yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] ian1:
I wonder if you can request the update be pushed to your device directly
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] txtech89:
My completely stock and unrooted s4 has not received the update either. Im glad tho cause I may want to root in the future.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] nthknd:
I had this issue with my optimus g pro the solution was to do a factory reset. Perhaps before you go to return it try that. If your going to return it your going to do one anyways.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Camboteav:
Well I downloaded kies and updated to the latest firmware that was available but it wasn't the latest apps to sd one just baseband version I337UCUAMDL. Now when I go on phone and hit software update it states it's up to date and check again in 24hrs.at least I don't get the software interrupted message.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] oldblue910:
Sounds like you were running MDB, which is the original firmware that the phone shipped with. MDL was the next update, then the current one is MF3. When I get home I'll PM you a link to download the manual OTA update file so you can update to MF3, which contains app2sd.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Camboteav:
Awesome! Do I have to be rooted? Bc I'm not. I didn't know you could do that without kies or other way. Thanks
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] oldblue910:
Nope. No root necessary. :) I'll send instructions with the link.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Camboteav:
Awesome. Can't wait
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] ian1:
Can you send me the link too?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] fukenbiker:
apps2sd

I would never consider giving up what could be the last and only exploit available to get root. I'm not seeing any progress with this last OTA software update. Why would someone take that chance just to have apps2sd?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] oldblue910:
Because there are a crap ton of big fixes, camera improvements, etc. It's much more than app2sd.

If root is so important that the lack of it makes your phone less enjoyable to use, then you're in a very small minority. I would also venture to say "you're doing it wrong", but that's a matter of taste.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] SaltyFoam:
Kies back to AMDL

So: I posted this:http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2372990 (summary: updated to cleanrom 1.5 from 1.0, wireless not working, 3way tool to return to stock. FAIL Fail fail... only the triangle remains...)

I found no solution after trying many things and reading many posts...

Went to keis. :(

Checked the "firmware options" (under tools) before I began and one of the check boxes is about update to latest firmware. I unchecked it and began the firmware init/upgrade process...

It said it was downloading the "mdl' version...

In mid download now...

Hopefully it did not lie...

---------- Post added at 08:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 PM ----------

It Lied... Tried to do the update and failed now it's downloading the mf3 ... let's hope that works...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] MegaGalan:
For me I think are better, the wide variety of customs roms out there, and that they are to emerge from the new upgrades the S4 GT i9005 among other models and that can be installed with loki doki, and not be retained with AT & T.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] RockRatt:
But if you kept root and recovery then used any of the MF3 ROMs available you would have the best of both worlds. I am not as much of a flash every ROM to try them out kind of guy any longer and stick with ones that just plain work. But I STILL keep my options for the future open. With accepting the OTA MF3 you just closed that option and maybe for good. So when ever the next version of android comes out you will be at the mercy of ATT for the updates. Which typically over my years with S1, S2, S3 have proven that I can run the newest firmware months if not a year before ATT decides to give it out. Gaining the things mentioned above are all available with running the same firmware without closing the exploit of the boot loader bypass. So we that keep the old bootloaders can and will see many more choices of ROMs, mods, themes, etc. that won't be available for use on a non rooted, locked boot loader, stock firmware. Personally I think this is the wrong path but to each their own.

I am ALREADY seeing many threads about: "Oops I took the update, how to I get back to before?" threads popping up. It will only get worse in time with New S4 adopters getting their phone with MF3 or future updates installed and wanting to root, ROM, mod, theme their phone and being stuck with none of these options.

The other SAD PART is we will have a smaller community over time since those with the newer firmware/s won't ever be able to participate in the community. When they get bored of the looks of the stock ROMs and want to change it they can't. They can ONLY DO what ATT allows them to do. One reason why I would never have gone with a icrap. And another reason why I can almost guarantee this will be my last ATT subsidized phone/last ATT phone when I can get a international version, or T-Mobile, or Google Edition, or whatever at the time is not boot loader locked down hard. Just my $.02 and experiences over the years with how updates REALLY take place when you can only get them from ATT.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Aou:
Wait, Kies is letting you download the MF3 update? Is MF3 now available on Kies, then??

