Database Develop

[Q] Using Safestrap to rebuild on replacement phone?

I finally had enough of my D3 physical keyboard skipping, so Verizon is shipping me a "like new" replacement phone.
This is my second replacement, again due to the keyboard; the last time I had to rebuild my phone, I used Titanium Backup to backup all my apps+data from my original phone, then restore on the new phone (after rooting, installing Titanium Backup, etc.) It seems like that took more fiddling than I was expecting (no, I don't recall what I had to fiddle with, just that I had to switch my Verizon account back and forth a couple times during the process).
So recently it occured to me - can I use Safestrap to make a backup of my old phone and restore it on the "like new" phone? Has anyone done this? Can anyone think of why it would NOT work?
I also plan to first take a Safestrap backup the new phone and then restore that backup on the old phone, so I don't have to worry about SBF'ing my old phone back to what will look like a standard phone to Verizon, when I ship it back to them.
Thanks,
Chad

Sorry, i'm offtopic, but your D3, did you sbf back then send it back? I'm also sending my D3 after camera issues (and after I got my phone, game issues as well, as some games wouldn't play on my old D3) i'm just leery about the $500 fine warning for software mod. i did SBF before I popped the battery out...
and the answer would be yes, why not? The nandroid would have the exact stuff that would be recorded (almost, i think).. they are exact replicas, as long as it's still a Droid 3.

cwilson066 said:
I finally had enough of my D3 physical keyboard skipping, so Verizon is shipping me a "like new" replacement phone.
This is my second replacement, again due to the keyboard; the last time I had to rebuild my phone, I used Titanium Backup to backup all my apps+data from my original phone, then restore on the new phone (after rooting, installing Titanium Backup, etc.) It seems like that took more fiddling than I was expecting (no, I don't recall what I had to fiddle with, just that I had to switch my Verizon account back and forth a couple times during the process).
So recently it occured to me - can I use Safestrap to make a backup of my old phone and restore it on the "like new" phone? Has anyone done this? Can anyone think of why it would NOT work?
I also plan to first take a Safestrap backup the new phone and then restore that backup on the old phone, so I don't have to worry about SBF'ing my old phone back to what will look like a standard phone to Verizon, when I ship it back to them.
Thanks,
Chad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are receiving the exact same phone (Another Droid 3) you can make a full nandroid backup, then restore it to the new phone, then manually move the contents of the internal storage to the new phone. I've done this several times with a few Droid Xs and OG Droids.
You will then just have to have Verizon change the account to the new ESN and it'll be exactly like your old phone. It would be a good idea to SBF the phone back to stock before sending the defective one in, search the forum for a one-click method, there's several out there, just make sure you match your system (Mainly 890 or 906).

Skreelink said:
If you are receiving the exact same phone (Another Droid 3) you can make a full nandroid backup, then restore it to the new phone, then manually move the contents of the internal storage to the new phone. I've done this several times with a few Droid Xs and OG Droids.
You will then just have to have Verizon change the account to the new ESN and it'll be exactly like your old phone. It would be a good idea to SBF the phone back to stock before sending the defective one in, search the forum for a one-click method, there's several out there, just make sure you match your system (Mainly 890 or 906).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just make sure you get back to stock. Verizon does not like us playing around!

First off, under the "Sure - what could go wrong?" philosophy, I restored the Safestrap backup from my defective phone onto the replacement one, and it worked. Mostly. A couple apps didn't restore, like "Bad Piggies", but I wasn't able to restore those via Titanium Backup, either. I found a directory on the internal SD card that looked like application data, so I copied that between the phones and the applications seem OK now, more or less. I also had to resync my Bluetooth headset. I may play with these things more later, and I'll see what else on the internal storage looks like it needs to be moved.
For the first replacement, I SBF'd back to stock before I shipped the phone back. This time, I plan to restore the Safestrap backup of the replacement phone (which I made before I started messing with it) onto the defective phone . Then I'll remove Safestrap, make sure the internal SD card doesn't have anything suspicious on it (like my Titanium Backup key), then ship the thing back to Verizon.
Thanks for all the advice!

Impossible to root brand new AT&T Galaxy S5 @ Android 5.0?

