yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
OK, so I watched the video, but still - what about GooManager, MobileOdin? Do I really need those apps? Please don't blame me or hate me. Please provide me with the steps instead. After watching the video, I have these steps. Are they all right?

1. The first thing is to install the TWRP on the phone

2. Then turn the phone off and go to recovery mode by VolUp, Home, Power

3. Then press up to confirm I want to recover

4. Then in TWRP, choose Wipe and Swipe to factory reset

5. Then click Back

6. Install -> choose MC2...(.zip?) file which should be on SD, not in folder, then Swipe to install

7. When it's done, click (well, push or else, who cares...) Reboot System, then "Do not install" to make sure SuperSU will not be installed

8. Wait for 10 seconds for the TWRP? to finish its work

9. Go to Sprint so they activated the phone. (Can I/should I?)

10. After all these steps are performed, I'll have my phone all official, unrooted, stock, fully functional, with the ability (and that is kind of most important) to restore my apps (with data) through Kies (or is Astro Manager better?)

I'm asking about GooManager and MobileOdin because I was kind of naive that if I chose "Full Unroot" in SuperSU, I'd have my phone fully (and I mean fully - no SuperSU, but also back to official firmware) unrooted... So, in case I really need those apps, what really is my FIRST step? Get back the root by re-rooting the phone with the CF-Auto-Root?

P.S. Is TWRP this one:	BILLARD412_TWRP_RECOVERY_FLASHABLE.zip - [Click for QR Code] (7.27 MB, 1330 views)? I found it in the first post, last line before signature line.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
Now I'm in desperate need to reset my phone - and I mean reset - I tried updating it via OTA, it was a second try. The first time it was when I had SuperSU and so rooted, the second was just a few minutes ago. It's getting stuck on SAMSUNG logo, and won't go any further.

P.S.It won't go into Recovery mode. I found a video (of AT&T Note II) but I guess it should work for this phone as well - he went into Download mode, and I have that option, and the next thing he did was to open Odin and put the .md5 image into the PDA part of Odin. Then he flashed. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdSpibu-WWs Please tell me if it'll work. Thank you.

P.P.S. Where can I find the .tar.md5 of the Note II? I'd prefer not rooted, all stock. Please people help me!!!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] na_tra:
Go here and get the tar file for the MC2. You can also get the NE2 tar file from there.

http://www.rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung%20Galaxy%20Note%20II%20%28SPH-L900%29/Stock%20ROMs/MC2/Full%20Restore/Unrooted
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
Is it official firmware? I trust xda-developers, but just to make sure. Also, which one should I download - MC2_Stock or MC2_10...? Exe or .tar.md5.gz? I mean, what is .exe? Please provide me with as much details as possible. Thank you.

P.S. To add a few details: Is it L900VPAMC2 or whichever is appropriate for the MC2? Full stock, unrooted, official firmware that will allow me to update up to Kitkat with no problems and restore my backups from Kies?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
It's official. Personally since you already tried to do the OTA I would stick with the ne2 update. You wouldn't need to worry about having to get it ota since you would be up to date.

Don't know about your backups though?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
From the .../NE2/Original TAR folder then? But I have a few questions about it in that case:

1. It's .7z archive, so has anybody unpacked it? Is there .tar.md5 inside or just like the MC2 here in the OP here?

2. If it's like MC2 here, is there any way to install(/flash) it?

3. If I install the MC2 from here, do you want to say I won't be able to update the phone?

4. This one hasn't been answered yet: Can I/should I go to the Sprint store to activate the phone? I say I can just come there and say some app ruined my phone, and so I had to perform a factory reset.

Thanks for a reply, and I really hope I'll be able to fix the phone today.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
1. You have to unzip the file, then flash the tar through Odin. Ne2 will do a complete wipe of the phone and you'll have 4.4.2 stock uprooted.

