yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jontalotta:
Need help understanding my options

Hi All,

Like many others, I recently got the AT&T S4 without realizing the MF3 limitations re: root/bootloader/custom recovery/ROM flashing/etc. Although I've never posted in these forums before, I've been on Android for over one year and closely follow them. I've rooted and flashed other devices (Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 and HTC One X+). I was planning to do the same with the S4. So, I'm trying to understand my options. I've read through the threads, and am going to stay with AT&T, so it seems I have three options. I have questions about options 2 and 3, below. I've got one week left on my 14 day trial period, so I would really appreciate any insights/advice you all can provide to help me decide what to do.

1) Keep the phone as is. The safest and least expensive, of course, is to leave the phone completely as is and use it until we get a way to install a custom recovery, which isn't the worst thing in the world because it is a very nice phone in pure stock state.

2) Root the device without custom recovery. I understand the risks but the root process seems relatively simple and safe.

QUESTION

: If I root the device, can I remove root before we get a solution to unlock the bootloader to install a custom recovery? I think the answer is that, until I can unlock the bootloader, I cannot remove root and would need to try the Best Buy reset option to return the phone to pure stock condition. I'd appreciate someone confirming this here or clarifying for me if I am mistaken.

3) Purchase an unlocked S4. If money were no object (it is to some extent, but I might opt for this depending on how much device flexibility it would provide me), I believe I can buy an unlocked phone, right?

QUESTIONS

: If I were to return my phone to AT&T and purchase an S4 on Amazon, what device variants could I purchase that will work on AT&T? If there is one variant in particular that would be the "best" option, what is it (I suspect this is subjective, but am interested in what people think)?

Thanks in advance!!!

AT&T S4 / MF3
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
To answer question 2, you can safely unroot thru super su. Be careful what you do with root.

For 3, you'd have to get the Google addition or a phone from another carrier which doesn't have the boot loader locked. I think tmo is the only one.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jontalotta:
Thanks so much. If I root it would be to freeze a few apps to improve battery. I will check out Google Edition. Appreciate the quick response.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] CyberManiaK:
Well I'm getting very good battery life.. I'm on MF3 rooted and bloatware frozen (in titanium)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] h11wiscan:
Since you are running root on the MF3 do you think you could send me the 'install-recovery.sh' file? Accidentally deleted it and didnt have a backup. I just need it to be able to boot into the stock recovery and do a reset. If you dont have this file apparently you cant do a factory reset.

Once again if you could PM it to me that would be amazing.

its located here: /system/etc/install-recovery.sh
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jontalotta:
Thanks. Still not sure I am going to root before the bootloader is unlocked, but good to see what can be achieved on rooted stock. I was getting good battery life on my prior HTC One X+ running Viper XL+ 2.0 (an amazing ROM) using System Tuner Pro. I am on display a lot more than your pics suggest you are, but I'd be happy with half your total time, as that would get me through the day (currently get about 12 hours, planning to get a spare battery). I also really would like to disable Home Button wake function....that drives me absolutely crazy....LOL
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] CyberManiaK:
Of course it is possible..

I agree something to disable home button is a must..

Samsung SGH-I337 on Tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] maulgandhi:
adb method to flash custom rom

hi guys, has anyone ever tried this method mentioned on this website. is it possible. anyone has ever done it before.

goo.gl/gS3cP7
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] CyberManiaK:
Sounds interesting here is the same link but in a clickable way http://goo.gl/gS3cP7 for those using tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
wow, good find, I wonder if this is even possible. I may actually give this a try...thanks...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] netaholik:
I'm anxious to see some results from the flash method at the above-mentioned link, but I'm not about to try right now.

I have I337 with MF3 firmware (auto-updated the day I got the phone) and have really been itching to try some ROMs. I have ventured far enough as to install Xposed framework and Wanam mod, and I really like some of the options and mods there. I did however change something that causes phone to hang during boot at AT&T logo, but buttons still work and able to reboot (usually boots thru on 3rd try). I changed some options and it's booted first try the last 3 reboots.

