Database Develop

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

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

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

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

:good:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Need Stock Firmware G900AUCU2AND3!!!

I need the Stock Firmware version G900AUCU2AND3 So that I can flash back to stock. In the thread return to stock it has the previous version G900AUCU1ANCE. I get a error when trying to odin back (SW REV CHECK FAIL : [about]Fused 2 > Binary 1). So I am not sure how its done but need someone who has it do a dump or how ever its done to get it in a way that it can be flashed either by odin or in recovery... Any help will be appreciated... Thanks

i will need this too, i have my phone on at&t next and after a year i can trade it in, but if its custom os and stuff i cant return it, so i will need this too if i want to return to stock so i can upgrade to a new phone next year.

Bump: This is needed very badly. As I imagine many people had to take that bloat ware update. If anyone that has this firm ware has a problem and needs to restore back to stock. They won't be able to use the one that's listed in on this forum as its the older one, and now that there is Root. Its very likely this will happen daily that people will need it. I don't know exactly what soft bricked my phone so it can happen to anyone. My phone was fine until a reboot. Please, please, please. I'm begging everyone that has it. I asked Samsung and they wouldn't help. Next maybe going to AT&T store and having warranty claim done. I don't really want to find the out come of that.

I need this very badly as well. I rooted my phone and then tried to alter my screen density via an app I found on Google Play. It requested root, I granted the permission and then when the phone rebooted it hung on "Samsung Galaxy S5" splash screen and will no go any further. ODIN will not allow me to flash G900AUCU1ANCE firmware since I did the OTA update. If anyone could post up their G900AUCU2AND3, I would appreciate it very much.

kwikrat said:
I need this very badly as well. I rooted my phone and then tried to alter my screen density via an app I found on Google Play. It requested root, I granted the permission and then when the phone rebooted it hung on "Samsung Galaxy S5" splash screen and will no go any further. ODIN will not allow me to flash G900AUCU1ANCE firmware since I did the OTA update. If anyone could post up their G900AUCU2AND3, I would appreciate it very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I estimate we will get @ least One to two of these per-day until we get the files. Since we now have Root. It may take a bit as At&t version don't seem to have much for devs. Or ones that care to really help.(I'll probably get reamed for this. Sorry for you that help and for your time) I contacted At&t they told me they could not help but I could send my phone in for warranty exchange. Its that or go to BestBuy and they can flash it back. I don't have a Bestbuy Nearby.

Guys, check that post. Shortydoggg found a temporary fix for any soft bricks. It's for extreme cases. My phone is fine (apart from some deleted stock apps) so I'll hold off until i get some more info but if you cant boot at all, his method should come in handy.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2785185&goto=newpost

+1 :highfive:

NotDavid said:
Guys, check that post. Shortydoggg found a temporary fix for any soft bricks. It's for extreme cases. My phone is fine (apart from some deleted stock apps) so I'll hold off until i get some more info but if you cant boot at all, his method should come in handy.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2785185&goto=newpost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. The above link solved my problem. I am back up and running! At first data wasn't working other than wi-fi but I merely had to re-enter my APN that I got from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2746380 :good:

can you update to G900AUCU2AND3 after flashing this?

dave1977nj said:
can you update to G900AUCU2AND3 after flashing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YUP, I did the AT&T update check and got it immediately afterwards. I instead of flashing every one separately and rebooting loaded the three files so minus the Bl file. I did not have the problems of having to reload APN this way.

pcidiot said:
YUP, I did the AT&T update check and got it immediately afterwards. I instead of flashing every one separately and rebooting loaded the three files so minus the Bl file. I did not have the problems of having to reload APN this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!!! :good:

pcidiot said:
YUP, I did the AT&T update check and got it immediately afterwards. I instead of flashing every one separately and rebooting loaded the three files so minus the Bl file. I did not have the problems of having to reload APN this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A flash of the CSC file restores the APN after flashing the AP file, or flashing it together with the AP file, but it factory resets the phone. Flashing the AP file only is mostly for those who do not want a factory reset. But, a factory reset along with flashing only the AP file will indeed wipe the APN. I found all of that out through trial and error.

shortydoggg said:
A flash of the CSC file restores the APN after flashing the AP file, or flashing it together with the AP file, but it factory resets the phone. Flashing the AP file only is mostly for those who do not want a factory reset. But, a factory reset along with flashing only the AP file will indeed wipe the APN. I found all of that out through trial and error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your trials this will be useful to many.

