[Q] Remote restore? Or remote tech support? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My mom is 70, I am sending her first smart phone this week so she can see my newborn son. She is not good with technology. I have programmed her phone to be fairly 'mess up' (refuse to call my mom a idiot) proof. I've managed to lock out a lot of features, fix the launcher with only some 'starter' apps, etc.
BUT my one concern is I live in Sweden. She is in Louisiana, usa. She has no one else to help her if she accidentally messes something up. I have teamviewer that I can use to access her phone (I've already set it up and saved device ids). But I'd love to have a procedure or some way to save a image of the phone before I send it to her, that I can just restore easily.
I understand this would likely need to be done with a custom ROM, (please tell me if there is a easier way!). I am a quick study, but I have no idea where to start to learning to make a custom ROM of a established system, and the setup of homescreens etc.
Please someone help me. I haven't seen my mom in 4 years and I really want her to see my son.
Edit:
And the phone is a Galaxy Note 3, Running 4.4.2.

Hi there. This should be able to be done fairly easily, depending on the original carrier of the Note 3. If it's basically any version of the N3 but the VZW or ATT ones (I'm assuming it's the international version though if you're in Sweden...) then you could install a custom recovery that would allow you to do a full backup of the entire OS. Since obviously your mom doesn't need much to do with being rooted or a custom rom, you can actually install the recovery and if you boot directly to it and back it up then just reboot like normal, the regular recovery will be written back to the phone and there will be nothing lingering behind from the mod (though I believe the Knox counter will be tripped thus voiding the warranty, but this is the only way for a complete backup). If you tell me which version you have, I can provide more detailed instructions.

You were right it is an international version. SM-N9005. I've already rooted it. I could give a care less about knox lol.
I'm more concerned about making sure I can easily fix anything she can do (from all the way on the other side of the world) so she doesn't have panic attacks about learning technology.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app

Ok. This will be very straightforward then.
Download TWRP Manager from the Play Store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jmz.soft.twrpmanager
It will let you install the custom recovery called TeamWin Recovery Project directly from the app as well as help you back up the operating system as well. Or once it installs it for you, you can boot directly to recovery and back it up manually. Once it is backed up you will find the files in /sdcard/TWRP/Backups.
If you prefer to know how to do this manually via the PC vs the app, lemme know and we can go that route too.

I'll try this app route. I have two note 3s here so I'm going to back mine up then screw it up and see how well it works lol I'm a redhead. Trial and errorrrrrsss is the way to go. Will let you know if I have issues with the app. Thank you so much
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app

Related

[Q] Anyone Offer A ROM Flashing Service On The XDA?

