I'm planning on flashing my mom's phone to a custom ROM tomorrow, she's tired of all the AT&T crap that's gumming up her phone. It was originally locked to AT&T, but we've gotten the unlock from them, so it's unlocked now and on T-Mobile. Is there going to be any issues putting a custom ROM on it? Will it still be unlocked when I'm done? Any special steps I need to be aware of?
Thanks!
J
fusedpositron said:
I'm planning on flashing my mom's phone to a custom ROM tomorrow, she's tired of all the AT&T crap that's gumming up her phone. It was originally locked to AT&T, but we've gotten the unlock from them, so it's unlocked now and on T-Mobile. Is there going to be any issues putting a custom ROM on it? Will it still be unlocked when I'm done? Any special steps I need to be aware of?
Thanks!
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I am simply suggesting you search the forums and do lots of research first. These i717 forums are the best. I'm not on T-MO but I believe there are posts specific to it relating to which rom to flash, rooting procedures, etc. The "Super Everything" thread is always a great place to start.
If your Mom wants stable without issues, stick to a stock based ROM. Custom Roms come with brilliant perks but are not created for your individual phone's hardware like a stock ROM and may suffer in some (specific) ways. Good luck and have fun.
Perhaps this link will help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=36979101
Or this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43498032
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717
Thanks for the advice, but I want to go ahead with a newer ROM. They've abandonded it on ICS and I think she would benefit from going up to KitKat. Worst case, I flash it back down to stock.
I searched about the unlock, and didn't find anything.
fusedpositron said:
Thanks for the advice, but I want to go ahead with a newer ROM. They've abandonded it on ICS and I think she would benefit from going up to KitKat. Worst case, I flash it back down to stock.
I searched about the unlock, and didn't find anything.
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Click to collapse
FWIW a search of this forum gives results stating that you must unlock from stock. ( Standard exclaimer: your device may be different, etc.) I believe you can flash custom after that. Most people here have flashed dozens of ROMs on this device, myself included, but we are not all on the same carrier, etc.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717
fusedpositron said:
Thanks for the advice, but I want to go ahead with a newer ROM. They've abandonded it on ICS and I think she would benefit from going up to KitKat. Worst case, I flash it back down to stock.
I searched about the unlock, and didn't find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=44921009
Just another link that may be of help.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717
Related
Before i try to install a new rom what are the advantages over stock?
Thanks chrisi
See the (rather extensive) features section in the OP of any of the fine ROMs available. I use CherryCrust with the ProDX theme (thanks, Noattach) as well as the Argos font pack ported by Whipon. I am very satisfied with the tweaks and mods that navalynt has ported and/or baked up (many thanks). It is well worth reading up and doing it right (read the directions, warnings and prerequisites 10x over before doing anything!). I hope I answered your question, as I don't really see any other way it can be interpreted. Don't forget the thanks button
-omni
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Terradualcore_ftw said:
Before i try to install a new rom what are the advantages over stock?
Thanks chrisi
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+1 to the person above, each ROM thread has a features list in the first post.
If you are move comfortable with stock rom, you can sort of "create your own rom" by installing stock deodexed 2.3.4 and applying the mods you want from there (themes, custom kernels, battery % mod, tethering mod, webtop mod, sd card fix, etc.....)
Installing all of this is really easy if you have an unlocked CWM recovery.
I installed a custom rom for the first time yesterday (Aura) And im very pleased with the difference! i think you would like it!. even if theres the posibility of bricking your device its worth it.
Terradualcore_ftw said:
Before i try to install a new rom what are the advantages over stock?
Thanks chrisi
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Click to collapse
It really comes down to how bored you are with stock? There are people that have gone down the custom route, and have gone back. It's all about personal preference.
If you are happy with stock, you may wanna stick it out and spend some time reading about the custom kernals. That way when you do eventually get bored, you'll have a much better chance of upgrading successfully.