pcidiot said:
Thanks for your trials this will be useful to many.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem.

dave1977nj said:
can you update to G900AUCU2AND3 after flashing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes do not root first, flash it then wait a few minutes then do a check for updates it will download the crap update with the yp yellow pages app,
then reboot and root
and take it away !!

pcidiot said:
Bump: This is needed very badly. As I imagine many people had to take that bloat ware update. If anyone that has this firm ware has a problem and needs to restore back to stock. They won't be able to use the one that's listed in on this forum as its the older one, and now that there is Root. Its very likely this will happen daily that people will need it. I don't know exactly what soft bricked my phone so it can happen to anyone. My phone was fine until a reboot. Please, please, please. I'm begging everyone that has it. I asked Samsung and they wouldn't help. Next maybe going to AT&T store and having warranty claim done. I don't really want to find the out come of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same troubles here pcidiot!!!! soft bricked and nothing will load onto the phone. ODIN gives me the same kind of error as listed on the starting thread! I can get to recovery mode and Download (ODIN) mode on the phone but nothing wants to flash. Do we dump? Do we Erase Nand? CONFUSING!!! why is it so easy to bunk up a phone!

Achilles5410 said:
Same troubles here pcidiot!!!! soft bricked and nothing will load onto the phone. ODIN gives me the same kind of error as listed on the starting thread! I can get to recovery mode and Download (ODIN) mode on the phone but nothing wants to flash. Do we dump? Do we Erase Nand? CONFUSING!!! why is it so easy to bunk up a phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should only be two boxes checked in odin thats f. reset time and auto reboot. Also Make sure you only check and load your firmware in the ap slot in odin. Now flash.

Achilles5410 said:
Same troubles here pcidiot!!!! soft bricked and nothing will load onto the phone. ODIN gives me the same kind of error as listed on the starting thread! I can get to recovery mode and Download (ODIN) mode on the phone but nothing wants to flash. Do we dump? Do we Erase Nand? CONFUSING!!! why is it so easy to bunk up a phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you following this guide?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=53454972&postcount=1

shortydoggg said:
Are you following this guide?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=53454972&postcount=1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I did thank you. Did it today and thanked the poster too.

Want to start over! Need help!
So I want to do whats written out in step 4 of shorttydogs thread but I don't want to mess up or brick my phone. My goal is to start over and go back to stock with bloatware and everything that is available on stock if I were to go AT&T and buy it today. Here is a little background on my phone. My phone is rooted and I do have safestrap (and busybox). I backed up everything on my microSD card. I also have the g900AUCU2AND3 firmware on my phone. In addition, I deleted some but not all AT&T bloatware, which I want back. Lastly, for some reason the "add call button" during my calls is missing and was replaced with a "record" button I think this was because of me playing around with xposed. I deleted xposed framework as well as wanam and tried everything to get the "add call button" back but I couldn't. Thus, I just want to go back to stock to fix all these issues. I just have a few questions before I proceed just to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.
1) If I flash the AP, CP and CSC files will I achieve 100% stock with bloatware?
2) Will this return my "add call button"?
3) Is it as simple as just using odin 3.09 and flashing the AP, CP, and CSC files?
4) I also understand that this will take me back to G900AUCU1ANCE but will I be able to do an OTA do go to G900AUCU2AND3?
5) Is there anything else I need to know to prevent my phone from bricking!
Sorry for the long post but I am fairly new to this stuff and don't want mess anything up!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bad first time experience when I tried rooting my Nexus 6 Marshmallow.

I just bought myself an almost mint condition Nexus 6 (build MRA58R). It's running Marshmallow and I tried rooting it today. After I researched how to go by obtaining root I tried it out, felt very confident, didn't come across any errors. But then when I was booting back up, a screen with red letters saying something about my phone being corrupted was not allowing my phone to boot. Naturally, first I panicked. Afterwards I researched, found and then executed a manual flash of system, boot, bootloader, cache and recovery images. Then, my phone was back up and running. Discouraged and defeated, here I am knowing I could've done some better things with my time than mash commands into a terminal to fix my nooby mistake for a few hours. How should I approach obtaining root on my phone if at all possible with my model?

