Bootlader locked after OTA on Note 4DE - Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello -
I've learned tons from this sight, and thank you all! I've also tried to pay this forward by helping my friends root and ROM their own devices, and I haven't lost one yet!
Anyway...I'll be blunt, and to the point:
I've run my Verizon Note 4 DE on Page Plus since I bought it from Samsung a coupla years ago. All was well, till Page Plus started sucking badly, so I went back to Verizon. I usually debloat and block any OTA updates in the past, but have had a lot going on and it slipped my mind till this morning when I woke to a OTA'd Note 4. I've tried everything I can think of, and have unbricked a couple times already today. None of the current methods, even Kingroot and Kingoroot, will root this. Bootloader is of course locked, and I'm pretty sure that because this update is so new, there may not be a crack for it yet.
So in essence, what I have here is a very expensive retail version Note 4.
I did an aboot.bak when I first got this phone, but cannot locate it for the life of me.
Can anyone help me root and unlock here?
Thanks a lot everyone!
jmgpcent

Related

Fix S5 Dev Edition and or root new S5 on Mac

Hello fellow Android community. Recently I ended up bricking my Verizon S5 Dev Edition using Safestrap. I went out and bought a new consumer S5 it's running Kit Kat 4.4.4 NK2. I already know Towelroot doesnt work to root it. I'm using a Mac with Hemidall 1.4.0 installed and can't access Windows XP in Virtual Box no longer as it won't install properly. Is there any way I can fix my Verizon Dev Edition and or root this new Verizon S5 without having access to an actual PC using ODIN? Last summer I flashed the wrong file on my Dev Edition and it locked the bootloader making it a consumer version. Currently Verizon S5 Dev Editions from Samsung are on backorder. I'm setup to be emailed when they are in stock and it will take 4 weeks for them to get the product according to their site. Thanks for the help. This has been cross posted in another forum pertaining to root but less extensive in detail.
I have already towlroot installed on my current S5 and files to downgrade even though im already on NK2 stock.
Droid9684 said:
Hello fellow Android community. Recently I ended up bricking my Verizon S5 Dev Edition using Safestrap. I went out and bought a new consumer S5 it's running Kit Kat 4.4.4 NK2. I already know Towelroot doesnt work to root it. I'm using a Mac with Hemidall 1.4.0 installed and can't access Windows XP in Virtual Box no longer as it won't install properly. Is there any way I can fix my Verizon Dev Edition and or root this new Verizon S5 without having access to an actual PC using ODIN? Last summer I flashed the wrong file on my Dev Edition and it locked the bootloader making it a consumer version. Currently Verizon S5 Dev Editions from Samsung are on backorder. I'm setup to be emailed when they are in stock and it will take 4 weeks for them to get the product according to their site. Thanks for the help. This has been cross posted in another forum pertaining to root but less extensive in detail.
I have already towlroot installed on my current S5 and files to downgrade even though im already on NK2 stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you make a backup of your aboot partition from the Developer Edition? The second you get a new Developer Edition, don't do anything and PM me. I'll walk you through how to backup your Developer Edition bootloader for safekeeping in case you need to unlock your device again. It's very important to make a backup first thing.
UPDATE
ryanbg said:
Did you make a backup of your aboot partition from the Developer Edition? The second you get a new Developer Edition, don't do anything and PM me. I'll walk you through how to backup your Developer Edition bootloader for safekeeping in case you need to unlock your device again. It's very important to make a backup first thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Ryan thanks for writing me back on my issues with the S5. Ok well yesterday I got Virtual Box to work as I updated the version and installed Windows XP on my Mac. I had used it previously and successfully had used Odin before. However this time I cant get it to recognize any USB devices even after ejecting them from the Mac part. I called Samsung support of the broken Dev S5 and after lengthy talks they refuse to fix it as it's in the system already as "Beyond Economical Repair" from last summer. Another person I reached out to from Brickedmyphone.com got back to me and said he thinks my devices via USB isnt recognized because of emmc failure. When I went to recover my Dev S5 I thought i had a backup in Safestrap but it turned out I didn't. So I did a factory reset thru that then backed out and had it in download mode in which it stayed on. Pulled the battery power on and it stays on Android boot screen now. I never did backup the bootloader of my Dev S5 because no one ever had told me to do so. Never would have thought about doing such a crucial thing. My biggest worry with another Dev S5 is will they be available again as they are on current backorder? And will they still ship out of box with version 4.4.2? When I had the S5 it wouldn't system update at all so my guess is that's the only version it will have unlike the regular S5 that now has 4.4.4? I guess with the Dev Edition weather I flash anything on it or not is that the warranty after 30 days is void. I figured if I didn't flash a custom recovery on that phone I would have been ok but thats not the case. I've had TWRP on my past two Droids and rarely do I run into problems.
As far as the regular S5 from Verizon i plan to return it for majority of my money back by the 17th. But what do you recommend I do for a phone in the mean time? Unless I can get my bricked S5 up and running again. It has a broken Sd card reader anyhow so eventually would have to be replaced.
Note 4 Dev Edition
I'm considering getting Note 4 Dev Edition even if the S5 Dev is available in weeks to come from now. I read someone posted a custom rooted deoxedized without knox rom for it. Otherwise your not able to root it? I plan to try a Note 4 from the store once i return this here consumer S5 to Verizon next week Friday. @ryanbg
Droid9684 said:
I'm considering getting Note 4 Dev Edition even if the S5 Dev is available in weeks to come from now. I read someone posted a custom rooted deoxedized without knox rom for it. Otherwise your not able to root it? I plan to try a Note 4 from the store once i return this here consumer S5 to Verizon next week Friday. @ryanbg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can most definitely root any Dev edition regardless of ROM. Send me a message when you have the phone in hand and I'll give you a hand. I'll help you back up your bootloader too.
ryanbg said:
You can most definitely root any Dev edition regardless of ROM. Send me a message when you have the phone in hand and I'll give you a hand. I'll help you back up your bootloader too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply although very late. I ended up going with a rooted Samsung Galaxy S5 off ebay which is new running 4.4.2. By the time I purchased this phone the Note 4 and S5 Dev editions where still on backorder and I needed a phone quickly. I do like the Note 4 and can't wait for the Note 5 this fall to see what it will be like. I also have an inetrest in the LG G4 heard good things about the specs on it.

