yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] troyvoy88:
is fun to explore

I first tried the Jar root method did not work keeps giving me error that it cant find SU file.

So I extracted the content from the jar and ran the script manually step by step. Well, to no avail an error segmentation fault nooooooo!.

I also tried the gs4ex.zip Followed the readme but nothing "no root permission" cant execute ./pwn.

So i mix and match the gs4ex content along with the Jar script and well same'o segmentation fault error.

I'll wait for the community ^_^ now!

using VRW GS4 with OTA
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Rhodesy757:
people are just exchanging their phones if they had accidentally or un-accidentally been put on the software me7. Because as of right now their is no way to root and load custom recovery for this version of the software... ergo there is no way currently to flash custom roms if your gs4 has been updated to the me7 software
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Cruiserdude:
Well I just ordered a brand new 32gb which I understand will come from the Direct Fill Warehouse, and it's already shipped. I can't imagine they'd open the boxes for new devices to update them, but replacements are refurbished so I understand that. Still, keeping my fingers crossed that it's MDK, otherwise it's going right back.

Also, anyone have an answer to either of my questions, one regarding Samsung's method, if any, of firmware rollbacks, and the other being if the dd command still works on the ME7 kernel?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] pdanders11:
Same here. Permission denied. I would like to understand what I'm missing. And please no chmod 777 responses unless you can explain how to run that without the same error. Thanks
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] hcu721:
ok, thanks for the clarification! by the power invested in xda, i'm confident xda will have a solution for a rooted s4 (me7) soon!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] andybones:
This is a great thing!

way to go community!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
There is confirmation of root access, a few pages back you will see :) Now, we just have to wait for recovery, too! :) Getting closer and closer!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Protibus:
I scanned through the AT&T thread and it appears they have found a way to work around the new MF3 update for AT&T S4. Way above my head technically.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
Looks like it's basically just a way for people who haven't updated

yet

to get the update without flashing the locked bootloader. I can make the same idea here but it's not a good idea at this time due to the nature of the method.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Protibus:
I also saw a discussion just now in their general thread that at least one person restored root successfully with Voodoo after applying the MF3 OTA update.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mikeyinid:
Voodoo means theybwere rooted on a previous firmware and protected root while installing the ota. We can do the same. We're already updated tho so thats little use
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
This
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sporty377:
Wait I thought even if u had voodoo ota root keeper u still lose root?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] matt_1224:
Put me down for $50 on the full unlock
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mikeyinid:
Who said that?

If you take the update ota vooodoo root keeper will work. Not if you uodate any other way.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] r_hippy:
I'm testing this.

I denied the ota yesterday morning on my kids s4 stock.

Today I checked when I came home and checked if vz pushed it anyway since people said they denied it but woke up in the am with the update.

So I rooted it.

Left it all untouched just updated supersu added busybox and the ota rootkeeper. (no recovery ) Will see if it's pushed tomorrow.

If not I may ask for it lol

The phone doesn't need root anyway
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sporty377:
Why not just hit the check for update
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
Sorry sir, as mentioned in the disclaimer you cannot place a contribution for only ONE bounty. I must place you for both. If you wish to withdraw your contribution or make a lower price on the root/recovery one then please post here again with details. For now I will be placing you as $50 for both.

To All Donators

: Please make a note of the above as an example of the disclaimer.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sporty377:
U might be right....:confused:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] matt_1224:
That is perfectly fine.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
Thank you sir. Just wanted to clarify and confirm to avoid confusion.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] r_hippy:
I'm pondering a manual exploit so if ota rootkeeper doesn't work I can still try something else. Be I need to figure out what is not encrypted that reads on boot but is not replaced with the ota.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] asdecker:
Hold up...I havent taken the update. IF I use voodoo first, i can keep root with the update?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rdcamero:
Just installed ota rootkeeper.I am waiting until I here that someone has taken the ota update and retained root.I read in one of the threads that rootkeeper failed to keep root.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mikeyinid:
Yes. Install the app. Protect root. Temp unroot.. take ota. Open voodoo app and restore root. Im pretty sure thats worded correctly anyway.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dstreng:
I was pretty sure that I've heard that voodoo root keeper does not keep root through update. so be cautious
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] r_hippy:
Yes I read the same. But also read they took the desktop update with it witch replaced everything. The ota is only a quarter of the size so it's leaving something.

And one other said it worked on the ota. (over the air)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
Is there a snag somewhere or you guys need any more testers to run something again to see if this works?

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thornev:
I'm getting "Permission denied" when I try "./pwn". I checked permissions and all the files are 775 and are installed to my external SD card. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

That's weird... My reply was to a different post but somehow got posted here. I am using the gs4ex file posted in another thread.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Droidatar:
Awww, the memories of those old dos days //send

Thanks but I'm waiting...Although it could be fun :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] kbatrph:
I have my S4 thru Best Buy...and I have their protection plan....will either be getting a new phone within 14 days (hopefully not updated) but currently on back order, in which case I probably won't get another S4 (Verizon)...somebody said the Note 2 had a work around for the bootloader...true or false?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Since it's on back order, they will be getting a new batch of Verizon S4's in, which means they may be updated to the latest OTA...or not. As for the Note 2, it was my previous device and just went here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2272066

---------- Post added at 08:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:17 PM ----------

They're repackaging it to be more user friendly. Hopefully it will be released soon :o
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
In case anyone wants to test I made a slightly more user friendly package of this root method with updated binaries and Superuser app.

***You must have a microSD card installed into your phone and formatted as exFAT (not FAT32) for this method to work***

In order to format it as exFAT just format it directly from the phone's Storage setting in the menus or if that doesn't work format it on a computer.

Download the attached RootforVZWS4.zip file and unzip it on your computer, then follow the below:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bjbinc:
come on guys! it's been like 7 minutes already! need some feedback :fingers-crossed:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thornev:
Still getting "permission denied" when I run pwn and script.sh in the terminal emulator.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
Is your microSD card formatted as FAT32 or exFAT? Mine is exFAT and working. Not sure if that's a factor but you may want to look into it.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thornev:
FAT32.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
My guess is that might be why FAT32 doesn't store all necessary permissions. Get some small microSD card and format it directly from the phone "Storage" menu in the settings just to test this.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] pdanders11:
I just don't get this? So someone got it working and everybody goes back to sitting on their butts waiting for the "easy" version. Anybody who knows jack about linux can SCP a directory and run a few command over adb shell or a terminal. Add to that several of us have the same problem on command # 1. I don't want a user friendly version. I WANT TO LEARN what I am doing wrong. My background is HW but i've done enough SW to at least do some playing around. If I brick my phone it's my own fault. I get that but this is the developers forum and if people who don't know anything try this tough. I may be a newb here but to Dan's point yesterday there is some laziness (including me) in the community and I want to at least see if my EE degree and 17 years in the industry can help.

The "wait for the easy version" people need to get out of here.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] troyvoy88:
the things we do

Formating sdcard now...man the things we do for love lol nahhh for root!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Chuck2003:
I tried kept saying access denied when i tried the 2nd and 3rd command
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] pdanders11:
FAT32 here also. THANK YOU. I will try that.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
Omg...It works!!!! Rebooting now to make sure it stays lol

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bjbinc:
I'm rooted with a custom rom, so I don't even need this (yet)...but I'm PUMPED :laugh:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
Thanks for testing and confirming!

If I get more success posts maybe I'll just update the root thread with this method. :good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
It WORKS!!! Just rebooted...the first permission deny then all I did was just retype the comnand and it went thru!!!

The ./pwn

Awesome!

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
All thanks to PWM978's modification of DooMLoRD's exploit. :good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bobxjones:
Confirmed

Confirmed! Works for me too.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
Excellent work guys and gals!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] trueagle:
worked after second try with extfat

oohhhh yeah
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] frr1:
Can you flash custom roms now?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bjbinc:
No...just root...not recovery. But still AWESOME and a good first step.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] spinwizard:
Permission denied :eek:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Chuck2003:
Any one know why im getting permission denied when i try to enter ./pwn
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bjbinc:
Did you try it twice? Others saying it takes at least 2 tries.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Huffy6256:
I am also getting permission denied.. Even reformatted SD card :(
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
See my below two posts
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] heyazzo:
Yes, works, and disabled sdm/fwupgrade, and did the ota rootkeeper. Tired of losing root.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
Can you confirm that it is formatted as exFAT? Try formatting again from the phone.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Siphter:
I'm also getting permission denied tried reformatting card twice on phone to make sure but always permission denied at ./pwn
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
Do it twice

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lastfreedom:
just an fyi. I formatted from my phone several times and wasn't until i did it via my computer that i could get my sdcard to exfat.

and can now confirm that it is working.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Huffy6256:
Yeah I reformatted from the phone.. Even rebooted and tried.. Also unzipped and copied the files twice
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
For those that got it working, how did you format the microSD card (through a reader on your computer or the phone Storage settings)? Also what size are your microSD cards?

Same question for those that get that permission error.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
Mine is Fat32 and it is a 64gb PNY

Also here is what I pasted mine see pic.