meeniemuffin said:
.... But then when I was booting back up, a screen with red letters saying something about my phone being corrupted was not allowing my phone to boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could bring Google to court when your device is working 100% and the message says it is corrupt. Read the OP of this link. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3059493

meeniemuffin said:
I just bought myself an almost mint condition Nexus 6 (build MRA58R). It's running Marshmallow and I tried rooting it today. After I researched how to go by obtaining root I tried it out, felt very confident, didn't come across any errors. But then when I was booting back up, a screen with red letters saying something about my phone being corrupted was not allowing my phone to boot. Naturally, first I panicked. Afterwards I researched, found and then executed a manual flash of system, boot, bootloader, cache and recovery images. Then, my phone was back up and running. Discouraged and defeated, here I am knowing I could've done some better things with my time than mash commands into a terminal to fix my nooby mistake for a few hours. How should I approach obtaining root on my phone if at all possible with my model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-enable "OEM unlocking" in developer options
-unlock bootloader
-flash TWRP using fastboot
-flash a custom kernel
-flash SuperSU 2.52
-KEEP BOOTLOADER UNLOCKED
-KEEP "OEM unlocking" ENABLED
---------- Post added at 09:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 AM ----------
NLBeev said:
You could bring Google to court when your device is working 100% and the message says it is corrupt. Read the OP of this link. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3059493
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's nothing mentioned there.

Droidphilev said:
There's nothing mentioned there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, here the links works. It is a link to a stock rom that is already rooted.
The rom is updated with the latest security OTA.
Full name of the OP.
[ROM]【6.0_r3】Stock MRA58R [Lite] - 【Marshmallow】【hC kernel】- 11/05/15

NLBeev said:
Hmm, here the links works. It is a link to a stock rom that is already rooted.
The rom is updated with the latest security OTA.
Full name of the OP.
[ROM]【6.0_r3】Stock MRA58R [Lite] - 【Marshmallow】【hC kernel】- 11/05/15
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It indeed works but i thought it would bring to a page about the court thing you have mentioned.

Droidphilev said:
It indeed works but i thought it would bring to a page about the court thing you have mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I was joking, sorry. But there is something serious behind the joke.
Here on XDA there are too many posts/questions about the 'corrupt message'.
The distance between ' customizing the phone' and 'Google' is growing.

NLBeev said:
No I was joking, sorry. But there is something serious behind the joke.
Here on XDA there are too many posts/questions about the 'corrupt message'.
The distance between ' customizing the phone' and 'Google' is growing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha! i saw you posting this before but never knew that it was a joke

I didn't even need to read all this stuff. First thing I did was get into developer mode and almost instinctual that I turned on OEM unlocking before setting about unlocking the bootloader.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Yeah I bought my N6 recently and had a bad first time experience too. I ended up using a toolkit to root and all that, didn't need a custom rom so I kept it stock with TWRP and I'm very happy. Since then, I rooted some of the old devices I had laying around (you can check my signature), so I should be more prepared next time I need to update. My problem is I didn't really understand the commands, what did what and what exactly was required for root. Now that I have had plenty to practice with I'm pretty comfortable with commands and recoveries. Practice makes perfect I guess

NLBeev said:
No I was joking, sorry. But there is something serious behind the joke.
Here on XDA there are too many posts/questions about the 'corrupt message'.
The distance between ' customizing the phone' and 'Google' is growing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much the trend. I bet by Android 7.0, rooting will be impossible.

shadowcore said:
Pretty much the trend. I bet by Android 7.0, rooting will be impossible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope not. Google's software and design will be the weak point. Google could not give us some simple options like a dark interface, reboot options and dpi settings.

So, people, to sum it all up... The road to obtaining root on this Marshmallow enabled phone is?

If bootload is locked, unlock it - This will erase everything backup your device
1. Get modified boot.img for your version, flash it
2. Flash twrp
3. Flash SuperSu 2.52

meeniemuffin said:
So, people, to sum it all up... The road to obtaining root on this Marshmallow enabled phone is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63999613&postcount=3
!!!

Droidphilev said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63999613&postcount=3
!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry! Slow to learn over here. I still have a question...do I need a custom kernel and flash stock rom? Or just a custom stock ROM thats already prerooted? Both, perhaps? Would I have to flash Twrp in order to even do this?

meeniemuffin said:
Sorry! Slow to learn over here. I still have a question...do I need a custom kernel and flash stock rom? Or just a custom stock ROM thats already prerooted? Both, perhaps? Would I have to flash Twrp in order to even do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a stockrom now, right?
if you want to keep that for now then this is the easiest way. The TWRP step is there to be able to flash the custom kernel. (and of course make backups and flash other roms in the future)

