Hiya guys!
First post, so hello to everyone reading this
Ive got a Samsung Galaxy S3, and I did ask if it had been rooted or played with, and the guy said NO definitely NOT, but when the phones put into DOWNLOAD mode, it most definitely has had something done!
Count is on 1, ODIN is at the top, and CUSTOM is displayed in the last two fields I think, might not mean its rooted and I am new to these, but think it may have been
It was "OPENED TO UNLOCK ONLY" and was a T-Mobile UK Handset, I needed one that works with TESCO MOBILE and I did a swap with the guy next door to me for a broken iPhone 4s and to be honest I was sick of the Apple crap anyway!!!
So, my questions in no specific order are....
1) Is it rooted?
2) If I UNROOT it, will I lose the UNLOCKED to all networks that I need?
3) Is there a way to update the software on the phone if its rooted as I think I read somewhere that the firmware cannot be upgraded on a rooted phone?
4) How easy is it to install a new firmware?
For now, I think lol, thats it, so please any help appreciated!!
Cheers
Chris
[1]
The phone needs to be rooted in order to network-unlock.
So yes, at one point it was rooted.
However that does not mean it still is rooted, most probably the seller reverted it back to stock after rooting. Flashing stock does not increment the counter (since it's official) so it's quite possible.
[2]
No. Networl lock and other details are stored in the /efs/ folder which has nothing to do with the ROM and kernel.
[3]
You can upgrade a phone if it is rooted without further customizations. However you'll loose root during the process.
If [1] is true, you're on full stock anyway.
[4]
Depends. If you want to switch to another ROM, it's of course harder than upgrade within a given ROM (stock, Omega, CM9, ...)
But by all means hard does not mean impossible, it just takes some time and preparation.
Some afterthought: your seller should've just used the (free in XDA, paid in Play) TriangleAway app which resets the Download counter to 0.
I'd recommend resetting it if you're planning on staying on stock since it'll make warranty claims far easier or even possible. You'll need root tough to get it working.
Btw: network-unlocking a S3 means flashing CF-Root (rooted stock kernel), installing a free app, running that app, installing TriangleAway, running Triangleaway, flashing default ROM and factory-reset.
All-in-one that means less than half an hour, so I hope you haven't paid much extra for that feature.
Related
Hi. My very first post - a bit nervous so if this is something that I should know before now, please let me know (gently if possible) and I'll go back to my corner.
I'm a former (reformed?) iPhone user and back in early March, I bought my first Android, a Bell Galaxy Note i717M. Being a former iOS/iCloud user, I immediately missed the security of being able to perform a full backup so I used Da_G's method of rooting the phone with Odin (which worked perfectly). This tripped the binary counter, of course, but at the time I wasn't as well read as I am now.
Now, I'd like the option to return the phone to stock (just in case). Thing is, I'm not really sure what I changed/replaced when I rooted it. From what I've read, it's probably just the kernel but I'm not 100% sure. IF it WAS just the kernel that I flashed, Da_G has another thread explaining how to unroot but with a stock Bell kernel (kernel only). But again, I'm not sure if it WAS just the kernel that I rooted and even if I can unroot by just resetting the kernel, that doesn't reset the flash counter.
There's another thread by braway over in the development forum that explains how to reset the flash counter and it seems to work for the Bell Note as well. However, in order to use it, you need to have CWM installed on the Note. So it seems that I can reset the binary counter but then I'm left with CWM and root on the phone.
If my understanding is correct, I can then unroot the phone without once again tripping the flash counter but to do that, I'd need a full Bell stock ROM (kernel, system, ROM, radio, God knows what else....) and no one seems to have come up with one yet. Does that sound about right?
SO much information to digest...can get a bit confusing, wish there was a manual. But I honestly am trying to learn more about the whole process. Still, utter noob for now.
Hello fellow XDA user
I have recently bought a the I9100 internation version and I am really pleased, however I do know the power of a ROM and how much it could improve or brick your phone.
