Is it possible to swap files between factory firmware files? - Galaxy Note5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have a Korean Note5 (920L) can I download the stock Korean rom and swap out files with a rom from a different variant (920i) to make my phone like the local model if so what files would I need to swap. I see if I use 7Zip I can see the files inside my rom and they are.
boot.img
cache.img
cm.bin
hidden.img
modem.bin
recovery.img
sboot.bin
system.img
Thanks for any help

What exactly are you trying to use from that firmware? Are there certain features you want or are you just trying to get VOLTE on a different network?

really its just that I would like to use the stock rom. mine has already been modded in some way when I got the phone I would look at installing the stock Korean rom but hear there is lots of bloat that cant be disabled and that the Korean roms may not let you use 4g in different countries

You won't be able to flash any of the stock images from another model to your model. You would have to do some research, but I haven't heard of anyone having success flashing images like that. Is your note 5 a carrier sold phone or unlocked and are you living in a different country from where it was sold?

yes I have the Korean phone and live in new Zealand so would have been nice to have it run new Zealand firmware

All you need to do is flash a csc editor zip in recovery. Is TWRP installed on your phone?

no not installed will look into it... thanks

Related

[Q] Flashing PDA/PHONE/CSC can spoil efs???

Hi all,
I'm preparing to flash a stock JPY version to my SGS (samfirmware one). In order to get the same version of all partitions (pda, phone and csc) I mean to flash all of them (pit+repartition).
Is this procedure dangerous for my efs folder if the CSC is different from my actual operator (movistar-spain)?
I don't know what information CSC carries on and i'm scared of spoil any essential folder...
Another option is update through KIES to the last fw that my operator has released (2.2) and then just the JPY PDA, leaving untouched PHONE and CSC, but in that case i won't have the same CSC/PHONE version than the PDA one.
What would you advice??
In any case, later on I'll flash a JPY stock voodoo which is my target until a stable Gingerbread is released...
Thanks a lot...
I am not sure if it is dangerous or no, but you should always keep a backup of your /efs folder just in case. You can either copy one manually with a file manager and save it on your external SD card, or use an app to do it...or both. I both manually made a copy and used SGS Toolbox, free on the Market.
When in doubt, back it up!
Welcome,
Since you are new to flashing the SGS with custom Rom (i suppose), i can only recommand you to stick with Kies rom update, until you master and understand every aspect of Kernel/rom (pit-csc-pda/partition).
Custom flashing is not supposed to alter the efs, but some partition error or file corruption could happen.
Anyway if you think you are ready, make a check list, verify the 3 Combo button, AND ALWAYS! ALWAYS! make a backup of your efs folder (all / folder is better in fact). Do also an img of your own phone, it'll give you a chance to reflash it to Stock.
Good luck.
CalabiYau said:
Hi all,
I'm preparing to flash a stock JPY version to my SGS (samfirmware one). In order to get the same version of all partitions (pda, phone and csc) I mean to flash all of them (pit+repartition).
Is this procedure dangerous for my efs folder if the CSC is different from my actual operator (movistar-spain)?
I don't know what information CSC carries on and i'm scared of spoil any essential folder...
Another option is update through KIES to the last fw that my operator has released (2.2) and then just the JPY PDA, leaving untouched PHONE and CSC, but in that case i won't have the same CSC/PHONE version than the PDA one.
What would you advice??
In any case, later on I'll flash a JPY stock voodoo which is my target until a stable Gingerbread is released...
Thanks a lot...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@ CalabiYau, the first thing that you must do is a copy of your efs folder (for your Imei some error in the flash might to require the use this backup), then you can put all the PDA and Modem part with CSC Fop.