Droidphilev said:
You have a stockrom now, right?
if you want to keep that for now then this is the easiest way. The TWRP step is there to be able to flash the custom kernel. (and of course make backups and flash other roms in the future)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an epiphany earlier. I did everything....it all hit me at once. I finally managed to get Pure Nexus ROM working. Time for a test drive.
Thanks for the advice.

meeniemuffin said:
I had an epiphany earlier. I did everything....it all hit me at once. I finally managed to get Pure Nexus ROM working. Time for a test drive.
Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
enjoy!
but DO NOT forget to keep "OEM unlocking" enabled!
(it will save you when you ever get locked out from your google acoount because you became aflashoholic)

CPL1 Firmware/ Rom Stock Plus

CPL1 Stock Plus Rom​
I would just like to share an enhanced version of stock note 4 with the only "foreign" app being the grace InCallUI mainly because I have yet to locate a guide on how to make all the buttons layout correctly and there is also very minor cosmetic changes (removed words from lock screen and extended the drop-down panel to go all the way across the screen). All features and modifications were done by me using guides from @Kamy, @ikrom, @jovy23, @asc1977, @EMSpilot, @tdunham, @daxgirl, @tkari4, @Hani K., @Misterxtc and the InCallUI ported by @Albe95. Last but certainly not least, all this was made possible with @ASSAYYED's great rom kitchen and @Ticklefish's Tickle my Android.
FEATURES
Stock kernel
Rooted
Busybox
Zip-Aligned
Deodexed
Toolbox Enabled
Flashlight in notification panel
5-way Reboot
Native Tethering
Loud Volume Warning Disabled
Brought back "once and always" buttons
Call Recording Enabled
6 in the Hotseat Launcher
TW Swipe Left Shortcut
Viper4Android - credits to @viper520
Vol up to turn on flashlight
Signatures Disabled
Write to Ext. Sd with Tibu
4 way Multi window
All apps Multi Window
CPL1 Safe Firmware Upgrade
Partial Firmware courtesy of @Misterxtc
Link to Full Firmware
ROM LINK
HERE
Flash this as well for viper- Viper SUpolicy

1.

Thank you Kevin!
Does Odin "CPL1 Safe Firmware Upgrade" include the modem?

1Xfan said:
Thank you Kevin!
Does Odin "CPL1 Safe Firmware Upgrade" include the modem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the firmware includes everything except recovery and aboot. Also a few things I forgot to mention, the switch to turn on volume up for flashlight is in the display settings and to set the apps for toolbox you just long press on the toolbox icon (when activated) and then drag it up to the edit section at the top of the screen. Sorry guys I'm terrible at writing the info and summary for these roms but hopefully I can get it figured out one day.

kevintm78 said:
Yes, the firmware includes everything except recovery and aboot. Also a few things I forgot to mention, the switch to turn on volume up for flashlight is in the display settings and to set the apps for toolbox you just long press on the toolbox icon (when activated) and then drag it up to the edit section at the top of the screen. Sorry guys I'm terrible at writing the info and summary for these roms but hopefully I can get it figured out one day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand. Please clarify for me...
I'm on pj2 unlocked/rooted. I want to stay unlocked/rooted. Do I flash the "partial".zip, or Odin the "full" ? :fingers-crossed:
When I read through hsbdr's post's, I must have 5 or six tabs open
I prefer instructions simple, and retail and Dev posts/instructions separate from each other. As well as return to "unrooted" or "keep root" posts. Many have accidentally locked their BL as a result. There is no reason to include a "return to stock-locked" link in with a custom rooted ROM post/links. Uhg
Thank you for keeping it simple for us, and all your work!

1Xfan said:
I understand. Thanks for clarifying :fingers-crossed:
When I read through hsbdr's post's, I must have 5 or six tabs open
I prefer instructions simple, and retail and Dev instructions separate!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it does get a little confusing. That's the main reason I just posted my own link just to make sure I'm not linking to the wrong thing. Fun fact while testing all this out, I was able to flash pj2 roms while I was on the cpl1 firmware and everything worked. I just tested one rom but it seems like once you upgrade your firmware you may not have to downgrade again if you want to go back to another rom.

kevintm78 said:
Yeah it does get a little confusing. That's the main reason I just posted my own link just to make sure I'm not linking to the wrong thing. Fun fact while testing all this out, I was able to flash pj2 roms while I was on the cpl1 firmware and everything worked. I just tested one rom but it seems like once you upgrade your firmware you may not have to downgrade again if you want to go back to another rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oooh really! So probably there is nothing new in the upgrade only that it's un-downgradable:silly:

1Xfan said:
oooh really! So probably there is nothing new in the upgrade only that it's un-downgradable:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first couple times I tested a firmware that I made, I was terrified of locking my bl. I flashed the one I posted and then tested for downgrade and all is good, but it doesn't seem to be necessary to downgrade again. As far as differences between them the only thing I noticed was more security stuff and some different bloatware.