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

XT 1060 Not Receiving Texts (but can send them)

Last Friday I noticed that I stopped receiving texts on my unlocked DE running stock rooted 4.4.4. Sending texts works fine. This phone has never had any problems with anything since I started using it 18 months or so ago, and out of the blue it stopped receiving texts. I have checked Verizon's side on another phone (moved sim card to old Gnex and texts are received fine) and it is definitely a problem with my phone. I have deleted all texts, wiped caches, tried Safe Mode nothing has fixed it. Seems like some odd radio problem. I have read about the 4.4.4 issues others have had, but as I mentioned, this phone has been fine on 4.4.4 since I set it up.
In any event, I am here looking for some answers or some suggestions of what else to try. I would like to keep the total wipe and restore as a last resort, as this phone is mission critical to me for work, and being too stupid to do regular backups, resetting everything back to the way it is now would be a hardship. I do have a nandroid backup from when I originally set up the phone, and was thinking of trying that. If I wipe everything though, does that wipe the SD card too? I thought a factory reset wipes the SD card, so if so I need to back it up first.
(So this is interesting... I was using Verizon's Messaging app and went to the "Subscribe" in the integrated messaging feature in the Settings area, and when I do that it basically hangs and finally goes back to the messaging app. A few minutes later I get the following error message, "Failed to retrieve security code. Please try to connect again later by using the Subscribe option withing the Settings screen.". The error message comes in like a text (with notification). Googling this error really yields no real information, however I wonder if there is something to the security thing. Not sure how to investigate, though...)
Thanks in advance for anything you guys can offer!
In my case, and others, this problem was solved as indicated in post #25 by qtonic (thanks to you, qtonic!). In my case, VVM was not an issue as I did not use that feature, so I can't vouch for whether or not that problem is solved. No "factory reset" was involved, nor any "upgrade" to Lollipop was necessary, so no worries there. One important note is to backup your texts if you want to restore them after you clear the data. I did that and I am back up and running with all my old texts in place. Hopefully this fix works for everyone experiencing this issue.

Same thing happened to me. I was running eclipse rom 4.4.4 I had to upgrade to lollipop to get texts working again. Which sucks cuz I think kit Kat is better. I'm wondering if it's all 4.4.4 where this happens?

cnoevl21 said:
Same thing happened to me. I was running eclipse rom 4.4.4 I had to upgrade to lollipop to get texts working again. Which sucks cuz I think kit Kat is better. I'm wondering if it's all 4.4.4 where this happens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try a wipe and reinstall first before trying the lollipop upgrade? Are you running a rom now or stock rooted lollipop?

I am dealing with the same issue. Don't want to upgrade to lolly or do i want to factory reset. I will stay tuned to this thread and hopefully get a fix.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Free mobile app

amajamar said:
Did you try a wipe and reinstall first before trying the lollipop upgrade? Are you running a rom now or stock rooted lollipop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just wiped cache and dalvik. then went to lollipop. it then dawned on me that i should have tried to wipe kitkat, but when u switch to LP it screws everything up so idk if you can go back to kitkat. i may try to at some point, maybe over the weekend.
right now im just running a debloated stock LP rom and i used xposed to customize.

I just added the following to my OP.
So this is interesting... I was using Verizon's Messaging app and went to the "Subscribe" in the integrated messaging feature in the Settings area, and when I do that it basically hangs and finally goes back to the messaging app. A few minutes later I get the following error message, "Failed to retrieve security code. Please try to connect again later by using the Subscribe option withing the Settings screen.". The error message comes in like a text (with notification). Googling this error really yields no real information, however I wonder if there is something to the security thing. Not sure how to investigate, though...
Can you guys duplicate this?

Any solutions other than factory wipe?

Having this issue on both my Moto X developer edition phones. One stock software it stopped receiving texts yesterday one running a custom Rom which stopped receiving texts last thursday.
Verizon's answer is some of the provisioning code implemented when I activated the phones is no longer supported and they have changed whatever they have to change but the phone has to be factory reset and activated in order to be reprogrammed with the proper provisioning. Verizon said it is motorola's problem.
I honestly have no idea what all that means that is what they kept repeating to me.
I really don't want to have to do a factory reset.