Curious for those of us without the proper tools or the know how to do this properly. This works for the Note but can also work for any other device.
Just study up. Read the instructions. Visit the general section and read. Flashing is easy. Best to just learn. Watch some YouTube videos. Be careful. Have fun.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
NightHawkUndead said:
Just study up. Read the instructions. Visit the general section and read. Flashing is easy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You missed the part in the OP about not having the proper tools. No amount of reading or studying or preparing can help when the tool is made for Windows and you're running a Mac (or no computer at all).
OP -- I'm sure there's plenty of people on here who do (or would help you with) flashing ROMs but a lot of that is going to depend on where you live. Best bet: Craigslist and see if you can find someone in the Cell Phones section who does that. Denver (yes... where I am) has a ton of shops that will flash custom ROMs for you - but of course they want you to pay for the privilege.
However - I would really recommend finding someone local and trustworthy. Don't EVER send someone your device, because let's be honest - you'll most likely never see it again unless you're sending it to a real business.
bmstrong said:
Curious for those of us without the proper tools or the know how to do this properly. This works for the Note but can also work for any other device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First....start off at YouTube, and watch people root the Nexus One over ADB. You'll learn a few tricks...but most importantly, you'll learn your way around the device manager and the command prompt in windows. While it may seem daunting at first...there are only a few commands you'll need to learn.
That solves the problem you'd have with rooting and installing Clockwork Mod (the basis for flashing any new ROMs.
Lastly...if you can find a valid windows installation (or you can even use a 90 day trial version of windows 7 enterprise) you'll want to install boot camp on your Mac...which allows you to run windows on your Mac. Easily.
By no means am I an android powerhouse, but I do work in IT and am handy with a device manager, various hosts, and windows and Mac.
The next best option would be to offer someone here 10-20 bucks to show you over Skype, or do it for you using go to meeting.
Remember 1 thing. Its actually hard to brick a device if you do a few things.
Only flash RC or final versions of ROMs. In general. These have been THOUROUGHLY tested. The more feedback for a ROM the better. Learn to search threads here frequently.
Don't go about customizing the software by flashing mods (until your more comfortable). Android provides a perfect host system for providing customization via the Play store. Widgets...toggles...backgrounds. Notification tweaks, and almost everything else you'll need can be found on the play store and easily uninstalled.
Lastly...always keep a backup of you're system
via Nandroid, and keep a backup of your apps with Titanium backup.
If you have any more questions....feel free to ask them here or PM me.
You can start by researching "how to do a Nandroid" and "what is clockwork recovery mod" in your favorite search engine.
If you think you can follow the simple steps of performing a Nandroid and you can find your way around Clockwork Recovery Mod....there really isn't much to worry about.
Bricking your device can usually be fixed in the case of a soft brick or boot loop. The real bricking usually happens when you flash software meant for another device, or don't follow instructions.
Once you've flashed your first ROM...you'll find that the process is remarkably similar for all mods ROMs and other packages.
Appreciate the replies. The largest problem I have is the computer itself. I have whole rooms of computers sitting across the street at KSU. Not a problem to use and my pick of OS. The problem lies in they are public and get wiped on shutdown. So no backup. Thoughts?
I've done updates across various Mobiles for years like that.
bmstrong said:
Appreciate the replies. The largest problem I have is the computer itself. I have whole rooms of computers sitting across the street at KSU. Not a problem to use and my pick of OS. The problem lies in they are public and get wiped on shutdown. So no backup. Thoughts?
I've done updates across various Mobiles for years like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly - Once you get CWM setup on the phone there's very little if any need for a computer. I'm not sure what you mean by "backup" but since you're talking about public computers - let's just run through this scenario:
Go across the street and install CWM. Now, let's say a few days later a new ROM comes out. Woohoo! Assuming you've already flashed CWM, all you need to do is shutdown your phone, backup it up in recovery. This saves to your external SD. Reboot. Download new ROM save to internal SD. Shutdown, pull external SD, boot to recovery, flash away.
If you're worried about it - buy a USB external drive and use the university computer to copy the contents of your external SD across to the hard drive every one in a while.
netsyd said:
Honestly - Once you get CWM setup on the phone there's very little if any need for a computer. I'm not sure what you mean by "backup" but since you're talking about public computers - let's just run through this scenario:
Go across the street and install CWM. Now, let's say a few days later a new ROM comes out. Woohoo! Assuming you've already flashed CWM, all you need to do is shutdown your phone, backup it up in recovery. This saves to your external SD. Reboot. Download new ROM save to internal SD. Shutdown, pull external SD, boot to recovery, flash away.
If you're worried about it - buy a USB external drive and use the university computer to copy the contents of your external SD across to the hard drive every one in a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that sounds like a plan. Hmmm. Maybe I can do this myself. Now I need to find a stock stable ICS with NFC enabled. Even better would be one to take advantage of the radio hidden by AT&T. It would be nice to have the option to pop and flop.
Exactly. Once the initial root and new recovery menu is done then you are set. Between a CWM nandroid, Titanium Backup, MybackupPro, and even Appsaver your only real limitation is set by how large your external sdcard is.
You can even use online storage sites like Minus, Google Drive, Drop Box etc to host all of the files so that you can access them anywhere.
Hmmm. What's the closest stock ICS out there right now, if I may?
I am running Flapjaxx Unofficial ICS and it is super smooth. I plan on switching to his latest though once it is finished downloading.
netsyd said:
Honestly - Once you get CWM setup on the phone there's very little if any need for a computer. I'm not sure what you mean by "backup" but since you're talking about public computers - let's just run through this scenario:
Go across the street and install CWM. Now, let's say a few days later a new ROM comes out. Woohoo! Assuming you've already flashed CWM, all you need to do is shutdown your phone, backup it up in recovery. This saves to your external SD. Reboot. Download new ROM save to internal SD. Shutdown, pull external SD, boot to recovery, flash away.
If you're worried about it - buy a USB external drive and use the university computer to copy the contents of your external SD across to the hard drive every one in a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on any Flappjaxxx ROM btw. So you pull your external sd? Have you ever had an issue or is it just a precaution?
Sent from Galaxy Note
bmstrong said:
Appreciate the replies. The largest problem I have is the computer itself. I have whole rooms of computers sitting across the street at KSU. Not a problem to use and my pick of OS. The problem lies in they are public and get wiped on shutdown. So no backup. Thoughts?
I've done updates across various Mobiles for years like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if it would help you to back up on google drive? Ive never tried it or anything but it could possibly give you some cloud space. Maybe a good option?
Yayodroid said:
I wonder if it would help you to back up on google drive? Ive never tried it or anything but it could possibly give you some cloud space. Maybe a good option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I use both Drive and Dropbox, so no worries. The larger question I have is why do I need to back some of this stuff up? I've never been a big application guy. This Note has 4? Maybe 5 apps on it, aside from the stock Google services. SMS/MMS get deleted instantly or saved into the Cloud. And email moved with my Gmail account and that gets barfed back into each Mobile I use very easily.
Titanium backup seems like a pain in the ass. All I'm after is a clean stock ICS build, a way to shut off the hard keys and replace them with soft buttons, and that MHL works. Turning this Note into a portable LTE MHL Chromebox with a fantastic screen. The option to flop and plop would be nice...
you dont have to back up, but personally i would like to have my own personal backup of stock. of course there are stock odins around here. but in your situation it might be more handy on the cloud to access anytime. you might want to use the back up to flash back to for when they release ics over the air.
Service makes some sense
If you've read many of the questions that some poeple ask on these forums, it really makes me think that certain people really shouldn't be trying some of these things themselves. Most of us have no problem reading and understanding rudimentary steps to get us going, but some people come in with little to no foundation in these matters; what we're saying really is Greek to them. I feel bad, but for these people, I encourage them to seek out someone that knows, at least on a basic level, what they are doing.
I've written looooong, detailed tutorials for people and I'm glad to do it. But sometimes even after that, I get the feeling that these people will still end up messing their phones up. I've been proven right on at least two occasion and I can't help but feel bad... So maybe a pool of people in each area capable and willing to do these kinds of things might make sense. Haven't thought through how that would work, but maybe. Hmmm...
bmstrong said:
Hmmm. What's the closest stock ICS out there right now, if I may?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im using team perfections ics ucle2 objection with rc1 its great as well as fj's
sent from team perfections ics rom
Extremely interesting process and results. I still have a host of questions, why certain things are done in a certain order, what exactly some of the things do that I did, and why when I did not make a back up of anything, it said specifically that it failed, some of my apps and vids are still here in the new FJ ROM. Just a fasincinating first time experience from someone who has always used stock Nexi. The ROM isn't really my taste, I hate Apex and there is bloat apps in it. But!
I feel like the old Quantum Leap show...
You can debloat with tibu. Also, you can use any launcher you want.
Sent from Galaxy Note

[Q] So I'm finally about to root my phone, a few questions!