Noob needs help Rooting his phone

Hello,
I my first smart phone was the galaxy s4. I rooted that one with no problem after only researching for a couple hours and following simple YouTube tutorials, but that phone has lived too long.
I have recently gotten a Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 5 model number SM-N920P. It is running stock Android 6.01. I would like to root my phone to have the full access i once had to full back ups, easy controller support etc. I have looked around for a few days now and can not find a tutorial to root with the sprint variant on the newest OS. Most are on Lollipop and I read a lot of people bricking their phones. Any help would be appreciated.
Does the phone have a locked bootloader? If yes, this may be why there is no root method yet for MM.
audit13 said:
Does the phone have a locked bootloader? If yes, this may be why there is no root method yet for MM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the bootloader is locked. It is a new phone. Have only had it for a couple of weeks. So Im out of luck? I cannt root my device.
Doesn't look like an exploit is available at the moment.

Why so hard to find root for s7 930a?!?!?

I cannot believe a phone this 'old' is so hard to find a successful root for; with the amount of bloatware that comes with it - its crazy.
If anyone can help me find a root method that still works for Android 7.0 on the Samsung Galaxy S7 930A
I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT. Its bugging me I have been searching for 2 days now..
Until Samsung pulls their head out of their ass and unlocks the bootloader, we'll never see any further development for custom roms or root on the snapdragon version of the galaxy s7. Only other option is to get the international version (g930f) which has the unlocked bootloader and exynos processor.
I'm not sure that it is Samsung that requested phones with a locked bootloader. I believe it is the carriers that want a locked bootloader.
T-Mobile was the last carrier to issue phones with a locked bootloader.
So nobody with AT&T Samsung Galaxy S7 has root?
Why so many forums that used to exist??
Willing to help...
It took a lot of digging but I was able to get my 930a successfully rooted and stable. I would be happy to assist (with what very little I know) and see if we can't figure it out. I used almost all links from XDA, if not all, but it did take a little time to put it all together. I had to flash the 930u firmware and then I had to play around with a few things. But I was successful and it does work and it is very stable. Let me know if I can help, I am going to totally unroot and reroot mine again so I will be going through the process all over anyways. Would love to be of some help, this is actually my first post on XDA so figured what better time to jump in. Take care
stevefalk35 said:
It took a lot of digging but I was able to get my 930a successfully rooted and stable. I would be happy to assist (with what very little I know) and see if we can't figure it out. I used almost all links from XDA, if not all, but it did take a little time to put it all together. I had to flash the 930u firmware and then I had to play around with a few things. But I was successful and it does work and it is very stable. Let me know if I can help, I am going to totally unroot and reroot mine again so I will be going through the process all over anyways. Would love to be of some help, this is actually my first post on XDA so figured what better time to jump in. Take care
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have mine stuck in boot loop i am trying to just to get back to stock would u be able to assist