ray4jc said:
Having this issue on both my Moto X developer edition phones. One stock software it stopped receiving texts yesterday one running a custom Rom which stopped receiving texts last thursday.
Verizon's answer is some of the provisioning code implemented when I activated the phones is no longer supported and they have changed whatever they have to change but the phone has to be factory reset and activated in order to be reprogrammed with the proper provisioning. Verizon said it is motorola's problem.
I honestly have no idea what all that means that is what they kept repeating to me.
I really don't want to have to do a factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went up several levels of tech support at Verizon and eventually ended up getting the same story. I need a factory reset and then all will be fine. They said it was due to some voicemail interface version not being supported anymore and my phone is trying to use the old one and it's keeping the phone from provisioning and that's why texts stopped working.
I've been putting off applying the Lollipop update because I knew it was going to have undesired consequences, but I went ahead and applied it. Text work again but of course I had to re-root (Developer Edition so no sweat there) and even with root WiFi Tether for Root Users (which had been working great under KitKat) bit the dust and no longer works. Under KitKat I had to use the special version that had some added binaries to make up for pieces that were missing from the kernel and I guess those binaries don't work with the Lollipop kernel.
So I'm using the stock tether app now (with provisioning check disabled) but I hate it. You can't turn on access control lists (to "approve" users), you can't see who's connected, you can't define an inactivity timeout, blah blah blah. It sucks so bad compared to WiFi Tether for Root Users.
Oh yeah, in the process of troubleshooting they removed voicemail from my line and put it back on. So I had to set up my voicemail from scratch and lost a bunch of voicemails I'd been saving for years including one from a friend who's dead now. Not happy.
Eh, at least SMS works again.

ray4jc said:
Having this issue on both my Moto X developer edition phones. One stock software it stopped receiving texts yesterday one running a custom Rom which stopped receiving texts last thursday.
Verizon's answer is some of the provisioning code implemented when I activated the phones is no longer supported and they have changed whatever they have to change but the phone has to be factory reset and activated in order to be reprogrammed with the proper provisioning. Verizon said it is motorola's problem.
I honestly have no idea what all that means that is what they kept repeating to me.
I really don't want to have to do a factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, for me it was last Thursday that it was working as well. So, that being said, I take it a factory wipe is required. A couple of questions for you guys: Since I have a Developer Edition (running Xposed) too, do I have anything to worry about about doing a factory wipe? I am currently on 4.4.4, rooted, do I need to prep anything to do the factory wipe so I don't brick? Can I stay on 4.4.4 and just re-root and reinstall my apps from TiBU? I haven't messed around with anything since setting it up over a year ago, and not really thrilled with starting from scratch...
Anyway, great sleuthing MotoCache1, seems that you got to the bottom of things. At least we can be sure it was not some other app or something causing this.

I have the same setup so I am very interested too...on how to set this all up. I use my phone to tether a lot...how will I go about this with lollypop?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Free mobile app

mlucht said:
I have the same setup so I am very interested too...on how to set this all up. I use my phone to tether a lot...how will I go about this with lollypop?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're rooted edit your /system/build.prop file, add this line to the end, reboot the phone, and then use the factory hotspot tethering:
Code:
net.tethering.noprovisioning=true
More information here if you want it.

I backed everything up and did a factory reset but still no text coming in. Maybe I didn't do it right?
I booted into TWRP and picked factory reset, can anyone tell me if there is something more I need to do besides that??
And to reiterate what has been said verizon again just told me
To correct issue
1-Visual Voice Mail must be removed from account (if it has not been done already)
2-Device data must be backed up
3-Master/Factory reset required on device
But those things have been done and my text still aren't coming in. So they said they would escalate it....

ray4jc said:
I backed everything up and did a factory reset but still no text coming in. Maybe I didn't do it right?
I booted into TWRP and picked factory reset, can anyone tell me if there is something more I need to do besides that??
And to reiterate what has been said verizon again just told me
To correct issue
1-Visual Voice Mail must be removed from account (if it has not been done already)
2-Device data must be backed up
3-Master/Factory reset required on device
But those things have been done and my text still aren't coming in. So they said they would escalate it....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what they told me as well. They said "take it in to a Verizon store and they will back it up and do a factory reset and then restore your data".
I decided against that and instead opted to use the VZW Software Repair Assistant tool. When you use that there are 2 options - Software Repair Assistant (which is supposed to "repair" your currently installed software) and Software Upgrade Assistant (which is supposed to update your device to the latest available software for it).
I didn't particularly want to go to Lollipop so I chose the "repair" option, chose the phone, and clicked "Repair". And it "repaired" it by upgrading it to Lollipop. Lol. Maybe it's because I had previously told the phone to go ahead and try to apply the Lollipop OTA. The OTA failed to install. Not sure why - possibly due to root and/or other changes to the system partition. I was using stock recovery.
So anyway, I ended up on Lollipop even though that's not really what I wanted to do, and that did fix the problem - though, as previously bemoaned, I can't use WiFi Tether for Root Users anymore and have to use the piece of crap that's built into the OS. I guess I should be grateful that works because I'd be in a pickle if I had to do without tether.
Back to what you posted -- I don't think anybody here has yet posted that the factory reset actually fixed the problem for them. Honestly I don't understand how it would. A factory reset isn't going to suddenly make your phone start using a newer version of anything and what I was told was that the phone was using an old, no longer supported version/protocol to access voicemail and that was the root of the problem.
I suspect that if you take it into a VZW store for a "factory reset" what you're really going to get is an upgrade to Lollipop. Lol.

