[Q] BoneStock reboot to recovery ME7 issue? - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4

Not sure if this has been posted before, I did some searching but there are so many threads and posts I couldn't look through them all. So I apologize in advance if this has been posted before.
I have a Galaxy S4 on ME7, rooted with SafeStrap installed. I had a bit of an issue last night, I installed BoneStock on a custom ROM slot as instructed, and it booted up just fine. WiFi didn't work (it just wouldn't turn on), and I figured that could be because of the modules not being there or something, I remember reading in the SafeStrap thread that there's a zip you're supposed to flash after flashing a ROM that I assumed had those modules within. In the BoneStock power options menu (I think, can't exactly remember) there was an option to reboot to recovery. I pressed that, and it sent me to download mode with no apparent way of getting out. Did a battery pull and tried the Volume Up/Power combination, which didn't work I assume because the bootloader is locked so the recovery isn't actually installed where the regular recovery is? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway I ended up getting back onto stock ME7 by reflashing through Odin and it kept all my data. I sent a few texts, just played around on the phone this morning but I had to reinstall recovery through SafeStrap because the flash got rid of it. So I reinstalled recovery, rebooted into it, and it still had Custom Rom slot 1 active. I changed it to stock ROM, rebooted, and the phone looked exactly as it did in custom rom slot 1, complete with the texts I had sent after reflashing.
Sorry for the wall of text, but here are my questions:
1) Is that normal for reboot to recovery to not work on ME7 ROMs? I assume it is, just wanted to make sure I hadn't done anything wrong.
2) Why were my texts still there even after switching it through SafeStrap to reboot to the stock ROM, when I had apparently sent/received the texts in Custom Rom 1? And why was all the data I had in the stock ROM slot in the Custom ROM slot after reflashing even though I never installed anything to that slot except BoneStock, then reflashed stock?
Sorry if these are silly questions, but I haven't had an Android for a while (got an iPhone 5 for my last phone, such a mistake) so my knowledge of rooting/recovery/etc is a bit lacking.

gmonox said:
Not sure if this has been posted before, I did some searching but there are so many threads and posts I couldn't look through them all. So I apologize in advance if this has been posted before.
I have a Galaxy S4 on ME7, rooted with SafeStrap installed. I had a bit of an issue last night, I installed BoneStock on a custom ROM slot as instructed, and it booted up just fine. WiFi didn't work (it just wouldn't turn on), and I figured that could be because of the modules not being there or something, I remember reading in the SafeStrap thread that there's a zip you're supposed to flash after flashing a ROM that I assumed had those modules within. In the BoneStock power options menu (I think, can't exactly remember) there was an option to reboot to recovery. I pressed that, and it sent me to download mode with no apparent way of getting out. Did a battery pull and tried the Volume Up/Power combination, which didn't work I assume because the bootloader is locked so the recovery isn't actually installed where the regular recovery is? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway I ended up getting back onto stock ME7 by reflashing through Odin and it kept all my data. I sent a few texts, just played around on the phone this morning but I had to reinstall recovery through SafeStrap because the flash got rid of it. So I reinstalled recovery, rebooted into it, and it still had Custom Rom slot 1 active. I changed it to stock ROM, rebooted, and the phone looked exactly as it did in custom rom slot 1, complete with the texts I had sent after reflashing.
Sorry for the wall of text, but here are my questions:
1) Is that normal for reboot to recovery to not work on ME7 ROMs? I assume it is, just wanted to make sure I hadn't done anything wrong.
2) Why were my texts still there even after switching it through SafeStrap to reboot to the stock ROM, when I had apparently sent/received the texts in Custom Rom 1? And why was all the data I had in the stock ROM slot in the Custom ROM slot after reflashing even though I never installed anything to that slot except BoneStock, then reflashed stock?
Sorry if these are silly questions, but I haven't had an Android for a while (got an iPhone 5 for my last phone, such a mistake) so my knowledge of rooting/recovery/etc is a bit lacking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if this helps but I never boot into Recovery directly from the ROMs. I always just go to regular reboot and then press the menu key to get into SS.

vzwnexus said:
Not sure if this helps but I never boot into Recovery directly from the ROMs. I always just go to regular reboot and then press the menu key to get into SS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct. The best way is use power and just reboot. The one in the ROM is meant to take you to the real recovery not ss

Related

[GUIDE][ROM FLASHING][WALK THRU] Easy to do! All Questions Welcome!

