I have an S4 (SCH-i545) that was upgraded to Lollipop 5.0.1 (VRSGPL1). I'd like to upgrade it to a plain vanilla android, but from what I've read, it sounds like the PL1 bootloader will prevent me from changing the OS.
I was thinking that I might be able to do a complete wipe and restore the phone back to factory (VRAUAMDK) by flashing a stock firmware such as SCH-I545_MDK_562219_Stock_Restore.tar.md5 with Odin. My thought is that would also replace PL1 with the old MDK bootloader.
I can't come up with a clear idea whether that will work or not based on wheat I've read here and elsewhere, so I was hoping that there someone here who has a better understanding of the system could share their thoughts. Will this work, or will it brick my phone?
DingoKidneys said:
I have an S4 (SCH-i545) that was upgraded to Lollipop 5.0.1 (VRSGPL1). I'd like to upgrade it to a plain vanilla android, but from what I've read, it sounds like the PL1 bootloader will prevent me from changing the OS.
I was thinking that I might be able to do a complete wipe and restore the phone back to factory (VRAUAMDK) by flashing a stock firmware such as SCH-I545_MDK_562219_Stock_Restore.tar.md5 with Odin. My thought is that would also replace PL1 with the old MDK bootloader.
I can't come up with a clear idea whether that will work or not based on wheat I've read here and elsewhere, so I was hoping that there someone here who has a better understanding of the system could share their thoughts. Will this work, or will it brick my phone?
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Click to collapse
I too would like to know if this is viable. I doubt it, seeing as I can't find any threads outlining this solution. But an explanation as to why this won't work would be greatly appreciated!
ItsBeenFun2017 said:
I too would like to know if this is viable. I doubt it, seeing as I can't find any threads outlining this solution. But an explanation as to why this won't work would be greatly appreciated!
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Click to collapse
DingoKidneys said:
I have an S4 (SCH-i545) that was upgraded to Lollipop 5.0.1 (VRSGPL1). I'd like to upgrade it to a plain vanilla android, but from what I've read, it sounds like the PL1 bootloader will prevent me from changing the OS.
I was thinking that I might be able to do a complete wipe and restore the phone back to factory (VRAUAMDK) by flashing a stock firmware such as SCH-I545_MDK_562219_Stock_Restore.tar.md5 with Odin. My thought is that would also replace PL1 with the old MDK bootloader.
I can't come up with a clear idea whether that will work or not based on wheat I've read here and elsewhere, so I was hoping that there someone here who has a better understanding of the system could share their thoughts. Will this work, or will it brick my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can not down grade to bootloader. You might be able to safestrap it but im not sure. I believe all you need is root, safestrap, and a compatible rom.
Related
Hey guys,
I have never felt more new than in this moment. I have lurked here long as I dig for my answers rather than imposing on the community for repeating themselves.
That being the case, I am embarassed to ask but, I cannot seem to find a thread listing the Baseband and linking them to the best behavior for the user if they have them.
I BELIEVE I have MDK because I have teamwin installed, I seem to remember installing the MJ7 radio via Kernel whicj may explain the VM7 in the Baseband while only running android 4.2.2.
The problem is that now most ROMs (I just want a Stock 4.3/4.4 with vzw tethering) tell me that I need to be on MDK safestrapped, is there a way to know for sure that my baseband is, in fact, MDK? Besides Baseband?
Thanks.
mastridonicus said:
Hey guys,
I have never felt more new than in this moment. I have lurked here long as I dig for my answers rather than imposing on the community for repeating themselves.
That being the case, I am embarassed to ask but, I cannot seem to find a thread listing the Baseband and linking them to the best behavior for the user if they have them.
I BELIEVE I have MDK because I have teamwin installed, I seem to remember installing the MJ7 radio via Kernel whicj may explain the VM7 in the Baseband while only running android 4.2.2.
The problem is that now most ROMs (I just want a Stock 4.3/4.4 with vzw tethering) tell me that I need to be on MDK safestrapped, is there a way to know for sure that my baseband is, in fact, MDK? Besides Baseband?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say that if you have TWRP you're on mdk. Safestrap is based off TWRP but you'd see a safestrap splash screen when rebooting.