(I really need this... hehe)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] spdwiz18:
Not that I know of. Just updated keis last night. Still tells me not supported.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] kryptoniteguy:
Question on rooted AMDL phone...

what is the app you install to block the OTA updater so that you can retain root?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] CAG-man:
Titanium Backup
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] kryptoniteguy:
Thanks!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] :
FOTAkill.apk

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2249350

Haven't used it--

On Titanium there 3 apps to freeze--
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] kryptoniteguy:
What are the apps? Thanks in advance rugmankc!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] :
att software update

fwupgrade

localfota--if you have it
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Bojamijams:
Does anyone know how the MF3 update (specifically fixing the crackling audio issue) will work for the google edition of the ROM? I imagine they need to fix that issue on the GE S4 as well.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Aou:
It would not be possible to apply the I337 MF3 update to the GE ROM. If the problem lies in the radio/baseband, it might be possible to flash the new modem and use it in the GE ROM. The international version of the S4 received this update (minus all the lockdown) a while back, bringing Apps2SD and several bugfixes. If the GE hasn't already received it's version of the update, I'd imagine it would very soon anyway.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Bojamijams:
It wouldn't be in the kernel?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Ginther:
I'm going to the AT&T store tomorrow or the next day to buy two new S4's (me and the wife). I've read a little about the MF3 update and not being able to root. I also read not to start the phone with the SIM card in until I can root and freeze the update apk. My question/concern is that since I'm going to be in the store with AT&T reps handling the phones, it might be impossible to take delivery of the phones without them starting them up and checking function and sim connectivity.

I'd like to root the phones.... eventually. I want call recording to function, I want TiBU to work so I can remove/freeze bloat, etc etc.....

Even with MF3 isn't it most likely that the devs will figure out how to root it too eventually? Soon?

Or is it possible that the phones will become root-proof forever?

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance for any input.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Aou:
Maybe? I don't know what the issue is, so I can't 100% address the question. If it is indeed in the kernel, then the fix would have to come from a GE-compatible kernel (probably preferably the original GE kernel).

In theory, nothing is root-proof, uncrackable, or otherwise unbreakable - and there are a few dev's out there currently looking for ways to overcome this. However, we have two things against us here:

1 - Most of the Devs have not, and will not update to MF3 (unless they have a spare device dedicated to root research). I mean, why would they take the risk of perma-unrooting their daily phones? :(

2 - Most of the Devs are getting extremely frustrated with Samsung, particularly with these locked-down bootloaders, etc. This is kind a buzz-kill, and a loss of passion soon follows for most. This could ultimately slow, if not halt the development of a new root method.

So, while there is hope of root for MF3, the chances are significantly reduced.

My recommendation is to respectfully ask if they will not power-on the devices. You might ask them if you can be the first to power them on, right there in the store. Regardless, as soon as you can: turn off mobile data, and turn off wifi. After all, it can't download the 350mb+ update without being connected to the internet, right? ;)

Store reps might be required to place test calls (they usually do) with your new phone to make sure it got activated and it at least has basic functionality before leaving the store. However, I would think that it would be your right as the customer to not allow them to use up your precious data plan to download updates, if you so choose. ;)

In any event, best of luck to you, and welcome to the Galaxy S4 family.

EDIT/ADD: Also, skip the initial setup if you want to get into the phone faster (i.e. don't sign-in with your Google account, etc. ... just skip as much as possible). This would get you into the phone faster, to get to the options to turn off mobile data and wifi faster. ;)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] neil-:
Picked up my S4 on Saturday from a local corp store. Came with MDL loaded on it - used it all Saturday and into Sunday (about 24 hours in total) until I got around to rooting, installing TiBU and freezing the apps. Used on 4G, LTE and my Wifi at home, rebooted plenty of times, etc with no push of the software. Not sure if I got lucky or what.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] adoute:
I upgraded my son's line to an S4 last week, at a corporate store. The sales guy put the sim & battery in, booted the phone, skipped all the log in prompts & immediately checked for and started loading the update. I knew that this would prevent rooting it (for now, anyway), and asked him why he skipped all of the customer set up screens. He said there was an important update that had to be installed before the phone left the store (according to his management). Once the update was complete, he suggested factory resetting the device to get back to the normal setup routine.

Good luck.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] 2hard2read:
my story

hit me I'm a noob.

keep in mind this was very early when the update came out, maybe 9JUL?

I was looking for the ability to do app2sd

Here is my story, I was rooted with motochopper very easy.

I took the update, root survived with SuperSU survival mode on.

TiBU worked , and everything was fine BUT recovery boot.

So I tried diferent things, nothing worked. Clockwork recovery or TRRP said it was installed but phone wouldn't boot into recovery.