This will help anyone who keeps having flashing issues.
More detailed instructions in my GUIDE!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
THIS IS ONE QUICK/SIMPLE ERROR FREE ROM FLASHING PROCEDURE
This should eliminate a few posts saying, stuck in download mode, stuck at logo. just vibrates and them MANY other issues that somehow, everyone seems to find.
Here is my quick rom flashing process I use ALWAYS (yes always)
THINGS YOU NEED ON extSDCARD
1. Extra kernels (2 or 3 you know works for your device)
2. Optional: 2 recoveries that can be flashed (I use CWM & TWRP)
3. Optional: apps.zip (a zip created from Titantium BU, containing Root Explorer, TU Backup, Quickpic, ES File Explorer and Terminal Emulator)
Flashing the rom: TOUCHWIZ/AOSP ROMS
1. Backup current rom (to the extsdcard)
2. Complete wipe, (I do complete, some people do not) Complete = No Issues [FACTORY RESET + CLEAR CACHE + CLEAR DALVIK CACHE + CLEAR DATA]
3. Flash the rom
4. Flash the kernel (your device kernel) (I know some roms have their own kernel) this is where your problems start.
AGAIN: FLASH YOUR KERNEL, you KNOW it works. 1 more time FLASH YOUR KERNEL. (you can experiment with other kernels after you boot)
AOSP ROMS - require you to flash gapps before you boot. [This is not required for TouchWiz roms]
5. Boot the rom.
FINISHED!!!! SUCCESS!!!
Total time to flash a rom:
7-10min
Errors - NONE
This goes for every rom in my guide.
TIPS:
This flash procedure is for Touchwiz Roms, if you are flashing AOSP roms, you must flash the gapps package associated with the rom you are flashing.
**** SGH-I337M Users: Often requires flashing a different kernel than the one included in most ATT ROMS. Any GT-i9505 kernel will work and Adam kernel and Faux kernel are both confirmed working for us Canadian users.
Note: Flash KERNEL directly after ROM then reboot device.
[Special thanks to blyndfyre for this helpful tip].
The extra recovery I flash if a rom does not like the recovery I am using.
Yes, you can flash recoveries back and forth.
Apps.zip I flash after the rom is up & running. This I use to get the rom setup (like root explorer and others needed)
I am in no way responsible for anything that may do damage to any device - Use these tips at your own risk - period!
If you found this useful in any way, please hit the THANKS button for my effort.
RESERVED
TheAxman said:
Any questions? Anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been running into a lot of issues when trying to flash different ROMs. For instance, right now I'm on CleanROM 1.6 - I just tried to install PureGv2.
Steps I took:
Have Goo and ROM Manager installed after clean install of CleanROM 1.6
Flash CWM from ROM Manager
Install Recovery Script from Goo
Reboot into recover from Goo
TWRP loads
Wipe data, cache, dalvik, etc
Install PureGv2
I forget the error off the top of my head but it doesn't install
In a nutshell I'm asking what am I doing wrong? Do I need to flash another kernel?
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
TheAxman said:
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
harrytery said:
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
TheAxman said:
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright sounds good. Flashing back to stock later today then re-rooting
thanks for the help
Remember always do a BACKUP before you do anything.
First off, big thanks for this thread.
Now I'm running Cleanrom 1.5. If I wanted to install a new rom can someone please explain exactly what I do to go about it? As jargon free as possible would be awesome.
Sent from my SCH-I545
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Vampyre111 said:
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not stress enough HOW IMPORTANT THE KERNEL IS!
Hmm so everyone is a now a Oriental Flash Master from the far East now huh?
What recovery is everyone using?
[updated: 07-12-2013]
Flashing Questions
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
xander45 said:
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you set the permissions for the app? That should work actually. Look at one of the apps in that directory, and set the permissions the same for the voice app. Reboot and see what happens.
Good luck.
May want to post this question also in my guide thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Painterface said:
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please bring the question over to my thread up above. It shows also what kernels to use. We will help there.
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
theoneknownasbob said:
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would flash the rom, and after, flash your verizon kernel, simple as that.

[Q] Not a noob, but my VZW S4 is driving my crazy! Locked down, No custom Roms

Requesting help. I am not a noob by any means, I have installed custom roms many times, and rooted many phones, and installed and used safestrap on several phones, but I cannot get ANY custom rom to install properly on my Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4, which is (was) rooted, with Safestrap 3.72, and MK2 firmware.
I was running the stock 4.3/mk2 firmware, with the latest busybox and supersu, and the latest safestrap, and safe root installed. I was able to successfully root the phone, and install safestrap, but even when I created a rom slot, gave it a name, wiped it completely, and then try to install one of the many 4.3/mk2 "Safe" roms, no rom will boot, once installed. It is so frustrating! I read somewhere that with the Verizon S4, and MK2 firmware, you could only install a rom in the stock rom slot, so I tried that, and now safestrap is gone, and the phone boots to a light blue screen with little green checkmarks. So I'm in the process of downloading the original MK2 firmware from Samsung and using Odin to restore. Anybody have any ideas? I'm thinking of quickly getting rid of the S4 while it still has some value.
mactechnm said:
Requesting help. I am not a noob by any means, I have installed custom roms many times, and rooted many phones, and installed and used safestrap on several phones, but I cannot get ANY custom rom to install properly on my Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4, which is (was) rooted, with Safestrap 3.72, and MK2 firmware.
I was running the stock 4.3/mk2 firmware, with the latest busybox and supersu, and the latest safestrap, and safe root installed. I was able to successfully root the phone, and install safestrap, but even when I created a rom slot, gave it a name, wiped it completely, and then try to install one of the many 4.3/mk2 "Safe" roms, no rom will boot, once installed. It is so frustrating! I read somewhere that with the Verizon S4, and MK2 firmware, you could only install a rom in the stock rom slot, so I tried that, and now safestrap is gone, and the phone boots to a light blue screen with little green checkmarks. So I'm in the process of downloading the original MK2 firmware from Samsung and using Odin to restore. Anybody have any ideas? I'm thinking of quickly getting rid of the S4 while it still has some value.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3.72 is for 4.4 KitKat and was made for the AT&T version of the S4, therefore, you are not able to create slots. You would need to install 3.71 and only flash 4.3 based roms. If you want 4.4 based roms you need to upgrade to NC5 and install 3.72, but you are only able to flash to the stock side.
There's plenty of info for you to read in the General section.
riker147 said:
3.72 is for 4.4 KitKat and was made for the AT&T version of the S4, therefore, you are not able to create slots. You would need to install 3.71 and only flash 4.3 based roms. If you want 4.4 based roms you need to upgrade to NC5 and install 3.72, but you are only able to flash to the stock side.
There's plenty of info for you to read in the General section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your response. Actually what I failed to mention is I did have 3.71 installed first, and I had the exact same problem. So it's not an issue with the safestrap version. And I have tried about 12 different ROMs. Including BajaROM-S4-Release-v-2.2 and BoneStock4.3_S4v2.1. As I said, I'm not a newbie at all, and I'm not about to hunt and peck for information again (which is what I've been doing for two days now). I wouldn't have asked for help if I had been successful in my search.
I have never had an issue installing any safestrap compatible rom...3.72 is strictly for android 4.4 and no rom slots...so no way you would ever get a rom installed using 3.72 on MK2 base build. As for 3.71...never heard of any issue with SS compatible roms for 3.71 not installing right. Really difficult to figure out what you are doing wrong from what you are giving us...
sent by safestrap powered echo v26
decaturbob said:
I have never had an issue installing any safestrap compatible rom...3.72 is strictly for android 4.4 and no rom slots...so no way you would ever get a rom installed using 3.72 on MK2 base build. As for 3.71...never heard of any issue with SS compatible roms for 3.71 not installing right. Really difficult to figure out what you are doing wrong from what you are giving us...
sent by safestrap powered echo v26
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, thanks for your help. I'm going to start with Odin. Wipe it all clean and start over. That's always the best option. Thanks!
basically, I'd follow this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2763834
I'd go back to MK2, root, BB, SS 3.71. Then go up to NC5 ROMs with SS 3.72. Wiping EVERYTHING along the way, system included, not just factory reset
Similar Issue
I not a noob either im very familiar with how this whole operation works.
I have a very similar issue as well I'm (unable to flash roms including my own recovery). I'm 100% knowledgeable on CM, but when it comes to Safestrap or TWRP base Recoveries I'm far from noon but not an expert so to say... Here's my issue. I have the NC5 firmware and once had the Hyperdrive RLS17.1 KK S4 Final.zip... I went back to the I545VRUFNC5-Stock-Root-Deodex.zip.... I recently attempted to download another ROM, (based on the same firmware of course) as soon as I attempted to flash it (which only took about 1 min and didn't work) I figured something was wrong. So I just decided to go back to my recovery that I've made a few moments ago. When I tried to do that. The msg " E: Unable to mount '/system' " appeared.
Now I've notice since then Wiping and Flashing return the same results.
There is no longer an OS on my S4... I can not Mount the System.
So I believe in stuck in Safestrap 3.72.
(Please let me know what other info you need, I spent the last couple of days trying to figure this out on my own, so far I'm losing the battle)
Please help guys.
same problem
mactechnm said:
Requesting help. I am not a noob by any means, I have installed custom roms many times, and rooted many phones, and installed and used safestrap on several phones, but I cannot get ANY custom rom to install properly on my Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4, which is (was) rooted, with Safestrap 3.72, and MK2 firmware.
I was running the stock 4.3/mk2 firmware, with the latest busybox and supersu, and the latest safestrap, and safe root installed. I was able to successfully root the phone, and install safestrap, but even when I created a rom slot, gave it a name, wiped it completely, and then try to install one of the many 4.3/mk2 "Safe" roms, no rom will boot, once installed. It is so frustrating! I read somewhere that with the Verizon S4, and MK2 firmware, you could only install a rom in the stock rom slot, so I tried that, and now safestrap is gone, and the phone boots to a light blue screen with little green checkmarks. So I'm in the process of downloading the original MK2 firmware from Samsung and using Odin to restore. Anybody have any ideas? I'm thinking of quickly getting rid of the S4 while it still has some value.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im having the same problem i am also frustrated i don't know what to do
Similar Issue
I know there must be a way... If only I can get it to mount the "system" and "systemorig"...
I'm going to play around with the Slots and the datas Size's and see what I come up with.
Pretty sure you will need to Odin the stock NC5 image and start over.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
jmgib said:
Pretty sure you will need to Odin the stock NC5 image and start over.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok. The Stock NC5 image... Great.
Where can I find the stock image?
If possible, could you please send a link?
Thanks in advance
damien302 said:
I not a noob either im very familiar with how this whole operation works.
I have a very similar issue as well I'm (unable to flash roms including my own recovery). I'm 100% knowledgeable on CM, but when it comes to Safestrap or TWRP base Recoveries I'm far from noon but not an expert so to say... Here's my issue. I have the NC5 firmware and once had the Hyperdrive RLS17.1 KK S4 Final.zip... I went back to the I545VRUFNC5-Stock-Root-Deodex.zip.... I recently attempted to download another ROM, (based on the same firmware of course) as soon as I attempted to flash it (which only took about 1 min and didn't work) I figured something was wrong. So I just decided to go back to my recovery that I've made a few moments ago. When I tried to do that. The msg " E: Unable to mount '/system' " appeared.
Now I've notice since then Wiping and Flashing return the same results.
There is no longer an OS on my S4... I can not Mount the System.
So I believe in stuck in Safestrap 3.72.
(Please let me know what other info you need, I spent the last couple of days trying to figure this out on my own, so far I'm losing the battle)
Please help guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shonnick01 said:
im having the same problem i am also frustrated i don't know what to do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only just saw these posts, I have not been on here for a week or so but if you are still having issues... As far as what went wrong to begin with, did you factory reset/advanvanced wipe all but the internal sd before flashing? Are you only installing into the 'stock' slot on SafeStrap? As far as the fix, if you are suck in Safestrap, you will need to boot into recovery mode, if possible and wipe/factory reset and then boot into download mode and flash one of these http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2735172 in Odin.
liljoe727 said:
I only just saw these posts, I have not been on here for a week or so but if you are still having issues... As far as what went wrong to begin with, did you factory reset/advanvanced wipe all but the internal sd before flashing? Are you only installing into the 'stock' slot on SafeStrap? As far as the fix, if you are suck in Safestrap, you will need to boot into recovery mode, if possible and wipe/factory reset and then boot into download mode and flash one of these http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2735172 in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot man. The is has been resolved...
I had to Odin the stock NC5 (exactly what you've just mentioned in your response.) I had to flash it twice actually. The first time only took about 3 mins. I then tried to restore my backup, but during the time it restari SS (when the flash was approximately 90% done) I then went to restart the system and then received the notice "No OS loaded). So I wiped all except my SD card and then I just thought to myself to just try and Odin the stock NC5 one more time (it was getting late and I was about to give up). On the 2nd attempi it took almost 3 times the length as before (15-20mins) when it finished, it bypass the " unlock Samsung screen " and displayed the stock splash screen and audio then the Verizon screen. ( I was happier the a crackhead at a free crack-give-away)...
So I want to thank you for responding, I was determined not to give up,, and it was really close before I was about throw in the towel... Thanks a bunch. (You're response was exactly what I did last night)... I was about to update my issue as soon as I fixed it las night was it was so late and I was really sleepy, then I wake up to your message with the exact fix.
Thanks a lot ☺☺