I'm finally rooting my phone after months of messing about waiting for an unlock
My phone is international model i9300 and I've been reading this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Looks really good, well detailed should be very easy with the help of chainfire!
But I've still got a few questions
1) I think I can't back up my phone until it's rooted to get access to the system files, am I right in thinking when I'm rooted I can use CWM to make a full back up of the phone?
2) Once it's rooted what is a thing that you must not do? The phone was expensive and as these threads may be annoying to all of you I just need to know before I do anything silly so apologies for all the topics
3) I'm going to wait until JB is released for official ROMs, when it comes to flashing a new ROM do I need to unroot the device?
4) Can I remove bloatware with just the standard root? The amount is ridiculous, it fills up 2 whole pages of apps and 95% of them I haven't used and don't plan on using, ever. I'm sure if I ever needed to there will be an app for it
5) any other advice on keeping my phone safe would be great, I am just really really cautious with this kind of stuff lol. Technology is really fussy I don't want to brick my phone
Thanks to everybody who posts, you guys have helped me so much since I joined and I really appreciate it
UrbanDesigns said:
I'm finally rooting my phone after months of messing about waiting for an unlock
My phone is international model i9300 and I've been reading this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Looks really good, well detailed should be very easy with the help of chainfire!
But I've still got a few questions
1) I think I can't back up my phone until it's rooted to get access to the system files, am I right in thinking when I'm rooted I can use CWM to make a full back up of the phone?
2) Once it's rooted what is a thing that you must not do? The phone was expensive and as these threads may be annoying to all of you I just need to know before I do anything silly so apologies for all the topics
3) I'm going to wait until JB is released for official ROMs, when it comes to flashing a new ROM do I need to unroot the device?
4) any other advice on keeping my phone safe would be great, I am just really really cautious with this kind of stuff lol. Technology is really fussy I don't want to brick my phone
Thanks to everybody who posts, you guys have helped me so much since I joined and I really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer 1: Check the link in my description (Win 8 -help) and download the adb executables. Then (Using Windows 7/8) Press and hold shift + Right mouse button in the folder and open cmd.
Once in cmd type:
Code:
adb start-server
adb devices (To check if your phone is connected properly)
adb backup -f %Userprofile%\Desktop\ADBackup\backup.ab -apk -nosystem -noshared -all
That will backup your user apps, incase you do do something wrong
Answer 2: Yes, there are a few things you shouldn't do;
Flash a ROM without making a backup
Deleting partitons in the phones' root.
Deleting system apps (APKs), when you don't know what they do, or even what they are.
Flashing a ROM/kernel, that wasn't made for your phone.
Overclocking/undervolting your phone too much.
And there are a couple more, but I don't want to waist your time ^^
Answer 3: JB is already released. No, you don't have to unroot your phone, before flashing. In fact, you probably can't, because you need the recovery program, to flash the ROM.
Answer 4: Don't flash bad stuff, don't install apps, that are reported (i.e. viruses) don't flash ROMs and kernels, that aren't for your device. And last but not least: Only use Odin, if you really have to!
Hope I could help!
UrbanDesigns said:
I'm finally rooting my phone after months of messing about waiting for an unlock
My phone is international model i9300 and I've been reading this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Looks really good, well detailed should be very easy with the help of chainfire!
But I've still got a few questions
1) I think I can't back up my phone until it's rooted to get access to the system files, am I right in thinking when I'm rooted I can use CWM to make a full back up of the phone?
2) Once it's rooted what is a thing that you must not do? The phone was expensive and as these threads may be annoying to all of you I just need to know before I do anything silly so apologies for all the topics
3) I'm going to wait until JB is released for official ROMs, when it comes to flashing a new ROM do I need to unroot the device?
4) any other advice on keeping my phone safe would be great, I am just really really cautious with this kind of stuff lol. Technology is really fussy I don't want to brick my phone
Thanks to everybody who posts, you guys have helped me so much since I joined and I really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You are right
2) Do not unroot
3) Official JB is already available. Flashing using odin doesn't required unroot. Update via OTA or kies required unroot.
4) Read, read and read is the best way to prevent bricking your device.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Thank you guys!
I did not know JB was released, I saw it come out for Poland but I received no notification on my S3.
Now I'm not quite sure in which order I should do things, shall I update to JB and then root?
Can anyone link me to a guide to update for the official JB, al my search results come up with old results with leaked firmware
so I use odin for the first flash and then use CWM from there on out
UrbanDesigns said:
Thank you guys!
I did not know JB was released, I saw it come out for Poland but I received no notification on my S3.
Its only the Poland release so far .
All the rest are the old leaks .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UrbanDesigns said:
Thank you guys!
I did not know JB was released, I saw it come out for Poland but I received no notification on my S3.
Now I'm not quite sure in which order I should do things, shall I update to JB and then root?
Can anyone link me to a guide to update for the official JB, al my search results come up with old results with leaked firmware
so I use odin for the first flash and then use CWM from there on out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want a Jellybean rom with bloat removed, then download Checkrom http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1738527 . It's a stock samsung rom, bloat taken out, rooted, and is ready for if you wanted themeing etc..
In his kitchen app (that comes with the rom) you can find a package with ALL the removed bloat for you to download and install (ota) but he's also separated them so you can download just the ones you want. Also in the kitchen you will find tweaks for changing the notification drawer toggles, changing the theme, different modems, kernels etc... And check in the kitchen now and again for any updates to the rom (as and when samsung release them)
It's all there and very noob friendly. It's the smoothest most stable stock rom I've tried.
So root your phone using odin (easiest method by far), pay for titanium backup and back up your apps, boot into recovery and make a nandroid, move them onto you exSd or computer, wipe your phone, install checkrom, download titanium again and restore your apps from it.
That's a good start for you, EVERYTHING you need to know has been asked and answered before, so just google or search XDA, it's all still relevant, and you won't go wrong.