However I came from the Galaxy S i9000, I never managed to recover the phone, so it would be recognized by kies, it did recognize my phone, but it said that 'Kies didn't support any upgrades for it'. Meaning if I would like to return it for garantee reasons, the shop or manufacturer will see I have been messing with my phone, which excludes my warranty.
Therefore I wonderd if there was a possibility to install roms or root your phone and unroot it, so kies would regonize it again.
Thanks alot and feel free to suggest any rom
Intensity007 said:
Hello fellow XDA user
I have recently bought a the I9100 internation version and I am really pleased, however I do know the power of a ROM and how much it could improve or brick your phone.
However I came from the Galaxy S i9000, I never managed to recover the phone, so it would be recognized by kies, it did recognize my phone, but it said that 'Kies didn't support any upgrades for it'. Meaning if I would like to return it for garantee reasons, the shop or manufacturer will see I have been messing with my phone, which excludes my warranty.
Therefore I wonderd if there was a possibility to install roms or root your phone and unroot it, so kies would regonize it again.
Thanks alot and feel free to suggest any rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes there is a way cfroot to which will give you superuser access and also CWM recovery by then swapping back to stock kernel will unroot also if you using odin to flash this wil increase binary counter look for a app called triangle away this will reset the binary counter but only works on ics.
this is just basics to answer quickly your question please still search within the sgs2 forum sections most of all new users questions have been answered and there is many guides for new users to refer to in development sections prior to installing customs roms etc
DJBoxer said:
yes there is a way cfroot to which will give you superuser access and also CWM recovery by then swapping back to stock kernel will unroot also if you using odin to flash this wil increase binary counter look for a app called triangle away this will reset the binary counter but only works on ics.
this is just basics to answer quickly your question please still search within the sgs2 forum sections most of all new users questions have been answered and there is many guides for new users to refer to in development sections prior to installing customs roms etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know about CF root .. but as I said before, I managed to restore the stock functionality of my Galaxy S, but I never managed to get support from Kies again. ('Kies doesn't support updates for your phone'). I don't know if the Galaxy S II method might diffrentiate from that .. but I do want to be on the safe side with my warranty and I don't want another bad to happen to my phone.
Quik Recap
1) Prepare Odin --> Go download Mode (Power + volume down + home button)
2) Flash Phone --> Odin --> Install CF Root Kernel
3) Mount Phone ---> USB --> Download Rom ---> Boot ClockWorkRecovery (Power + volume up + home button)
4) Enjoy Rom --> Enjoy Xda Power
5) How to Revert?, will kies regonize it and support it
Code:
[URL="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20075898&postcount="]CF Root Kernals By Chainfire[/URL]
Can someone please answer my post above, I really want to start modding, but I also want to be able to get back to an unrooted version with Kies support
Check out the links in my signature, especially the one about going back to stock. That should satisfy your request.
Long story short, reset your flash counter and flash stock rom. But make sure you READ
OK. The experience on here over the past 6 mths or so goes something like this. About 50% of people who go back to stock firmware for their region after using custom roms or stock firmware not for their region seem to be able to get OTA updates via Kies OK. For some reason(s), the other 50% or so of these people seem not to be able to get OTA updates to work despite flashing a full stock rom for their region (with correct CSC).
Why doesn't it seem to work for some people ? Who knows ? I don't think I've seen a single answer that could cover even a small majority of those cases.
Regardless, if you find you ever go back to stock with the intention of getting OTA firmware updates & they don't work, do what plenty of people on here do & flash them via Odin. Easy fixed.
The bottom line with warranties is this. The moment you start rooting your phone or flashing non-stock firmware on it, you should forget about/lose all expectations of warranty service/replacement should something go wrong with your phone. At the end of the day, you mess with your phone, why should Samsung/your telco foot the bill ?
Having said that, if you format everything, go back to stock & reset the flash counter, again, the experience on here is many people seem to get warranty service OK.