Trying to solve the Hong Kong N9005 woes using PIT

Samsung released a 16GB variant of the SM-N9005 in Hong Kong. This device comes with a slightly different PIT than the 'international' version of the phone.
I am attaching the PIT files of both.
Many people have soft bricked their phones while tinkering with the 16GB version. And then, people who updated to the KitKat bootloader have no option but to use a custom ROM because an official ROM using that bootloader and the 16GB pit is not out yet.
When trying to flash official 'international' ROMs on the 16GB device, it gives a 'invalid ext4 image' error.
Through some trial and error, I have made this out to be due to the fact that the 16GB pit file has a different size defined for the 'system' partition.
I have been trying to make a PIT file that will account for the 16GB size of the N9005 and will let people flash 'international' ROMs to their devices and have spent many hours on this project of mine.
And well, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make the required PIT.
The differences between the 16GB pit and the 32GB pit are in 3 partitions- System, Cache, SGPT.
Also attaching a PIT file that I made but I didn't want to give it out to the community because I wasn't confident about it and didn't wanna risk being the reason for bricking people's phones.
In this PIT, I have changed the system and the cache partition sizes to match the 32GB pit, but the SGPT partition is untouched because it confuses me.
PIT files can be opened, viewed and edited by the software PIT Magic by lyriquidperfection.
I am asking for advice/help, if anybody has any to offer.
Also, I have read the guidelines about these forums and the strict warning. I hope that this is classified as development. If not, I apologize and would request a mod to move this thread to the appropriate forum.
FeralFire said:
Samsung released a 16GB variant of the SM-N9005 in Hong Kong. This device comes with a slightly different PIT than the 'international' version of the phone.
I am attaching the PIT files of both.
Many people have soft bricked their phones while tinkering with the 16GB version. And then, people who updated to the KitKat bootloader have no option but to use a custom ROM because an official ROM using that bootloader and the 16GB pit is not out yet.
When trying to flash official 'international' ROMs on the 16GB device, it gives a 'invalid ext4 image' error.
Through some trial and error, I have made this out to be due to the fact that the 16GB pit file has a different size defined for the 'system' partition.
I have been trying to make a PIT file that will account for the 16GB size of the N9005 and will let people flash 'international' ROMs to their devices and have spent many hours on this project of mine.
And well, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make the required PIT.
The differences between the 16GB pit and the 32GB pit are in 3 partitions- System, Cache, SGPT.
Also attaching a PIT file that I made but I didn't want to give it out to the community because I wasn't confident about it and didn't wanna risk being the reason for bricking people's phones.
In this PIT, I have changed the system and the cache partition sizes to match the 32GB pit, but the SGPT partition is untouched because it confuses me.
PIT files can be opened, viewed and edited by the software PIT Magic by lyriquidperfection.
I am asking for advice/help, if anybody has any to offer.
Also, I have read the guidelines about these forums and the strict warning. I hope that this is classified as development. If not, I apologize and would request a mod to move this thread to the appropriate forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi
i am a hk guy and luckly i did not buy the note3. but i wonder why the hk pit is different from european's, since i have no problem in using european roms at all. i have not read the pit files yet but i suggest you to repack the images from european roms and see if it work. if it fails, extract the images and tar them and untar the tar files in your phone, which should not be bound by the pit, if any
good luck
ykkfive said:
hi
i am a hk guy and luckly i did not buy the note3. but i wonder why the hk pit is different from european's, since i have no problem in using european roms at all. i have not read the pit files yet but i suggest you to repack the images from european roms and see if it work. if it fails, extract the images and tar them and untar the tar files in your phone, which should not be bound by the pit, if any
good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know for a fact that repackaged ROMs don't work.
Can you explain the other idea? I didn't really understand it.
What do you mean by 'untar files in the phone'?
Also, anybody with a 16GB phone brave enough to test things?
FeralFire said:
I know for a fact that repackaged ROMs don't work.
Can you explain the other idea? I didn't really understand it.
What do you mean by 'untar files in the phone'?
Also, anybody with a 16GB phone brave enough to test things?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i mean, extracting the system.img, for instance, on a linux. then u can use tar command to create a tar file containing the whole system dir, just like a zip but without compression. finally push the tar file to your phone and then untar it to the /system in recovery. thats it
you don need to worry if u do it correctly, since i always use tar to upgrade my phone
ykkfive said:
i mean, extracting the system.img, for instance, on a linux. then u can use tar command to create a tar file containing the whole system dir, just like a zip but without compression. finally push the tar file to your phone and then untar it to the /system in recovery. thats it
you don need to worry if u do it correctly, since i always use tar to upgrade my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. That would work, but I want to solve this thing without using recovery. So that people can flash without tripping knox.
If people are unopposed to tripping knox, they can flash custom ROMs anyway.
I did build a tar file with heimdal using kitkat system and 16GB pit. Will upload it tomorrow in university. My net here sucks.
I built a tar file using Heimdall.
This was made using the 16GB pit but the files from the leaked Kitkat ROM.
It does not include the bootloader, so it shouldn't be harmful. Still, flash at your own risk.
Need a tester with a 16GB device. Preferably running Kitkat with the new bootloader.
But even without, we just need to see if this flashes successfully.
Try flashing it through odin. Repartition ought not to be ticked, but if it doesn't work without, try with it ticked as well.
If neither work, try it with heimdall.
https://mega.co.nz/#!xgZHRSqC!FGevxC9hims_UBt5xXPfWuII6KnFkw9drBRuywXtfFM
So, that didn't work.
Any other ideas?
I am all out.
Starting from SGS4, PITs are signed and cannot be flashed if modified.
So, you can only flash official PIT signed by Samsung.
If signature of HK version is compatible with International version then you can flash any of them.
sorg said:
Starting from SGS4, PITs are signed and cannot be flashed if modified.
So, you can only flash official PIT signed by Samsung.
If signature of HK version is compatible with International version then you can flash any of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with the HK pit is the different size alloted to the system partition.
Does the signing issue extend to Heimdall as well?
I don't suggest to use any flasher except Odin. I never used Heimdall. Actually, it's possible to flash partitions to any place regardless PIT, but it may lead to different kinds of problems.
Long time ago, i've experimented with PIT on i9500. I've flashed PIT through dd (so, i've skipped signature check) and result was cycling reboot. Initial samsung static logo appear, shortly flash and then appear again. Thus, phone didn't even start to boot kernel. Luckily, Exynos has simple bootloader and work independently from PIT and other partitions. I've booted into download mode and flashed original PIT.
There is PIT signature check not only while flashing, but also while booting. You can flash modified PIT file through 3rd party flasher, but phone won't boot.
I doubt Note 3 has different behavior than SGS4. Especially, with much more complicated booting process on Snapdragon (unlike simple Exynos booting process) you are risking to get hard-brick.
latest lollipop
Any ideas that the hk version 16gb note 3 able to flash the poland lollipop firmware? I really get confuse coz same version n9005 but both cant share same firmware and ao complicated.
I've got the same question as elvin92,
is it possible to install Polish (XEO) Lollipop ROM on 16GB Note 3 with loaded N9005ZHUENJ1 (TGY) on board?
when trying to install via Odin I get:
...
<ID:0/003> system.img.ext4
<ID:0/003> FAIL! (Ext4)
<ID:0/003>
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
so it's Pit fault ? wrong sizes ?
Want to update to lollipop..
I have note 3 lte sm n9005 16 gb with TGY frimware and want to update to lollipop XEO... plz help? provide pit file...

