Database Develop

[Q] Backup ROM and Root Device Assistance

Hello So I have a brand new, unlocked, Samsung Note 3 (SN-900A - AT&T variety) that I bought from Best Buy. In the next few days I'll be switching to T-Mobile (no comments on carrier switch please), but since the GSM phone is unlocked I can use it on T-Mobile's network
Here is the current status of my phone:
Used Odin to flash back to stock AT&T 4.4.2 ROM from installed NL1 4.4.4
Rooted device on 4.4.2 and then upgraded to rooted/stock AT&T ROM 4.4.4 using SuperSU, BusyBox, and SafeStrap as explained here, here, and here (did not update to Lollipop)
Used Root App VIP to manually disable AT&T bloatware now that I have the phone rooted on 4.4.4
So in its current form my phone is rooted on 4.4.4 and working pretty well. I'm happy thus far and don't want to get too greedy since it works.
However I have a few questions about how to backup my current ROM and about geeting some better understanding about the root and ROM process. I would be quite appreciative if someone could assist me with the answers please!
It appears the original Dev of Safestrap (the core app at the heart of rooting and upgrading the Note 3 in my process) has moved onto greener pastures. Since SafeStrap does not work on 4.4.4 (can't boot into recovery or do backups), what is the replacement tool/utility? Should I use Odin for everything? OdinMobile? CWM? TWRP? FlashFire? I've read a bunch of threads on the differences and I'm having a hard time making heads or tails of it all. The main thing I want to be able to do now is backup my current ROM like you could previously with Safestrap, and update to a new ROM if I so choose.
I never wanted the bloatware - do you think I flashed the wrong ROM? Should I have used a stock ASOP ROM if I didn't want bloatware or is this not possible on the 900A?
Ironically if I had to have bloatware I would have preferred to have T-Mobile's since I will be on their network. Could I have put a T-Mobile ROM image on an AT&T variant of the phone? (just curious)
I used a AT&T stock ROM apparently from those links I posted which propogated the bloatware to 4.4.4, however at least I'm rooted. I believe this was all done to not disturb the KNOX flag. I have a warranty from BestBuy I would like to keep (1 year), but I can't go to AT&T for warranty service (they are not my carrier) and I didn't buy the phone from T-mobile either, so is the warranty worth anything anyway?
I keep reading that the AT&T variant of Note 3 has a 'locked bootloader' and that's what's with going to all the trouble with SafeStarp was about. Essentially it loads an alternate image/ROM not disturbing the stock one so that the KNOX flag is never triggered. Is there a way to unlock the bootloader on this phone or should I even care?
I'm early enough in this process that if I went down the wrong path I could do something different. Any or all help/assistance is greatly appreciated!