[Q] How To Install Custom Software On VZW GS4

I've had my brand new SCH-I545 since thanks giving now. I've been trying to root and get a custom ROM on the phone ever since then and have gotten closer and closer but haven't been able to quite get everything to co-operate.
I may catch scorn for posting such a generic question on a flagship phone but I've been up all night for 2 weeks now trying to get this to work following numerous tutorials but with android everything seems to get outdated when there are so many software variables at hand that are constantly changing like firmwares and build numbers. I've included all the info since it all seems to be vital and have tried to seperate tasks by paragraph so you can skip over what you feel may be arbritrary. So if I could get an up to date breakdown on how I could succeed in my endevour I'd appreciate it greatly.
Out the box I have a 4.4.2 and NK1 build number. I was finally able to get root access through towel root after flashing back to NC5. However even after flashing NC5 through odin, about phone still says my baseband and build number end I545VRUFNK1 but towelroot no longer gives me the "phone not supported" message and I'm able to succesfully atain root access, confirmed by root checker. Is that normal?
So I have root now but want a custom ROM. VZW locks the bootloaders on new phones so I believe that means I can't use a custom recovery like CWM. I've tried and tried but it doesn't work, neither does the CWM Rom manager app. I've managed to get a custom recovery through installing BusyBox and Safestrap. (I had to go through several apk's to get Safestrap to work. Usually I would be able to enter TWRP recovery through it but the recovery won't respond to any of my touches. The power button still works to turn the screen on and off so it is not frozen but it won't respond when I swipe to unlock it. Even now that I have it working, if the screen locks I'm unable to unlock it even if TWRP is performing a task in the backround and clearly not frozen.
One time I was able to more or less successfully flash LiquidSmooth (LS-KK-v3.2-2014-10-04-jflte.zip). This was the closest I ever got to my goal as the ROM succesfully booted up and I was able to browse the home screen and change all the settings and it was a moment of joy until I went to settings and switched wifi on it just wouldn't. It either just wouldn't switch or would switch right back and grey itself out I don't remember exactly. My phone had no service either for calls, text or 4G. So everything worked internally it just couldnt comunicate with any signals coming from outside the phone. Why would this be? If I manage to boot LiquidSmooth again is there something I could download to make the wifi/service work? (I could download through USB or Odin.)
After this I tried to flash CM but the phone wouldnt even start after installation and would just bootloop so I had to flash back to stock to make it work again. Then I tried LiquidSmooth several more times but now I get stuck at the bootscreen for LiquidSmooth where it has the logo and the backround flashing. I've let the animation loop for several minutes multiple times before doing a battery pull.
Basically for 2 weeks I've been flashing NC5->rooting->flashing NK1 back->installing safestrap->installing a rom->soft bricking->flashing back to stock ROM and starting again
Is it possible if I keep doing this proccess that it will just work one time? It may sound silly but I kind of believe just because I've had varrying degrees of success following the exact same procedure.
And when I install a ROM in TWRP I go Wipe->(swipe factory reset)->Install->(select LS.zip and wait for it to say its succesfully installed)->Swipe one more time to wipe cache->Reboot after this the phone either fails to start up or loops the LiquidSmooth animation. As I said, one time it started succesfully.
Let me know what any of this information leads you to believe and if you may have a sollution in mind. Huge thanks to anyone that read this and will try to help me. I've had this phone 2 weeks now and would like to start actually using it.
unorthodocks said:
I've had my brand new SCH-I545 since thanks giving now. I've been trying to root and get a custom ROM on the phone ever since then and have gotten closer and closer but haven't been able to quite get everything to co-operate.
I may catch scorn for posting such a generic question on a flagship phone but I've been up all night for 2 weeks now trying to get this to work following numerous tutorials but with android everything seems to get outdated when there are so many software variables at hand that are constantly changing like firmwares and build numbers. I've included all the info since it all seems to be vital and have tried to seperate tasks by paragraph so you can skip over what you feel may be arbritrary. So if I could get an up to date breakdown on how I could succeed in my endevour I'd appreciate it greatly.
Out the box I have a 4.4.2 and NK1 build number. I was finally able to get root access through towel root after flashing back to NC5. However even after flashing NC5 through odin, about phone still says my baseband and build number end I545VRUFNK1 but towelroot no longer gives me the "phone not supported" message and I'm able to succesfully atain root access, confirmed by root checker. Is that normal?
