I bought this phone over the Note 4 because of permanent root capability.
Now I'm finding that AT&T locked the bootloader and locked down rooting.
Is it even possible or do I now own a piece of junk?
I hate touchwiz, I wanna install a real rom...
changoland said:
I bought this phone over the Note 4 because of permanent root capability.
Now I'm finding that AT&T locked the bootloader and locked down rooting.
Is it even possible or do I now own a piece of junk?
I hate touchwiz, I wanna install a real rom...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's already on stock 5.0, then yes. Currently no root methods avaliable.
nutt_case said:
If it's already on stock 5.0, then yes. Currently no root methods avaliable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks, I assumed at first that it came out of the box at 5.0, but it must have updated to 5.0 when it restored all my apps through Google during initial setup. Word to the wise: Don't sign into Google on your first boot if you ever want to root this phone! I never had the opportunity, now I've gotta sell a brand new phone, ugh
changoland said:
That sucks, I assumed at first that it came out of the box at 5.0, but it must have updated to 5.0 when it restored all my apps through Google during initial setup. Word to the wise: Don't sign into Google on your first boot if you ever want to root this phone! I never had the opportunity, now I've gotta sell a brand new phone, ugh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to rub it in, but since other people may read your advice: It is not google or restoring the application that upgraded the phone to 5.0. You most likely got an OTA (over the air update) notice from AT&T which prompted you to update, then you did it, and updated your phone to lollipop.
najoor said:
Not to rub it in, but since other people may read your advice: It is not google or restoring the application that upgraded the phone to 5.0. You most likely got an OTA (over the air update) notice from AT&T which prompted you to update, then you did it, and updated your phone to lollipop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to contradict you and come off like an asshole, but that is exactly how I got the 5.0 update. It was fresh out of the box and asked me if I wanted to restore content from my previous phone. I was never prompted for an OTA update and I never in a million years would have ever accepted or agreed to that. I'm just trying to warn anybody else who might end up in the same position I ended up in.
changoland said:
Not to contradict you and come off like an asshole, but that is exactly how I got the 5.0 update. It was fresh out of the box and asked me if I wanted to restore content from my previous phone. I was never prompted for an OTA update and I never in a million years would have ever accepted or agreed to that. I'm just trying to warn anybody else who might end up in the same position I ended up in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, I am not questioning your judgment about this and as always I would like to be wrong about this because then I can I learn something new. The way I understand update mechanisms is that there are three ways things get updated in one's phone: the first is by Google and traditionally Google has only updated parts of the operating system that have to do with Google such as the Play Store or the Google framework etc. and these are considered minor patches to the OS. I have never heard or seen that Google would modify the /system partition as that would defy the entire notion of factory reset. The second is through Samsung. unless you live in certain countries where Samsung sells you a phone unlocked and unattached to a mobile operator the update you get from Samsung is limited to Samsung applications and security patches. Finally, in the United States and countries where phones are sold by cell phone operators the OS update is delegated to the phone companies such as AT&T and t-mobile. that's how you get an update for example from kit Kat to lollipop in the us. there is no documented mechanism that shows how Google can update the OS on a phone sold to you by a phone company. but if you find non anecdotal evidence to the contrary, I would be glad to stand corrected.
najoor said:
I'm sorry, I am not questioning your judgment about this and as always I would like to be wrong about this because then I can I learn something new. The way I understand update mechanisms is that there are three ways things get updated in one's phone: the first is by Google and traditionally Google has only updated parts of the operating system that have to do with Google such as the Play Store or the Google framework etc. and these are considered minor patches to the OS. I have never heard or seen that Google would modify the /system partition as that would defy the entire notion of factory reset. The second is through Samsung. unless you live in certain countries where Samsung sells you a phone unlocked and unattached to a mobile operator the update you get from Samsung is limited to Samsung applications and security patches. Finally, in the United States and countries where phones are sold by cell phone operators the OS update is delegated to the phone companies such as AT&T and t-mobile. that's how you get an update for example from kit Kat to lollipop in the us. there is no documented mechanism that shows how Google can update the OS on a phone sold to you by a phone company. but if you find non anecdotal evidence to the contrary, I would be glad to stand corrected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean, I'm not stating that it was Google who pushed this update, it is an AT&T ROM after all. The reality of my situation is that the phone was doing an initial startup and the very first thing that happened was it launched into the initial setup. Once it got to the screen that asked me for my Google login to re-install all the apps that were linked to my account, that was the last time I had any input over the matter. It had to be during this time that the 5.0 update was downloaded/installed as well because this process took about an hour while it downloaded everything. Unfortunately it gives no information about whats going on whatsoever except for showing a splash screen that you can't escape from as it continued to download everything. Once it finished, I was at 5.0. I never once saw the phone operating or a home screen on anything that wasn't 5.0. So it very well could have been that AT&T pushed the OTA update during this process. I just had zero control over what was happening and was never prompted for an OTA update. I just entered my Google credentials, it went to the splash screen, and when it finished it spit me out to the home screen at 5.0.