2. There is a zip floating around but if I had problems installing an OTA I would flash it through Odin (IMHO)

3. Again, since you had a problem with the OTA I would just flash the update through Odin. I flashed ne2 through Odin only because I couldn't wait to get the update. The minute the ne2 tar went up I was on it:D

4. Activate the phone? Is it not activated? You can take it to sprint but (again, just my opinion) you already watched some geeky video on how to try and fix it yourself? Jk but if I ever have to take my phone into a sprint store for repair then I'm admitting defeat. And when I take it in it *will* be rooted and Knox *will* be tripped...

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
1. OK, the file finished downloading, unpacked it, and am ready to install (I hope)

2. OK

3. OK

4. I mean, will I be able to call right away? I don't think so, I think I'll have to enter my phone number and set it up, but I guess I'll just contact Sprint Live Chat for that..
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
Is the phone active??

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
It worked!!!

Thanks guys, if I knew you in face, I'd give you some beer. It worked as magic!

The only problem I see is that it worked from the third time - the first time (IMHO) it recognized that the file is MD5, the second time it actually found the phone itself in Odin, and third time it flashed the firmware.

Now I have to re-personalize it, but you won't be able to help me. So, once again, thanks a lot, and I wish there were a lot more as kind people.

In my case, when the phone was (bricked?) not turning on, I had to un(brick?) it.

So, what I did, step by step:

0(pre-1): Back up your data!!! Samsung Kies does a good job of restoring backups, but still, if you have a chance to save all you need to SD card, do so.

1. Download the latest firmware, the link is some posts above, and then Odin.

2.Turn the phone off and click Volume Down + Home + Power, then after phone is on, you may release Power button, but not other 2.

3. When you see a message about custom recovery, you should press Volume Up to confirm. You'll see a message "Please do not turn the phone off" or similar - don't remember exact phrase - was too much worried and scared

4. Open Odin

5. In Odin, click the PDA button and find the firmware that you downloaded in step 1.

6. Click Start (it may be necessary to click it a few times to start installing)

7. It may take some time, but in the end it says PASS! If it doesn't - it means it didn't finish (or didn't start flashing at all). In most cases, you shouldn't panic and try clicking Start several times. IMHO.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
Lol. Oh young Jedi (and I can say that because I'm old) just promise that you won't forget what you just did :p

Glad to hear your back up and running....

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
I can, but now I have it here, lol... :p

Also, I contacted Sprint just now (not for activation - it seems to have never lost its activation - didn't know) and they told me the "official" baseband is L900VPUBNE2, but I have L900VPUCNE2. Is there any difference? Is it OK that I have C, not B? When I go into Settings->About phone->Status, it says Device status Official, but I just want to make sure. Everything works great, all contacts, text messages synced; apps restored from Kies, but for some reason, not all. I'll try to restore all that didn't restore now.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
Yea, not sure why the discrepancy. I have the same as you. Someone in a thread stated that sprint techs didn't have a clue. But, the official version seems to be *either*, out on the Interweb? Doesn't really matter cause in a few days you'll have installed a custom recovery and rooted and tripped Knox :D

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
Oh, no. Oh, no no! Enough root from me! I'm done with the root part, didn't like it, and so not rooting any other phone!

(Though I have to admit I did like one pro of rooting - no ads - but only one. So no, no more rooting.)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
Lol. How can you not like root? It allows me to:

Run titanium backup and freeze/uninstall/backup/restore apps

Run certain apps at system level, so they work better (battery apps for example)

Remove bloatware

Install mods/make nandroids/restore nandroids from custom recovery

Run a custom kernel

Run xposed and wanam. Why would someone not run xposed and wanam!!!

Crazy kids these days:rolleyes:

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] miha2:
1. Titanium - couldn't restore some games (transfer game currency from free version to paid)

2. My Note II's Battery percentage works smoothly enough not to cheat on me

3. Same as 1 - I haven't learned to use Titanium Backup the proper way, so couldn't install (not so much bloatware?)

4. Thank you, not interested

5. That I would definitely never do to my phone - even if I did want to install a custom kernel, I read (and later watched a video on how to unroot with Cyanogen pre-installed, guy wanted to unroot to bring to Sprint) that GPS or other features might not work on custom kernels

6. Run the app that I'll never use for the reason I'm OK with camera sound or I need to know if my battery gets too low?

As mentioned above, the ONLY thing I liked about root is removal of annoying ads, that make me NOT download/buy products they advertise even more.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] g_money:
Lol. Understood miha2. Understood....

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] mnxd9:
So yeah sometime ago I did this and I'm still on this mc2 build can anyone tell me where I should go from here, I didn't take the official update so, so far in knox free but I'm still on 4.1.2 mc2 how do I get to 4.4 with all modem and kernel updates, keeping my root and knox free ways. So far out of the loop, as I understand (which may be wrong) if I went to a custom fit 4.4 tom I wouldn't necessarily get all the updates, or am I wrong?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
If you want to avoid the Knox this would be your best route.

1. Flash NE2 modem/baseband (if you want to I am on old lj1 myself)

2. Flash wifi fix from custom roms OP via Odin (without this you wont have wifi)

3. Flash custom rom (community or s5-feat are the only one I know of) following OP's instructions

The only thing extra with the full on odin route is knox bootloader.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] madrilenyo93:
Because I tripped my knox counter before, if I do update to 4.3 or 4.4, Samsung will not honor the warranty on my hardware issue, correct?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] mash4077fan:
I am still on 4.1 and i have a few backups. My question is if I do flash this and take the ota updates and decide i dont like kitkat or 4.3 would i be able to flash this again, dont take updates and reflash my 4.1 backups?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
Many users run into issues when trying to go backwards. If you want to try 4.3 or 4.4.2 try a custom rom. They dont change bootloader so no Knox and if you dont like them you can simply restore your backup of 4.1.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] FanOfSkynyrd:
So I tried installing this today and couldnt get it to run. Flashed the TWRP in the OP, made a back-up(thank GOD) and wiped per OP. Tried installing, got error, tried several times. Still says "error opening zip". MD5 verified, whats the deal?

Even the back-up I made wouldnt initially install. I renamed it and then it installed ok, so now I am back to were I was before I started. What should I try next??

**EDIT** NVM, I went ahead and went back into recovery after my back-up reinstalled. Did a factory reset and tried flashing...worked this time.

Thanks OP for your work!

**EDIT 2** This thing will not flash right....it stays in a boot loop on the Samsung screen. Any thoughts?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Shadowpaw:
Had the same problems trying to flash out of no where. What worked for me was using philz 6.07.9 not the newer versions then it worked like a charm
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] FanOfSkynyrd:
Thx, tried various things. Read elsewhere in the thread to try flashing Philz and formating preload, the twrp then the rom. No dice.

So tried a flash using just philz and the same just bootloops at the Samsung screen.

Screw it, I've the ne2 modem. I'm gonna just flash that then flash community rom from a fresh clean install wiping everything.

Hopefully that will stop these random reboots and freezes I currently get on mk4
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] kristoff123:
Just wanted to add that the MC2 zip posted in the OP got me back to 4.1.2 from 4.4.2. I have my Note 2 flashed to Page Plus. I had the official stock kitkat installed and kept losing my 3g data connection whenever I drove out of town. Nothing but a restart would work. I was pretty sure it was 4.4 causing it. Flashed Philz Recovery Version 6.07.9 and then the MC2 zip and I am back! I had tried like 7 other things and couldnt get 4.1.2 back until now. Thank you for making my Note 2 cool again!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] na_tra:
does anyone here know if there is a similar back to unrooted stock for T-Mobile note 2? I have looked under its forum but cant find it.