So I have root now but want a custom ROM. VZW locks the bootloaders on new phones so I believe that means I can't use a custom recovery like CWM. I've tried and tried but it doesn't work, neither does the CWM Rom manager app. I've managed to get a custom recovery through installing BusyBox and Safestrap. (I had to go through several apk's to get Safestrap to work. Usually I would be able to enter TWRP recovery through it but the recovery won't respond to any of my touches. The power button still works to turn the screen on and off so it is not frozen but it won't respond when I swipe to unlock it. Even now that I have it working, if the screen locks I'm unable to unlock it even if TWRP is performing a task in the backround and clearly not frozen.
One time I was able to more or less successfully flash LiquidSmooth (LS-KK-v3.2-2014-10-04-jflte.zip). This was the closest I ever got to my goal as the ROM succesfully booted up and I was able to browse the home screen and change all the settings and it was a moment of joy until I went to settings and switched wifi on it just wouldn't. It either just wouldn't switch or would switch right back and grey itself out I don't remember exactly. My phone had no service either for calls, text or 4G. So everything worked internally it just couldnt comunicate with any signals coming from outside the phone. Why would this be? If I manage to boot LiquidSmooth again is there something I could download to make the wifi/service work? (I could download through USB or Odin.)
After this I tried to flash CM but the phone wouldnt even start after installation and would just bootloop so I had to flash back to stock to make it work again. Then I tried LiquidSmooth several more times but now I get stuck at the bootscreen for LiquidSmooth where it has the logo and the backround flashing. I've let the animation loop for several minutes multiple times before doing a battery pull.
Basically for 2 weeks I've been flashing NC5->rooting->flashing NK1 back->installing safestrap->installing a rom->soft bricking->flashing back to stock ROM and starting again
Is it possible if I keep doing this proccess that it will just work one time? It may sound silly but I kind of believe just because I've had varrying degrees of success following the exact same procedure.
And when I install a ROM in TWRP I go Wipe->(swipe factory reset)->Install->(select LS.zip and wait for it to say its succesfully installed)->Swipe one more time to wipe cache->Reboot after this the phone either fails to start up or loops the LiquidSmooth animation. As I said, one time it started succesfully.
Let me know what any of this information leads you to believe and if you may have a sollution in mind. Huge thanks to anyone that read this and will try to help me. I've had this phone 2 weeks now and would like to start actually using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue is that safestrap is incompatible with the roms you are trying to use. It can be only used with Touchwiz based roms(i.e. using the stock kernel). Try flashing hyperdrive rom. Also, Im not familiar if NK1 can use towelroot and safestrap well. My recommendation would be to
1. clean wipe to nc5
2. towel root
3. install safestrap
4. flash ONLY roms that say they were safestrap compatible.
5. Flash any patches, modems, etc.
Weeks? How about spending a few hours reading up on what you can and can't do with your phone.
Raymondlikesroot said:
The issue is that safestrap is incompatible with the roms you are trying to use. It can be only used with Touchwiz based roms(i.e. using the stock kernel). Try flashing hyperdrive rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks, I was going to try to flash hyperdrive but the ROM I found was 1.2GB and I didn't have that much space on my SD. I'll borrow an empty one and try it again. Is it not odd that LS did a full boot if it's not compatible with safestrap? And are there any other Touchwiz roms? I don't like Touchwiz and am trying to get as far from it as I can but if I could just delete the bloatware (which I can still only disable after towel root), get SD access and get rid of the battery restrictions.
unorthodocks said:
Ok, thanks, I was going to try to flash hyperdrive but the ROM I found was 1.2GB and I didn't have that much space on my SD. I'll borrow an empty one and try it again. Is it not odd that LS did a full boot if it's not compatible with safestrap? And are there any other Touchwiz roms? I don't like Touchwiz and am trying to get as far from it as I can but if I could just delete the bloatware (which I can still only disable after towel root), get SD access and get rid of the battery restrictions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason that LS did a full boot is because certain aosp roms can function with a touchwiz kernel. However, the result is always buggy. There is s4 verizon general thread talking about this.
There are many other tw roms. Just go to andriod devlopment! On the top of my head, I can think of eclipse, hyperdrive, echoe, and empty galaxy.