@MotoCache1 so basically Verizon's treating us like idiots!
I just got done chatting with them (the agent finally just disconnected not sure why) and they told me to see if Motorola would replace the phone......yeah that isn't going to happen.
I chatted with Motorola and did a bunch of troubleshooting with them, they suggested trying a new sim card.

ray4jc said:
@MotoCache1 so basically Verizon's treating us like idiots!
I just got done chatting with them (the agent finally just disconnected not sure why) and they told me to see if Motorola would replace the phone......yeah that isn't going to happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Talk about a lame answer. Nothing on the phone changed. Nothing on the phone broke. Obviously Verizon changed something on their side and rather than back out, or fix it, they want to shift the problem to the device owners.
At least you know you can probably fix it by going to Lollipop (so far that seems to have fixed everyone that has posted here) but that comes with some negatives. I'd rather still be on KitKat personally, but I put too much time into it already so I'm just going to be satisfied that it's working and try to forget how much I hate the factory tether piece of crap.

Wow, I didn't even think to look here, I figured this problem was just my phone. I too lost the ability to receive text a few days back. After confirming it wasn't a SIM problem with another device, I did a factory reset and all was well. 4.4.4. I test texting every morning from AIM now, just to make sure it still works, but I'm afraid it'll happen again. Has anyone figured out what the actual problem is?

domenci said:
Wow, I didn't even think to look here, I figured this problem was just my phone. I too lost the ability to receive text a few days back. After confirming it wasn't a SIM problem with another device, I did a factory reset and all was well. 4.4.4. I test texting every morning from AIM now, just to make sure it still works, but I'm afraid it'll happen again. Has anyone figured out what the actual problem is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you rooted prior to factory reset? Did you need to re-root? Did the factory reset wipe the SD card? I want to fix this without upgrading to lollipop if possible

Have you tried to factory reset and it didn't fix the problem? I don't understand, you have the option to try it with nothing to lose. Worse case scenario it doesn't work and you have to upgrade anyways.... either way better than using a 6 year old phone
That being said...
I was rooted. I did the factory reset from Settings in Android. Factory reset SAID it would wipe everything, but it didn't touch my 'sd card', so I wasted a lot of time transferring my backups to the computer, but better safe than sorry. Root remained after the reset. I also froze anything Verizon related with TiBu just in case it is the voicemail app (though I'm pretty sure it was frozen before).

domenci said:
Have you tried to factory reset and it didn't fix the problem? I don't understand, you have the option to try it with nothing to lose. Worse case scenario it doesn't work and you have to upgrade anyways.... either way better than using a 6 year old phone
That being said...
I was rooted. I did the factory reset from Settings in Android. Factory reset SAID it would wipe everything, but it didn't touch my 'sd card', so I wasted a lot of time transferring my backups to the computer, but better safe than sorry. Root remained after the reset. I also froze anything Verizon related with TiBu just in case it is the voicemail app (though I'm pretty sure it was frozen before).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try a factory reset and it didn't work. Of course I'm running the eclipse 4.4.4 ROM not sure if that matters.
Looking in TiBU I've only got a few Verizon apps, none of them appear to be for voicemail the only thing that says voicemail is the phone 4.4.4-26 (19) app.
I'd love to stay on 4.4.4 if possible.
Otherwise I need to figure out which ROM to go to next.