changoland said:
I mean, I'm not stating that it was Google who pushed this update, it is an AT&T ROM after all. The reality of my situation is that the phone was doing an initial startup and the very first thing that happened was it launched into the initial setup. Once it got to the screen that asked me for my Google login to re-install all the apps that were linked to my account, that was the last time I had any input over the matter. It had to be during this time that the 5.0 update was downloaded/installed as well because this process took about an hour while it downloaded everything. Unfortunately it gives no information about whats going on whatsoever except for showing a splash screen that you can't escape from as it continued to download everything. Once it finished, I was at 5.0. I never once saw the phone operating or a home screen on anything that wasn't 5.0. So it very well could have been that AT&T pushed the OTA update during this process. I just had zero control over what was happening and was never prompted for an OTA update. I just entered my Google credentials, it went to the splash screen, and when it finished it spit me out to the home screen at 5.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My S5 looks for system updates on the initial setup each time. It probably upgraded to the new OS as your were doing your initial setup of the device.
That's correct it does look for updates on initial setup. I have made it a good practice not to connect to Internet during the initial setup. This will keep it from looking or installing any updates. Updates will not push unless your connected to Internet ( unless it's been days and you keep denying them ).
This is the procedure I follow each time I buy a new phone:
1- Take the sim card out and turn the phone on. If the phone co-operates go to step 3.
2- Put the sim card back in and turn the phone on.
3- During the initial setup decline to connect to WiFi if the phone accepts that.
4- Immediately after the set up is complete, go to Settings -> Security -> security policy updates (or something like that) and turn automatic updates off AND set your preferred networks to WiFi only.
5- go to Settings -> about device -> software update, AND IF THERE IS AN OPTION PRESENT, disable automatic updates.
6- Root the phone if possible. If not move to step 8.
7- After obtaining root, disable the update related apks. They are typically called: LocalFota.apk, FotaClient.apk, SamsungApps.apk, SPDClient.apk, SyncmlD.apk, and wssyncmlnps.apk, or variations of these names. They are all under either /system/app or /system/priv-app.
8- It is now (relatively) safe to connect to the internet.
9- The first time you log in to playstore, quickly go to its settings and disable automatic update.
najoor said:
This is the procedure I follow each time I buy a new phone:
1- Take the sim card out and turn the phone on. If the phone co-operates go to step 3.
2- Put the sim card back in and turn the phone on.
3- During the initial setup decline to connect to WiFi if the phone accepts that.
4- Immediately after the set up is complete, go to Settings -> Security -> security policy updates (or something like that) and turn automatic updates off AND set your preferred networks to WiFi only.
5- go to Settings -> about device -> software update, AND IF THERE IS AN OPTION PRESENT, disable automatic updates.
6- Root the phone if possible. If not move to step 8.
7- After obtaining root, disable the update related apks. They are typically called: LocalFota.apk, FotaClient.apk, SamsungApps.apk, SPDClient.apk, SyncmlD.apk, and wssyncmlnps.apk, or variations of these names. They are all under either /system/app or /system/priv-app.
8- It is now (relatively) safe to connect to the internet.