NJ3 to NJ7

I have a Canadian N4(910W8)and I want to change the baseband so I can try different Roms. How do I go about this? I'm guessing through Odin right? Where can I find a stock NJ7 ROM to do this? Thanks guys!
re: baseband.
yeroc1982 said:
I have a Canadian N4(910W8)and I want to change the baseband so I can try different Roms. How do I go about this? I'm guessing through Odin right? Where can I find a stock NJ7 ROM to do this? Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly, if you change baseband your phone will not work with Canadian or
USA roms.
None of the twrp flashable zip file roms contains the baseband or bootloaders.
You need to keep the Canadian baseband which you already have.
What you will need to do is to save your kernel file so you can use it with the
USA zip file roms.
The kernel is located in the /System/ folder and the filename is "boot.img".
Copy that file to your internal sdcard before you do anything else.
Then after you download a usa zip file rom open it up with winrar/winzip
or other archiver and remove the boot.img in the zip file and replace it with
the boot.img you have saved in your internal sdcard before flashing.
Once you do that you can safely flash the usa zip file rom of your choice.
I never advise anyone to use a different carriers rom, there are many con's
against doing so and not many pro's. But go ahead and give it a try.
Good luck!
Thanks for the helpful info! On my note3, I always flashed tmob roms with no issues, but the note 4 is new so I didn't know exactly what would work or not. Might give this a go later on! Thanks again!
I find sys>kernel>boot_adsp> the file called "boot" which is only 4kb in size. Is that what I'm looking for? Does not have "IMG" behind the "boot"
Hi.... I was wondering the same about the NJ7.... I've flashed 2 TMobile roms so far... Darthstocker & Hyperdrive.... As long as you flash the Starkissed Kernel it boots up fine... Without it you just Bootloop....

Is there an "odin tutorial"? (how to flash modem/radio with odin?)

I'm a bit (more than a bit) rusty on the ODIN tool, and was wondering if there was some kind of complete tutorial for it floating around. In particular, I'm wondering if I could use it to replace ONLY the radio/baseband for a device.
I have the AT&T firmware zip (containing files starting with "AP", "BL", "CP", and "CSC") and I'm wondering if I could use that to flash the AT&T modem on a n920c device. (And to use a proper n920c firmware set to get back to the n920c modem if flashing the AT&T one doesn't work out.)
(Why? I live in the US and have AT&T as a carrier. The AT&T provided modem most likely contains radio tweaks to optimize usage of AT&T towers.)
garyd9 said:
I'm a bit (more than a bit) rusty on the ODIN tool,
I have the AT&T firmware zip (containing files starting with "AP", "BL", "CP", and "CSC") and I'm wondering if I could use that to flash the AT&T modem on a n920c device. (And to use a proper n920c firmware set to get back to the n920c modem if flashing the AT&T one doesn't work out.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not know of a guide but you flash the modem in the CP slot. However if the Note 5 is anything like the Note 4 you cannot flash an AT&T modem on the C version. I believe it is because of the partition table being laid out differently. I have also read that you cannot even change the partition table anymore but I do not know about that for sure as I am limited in knowledge in that area.
CodeNameRedNeck said:
I do not know of a guide but you flash the modem in the CP slot. However if the Note 5 is anything like the Note 4 you cannot flash an AT&T modem on the C version. I believe it is because of the partition table being laid out differently. I have also read that you cannot even change the partition table anymore but I do not know about that for sure as I am limited in knowledge in that area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you've messed with something similar on the note4? I wonder if I could swap modems by pulling the .img file out of the odin tarball and using 'dd'.
(Honestly, I'm more comfortable with 'dd' anyway... if it can be used.)
garyd9 said:
It sounds like you've messed with something similar on the note4? I wonder if I could swap modems by pulling the .img file out of the odin tarball and using 'dd'.
(Honestly, I'm more comfortable with 'dd' anyway... if it can be used.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. I used to unpack C version firmwares to flash onto my H version so I could have LTE on it.
Have you swapped the modem out for at&t or still stock??
Neva Eva Forget 1984 said:
Have you swapped the modem out for at&t or still stock??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no.. never got around to it (and at this point, I don't feel the need.)
In Note 3 the trick is to do a battery pull then go straight to download mode and flash modem in CP slot. It won't "stick" otherwise. If this is also true in Note 5, how to emulate a battery pull?
Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk
kopitalk said:
In Note 3 the trick is to do a battery pull then go straight to download mode and flash modem in CP slot. It won't "stick" otherwise. If this is also true in Note 5, how to emulate a battery pull?
Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you could do the force reset option using the power + volume down buttons. I'm not sure
Octa_core said:
I guess you could do the force reset option using the power + volume down buttons. I'm not sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't work that way in Note 3.
Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk
Decided to tinker with my modem via flashfire... (with isn't as restrictive as ODIN in terms of what it'll flash and what it won't.)
Keep in mind that I have a N920I device and an AT&T SIM inserted... My kernel is currently a permissive custom compiled kernel targeted for the N920I. The /system partition (what I call "firmware" and too many on XDA incorrectly refer to as "ROM") is a stock N920T firmware that's been deodex'd and some of the TMobile specific stuff stripped out. If the RIL is part of /system, that means I'm using a tmobile RIL. If the RIL is in the boot partition, I'm using a N920I RIL.
Flashing the N920I modem works.
Flashing the N920A modem results in it not seeing the baseband at all. (settings->status->baseband version: unknown)
Flashing the N920T modem results in it not seeing the baseband at all. (same as above.)
Flashing back to a N920I modem restores functionality.
I don't have a "N920C" modem available to me right now, but it might be more likely to work (as the "I" and "C" kernel DTB's are apparently interchangeable.)