Forgive me...
So the "full firmware link" (download file name: "cpl1_tar_32bit_ext4") doesn't include the recovery and aboot files(?)

1Xfan said:
Forgive me...
So the "full firmware"> link doesn't include the recovery and aboot files(?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's correct. If you flash it and let it boot you'll have your custom recovery, unlocked bootloader, no root, no busybox, cpl1 modem/kernel, and odexed system. That way if someone wants pure stock they can just flash the supersu file and your set.

She's running great for me! I installed xposed and oscar kernel and it's stable as a rock! Any chance of the additional grace apps - email, contacts, etc? Great work man!

CrazyCram said:
She's running great for me! I installed xposed and oscar kernel and it's stable as a rock! Any chance of the additional grace apps - email, contacts, etc? Great work man!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tried the email zip at this post and it worked. When I get off work I'll test those others. They all should work but if you don't want to be the guinnie pig I can do it.
So oscar works? I thought it might need an update but that's good to know.

Yes, Oscar 13 works great. I'll give the grace apps a try - thanks again!

kevintm78 said:
I just tried the email zip at this post and it worked. When I get off work I'll test those others. They all should work but if you don't want to be the guinnie pig I can do it.
So oscar works? I thought it might need an update but that's good to know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some reason after flashing grace email, I see high battery usage for email 19-30%. Tried clearing data but still see the drain. Am I missing something?

sam298 said:
For some reason after flashing grace email, I see high battery usage for email 19-30%. Tried clearing data but still see the drain. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I only use that app when testing it and I haven't noticed any battery drain, but I can't say I've ever checked either. I wonder if it just needs to settle in. Maybe someone that uses it more can chime in to see if it's an issue for everyone. If you want to, see if after a while it goes back to normal range and if it doesn't try to get a log and we can see what we can come up with.

Hello @kevintm78. Need a little help. I just odin'd the full firmware and now my phone won't boot. I get unfortunately System UI has stopped. I was on CPJ1 before I did this. Should I just try to restore a backup? Thanks

dhplap said:
Hello @kevintm78. Need a little help. I just odin'd the full firmware and now my phone won't boot. I get unfortunately System UI has stopped. I was on CPJ1 before I did this. Should I just try to restore a backup? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Odin completed it should have at least updated your firmware. If that's the case you could just go ahead and flash the rom. All the files from the full firmware get overwritten anyway. Just make sure you do a complete wipe (everything but your sd/Ext sd) and you should be good to go.

kevintm78 said:
If Odin completed it should have at least updated your firmware. If that's the case you could just go ahead and flash the rom. All the files from the full firmware get overwritten anyway. Just make sure you do a complete wipe (everything but your sd/Ext sd) and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Yes I just restored a backup just fine and it's also showing my baseband is now CPL1. Now I'm going to flash your rom so I can have stock whenever I want it. Thank you for your time and help. And for the upgrade.

@kevintm78...thank you for this. I had lost 4g somewhere in all my flashing. I tried reflashing partial firmware and even restoring backups wouldnt give me 4g again.I was getting ready to go through the entire lock, unlock, root process again when I found this thread. I downloaded the full firmware in the op, flashed with flashfire, rebooted into recovery, wiped dalvik, data, cache, and rebooted system. I now have 4g back. I made a nandroid of stock, and then clean flashed LOS and still have 4g. So thankful to you!!

gcounts said:
@kevintm78...thank you for this. I had lost 4g somewhere in all my flashing. I tried reflashing partial firmware and even restoring backups wouldnt give me 4g again.I was getting ready to go through the entire lock, unlock, root process again when I found this thread. I downloaded the full firmware in the op, flashed with flashfire, rebooted into recovery, wiped dalvik, data, cache, and rebooted system. I now have 4g back. I made a nandroid of stock, and then clean flashed LOS and still have 4g. So thankful to you!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah man, I'm a bit of a flashaholic too and was having the same issues a while back when experimenting with data fixes and thought that I fried my sim card. Like you I tried the partial first but the only thing that got my 4g back was flashing a full stock firmware. :good: