Hello everyone
Recently I unlocked my photon, and in the guide of the unlocking ther was an attention that the unlocking is very likely to disable the 4g connection ability of my photon. Could the unlocking be undone so that I will be able to use 4g? Currently none of the carriers in my country uses 4g, but they will start using it soon, and I don't know what to do. Will it one day be possible to unlock without losing the 4g? Will someone release a fix to the problem?
Please tell me!
Thank you!
What exactly was the purpose of you unlocking your phone?
Currently unlocking breaks 4G.
If you want to have your 4G back then you need to go back to stock.
4g on this phone is wimax, a dying breed. So unlocking your bootloader made the phone not work on the soon to be abandoned (2015?) Wimax network in the US. Most other carriers in other countries, including sprint now, are building out LTE 4g networks, which this phone wont work with.
If none of that made sense this will, you didn't break anything on your phone you'd ever be able to use.
Thanks for the response.
The purpose was to flash a good recovery and to flash other rom than the stock rom. But I didn't find a rom that I want to install.
Before unlocking, I tried to flash clockworkmod recovery with rom manager, but then when I tried to reboot into recovery, I got the error message fail to boot 2, so I searched in google and discovered that I can't flash a new recovery without unlocking, although I had rooted the device. I unlocked the bootloader and flashed clockworkmod, and then I was able to get into recovery.
Thank you Ksmith,
I hope that the people in my country are clever enough to start using the LTE and not the WiMax. Thank you very much for the information, I am suddenly relaxed.
yairku said:
Thank you Ksmith,
I hope that the people in my country are clever enough to start using the LTE and not the WiMax. Thank you very much for the information, I am suddenly relaxed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he ment that the photons wont work on the lte network so you better hope for wimax if you plan on keeping phone for awile. Also i like the cm7.2 rom its seems to be the best for me `and just flashing any of the stock sbf files will give you back 4g. there also is a custom recovery for locked phones. bootsrtap and i the nanidroid. dont quote me on any of this except i do like cm7.2
Yeah I understood what he meant, I'm just not so sure I want to keep this smartphone for myself, so I still can prefer LTE
The SBF is hard to find right now. I tried to download it from 2 different websites and both of them don't work. However I hope to download this file soon.
Thank you good people for all the explanations!
i could probably email it to you as an attachment
yairku said:
Thanks for the response.
The purpose was to flash a good recovery and to flash other rom than the stock rom. But I didn't find a rom that I want to install.
Before unlocking, I tried to flash clockworkmod recovery with rom manager, but then when I tried to reboot into recovery, I got the error message fail to boot 2, so I searched in google and discovered that I can't flash a new recovery without unlocking, although I had rooted the device. I unlocked the bootloader and flashed clockworkmod, and then I was able to get into recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget you can use CWM recovery via bootstrap if you are rooted without being unlocked. There are also roms you can flash via bootstrap while just being rooted and retain 4G. Just look in dev section.
yairku said:
Thank you Ksmith,
I hope that the people in my country are clever enough to start using the LTE and not the WiMax. Thank you very much for the information, I am suddenly relaxed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiMax is actually a good technology, just not the one that nearly all other carriers globally are using. On the plus side of that though, if nearly everyone uses LTE the chances of a "world phone" from any provider in 5 years are pretty good.
not sure the definition of "unlocking" but if you just want root that will not effect 4G
I understand that this may have been asked, and I've been looking at similar threads, but I'm having a hard time finding a direct answer, so I apologize.
I have some experience rooting with an Atrix, but I just got this phone two days ago, this morning I used the 1-click method from rootwhiz to install the ICS leak. No problems having it run at all. I need to know, directly, did this install change my bootloader and change the binary count? I can't remember if I saw anytime of yellow triangle as people talk about. If it changed the bootloader what is there a safe method to return to the older bootloaders, and or do I even need to do so to root and install other roms?
I know that the Atrix had some problems in terms of returning to prior versions of things, and in my research I haven't found a direct answer to this question too.
Basically, did my bootloader change? Can I root using the heimdall method I keep seeing about safely? What would be the best way to root and install custom roms, neglecting the binary counter if I can get a jig or something?
Forgive me again for asking, I just need to have better answers before I try anything.
Are you asking for info for your Atrix or SGS2 device?
Sorry, I am asking about the SGS2.
ds1904.ds said:
I understand that this may have been asked, and I've been looking at similar threads, but I'm having a hard time finding a direct answer, so I apologize.
I have some experience rooting with an Atrix, but I just got this phone two days ago, this morning I used the 1-click method from rootwhiz to install the ICS leak. No problems having it run at all. I need to know, directly, did this install change my bootloader and change the binary count? I can't remember if I saw anytime of yellow triangle as people talk about. If it changed the bootloader what is there a safe method to return to the older bootloaders, and or do I even need to do so to root and install other roms?
I know that the Atrix had some problems in terms of returning to prior versions of things, and in my research I haven't found a direct answer to this question too.
Basically, did my bootloader change? Can I root using the heimdall method I keep seeing about safely? What would be the best way to root and install custom roms, neglecting the binary counter if I can get a jig or something?
Forgive me again for asking, I just need to have better answers before I try anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you used the 1-Click method, yes. Your bootloaders are changed. Wouldve been much better to use the Heimdall method or just root your phone then flash the Leak ROM that task650 and Fenny made. As far as reverting bootloaders to stock, thats out of my range of knowledge. Im sure there is a way to do it though.
EDIT: For rooting, best way is to be on stock 2.3.4 and use the Zergrush exploit.
I've seen you're using the past tense a lot, I thought you already DID.
Anyway, for rooting and installing custom ROM, follow this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311081
I can't pinpoint exactly what to do since having no info.
Thanks for the answers so far, now that I know my bootloaders have been changed I need to figure out how to either change back / and how to safely root. I may just have to wait it out I think though, no problem with that really, working just fine now. And never use the alarm
For clarification, my rooting experience is limited to the Atrix, the SGS2 is new as of Monday, and I am having trouble sifting through information. What I've learned so far is that maybe it was a little hasty to install the ICS leak the way I did. Prior to the ICS leak there was nothing changed on the phone.
You're going to have to get some experience with ODIN. Here is the bootloader you'll want to flash back to, however, then you'll probably need to flash a kernel with CWM (clock work mod) and then boot into cwm to flash a rom such as Tasks stock ICS leak. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1316726
So if I follow correctly the ICS leak I installed added newer bootloaders that prevent jigging in the future if it was needed. My two options are apparently to use the method that bypasses the counter, which was posted, or to use ODIN and flash the older bootloader, but this can be dangerous if done incorrectly.
The danger of bricking scares me a little, but I successfully used RSD Lite to unlock the bootloader on my Atrix, don't know if it's similar. Perhaps I should take the Atrix and attempt to install an older bootloader on it to get a feel for things? I figure that it wouldn't make much of a difference however...
I figured out that even though I have a newer bootloader now I still have a 0 for the binary counter, as the leak is considered a samsung official release, of course I don't know how that would effect any given warranty.
So, I still feel that these following questions are unanswered, I apologize if I am not understanding correctly:
1. Is it safe for me to root with the heimdall method even with the newer bootloaders
2. Is it safe for me to install custom roms without reverting the bootloader, as long as I am using the bypass method to prevent my counter from changing?
3. What is the exact risk to flashing the older bootloader, and what precautions should I take before doing so? If I flash the older bootloader without reverting to stock firmware will that cause a brick? Or is the risk just associated with fudging up the process of the flash itself, and hoping that the connection doesn't get cut (on that note, the phone, usb cord, and computer I'm using are all less than 4 months old, so that risk doesn't concern me a whole lote).
Sorry if these are stupid questions, I hope I am asking good enough questions to help others out in the future
After some more reading, here's another question as well:
Does the SGS2 technically have an unlocked bootloader already? It just counts how many times you install non samsung firmware?
Also just so I know that I'm not wrong, are Kernal, Firmware, and "Roms" all the same thing? How can you tell if a "package" or "rom" comes with bootloaders, as this is something I apparently am supposed to avoid.
ds1904.ds said:
1. Is it safe for me to root with the heimdall method even with the newer bootloaders
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont believe you can root since you already flashed it with ODIN 1-Click
ds1904.ds said:
2. Is it safe for me to install custom roms without reverting the bootloader, as long as I am using the bypass method to prevent my counter from changing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot install custom ROM's because you dont have CWM.
ds1904.ds said:
3. What is the exact risk to flashing the older bootloader, and what precautions should I take before doing so? If I flash the older bootloader without reverting to stock firmware will that cause a brick? Or is the risk just associated with fudging up the process of the flash itself, and hoping that the connection doesn't get cut (on that note, the phone, usb cord, and computer I'm using are all less than 4 months old, so that risk doesn't concern me a whole lot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really not sure on these questions. Any takers?
ds1904.ds said:
After some more reading, here's another question as well:
Does the SGS2 technically have an unlocked bootloader already? It just counts how many times you install non samsung firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No; Only download mode (Odin/Heimdall) flashes trigger changes to the warning screen.
ds1904.ds said:
Also just so I know that I'm not wrong, are Kernal, Firmware, and "Roms" all the same thing? How can you tell if a "package" or "rom" comes with bootloaders, as this is something I apparently am supposed to avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel is a set of drivers that tells the hardware what to do. Firmware is like a new base. (XXLPQ, DXLP7 etc.) A ROM is the whole package.
Please if I missed anything or am incorrect about some/all of this, somebody correct me.
Okay I think I'm starting to figure this out. I downgraded to 2.3.4 using an unroot/stock method I found, using odin and it worked. It would not accept the OTA update however, but I believe this is due to the ULCL2 baseband? Someone correct me if I am wrong.
Now I am going to use method 2c found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311081
to root and restore to the other baseband, which also happens to be the one that's best for my area I believe. From there, I can install CWM using one of the 31-c methods, and use CWM to install custom roms as long as they don't have bootloaders, correct? Or does it not matter if the packages have bootloaders.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, I don't want to ruin anything here. I think it's safe to install the files that come from the 2c method but wont be doing anything else until I know it's safe.
ds1904.ds said:
Okay I think I'm starting to figure this out. I downgraded to 2.3.4 using an unroot/stock method I found, using odin and it worked. It would not accept the OTA update however, but I believe this is due to the ULCL2 baseband? Someone correct me if I am wrong.
Now I am going to use method 2c found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311081
to root and restore to the other baseband, which also happens to be the one that's best for my area I believe. From there, I can install CWM using one of the 31-c methods, and use CWM to install custom roms as long as they don't have bootloaders, correct? Or does it not matter if the packages have bootloaders.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, I don't want to ruin anything here. I think it's safe to install the files that come from the 2c method but wont be doing anything else until I know it's safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should be fine. NONE of the ROMs you find on the I777 boards in Ported or Original will have bootloaders so no worries. And yes after root use Mobile ODIN to install a zImage which will give you CWM. Highly recommend Siyah 2.6.14. Please stick to just trying some GB ROM's and get the hang of making nandroids etc before moving on the ICS ROM's.
D3M3NT3D_L0RD said:
Should be fine. NONE of the ROMs you find on the I777 boards in Ported or Original will have bootloaders so no worries. And yes after root use Mobile ODIN to install a zImage which will give you CWM. Highly recommend Siyah 2.6.14. Please stick to just trying some GB ROM's and get the hang of making nandroids etc before moving on the ICS ROM's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I get is an apk file, I've been searching all night for a zimage... The file says i777 flashkernal, and it's just an .apk. Mobile Odin can't see it unless I name it zimage with no file extension. I tried that and it seemed like it was soft-bricked so I used odin on the PC to reflash the stock root think mentioned in the thread.
I was thinking of CM7 if it will work flashing as a zip from CWM, if I can get CWM on there that is.
ds1904.ds said:
All I get is an apk file, I've been searching all night for a zimage... The file says i777 flashkernal, and it's just an .apk. Mobile Odin can't see it unless I name it zimage with no file extension. I tried that and it seemed like it was soft-bricked so I used odin on the PC to reflash the stock root think mentioned in the thread.
I was thinking of CM7 if it will work flashing as a zip from CWM, if I can get CWM on there that is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where in the hell are you getting an apk from? If you dl Siyah or Entropy kernel, the zImage is in the zip. Pull that and put it on your SD card
I am interested because I was in your position. Did the ICS leak 1 day too early and lost root. So what method did you use to go back to GB? Did you have to flash a new bootloader or was that all done in one package? Was it Entropy's "return" method?
I was seeing if I can keep the ICS leak and root. A dev here advised that all I need to do is re-flash the zip filed ICS leak. However since I have no root, I can't CWM recovery...I don't know another method to flash the rooted ICS leak.
So I'm thinking I have to wait for an exploit, or flash back to an old GB, root, ensure I have CWM, nandroid (I nandroided my rooted GB before upgrading to ICS leak), then flash the zip ICS leak.
Does anyone else have alternatives?
ds1904.ds said:
Okay I think I'm starting to figure this out. I downgraded to 2.3.4 using an unroot/stock method I found, using odin and it worked. It would not accept the OTA update however, but I believe this is due to the ULCL2 baseband? Someone correct me if I am wrong.
Now I am going to use method 2c found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311081
to root and restore to the other baseband, which also happens to be the one that's best for my area I believe. From there, I can install CWM using one of the 31-c methods, and use CWM to install custom roms as long as they don't have bootloaders, correct? Or does it not matter if the packages have bootloaders.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, I don't want to ruin anything here. I think it's safe to install the files that come from the 2c method but wont be doing anything else until I know it's safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMH...root is not needed for CWM... a custom kernel is
Pirateghost said:
SMH...root is not needed for CWM... a custom kernel is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True but to do it with Mobile ODIN you need root
ds1904.ds said:
After some more reading, here's another question as well:
Does the SGS2 technically have an unlocked bootloader already? It just counts how many times you install non samsung firmware?
Also just so I know that I'm not wrong, are Kernal, Firmware, and "Roms" all the same thing? How can you tell if a "package" or "rom" comes with bootloaders, as this is something I apparently am supposed to avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"ROM" is an improper name for the firmware flashed to a phone. (the memory in question isn't read-only by any means. In Windows Mobile devices, you had to flash the firmware image all in one go - but on Android, /system contents can be modified on the fly as they're a normal file system.) garyd9 started a little crusade against the term ROM and I try to continue it (but I slip up sometimes).
Kernel contains the most basic low-level hardware drivers for a device. It's a small portion of the firmware for a phone. The remaining portion is the system partition - /system - kernel and /system together make a complete firmware package.
And you are correct - our bootloaders are fundamentally unlocked, the only code signing enforcement is the custom binary counter. It can be reset either with the jig or with TriangleAway (TriangleAway requires ICS)
Entropy512 said:
"ROM" is an improper name for the firmware flashed to a phone. (the memory in question isn't read-only by any means. In Windows Mobile devices, you had to flash the firmware image all in one go - but on Android, /system contents can be modified on the fly as they're a normal file system.) garyd9 started a little crusade against the term ROM and I try to continue it (but I slip up sometimes).
Kernel contains the most basic low-level hardware drivers for a device. It's a small portion of the firmware for a phone. The remaining portion is the system partition - /system - kernel and /system together make a complete firmware package.
And you are correct - our bootloaders are fundamentally unlocked, the only code signing enforcement is the custom binary counter. It can be reset either with the jig or with TriangleAway (TriangleAway requires ICS)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you chimed in. I now feel stupid at my lack of knowledge
I almost think that the issue is that your "unzipping" the zip image files that you are downloading.
Why is it so important that you keep the phone in a reversable mode? Are you planning on returning it or perhaps selling it and do not want it to be known that you have flashed it?
Personally I am not knowledgeable enough to offer much advice, I just read the forums as most and try to put together the peices of information that fit my situation.
The Dev forum is by far the best place to look and get your questions answered and there are a bunch of guides on step by step processes. The only real advice I can give you is to google each term and understand what it is you need and then post your question.
My friend has an unlocked galaxy note, and i have a few questions as i am new to this phone, and am new to the whole carrier unlocked deal.
The phone is carrier unlocked and is running on t-mobile, i am afraid use odin to root the device because the files say the are made for the At&t version. The reason im afraid is because if i loose the carrier unlocked status with this at&t file i will be unable to get it back. (money issue) What i would like to know is if i use odin to flash certain files, and to root and install clockworkmod recovery, will i loose the carrier unlock, or mess anything else up in the process.
Also i have searched all over the forum to find out what the "flash counter" is, and have been unable to find out much information on it. Is there a certain number of flashes before it bricks the phone? I'm completely lost...
Can i flash modems, and radios, on the stock rom, because that is what my friends wants. Mainly the reason for doing this is so he can have faster data speeds on T-mobile's network.
Can someone kindly walk me through the process, as iv been doing research for the past couple days and am still totally lost, maybe even include links. Your help would be GREATLY appreciated.
Once unlocked, always unlocked.
The flash counter just counts the number of kernel flashes you do with Odin. Yes you can flash modems on the stock ROM.
studacris said:
Once unlocked, always unlocked.
The flash counter just counts the number of kernel flashes you do with Odin. Yes you can flash modems on the stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is a modem different from a radio, because I wanted to use the blaze radios to get better speeds? Can I us those on stock.
Devices:
Motorola DroidX
Motorola Droid
Motorola Cliq
Asus Transformer
Lg Revolution
www.teendroid.com
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46947
studacris said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46947
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link leads to blank page, think it was messed up.
Devices:
Motorola DroidX
Motorola Droid
Motorola Cliq
Asus Transformer
Lg Revolution
www.teendroid.com
My mistake...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1573568
That should work
First off, sorry if this has already been covered somewhere and I'm just not finding it.. I've been searching and reading a lot and l am learning a ton, I just cant seem to find an answer for sure..
Note - I am mostly a 'noob'. I have had other sammy phones (a Galaxy S and a Gnex) and have rooted them and put CWM and TWRP on em, and flashed many kinds of custom roms and stuff,, soft bricked em several times,, had to use ODIN to flash em back to stock and start over, followed instructional threads to hack around using ADB and Fastboot commands for different things, etc..Basic playing around with stuff like that. So I sorta know my way around the basics of playing with at least Sammy brand phones.
I recently bought a nice used S4 to play with. I immediately start looking at root instructions and bootloaders and roms,, and ran dead into the brick wall of it already having the ME7 devil on it and thus me being locked out beyond rooting. Since I wanted an S4 specifically for playing with ROMs, I sold that stock ME7 S4 and bought a different one that someone had already put TWRP on and a custom ROM. So now I should be good to go flashing away.
So my question is, if I ever do want to try running a stock ME7 rom sometime, is there one I can flash while playing around flashing trying out different roms that would NOT somehow lock the bootloader? I'm not talking about accepting a Verizon OTA update, I know better than that. I'm talking about manually flashing roms (I am assuming if I flashed a 100% stock Verizon rom it might screw myself and lock the bootloader,, maybe I am mistaken on that assumption idk). I'm seeing the "bonestock me7" rom here on XDA, would that be safe to try for a stock ME7 experience?
ok i'll shut up now,, sorry for the long post.
You're good to go. Just look in the dev section for one to your liking. I've been running BoneStock but there are others including one from andybones which completely stock. Stay clear of any ROM requiring you to Odin as I'd worry about that.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Cool. Thanks much for the help!
Basic operations
sohead said:
First off, sorry if this has already been covered somewhere and I'm just not finding it.. I've been searching and reading a lot and l am learning a ton, I just cant seem to find an answer for sure..
Note - I am mostly a 'noob'. I have had other sammy phones (a Galaxy S and a Gnex) and have rooted them and put CWM and TWRP on em, and flashed many kinds of custom roms and stuff,, soft bricked em several times,, had to use ODIN to flash em back to stock and start over, followed instructional threads to hack around using ADB and Fastboot commands for different things, etc..Basic playing around with stuff like that. So I sorta know my way around the basics of playing with at least Sammy brand phones.
I recently bought a nice used S4 to play with. I immediately start looking at root instructions and bootloaders and roms,, and ran dead into the brick wall of it already having the ME7 devil on it and thus me being locked out beyond rooting. Since I wanted an S4 specifically for playing with ROMs, I sold that stock ME7 S4 and bought a different one that someone had already put TWRP on and a custom ROM. So now I should be good to go flashing away.
So my question is, if I ever do want to try running a stock ME7 rom sometime, is there one I can flash while playing around flashing trying out different roms that would NOT somehow lock the bootloader? I'm not talking about accepting a Verizon OTA update, I know better than that. I'm talking about manually flashing roms (I am assuming if I flashed a 100% stock Verizon rom it might screw myself and lock the bootloader,, maybe I am mistaken on that assumption idk). I'm seeing the "bonestock me7" rom here on XDA, would that be safe to try for a stock ME7 experience?
ok i'll shut up now,, sorry for the long post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Writing the nand memory on this handset is nearly impossible through conventional means, suggest a maintenance jig for the board.
heyazzo said:
Writing the nand memory on this handset is nearly impossible through conventional means, suggest a maintenance jig for the board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats the "nand memory"? the area of memory where the recovery/bootloader code is stored? and what do you mean by conventional means? like using CWM or TWRP I assume? what about ODIN? from prior experience ODIN has written over a custom bootloader that I had loaded with a stock one (if I remember right anyway, I think I've lost my custom CWM or TWRP bootloaders by flashing a stock rom via ODIN,, back on the Gnex, I have never tried that with an S4 but assume it would be the same deal). And whats a "maintenance jig"?
lol sorry for so many questions,, warned ya I was a NOOB
No such thing as a dumb question.
sohead said:
Whats the "nand memory"? the area of memory where the recovery/bootloader code is stored? and what do you mean by conventional means? like using CWM or TWRP I assume? what about ODIN? from prior experience ODIN has written over a custom bootloader that I had loaded with a stock one (if I remember right anyway, I think I've lost my custom CWM or TWRP bootloaders by flashing a stock rom via ODIN,, back on the Gnex, I have never tried that with an S4 but assume it would be the same deal). And whats a "maintenance jig"?
lol sorry for so many questions,, warned ya I was a NOOB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was always curious about things that I didn't understand. First, try to understand the security that's already on this device, then decide if an update really did kill one qfuse out of say 10-12 on the board depending on the lifecycle they gave this particular set of commo gear. Search MSM 8960 security, then get back to me via PM, I want to help you any way I can.