9- The first time you log in to playstore, quickly go to its settings and disable automatic update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are good steps, one side note that i do is i don't connect to Internet until after i sign into Google play and set the update to " do not update ". I also hardly ever connect to the Internet anyhow since my phones data is faster than my slow a$$ Internet. Ha
dirtydodge said:
Those are good steps, one side note that i do is i don't connect to Internet until after i sign into Google play and set the update to " do not update ". I also hardly ever connect to the Internet anyhow since my phones data is faster than my slow a$$ Internet. Ha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but somehow that never worked for me. Play store doesn't let me log in until I connect to the internet and before logging in I cannot change the settings.
najoor said:
Yeah, but somehow that never worked for me. Play store doesn't let me log in until I connect to the internet and before logging in I cannot change the settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you open the play store and log in that way it normally won't, but if you go to settings, accounts, and add your Google account that way, let the phone set about 5 min while it sets up then you should be able to log in.
changoland said:
That sucks, I assumed at first that it came out of the box at 5.0, but it must have updated to 5.0 when it restored all my apps through Google during initial setup...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What makes you think it didn't come from at&t with 5.0 already installed? I had to have my phone replaced recently and the new one definitely had 5.0 pre-installed.
I just received one, 5.0 out of the box also.
Ok, so I'm not the only one who received a 5.0 out of the box. too bad AT&T are such pieces of s***
Yeah, I entered this thread with the intention of posting that it was to my understanding that unless you find some old stock somewhere, all new AT&T Galaxy S5s are coming with 5.0 pre-installed.
If the OP had taken an OTA while setting up his phone I'm sure he would have noticed the reboot to recovery and the little Android dude with the blue progress bar under him as his phone updated. OTA updates don't silently install.
The days of walking out of the store with a brand new S5 and rooting it right away have gone away until someone finds a new exploit that will work on the stock 5.0.
I'm looking for a used S5 to use on Straight Talk. I want to root it and use the mobile hotspot feature. Is their a particular build number or kernel I should be looking for? I want to have 5.0 also. Maybe a ROM like Sixperience
THANKS
Downgrade and root?
I had the same issue, replaced my broken S5 and the new one came with 5.0 stock.
Would it possible to downgrade, to 4.4.2 KitKat, root via Towelroot, and then upgrade again? Would be tedious, but I am sick of AT&T's bull****. It's a moral victory as much as just looking for more ease-of-use.
bigben7310 said:
I had the same issue, replaced my broken S5 and the new one came with 5.0 stock.
Would it possible to downgrade, to 4.4.2 KitKat, root via Towelroot, and then upgrade again? Would be tedious, but I am sick of AT&T's bull****. It's a moral victory as much as just looking for more ease-of-use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not possible as of now
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
Bone stock ATT S5A with 6.01 and the August 1 security patch.
(I had been running flashfire and such to be able to root but finally gave up on the crappy phone and bought a Moto-X Pure, anyway, when the 6.01 update came out I charged this back up and updated. Gotta say, it was a huge improvement.)
But back to my problem. I want to activate the built in WiFi calling that comes with the 6.01 update. I tried numerous but it kept failing, so I called customer service.
After numerous attempts the customer service rep told me he called their Samsung rep and the Samsung rep told him that even though the phone has the option built in to the new update it actually doesn't work. WTF! Seriously? Why the heck would they add a feature in an update that doesn't work? I call BS on this. They even have a tutorial on their (ATT) website that tells you how to active WiFi calling.
I am going to call back tomorrow and talk to someone else but thought I would post here and see if anyone can verify WiFi calling working on an Active?
edit: Did the Sept security update today hoping that it might help.... it didn't.
OK, todays update.
I spent 58 minutes on the phone with ATT tech support and they have no idea why it wont work. They had me reboot blah blah blah all the things I have already tried. However.... they said it should work and at no point did they tell me that the GS5 doesnt support WiFi calling, like the tech told me yesterday.
So they have opened a ticket to see what they can find. At this point I kinda don't care if it works or not but I find it interesting that they can't figure it out. Makes me wonder if the first tech was correct and ATT screwed up by adding an update feature to the phone that it cant support.
If anyone has an ATT GS5active that the WiFi calling works on I would certainly be interested to know. Seems like most of us have moved on to better phones though.
I use FreedomPop, WiFi calling works fine without ticking the icon in the drop-down menu.