TIA
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] charlesrogers74:
The easiest way that I find stock roms is to do a Google search for "T mobile stick roms for note 2" did you try looking under your device for the stock Rom?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] flynhawn2002:
Hey jlmancuso I've been running your Communituy Rom 3.2+ with no issues! Solid! Thanks! BTW, Congrats on the family!!!

Ive got a question: My friends N2 has the 4.4.2 NE2 build (I am assuming via OTA) can I flash the MC2 restore without bricking the device?

My steps are:

1. Down the MC2 zip

2. Since I currently have CWM, download a flashable TWRP

3. Move files to phone

4. Boot to CWM and flash TWRP and reboot recovery

5. Flash the MC2 via TWRP

6. Happy camper!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
Your best bet is to not go that route. Things go badly when you try downgrading. Why do you want to downgrade? Any rom can be flashed on the current setup. Just root (cf's auto root will work) then install install custom recovery (philz is recommended) and flash the rom you want.

If you try downgrading you can soft brick your device and need special files to get it working again. While I have made the fix.tar I always recommend not trying to downgrade. The headaches are not worth it.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] flynhawn2002:
Ok...friend wanted to try a 4.1.2 ROM since he read battery life is geat?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
Well then just make sure he has a custom recovery (philz 6.07.9) installed then flash the 4.1.2 rom he wants. It should work fine. I updated mine phone via odin to NE2 so it has the NE2 bootloader and I am running the old LJ1 radio. I have flashed the old touchwiz miui (4.1.1) with my current setup and had no issues. So he should be fine also but make sure you use philz 6.07.9 recovery and do a backup of his current rom. This way he can restore it if he decides he does not like 4.1.2.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] flynhawn2002:
Thank you sir!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] masterpero:
does anyone have the 4.3 unbrick tar the all the sites i go to that use to have it listed all the links are dead, the know is blocking me from using odin mode and it want let me boot into recovery, thats the only file i believe i can restore my phone no other methods have work, because i have used the file before but dont have it anymore, i would appreciate anyone's help thanks
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] ouroborus2012:
So.... Mine's on Classic Stock NE 4.4.2 like the dude you were responding to was... I'm getting ready to sell this joker, how would I unroot this beast then since the downgrade may cause problems?? Thanks a lot!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
Use odin and flash the ne2 tar file. 100% stock only knox is tripped.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] ouroborus2012:
Thanks a lot... Is that .tar in this thread anywhere? Just wanna make sure I grab the right thing! Thanks again .. also, is there a current odin i should use? I literally haven't touched odin since I rooted
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
Here is the thread for the .tar http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2780984 and I use odin 1.85. I would suggest trying the odin version you have already and if it does not work then try another version.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] ouroborus2012:
Thanks a lot, bro. I really appreciate it. now, I just hope I remember how to use odin! hehe:good:

Update: worked flawlessly ... Thanks again
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
No problem. Always glad to help those who need it.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] koker93:
bricked?

I've spent the last hour reading the thread, and others, and trying to figure my phone out but I'm stuck.

I flashed this last night. Everything went fine. Phone was up and running and finally had 4g ( i went back to stock because PA refused to run 4g on my phone) all was fine and I was going to go to bed. up pops a notification that there isa system upgrade available. Its from samsung, so what could go wrong there, right? Did the update to 4.3, phone rebooted, and hung on the first samsung galaxy note 2 splash screen. There it has been for the last half a day. I've tried re-rooting the phone, no joy. I've tried flashing a new recovery, no joy. I've tried a few random fixes I found here, no joy. The only two things my phone will do are 1) hang on the splash screen. or 2) boot into download mode. But nothing I flash with odin will take :(

If i try and manually go to recovery it hangs on the same screen as when I just power up the phone.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] jlmancuso:
You downgraded from ne2 correct? Man what a bad move. I have a fix for this somewhere in the 4.4.2 upgrade thread in general section. I uploaded a fix.tar file to xda so you need to find it and flash via odin. It will solve your problem.

here is the post

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=53035491&postcount=287
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] koker93:
So...I dont spend a whole lot of time here. I rooted my phone, played with it for a while, and tried unrooting it unsuccessfully. Part of the problem newbies have here are the constant acronyms that make no sense unless you spend 4-5 hours googling and reading. I dont even know what NE2 is...