Samsung s7 help

I'm new to this guys, so I'm going to make this long story as short as possible.
A couple of years ago. I bought an s7 (sm-g930fd)from a guy who goes to the university in my city. I'm assuming he was an international student by the phone model. The phone never worked as a phone, but got it cheap to play games on for my kids. The longest time the phone was fine. Until about a month ago it started crashing. So I decided to have a look and found it was on 6.1 firmware. I tried updating using the phones settings to no avail. So a few weeks back I started reading into it. After a bit of reading I decided it seems simple enough to upgrade the firmware to 8.0 (as my s8+ uses it and recently my girlfriends s7) so I might as well update it. This is where my troubles began lol.
I followed a tutorial posted (on the sammobile site where I got the 8.0 firmware). Upon following that tut, and adjusting the settings in developer mode (OEM-off) I was with a start screen that had the red frp text at the top. At that point there was no turning back. Had to flash with the new firmware to fix the frp notice.
The flash worked perfectly. Or so I thought. I started to process into getting the setting up of the phone and bam. The last google account I used on there no longer worked. So I tried all the accounts ever logged in to it. Google locked. I learned today that frp and google lock are one and the same lol.
Everything I've read up until this point says I cant bypass the frp. So I've read downgrade to 7.0. Problem is odin wont downgrade to the 7.0 firmware.
I have no clue at this point what my options are. I'd rather figure this out myself. There is a fellow on local kijiji who wants 20 bucks to bypass the google thing. I'd honestly rather not. Hence this thread
Help or ideas? Anyone?
And sorry if this post is in the wrong section.
So the phone is IMEI blocked and Google account locked. To downgrade to 7.0 you have to find firmware that is March 2018 (Binary 2 Rom) downgrade from 8.0 Oreo or newer that is on nougat. You still need to search up on youtube the bypass method for doing so.
IMEI part, you'll have to search around for that service.
PM me if you need help with what firmware you need to flash.
Its Google locked yes. Not too sure about the imei. I've never used this as a phone. The guy who sold it to me said it was a demo model and the sim tray didnt work.
I actually just had my girlfriend take it to a guy locally, who's doing it for me.

