag, but I'm not really an expert on Knox. I have read that Knox being tripped doesn't affect warranty repairs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I went ahead and flashed 4.3 via ODIN and the KNOX status is showing 0x0 so that is a good sign. Has only been about a half hour so I cant say whether or not the touchscreen issue is fixed yet but I will post back and update what happens after a day or so.
Another plus is the update finally got rid of that god awful default font on 4.2 (changing the system font wouldn't change the fontface for plain text in the browser).
Quick update in case anyone is having a similar problem with "phantom touches" in the future.
After flashing to 4.3 the touchscreen problems have continued so i do believe it is a hardware problem that will require disassembly to fix.
Also the phone keeps trying to download the OTA update to 4.4 but I've heard bad things about the update so far so I've left my wifi turned off.
Going to be stuck using a windows 8 phone for a week or while my phone is out for warranty repair.
There is an app in the play store called phone info. There it tells you your knox status without root or being in download mode.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using xda app-developers app
One final update in case anybody runs into similar problems in the future. Samsung confirmed it was a hardware problem and fixed the phone 100% free of charge under warranty.
It appears they replaced everything which is pretty awesome because I now have a brand new digitizer and bezel without a single scratch or scuff on them. Also my usb port cover flap was feeling pretty worn/sloppy so now thats new and even the USB port itself looks brand new which tells me the motherboard was replaced. I can tell they peeled the old serial/IMEI sticker off the old phone and stuck it on this one.
Surprisingly they didn't update it to 4.4 while it was there which kind of sucks because I'm nervous about doing it myself after reading horror stories on the forums.
Anyway I'm very pleased with Samsung's support!

Planning to root my t815. How easy is it to go back to total stock? Will Sammy know?

Well actually it seems fairly straighfoward to go back to stock, if you have the appropriate stock image to flash with Odin. I'm just used to do the whole "unlock bootloader, flash recovery, flash autoroot/rom/whatever" process on other devices and it feels weird to just load up Odin and do everyhing. So that's an insecurity.
I'm more interested in knowing whether Samsung "knows" that you rooted/unlocked the device, for warranty reasons. If sometime I decide to go back to full stock and at some point I need to return/send the device for some service, I want to know if they can tell whether the device had been previously rooted. On my motorola xt1092 unlocking the bootloader requires some sort of code from Moto itself, so even if you go back totally stock you can't get rid of the "unlocked bootloader" msg, let alone that they have you already registered on their system as having non-valid warranty.
YES. Atm there is no root method that won't trip knox and if knox is 0x1 samsung will always know. Some providers don't care about that and will fix ur phone/tablet. Especially if it don't even boot or some mechanic problem, just flash stock firmware with odin. My personally was very insecure when flashed firmware 5.1.1 then kernel and then root with odin (always used TWRP on S4) but all worked ok, just read the guide, real all post and all will be ok. If u wan't then go go stock just flash the same stock firmware and you will have it stock with no root stock recovery but knox will be 0x1
mk89pwnz said:
YES. Atm there is no root method that won't trip knox and if knox is 0x1 samsung will always know. Some providers don't care about that and will fix ur phone/tablet. Especially if it don't even boot or some mechanic problem, just flash stock firmware with odin. My personally was very insecure when flashed firmware 5.1.1 then kernel and then root with odin (always used TWRP on S4) but all worked ok, just read the guide, real all post and all will be ok. If u wan't then go go stock just flash the same stock firmware and you will have it stock with no root stock recovery but knox will be 0x1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info! I found out there was a piece of software called "Triangle Away" which helped reset counter to 0x0 when going back to full stock, but i can't find out if it would work on the Tab S2... http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/orig-development/2014-01-15-triangleaway-v3-26-t1494114
kokotron said:
Thanks for the info! I found out there was a piece of software called "Triangle Away" which helped reset counter to 0x0 when going back to full stock, but i can't find out if it would work on the Tab S2... http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/orig-development/2014-01-15-triangleaway-v3-26-t1494114
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was flash counter not knox. Knox is literally impossible to reset. Triangle Away only works on older devices. List can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/orig-development/2014-01-15-triangleaway-v3-26-t1494114
mk89pwnz said:
YES. Atm there is no root method that won't trip knox and if knox is 0x1 samsung will always know. Some providers don't care about that and will fix ur phone/tablet. Especially if it don't even boot or some mechanic problem, just flash stock firmware with odin. My personally was very insecure when flashed firmware 5.1.1 then kernel and then root with odin (always used TWRP on S4) but all worked ok, just read the guide, real all post and all will be ok. If u wan't then go go stock just flash the same stock firmware and you will have it stock with no root stock recovery but knox will be 0x1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to reconfirm that, since I was also a little concerned about that (I have a T810 btw, not a T815): While the stock firmware on my device works 'well enough', there are certain things i'd rather it was able to do. Knox however has me holding off (at least until the warranty expires). Does the same apply to the T810? (There is no root method that won't trip knox.)
ATM no. The only way to root Tab s2 is to trip Knox. King root will root your device with no Knox tripping but it will last until you reboot

How many times can I flash roms after removing knox

Hi,
I've always used xperia devices but now I'm planning to get Samsung Note 5. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to remove knox from the fone and flash roms any number of times?
I like to experiment alot with roms so want to make sure that phone won't brick after any number of flash.
Thanks
Once you are rooted you can flash as much as you want. much of knox (aside from the fuse that is tripped the first time you flash unauthorized software in Odin, which would be TWRP) is in the firmware. So flashing a different rom or manually remove knox are both ways to get rid of them. There is no set number of times you are allowed to flash.
If you do trip knox though just know that you can still flash official firmware but with the fuse tripped, it causes a wake lock in knox. Not really an issue if you stick to custom roms and roms simply modified to have knox removed.
Flash away my friend.

[Q]Possible to root Note5 then unroot it w/o voiding warranty under those conditions?

Good day!
I'd like to start with what Samsung previously said that its devices are "Developer Friendly" which is the silliest thing I've ever heard.
So far, I've done something stupid (Yah what's next?)
So basically, I deleted some of my best photos by mistake (Sure Samsung is not dummy-proof) and want to get them back.
I've searched for some recovery softwares and despite they to be time wasting tools for the sake of not doing what they have to do, however, almost all of them (at least all what I found) are requesting root privilege.
My SGNote5 (SM-N920C) isn't rooted and I don't want to root actually (Even though I'm missing the fun I had with my rooted SGS4) just for not losing the KNOX security platform.
I was thinking, and if it is a must to root my Sammy device, what if just root it without flashing any custom firmware even with using the stock enforcing rootable kernel provided by @garyd9, trying my luck of restoring photos and unroot it. Would that trip the KNOX as well (Really!)?
Thank you all in advanced.
once its rooted, it trips knox, which is a hardware thing, so it cannot be reverted.

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