Verizon Galaxy S4
SafeStrap 3.71
Hyperdrive 12
It's simple. If you have any custom recovery installed (twrp or cwm) you are on the original mdk firmware. No other firmware will allow custom recovery. And safestrap really only should be used if you can't get a custom recovery installed. Flashing a radio (baseband only changes) will not alter your firmware kernel or bootloader.
So my girlfriend has wants her S4 rooted. I have the S3 and its quite different as far as rooting goes. I am also on sprint whereas she is on verizon (although thats not such a big deal).
Anyways, what I would like to have clarified for me is this: She is currently unrooted with stock MK2. From what I have read you can only root and install compatible roms with safestrap. The main thing she wants is KitKat and possibly CM. Is there any way for her to get either of these. Also, would it be possible to revert back to stock and flash KitKat with the OTA from verizon when it is released?
Thanks for any help.
BioBot said:
So my girlfriend has wants her S4 rooted. I have the S3 and its quite different as far as rooting goes. I am also on sprint whereas she is on verizon (although thats not such a big deal).
Anyways, what I would like to have clarified for me is this: She is currently unrooted with stock MK2. From what I have read you can only root and install compatible roms with safestrap. The main thing she wants is KitKat and possibly CM. Is there any way for her to get either of these. Also, would it be possible to revert back to stock and flash KitKat with the OTA from verizon when it is released?
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no way for her to get KitKat or CM or anything AOSP. Hopefully the next OTA will have an exploit, but there hasn't been a cracked bootloader since the first version of firmware on the initial releases. Realistically, never going to happen.
Hi,
Just got an i545. It is currently on NK1 with 4.4.2. I understand to root it I can follow this (thread closed so can't post there). My confusion is: once I root, can I install safestrap or TWRP and flash custom roms? I read somewhere else on the forum that NK1 is limited to certain AOSP roms. I really like Carbon but am open to trying others and I don't want to screw things up. Sorry if this is noob-ish but I think I gave myself information over-load trying to find the correct steps.
Also, I will be using this with AT&T so would I want to stick to the unified builds?
Thanks,
SS only, no twrp/cwm.
Only TW roms aside from this aosp:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3019132
I used it before LP, a few bugs but overall ran well
Thanks for the info. If safestrap must be used, would these roms work? From what I gather so far, it's also not possible to downgrade from NK1 to NC5 or other, is it? I don't see the point of flashing another TW rom...but that's just me. I guess I can just root and customize for now, and experiment with TW roms if I get bored.
EDIT - I am wrong, it appears that I can odin back to earlier images (MDK, NC5, etc...) Is this feasible? Would it allow me to root, install custom recovery, and any rom I wish?
That list should be good. You can go back to nc5, can't downgrade past KK.
Also, there are threads on how to upgrade to 5.0.1, however if you take the official ota you'll lose root and can't downgrade back
I appreciate your help. Just to confirm, if I downgrade to NC5, will I be able to use ANY custom recovery and flash ANY rom? Or will I still be limited to safestrap and TW roms?
EDIT - Found my answer here. Anything over MDK can only use safestrap and TW roms. Bummer. No point in down-grading then.
Edit 2 - It seems that if I want to run any kind of rom I do need to down grade to NC5 as most seem to be based on it. I assume I would use the full wipe from this guide.
This S4 is my 7th android and it's, by far, got the most hoops to jump through and/or limitations. All my other phones were easy-peasy! Or is it just because it's Verizon branded? All other phones were T-Mo or ATT.
It's this phone & Verizon, they both suck
if you can help add my skype maoursenpeluche ill be on there alot i need to get this fixed as fast as possible
what bootloader are you on?
Idk anything about it or how to find my boot loader
Have you gotten any help from others?