What you seem to be looking for is a 100% iron-clad guarantee.
There isn't any. If potentially borking your phone & having to pay to have it repaired/replaced yourself frightens you, best advice would be simply don't mess with it. Stay on stock. That's the only way you're getting 100% guarantees. If you've only ever been on stock/OTA updates & never rooted/flashed custom firmware and the phone borks, they pay to fix it.
Pretty simple really.
Hi,
I've had a look around and can't find a thread that answers my question completely. I just want to gain root access to phone, I have no intention of flashing a custom firmware. My phone is a Galaxy S2 I9100 running Vodafone Australia's stock 4.0.3 ICS.
As I am new to rooting, I have browsed through this page but still have questions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399
I want to be able to easily restore my phone to its stock, unrooted state for warranty purposes. I'm not quite sure how to do this, Is there a way to backup my phones kernel as it is now, and be able to flash back to the stock kernel if something were to go wrong?
Also, My kernel version is 3.0.15-I9100TDULP9-CL422302 ..... The key letters being LP9? So then which one of these 2 would I flash?
CF-Root-SGS2_XW_KPN_LP9-v5.4-CWM5.zip OR
CF-Root-SGS2_DX_SIN_LP9-v5.4-CWM5.zip
Or would either work?
(Yes still going, sorry!) I also saw something called a Binary Flash Counter which counts the amount of times a phone has been modified? Would I be affected by this by just gaining root access? And if so how do I prevent that? (My ultimate aim is to root, but still keep warranty)
Thanks in advance for any help, its really appreciated.
mkirpy22 said:
Hi,
I've had a look around and can't find a thread that answers my question completely. I just want to gain root access to phone, I have no intention of flashing a custom firmware. My phone is a Galaxy S2 I9100 running Vodafone Australia's stock 4.0.3 ICS.
As I am new to rooting, I have browsed through this page but still have questions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399
I want to be able to easily restore my phone to its stock, unrooted state for warranty purposes. I'm not quite sure how to do this, Is there a way to backup my phones kernel as it is now, and be able to flash back to the stock kernel if something were to go wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get back to stock look for your firmware in Intratech's thread. It also provides links for kernel only downloads.
Also, My kernel version is 3.0.15-I9100TDULP9-CL422302 ..... The key letters being LP9? So then which one of these 2 would I flash?
CF-Root-SGS2_XW_KPN_LP9-v5.4-CWM5.zip OR
CF-Root-SGS2_DX_SIN_LP9-v5.4-CWM5.zip
Or would either work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the thread you were referencing:
The XX and OXA identifiers are not that important. Usually a "KG1" kernel is a "KG1" kernel, and that is that. Sometimes (pretty rare) it happens there will be multiple different kernels with the same name in different firmwares, that are actually different. If this happens, they are usually only very minor changes and you should expect them to still be fully compatible. I include the "XX" and "OXA" identifiers so the very advanced users can deduce from which full firmware I have taken the kernel file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(Yes still going, sorry!) I also saw something called a Binary Flash Counter which counts the amount of times a phone has been modified? Would I be affected by this by just gaining root access? And if so how do I prevent that? (My ultimate aim is to root, but still keep warranty)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you will be affected (if rooting with CF-root method) and no, you can't prevent it. However you can reset things. The easiest way to do this is to use TriangleAway from the Play store.
Best thing to do if you want a backup that's as close to stock as possible is to root your phone & then do a Nandroid backup in CWM before doing anything else to the phone (flashing custom roms, other kernels, etc). That will give you a backup that is essentially stock other than the rooted kernel.
If you want to guarantee warranty service, don't mess with your phone (yes, I'm serious). Once you start messing with it, you should lose any expectation of warranty service should the worst happen (rooting your phone/running non stock firmware voids your warranty). Having said that, many people who have rooted their phones and/or run non-stock firmware have been able to get warranty service by going back to stock & resetting the flash counter either with a jig or Triangle Away before sending it in for service. However, this is never a guaranteed, rolled gold 100% certainty.