I'm going to root it now, seems pretty straight-forward but I'll let you know!
Now I will be shortly rooted what's the best anti-theft to use?
edit: wow... that was possible the easiest thing I have ever done lol, i was expecting it to be hard but it's literally selecting a file and pressing start. it's so much easier then jailbreaking (easy as hell but this tops it for sure)
Just done a CWM back up I didnt expect it to take so long haha
In my opinion, Cerberus is the best anti-theft app out there. You can use for a week as a free trial, I'll bet you're gonna buy it after 15 minutes.
Note that no anti-theft protection will prevent a thief from actually using your phone. Within like 2 minutes of Googling, the thief knows that he can use Download mode to overwrite the firmware (including the "anti theft" app) and 5 minutes later he has done it.
I use one such app (Watchdroid) to find my phone when I have misplaced it and for family members to be able to locate my position through an sms in case of personal distress.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
d4fseeker said:
Note that no anti-theft protection will prevent a thief from actually using your phone. Within like 2 minutes of Googling, the thief knows that he can use Download mode to overwrite the firmware (including the "anti theft" app) and 5 minutes later he has done it.
I use one such app (Watchdroid) to find my phone when I have misplaced it and for family members to be able to locate my position through an sms in case of personal distress.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it just depends on who finds it, there should be a password for download mode that can't be overwritten
I'm going to have it on either way, it can't hurt
d4fseeker said:
Note that no anti-theft protection will prevent a thief from actually using your phone. Within like 2 minutes of Googling, the thief knows that he can use Download mode to overwrite the firmware (including the "anti theft" app) and 5 minutes later he has done it.
I use one such app (Watchdroid) to find my phone when I have misplaced it and for family members to be able to locate my position through an sms in case of personal distress.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only a thief, who knows what he's doing will use Google. Idiots are more likely to throw the phone away, or give it back..
And Avast! Anti Virus has a lockdown feature, which forces GPS, WiFi/Data and number forwarding (Root), so my phone is pretty safe
I've just installed avast - cheers!
What happens if the SIM is replaced?
and how do I track the phone if it gets lost/stolen?
also in my notification bar it says "avast mobile security is protecting you" i renamed the app for obvious reasons like it suggested. it's pretty stupid if the app renames its self if only reported lost/stolen
UrbanDesigns said:
I've just installed avast - cheers!
What happens if the SIM is replaced?
and how do I track the phone if it gets lost/stolen?
also in my notification bar it says "avast mobile security is protecting you" i renamed the app for obvious reasons like it suggested. it's pretty stupid if the app renames its self if only reported lost/stolen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the anti-theft settings in the app. It lets you set up trusted numbers, so you can control your phone remotely, and you can set things up, like force GPS and Data on, that way the phone can tell you it's position..
familyguy59 said:
Check the anti-theft settings in the app. It lets you set up trusted numbers, so you can control your phone remotely, and you can set things up, like force GPS and Data on, that way the phone can tell you it's position..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done all that, I've enabled anti-theft stealth mode where it states it will remain hidden after my next reboot.
I rebooted the phone but to no avail. It keeps showing in the notification bar and anti-theft seems useless, I've set up a pin but anybody who saw my phone would see the app straight away and would just use google on "how to remove avast samsung galaxy s3"
i don't think a thief could do it themselves but any idiot can search keywords into google to find a solid result
UrbanDesigns said:
I've done all that, I've enabled anti-theft stealth mode where it states it will remain hidden after my next reboot.
I rebooted the phone but to no avail. It keeps showing in the notification bar and anti-theft seems useless, I've set up a pin but anybody who saw my phone would see the app straight away and would just use google on "how to remove avast samsung galaxy s3"
i don't think a thief could do it themselves but any idiot can search keywords into google to find a solid result
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but not everyone knows what the avast! symbol look like, do they? I doubt you're going to find an XDA-Member would have stolen your phone, it will probably be an Asi, or someone really retarded.
And anyways, they'll get frightened enough, when the phone rights junk to the SD, locks itself up and sounds the siren, with a personal "greeting"..
Give it a go, if your phone gets stolen, there's always the police, they'll (hopefully) help you But that's worst-case-scenario..
familyguy59 said:
Yes, but not everyone knows what the avast! symbol look like, do they? I doubt you're going to find an XDA-Member would have stolen your phone, it will probably be an Asi, or someone really retarded.
And anyways, they'll get frightened enough, when the phone rights junk to the SD, locks itself up and sounds the siren, with a personal "greeting"..
Give it a go, if your phone gets stolen, there's always the police, they'll (hopefully) help you But that's worst-case-scenario..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but I'd still like it hidden
Anyone with google and the least bit of experience or interest will just reflash the stock Samsungrom anyway, rendering all and any (including Samsung's own) anti-theft utterly useless.
(In many cases thiefs steal to buy drugs, the dealer will certainly know someone to "freshen" up the phone.
It's very useful for finding the phone though if you have misplaced it =)
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
UrbanDesigns said:
No but I'd still like it hidden
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could remove the icon by going into avast > Settings > Notification Icon > None
Hope this helps
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
d4fseeker said:
Anyone with google and the least bit of experience or interest will just reflash the stock Samsungrom anyway, rendering all and any (including Samsung's own) anti-theft utterly useless.
(In many cases thiefs steal to buy drugs, the dealer will certainly know someone to "freshen" up the phone.
It's very useful for finding the phone though if you have misplaced it =)
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're saying if I left my phone on the bus or something and somebody picked it up and decided to be a thief they automatically are casual drug users who know dodgy people, all because they found my phone?
I don't see how it could be useful for finding a "misplaced" phone, what would you class as misplaced? If I left the phone under my bed or something and "misplaced" it surely avast! isn't going to show a picture of inside my house?