atconway said:
Hello So I have a brand new, unlocked, Samsung Note 3 (SN-900A - AT&T variety) that I bought from Best Buy. In the next few days I'll be switching to T-Mobile (no comments on carrier switch please), but since the GSM phone is unlocked I can use it on T-Mobile's network
Here is the current status of my phone:
Used Odin to flash back to stock AT&T 4.4.2 ROM from installed NL1 4.4.4
Rooted device on 4.4.2 and then upgraded to rooted/stock AT&T ROM 4.4.4 using SuperSU, BusyBox, and SafeStrap as explained here, here, and here (did not update to Lollipop)
Used Root App VIP to manually disable AT&T bloatware now that I have the phone rooted on 4.4.4
So in its current form my phone is rooted on 4.4.4 and working pretty well. I'm happy thus far and don't want to get too greedy since it works.
However I have a few questions about how to backup my current ROM and about geeting some better understanding about the root and ROM process. I would be quite appreciative if someone could assist me with the answers please!
It appears the original Dev of Safestrap (the core app at the heart of rooting and upgrading the Note 3 in my process) has moved onto greener pastures. Since SafeStrap does not work on 4.4.4 (can't boot into recovery or do backups), what is the replacement tool/utility? Should I use Odin for everything? OdinMobile? CWM? TWRP? FlashFire? I've read a bunch of threads on the differences and I'm having a hard time making heads or tails of it all. The main thing I want to be able to do now is backup my current ROM like you could previously with Safestrap, and update to a new ROM if I so choose.
I never wanted the bloatware - do you think I flashed the wrong ROM? Should I have used a stock ASOP ROM if I didn't want bloatware or is this not possible on the 900A?
Ironically if I had to have bloatware I would have preferred to have T-Mobile's since I will be on their network. Could I have put a T-Mobile ROM image on an AT&T variant of the phone? (just curious)
I used a AT&T stock ROM apparently from those links I posted which propogated the bloatware to 4.4.4, however at least I'm rooted. I believe this was all done to not disturb the KNOX flag. I have a warranty from BestBuy I would like to keep (1 year), but I can't go to AT&T for warranty service (they are not my carrier) and I didn't buy the phone from T-mobile either, so is the warranty worth anything anyway?
I keep reading that the AT&T variant of Note 3 has a 'locked bootloader' and that's what's with going to all the trouble with SafeStarp was about. Essentially it loads an alternate image/ROM not disturbing the stock one so that the KNOX flag is never triggered. Is there a way to unlock the bootloader on this phone or should I even care?
I'm early enough in this process that if I went down the wrong path I could do something different. Any or all help/assistance is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I'm on a 4.4.4 Rom, I use AT&T OC1,NL1,NJ5 SafeStrap Work Around http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/att-nj5-safestrap-t2957471 install the Kernel Flasher http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/development/nc2-flasher-app-unsafe-t2989141/ grant it Supersu and tap to reboot, it will boot to Safestrap and do your backup or whatever you are doing. Once done you MUST flash the kernel may it be the NL1 or OC1, but you must flash it with Safestrap. The NL1 kernel (SM-N900A_NL1_KERNEL_RecoveryFlashable.zip) is for NL1 and NJ5 Roms and the OC1 kernel (SM-N900A_N900AUCUEOC1_KERNEL_Recovery-Flashable.zip) is only for OC1 Roms. I don't use Mobile Odin or FlashFire. Even though you are on T-Mobile the phone is AT&T which has a locked boot loader, so you can not use CWM or TWRP and you are stuck using only AT&T Roms. You can use Titanium Backup to remove any bloatware (Backup first saves on headache, case something goes wrong or you can freeze it). This is a T-Moible Rom that is ported for AT&T; T-Mobile Alliance Lollipop Rom on ATT Note 3 http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/t-mobile-alliance-rom-att-note-3-t3065127 and since you are on T-Mobile, you wouldn't have to "After the phone came up, I went to settings..general..applications...running .... and found every Tmobile app and cleared cache and disabled them. The real important one here is the Visual Voicemail. Otherwise it will keep on trying to contact Tmobile and then you will get text messages saying there is an error." It is a OC1 Rom (Lollipop) so you would need the SM-N900A_N900AUCUEOC1_KERNEL_Recovery-Flashable.zip because you would flash this in Safestrap once you have used the Kernel Flasher to access Safestrap. [How-To] Update to N900A_NL1 - 4.4.4 and Keep Root (12-24-2014) http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/how-to-root-n900aucudnl1-4-4-4-12-24-t2983357 is just the plain AT&T Rom that's been rooted, that's why you got all that bloatware. I go right here for any Rom I wish to install, Android development for the AT&T Galaxy Note 3 http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/development Forgot to say, write down your APN settings, so you can still get data. T-Mobile Network: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (N900) https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-11447 in case.