FXRB is right, before you root your phone, either download your current firmware from Intratech's thread, or use the PC version of Checkfus to download it. This will save you problems if you need to go back to stock in say, 12 mths, and you forget which firmware was originally on the phone.
Unrooting Sprint Samsung s2 ics 4.0.4 fh13
I rooted my phone but would like to unroot it back to previous or stock. Please help with any information to unroot. Thanks.
hispeed10 said:
I rooted my phone but would like to unroot it back to previous or stock. Please help with any information to unroot. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Reset binary counter using Triangle away app.
2. Download Stock firmware for your country/region here: http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/
3. Flash the firmware via Odin.
Done
hispeed10 said:
I rooted my phone but would like to unroot it back to previous or stock. Please help with any information to unroot. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to what Jokesy said, you say you have a Sprint Samsung s2 ics 4.0.4 fh13. The Sprint variant is the Epic 4G Touch, and has a different forum located at http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1281.
This forum is for the I9100, which is a GSM phone, and doesn't even work on Sprint's CDMA network.
For your own sake and future sanity, please go to and stay in that forum, and avoid flashing anything from this forum for the I9100.
I rooted my phone pushing CWM.zip and SU-busybox in recovery mode.
First CWM.zip And then su-busybox in the Clockwork orange mod. Its rooted and no yellow triangle.
Well it's regarding rooting.
I heard it opens up a world of opportunity with your smartphone, and some apps I really want are only available vain rooted phones. I have the Samsung galaxy s3 international version. It was originally from Australia if that matters at all. It is on 4.0.4. Anyways, being a noob to android more or less, and being a bit apprehensive (because I have no warranty and I cannot obtain another phone easily) I was wondering basically how risky it is to brick your phone in a) the process of rooting your phone. Is it common? If it does get bricked is it reversable by a restore or simply gone? Also after rooting, is there any upkeep or management I need to do to make sure my rooted phone does not screw up? And lastly. What is the safest and easiest way to root the international quad core gs3 on ics. Thank you to everyone for your time
mysticgorilla said:
Well it's regarding rooting.
I heard it opens up a world of opportunity with your smartphone, and some apps I really want are only available vain rooted phones. I have the Samsung galaxy s3 international version. It was originally from Australia if that matters at all. It is on 4.0.4. Anyways, being a noob to android more or less, and being a bit apprehensive (because I have no warranty and I cannot obtain another phone easily) I was wondering basically how risky it is to brick your phone in a) the process of rooting your phone. Is it common? If it does get bricked is it reversable by a restore or simply gone? Also after rooting, is there any upkeep or management I need to do to make sure my rooted phone does not screw up? And lastly. What is the safest and easiest way to root the international quad core gs3 on ics. Thank you to everyone for your time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, most you could pick up be reading a bit, everything is already explained around here but since i was in your shoes very recently:
- there's always a risk. You need to be aware of that. That said, most cases that actually go wrong it's usually user's fault who failed to follow instructions closely. So read them. And read some more. And then read again just to make sure. And then i'd read again.
I used this very recent method from chainfire (salute and donate to the man if you like and can, he deserves it) to root my 4.0.4 international GT-I9300 S3:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1957273
Triangled away next and everything worked like a charm. This preserves everything as stock as possible just adding root to your phone.
- from what i can tell, as long as you don't do anything that messes with the bootloader, you can always recover from a procedure gone wrong. Just disconnect, remove battery, insert and try again. Rebooting the computer or changing usb ports usually helps too (on odin).
- after rooting successfully, the very first thing you should do is backup your /efs folder. This is easy, just pick up root explorer or some other file manager that allows exploring you root (/), go up in your folders until you get to / look for the efs folder and just copy it (NOT MOVE) elsewhere (sd card, external sd, your computer preferably, whatever, just have that safe). This will come in handy in case you lose your imei at some point. Just restore this folder's contents and you're good to go. If that happens and you don't have a backup, it's a f'ing pain you can do well without.