VzW Check for Root?

So I finally HAVE to replace my Note 2 via warranty. Power button sticks and will not boot.
At the end of the call to place the warranty order she says "any physical damage, water damage, or software alterations will result in a charge of $290". So I'm rooted and ROM'd and would normally just return to stock. BUT since the phone will not boot, I cannot do this. I realize if it won't boot for me it likely won't boot for Verizon.
My worry is that somehow they will in get it to boot. Do they still check for root? If so is this something I should be worried about? I cannot for the life of me get this thing to turn on it seems like I will not be able to return this to stock with out powering the phone on. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
I have done the warranty replacement game for a long time. Typical the people checking the phone are stupid and dump for checking for root. I havent spoken to or talked to one smart person that would check. Plus the people they hired to make sure the devices comes in probably isn't tech savvy. Just a worker trying to get paid.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
I agree with the above. I guarantee you the people who do the initial evaluation have a 'target' for the number of phones processed. But just the same return your phone to as stock looking as possible. Restore the launcher, use a stock wallpaper and/or boot-ani. Uninstall all apps you got from the store. And run your battery all the way down. It will continue to discharge even though it's off. This means it will need to charge for a few minutes before it will boot again.
And I've never noticed many posts (i can't recall even one) about phones being kicked back for being rooted/flashed.
But with that said isn't there some kind of flash 'counter' on the Note 2?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
When I had my DROID X I went into a Verizon store to upgrade to an s3 and the guy who just got done telling me how he "mods" his gnex looked at my X and it was running cm7 themed out the wazoo and he said how plain the stock os is on the Motorola. Haha. So I don't think that 98% of the people who are either in store or at the warranty place have a clue what rooted is let alone able to tell if it is or not.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I think I read somewhere that you can make a powered usb jig the will boot it into download mode. I might be wrong, but you can search around for it.
Sent From My Sticky Note, Too?
Did you even read the op
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Yea I can't even get the phone to boot. Which I believe is due to the malfunctioning power button. But I'm still concerned verizon will find some way to get it booted. I'm going to see if I can boot via ADB this evening. Its been quite a while since messing around with ADB so I need to allow myself some time. Hopefully I can boot it and just Odin the factory image via ADB.
I should also try and clear the flash counter right? Does anyone have any tips or know-how on how to do that? I saw somewhere that there is an app. But should that be run before or after running the Odin stock image?
Thanks again guys and gals.
Hey gerg, the app is triangle away, and I would always try to return to stock if possible. I would use it before returning to stock as it needs root privileges. What a great learning experience (better to look at it that way then get angry trying to accomplish your goal). Keep us posted as we are all"rooting" for you....:thumbup:
"One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind" said anyone who has tried Moon Rom
JeramyEggs said:
Hey gerg, the app is triangle away, and I would always try to return to stock if possible. I would use it before returning to stock as it needs root privileges. What a great learning experience (better to look at it that way then get angry trying to accomplish your goal). Keep us posted as we are all"rooting" for you....:thumbup:
"One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind" said anyone who has tried Moon Rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man. Appreciate the positive vibes.
However it seems like I'm stuck. I can't for the life of me get this phone to boot, therefore I can restore the stock image via ADB, because ADB will not recognize the device since it is off. I've tried every trick out there, including the youtube video about pulling the charger and pulling/re-seating the battery as fast as possible. No dice.
I did however receive my warranty device today, and since I have ADB all set up and ready to go, I'll be rooting her and getting back to Trans-Neb ASAP, and of course I'll see you back in that thread.
Again, thanks for the help guys it is appreciated. I'm fairly sure I've tried harder and spent more time to get this phone to boot than Verizon will ( I hope at least). So if they can't get it to turn on, I don't see how they can tell its rooted
Mods can close this thread
Cheers!

HUAWEI Y538: how to upgrade Lollipop to something usable?