Rooted i747 said:
This is a T-Moible Rom that is ported for AT&T; T-Mobile Alliance Lollipop Rom on ATT Note 3 http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/t-mobile-alliance-rom-att-note-3-t3065127 and since you are on T-Mobile...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This had all been really helpful, thank you. I've read the post a bunch and followed all the steps. The NC2 flasher is awesome and works great!
However, I'm trying to make heads or tails though of the T-Mobile Alliance ROM version to use (reminder I want a T-Mobile ROM on my AT&T Note 3 since I'm on T-Mobile's network). The underlying link that has the T-Mobile Alliance ROM to actually download states that KNOX is removed and activated (0x1). However the link provided by you to the T-Mobile Alliance flashing instructions page has multiple replies saying KNOX remains undisturbed and is at 0x0 after completion. I'm probably asking the wrong questions, but is the process of using Safestrap regardless of the ROM I'm using prevent KNOX from being tripped? Or is it that the newest version of the Alliance ROM is what would trip KNOX (i.e. should I use an older version of the ROM that doesn't remove KNOX)?
I have everything backed up, downloaded and ready to flash and install. I just want to flash this T-Mobile Alliance ROM but not trip KNOX. Once I can get a clear understanding this I'm ready to move forward and complete it.

atconway said:
This had all been really helpful, thank you. I've read the post a bunch and followed all the steps. The NC2 flasher is awesome and works great!
However, I'm trying to make heads or tails though of the T-Mobile Alliance ROM version to use (reminder I want a T-Mobile ROM on my AT&T Note 3 since I'm on T-Mobile's network). The underlying link that has the T-Mobile Alliance ROM to actually download states that KNOX is removed and activated (0x1). However the link provided by you to the T-Mobile Alliance flashing instructions page has multiple replies saying KNOX remains undisturbed and is at 0x0 after completion. I'm probably asking the wrong questions, but is the process of using Safestrap regardless of the ROM I'm using prevent KNOX from being tripped? Or is it that the newest version of the Alliance ROM is what would trip KNOX (i.e. should I use an older version of the ROM that doesn't remove KNOX)?
I have everything backed up, downloaded and ready to flash and install. I just want to flash this T-Mobile Alliance ROM but not trip KNOX. Once I can get a clear understanding this I'm ready to move forward and complete it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safestrap will not stop Knox from tripping. If you are not sure, if you Knox will trip or not then I say don't flash it. I never flashed that Rom, so I can't say. The Roms I have used and my Knox still 0X0. Currently on FireKat Deodex NC2 KK V19N3/V19N4 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786666 AllianceROM Lollipop v9.1 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2778933 Note 4 Port Evolution 3.0 http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/development/rom-note-4-port-evolution-1-0-t2982296 Note 4 Port Evolution 3.0 you will have to flash extra things in Safestrap to make it work right.

atconway said:
This had all been really helpful, thank you. I've read the post a bunch and followed all the steps. The NC2 flasher is awesome and works great!
However, I'm trying to make heads or tails though of the T-Mobile Alliance ROM version to use (reminder I want a T-Mobile ROM on my AT&T Note 3 since I'm on T-Mobile's network). The underlying link that has the T-Mobile Alliance ROM to actually download states that KNOX is removed and activated (0x1). However the link provided by you to the T-Mobile Alliance flashing instructions page has multiple replies saying KNOX remains undisturbed and is at 0x0 after completion. I'm probably asking the wrong questions, but is the process of using Safestrap regardless of the ROM I'm using prevent KNOX from being tripped? Or is it that the newest version of the Alliance ROM is what would trip KNOX (i.e. should I use an older version of the ROM that doesn't remove KNOX)?
I have everything backed up, downloaded and ready to flash and install. I just want to flash this T-Mobile Alliance ROM but not trip KNOX. Once I can get a clear understanding this I'm ready to move forward and complete it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got bored so I tried it. Did not trip Knox and I really didn't see a different from AllianceROM Lollipop v9.1 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2778933 Well, I don't care for it, so back to FireKat! :silly:

Thanks for trying it out and your assistance I did the same on my phone immediately after you did and got the same results. It works great and should be a viable option for those like me that have an AT&T phone, but want to load a T-Mobile based ROM.
I'll be curious if that Alliance ROM though stays up to date with the newer versions of Android (i.e. 5.0.2, etc.) It appears to be based on 5.0.0 from what I can tell. Only reason I ask is because my experience with 5.0 on my old S4 has been awful. Fells like I'm back on Android Gingerbread with 500mb of ROM. :S There are so many memory leaks on my S4 now it stinks. 4.4.4 was way better.
Good news is I haven't seen that same issue thus far with the Alliance ROM, so hopefully is worked out whatever shortcomings the OS had.

