recently had an s4 and note 3 got tired of not being able to rom.
I got a killer deal on a g900t assuming that it's bootloader is unlocked and there are at least a few nice roms to choose from. (unlocked using st)
is this all true? I can rom and real recovery this thing?
will I be good to go with am aokp or a cm build because this is unlocked?
because if I can't I will be super bummed.
was this phone a bad Choice?
Deleted
dovedescent7 said:
recently had an s4 and note 3 got tired of not being able to rom.
Was this phone a bad Choice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it was not a bad phone choice. It's a great phone. I've had mine for most of a year and have NEVER had it lock up or reboot other than when I was playing with apps or roms. I'm on Omega ROM for the S5 and it is reliable as hell. Since the bootloader is unlocked you can run almost any rom you like including CM ROMs or AOKP ROMs. I'm using mine on AT&Ts network and have NO issues. I get a couple days on battery with light to medium usage.
There are a few people who have reset or rebooting problems but it's a very small percentage.
I like the phone a lot.
I had mine since preorder on T-Mobile
I don't have custom recovery just stock rooted with removing the tethering checks and ad block.
No problems with mine.
The best phone ever. I've had it since the first day of release and no problems at all. Personal favorite ROM edgarf28's XtreStroLite (as a daily driver, this is a solid ROM), love CM11 (4.4.4) and looking forward to having some time next week to play with CM12.
You're choice is sound my friend. Don't ever look back. Do clean installs and follow direction and you will be rewarded.
Related
Currently have a S3.. LOVE this phone. A LOT.. But i have mounds of GPS issues that are pretty common, thanks to Verizon. I use this phone every day for GPS and i struggle severely. Time to do something about it.
I LOVE the Samsung platform.. and love the size of the Note series. Thinking about a used N2.. but before i jump on one, i want to make sure the same GPS issues haven't carried over. Is anyone familiar, and can they attest?
Also, I see hundreds of threads as i read through this subforum about soft-bricking, root not taking, not being able to flash ROMs, and other issues. Are these N2 issues, or user issues?
Third - is there another phone, for the same money, that maybe i might find better use or performance out of? $300 budget..
I would say most of the "issues" with rooting and flashing on the note 2 are user issues. I have had my note 2 since day one, flashed a countless amount of roms/updates with no issues. The phone is solid. While there isn't a ton of development for it compared to some of the more popular devices, the development is does have is great. Using CASUAL to root is mostly painless, using ODIN in case you screw up is simple.
I don't use GPS daily, but I most definitely DO use it, and I have had no complaints. Even on AOSP Roms like CM it works great. I did not own an S3 so I cannot make comparisons.
Jiggabitties said:
I would say most of the "issues" with rooting and flashing on the note 2 are user issues. I have had my note 2 since day one, flashed a countless amount of roms/updates with no issues. The phone is solid. While there isn't a ton of development for it compared to some of the more popular devices, the development is does have is great. Using CASUAL to root is mostly painless, using ODIN in case you screw up is simple.
I don't use GPS daily, but I most definitely DO use it, and I have had no complaints. Even on AOSP Roms like CM it works great. I did not own an S3 so I cannot make comparisons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy enough for me. Thanks for the feedback. I'm very comfortable with the root process, just wanted to make sure it wasn't a HW prob that i might struggle to overcome.
If you plan on flashing custom ROMs, do know that some of them have GPS issues, the most common being that they don't ever get a lock on your location. I had a huge problem with this on the PAC Man ROM. Liquid Smooth and JellyBeans have given me no such issues.
My wife has a GS3, fully stock and I have a Note 2. I love this phone and have never had any issues with it. I have had the note for about 6 months and ran stock everything until this week when I got tired of touchwiz and wanted to go back to "real android" and also try out KitKat.
BTW, I bought from swappa and highly recommend it.
I drive 140 miles a day, and my GPS is always on. I have never once had an issue with it, either stock or while running CM11.