Verizon Galaxy S7 Edge: Removing bloatware after 1-Clk-Root

Just picked up a carrier unlocked Verizon Galaxy S7 Edge model SM-G935V.
Now that I finally have a model which seems like it should be relatively easy to root, I would prefer to learn to do it using a PC ie flashing ROM, but I have no PC*access*right now.
My main question is:
After rooting my phone using a 1-click root method, will it be relatively easy for me to un-install ALL bloatware & eventually end up with a phone that's running just as efficiently as it would if I had picked out and flashed a good stripped down ROM using a PC instead of some 1-click method?
I'm also considering purchase and use of Super-sume Pro (if the job is done with Kingroot).
Any advice AT ALL regarding what I hope to do would be greatly appreciated... and jic it helps here s a little of my background:
I have NO successful experiences using TWRP or the like w other phones.. although I believe I came close!!... my last few phone picks turned out to be models which were pretty much impossible to root (locked bootloader was the common culprit best I could understand).... Otherwise I think I'd have been able to do at least 1 previous model the flash-rom way.
I DO have A lot of general experience w PCs and have successfully rooted a few phones using 1 click Android software such as Kingroot, but at that time I did not fully understand or hope to remove bloatware to cool battery or otherwise dial in best performance.
It's been at least 3 years since I last performed a 1 click root on any phone.
Thanks in advance for any advice or assistance... I really appreciate everyone & everything at XDA.
Best advice, get/borrow a laptop and follow the instructions in this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-s7-edge/how-to/root-s7-s7edge-oreo-nougat-t3819616 to see about rooting your S7e. All those "1-click" options never worked for me. With the method in the above link, I can root my S7e in under 15min.
1) First and foremost, what is the current software version your S7e is running? example= G935VVRS4CRI1. IF the 5th digit from the RIGHT is the letter "B" stop! You can't root. If it is the letter "A," or a number, you are good to go.
2) even with root, there is no flashing of ANY custom ROM's. Yes, you can debloat and make some changes, but with the godd**mn locked bootloader the options are limited. Rooting does not unlock the bootloader, therefore there is no TWRP, Magisk, etc.
Others with experience regarding those 1-click methods may chime in with their advice/experience. But none of those instant methods ever worked for me.
Good luck.
SkylineDriver said:
Best advice, get/borrow a laptop and follow the instructions in this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-s7-edge/how-to/root-s7-s7edge-oreo-nougat-t3819616 to see about rooting your S7e. All those "1-click" options never worked for me. With the method in the above link, I can root my S7e in under 15min.
1) First and foremost, what is the current software version your S7e is running? example= G935VVRS4CRI1. IF the 5th digit from the RIGHT is the letter "B" stop! You can't root. If it is the letter "A," or a number, you are good to go.
2) even with root, there is no flashing of ANY custom ROM's. Yes, you can debloat and make some changes, but with the godd**mn locked bootloader the options are limited. Rooting does not unlock the bootloader, therefore there is no TWRP, Magisk, etc.
Others with experience regarding those 1-click methods may chime in with their advice/experience. But none of those instant methods ever worked for me.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Skyline,
Thank you for taking the time. Much appreciated. Luckily I already found out about the software version issue and I'm looking at the number 4, so that potential roadblock isn't one
Let me try to understand exactly what you said towards the end of your reply, though.
Are you saying that even if I use a PC and avoid any 1 click method that I will not have any option to flash a custom ROM? I could have sworn I saw a thread a few nights ago somewhere here at XDA which required use of a PC, specifically for my phone model and it described the altered OS or ROM as being as simplified as it gets, devoid of all Verizon bloatware. Maybe I am referring to it in correctly when I say custom ROM, I'll look for said post to see what I may be remembering incorrectly.
I have personally had great experience w 1-click methods in the past, @ least 4 different phones (older Samsung, LG).. but I have NEVER tried 1-click w a phone thats truly important... as in important enough to seriously worry about stolen IMEI, keylogger or other malware, etc..
I want a perfectly clean, safe "out of the gates" root on this phone, so I'm willing to wait to make sure it's done the proper/best way on my FIRST attempt.
Looks like the thread is already talking me out of using 1-click (might have known deep down that needed to happen lol).
Anyway thanks again for your advice.
When I finally do get to rooting it, I'll post the details and overall experience info here.
Whatever you do, DO NOT UPDATE to the latest software version.
With root, you can debloat all you want. I have next to nothing running on my phone (goodbye Google "services"). You just can not flash any custom (non-official Samsung) ROM's such as LineageOS, Calvioppe, etc... thanks to that damn locked Crapdragon. Much as I love my S7e, when it dies, it will be my last Samsung for that reason alone.
If you follow the steps outlined in the above linked thread, you should be able to root 1-2-3. I have been rooted since it became available and have had zero issues. It will require a PC/ laptop but it is reliable and verified working.
Good luck with your project.
Canthigaster said:
Skyline,
Thank you for taking the time. Much appreciated. Luckily I already found out about the software version issue and I'm looking at the number 4, so that potential roadblock isn't one
Let me try to understand exactly what you said towards the end of your reply, though.
Are you saying that even if I use a PC and avoid any 1 click method that I will not have any option to flash a custom ROM? I could have sworn I saw a thread a few nights ago somewhere here at XDA which required use of a PC, specifically for my phone model and it described the altered OS or ROM as being as simplified as it gets, devoid of all Verizon bloatware. Maybe I am referring to it in correctly when I say custom ROM, I'll look for said post to see what I may be remembering incorrectly.
I have personally had great experience w 1-click methods in the past, @ least 4 different phones (older Samsung, LG).. but I have NEVER tried 1-click w a phone thats truly important... as in important enough to seriously worry about stolen IMEI, keylogger or other malware, etc..
I want a perfectly clean, safe "out of the gates" root on this phone, so I'm willing to wait to make sure it's done the proper/best way on my FIRST attempt.
Looks like the thread is already talking me out of using 1-click (might have known deep down that needed to happen lol).
Anyway thanks again for your advice.
When I finally do get to rooting it, I'll post the details and overall experience info here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SkylineDriver said:
Whatever you do, DO NOT UPDATE to the latest software version.
With root, you can debloat all you want. I have next to nothing running on my phone (goodbye Google "services"). You just can not flash any custom (non-official Samsung) ROM's such as LineageOS, Calvioppe, etc... thanks to that damn locked Crapdragon. Much as I love my S7e, when it dies, it will be my last Samsung for that reason alone.
If you follow the steps outlined in the above linked thread, you should be able to root 1-2-3. I have been rooted since it became available and have had zero issues. It will require a PC/ laptop but it is reliable and verified working.
Good luck with your project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for the warning about no updating... I am WELL aware of this, my friend.
Take a look at this thread... it really looks to me as if this person is talking about flashing a ROM on the S7 Edge, no?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7...a-evolution-x-samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-t4058837
That's only 1 of at least 2 or 3 similar threads that I've been having a look at lately...
If you look closely, that is for the Exynos version of the S7e. Verizon uses the Snapdragon (ie. Crapdragon) processor which has a locked bootloader for US models.
Ok I get it completely... one last teeny tiny bit of hope- I purchased mine Unlocked by manufacturer. Could that possibly extend beyond carrier unlock and (maybe maybe please just possibly) mean my bootloader is unlocked?
Went out of my way to make sure it was unlocked by MANUFACTURER, not SELLER for obvious reasons. Had no knowledge about chipset... dammit there's always something to miss no matter how much prep one tries to do!
Unlocked just means that the phone is able to be activated on any carrier ie. not specifically locked to only Verizon.
Only the Exynos and Chinese Snapdragon can be bootloader unlocked. As mentioned, I love my S7e, and will use it until it dies, but I seriously doubt I will get another Snapdragon Samsung that is locked down tighter than Ft. Knox.
Good luck...

Categories

Resources