Lollipop 5.1.1 on T715?

OK I'm a complete newbie here. I bought the 8" S2 International unlocked version from Amazon and will take it to AT&T to activate it tomorrow. It's on 5.0.2 and is not seeing any OTA updates. Does anyone know if there's a way to get 5.1.1 OTA? If not, does anyone know if Samsung has commented as to whether they'll release 5.1.1, or even Marshmallow, for this device or will I have to go to a custom ROM?
Also, is there an absolute beginners guide to this site? I've been reading through the threads and keep seeing terms like odin, twrp, and many others that I don't know what they mean and I'd like to figure out.
Thanks.

CincyTriGuy said:
OK I'm a complete newbie here. I bought the 8" S2 International unlocked version from Amazon and will take it to AT&T to activate it tomorrow. It's on 5.0.2 and is not seeing any OTA updates. Does anyone know if there's a way to get 5.1.1 OTA? If not, does anyone know if Samsung has commented as to whether they'll release 5.1.1, or even Marshmallow, for this device or will I have to go to a custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just received the same device yesterday and so far, it's working just fine on at&t: including data full phone features (i wasn't aware that this version of the Tab S2 had a full fledged phone). i inserted my nano sim from my dual-sim note5 and the S2 configured everything automatically. also, i didn't see an OTA when i checked yesterday and there's nothing at sammobile.com which is where one can generally find firmware (stock ROM) for Samsung devices. any custom ROM right now will likely be 5.0.2.
CincyTriGuy said:
Also, is there an absolute beginners guide to this site? I've been reading through the threads and keep seeing terms like odin, twrp, and many others that I don't know what they mean and I'd like to figure out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin = Windows based application used to flash firmware to Samsung devices.
TWRP = a custom recovery that - once your phone is rooted (similar to admin privileges on windows pc) - allows one to flash a custom ROM or other components/features not on a stock device. you can also create backups/nandroids of your device so you can restore your device if something goes wrong (similar to resorting a windows system image to a new hard drive). always, always backup when trying things out. tutorials are here, but sometimes not easily located via search. :good:

Need explanation of locked bootloader on SM-G890A

I've got a S6 Active that when I received it was on Lollipop. I was able to flash MM (using thread here on XDA) to it before it was officially released from the carrier. Then I was able to flash back to stock Lollipop and then received the MM 6.0.1 update from the carrier. I wanted to flash back to Lollipop for testing purposes but was unable. I think it's because the bootloader is locked?
I've read a bunch of threads saying that the S6 active has nott been rooted? Has a locked bootloader? Can't run custom roms?
Can someone please give me the scoop on this. I'd like to go back to lollipop for testing but I don't think its possible. Is that the case? Thanks.
Roveer

roveer said:
I've got a S6 Active that when I received it was on Lollipop. I was able to flash MM (using thread here on XDA) to it before it was officially released from the carrier. Then I was able to flash back to stock Lollipop and then received the MM 6.0.1 update from the carrier. I wanted to flash back to Lollipop for testing purposes but was unable. I think it's because the bootloader is locked?
I've read a bunch of threads saying that the S6 active has nott been rooted? Has a locked bootloader? Can't run custom roms?
Can someone please give me the scoop on this. I'd like to go back to lollipop for testing but I don't think its possible. Is that the case? Thanks.
Roveer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi
yes it's not possible to downgrade your rom or your bootloader because of the locked bootloader that prevents any try to modify the device...

is this typical of most phones? I've read of others frutrations about the S6 active still having a locked bootloader. Did I just pick a bad platform? Is S6 the same way? How about S7 series? Thanks.