I'm pretty familiar with using ADB shell stuff (from rooting Kindle Fire, HTC One, S3, etc) I'm still really afraid of doing too much with this phone since there aren't many options available for recovering. I'm very disappointed in Samsung/AT&T for locking the bootloader down, especially when others like HTC hold your hand and give instructions to unlock theirs.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] hovax615@hotmail.com:
I found this in the international forum.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2444671

So would this work on ours or is it only for the international versions?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
I tried and was able to push the zip onto the phone (had to allow r/w on ,\cache, but then got permission denied when I tried to run the shell commands. Someone more familiar with adb than I may have better success.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
Jd..you on the mf3 that has no recovery?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
No, I was trying it on a phone which doesn't have a locked boot loader. Yea know, just in case it didn't work I wanted to be able to use odin.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
Just checking, looks as if root is the only option still. Mine is not on MF3, the wifes is, so I can try different solutions also, and that one did not work either for me.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] yankeestom:
Do you have a list or screenshots posted somewhere of the items that you have frozen? I'd love to replicate that. I've run across a handful of lists in various bloatware threads here and have frozen those items, but I'm not seeing anywhere near the battery life you posted.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
+1 those results are looking extremely good...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] CyberManiaK:
Sorry guys for the delay this is what I have frozen.

On the last screenshot is missing Samsung Push Service and Story Album..

And of course YMMV, however I found this threads that can be helpful also, i'm starting to read them .. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2251667 http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2249581

Cheers
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] XCnathan32:
I tried flashing TWRP on MF3 AT&T i337 and now, whenever i try to boot up my phone it stays on the samsung logo, and then shuts down. but when i plug it in and then boot it up, it boots up fine, but when i unplug it, it shuts down. I have tried odin flashing stock firmware, odin flashing the pit file. but nothing worked.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
You can not do a recovery on MF3, and if so how did you get it to even see it, be careful sir, you could brick your phone...please do some more reading on MF3 and custom recoveries, there is no fix yet other than the bootstrap that just came out, and I would read that thoroughly before jumping right in.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] optimizedd:
I have a At&t galaxy s4 MF3 and im using safestrap

Im trying to install Gravitron but everytime i get failed at unzipping the file??

But every other rom unzips and installs perfectly, what am i doing wrong???

Also can i put hyperdrive on my at&t s4 or is that not possible?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jzsax1:
ok so i have a dilemma. I really would like to buy a GT-i9505 with 32GB of on board storage. I know that in stock form the 9505 will not have LTE working if i bring it to the ATT network. is this limitation a hardware limitation or is there a certain modem i have to flash on the device to have LTE working?

if the answer is hardware and there is nothing i can do about it then, i am considering buying AT&T's version of the Galaxy S4. I am reading however that is a pain the the [MENTION=237736]SS[/MENTION] withe the boot-loader being locked and limiting your choices if it does come with the MF3 firmware. What are my chances that i will get an MF3 version of AT&T's Galaxy s4 if i buy a brand new unlocked unit from Amazon in 32GB version..? should i wait or perhaps go with the T-Mobile version?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
If it were me, I would do the tmo version hands down, if you do the i9505, what makes you think you can not get lte using att?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
I have people in my thread that are running grav with bootstrap no problem, could it be a bad download?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] CyberManiaK:
Ok guys hope this is not a dumb question.. but it sounds lol, and i can't find any answer searching..

this is the first time I had to be stuck on a "stock rom" , my phone has MF3/rooted. I don't have problems with MF3, but was wondering, in case some apps start to act kinda weird.

The stock recovery has any options to wipe everything and and start fresh ? I don't mean the factory data reset...

Example on my S2 or other devices if something is acting weird, I will just go to CWM wipe cache, wipe dalvik/cache/ format /system and flash again... How can this be achieved with the MF3 ?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jzsax1:
The problem with the TMobile version is that is does not come in 32gb flavor...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
Ahh that would be a problem.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] xerythul:
I got stuck with the 16gb version from at&t because I wouldnt wait two weeks for them to ship the 32gb out. I bought a 32gb sd card and am anxiously awaiting the safestrap release that allows for install and operation off the sd card. Once hash puts that out it wont matter much that samsung eats all that space up and we cant get much storage internally off the 16gb version.

Until then its keep stock slot clean, and make sure you download to your sd heh.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] bagelx2:
Did I paint myself into a corner?

I recently ordered a refurb GS4 (sgh-i337) form AT&T. It showed up, unfortunately already update to the MF3 firmware.

After being very careful and reading all the info on the OTA MF3 update, I decided to brave the risks and try it. All went well with the new root method using an external SD card, and safestrap was installed successfully. And reading further into it, it seemed like it might be possible to install certain 4.2.2 roms using Safestrap and its rom slots. I made my backups using safestrap, created a rom slot in slot 1, downloaded CleanRom 1.5, and went about using the safestrap interface to flash the ROM.