"C" modem doesn't work on the "I" device either. (same result as flashing any of the other non-"I" modems on this phone.)
So, while it might be possible to change modems, I don't know how and it's not as simple as just flashing the modem.bin.
Of course, I can switch between different "I" modems with no problem.
Didn't samsung lock us out of flashing different model modem since s4?
Note 5 ?
Idan73 said:
Didn't samsung lock us out of flashing different model modem since s4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea. I skipped the SGS 4, 5 and 6 (and the Notes 3 and 4.) I was rusty enough with Samsung and ODIN when I got this Note 5 that I actually had to ask for a quick ODIN refresher.
Didn't know that.
Well, as far as I remember sgs4 was launched with ability to reflash modems from other providers (unlocking wind/mobilicity, and t-mobile bands. At the time most people actually bought att version, which did not have locked bootloader to use it on tmobile, and was also Canadian favourite pastime). Sometimes during that first year, there started to be reports about new bootloader that would start accepting only signed modems from the phone's original region. Not certain if this affected north American phone at the time, but was going hand in hand as the Europe started getting region lock, and Knox started rearing it's ugly head (also affected only certain firmwares and was very limited in scope).
With sgs5 it was all confirmed.
The rest is history, and since, I haven't heard of a case where someone successfully flashed other model modem, as we could with previous generations.
For the past few years, we Canadians get same phone as tmobile (thank God it's no longer att due to bootloader), actually identical (in number of cases there are markings of tmobile inside our phones), except for that modem that is either tmobile or Canadian, which is why our firmwares and kernels are usually built together.
Note that couple of times I tried on this phone, because twrp allows modem backup, I tried to restore my own modem backup for testing, and would lose reception and would have to reflash with Odin to get it back. Maybe my backup was corrupted, so if there is differing experience to this, apologies. I just didn't dare try and mess with it anymore.
Note 5 ?
Idan73 said:
reports about new bootloader that would start accepting only signed modems from the phone's original region
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. unknown to many people, the radio (modem) in many phones actually boots before the boot (kernel) partition. (I can't remember WHY that is, but I do remember it...)
My impression was that the bootloader was blocking ODIN from flashing an improper modem, which was why I was using flashfire. However, it would make sense that the bootloader would also block the radio/modem from starting up if there was a mismatch. I'd guess, in this case, it's more of a regulatory and/or safety issue (to prevent a malicious or corrupted modem.bin from controlling the radio/modem)
That doesn't mean that Samsung isn't ALSO doing it to block people like me...
So, the next question becomes: can the bootloader be changed to allow a different model modem to boot? Changing the bootloader would likely require re-partitioning the device, though... And if you put a bootloader in that has blocks (such as AT&T or Verizon), then you might end up unable to even boot the phone.
Why does all of this even matter to me? Well, it's really a very minor concern: When I had the 'A' model, I'd get an IPv6 address on the note 5 while on LTE. When I had the "C" model, I'd also get an IPv6 address on LTE. However, for some reason I don't get an IPv6 address on the 'I' model while on AT&T LTE. (Yes, the kernel is supporting it, and yes the proper APN is configured and has IPv6 enabled... in fact, it's identical to what I had on the 'C' device.)

Access to Modems files ??(920K)

Good Evening. Is there anyone who might have the modem files for the international note 5 Variants. Im sure i am not the only one who has been able to successfully find roms and kernels that work with variants that are not all that well supported like the 920K (Korean variant). However, i have yet to find the modem file for the Korean note 5 or one that might work with it. Could someone assist? I would love to be able to finally flash roms and not have to worry about my signal and data being lost. Or if someone knows of roms made specifically for the Korean Variant then i would appreciate that greatly as well. I even tried such methods as decompressing the stock firmware tar file and grabbing the modem.bin file. I converted it into a tar file and tried to install it via odin. Odin said it was a pass, but i still had no data or signal once my phone rebooted completely.

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