[Q] Rooted, but can't install custom recovery...

Ok, so I've rooted and put custom roms on numerous phones. I've been trying to put a custom recovery, twrp or cwm, whatever, on my wife's phone, but have got a wall. I know for sure, 100% that I am rooted. I tired to install twrp and cwm via their respective apps, ends up in either bootloop trying to boot into recovery (and FYI, the screen shows that a custom recovery is installed, just doesn't load into recovery and restarts). And tried both via Odin, but got the same result. Have never ran into this problem before with any of my phone's, all of the galaxy's and Galaxy Note's since the S2. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks homies!
Just to add, yes I made sure double checked, triple checked that I was installing the correct recovery for the phone model. Also, she has done all the ota updates that sprint has pushed as of last week (2/9/15).
Psychotic-Cerebellum said:
Ok, so I've rooted and put custom roms on numerous phones. I've been trying to put a custom recovery, twrp or cwm, whatever, on my wife's phone, but have got a wall. I know for sure, 100% that I am rooted. I tired to install twrp and cwm via their respective apps, ends up in either bootloop trying to boot into recovery (and FYI, the screen shows that a custom recovery is installed, just doesn't load into recovery and restarts). And tried both via Odin, but got the same result. Have never ran into this problem before with any of my phone's, all of the galaxy's and Galaxy Note's since the S2. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks homies!
Just to add, yes I made sure double checked, triple checked that I was installing the correct recovery for the phone model. Also, she has done all the ota updates that sprint has pushed as of last week (2/9/15).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, from your post it looks like you have done this before. To be sure lets go through the motions one more time.
Your device is updated to 4.4.4 NK4 the latest KitKat version. It's rooted you have supersu icon and run a root checker. First download again ( in case you got a bad download ) a copy of Philz CWM version 6.48.4 here is the link https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/hlte/ use "phil'z_touch_6.48.6-hlte.tar.md5" . I like to use odin version v1.85 it's little older but very stable, here is a link https://mega.co.nz/#!oA5xzTAL!LXoVWB...ZlOMSWdRGVX6Uo now flash the .tar file with odin. Make sure you let device boot up on it's own back to the OS, do not pull the cable and boot the device yourself. Then try and boot into recovery.
If it bootloops again, I would backup all your data to the PC desktop, and then do a factory reset get back to bone stock ( that means when your in download mode it says Samsung Official status not custom ) so many times I have seen folks with an unrooted device where the bootloader still says custom and you end up with a dirty flash or worse. It may take a couple factory resets to get back to stock, it doesn't always take the first time. When I flash a custom rom and then decide to go back to stock, I flash the rom two or three times to make sure I'm bone stock.
If the factory reset doesn't work you may have to flash a new stock NK4 OS. Then root again and install the recovery. Here is my thread with all the info you need http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-sprint/general/samsung-note-3-rom-flashin-basics-t2896440 , Enjoy !!!
Thanks for taking the time to give me a detailed response. Sounds like I'm gonna have to wait till Wednesday or Thursday when im off work and have some time to do this, but yeah, I was thinking maybe just a factory reset, but I'll use your links and try it one more time first. I'll let ya know. Thanks again
Do you have another link to the older Odin (1.85).the link says the file isn't there... Thanks again
Never got to test it out, but she didn't really want a custom rom anyway, just the WiFi hotspot, and I finally found a method that works, big shout out to idone for his awesome app. If anyone else is looking for WiFi hotspot without root that sees this, check out his tread in the apps and themes, for this phone. Worked like a charm. Thanks again jimzweb1. Much appreciate the reply!
Psychotic-Cerebellum said:
Never got to test it out, but she didn't really want a custom rom anyway, just the WiFi hotspot, and I finally found a method that works, big shout out to idone for his awesome app. If anyone else is looking for WiFi hotspot without root that sees this, check out his tread in the apps and themes, for this phone. Worked like a charm. Thanks again jimzweb1. Much appreciate the reply!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, Ya idone is the man when it comes to enabling the mobile hotspot be careful what you click with app. I will correct that link. Thanks
Psychotic-Cerebellum said:
Ok, so I've rooted and put custom roms on numerous phones. I've been trying to put a custom recovery, twrp or cwm, whatever, on my wife's phone, but have got a wall. I know for sure, 100% that I am rooted. I tired to install twrp and cwm via their respective apps, ends up in either bootloop trying to boot into recovery (and FYI, the screen shows that a custom recovery is installed, just doesn't load into recovery and restarts). And tried both via Odin, but got the same result. Have never ran into this problem before with any of my phone's, all of the galaxy's and Galaxy Note's since the S2. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks homies!
Just to add, yes I made sure double checked, triple checked that I was installing the correct recovery for the phone model. Also, she has done all the ota updates that sprint has pushed as of last week (2/9/15).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the problem Knox security is getting harder flash engineering boot loader again then try rashr in app store to flash philz

Installed bootloader without rooting, now phone won't boot, can get into recovery