Only instead of having rom slot 1 selected I had "stock" selected, and it appears I have just flashed over the stock ROM on my phone. It boots to the terrifying unauthorized software detection screen and tells me to return it to AT&T, with the red Secure Kernel: Fail in the upper left hand corner.

However, I have access to the stock recovery (I can tell it to flash from adb, external sd card, and cache) and ODIN download mode.

My question is: am I now totally screwed? Is there no way to flash back the MF3 stock rom from the stock recovery?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
On a 32g version of the phone, after samsung gets thru taken what is not theirs...lol, how much does it leave, just curious.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] AxAtAx:
Try flashing a different kernel, that should fix the problem.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] bagelx2:
Pardon my ignorance, but how exactly does one got about doing this? And where would I source the stock kernel from? I see this thread: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2378946 has a boot.img which he says is the stock kernel pulled from the OTA update. How would I go about getting this on there?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] xerythul:
I would be curious to know that also, ax. I might spend the time to go in and bs att about upgrading me to it if its substantial but really im just going to get a 64gb sd card here in a few months and not stress it lol.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] bagelx2:
I tried using recovery and adb sideload to flash the original OTA patch. I grabbed 2400258.cfg from this thread and ran adb sideload 2400255.cfg

I get the error message:

"Finding update package..

Opening update package...

Verifying update package..

Installing update...

Verifying current system..

assert failed: apply_patch_check("system/app/AccessControl.apk"."d84a0ecb0c6517b24d46c29caecbe46cb424855b"."e8f9c290bbf1c12849c556db5186ec954dbb96dbb")

E:Error in /tmp/update.zip

(Status 7)

Installation Aborted.

Any thoughts?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] srk2xda:
S4 i337 - SafeStrap - 4.3 ROM anyone?

I got safestrap on my i337 and was able to install 4.22 ROMs. Very thankful to Hashcode!

Did anyone got to install 4.3 ROMs?? I'm interested in Google Edition stock. Thanks for any feedback.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] bagelx2:
I looked at it. It IS the MF3 OTA update. Is this actually patching files or is it simply extracting files?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] lightfairy287:
Hello!

Brand new Android user here... :) I want to know if I can safely root my phone and flash CM 10.1 mod onto it...

I have:

AT&T 4G LTE

Galaxy S4

I337

Running 4.2.2 Android version

Baseband: MF3

Buildnumber: MF3

I also want to know if there's any way to revert to the old Baseband in order to flash ROMs.

I've read through a ton of forums and researched a lot about Rooting and Flashing ROMs and I just got this phone so I'm just nervous and I don't want to brick it. :(

Thanks for your help!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jball:
So far 4.3 is not working well with Safestrap.poke your head in and out of any thread that has Safestrap or MF3 in the header.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] CyberManiaK:
Well you can root without much trouble.. search for kango root and also root mf3 here in the general forum. To install different roms the only option till today on your mf3 is safestrap so search for it.

Read everything before you attempt to do it. If you have specific questions just make them but SEARCH before, so you know how this work and how to avoid bricking your device. If you take your time reading, its very straight forward to root and install different rom using safestrap.

Good luck

Samsung SGH-I337 on Tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] lightfairy287:
Thank you so much! I'll let you know how it goes. :):highfive:
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
I have gs4 i337 unlocked .. (mf3)

Someone told me that if I installed cwm or rooted the device I would brick it. :(

Is that true? And what is the solution?

Also what is safestrap?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] deadenz:
you can root but don't install a custom recovery, here are a couple of methods

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2387577

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2460626

here's the solution to a custom recovery and being able to flash roms, read all of it ;)

http://blog.hash-of-codes.com/how-to-safestrap/

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2448925

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2428254
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Can I install cyanogen mod by that way?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] deadenz:
seriously? if you read what I posted you would know the answer to that
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Lol, I'll read it.

Ok thank you so much.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Will the boot loader get unlocked? Or locked for ever?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] xerythul:
Please do some more reading. 4.3 roms will not work with safestrap. Only 4.2.2 roms at this time.

sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 running Deadly Venom v8.1.0
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] gwell1:
Simple question....

One quick simple question since I haven't been on xda for a while: Are we able to put customs recoveries and roms on mf3 yet?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] xerythul:
See above, please do some reading. Roms can be installed with safestrap and root already achieved. Only 4.2.2 TW based roms will work at this time and you must flash the kernel fix. You can _not_ install custom recoveries at this time. Only the options offered by safestrap will work for any recovery needs.

sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 running Deadly Venom v8.1.0
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] phillytothemax:
does safe strap work with miui
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Guys please answer..