Definitely try to "Baby steps" your phone as much as possible...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Thanks guys guess i will have to read up on each rom.. a custom rom is basicly the whole OS vs just doing a kernel upgrade? Id really love to go balls out and do the rom but we will see.. there is no way to bring back a bricked device is there? What could cause a brick besides not flashing right? I wish there was someone local that could do the rom for me lol. I guess im going to have to do some reading.
Also i rooted it using fastboot... now whats this i see with unlocking through fastboot? I need to unlock the phone before i can even think about flashing a rom?
Terradualcore_ftw said:
there is no way to bring back a bricked device is there? What could cause a brick besides not flashing right?
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Click to collapse
There are 2 types of bricks; soft and hard. A hard bricked phone turns it into a paperweight. A soft bricked phone can be recovered. There is a sticky post on the developer forum that describes how to avoid hard bricking your phone.
The stock vs custom ROM issue is a truly personal preference as described above. The only way to get more comfortable with it is by reading and doing. READ FIRST!
YES, unlock the bootloader first. i soft bricked mine when i was learning how to do it.
Hey im new to the forum and love the work you guys do here. I rooted my Photon so far have wifi tether and all the goodies like that up and running, however im interested in flashing a rom now.. BUT with Ice Cream Sandwhich (hopefully) coming soon to the Photon im a bit unsure.. Can i somehow restore my phone back to stock and do an ota or however they send (if they do) the ICS update for the photon? Assuming i do end up flashing a rom, and if i can restore it, how difficult would it be..? Also what would you guys advise for battery life, the Homebase or Alien rom? Its the biggest thing im looking for from flashing a rom really. I just dont want to go through and flash a rom on my phone then a few weeks later see ICS get sent out and i somehow cant update until a dev creates a rom of it. Thanks and sorry for nooby questions but ive been digging here for a while trying to find the answer to these. Thanks!!
You can restore to stock with an SBF flash/RSD Lite - easy enough.
The roms, you should try both and see which best suits your need and use.
Don't accept an OTA - it may ruin out root exploit.
I'm on home base ROM.v1.5 with update 4.2. Not much difference in battery life between the two ROM's and not much improvement that I have seen from stock.
Sent from my Photon via XDA
Kcarpenter said:
You can restore to stock with an SBF flash/RSD Lite - easy enough.
The roms, you should try both and see which best suits your need and use.
Don't accept an OTA - it may ruin out root exploit.
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Click to collapse
+1 to this!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1216143 - you'll need to go here if you haven't unlocked the bootloader and flashed a custom recovery. It'll also answer your question about returning back to stock.
On a side note, has anyone tried the Star Wars ROM, i think people have forgotten about that one.
I never did try that one. Does it have any support still?
Sent from my Photon via XDA
Looked at the thread. Looks like it hasn't gotten a lot of love in a while. It seems to be decent though.
I may have to look through the forum again.
Sent from my Photon via XDA
Kcarpenter said:
You can restore to stock with an SBF flash/RSD Lite - easy enough.
The roms, you should try both and see which best suits your need and use.
Don't accept an OTA - it may ruin out root exploit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed... Make sure you follow the steps carefully because this phone is much easier to soft brick than others. I have done it a couple times.
Also, I agree with the other posters, unless you really just wanna try it it's not all that worth it yet. No real big gains in performance or battery life yet
As the title states, I'm new to the S4, but not to flashing. I had the Fascinate (S1) for the past 3 years and did EVERYTHING with it! I picked up the S4 yesterday and have some questions.
I saw Shane's (DroidModderX) video on how to Root the S4 (ME7) and also his video on how to LOKI bootloader hack, but this all warns against not working after the l latest OTA. When I got the phone, the VZW tech made sure my phone was totally updated and so I'm sure I'm in that stuck area.
I'm working on backing up my SD card before I try formatting to extFAT, so I haven't done anything yet. But do I have any options available to me in terms of rooting/custom ROMs?
Not sure what the relevant information is for the S4, but I've attached my phone info.
You can root only currently. Hopefully SafeStrap wil be available soon to give you other options.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Thanks for the news. What, exactly, is SafeStrap? A new way to flash customs, a recovery method or something altogether new to me?
adamklo said:
Thanks for the news. What, exactly, is SafeStrap? A new way to flash customs, a recovery method or something altogether new to me?
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Safestrap is a very similar way to flash roms as phones that have UNLOCKED bootloaders. The main difference is that the bootloader is locked currently on S4. safestrap doesnt go around bootloader but it does give people the option to flash so custom roms, but you dont get the wide variety as you would on a unlocked bootloader phone.
Also I don't mean to ruin the fun, but the bootloader each year becomes tougher. The developer that did the LOKI mentioned once on a post that this would probably one of the last option he will be able to find a way to unlock bootloaders.
I am so confused, and let me be the first to apologize for my stupidity. Many years ago I had a Droid, and life was so easy, you rooted, you added a ROM and Kernel, and life was good. Today, I have the Galaxy S4 and I am rooted, and I thought this was going to be as easy as it was back then, but I got to read about the nightmares people were having, so I stayed rooted and didn't go any further, for I was afraid I was going to brick my new phone. Now, I am reading that you can't go further because of the bootloader is locked, so how are people loading ROM's with it locked? So, as a person such as myself who has not a clue about all this techy stuff, can you load a ROM with a locked bootloader? I am asking if someone can simplify all this for me. Thanks.
AM
am2354 said:
I am so confused, and let me be the first to apologize for my stupidity. Many years ago I had a Droid, and life was so easy, you rooted, you added a ROM and Kernel, and life was good. Today, I have the Galaxy S4 and I am rooted, and I thought this was going to be as easy as it was back then, but I got to read about the nightmares people were having, so I stayed rooted and didn't go any further, for I was afraid I was going to brick my new phone. Now, I am reading that you can't go further because of the bootloader is locked, so how are people loading ROM's with it locked? So, as a person such as myself who has not a clue about all this techy stuff, can you load a ROM with a locked bootloader? I am asking if someone can simplify all this for me. Thanks.
AM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did your phone take the ME7 update or come with ME7 on it ? If so, root, debloat, Titanium Backup, play with Nova Launcher for customization is about as far as you can go at present. If you are lucky enough to have an MDK build then you can root, install custom recovery, flash roms & kernels to your heart's content. To find which you have : If you are stock, go to settings, more, about phone. Scroll down. If you see VRUAME7, in baseband, build and have not installed any custom roms then you are out of luck. If you see VRUAMDK, Congratulations! You are golden.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4
Verizon has locked down the bootloader for ME7 based roms...I personally would not alter the state of your phone until a bootloader unlock has been achieved. Please see Hascode's OP at http://forum.xda-developers.com/sho...E7] Safestrap Recovery v3.5x [WIP DISCUSSION]
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
This why I joined this forum, for everyone is so knowledgeable and willing to help. I thank you all for you replies, and yes, I am on ME7, and I guess I have to sit it out until there is hope. Thank you.
Hello, not new to rooting and such but I'm a little confused. Just got this Note 2 after breaking my G2. I'm on ND7, managed to root and install safestrap. I've made a stock back up and flashed over my stock as there is no rom slot support yet. I've flashed Alliance 30 and it worked well. My question is, can I flash other Rom's like Wilson's CM12? My bootloader is still locked. Is there a safe way to unlock it? I've searched and found that if you have a locked bootloader you can't flash kernels. I think? Not trying to be annoying. Just confused. I haven't used safestrap since my old Razr days, lol. Any help would be awesome. Thanks in advance. ..
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app
I think you can flash any rom using safestrap. The only ones I tried so far are DN3 and Alliancerom. They flashed with no problems. I would like to add on to this question though, Can I flash any mods using safestrap?