Received Rooted Phone...Please help! sm-n900a ATT

My garbage HTC went out on me and someone gave me a like new Galaxy Note 3. I discovered it's rooted...The person who gave it to me bought it from someone so she doesn't know anything about it. I have no idea how to utilize the root...it has King Superuser on it and I downloaded TWRP because of some research I did...but honestly I don't know how to even begin taking advantage of a rooted phone. There are two things I'd like to do: upgrade from 4.2 to at least 7 AND bypass ATT's bs tethering block. Can anyone please guide me through this step by step considering I'm a layman regarding such things? A reliable source for ROMs and how to flash? I'm guessing I don't have all the apps needed to achieve my desired OS upgrade. I greatly appreciate anyone's time on this. Thank you.

Sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings, but you ain't gonna get there. Go back and do some basic research and you'll find that the Note 3 is very restricted concerning what you can do because of a feature called a locked bootloader. The best you're going to be able to do is load Lollipop, such as AllianceROM Ver. 12. Read, then reread this: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2778933 . If you see that if you already have TWRP installed the procedure is rather simple. First, insert a SDHC card in your PC and format it. Then download the SafeStrap files for the ROM onto the root of that SDHC card. Another file you might need is the NC2 firmware (in case you want to revert at a later date. Now, shut down the power to the Note 3 and remove the battery. Reinsert the battery and boot into Recovery. Then do a complete backup onto the SDHC card. Next, do a complete factory reset and wipe. Now you're ready to go back to TWRP main menu and install the ROM file in the STOCK ROM sector. When the install completes reboot the Note 3 and let it run. You will have to enter all your configuration info (name, wifi config, account info, etc.). If you have any problems go back and re-read the instructions. Also, you can try different ROM files, the instructions are generally pretty similar. If you want pure AT&T ROM install the stock OC1 ROM files. Check back and let me know how it worked out for you.

I am sort of in the same boat, I just got a brand new out of the box Note 9 from Sprint, and saw in the hidtory log on the recovery menu that my "core" was swapped (? I think that is what was stated , and it said DEBUG so and so RETURN TO VENDOR IMMEDIATELY. My husband claims by disabling the bloatware it caused that. This is the 5th time it has happen since November. 2 with my Note8, twice with the temp prepaid phone, and now with my new Note9. The recovery screen to my galaxy's always read, no address, no device privapp_ATT . Again my husband said I must have "f-ed" up the phone once again. And XDA just brought up that my device is an AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note3. I know I did not do it, I am too scared to run anything that an possibly damage my phone... I just want to get my phone back to a Note9, and to find a way to keep my husband from changing it. ( I highly suspect he is into developing and made himself admin of the phones as well as our Google accounts). Is there anything I can possibly do??

Commercial Repair Service
easytarget182 said:
I am sort of in the same boat, I just got a brand new out of the box Note 9 from Sprint, and saw in the hidtory log on the recovery menu that my "core" was swapped (? I think that is what was stated , and it said DEBUG so and so RETURN TO VENDOR IMMEDIATELY. My husband claims by disabling the bloatware it caused that. This is the 5th time it has happen since November. 2 with my Note8, twice with the temp prepaid phone, and now with my new Note9. The recovery screen to my galaxy's always read, no address, no device privapp_ATT . Again my husband said I must have "f-ed" up the phone once again. And XDA just brought up that my device is an AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note3. I know I did not do it, I am too scared to run anything that an possibly damage my phone... I just want to get my phone back to a Note9, and to find a way to keep my husband from changing it. ( I highly suspect he is into developing and made himself admin of the phones as well as our Google accounts). Is there anything I can possibly do??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... You seem rather confused about what your situation actually might be. Is the actual, physical device a Samsung Model SM-N900A (Note3 AT&T version) or a Note9?
If it is a Note9, try leaving a question in the Sprint Note9 forum.
If it is a Note3 go back to the main page and start reading up on how to reload the operating system.
Other than that, my suggestion would be to first, take the device back to where you bought it and find out in plain language what the core problem is. Second, ask is the device still under warranty and eligible for free or discounted repair. If the answer is yes, have the repairs made on the spot. If the answer is no, then Google a commercial repair center in your area and give them a call with the information you then have. Chances are they device is hosed as far as warranty, but you don't know until you ask.
Third thing is to lock down your device and do not relinquish the password to ANYONE.
Good luck.