And could you describe what you were doing when you soft bricked it?
no help and i was trying to downgrade it to 4.4.2 it was on lollipop 5.0.1 i wanted to root it
If it was on stock lollipop, either it was at build OC1 or OF1, neither of which have the ability to downgrade to older OS. You should have read the forums first to check if you can downgrade before attempting to do so. If you had gotten an upgrade notification within the last month or so, or you got it secondhand, it most likely was on OF1. follow directions here after downloading firmware from here , making sure you get the OF1 software for SCH-i545. That's the limit of my knowledge. if that doesn't work, hopefully someone who knows better will come by to help.
Also, OF1 does not currently have a way to root.
The guy above me is correct. Basically you have to flash the stock image of OF1 and then your phone should be good. Lesson learned? Lol. Always follow exact instructions to avoid soft bricking
Sent from my stang5litre Edition 5.0 using XDA Free mobile app
have you managed to unbrick?
Hello guys, I'm really just trying my luck on finding someone who can help me with this (or at least direct me to a thread or something..)
I've got a Sprint Galaxy Note 3 which is currently working with any network except for a couple of things I want addressed:
*I wanna downgrade back to JellyBean bexause there's an app that I need to be working (yes, it's more important to me than getting the latest android features)
*I wanna keep the phone *carrier-unlocked* (I was told that the phone is factory unlocked, and given that the phone has Sprint branding..it always goes on roaming mode just for it to work where I am (Phillipines), and I wanna fix that.)
So, with that being said, I just need help on where to start and what order should I be following to achieve these.. I'll be okay with stock Android JB but I want to use a custom rom as much as possible..
P.S. - I've tried reading the forums, and have been reading the forums.. it's just that I cannot seem to find something that would give me the result I want..
Any help would be much appreciated.. Thanks in advance for those who care to help..
bitz017 said:
Hello guys, I'm really just trying my luck on finding someone who can help me with this (or at least direct me to a thread or something..)
I've got a Sprint Galaxy Note 3 which is currently working with any network except for a couple of things I want addressed:
*I wanna downgrade back to JellyBean bexause there's an app that I need to be working (yes, it's more important to me than getting the latest android features)
*I wanna keep the phone *carrier-unlocked* (I was told that the phone is factory unlocked, and given that the phone has Sprint branding..it always goes on roaming mode just for it to work where I am (Phillipines), and I wanna fix that.)
So, with that being said, I just need help on where to start and what order should I be following to achieve these.. I'll be okay with stock Android JB but I want to use a custom rom as much as possible..
P.S. - I've tried reading the forums, and have been reading the forums.. it's just that I cannot seem to find something that would give me the result I want..
Any help would be much appreciated.. Thanks in advance for those who care to help..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once your device was upgraded past MJ4 (jellybean) to NAB ( first kitkat based rom ) Knox was installed and as the device was upgraded past KK to OC2 lollipop Knox security follows making it impossible to go back to jellybean.
jimzweb1 said:
Once your device was upgraded past MJ4 (jellybean) to NAB ( first kitkat based rom ) Knox was installed and as the device was upgraded past KK to OC2 lollipop Knox security follows making it impossible to go back to jellybean.
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Click to collapse
regarding this process, say I have Lollipop installed, and don't care about tripping knox. Does it still make in impossible to go back to JB?
thanks for the response
bitz017 said:
regarding this process, say I have Lollipop installed, and don't care about tripping knox. Does it still make in impossible to go back to JB?
thanks for the response
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is still impossible to downgrade. When the device is upgraded to kitkat and beyond several changes are made to the bootloader/modem. If you try to downgrade the bootloader/modem to MJ4 you will brick the device.
By tripping Knox all you are really doing is breaking the knox security system ( meaning Knox containerization of data is no longer possible ). What you might be able to do is root your device with a OK2 lollipop with a custom recovery. Then make a BACKUP of your rooted OS ( click on rom flashing basics in my signature for more info). Now you could try to find a jellybean based rom/OS and see if the device will boot up. The worst that can happen is you will soft brick the device ( it boot loops on start up ). To solve this just pull the battery and replace then boot into recovery and flash your backup and then try a different one.