Ok so I just acquired an S6 (AT&T, OEM/not rooted) and I know that 7.0 is rolling out for it and after some investigating it seems that the only way I'll be able to update it to 7.0 from 6.0.1 is if my baseband is at a certain version, which it is not. There are 3 listed updates for this phone on the At&T site that I don't seem to have (SPL Nov 1, SPL Dec 1 & SPL Jan 1) and I'm wondering how I can apply these updates and at least have my phone up to date. I've tried checking OTA updates and also installing SmartSwitch and it says that my phone is currently updated and doesn't offer any patches. Any help is appreciated!
Here's a screenshot of where I'm at now-
http://imgur.com/a/PcnFQ
No OTA updates if it's not on the AT&T network, sadly. I have an AT&T S6 on Cricket and I get my updates by going to a Best Buy with a Samsung Experience Center inside. They can update it for you. If that's an option based on where you live you can wait a couple weeks, they didn't have the Nougat update yet when I checked yesterday. Otherwise, since it's a new phone and presumably you don't have any data on it to lose, you can update manually. See this thread to start:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-galaxy-s6/general/att-galaxy-s6-firmware-thread-t3525469
09dgceph said:
No OTA updates if it's not on the AT&T network, sadly. I have an AT&T S6 on Cricket and I get my updates by going to a Best Buy with a Samsung Experience Center inside. They can update it for you. If that's an option based on where you live you can wait a couple weeks, they didn't have the Nougat update yet when I checked yesterday. Otherwise, since it's a new phone and presumably you don't have any data on it to lose, you can update manually. See this thread to start:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-galaxy-s6/general/att-galaxy-s6-firmware-thread-t3525469
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tips. I'm on cricket actually so going into a Best buy might be the best option when they get it. Do you have to pay them to do it? Will i get my phone back right away or do I need to leave it with them for a while ? Side question for you - do you use the hotspot on the s6? That's something else I'm trying to get working/enabled.
It's free. I've done it three times and it's been a breeze. You don't leave your phone, you just wait around for the updates to install. Depending on how many updates you are behind it can take a while, but there are plenty of ways to kill time at Best Buy. You can check online which ones have the Samsung Experience Center inside.
As for hotspot, I never use it.
Back in July I got a steal on a new US Cellular Galaxy Note 9, so I immediately threw my iPhone 6S SIM card into it and went through several rounds of software updates. After the last update the splash screen switched to AT&T and it suddenly had several AT&T apps. It didn't TOTALLY eliminate the US Cellular stuff because I had to delete at least one app and change the Samsung browser's default home page.
Due to the iPhone SIM card and some stuff on AT&T's side, it would not do VoLTE or WiFi calling until I got a new SIM and had AT&T use the IMEI from an AT&T Galaxy Note 9 (read it off one from the store). I did that in late August and the only remaining issue O noticed was that my MMS messages will not download as long as I am on WiFi.
I just noticed what may be a new issue: I think I stopped getting carrier updates. Looking on AT&T's site, I see that they have multiple newer updates with the latest from September 18th:
https://www.att.com/devicehowto/tut...tep_KM1278532?make=Samsung&model=SamsungN960U
My "Security Patch Level" says May 1, 2019, while AT&T's website says that there have been 4 updates since then (latest at Security Patch Level September 1, 2019).
My baseband version doesn't quite match any of the ones associated with AT&T updates, though their May 22nd update seems to be the most similar (AT&T's N960USQS1CSE1 compared with my N960USQU1CSE3).
I recall that the new phone updated multiple times and was still on Oreo before it updated again to Pie, and again to AT&T-flavored Pie. I figure the final update was really just adding the AT&T apps and splash screen, but it somehow stopped me from getting further updates from US Cellular. I'm pretty sure I had an AT&T SIM card inserted for all of my updates.
On that note, I believe I tossed the original SIM and US Cellular does not operate in my region (only showed up here through a salvage store). I'm not easily able to get another US Cellular SIM for triggering it to revert to a US Cellular ROM. I'm not interested in custom ROMs and all that and ultimately just want to keep my phone up to date the same way a normal AT&T customer would after buying theirs from AT&T. I thought the Note 9 adding carrier customizations to match the inserted SIM would take care of all this automatically (half the point, right?) but I guess I was wrong.