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thaydengeo:
Worked for me - I definitely formatted my sd card using the phone. The only thing I can think of contributing is I am using a samsung 64 gb sd card. I had previously had a sandisk 64 gb sd card that was really bad and would constantly get disconnected and the phone would constantly rescan - maybe the brand of sd card could matter or the reliability?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] d.ouyang:
Same for me - permission denied at ./pwn even after repeated attempts, rebooting, reformatting card.

I saved the zip from tapatalk and extracted to the root of extSdCard. 32G S4 with 32 card. Also made sure I could move and delete files on the card just in case.

Sent using Tapatalk 4 Beta
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bobxjones:
Formatted 2GB Kingston card to exFAT via Windows 7, (computer=>format=>select exFAT) then followed instructions.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] speedfreak228:
worked for me!!!!!! my extSD wouldnt format to exfat on my phone i had to use my pc. the guys getting the access denied try that. do we need to format the extSD back to FAT32 after gaining root?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] pdanders11:
Letting the phone format was a no go after deleting the partition with mini-tool.

loaded card directly into PC and formatted exFat and re-did gs4ex and I'm in.

just used a 8GB transcend laying around.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Antdagod:
Question, I'm new to this so I wanna ask, what does formatting your sdcard do? Doesn't it erase everything that's on the card? Also, will the "one click" method require you to format the sdcard too? I wanna try this root, but I don't wanna lose what's on my 64 gig sdcard by formatting, it if that's the case.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Southern_mind:
Mine was having heating issues.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
If I'm correct I think the phone may only be formatting 64GB microSD cards as exFAT. For any other size you might have to format it from the computer. But as soon as you format it as exFAT should clear up the permission errors.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Only if you want to use files larger than 4GB.

You lose everything on the card, yes. Just copy everything to your computer and you can format it back and copy the data back on later. :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] igomoto:
This method worked for me.

I used a spare microSD card, 64 GB SanDisk and I formatted directly from the phone.

I also extracted the .zip file directly from my phone using root explorer and copied to the root of the newly formatted extSdCard.

Kudos to all for their excellent work!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] speedfreak228:
When we are able to flash roms in going to use my ext SD for rom backups. Are they over 4gb?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Huffy6256:
I don't have a card reader in my pc so I cannot format my 32gb card at the moment to test
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Siphter:
Put SdCard in another phone and formated manually to exFat and got pass ./pwn and now have root the phone does not work to erase the sdcard but all is working flawlessly now thanks to all involved!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
Plug in phone then format it from there just select the sdcard not the phone.

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Antdagod:
so I can use an old 2 gig sdcard just to gain root, and after I gain it through the "format sdcard" process, I can put my unformatted 64 gig card back in? Is this correct?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] pwhitersxs:
The zip file posted worked perfectly for me :) good work all!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] speedfreak228:
Yes
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
Formatted via a card reader in Win 8 to exFat with default block size. Permission denied first run, did it again and it worked.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Capp5050:
The full backup (e.g. a Nandroid backup) may be greater than 4GB total, but that backup typically consists of several files, none of which is more than ~1GB. Given the 4GB limitation, most products/developers are sensitive to this so you don't find too many single-4GB files out there.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bjbinc:
yes
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
Can we donate for this root?

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thornev:
Formatting 16GB sd card on PC to exFat worked for me.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Antdagod:
Thanks. Ok, so again, I'm new to this and I don't know exactly what I'm doing. But, I follow directions good and I want the luxury of being rooted; so I'ma give this a try. I have an old 2 gig sdcard I don't use, so I'll format that. Now to format it, you say say I can do it from the phone? Where exactly do I go to do this formatting?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jorceshaman:
Yes, but it was suggested that if you want to, donations should go to Doomlord. And any obligations from this thread are still on and by donating for just root you're still agreeing to pay amounts set here if recovery comes.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] troyvoy88:
I have root I followed all of the steps to the letter. Now I only had an issue in one place it was the sdcard format. How I fixed this...well the Android Storage utility didn't do the trick. So I grabbed my old Razr Maxx and put the sdcard in it connected the phone to the computer and mounted the sdcard as a mass storage device. I then did a quick format in windows and choose exFat. I copied the files like stated above to the root of the SDcard then dropped the SDcard back in the GS4 and followed the steps. ran. ./pwn twice and ./script.sh reboot didn't bother checking then installed supersu from marked and wallaaa root. I hope this helps some or all!!

Edit:

I'm sure you can just put the sdcard in a reader(laptop, converted, etc...) and just format the sd to exFat.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] gadget!:
Very cool!