Help with Verification Failed on Note 9

Hi everyone! First I just want to say thanks to anyone who has any information to help me.
I have a Note 9 and I enabled the directional lock (to unlock the phone). My phone is also encrypted so it will prompt me to enter the the directional lock anytime the phone is turned on and then again to unlock the screen. I turned my phone off the other day. When I turned it back on I saw the screen prompt for a directional lock. My friend needed help with something so I ended up talking to her before I even tried to unlock it (big mistake). When I got back in my truck to use my phone the screen was black and the message appeared, "Verification Failed, Unable to restart your device. The integrity verification has failed. You need to reset your device to factory default settings. This will erase all your data. I am not sure if while I was talking I accidentally touched the screen causing this message.
The biggest problem is I do not have a backup of certain files. They are on the internal memory of my device. So I DO NOT want to do a factory data reset. I just want to know a solution to get back into my phone again.
Here are the things I have tried:
-Soft reset with Power and volume key
-Wiping cache partition
-Calling Samsung
-Calling T-Mobile
-Downloading Samsung Switch (Does not Recognize device)
-All options in recovery mode (except factory data reset)
-Download mode
My phone is not rooted but it did go through a series of OTA updates and now is running Android Pie. I have came across a few other people with this issue and it happened after updating.
I want to know if there is a way to get in the phone or is there a way to recover my encrypted data and then decrypt it. I also would like to know if I can have the steps to use Odin (already downloaded on my computer) to reinstall the current firmware on the phone. I am wondering if anyone has ever done this and still kept their data (pictures, videos, memos, documents and text messages). I have only flashed my device probably about 10 years ago. So step by step directions would be amazing. Also I do have developer options enabled.
I have searched the forum and the only advice I have seen is to reset but I want to know how to keep my data. The only thing I have came across is a store that has a "Samsung" machine that will do a Home Restore without losing your data. He told me if something is corrupted that I could still lose my data. I have over 100gbs of data I need to access and it would be horrible to lose it.
Finally I have one last question is to back up all my encrypted data so that if I find a way to decrypt it later?
PLEASE any advice besides the things I have already tried would be so helpful. If anyone is able to help me I PROMISE I will help you with whatever you are trying to do and believe me.... I have the resources to do so. It will be a way I will show my thanks.

tt5 said:
Hi everyone! First I just want to say thanks to anyone who has any information to help me.
I have a Note 9 and I enabled the directional lock. My phone is also encrypted so it will prompt me to turn on the directional lock anytime the phone is turned on and then again to unlock the screen. I turned my phone off the other day. When I turned it back on I saw the screen prompt for a directional lock. My friend needed help with something so I ended up talking to her before I even tried to unlock it (big mistake). When I got back in my truck to use my phone the screen was black and the message appeared, "Verification Failed, Unable to restart your device. The integrity verification has failed. You need to reset your device to factory default settings. This will erase all your data. I am not sure if while I was talking I accidentally touched the screen causing this message.
The biggest problem is I do not have a backup of certain files. They are on the internal memory of my device. So I DO NOT want to do a factory data reset. I just want to know a solution to get back into my phone again.
Here are the things I have tried:
-Soft reset with Power and volume key
-Wiping cache partition
-Calling Samsung
-Calling T-Mobile
-Downloading Samsung Switch (Does not Recognize device)
-All options in recovery mode (except factory data reset)
-Download mode
My phone is not rooted but it did go through a series of OTA updates and now is running Android Pie. I have came across a few other people with this issue and it happened after updating.
I want to know if there is a way to get in the phone or is there a way to recover my encrypted data and then decrypt it. I also would like to know if I can have the steps to use Odin (already downloaded on my computer) to reinstall the current firmware on the phone. I am wondering if anyone has ever done this and still kept their data (pictures, videos, memos, documents and text messages). I have only flashed my device probably about 10 years ago. So step by step directions would be amazing. Also I do have developer options enabled.
I have searched the forum and the only advice I have seen is to reset but I want to know how to keep my data. The only thing I have came across is a store that has a "Samsung" machine that will do a Home Restore without losing your data. He told me if something is corrupted that I could still lose my data. I have over 100gbs of data I need to access and it would be horrible to lose it.
Finally I have one last question is to back up all my encrypted data so that if I find a way to decrypt it later?
PLEASE any advice besides the things I have already tried would be so helpful. If anyone is able to help me I PROMISE I will help you with whatever you are trying to do and believe me.... I have the resources to do so. It will be a way I will show my thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u can try with odin and flash latest firmware but it will not remove encryption. none the less it might at least get you access to the unlock screen and allow you to unlock but it might not.
read up about odin and get latest version.
read up on stockfirmware and your phone model and which carrier CSC code you are on and get latest version. via samfirm tool or frija or sites like sammobile
flash it in odin by filling the different .md5 files to the according slots. but for CSC slot use home_csc.md5 to not wipe data.
but what i dont understand is what does the landscape/portrait have anything to do with this?