roveer said:
is this typical of most phones? I've read of others frutrations about the S6 active still having a locked bootloader. Did I just pick a bad platform? Is S6 the same way? How about S7 series? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Locked bootloaders are often the case for phones provided by carriers. While a phone purchased directly from the manufacturer is usually able to have its bootloader unlocked, carrier phones are locked by the carrier themselves, preventing any tampering by the end user. A custom ROM is any modified version of Android not developed by the company that made your phone. Think of it like a third party system. To get these custom ROMs onto your phone you must "flash" (simply, install) the ROM from your computer to your phone. However, a locked bootloader prevents this. While in some cases there are ways to get around carrier locked bootloaders, it is generally futile. If you purchased the S6 Active in hopes of tinkering around with custom ROMs, I'm afraid you have picked the wrong phone. The S6 Active, as of currently, is permanently locked to Samsung's and AT&T's "stock ROM"
EDIT: as for going back to Lollipop, the reason this is generally not possible is due to the fact that the Marshmallow update also updated critical parts related to the bootloader. It is impossible to roll back these changes once they have been made as they are strictly one way.

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't buy the phone for the express reason for changing android versions but rather to use as my daily driver. We are a BES 12 (Blackberry Enterprise Server) shop and I have found a bug that causes the VPN portion of the software to drop after an hour or so. Simply hitting the home button (waking the phone up re-establishes the vpn and mail flow continues). I'm working with BB to determine what's going on. I've disabled all power saving and doze settings yet still the problem. They are going to activate some other phones on my system to see if they see the problem. My reason for wanting to go back to lollipop is that I don't believe I saw this problem when I was on that OS so I was hoping to go back to confirm that behavior. I like the "active" phones for their ruggedness but don't have an unlimited budget to be buying handsets.
Roveer

roveer said:
Thanks for the explanation. I didn't buy the phone for the express reason for changing android versions but rather to use as my daily driver. We are a BES 12 (Blackberry Enterprise Server) shop and I have found a bug that causes the VPN portion of the software to drop after an hour or so. Simply hitting the home button (waking the phone up re-establishes the vpn and mail flow continues). I'm working with BB to determine what's going on. I've disabled all power saving and doze settings yet still the problem. They are going to activate some other phones on my system to see if they see the problem. My reason for wanting to go back to lollipop is that I don't believe I saw this problem when I was on that OS so I was hoping to go back to confirm that behavior. I like the "active" phones for their ruggedness but don't have an unlimited budget to be buying handsets.
Roveer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the software you are referring to is something provided by blackberry, perhaps they need to patch their software for compatibility with Android Marshmallow. While not all software is broken by a major Android update, there are definitely some that are. Of course enterprise level software is entirely foreign to me (I'm only 17), so getting a second opinion on this issue would definitely be a good idea.

OK, I understand locked bootloader preventing from flashing any custom roms etc. Even preventing previous official android. Here's another question: Is there a way to flash current android version? I'm on G890AUCS4CPF3 which is an AT&T build. What is the carrier's method to reflash current OS when there has been some corruption to the version that is on the phone. Not just wipe, but reload entire android, re-create file system etc... That's what I want to try next. Blackberry has activated a Samsung S6 on my server and it (so far) is not exhibiting the same problem as my S6 Active. This leads me to believe that it my be a problem with my hardware. I want to do a reload at this point. Any ideas how I can do that? Odin flash? Is there a repository for the G890AUCS4CPF3 ROM?
Thanks,
Roveer

roveer said:
OK, I understand locked bootloader preventing from flashing any custom roms etc. Even preventing previous official android. Here's another question: Is there a way to flash current android version? I'm on G890AUCS4CPF3 which is an AT&T build. What is the carrier's method to reflash current OS when there has been some corruption to the version that is on the phone. Not just wipe, but reload entire android, re-create file system etc... That's what I want to try next. Blackberry has activated a Samsung S6 on my server and it (so far) is not exhibiting the same problem as my S6 Active. This leads me to believe that it my be a problem with my hardware. I want to do a reload at this point. Any ideas how I can do that? Odin flash? Is there a repository for the G890AUCS4CPF3 ROM?
Thanks,
Roveer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Carriers can tell if your Firmware is theirs or not because official Firmware is digitally signed by Samsung and AT&T.
As for using Odin, that would be your most viable option. However, I am not aware of any Odin images for the Marshmallow update on the S6A. As far as I know, Odin cannot get around the restriction of having a newer Bootloader, so you cannot flash down.
One thing you can try is to wipe cache partition. If that fails, factory reset from within the bootloader. Just make sure you've backed your data up.
EDIT: Take note that there is a difference in Firmware between the S6 vs the S6A.
EDIT 2: In your other thread you stated you can't flash back to lollipop due to a locked bootloader. This is actually due to, as stated before, the newest bootloader tha to the latest Android Marshmallow update.