As for as a comparison to the GS3... the Note II is the exact same phone and experience, just a bigger form factor and you get a stylus.
Let me know if you have any specific questions for me.
Hi -
For a long time, I had my Note 2 with the standard Verizon ROM that was on it when I first bought it a couple of years ago. But I had rooted it, unlocked it, and put on a custom launcher (Nova). A couple of months ago, I started receiving a notice for an OTA download of a new Verizon update. I read online that I should avoid that (since my phone was rooted) and should instead wait until it was available online and then flash it instead. After waiting a few weeks, I noticed that there were a few custom ROMs based on that new Samsung ROM and I ended up installing/flashing the N3BULA ROM.
I very much love the new version of S Note (especially it's integration with Evernote) and the new Air Command functionality. Other than those two things, though, there's isn't much in the N3BULA ROM that I really need/desire. On the flip side, though, I'm finding that my battery life has gone WAY DOWN compared to my previous (basically stock) ROM. And I find that my phone reboots 2-3 times per day and generally feels less snappy.
So, I'm looking for suggestions on what would provide me with the newer version of S Note and the Air Command function, and otherwise give me the best battery life and snappiest performance. I don't need tons of other bells/whistles/customizations. Any suggestions/help?
Thanks in advance!
If your Note 2 doesn't have the MJ9 firmware as of yet, you should try SkyNote Air. Personally, I think it works faster and smoother than N3bula and has a few more features that are absent in N3bula. The only problem is if you are on MJ9 already, it means you have a locked bootloader (which no-one has found a way to unlock), which means you'll have to use SafeStrap. The problem with that is you won't be able to use wifi because you'll need to flash MJ9 firmware afterwards to make wifi work.
If you don't have MJ9, you are really lucky since you can successfully run SkyNote Air without any problems unlike some people (like myself), and by all means should at least try SkyNote Air. Otherwise, stick with N3bula as it's the closest you'll get to having Note 3 stylus feature.
If you want to try another ROM entirely, try Ditto Note 3. You'll need an unlocked bootloader though.
Best of luck, mate.
Hi all!
I've been an S3 user for a little over 1.5 years; been a native of the Sprint forums (although my Sprint S3 is flashed to Page Plus).
Now that VZW has made their prepaid plan a lot more competitive and included LTE, I'm planning on making the jump, and picking up an S4 in the process. The $ cost to me will end up being negligible, as I'm able to sell my S3 and mostly make up for the expense of the S4.
I've loved my S3 - I run a rooted stock 4.4.2 rom, debloated all the samsung & sprint crap via titanium, and a ktoonsez kernel that's been tweaked to work well with my phone - and it functions perfectly - still fast, great battery life for a ~2 year old phone, etc. Been around android for some time now (first phone was the OG incredible), so am perfectly comfortable tweaking and such, however I don't want to spend too much time doing so.
I'm reading about the S4 and curious if it's worth the upgrade. I've heard several people online complain about the verizon 4.4.2 update causing overheating and issues with the phone. If I root, debloat, and run a quality custom kernel, am I likely to have issues?
I only use my phone for web browsing, calendaring email, texting, and talking - no gaming. I'm mainly looking forward to having the nicer screen and camera, and the likely possibility of a few more Android updates (which the S3 is unlikely to get). Honestly I'd love to have the next Nexus or something that runs closer to stock, but don't have the luxury to wait around for that phone (and I want to stay on vzw's network).
I've been doing some reading around your forum and am just curious as to your thoughts on the jump S3 -> vzw S4! Pros & cons?
Thanks much,
-Dirk
VZW has it locked down. You can root & perhaps a custom rom using Safestrap. But only TW based roms & some Xposed framework customization. Just about 0 choice on kernels. (unless you can get hold of one with MDK bootloader, - - then you are golden.)
wtherrell said:
VZW has it locked down. You can root & perhaps a custom rom using Safestrap. But only TW based roms & some Xposed framework customization. Just about 0 choice on kernels. (unless you can get hold of one with MDK bootloader, - - then you are golden.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh. I was planning on picking up one of the manufacturer refurb ones ($200) thru vzw's site. I'm assuming those will all be on whatever the newest bootloader version is ... this is disappointing (don't really mind running stock, just need to be rooted).