bober10113 said:
u can try with odin and flash latest firmware but it will not remove encryption. none the less it might at least get you access to the unlock screen and allow you to unlock but it might not.
read up about odin and get latest version.
read up on stockfirmware and your phone model and which carrier CSC code you are on and get latest version. via samfirm tool or frija or sites like sammobile
flash it in odin by filling the different .md5 files to the according slots. but for CSC slot use home_csc.md5 to not wipe data.
but what i dont understand is what does the landscape/portrait have anything to do with this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the response!! My Phone is from T-mobile ]. I have been reading up on it and I did download Odin but I am unsure of how to exactly use it. I could figure it out with directions but I am afraid to do the wrong thing because I have only done it one and that was with Samsung Kies ( a long time ago.)
I am unsure what you mean by Portrait and Landscape mode in my post. I don't see where I mentioned it. Maybe you are referring to the directional lock. That is how you unlock the phone (with a series of directions). For instance... left, left, down, down, right, left, up. I mentioned it because that could be causing this issue. That is the method to get past the secure startup as well. A lot of people don't know about that option because you have to enable it in accessibility menu.

tt5 said:
Thank you so much for the response!! My Phone is from T-mobile ]. I have been reading up on it and I did download Odin but I am unsure of how to exactly use it. I could figure it out with directions but I am afraid to do the wrong thing because I have only done it one and that was with Samsung Kies ( a long time ago.)
I am unsure what you mean by Portrait and Landscape mode in my post. I don't see where I mentioned it. Maybe you are referring to the directional lock. That is how you unlock the phone (with a series of directions). For instance... left, left, down, down, right, left, up. I mentioned it because that could be causing this issue. That is the method to get past the secure startup as well. A lot of people don't know about that option because you have to enable it in accessibility menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh instead of a pin or biometrics the pattern lock screen?
but if it was locked because of too many tries then dont think you can do anything. you should have received a message through the email used to register your samsung account and follow it to get it unlocked.
any talk of circumventing this type of lockout isint something that can be discussed on xda because there is no way to prove that it was by accident. and even if it was and there really was a way to bypass it, it would give criminals insight. so sorry but there isint much more that can be said.

bober10113 said:
oh instead of a pin or biometrics the pattern lock screen?
but if it was locked because of too many tries then dont think you can do anything. you should have received a message through the email used to register your samsung account and follow it to get it unlocked.
any talk of circumventing this type of lockout isint something that can be discussed on xda because there is no way to prove that it was by accident. and even if it was and there really was a way to bypass it, it would give criminals insight. so sorry but there isint much more that can be said.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is an option instead of the regular pattern. I like it because it is hard to copy for anyone looking at you unlock your phone and if you lose it... even looking at the screen will not tell them how to unlock it because they need to know the sequence.
I am unsure what caused it.. maybe me or the updates. I have never had this problem before in my entire life. I had the Note 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9. (Yes, I love my Notes.) Not one of them have done this and I only noticed the directional lock beginning on the Note 5. I have an S10 as well and I could't find the option. So I am not sure if it is just specific to Galaxy Notes.
I never thought of giving someone else insight on how to get into phones. That is a good point! I understand that not being allowed. I have known about XDA developers for a long time. I think back somewhere in 2007 -2009 when I was very active on Tmonews forums. So I really haven't been on a forum in like 10 years. I am sure a lot of things have advanced since then but I REALLY appreciate the time you took to respond.
I just have two more questions... I am paying for this phone like $30 a month and I also have the $15 insurance. I can't do anything to this phone that would void the warranty. However, the place that told me they may be able to help me is an authorized Samsung repair center. He said he would have to download the firmware and reinstall it on the phone. He also told me that he could do it without losing data (Home Restore) but if something is corrupted it also could erase. It is with a machine that is directly given to them from Samsung. If somehow I lose my data....can it be recovered if I pay a data recovery company? These pictures are VERY important. Honestly, my data is more important to me than the phone.
Lastly, I remember my email I used for the Samsung account however it was an outlook email and it gave me so much trouble trying to log in (even when the phone was fine). However, if I am able to get in do you think it would take the message off the screen? I know my directional lock to get back in. All I need to do is get back to that screen but it won't pop up.
Again seriously.... I thank you so much for trying to help!