So I thought it was a great idea to unroot....then root again....OH WELL..

phone came up, unroot worked, but cannot root.

however the bloatware remained frozen, but now I don't have the ability to unfreeze it if needed.

of course after that I came to the forum...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Mr Strange:
Buy them online and you do all the set up.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] nthknd:
Just tell them its a gift and you don't want them set up. But let them check that everything's invthe box. Two things. 1 people have been reporting that they can find the update so it might have been pulled or on hold no one really sure. 2 check to see the version out the box as it might already be updated which would make all of this a no factor. Just tell the person before you even buy it that you don't want them set up. They cant make you take an update. And if Att says they have to then go to best buy or another store. or order them from off line but once again you won't know what version you have until you get it.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Aou:
It is my understanding that the MF3 update has blocked the current ability to install a custom recovery. While it is possible to forcefully flash a custom recovery to the phone, the problem lies in the fact that all of our custom recoveries were relying on the fact that they were "Lokified" or otherwise pre-patched with the "Loki" exploit. This enables the recovery to be loaded by the "Aboot" part of the bootloader, regardless of it being an official/signed recovery or not. Unfortunately, the Loki exploit was patched in Aboot with the MF3 update - therefore there is no custom recovery that exists at this time that will boot on a phone that has taken the full MF3 update. Your only option is to have a stock recovery, regardless of root.

This also means that when a proper Odin/Kies "Return-to-stock" recovery method is available for MF3, if you flash back to stock you will completely lose your root too.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] spdwiz18:
To me this just means you have to do things old school. Push file by file (root explorer) instead of flashing. It might be time for some noobs to learn the hard way to really understand how simple things are now.

Just remember to make av system.img b4 you play. We didn't always have custome recovers.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] BStrauss3:
AT&T Support on MF3

Spoke to support yesterday -

First rep sent me over to Samsung when he couldn't help - that was a joke, Samsung had no clue why - they don't offer End User support, that's the carrier's job...

Second rep was much more knowledgeable and skilled

* They are rolling it out by region

* She didn't confirm it was limited within a region, but we have a lot of empirical evidence of that

* The reps CANNOT force the OTA download - that has been disabled (usually they can although many reps don't know that they can)

I checked two demo phones at the local AT&T store (North TX) and one had it, one didn't.

If you have a Samsung Experience store in the local Worst Lie (Best Buy), they have a special firmware update tool, but as of Sunday MF3 was not available to them

As of last time I tried it (Saturday), Kies had not been updated

-----Burton.

---------- Post added at 12:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------

If you read this whole thread, there is a very good explanation of why Samsung have done this. The KNOX feature allows shifting of the trusted root, and is essential for various government and large corporate deployments. The exploits that gave us root and custom recoveries have been blocked because it would invalidate that. They also blocked the downgrade path for the same reason.

OK, so we need a new exploit.

Somebody will find one - with millions of lines of code and the usual defect rates it's out there. And once found it will go through the usual life cycle - at first it will be difficult to apply and use strange and wonderful tools like adb. Then people will figure out how to package it and eventually it will become a single click like we had before MF3. That's nothing new. It's the constant and never-ending battle between the providers and the hackers.

But today you have a choice -

You can get most of the benefits from the various roms that have been discussed here, although you do void your warrantee and are pretty much self-help for fixes. But a lot of smart, clever and caring people work on those roms and they're pretty good.

You can upgrade because - for you personally - the features of MF3 are worth it (such as moving apps to SD, smoother animations - whatever floats/sinks YOUR boat). You are running a small risk that the next exploit won't ever be found, or it will happen months or years from now, when all the smart people have moved on to the next challenge, next year's Galaxy S5.

Or, you could vote with your $s and buy the unlocked version and not have the 'benefits' of all of the AT&T software... but then this is the wrong place for you anyway...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] krips2003:
Right on to the point.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] godefroi:
So, for a user who didn't really have a choice (work-provided device), who does not yet have the MF3 update, the wise choice is, then, to root and block the update, just in case, provided one can live without the MF3 fixes and improvements, it seems.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] angle409:
is the led light interval much longer on mf3 ?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] dark5577:
The LED notification light behaves the same as on MDL. I use an app called Light Manager to make my notification light stay on solid. It only works for certain apps though unless you're rooted.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] audiorulz4u:
what would happen if one was to increment the e-fuse to say the max i.e. 9999 like a odometer on a car will it roll back to 0 ?... even tho im sure they already thoguht of that and the anwser is probubly no
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] aznable89:
Can't get OTA update

I wonder if anyone has the same problem as mine. I have the AT&T S4 unlocked it via code, and I currently use Tmo. Its current baseband is I337UCUAMDL. And every time I check for update, ATT server always said that my device is up to date. So does ATT block mine device cause I unlocked it or i'm not currently on ATT service or it is just a bug? Anyone has solution for that? Thank you very much! :o
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Aou:
Firstly, I think someone recently explained that it's more like a binary fuse...

Where "B" is burnt:

0000 = 0

000B = 1

00BB = 3

0BBB = 7

BBBB = 15

In the above scenario, you could have 5 different major firmware revisions (e.g. v0, v1, v3, v7, v15). MDB/MDL would be "v0" and MF3 would be "v1" if this were the case.