I lucked into a sale on a HUAWEI Y538 smartphone at Best Buy the other day, knowing we have no Boost Network around here for the cellphone service. Perfect!
I just wanted it as a nice little media player and access to my LAN, like my KitKat tablet. Nothing terribly fancy. I rooted it with Kingo, hoping to remove that nag cellphone activation every startup. I have to press Accept, then Self Service comes in and I click the no button. In addition as many of you know, Lollipop has a lot of unwanted background apps running . I spent a whole day trying to tame this and the only good news is that I worked out the factory reset.
My real question is if it's possible to remove that startup nag entirely, but either way, to ask if it's possible to downgrade to KitKat or something else? As a WiFi-only media player Lollipop would seem to be quite awful.
I've been on computers for decades but no experience with Android except my happy KitKat tablet. If some kind soul could be persuaded to help me out, well that'd be really cool.
JoeyTablet said:
I lucked into a sale on a HUAWEI Y538 smartphone at Best Buy the other day, knowing we have no Boost Network around here for the cellphone service. Perfect!
I just wanted it as a nice little media player and access to my LAN, like my KitKat tablet. Nothing terribly fancy. I rooted it with Kingo, hoping to remove that nag cellphone activation every startup. I have to press Accept, then Self Service comes in and I click the no button. In addition as many of you know, Lollipop has a lot of unwanted background apps running . I spent a whole day trying to tame this and the only good news is that I worked out the factory reset.
My real question is if it's possible to remove that startup nag entirely, but either way, to ask if it's possible to downgrade to KitKat or something else? As a WiFi-only media player Lollipop would seem to be quite awful.
I've been on computers for decades but no experience with Android except my happy KitKat tablet. If some kind soul could be persuaded to help me out, well that'd be really cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.techmesto.com/unlock-bootloader-huawei-honor/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...how-to-data-off-shell-command-tasker-t3370783
Well I can't thank you enough for trying, but it seems Huawei changed their procedure. I got the 4 informations required and registered with Huawei. Going to the unlock page changes to Chinese and says too much traffic for servers in English. So I emailed Huawei Mobile support and got the following reply:
Dear User,
Huawei Customer Service is pleasure to be at your service,sorry to bring you the trouble,if you want to unlock your phone, you should meet these conditions as follow:
1.Please register your Huawei ID in our official website http://huawei.com/en/ on your phone.
2.Log in your Huawei ID for continuously 14 days.
3.Each Huawei ID should not apply for the unlock code more than twice within half years.If you meet the information,please go to http://emui.huawei.com/en/ and click the 'download'button to login your Huawei ID other than any other third party ID to apply for the unlock code.Please contact us by mail or local service hotline as following if error message appears.
TEL: http://consumer.huawei.com/en/contact-us/index.htm?tag=hotline
Mail: http://consumer.huawei.com/en/contact-us/index.htm?tag=email
Please submit your mobile model, SN, IMEI/MEID and erro message in your e-mail.We also need to know that your phone is rooted, it can be out of the best working state and part of functions may not be able to work normally. In additon, the system is vulnerable to be invaded by viruses once your phone is permitted to unlock. What's more, for the lacking of fully tested, the third party software will not be compatible with your phone. Unlocking will bring unexpected negative impacts and the device will be not normal, and can not be restored, Huawei after-sales service office will not provide warranty service for your rooted phone, and you may bear the cost. So we strongly advise you to think it twice.
If you have any other problems, please send your feedback to us. We will be at your service to help you to solve your problems.
Once again thank you for contacting Huawei device.
Best Regards.
Huawei Device Customer Care Team 3206
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I 'm reading that right they want me to log in every day for 14 days, which is kind of nuts.
To be fair the phone may possibly be rooted using Kingo (fast boot showed an "unlocked" message which I don't know if that means rooted but probably not boot unlocked), and for all I know that changes some of the information.
So I'm just replying FYI so you know how it went. Maybe I should do factory reset and try again?
Long day I'll go crash and see how it looks in the morning. Thanks for trying!
Joey
Happy here to report a partial solution, 1/2 way there!
If you take out the SIM card inside the phone it only nags once and saves probably 30 seconds of boot-up time. It's a great improvement!
bg260 said:
https://www.techmesto.com/unlock-bootloader-huawei-honor/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...how-to-data-off-shell-command-tasker-t3370783
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the same phone at BB ($10 on sale) to use like you do (unactivated). What you're trying to do is actually super simple. Merely put the device in Airplane mode, then turn back on the wifi (and GPS if you like). You will not be prompted to activate your device. You actually should be doing this anyway as it saves your battery by not having the cell radio constantly trying to talk to the tower.
In case you missed it, there is a firmware update to the phone that can be downloaded via the Emui app on the phone. I'm not sure what all the update affects, but it doesn't impact your ability to use the procedure I described to avoid the constant activation reminder.
I believe this was in response to your question @JoeyTablet
bg260 said:
I believe this was in response to your question @JoeyTablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, sorry, yes it was meant for @JoeyTablet
zerozed99 said:
I bought the same phone at BB ($10 on sale) to use like you do (unactivated). What you're trying to do is actually super simple. Merely put the device in Airplane mode, then turn back on the wifi (and GPS if you like). You will not be prompted to activate your device. You actually should be doing this anyway as it saves your battery by not having the cell radio constantly trying to talk to the tower.
In case you missed it, there is a firmware update to the phone that can be downloaded via the Emui app on the phone. I'm not sure what all the update affects, but it doesn't impact your ability to use the procedure I described to avoid the constant activation reminder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this was in response to your question @JoeyTablet
Remember, quote or mention the member if you want them to be notified.
zerozed99 said:
I bought the same phone at BB ($10 on sale) to use like you do (unactivated). What you're trying to do is actually super simple. Merely put the device in Airplane mode, then turn back on the wifi (and GPS if you like). You will not be prompted to activate your device. You actually should be doing this anyway as it saves your battery by not having the cell radio constantly trying to talk to the tower.
In case you missed it, there is a firmware update to the phone that can be downloaded via the Emui app on the phone. I'm not sure what all the update affects, but it doesn't impact your ability to use the procedure I described to avoid the constant activation reminder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