tt5 said:
Yes, it is an option instead of the regular pattern. I like it because it is hard to copy for anyone looking at you unlock your phone and if you lose it... even looking at the screen will not tell them how to unlock it because they need to know the sequence.
I am unsure what caused it.. maybe me or the updates. I have never had this problem before in my entire life. I had the Note 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9. (Yes, I love my Notes.) Not one of them have done this and I only noticed the directional lock beginning on the Note 5. I have an S10 as well and I could't find the option. So I am not sure if it is just specific to Galaxy Notes.
I never thought of giving someone else insight on how to get into phones. That is a good point! I understand that not being allowed. I have known about XDA developers for a long time. I think back somewhere in 2007 -2009 when I was very active on Tmonews forums. So I really haven't been on a forum in like 10 years. I am sure a lot of things have advanced since then but I REALLY appreciate the time you took to respond.
I just have two more questions... I am paying for this phone like $30 a month and I also have the $15 insurance. I can't do anything to this phone that would void the warranty. However, the place that told me they may be able to help me is an authorized Samsung repair center. He said he would have to download the firmware and reinstall it on the phone. He also told me that he could do it without losing data (Home Restore) but if something is corrupted it also could erase. It is with a machine that is directly given to them from Samsung. If somehow I lose my data....can it be recovered if I pay a data recovery company? These pictures are VERY important. Honestly, my data is more important to me than the phone.
Lastly, I remember my email I used for the Samsung account however it was an outlook email and it gave me so much trouble trying to log in (even when the phone was fine). However, if I am able to get in do you think it would take the message off the screen? I know my directional lock to get back in. All I need to do is get back to that screen but it won't pop up.
Again seriously.... I thank you so much for trying to help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i doubt that the samsung repair shop would be able to do anything for your data. but i guess it might be good to give them a call and explain the situation.
but i think they would basically do what was discussed earlyer using odin.
regarding the rest on how to get back in the phone I've never been locked out so i hope someone can chime in and see if there is a way to get it to prompt again or maybe have a remote unlock. co to samsung.com, login with your account that was used to setup the phone and check around. i know there is a remote dashboard on there to find your phone and do other commands remotely. i know for a fact that locking remotely exists. maybe its just as simple as having the phone online, lock it remotely and maybe the prompt will be seen on the device.( trigger it so to say)
good luck

bober10113 said:
i doubt that the samsung repair shop would be able to do anything for your data. but i gutess it might be good to give them a call and explain the situation.
but i think they would basically do what was discussed earlyer using odin.
regarding the rest on how to get back in the phone I've never been locked out so i hope someone can chime in and see if there is a way to get it to prompt again or maybe have a remote unlock. co to samsung.com, login with your account that was used to setup the phone and check around. i know there is a remote dashboard on there to find your phone and do other commands remotely. i know for a fact that locking remotely exists. maybe its just as simple as having the phone online, lock it remotely and maybe the prompt will be seen on the device.( trigger it so to say).
good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much! I actually got locked out of my Samsung Account and my email so I called Samsung and they got
me right back in. The first person told me they couldn't do anything but then she gave me a number (855-795-0509) to call. She said it was for the "find my mobile" department so I could see if could unlock it. The second lady helped me get back into my account. She was a huge help! I was able to access the remote unlock but it didn't work. I guess because the phone isn't connected to data at all. Is there anyway to force it to connect to a network? I reinserted my sim so it would recognize my number and also so it would have data to connect.
My last option is to go back to the store and see if what he does can fix it. The lady at Samsung said that people have been reporting issues with this update so it wasn't just me. I literally have to keep these files or it could be my life. I have to edit video for a celebrity and a lot of it is on the internal memory. I had to put it there because I use Adobe Clip and it never finds files that are on my SD card. It is just easy to me because I can do it on the go and not have to carry around my laptop everywhere. Next time I will surely back it up somewhere. This is the first time I haven't.