Secondly, I think it still wouldn't matter - once it got to BBBB, then the device would just simply not accept any firmware that is not v15 or higher.

There are some methods out there in which you can read and burn fuses manually, but it's pretty much a guaranteed brick. Also, it's noteworthy that there are other fuses that can be blown for different settings, different carriers, etc. In other words, you could have the exact same hardware, 100%, even down to the programming in the IBL (programming on the processor itself), but if the right fuses are blown, it will only ever load the bootloaders designed for the I337, versus something else (like M919).

Before e-fuses were so popular, this sort of thing was handled by a set resistors near the processor. Some of these would determine whether the device was intended to be a development board, or an actual publicly-released handset. These resistors would be changed in the final steps of manufacturing, and were a stupidly-easy way to make different models of the same device, with very minimal changes to the manufacturing process. [MENTION=3682533]AdamOutler[/MENTION] once did some amazing work hunting these down and tampering with them to trick the processor into thinking it needed to load bootloaders from, say, the SDCard, and not need to check for signatures, etc. Go research his "Un-Brickable Mod" and you'll read all about it. This guy is a genius - or at least extremely smart with a lot of intuition and guts! :)

Unfortunately, I believe that most of these "last minute changes" are completely handled by e-fuses, and there's likely no physical way to ever track them down and reverse them.

It's quite likely that the I337 had different firmware on it when it was initially manufactured, and was used for development and testing purposes. It probably had completely unlocked bootloaders, etc. They likely just blew an e-fuse in the MDB firmware that "finalized" it into what we know today, and made sure that the IBL would never boot anything except the I337 version of SBL1 that was provided (and has not changed since, btw - not even in MF3).

Enough rambling. The short answer is: it is my understanding that it would be absolutely impossible for an e-fuse to "roll-over" back to 0. Unless, of course, there was a magical e-fuse or magical number that the e-fuse could be set to that would otherwise unlock the bootloaders again... (e.g. samsung releases a firmware update that sets the e-fuse to 42, and the IBL translates this to: "load anything you want.")
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] audiorulz4u:
That would make more sense if its a fuse thats been poped. was only wondering if it was more like a digital register that stores a value and can only go up just roll it over..
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] usmarine2141:
So att forced the update in my phone, I have a backup on kies of my rooted device. If I restore that will it make this new update go away? It still shows I have root access but lost the ability to tether through wifi tether, I also still get the custom unlock icon when I boot the phone.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Febby:
No reverting at this point. I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to end up with a brick. :)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] jd1639:
If you read the posts above you'd know the answer. No. You can't go back.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Aou:
Not all hope is lost for tethering, by the way. If you have root still (consider yourself lucky!) there are still methods to tether.

I am on MF3 and rooted, but not with the full OTA update (MDL bootloader/recovery still). I use this app to tether:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.core.technology.wifi.hotspot&hl=en

Note that you have to use it a few times to get it to work. You need to pre-configure your tethering settings too. You'll get messages from KNOX saying that an app tried to do something bad. Just try again until you get the little blue notification icon on your bar.

EDIT: You need to freeze the TetheringProvision app first too! Forgot about that.

From an ADB shell, you can disable it by running this:

su
pm disable com.sec.tetheringprovision

Some notes: If you try to enable tethering from Settings, it will cause Settings to force-close. If you use the app I linked above, it will sometimes cause your phone to briefly lock up for about 4 seconds, and then Settings will FC again. It seems that if Settings crashes like this, you can re-try enabling tethering (via the app) again immediately after, and it works.

Please report back if this works for you, and I'll make a nice write-up with all this.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] usmarine2141:
So you lost root access? So if I have the custom lock on the splash screen then im still rooted or have root access? Damn ATT in bed with the NSA to spy on all of us. Bet yall anything thats why this came out.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] usmarine2141:
Thats what it gave me when I ran that command
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] ksj0823:
I guess that is a good news????
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] KMan94:
Managed to kill the update half way through

Didn't even know there was one out there and was just messing around and lo and behold there was an update downloading. Managed to kill it through running processes.

Question: Will ATT push this download or do I have to go get it to get it. Not rooted or anything yet but I don't want that ability compromised. I'll root and use TiBu to freeze the app if ATT can just push this on me.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] iB4STiD:
thank you kind sir
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] oldblue910:
Can somebody please post the OTA ZIP file from /cache before actually doing the OTA? Also, please keep the filename original. Thank you!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] iB4STiD:
they did... problem is its in patch format
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] fix-this!:
all i need is new radios? does this include that?