Here's what I did with a new T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S5:
- Started phone in download mode (started it with Volume Down, Home, and Power buttons) and connected it to computer.
- Started Odin3v185, saw yellow COM box.
- Clicked PDA button and selected philz_touch_6.26.2-klte.tar.md5 file.
- Clicked Start button, flashing went fine, phone reset and everything was cool, still with stock ROM. I was able to boot into Philz recovery to verify that flashing worked.
- As part of my goal of installing XtreStoLite ROM 2.2 (Lollipop), the following steps were to install the modem and bootloader for that ROM.
- Started phone in download mode and connected it to computer.
- Started Odin3.09, saw blue COM box.
- Clicked BL button, and selected G900T-LP-UVU1DOB1-BOOTLOADER.tar.md5.
- Clicked CP button, and selected G900T-LP-UVU1DOB1-MODEM.tar.md5.
- Clicked Start to flash. Phone reset, but it froze at the Samsung logo.
I gave it about a half hour just to make sure it wasn't just taking it's time with this first boot after the update, but it stayed at the Samsung logo. Only way to turn it off was to remove the battery. I'm still able to boot into Philz, so I figured a way to fix it might be to just go ahead and install the ROM. So I selected the "install from zip" option and installed XtreStoLite_ROM_v2.2_LP_XXU1BOD3.zip. Now the startup logo is a bit different, but it still stays frozen at the logo. I know from previous times installing this ROM that it does usually take awhile (maybe 5 minutes) on the first boot after installing, but I let it sit again for about 30 minutes with no luck.
The only thing I can see that I did differently this time, which I know realize was dumb, was skipping the step after flashing Philz where I boot into it and install UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.37.zip to root the device. I thought that I'd be able to install the bootloader, modem, and ROM and end up with a rooted OS, but I'm guessing that rooting is separate from those things, and they can't succeed until the phone has been rooted.
So... what can I do now? I'm trying to install the stock ROM (G900T_TMB_G900TUVU1CNK2_G900TTMB1CNK2_original.zip), but Philz gives me a "installation aborted" error before it even starts, with no other error messages. I also suspect I should install the original kitkat bootloader+modem, but I'm not sure where to find those (searching yields a lot of different results).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
The bootloop must be related to the bootloader/modem you've flashed. SU will allow root access once booted, but it won't prevent the system from booting if you skip it. Are you simply trying to root? FWIW, I'd recommend skipping Lollipop altogether, Marshmallow is night and day better than Lollipop. Flash the complete factory image of one of the Marshmallow releases, then flash your recovery and install SU. There are a couple of good, debloated Marshmallow roms available.
I was able to get out of the situation by flashing a stock ROM from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo.../compilation-s5-g900t-stock-firmware-t3042400
I first flashed the stock modem and bootloader, though I'm not sure that was required because I think they're included in the ROM itself.
Used the latest 4.4.2 ROM and NK2 bootloader+modem, just because I'm pretty sure it was 4.4.2 that was on the phone when I got it.
Retried my procedure, this time rooting + disabling KNOX before flashing the Lollipop bootloader+modem from the ROM's install instructions, but I still ran into the same "freeze at boot" problem. I don't know what could be the issue, as I've done this exact procedure with two previous S5s. Not really looking to check out Marshmallow ROMs, just because I'm short on time these days, and after trying out a handful over the years, the XtreStoLite is by far the best for me.... really the perfect combo of stock Android with some of the improvements offered by TouchWiz, with all the tweaks to fix annoying "features" that I want fixed (for example, the removal of that damn "are you sure you want to increase the volume? It could damage your hearing" warning when you connect headphones and try to turn up the volume). Also, just stable and fast, compared to most/all the others I've tried.
Sounds to me as if you need stock Marshmallow with a custom recovery and Exposed. Mine is fast as hell, extremely frugal on battery, and Exposed has got rid of all the annoying TW "features", like the volume warning you mention (also, expanded notifications on lockscreen, battery full notification gone, circle battery, etc, etc). There are also alternatives to stock that are good, I tried one a couple of weeks ago that I think I'm probably going to go back to. Lollipop is horrible after using KitKat, Marshmallow brings back the KitKat experience but with dramatically improved battery life. You'll also get some Stagefright improvements.
Sorry for the delayed response, been too busy to deal with this for a couple weeks. How exactly do I get a stock Marshmallow with custom recovery and Exposed? Don't I already have the custom recovery covered with Philz? What Marshmallow ROM would you recommend? Thanks for the feedback!
Just download & Odin the latest complete image, GPI1, then Odin recovery (since Philz doesn't work, try TWRP, it works for me), then flash SU & Exposed. Takes about 15 minutes, although the download may take longer. Not sure if anyone has posted the link, but you can get it from sammobile, albeit slowly.
invisiblewave said:
Just download & Odin the latest complete image, GPI1, then Odin recovery (since Philz doesn't work, try TWRP, it works for me), then flash SU & Exposed. Takes about 15 minutes, although the download may take longer. Not sure if anyone has posted the link, but you can get it from sammobile, albeit slowly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you deodex GPI1 before exposed?
invisiblewave said:
Just download & Odin the latest complete image, GPI1, then Odin recovery (since Philz doesn't work, try TWRP, it works for me), then flash SU & Exposed. Takes about 15 minutes, although the download may take longer. Not sure if anyone has posted the link, but you can get it from sammobile, albeit slowly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this thread have the info I need for installing Xposed (I'm assuming "Exposed" and "Xposed" are the same thing)?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
Just install a .zip from TWRP, then install the .apk to manage installed modules?
I have "UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.37.zip". Is that sufficient for SU?
Well dammit, I've now spent multiple hours I didn't have trying to get *ANY* ROM other than the stock KitKat one to work. Was just about to give up after trying one last time with XtreStoLite, this time using KToonsez kernel instead of stock. Restarted and it was taking forever to boot, so I assumed it was frozen and was about to pull the battery and call it a night, when it actually made it into the OS! So perhaps there's something going on with the phone that won't let it boot with any stock kernel, other than 4.4.2. Bummer, because I was starting to get excited about trying Marshmallow.
It's because you have KitKat firmware. You just need to flash the entire MM package first.
What is the MM package, if it's not
G900T-(GPI1)-Bootloader.tar
G900T-(GPI1)-Modem-NonHLOS.tar
G900TUVS1GPI1_G900TTMB1GPI1_G900TUVS1GPI1_HOME.tar.md5
?
You don't need to flash the bootloader & modem separately. If you download the complete firmware, that's all you need to flash, it has all the necessary partitions in it. Just flash that, see if it works, then flash the recovery, etc.
I already tried G900TUVS1GPI1_G900TTMB1GPI1_G900TUVS1GPI1_HOME.tar.md5, both with and without the bootloader+modem packages.
I didn't see any mention of you having tried it in your earlier post. You should be able to flash just that package under AP (All Partitions, I assume), and it should install all the partitions it finds inside the tar. My guess is that Odin isn't completing correctly. What does it say in the log on the left? I had to use Odin 9, 10 wouldn't work on my setup for some reason, nor could I get it to work on XP, only on Windoze 8.

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