FevenKitsune said:
Carriers can tell if your Firmware is theirs or not because official Firmware is digitally signed by Samsung and AT&T.
As for using Odin, that would be your most viable option. However, I am not aware of any Odin images for the Marshmallow update on the S6A. As far as I know, Odin cannot get around the restriction of having a newer Bootloader, so you cannot flash down.
One thing you can try is to wipe cache partition. If that fails, factory reset from within the bootloader. Just make sure you've backed your data up.
EDIT: Take note that there is a difference in Firmware between the S6 vs the S6A.
EDIT 2: In your other thread you stated you can't flash back to lollipop due to a locked bootloader. This is actually due to, as stated before, the newest bootloader tha to the latest Android Marshmallow update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I wiped the cache partition and factory reset within the bootloader and tried my app again. It continued to fail. I even found the MM image in the S6 Active MM thread and sideloaded it. It was only 400+ megs though. Still the app doesn't work so I'm starting to doubt that my problems are related to my particular S6 but its always a possibility. I'm trying to get Blackberry to dig up their own S6A and test on their own. They've been testing with a S6 for the past 2 days (on my BES server) and haven't seen the same problems, so it's either my device or a problem with the S6A (which as has been pointed out does use a different firmware version than the S6), but until I can get another S6 Active device to test I won't know.
Roveer

How to flash international firmware (for using in Europe)?

Hello everybody,
a friend of mine has recently come back from a 12 months work experience in NY (we live in Italy) and gave me his american Galaxy S6 Edge since he has just got a brand new Iphone 7.
This S6 is AT&T version (SM-G925A), sim unlocked, still Lollipop installed.
My question: is there a way to flash SM-G925F international firmware and get OTA here in Europe?
I already read about people trying to do this for using in USA, but posts are 2 years older or without replies.
I read also about compatibility of LTE network...but I just want to give a try.
Any advice?
Thank you guys

I have the same phone as i used to work overseas.
I would not suggest you would change to F version as you might brick it, or since it is built for AT&T it should stay on the AT&T. Think of specific drivers and so on. This version has slightly different hardware from the European version.
Why not update the firmware with Odin. start with lollipop updates go to marshmallow and nougat.

Thanks my friend, you were right (almost brick the phone). Now I'm on MM At&T but with DRK error, something about dm-verity.
Phone always reboot in recovery with this error; I had to flash a special stock kernel found here that, I suppose, disables dm-verity, just to boot it up.
Maybe the EFS folder got corrupted...no way to install Nougat via Adb, I'm unable to mount system as RW.
I actually didn't know that there were Samsung phones around the world with bootloader locked down...shame on At&t!
My friend didn't even want it back, now it's on my desk taking dust...what a waste of good hardware!
Thanks anyway

aluks1982 said:
Thanks my friend, you were right (almost brick the phone). Now I'm on MM At&T but with DRK error, something about dm-verity.
Phone always reboot in recovery with this error; I had to flash a special stock kernel found here that, I suppose, disables dm-verity, just to boot it up.
Maybe the EFS folder got corrupted...no way to install Nougat via Adb, I'm unable to mount system as RW.
I actually didn't know that there were Samsung phones around the world with bootloader locked down...shame on At&t!
My friend didn't even want it back, now it's on my desk taking dust...what a waste of good hardware!
Thanks anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good ole US carriers. Gotta love em. I aint seen the light of root or unlocked bootloader in a few years now other than my g4. Which no roms no twrp. But root only.