COOL! Perfect it boots and no need to click anything further - and besides it's less stray microwaves. Also to report Huawei replied and said they accept bootloader code requests at: consumer (at) huawei.com. They say to include IMEI and serial numbers in the email. Both can be found in Settings >> about phone or underneath the back cover.
Where to go from here, I'd also like to disable sneaky RAM-stealing apps like Sprint cellphone and some apps I'll never use, such as most Google Play. Add decent firewall and decent media player, and have a good time!
Recommend root method I'm good to go.
JoeyTablet said:
COOL! Perfect it boots and no need to click anything further - and besides it's less stray microwaves. Also to report Huawei replied and said they accept bootloader code requests at: consumer (at) huawei.com. They say to include IMEI and serial numbers in the email. Both can be found in Settings >> about phone or underneath the back cover.
Where to go from here, I'd also like to disable sneaky RAM-stealing apps like Sprint cellphone and some apps I'll never use, such as most Google Play. Add decent firewall and decent media player, and have a good time!
Recommend root method I'm good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read elsewhere (here on XDA) that folks have gotten root using Kingo root (mostly tethered to a Windows PC and not the app version). Note that this root method often requires you to run the rooting program multiple times before it is successful. I'm not a fan of Kingo after being forced to use it to re-root another device (it took well over a dozen times before root took). Also, Kingo doesn't use SuperSu, it installs a Kingo version of SuperSu which CAN be removed (not exactly easily) but users of the Huawei Y538 Union have gotten bootloops trying to remove Kingo's proprietary SuperSu, so not advisable at this time. Even after rooted you are not able to remove the pre-installed bloatware because of the locked bootloader (which is different than the carrier unlock). To be honest, I've pretty much decided to just not root this device and just install an SD card if I need the space...I'd rather do that than risk bricking the device when (for me) there's really no need. I'm going to wait it out and see if anybody can figure a reliable way to deal with the device without bricking before I do anything else.
If you do root using Kingo, you might be able to "freeze" the background apps you don't want using Titanium Backup. I've read that folks haven't had any luck using TB to uninstall the bloatware, but if you're just trying to free ram it *might* work. I believe the risk would be the device expecting certain apps to run, and if unable it might bootloop/brick. Without a custom recovery allowing a nand backup bricking seems like a real possibility.
Please post your results if you unlock your bootloader. It surprises me that they're offering this, as I thought they only supported carrier unlocking. If you're able to figure out how to trim down the bloat please share.
I'm currently using Google's Play Music app for music/podcasts since I've already got 20,000 song's uploaded and since I can't delete that app anyway. Otherwise I'd just use Doubletwist for offline listening.
In case you, or anyone else with this phone is interested, I ended up purchasing a cheap ($5 delivered) case for this thing. Overall I like the case, but if you have any questions about that, let me know.
Yeah that case is perfect. I might have found the same on eBay searching " Huawei Union Y538 Case Innovaa".
As for Kingo ROOT, I have one hit and one miss to report. The KitKAt tablet it worked and I un-rooted after I got my business done. But the Lollipop phone is another story. I run a really tight ship on the Windows end, and Kingo rooted Lollipop, I got some functions involving root accomplished, but it ended at some point (completely offline except for USB tether to PC).
I factory reset the phone and tried again. Kingo downloaded more stuff and my firewall asked for access to PCAccelerator and acdsee.. The former is considered a virus and the second an image viewing app, which I don't use (maybe it's payloaded who knows).
I don't wish to scare anyone nor besmirch Kingo ROOT's reputation if it's a wholesome rooting app, but advise great caution and use a firewall that notifies things like this (I use NetLimiter on PC).
So I await the boot-unlock code and hope I live to tell about it Thanks a million zerozed99! That case is icing on the cake.
For what it's worth, no reply from Hauwei, and yesterday I sent another SOS asking, if not for boot unlock code, even just a stock KitKat ROM for the Y538. We know that model ran KitKat as well as Lollipop.
It just kills me to see this cute little quadcore wasted with all the bloatware taking up valuable RAM and battery power as well.
Ladies & Gentlemen, distinguished colleagues at xda-developers... Please bear with me.
I started coding on Macs in 1981(1981!). I later went on to 5 years formal education in Computer Science at a decent University, and spent the better part of 2 decades volunteering for low and no income people- those were the best years of my life!
Now I'm on the old side, with some heart disease that has four stents in my heart and the no-fun life expectancy that goes with it.
Now, being a reasonably informed geek, I'm seeing some disturbing things I want to air out in "public" if you'll so allow me.
The idea Hauwei will send you a boot unlock code, I don't think it's true. They make it easy to fill out a form with at least four identifying informations, but I have YET to see anyone receive their code! In my case the form advances to a page written in Chinese! I believe this is a spy device and priced to spy on a certain demographic. The almost perfect unlockability and easy bootlock application with no one reporting being sent a code.... there's a reason.
Granted one thing: I've never owned a cellphone nor did I even want cell access from this. Maybe you've noticed the same thing(s) years ago. I just wanted a little quadcore computer to play around with, to access my LAN and play media, and this has me worried the kind of entities that design such forced options.
Oh well, no luck. anyone else going to wait a bit or should I trash this?
Can't tell you how much I'd like Marshmallow and the evil bootloader out of there for something else.
Lollipop is not so bad IMHO except for the lack of privs to access our own SD cards.
If you hold down the volume-down button and press the power button until the phone starts up you can boot into fastboot mode. I've read here in XDA someplace that there are 2 available builds of TWRP custom recovery for the y6, both work on our phone, tho only one of the builds works fully. I have not tried to install either on my y538 yet, but I will, and I'll let you know what I find out.
If you can get the bootloader unlocked, you should be able to flash SuperSU from TWRP.
I suggest you google the xda guide to fastboot. It is not very complicated.
I doubt we can locate any custom ROM for this device. However, if we can get rooted we can backup stock and then remove all the bloatware. ES File Explorer is great in root mode for managing the SD card.
More useful info: I pulled my SIM out before I fired up the phone for the first time, and when I turned on the phone it didn't download any of the extra crapware from Sprint! I have the Virgin version, and I expected all that stuff to download, but it did not. Also, if you look in the App Manager settings, you will see a few apps which shipped on your phone in the Disabled state!! You may wish to enable Lookout or others of the stock disabled apps. Also, without root, you can remove the Sprint ID app here, and disable any of the Google spots you don't want, like Play News or Play Movies.
This is my first Huawei device, though it's my twenty-somethingh Android, and so far I am very pleased with the layout of the settings and of the notifications tray. This is way liveable, and they allow us to disable most of the bloat.
Good luck!