- anything else root related is just common sense. Since you have the potential to screw up your entire phone with root permissions (this is why you don't have them in the first place), if an app pops up asking for root permissions, be sure what it is before allowing. If you're not sure, you can always deny first and allow later in the superuser app.
- you can also look into backing up with nandroid. You can think of this as an image of your entire phone. With this you can restore your phone to the same state it was when you did it. Useful when something went wrong and your phone doesn't boot anymore or you just wanted to try new roms with the option of coming back to what you had before. Not sure how you do it on the S3 still, but it usually requires a modified recovery like CWM. The method to root above doesn't install one though, it preserves what you had. Check this instead if you're interested:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Cheers dude, i'm sure everything will go well for you too.
Chance of a brick about .0001 % rising to 100% for those that are to lazy to read follow instructions .
BASICS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1927113
jje
Thankyou very much to everyone who has read and replied to this. 3 more minor questions. Is there a way to first update my phone to jellybean 4.1 via Odin or something like that? Or is this possible after root, because I don't want to stay on ics. Also what exactly happens if I update while rooted. Does it wipe or unroot my phone or the like? Also should my phone be in use debugging, and lastly what does it mean to unlock my bootloaders? That was more than 3 questions sorry thanks again
mysticgorilla said:
Thankyou very much to everyone who has read and replied to this. 3 more minor questions. Is there a way to first update my phone to jellybean 4.1 via Odin or something like that? Or is this possible after root, because I don't want to stay on ics. Also what exactly happens if I update while rooted. Does it wipe or unroot my phone or the like? Also should my phone be in use debugging, and lastly what does it mean to unlock my bootloaders? That was more than 3 questions sorry thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You don't need to root to update to JB.
Just download any ROM you want from http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=GT-I9300 (I recommend the UK unbranded ROM, BTU) then use Odin3 to flash it to your devices. Search the forums for specific instructions on this procedure. I'll just tell that it takes no more than 2-3 minutes.
2) If you're going to root, I suggest you do it beforehand, by flashing a kernel like Siyah (in ICS), and then proceed to flashing the stock JB ROM, HOWEVER, instead of using Odin3, you will use MobileOdion (available from Play Store), because that way you'll have a fully rooted and stock device.
3) Using step 2 above, it will not wipe not unroot your phone. It is safe and retains all your settings. That is the beauty of MobileOdin. There is a free version.
If you root and THEN install via Odin (PC), then you'll lose root, but not your settings.
In either case, you only wipe the device IF YOU WANT TO.
So, the best option is to:
a) Install SiyahKernel using Odin3 (PC)
b) Download the JB BTU ROM from http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=GT-I9300
c) Extract the .md5 from the ZIP file and move it to the device's ext. sd card
d) Install MobileOdin in the device
e) Use MobileOdin to flash the .md5 you moved to it in step (c)
f) install TriangleAway (download from XDA) and run it to reset binary counter (which got incremented in step [a] )
Results: rooted, JB, stock, all settins retained, no binary counter increment
Simonetti2011 I have been searching the internet here in New Zealand and that has been the best answer I have found so far!
I do have a slight question thought. I live in New Zealand and have the GT-I9300T model of the GS3 and I'm wanting to install the international unbranded rom for that I can get updates faster (here in NZ it takes months and months to get updates)
I downloaded the International UK unbranded firmware 4.0.4 and was going to flash that rom onto my phone then upgrade to jelly bean via kies but have since relised I should just download the jellybean UK firmware straight away. Do you by any chance havea link to the firmware that I would need, I noticed there were a few different versions.
Also about the CSC, would I need to do any changes?
Many many thanks in advance, Sorry for hijacking this thread, just figured I was on the same pages as the OP
prawln said:
Simonetti2011 I have been searching the internet here in New Zealand and that has been the best answer I have found so far!