Compatible ROM for N920P

Hi,
A question I hope someone can answer:
The short version; would this (N920PVPS3DQF1_N920PSPT3DQF1_SPR.zip) ROM be compatible with the N920P Note 5 variant that's currently on this (NRD90M.N920PVPS3DRH1) build number?
The long version; My GF has a Note5 of the Sprint N920P variety which she bought new in 2017(? The hardware version is N920P.04, if that matters). The phone is still on Android 7.0 (build number NRD90M.N920PVPS3DRH1)
The phone has (always had) lousy battery life and a tendency to crash at random, so I thought I'll take a crack at rooting the device to get some of the Sprint crap out, and maybe even install a more recent version of Android.
Apparently the latter will not happen (or is not worth trying as GF can't/will not deal easily with any obstacles/work arounds) as there seems to be no ROMs that's fully working on this Sprint version [is this really true?!]), but Magisk root route is still available, with one caveat.
When I went to look for a backup factory firmware (here), just in case something goes wrong, I could not find the ROM GF's phone has, and the closest one is this ROM (N920PVPS3DQF1_N920PSPT3DQF1_SPR.zip). Would it be compatible with her phone?
Also, is TWRP the only recovery available for this phone?
Thanks for any pointers

Rooting it is easy just use Magisk. The version of the zip looks ok. TWRP is the best - Not sure why you would want to use anything else. Also use TWRP to make a backup if possible. I used an OTG drive to make a backup.
Best rom so far is MOAR.Check XDA. Be aware banking apps detects rooted phones.

MarSOnEarth said:
Hi,
A question I hope someone can answer:
The short version; would this (N920PVPS3DQF1_N920PSPT3DQF1_SPR.zip) ROM be compatible with the N920P Note 5 variant that's currently on this (NRD90M.N920PVPS3DRH1) build number?
The long version; My GF has a Note5 of the Sprint N920P variety which she bought new in 2017(? The hardware version is N920P.04, if that matters). The phone is still on Android 7.0 (build number NRD90M.N920PVPS3DRH1)
The phone has (always had) lousy battery life and a tendency to crash at random, so I thought I'll take a crack at rooting the device to get some of the Sprint crap out, and maybe even install a more recent version of Android.
Apparently the latter will not happen (or is not worth trying as GF can't/will not deal easily with any obstacles/work arounds) as there seems to be no ROMs that's fully working on this Sprint version [is this really true?!]), but Magisk root route is still available, with one caveat.
When I went to look for a backup factory firmware (here), just in case something goes wrong, I could not find the ROM GF's phone has, and the closest one is this ROM (N920PVPS3DQF1_N920PSPT3DQF1_SPR.zip). Would it be compatible with her phone?
Also, is TWRP the only recovery available for this phone?
Thanks for any pointers
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It's true that the N920P doesn't have a fully working custom rom available right now. You could try flashing noblelte but mobile data may not be working, and if it is, you may not get LTE, let alone CDMA.
Yes, N920PVPS3DRH1_N920PVPS3DRH1_SPR is the currently most recent that the stock rom version, so there is no benefit or reason to flash QF1 on it, since R comes after Q in the alphabet
TWRP is the only recovery for N920P.

Crossfire81 and ripee, thank you both.
GF lived, suffered, survived, and now with the T-mo/Sprint merger, she's moved on to an unlocked N10+ just last month, so the N5 is my to play with.

MarSOnEarth said:
Crossfire81 and ripee, thank you both.
GF lived, suffered, survived, and now with the T-mo/Sprint merger, she's moved on to an unlocked N10+ just last month, so the N5 is my to play with.
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Great, if you want to give any feedback on roms on the SPR variant, find our threads and let us know.

Crossfire81 said:
Rooting it is easy just use Magisk. The version of the zip looks ok. TWRP is the best - Not sure why you would want to use anything else. Also use TWRP to make a backup if possible. I used an OTG drive to make a backup.
Best rom so far is MOAR.Check XDA. Be aware banking apps detects rooted phones.
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Hello bro do you know if the n9020p has an lock or unlocked bootloader?