Is it possible to get carrier updates like I was getting before? If not, what would you guys recommend for getting up to date and staying up to date? Thanks!
CZroe said:
Back in July I got a steal on a new US Cellular Galaxy Note 9, so I immediately threw my iPhone 6S SIM card into it and went through several rounds of software updates. After the last update the splash screen switched to AT&T and it suddenly had several AT&T apps. It didn't TOTALLY eliminate the US Cellular stuff because I had to delete at least one app and change the Samsung browser's default home page.
Due to the iPhone SIM card and some stuff on AT&T's side, it would not do VoLTE or WiFi calling until I got a new SIM and had AT&T use the IMEI from an AT&T Galaxy Note 9 (read it off one from the store). I did that in late August and the only remaining issue O noticed was that my MMS messages will not download as long as I am on WiFi.
I just noticed what may be a new issue: I think I stopped getting carrier updates. Looking on AT&T's site, I see that they have multiple newer updates with the latest from September 18th:
https://www.att.com/devicehowto/tut...tep_KM1278532?make=Samsung&model=SamsungN960U
My "Security Patch Level" says May 1, 2019, while AT&T's website says that there have been 4 updates since then (latest at Security Patch Level September 1, 2019).
My baseband version doesn't quite match any of the ones associated with AT&T updates, though their May 22nd update seems to be the most similar (AT&T's N960USQS1CSE1 compared with my N960USQU1CSE3).
I recall that the new phone updated multiple times and was still on Oreo before it updated again to Pie, and again to AT&T-flavored Pie. I figure the final update was really just adding the AT&T apps and splash screen, but it somehow stopped me from getting further updates from US Cellular. I'm pretty sure I had an AT&T SIM card inserted for all of my updates.
On that note, I believe I tossed the original SIM and US Cellular does not operate in my region (only showed up here through a salvage store). I'm not easily able to get another US Cellular SIM for triggering it to revert to a US Cellular ROM. I'm not interested in custom ROMs and all that and ultimately just want to keep my phone up to date the same way a normal AT&T customer would after buying theirs from AT&T. I thought the Note 9 adding carrier customizations to match the inserted SIM would take care of all this automatically (half the point, right?) but I guess I was wrong.
Is it possible to get carrier updates like I was getting before? If not, what would you guys recommend for getting up to date and staying up to date? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attached is the link for my last update , I'm using it on AT&T , phone is original from AT&T, and all is Ok for me, I hope can help you.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum....note-9-att-rom-update-sept-2019-t3979303/amp/
Thunderxxx said:
Attached is the link for my last update , I'm using it on AT&T , phone is original from AT&T, and all is Ok for me, I hope can help you.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum....note-9-att-rom-update-sept-2019-t3979303/amp/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll check it out when I get back to my PC. Thanks! I assume it's something I need to flash with Odin?
Is anyone on the latest March factory Panther image and is able to use Straighttalk?
13.0.0 (TQ2A.230305.008, Mar 2023)
I am currently in beta because I knew Straighttalk mvno would work. I can get out of beta by ignoring the update which will make me take on regular OTA updates but I am hesitant for fear of having connection issues. I would love to ignore and not lose all my current apps/data because it will be seamless(or so google says with this update) So it leads me to believe not too much is changing. Maybe I am not understanding certain aspects so if so please enlighten me.
Thanks!
richb518 said:
Is anyone on the latest March factory Panther image and is able to use Straighttalk?
13.0.0 (TQ2A.230305.008, Mar 2023)
I am currently in beta because I knew Straighttalk mvno would work. I can get out of beta by ignoring the update which will make me take on regular OTA updates but I am hesitant for fear of having connection issues. I would love to ignore and not lose all my current apps/data because it will be seamless(or so google says with this update) So it leads me to believe not too much is changing. Maybe I am not understanding certain aspects so if so please enlighten me.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might need to remind me what "MVNO" is, but I'm on a Panther, using the latest March security update, on Straight Talk/Tracfone(Straight Talk sim, always been Straight Talk, when I popped in the sim coming to Panther recently it says Tracfone in my area, ie ND), but everything is working flawlessly, well except 5G, but I'm not in a 5G area, should be heading to Fargo tomorrow/today technically to test to see if it works up there.
First reply in many years