Right. Or kernels for that matter? It's strange because there's some people with unlocked bootloader's, some with safe strap, and some just plain old stock rooted (which was a pain in it's self).
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app
Did a little more digging into the thread, basically if your bootloader is locked, the only Rom's that you can flash are those with the same build and kernel that you are currently on. So you were right. As far as flashing mods with safestrap, still unsure. ???
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app
No other ROMs besides the above mentioned? Seems almost worth sending it to that company to downgrade
any group pricing?
Installed Mocha DrIzzle, liking it so far except the network speed mod
If I couldnt stand to be without telelphone....
stoph8n24 said:
No other ROMs besides the above mentioned? Seems almost worth sending it to that company to downgrade
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Click to collapse
I'd be on the "Send it Off" wagon.
I've seen destructions for using ODIN to flash a KIES image in, and then go about fixing it that way but many many more posts saying this is impossible.
What I'd like to know, if I have to go with the same darn kernel etc, is how the everloving **** to get rid of ALL and I mean *ALL* of the crapware/verizonware/amazonware/etc and completely strip the touchwhiz down to just what I need....
This phone thing is a nasty addiction....:cyclops:
stoph8n24 said:
No other ROMs besides the above mentioned? Seems almost worth sending it to that company to downgrade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone know if there is a list? I was just given this phone. I rooted it, but also stuck with the locked boot loader. I did install Safestrap and did a back up, and was able to create a ROM slot, but that is all I've done so far.
Since I'm "developmentally chsllenged" (I can follow instructions, but I can't do any development work or anything) I try to just go with trusted info, which has worked so far. I just came from a RAZR Maxx HD with CM12 and am not happy with the way this phone runs.
I'm in the same boat as you guys, and I believe you can only flash 4.4.2 ROMs. That's what I gathered from the Safestrap thread. However, you can (and should) backup your stock ROM in Safestrap and flash other ROMs over that.
I'm currently using Alliance, and it's decent. Nowhere near the amount of modifications as CyanideL, which is really what I want, but can't install because it's currently on Android 5.x.
Ridiculous what Samsung has done to this phone. Glad it was relatively cheap though, good lesson to avoid any manufacturer who locks the bootloader in the future.
Does anyone know if we can just flash an older version of the stock ROM? Couldn't we odin, or something, down to 4.1.x and go from there?
adobrakic said:
I'm in the same boat as you guys, and I believe you can only flash 4.4.2 ROMs. That's what I gathered from the Safestrap thread. However, you can (and should) backup your stock ROM in Safestrap and flash other ROMs over that.
I'm currently using Alliance, and it's decent. Nowhere near the amount of modifications as CyanideL, which is really what I want, but can't install because it's currently on Android 5.x.
Ridiculous what Samsung has done to this phone. Glad it was relatively cheap though, good lesson to avoid any manufacturer who locks the bootloader in the future.
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Click to collapse
I have SS and did a back up, but I thought I read about people running into problems and then bricking? I think they got them back after doing some stuff but since I am no where as talented with this stuff I try to be cautious. I've rooted and SS' ed a Bionic and ran several ROM's on that one until replacing it with a RAZR Maxx HD that I rooted (and was able to take advantage of the exploit before they pushed a patch and unlocked the bootloader).
If I can just flash over the stock ROM safely, then I'll get flashing right away
I read the issues with bricking as well, but I think those people were trying to flash 5.x ROMs. I agree about wanting to avoid it though. I have a HTC One S that I saved from being bricked a few times, but I don't even wanna have to go through the process of that for the Note 2. Here's the Safestrap thread, if you're a little wary and would like to read more about it.
As far as I can tell, you should be good with flashing 4.4.2 ROMs, since that's what I did and we seem to have the same config (4.4.2 Note 2, Safestrap 3.72). The only thing I wonder is what TWRP you have. I have the latest 2.7.0.x. If that's what you have, you should be just fine with flashing a 4.4.2 ROM over the stock ROM.