Need help "preserving" an SM-G900T in a few different ways

I feel super awkward and a bit embarrassed to ask this question, but I'm asking for help from this community (see last 2 or paragraphs for ask if you want to skip the boring details) and I think I need to explain briefly why to define my ultimate goal and why I even have to ask rather than sift through searches and assemble the steps/versions I need, etc.
My 22 year old daughter died recently (unexpectedly). I obviously want to preserve everything I can of hers, but I'm not firing on all cylinders mentally. I was able take her ThinkPad and virtualize it to my ESX system and also yank and clone the physical drive for safe keeping. But even doing that took me a while (which it shouldn't, that's kind of what I do for a living - I should be able to do that in my sleep, but it took 3 days and a lot of screaming). I was able to access her google accounts, facebook accounts, etc. and preserve a ton of stuff from there.
Ultimately while I would want to do with her phone the same thing I did to her notebook - preserve it virtually so I could examine it without fear of changing/modifying anything, but I don't think the product exists that allows me to virtualize an existing Android phone with apps and everything intact into a PC environment. I think I could install a whole new Android emulator in Windows, but that's not probably what I want.
I had just given her a Samsung S5 SM-G900T running on Ting for her birthday about 2 weeks before she died. It was unlocked but unrooted, it's rare that I would do nothing to the phone prior to giving it to her - but I pretty much just turned it on and handed it over with no custom ROM or anything - mostly because I was pressed for time the day of her party and it was shipped late.
When I got it back from the police a few say ago (they held it for 2 months) and charged it and turned it on 2 days ago, it upgraded from Lollipop to Marshmallow 6.0.1 (baseband is PE1), which was apparently pending. I don't know if that complicates things. It pissed me off, though. I have copied off local photos off and videos and already took control of her Google and Facebook accounts as I mentioned.
My slightly confused brain tells me normally I might install TWRP or CWM and make a NAND backup and copy it off someplace and at least have a restorable copy of her phone. I haven't done much of this sort of thing with phones for a year or two, I don't know what's changed in the latest OS versions and beides, plus I sort of "lose it" a bit, especially going through her personal things.
I'm not an idiot, I'm just not all here, yet. I'm asking if someone can please give me steps to safely preserve an image of her phone (IE, install TWRP or CWM using specific version xxx, etc., using Odin version xxx, etc.) - If I can virtualize it, too, I'd love to know what product does that, but again, I don't think I can.
I don't know why I feel the need to do these things, I just do.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bump. Somebody please help this fellow. This is too important for me to try advising him, I don't know enough.
So even though half my brain is addled, I did some more research and found out a few interesting things, should anyone care to try this. I found there are a couple of open source tools built for android forensics:
Open Source Android Forensics Toolkit
https://sourceforge.net/projects/osaftoolkit/
Santoku
https://santoku-linux.com/about-santoku/
And there are commercial products, , like NowSecureForensics, some (if not most) built on the toolkits I just mentioned. Another is the painfully ironically named (for me, anyway) Autopsy.
This interesting website verified (to me anyway) that rooting the phone and changing access is still fundamentally sound forensically:
http://freeandroidforensics.blogspot.com
And it confirmed there is no way (yet) to truly "virtualize" the phone entirely (unless you are the manufacturer and you have some proprietary software).
For a "live" example virtually, the best you can do is install an Android emulator and restore an ADB backup of an app. This obviously may or may not work if the app is very hardware dependent. But for a simple program it might work fine.
So in addition to rooting my daughter's S5, installing TWRP, and backing it up, I also got my daughter's HTC One M7 to finally power up, and I rooted it and installed TWRP for backup purposes as well. Many of the forensic tools I mentioned will then report from the standard TWRP backups, with no risk to changing the phone. Some want to look at the phone themselves, even offering to root them, which I find more risky.
I haven't found any one tool to fully provide what I need, you need a Windows PC, a Linux PC (or VM), one or more toolsets (each comprised of other toolsets) and then a lot of time/will to really piece together things. I haven't completed the examinations - even typing is harder now for some reason, but should anyone else need this sort of thing (hopefully for different reasons than mine), the above info is a good start.

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