Here is what I know for sure. I had Paranoid Android on the phone long long ago. Decided to go stock. Did so successfully. decided to go back to PA. but I had upgraded everything while stock...I know. So now I have knox. Tripped it. decided after fighting with the phone for the last 2 months to just go back to stock. Thats where I was last night. New firmware, and Paranoid Android running despite tools from google play saying I didnt have root access.

So thats all really long winded, but it leads up to this. If I flash your fix and succesfully install another custom recovery, how do I go back to stock? Run this again and then never upgrade the phone again?

In the meantime I'll try your fix. Something sounds better than a boot screen to me.

edit : went ahead and did the fix, installed TWRP, and re ran this flash to stock rom. Looks like everything is running again. Does all this mean I cant run the upgrade to 4.3 from Samsung? Or did something random just go wrong the first time?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] mr pnut:
K then I should be good then I flashed the ljc stock without reset update date 1 9 13

Edit: k I just noticed when I was using titanium back up then I went to about phone and it's now showing modified under device status wth......yesterday it was on normal.does anybody know y it changed back to modified I dont even have recovery.....
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
Root access alone is not enuf to trigger that. And yesterday root access is all you had until you used titanium which altered system files. Most likely installed busybox somewhere along the line too which is a guaranteed modified status. Since you dont have recovery and im assuming no custom kernel then if u were to boot into download mode your system status will say custom but count will still say no with samsung official binary
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] mr pnut:
K I got u.....thx.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Uncle Louie:
This worked perfectly! Thanks a million! :good:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
After just over a year on this site, I have to say that is by far the most useless post I've accidently click "thanks" for. lmfao :D
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] neopolotin75:
Ive been reading about the carrier fix....if we did the wipe and the carrier didnt build right what type of problems woukd we have? Should I redo your restore or just leave it? Thanks
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
should be no reason to redo it. I couldn't count on both hands how many times I wiped mine. doesn't seem to have any negative impact so if it were to not build right worst case scenario would be having to wipe it again and let it rebuild again or flash the fix in the op which would guarantee it is setup right as it flashes the carrier partition with a dumped one. all in all the end result is the same if you wipe as if you flash. wiping it just forces it to rebuild so itll take longer to setup on boot.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Callie_evo:
forgot to flash the root zip so i guess i will reroot. hopefully i did this right.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
You could use exynos abuse to reroot. cant really screw this up
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
Just uploaded (what i hope is) the final version. No more "Special" recovery needed. Now truly done in one step
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Patch7:
So I ran the final install as a test and now my phone doesnt work anymore. The network (internet wifi) does, but the phone doesnt. It won t activate and I even reset to factory via odin and the toolkit. It still will not activate. It tells me to call customer service via *2 and that will not dial out either. Any thoughts on what happened? I also tried the wipe carrier before going back to stock and that didnt work either, I have a smartphone that works on the internet via wifi but absolutely no phone service now.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
Its strange I ran this through every recovery I had with every possible scenario and each time worked great for me. Did you try a ##72786# reset?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Patch7:
That just rebooted it and its back to hands free activation and error out. I do notice mu username is wrong and my phone number is wrong in system settings under status
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
Thats because that dialer code reset it. Thats normal.does it actually pick up a network signal? Does the 3g come up while it attempts activation?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Patch7:
the 3 g is there. I just disabled my wifi.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
So its just failing to reactivate then. To make sure it's not related to the carrier partition issues try flashing the fix attached to bottom of the op.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Patch7:
That didnt work. It has my wrong number and email address in the system too though.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] billard412:
what dp you mean? In this menu? does it look like my attachment?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II] Patch7:
yeah, just about but different name and number than you