But really no kernels work on the newest OTA?
EDIT: Wow, just read the "Customizing your vzw S4" post ...
If the bootloader isn't "I545VRUAMDK" you have a locked bootloader and can only use Safestrap to install custom ROMs. Custom recovery is not possible. Attempts to install custom recovery will soft-brick your phone and require you to re-flash a stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is very unfortunate. Hmm, now I'm not so sure about this purchase. Assuming the S4 gets Android "L", do you think the device will be locked down again and root will be removed permanently?
dirkdigles said:
Huh. I was planning on picking up one of the manufacturer refurb ones ($200) thru vzw's site. I'm asking those will all be on whatever the newest bootloader version is ... this is disappointing (don't really mind running stock, just need to be rooted).
But really no kernels work on the newest OTA?
EDIT: Wow, just read the "Customizing your vzw S4" post ...
That is very unfortunate. Hmm, now I'm not so sure about this purchase. Assuming the S4 gets Android "L", do you think the device will be locked down again and root will be removed permanently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a lot of great roms you can run and yes you can obtain root with the newest version nc5. Easy as pie with towelroot. Don't even need a pc. Safestrap 3.72 is what you will need if you get the latest version. You could check out swappa if you want a MK2 or maybe even a MDK. Safestrap has its own recovery and works just fine. Most of the people on here use Safestrap. You would be happier if you found one running 4.3 as opposed to 4.4.2 because of better battery life but NC5 (4.4.2) works fine and is a lttle faster probably.
dirkdigles said:
That is very unfortunate. Hmm, now I'm not so sure about this purchase. Assuming the S4 gets Android "L", do you think the device will be locked down again and root will be removed permanently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the bad part about safestrap vs. a custom recovery? I still see CM11 for the S4. Is it a lack of backups or something?
Flowah said:
What's the bad part about safestrap vs. a custom recovery? I still see CM11 for the S4. Is it a lack of backups or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safestrap enables you to flash roms on a locked bootloader which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the big limitation is basically that you can't touch the kernel on a locked bootloader without kexec support ( which will probably never happen) so the only roms you can flash have to be based on the same firmware that your phone has stock. No AOSP roms at all or TW roms that are newer than an OTA and no custom kernels.
All the AOSP roms you see are for MDK and Dev edition phones.
Flowah said:
What's the bad part about safestrap vs. a custom recovery? I still see CM11 for the S4. Is it a lack of backups or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u don't have mdk firmware safestrap only option and no cm or asop roms.
sent by safestrap powered echo v26
I'm pretty happy with my phone. It's not a huge jump from the s3. I am rooted on 4.4.2 and flash roms with SS. You can flash aosp look alike roms. Also, my battery life is just fine!
s4 upgrade not worth it
dirkdigles said:
Hi all!
I've been an S3 user for a little over 1.5 years; been a native of the Sprint forums (although my Sprint S3 is flashed to Page Plus).
Now that VZW has made their prepaid plan a lot more competitive and included LTE, I'm planning on making the jump, and picking up an S4 in the process. The $ cost to me will end up being negligible, as I'm able to sell my S3 and mostly make up for the expense of the S4.
I've loved my S3 - I run a rooted stock 4.4.2 rom, debloated all the samsung & sprint crap via titanium, and a ktoonsez kernel that's been tweaked to work well with my phone - and it functions perfectly - still fast, great battery life for a ~2 year old phone, etc. Been around android for some time now (first phone was the OG incredible), so am perfectly comfortable tweaking and such, however I don't want to spend too much time doing so.