Can the boot loader get unlocked or it's locked forever?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
Most likely it's locked forever. There may be exploits around it like Loki. But with each official update the exploit will be patched. Imo.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Oh no :(

Ok can I ask you a little question?

The root way or the safestrap way, is it safe or I will brick my device?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
What firmware are you on?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Mf3 ... I bought it two weeks ago.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
You are going to have to root the phone using the method for mf3. Then you can install safestrap to load other roms. Start by reading this http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=42320391. Only do what it says for mf3. Don't do anything it says for mdl or mdb.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Is it safe?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
If you do your research and understand the steps you need to take it is safe. With that said, there is always the chance you don't do something correctly and Bork your phone. Just make sure you understand what your doing.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Thank you very much, i will do that way of rooting.

But I read about kango root, which way is the best?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
I haven't looked at kango root very closely. Look at both methods and also read what others are experiencing in the threads. Then go with what you feel most comfortable with.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
How to flash loki and how to use it?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] phantom1999:
hey just rooted my MF3 s4 and installed safestrap. do i need to install the recovery thats in safestrap cause i thought there wasnt a custom recovery for the mf3 s4? also when phone reboots a custom logo screen pops up with a padlock on it then the samsung screen comes up. i didnt flash anything to it. is that ok.,

ok went into safestrap and hit install recovery. now safestrap says

recovery state: installed

safe system: not active

then reboot to recovery

3.60

i hit reboot to recovery and all it did was just reboot the phone. i have read through this and i cant fine where to backup my stock rom or to make rom slots. what do i do.

nevermind i got it had the wrong safestrap on, now i got my safestrap boot menu. yeah now i can flash roms if i want.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Can u flash cm?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] jd1639:
If your asking about cm roms, no. They need to be tw based.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Yes that is my question

Thank you very much :)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] Equiptech66:
AAT MF3 Wireless Issue

Hello All,

My setup... ATT S4 MF3 - Rooted - safestrap v3.6 installed and working. Flashed the ViSX.MF3.Blue.Ice ROM. Flash went well and everything seems to be working EXCEPT the wireless. (wireless wont turn on) Cell modem working and so is Bluetooth. I have flashed several ROMs and get the same issue. The only one that has worked is Deadly_Venom_v8.1.0. I have tried diff. kernals and still no luck. (ausdim, Knootz, etc.)Have also tried loki patch. What am I doing wrong? Please help. I really like that VisionX ROM and want it to work. THANKS!

---------- Post added at 11:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------

Hello All,

My setup... ATT S4 MF3 - Rooted - safestrap v3.6 installed and working.

Flashed the ViSX.MF3.Blue.Ice ROM. Flash went well and everything seems to be working EXCEPT the wireless. (wireless wont turn on) Cell modem working and so is Bluetooth. I have flashed several ROMs and get the same issue.

The only one that has worked is Deadly_Venom_v8.1.0. and everything works fine. (Including wireless) I have tried diff. kernals and still no luck. (ausdim, Knootz, etc.) I Have also tried loki patch. What am I doing wrong? Please help. I really like that VisionX ROM and want it to work.

THANKS!

:(
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] deadenz:
are you flashing the mf3 modules after each rom?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] droidbrady:
You do not have to use a TW based rom.

I have an ATT GS4 i337 MF3 rooted and safestrapped. Im running Google Play Edition 4.2.2 w/ no issues.

I think(?) its more important that its a 4.2.2 rom and not 4.3.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
I want cm not google edition

And can u tell me how did you flash google edition?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] deadenz:
yes, you do have to use a tw based rom with safestrap, and it has to be 4.2.2, not 4.3. the gpe roms you're running are tw based.

if you read the thread on safestrap you would know that you can't use cm with safestrap, only tw based roms. installing a google edition rom is the same as any other, flash the rom then flash the mf3 kernel modules
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] 7mada:
Is it important to flash the kernal?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] deadenz:
you should read the thread. all of your questions are already answered. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2428254 & http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2448925
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] droidbrady:
thanks for the clarification. I thought the gpe rom was aosp based.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] deadenz:
I'm a little confused about it myself. someone said they are tw based because aosp isn't compatible with safestrap
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin] IIXcronusXII:
This makes me sad :(. Coming over from Apple I thought this would all be a breeze. After using gpe rom I really like the look and feel but doesnt have all the TW features that I liked as well.