I do have a slight question thought. I live in New Zealand and have the GT-I9300T model of the GS3 and I'm wanting to install the international unbranded rom for that I can get updates faster (here in NZ it takes months and months to get updates)
I downloaded the International UK unbranded firmware 4.0.4 and was going to flash that rom onto my phone then upgrade to jelly bean via kies but have since relised I should just download the jellybean UK firmware straight away. Do you by any chance havea link to the firmware that I would need, I noticed there were a few different versions.
Also about the CSC, would I need to do any changes?
Many many thanks in advance, Sorry for hijacking this thread, just figured I was on the same pages as the OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
The 9300T and the 9300 are NOT the same device, therefore they use different firmware (ROM). The ROMs for the 9300T are here: http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=GT-I9300T
I don't think there is a 9300T ROM for the UK, since the model released there is the 9300 (non-T).
It seems that either Samsung-updates hasn't indexed any ROMs for your model or they haven't been released.
About CSC: just don't worry about it... download and flash any ROM you want for your specific model and don't worry. If you don't like it, just download and flash another one.
Thanks heaps for that!
I actually just tried the UK unbranded rom that was for the i9300 on my i9300T and suprisingly everything seems to work ok so far (phone calls, txting, 3g etc)
Thankyou to everyone!
Thank you for your responses to my post regarding rooting my s3. They were very helpful. i succesfully rooted via chainfire cf auto root for the I9300 model without problem. Just one last question, I have been searching around a bit and some people are saying that flashing the jellybean firmware via odin, is not a perfect copy.. i mean some say they have been experiencing very minor problems here and there. So, if i update to the uk firmware on jelly bean via odin or mobile odin, and i experience some problems, can i still get the official ota update or jellybean 4.1 via kies when it is released? Thanks again for your help. Im pretty new to this android stuff
I have solved this problem I think last night by updating to XXEMB1 on Kies last night - I have of course lost root for the moment but will get back to that later when I have more time
I have an international galaxy gt19300
It had begun to restart itself a few times a day and then would run for days with no issues
I eventually decided to root it when I found the new toolkit on here which seemed to work a treat
I now had superuser installaed titanium back up and ROM Toolboxand paid for pro versions of this and toolkit
to be honest apart from doing one back up using the toolkit the only other thing I did was to disable the auto scanning on start up to speed up booting the phone. A day or two after this the problems started again but this time with it no rebooting but just freezing. Eventually I took out the sd card as I remembered I had an sd card problem with my old S2 - though this is a new samsung sd card. At first I thought that was it but then a bit later it froze while i was browsing the app store and has done so periodically, though today it ran all day without freezing onvce. Then suddenly it froze again for no reason - I was just swithcing screens and it froze part way through the process
As far as I can see I have three options
1) Flash a new ROM (for the moment I am still using the stock rom having only just rooted it using Toolkit.exe from here) but not sure which one I should use so need reccommendations
2) Use the toolkit to download a stock odin flashable rom (but dont I have this already?) and then 3 reset the flash counter using triangle away (seems risky to me) install the stock rom , undo root (if necessary) and then return the phone to Samsung
3) go to Kies and install the latest update in the hope that the problem will go away - though if S User pro doesnt manage to keep root I wiill presumably have to re-root all over again.
What attracted me to S3 Toolkit was that it packaged up all sorts of options into one easy package - on the other hand this may have made me a little over confident with rooting. If I hadnt rooted it the earlier problem, though not as bad, would still have been there but I could easily have sent it back to Amazon UK or Samsung UK for repair and replacement.
My biggest worry at the moment is that whichever process I go for - or even a third option suggested here - there must be a risk that the phone might lock up during flashing or upgrade - probably not likely as it didnt when I restored the back up I had done (didnt help either) and the touch wiz ui wont be running
Anyway would really appreciate some help guys - even if it is only what you would do in the same circumstances. I guess I should have tried to have the problem fixed but earlier I put that down to maybe having too many apps and crapware and thougth rooting would help me solve it. I have unintstalled every app that I dont regularly use but it is still happening
gbswales said:
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all you have to be aware of the fact that rooting & flashing ROMs is always a risk, toolkit or not.