I'm reading about the S4 and curious if it's worth the upgrade. I've heard several people online complain about the verizon 4.4.2 update causing overheating and issues with the phone. If I root, debloat, and run a quality custom kernel, am I likely to have issues?
I only use my phone for web browsing, calendaring email, texting, and talking - no gaming. I'm mainly looking forward to having the nicer screen and camera, and the likely possibility of a few more Android updates (which the S3 is unlikely to get). Honestly I'd love to have the next Nexus or something that runs closer to stock, but don't have the luxury to wait around for that phone (and I want to stay on vzw's network).
I've been doing some reading around your forum and am just curious as to your thoughts on the jump S3 -> vzw S4! Pros & cons?
Thanks much,
-Dirk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the samsung galaxy s4 on verizon and i wouldnt say the upgrade is really worth it from the s3. If you want to stay with samsung go with the s5 with all the newest specs. Then once you get it, if you dont like the soft ware then just flash a stock s3 rom to it and it wil be like your s3 just work a lot more efficient. In short, it is not worth the upgrade from GS3 to GS4.
joshm.1219 said:
Safestrap enables you to flash roms on a locked bootloader which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the big limitation is basically that you can't touch the kernel on a locked bootloader without kexec support ( which will probably never happen) so the only roms you can flash have to be based on the same firmware that your phone has stock. No AOSP roms at all or TW roms that are newer than an OTA and no custom kernels.
All the AOSP roms you see are for MDK and Dev edition phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just an fyi for people, this isn't totally true. In the general section there is a thread about running a 4.4.4 GPE rom. I've been on the 4.4.3 version for a few days and it's great. With gravity box I can get it set up almost like a custom rom. There are a few bugs but nothing that is a deal breaker (for me)
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
rrrrrrredbelly said:
Just an fyi for people, this isn't totally true. In the general section there is a thread about running a 4.4.4 GPE rom. I've been on the 4.4.3 version for a few days and it's great. With gravity box I can get it set up almost like a custom rom. There are a few bugs but nothing that is a deal breaker (for me)
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's true, seems like only a few of you really have it working flawlessly though.
joshm.1219 said:
Yes that's true, seems like only a few of you really have it working flawlessly though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been following the thread that closely, didn't realize. There are definitely issues (no usb connection is a big one) but after losing my mdk phone 2 months ago on a warranty issue, i love this rom.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I finally got my Incredible 4G LTE to S_off. I flashed recovery to TWRP then tried to flash CM 11 Nightly for Fireball. The flash failed with the message "error updating updater binary in zip file". Fixes suggested included installing a dffferent recovery. I didn't want to do that so installed CM 10.2.1. That worked and it is running but the radio signal indicator was showing a low to no signal. I found this thread that indicates that is cosmetic and that the signal is as strong as before. I haven't noticed any issues with the phone.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2485091
has anyone seen this? Is it fixed in a later version of CM?
Have you tried any other ROMs besides CM?
Not yet. CM on this phone isn't yet 24 hrs old. I probably will live with it at least for the next few days since I am on call this weekend. The phone seems to work just fine otherwise.
Do you have any recommendations for a new ROM ? I am fairly new to Android, and very new to rooting in general. I see the team viper ROMs are discontinued. I also see this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1933539
which is a mod of the stock ROM and of course I could in theory restore the stock ROM that I backed up.
crokett said:
Not yet. CM on this phone isn't yet 24 hrs old. I probably will live with it at least for the next few days since I am on call this weekend. The phone seems to work just fine otherwise.
Do you have any recommendations for a new ROM ? I am fairly new to Android, and very new to rooting in general. I see the team viper ROMs are discontinued. I also see this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1933539
which is a mod of the stock ROM and of course I could in theory restore the stock ROM that I backed up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While the ViperLTE ROM isn't supported anymore, it still works great. I have been using 2.2.0 (with the Infernal4.1 Kernel) as my daily driver for well over a year. The customizations over stock are great, and the Infernal Kernal adds Swipe2Wake. But, I like HTC Sense. CM is a better choice if you don't particularly care for Sense.
