Well, I fixed it.
Just needed to flash things in the right order.
Well, I somehow ended up with a very mismatched system. I was having some issues, so I factory reset, and decided to try the Samsung Find My Mobile feature - which didn't work due to being rooted. I thought it was because I froze/deleted something required for it, but it was root. I was running OF4 having used the FlashFire update files.
Long story short, no matter which rom I flash (OCE, OE2) I get no service unless I flash the modem.tar.md5 and boot.tar.md5 that came with the FF OF4 update. But if I do that, I can't root. PingPong tells me the system is not supported. I think I can root after Odin'ing the OCE files, but I haven't yet tried it.
I would be fine with staying on an older OS (OCE or OE2) but Bluetooth is broken, and it won't remember wifi keys.
If there was only a FF OE2 update, I would probably not have a problem. OF3 update is complaining it needs the OE2 release keys, and OF4 wants OF3 release keys when trying to flash with FF. Extremely frustrating.
Related
This morning I screwed up - tried to update from NF6 via Mobile Odin and did something wrong. I couldn't get out of the Recovery screen and ended up re-flashing stock NF6 just to get out of a soft brick situation. Unfortunately I didn't insert the CF file and ended up losing root.
So...I figured that since I had already lost root, I took the OTAs for NG3 AND NCH5 (the new voLTE). Then I flashed CF. I got my root back.
This may not be a revelation to many, but it was to me. I thought I would have to wait until there was a rooted version of NCH5 in order to get back root.
But now KNOX is tripped mate.
Yes, it is... but I don't think that hurts me as I'm insured with Square Trade.
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
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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.
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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
I have (or had) an AT&T branded S5 that was previous rooted and running Safestrap (I don't recall the BL version). Due to some EXTREME idiocy on my part, I took an OTA update two days ago, which updated and synched everything to G900AUCU2ANG3.
Naturally, this borked root. But there's some weirdness going on. Even after the OTA update, the phone's device status still says "Custom". And I still see the custom text when the phone boots. Is this Knox related?
Further oddness is that the phone keeps trying to pull down a second OTA update that looks identical to the first based on the filesize (over 400 MB). It goes through the motion, boots into recovery, and starts installing this second update, but stops partway through. Upon rebooting, the phone tells me the update was interrupted and can't be installed.
I realize I may never get root back, but I'm alarmed the phone's status still says "Custom" and that it's trying (and failing) to install this second OTA update.
I've tried factory resetting the phone, both within KitKat and via recovery, but these issues remain. Should I just reapply NG3 via Odin?
Thanks in advance!
fleggett1 said:
I have (or had) an AT&T branded S5 that was previous rooted and running Safestrap (I don't recall the BL version). Due to some EXTREME idiocy on my part, I took an OTA update two days ago, which updated and synched everything to G900AUCU2ANG3.
Naturally, this borked root. But there's some weirdness going on. Even after the OTA update, the phone's device status still says "Custom". And I still see the custom text when the phone boots. Is this Knox related?
Further oddness is that the phone keeps trying to pull down a second OTA update that looks identical to the first based on the filesize (over 400 MB). It goes through the motion, boots into recovery, and starts installing this second update, but stops partway through. Upon rebooting, the phone tells me the update was interrupted and can't be installed.
I realize I may never get root back, but I'm alarmed the phone's status still says "Custom" and that it's trying (and failing) to install this second OTA update.
I've tried factory resetting the phone, both within KitKat and via recovery, but these issues remain. Should I just reapply NG3 via Odin?
Thanks in advance!
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Click to collapse
What does your "android version" say in settings. If your still on 4.4.2 you can downgrade bank to nce and reroot with towel root.
dirtydodge said:
What does your "android version" say in settings. If your still on 4.4.2 you can downgrade bank to nce and reroot with towel root.
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Click to collapse
Yes, I'm still on 4.4.2. Like I wrote in my OP, though, I'm VERY concerned that this second OTA update keeps failing. I'm also perplexed as to why the device is still in some sort of custom state since I thought taking the OTA update would, in essence, reset everything except user data.
Is my phone borked in some way? I mean, it works just fine otherwise, but the device's inability to install this second OTA update really sticks in my craw.
I might reapply NG3 via Odin and see what happens. Couldn't hurt, right?
fleggett1 said:
Yes, I'm still on 4.4.2. Like I wrote in my OP, though, I'm VERY concerned that this second OTA update keeps failing. I'm also perplexed as to why the device is still in some sort of custom state since I thought taking the OTA update would, in essence, reset everything except user data.
Is my phone borked in some way? I mean, it works just fine otherwise, but the device's inability to install this second OTA update really sticks in my craw.
I might reapply NG3 via Odin and see what happens. Couldn't hurt, right?
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Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3149146
If you want root, go to the OP in that post, scroll down to step 4 or the notes section and download the "downgrade to nce.zip" flash that in odin "ap" slot. Then root with towel root. After that you can either download titanium backup and fees the ota's or use that same thread to upgrade to the OF2 version and keep root.
Edit:
If you want to just take the OTA's and not root your phone then still download the "downgrade to nce.zip" flash in odin but don't root. The ota's will push through with no problem then. But you won't be able to downgrade and root if you take the OTA's all the way up to oc4 i believe.
My last post got no attention, so here is my second attempt.
A software update rolled out for my 5.1 Lollipop S5 Active, and since I wasn't really utilizing my root extensively, I decided I'd get rid of it to receive this update. Unfortunately, I didn't do a whole lot of research and decided I should start by uninstalling my SuperSU. After all, it seemed harmless. I then rebooted, and the thing will not surpass the AT&T boot animation.
The symptoms pointed towards a simple soft brick (i.e. gets to animation, recovery and bootloader not locked). However, I have not been able to successfully flash a fresh firmware onto the device with Odin. SamMobile only has one firmware release for this device, and it is the 4.4.2 version. Is this why the file is failing to flash? If so, how can I get around this issue? Thanks in advance!
sk8chkn said:
My last post got no attention, so here is my second attempt.
A software update rolled out for my 5.1 Lollipop S5 Active, and since I wasn't really utilizing my root extensively, I decided I'd get rid of it to receive this update. Unfortunately, I didn't do a whole lot of research and decided I should start by uninstalling my SuperSU. After all, it seemed harmless. I then rebooted, and the thing will not surpass the AT&T boot animation.
The symptoms pointed towards a simple soft brick (i.e. gets to animation, recovery and bootloader not locked). However, I have not been able to successfully flash a fresh firmware onto the device with Odin. SamMobile only has one firmware release for this device, and it is the 4.4.2 version. Is this why the file is failing to flash? If so, how can I get around this issue? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now if I remember correctly (if i am wrong someone please correct me) if your phone was on 5.0+ then you can not downgrade. Same thing with the build number where the old is NF4 i think, and the newest is OF3 with 5.0. my advice is to scour the internet and find the newest flash file. i know there is a 5.0 out there somewhere.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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)_/¯