The safest way is to stay un-rooted stock if you do not know why you need root in the first place. If you know you need root, and actually also before, read the guides & information in the stickies under the General section as they explain you in detail how to root, un-root, use triangle away etc.
As for your situation, I would try to 1) flash another kernel than the stock one, if this does not work, 2) flash the most up-to-date stock ROM (you can get it here on XDA or sammobile.com) via Odin or Mobile Odin, not the toolkit (Odin is as simple as the toolkit if you follow the how-to), if this also does not work 3) try a custom rom, and if it also does not work 4) return back to stock and give it to Samsung service centre.
I wish you good luck!
Thanks for your advice
chrismast said:
First of all you have to be aware of the fact that rooting & flashing ROMs is always a risk, toolkit or not.
The safest way is to stay un-rooted stock if you do not know why you need root in the first place. If you know you need root, and actually also before, read the guides & information in the stickies under the General section as they explain you in detail how to root, un-root, use triangle away etc.
As for your situation, I would try to 1) flash another kernel than the stock one, if this does not work, 2) flash the most up-to-date stock ROM (you can get it here on XDA or sammobile.com) via Odin or Mobile Odin, not the toolkit (Odin is as simple as the toolkit if you follow the how-to), if this also does not work 3) try a custom rom, and if it also does not work 4) return back to stock and give it to Samsung service centre.
I wish you good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly the good news is that it turned out to be a problem with the last XXELLA upgrade - I found a new one on KIES ran the update and it is fine
Of course I lost root access but expected that anyway.
I do enjoy tinkering with Systems and although I know my way around Windows I have not tried with Android until now - this is my second Galaxy so was naturally wary of bricking it if I rooted. Christmas time I bought myself a galaxy tab 2 10.1 with the express aim of rooting it and was prepared to take the risk - after a few false starts I got it rooted fine - was still wary of the phone but once the kit came out the benefit that has for me is the way you have to check things step by step systematically as you do things - my problem with doing stuff from instructions on line is that I find it is all to easy to skip a step (which I did with the tab first time around) Also with it being a system I haven't explored before I like having a step by step approach which is the same way that I learned DOS way back in time.
I do want to try some different ROMs on it to see what they offer and I would really have liked to have got some apps running from my external SD card and I also like having a complete image back up (as I have for Windows 8) so that in the event of a serious issue it is easy to wipe all and restore from new (I keep several images which I make on a weekly basis so that I don't have to re-install everything.
I confess to playing with computers and devices as a hobby - evidence of this was the 350 apps I had installed before I started purging them in case that was the cause of the problem. I pretty nearly try every new app I find just to see what it does and so there being a whole range of apps that I couldn't install without root access upset me. I am not going to rush to root again and will at least wait until the current version has been on the phone a while - just to make sure the XXEMB1 version is stable now - it has a lot of new admin features to keep me amused for a while!
Two things that disappointed me about root were that it looked as if I couldn't overclock the device to improve speed - the main CPU bar was already on max (though I didn't have time to explore more than that) and that it still seemed pretty hard , if possible at all on the hardware, to run apps from the external SD card -- as I do now with windows (using a smaller SSD ) I will have to be a bit more prudent about uninstalling the apps I find I don't really use.
I guess deep down the main reason why I want root is I don't like any manufacturer telling me what I can and cannot do with the device I paid for - one thing I did try was installing Linux but that didn't quite get finished before I lost root access.
Your advice however is very sound for people who don't like or enjoy tinkering or taking risks and I don't think I would recommend any normal phone user to root their device.
Thanks again
Just to add quickly....to overclock you need to flash a kernel that supports it.....And know what you are doing before doing it