Unfortunately, this phone was the bastard, left-handed, red-headed step-child, thrice removed Verzion castoff that received very little support from Verizon and HTC. The launch was jacked-up, Verizon nixed the HTC Dev unlock for this phone, and root took a long while. As a result, there are not a lot of ROMs or support for it. I am very thankful to the small community that was able to achieve the unlock, s-off and the few ROMs, Kernels and recoveries that we do have.
junkmail9 said:
Unfortunately, this phone was the bastard, left-handed, red-headed step-child, thrice removed Verzion castoff that received very little support from Verizon and HTC. The launch was jacked-up, Verizon nixed the HTC Dev unlock for this phone, and root took a long while. As a result, there are not a lot of ROMs or support for it. I am very thankful to the small community that was able to achieve the unlock, s-off and the few ROMs, Kernels and recoveries that we do have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I am learning that as I go. However the phone was free, and I was in a slightly better spot than most cause if I bricked it I could always fall back to my iPhone if I had to. Besides, I learned a lot in the last 10 days. for now at least I will stick with CM and see what happens. It works here around my house, and I am not planning to far this weekend. Next week if I decide to I can try something else.
crokett said:
Yeah, I am learning that as I go. However the phone was free, and I was in a slightly better spot than most cause if I bricked it I could always fall back to my iPhone if I had to. Besides, I learned a lot in the last 10 days. for now at least I will stick with CM and see what happens. It works here around my house, and I am not planning to far this weekend. Next week if I decide to I can try something else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good price I bought mine on day of release, and I am still quite happy with it. I have not seen anything out there yet that has a nice small form factor that would be worth changing to. Plus, I still have an unlimited data plan and I'm not inclined to give that up anytime soon. I would be more likely to pick up another "new" Dinc4 at this point if something were to happen to this one.
Well I have built PacRom and LiquidSmooth for this so feel free to give them a go. They both have working data so if you're looking for a stock Google then you should try it if you're S-OFF
Thanks for these 2 new options!!!!!!
Hey guys,
I was using the S5 Active when all of a sudden the screen when haywire and then black forever. So I was thinking of buying a new phone (S9). Then I remembered I don't have S9 money. But I also remembered I had the 'ol S5 from way back when lying around. Problem was it was on a T-Mobile plan that I wasn't anymore. I've been on AT&T. So I got it network unlocked, and have been working the cobb webs out of it. It's still rooted, and running Alliance Rom v4, and was my favorite Rom
forever, but it's just getting too outdated for newer apps.
So... Question one. Can I use a Custom ROM from any Carrier now, and it work fine, or do I still need a G900t ROM?
Question two. Are there any Oreo Roms based off of TouchWiz so I can upgrade from Kit Kat and still keep my stock camera, and music player, because IMO there are no apps on the market that compare.
Thanks
turbomonkey80 said:
Hey guys,
I was using the S5 Active when all of a sudden the screen when haywire and then black forever. So I was thinking of buying a new phone (S9). Then I remembered I don't have S9 money. But I also remembered I had the 'ol S5 from way back when lying around. Problem was it was on a T-Mobile plan that I wasn't anymore. I've been on AT&T. So I got it network unlocked, and have been working the cobb webs out of it. It's still rooted, and running Alliance Rom v4, and was my favorite Rom
forever, but it's just getting too outdated for newer apps.
So... Question one. Can I use a Custom ROM from any Carrier now, and it work fine, or do I still need a G900t ROM?
Question two. Are there any Oreo Roms based off of TouchWiz so I can upgrade from Kit Kat and still keep my stock camera, and music player, because IMO there are no apps on the market that compare.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UPDATE: Nevermind.
I decided to just go with LOS 15.1
The camera and music player are OK in this Rom. They do their jobs. Sorry for the wasted forum space. I'm sure these questions have been asked a million times. Haha.
Thanks again.