So now I have a rooted 32gb S4 for sale :D
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] spinwizard:
How bout that
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Huffy6256:
Was able to get the SD card formatted with my RAZR and everything went smooth after that.. I now have root.. Thanks a lot guys!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
I'm too excited to sleep. Now I want recovery! lol TOUCHWHIZ BE GONE
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] open1your1eyes0:
After many successful posts I'd like to thank all the testers for their time and troubleshooting the microSD card issues. :good:

Official Root Thread for VRUAME7 has been posted: Link Here

Previous Root Thread has been renamed to specify VRUAMDK build only: Link Here
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] randy hoopes:
Without bootloader still can't flash roms right so what's the point?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
Baby steps dude... We'll get there.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] d.ouyang:
I reformatted using a pc, tried again... It worked!

I used ota rootkeeper immediately, and for some reason, about 15 minutes later rootchecker told me root wasn't installed correctly. Maybe I accidentally clicked the "temporarily unroot" in voodoo before exiting, but I thought I'd notice. After that I've been fine so far.

Thank you so much and cheers to all!

Sent using Tapatalk 4 Beta
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] gadget!:
A little insight that may help those having problems...

I formatted the card in my S4 twice and both times when I checked it in my pc it said it was fat32.

I finally got it to format ext32 from my pc and then it worked flawlessly.

Sent from a Galaxy S4... Far far away
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bjbinc:
Really??

:eek:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] AshyKnuttz:
This no longer applies to me since I just ordered a developer edition, but I love that you guys have managed to get root. I like seeing this community besting the man :D
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
If I could afford the outright price of a Dev phone, I would get one in an instant. But alas, use peons cannot, so we must hope and pray for the freedom of our dirty commoner devices. :laugh:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crystallized:
No way to format my Micro SD

So like....

I have a Micro SD, but I have no way to format it. Is there a way? I don't have a spare phone. I have asked my roommate and he's on 4.2.2, so that's a no go. We don't have any slots on our computers or our monitors. Basically, nowhere to stick this Micro SD card except in my S4.

Any other way to format this thing to exFat so I can get root??
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Root = Success. Much love to everyone who contributed! Now recovery is next! :)

---------- Post added at 11:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 PM ----------

What do I need to do to block OTAs?

---------- Post added at 11:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 PM ----------

Would a digital camera that takes SD cards work? Or do you have a friend who has a USB=SD card adapter?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
THE general theory seems to be as follows:

Plug SD card into COMPUTER, and format as ExFAT (and VERIFY). Then continue with the steps. So, card reader or other, but in your PC.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Southern_mind:
Woohoo got root. I had to format in the computer to ext32. Some nottach stuff works and was able to get the wifi hotshot toggle and brightness toggle set up. Oh how I missed infinity scroll. And my beloved root apps. Thanks

---------- Post added at 05:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:36 AM ----------

You can still change a lot with just root.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Rebel908:
Very happy to have root again. Thank you devs for your work! Wish I had money to contribute
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] randy hoopes:
I know I'm just saying all these ppl so excited to root who cares with without exploit.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] heyazzo:
hunting around and found some Attestation Certificate Authority documents within /firmware/image/tima.b00 ; .b03 Tima, and TZ look like the first parts of this padlock looking structure... Any thoughts? Getting out of the "Trustzone"
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tada10:
You sir is what we define party pooper. These devs just took their time fixing our roots to be able to run apps and mods that require root. If that don't make you happy then you shouldn't have updated your phone. Or go sell it if you don't have any patience.

Sent from my Galaxy S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] heyazzo:
Poopers asking for a discount on a Dev Device?

Not only in stock, but I found it for 15% off 470 and change, instead of 650

code for checkout: STAQUA

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SCH-I545ZKDVZW?

Go buy one if you can now afford it...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] randy hoopes:
Lol my bad
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mlin:
Congrats! This is awesome news. I am already rooted and loki'd but excited to see progress being made.

OP, please up my contribution to $15/$30.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] psone:
Thanks! Works great
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] heyazzo:
It's Christmas in July...So, I'm playing some christmas music. Now to open this other present... Like Die Hard, and the big vault...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sbollero:
FAT32/exFAT

Does it matter what allocation size I use when formatting as exFAT? I may be breaking major rules by posting in this thread but I've been following it religiously since my girlfriend was playing with my phone and "accidentally hit the upgrade now button.

Thanks for any answer that might come through.

Thanks so much to OP for leading the charge here.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
Shouldn't, but I did the default 32 kilobytes, and that worked.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] heyazzo:
Maybe put the file in /mnt/extSdCard/gs4ex/

Are you using a Linux box?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Apparently you can format 64gb cards in the phone. But less than that you would need to format on the computer as exFat. Hope that helps!