yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
Sorry but What exactly do you mean by hardware guys?

Sent from Navi

---------- Post added at 03:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 AM ----------

I've been looking through the ROMs and everything.. And I want nothing more then this boot loader cracked.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Hashcode:
Hello,

(Odd auto submit post.. bleh)

I did talk to Obsidian today and I need some time to cleanup my Safestrap code and build up a test or 2. I'll post an update when it's ready.

NOTES / INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:

I don't think getting a custom recovery running will be that difficult. I've looked at the ramdisk and the stock QCOM setup has many scripts which can be used as hook points to jump into recovery.

Booting 2nd-init ROMs should also be doable (no custom kernel).

However, as one poster already mentions, booting a custom kernel may prove VERY challenging. I don't have a working kexec for QCOM devices, yet. And if the kernel modules are being verified/checked then that obstacle has to be cleared first.

Not saying it's impossible, but most of what we're discussing for custom kernels and kexec on QCOMs doesn't exist at the moment. (This should not be confused with the hard boot hack used on the S3 -- its not kexec)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
I've heard good things about you sir.

Sent from Navi

---------- Post added at 03:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:50 AM ----------

Would you mind explaining what exaactly safe strap is?

Sent from Navi
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] resurektz:
Thanks hash. I used safestrap on my razr maxx so im hoping you can get it working on the s4.

Sent from my Bonestock S4
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
Oh you guys are in a good place now that Hash is involved. ;) Good job, Obsidian. :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Hashcode:
Safestrap is basically a fork of TWRP that I designed to be run on locked bootloader devices. It is NOT flashed to the stock recovery partition like a normal recovery. It lives on the primary system partition where it is installed by an APK.

During the boot, a splash screen is shown (after the bootloader image normally) for a few seconds during the bootup. It has a soft button which can be pressed to enter recovery and another you can press to skip the wait and continue.

Once in recovery, the user can create ROM slots which once activated are used exactly like a normal recovery would use your primary system/userdata and cache. This has the benefit of never altering the primary system which has to be in working order to enter recovery.

The original design for a system like this was developed by Koush for the Droid X. He called it a "bootstrap". And it flashed all of the primary partitions and could end with an unusable system when a "bad" ROM was flashed. This usually required a fastboot (Loki) process to recover from.

The current version used on the older Motorola OMAP phones is safestrap 3.11. Its based on TWRP 2.2.2.1

The reason I haven't put out a test for the S4 is that I had my sources all pulled apart to update the base to TWRP 2.6. Which was a near re-write and required a bit of recoding. I'm also tweaking the actual build process for the recovery so that supporting more devices will be easier in the future.

Hopefully I'll clear that all up soon.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/hacking-help/202645-what-exactly-safestrap.html

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] ozzzzysh:
Great things are on the horizon. Safe strap isn't ideal, but it's a freaking cool process and still infinitely better than stock.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
So with safe strap you can boot into a normal ROM or a seperate ROM..? And it pretty much works exactly as if it were unlocked..? And if that's so does it take up more system memory?

Sent from Navi
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sound-mind:
I think I can help out the S4 variants and kexec. But I need some help. I need the sources for the functional root exploit on the i545. The exploit's upstream github repo doesn't work with my ndk toolchain. I've already spent cycles chasing down a problem someone else has fixed somewhere else. I'm spending cycles tracking down segfaults and kernel panics instead of, well, just kernel panics.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] th3drow:
Awesome news, glad we have some really intelligent people here
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] asdecker:
Waaaaaaaayy over my head but thank the good Lord you geniuses are working on this!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Cruiserdude:
Well obviously djrbliss was the one that found it initially, but doesn't seem interested in pursuing anything further at this time. Still, he may have some useful info to pass along to someone with actual experience with this sort of thing and an interest in this device, which you strike me as if I may be so presumptuous.

Adam Outler and ralekdev were working together on the S3 before we got a leak, and it was one of them who eventually came into possession of the insecure engineering aboot and sboot that allowed us to crack that open. Adam is great at figuring out everything you'd want to know about the hardware, and helping regular users understand and utilize findings of an advanced technical nature. Ralekdev seems to be the real nuts and bolts guy that likes to dig around and get his hands dirty. I'd say he's the best bet of the three for actually finding a possible exploit, while the other two could provide some really useful info.

jcase was digging into it as well, and I'm sure there's plenty more, but I can't think of any more names off the top of my head.

Very encouraged to see you here. I lived the purgatory of OMAPorola ownership for awhile with a RAZR, and you and dhacker made that experience immensely more enjoyable, and for that I am ever thankful. It's a shame to hear of the difficulty even a software solution for custom kernels presents, but any sort of recovery would be a huge improvement over what ME7 folks are dealing with now, especially considering all the crap Verizon does to the stock rom.

Not to mention you can run a 4.2.2 Google Play Edition port on a stock kernel with just a custom ram disk, if that part is possible. Still, I'm holding out hope for a hardware method of flashing custom kernels, as I can attest to the difference a good kernel can make on this device. But if that isn't possible, I can think of no one better than yourself at giving the ME7 folks a software path to freedom.

:thumbup:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] meowenf:
Thank you guys so much! I'm really going for the best on this one... I need an AOSP ROM on my s4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jova33:
So..... would safestrap meet the bounty requirements of a working recovery? Lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] th3drow:
I would make some noise if they got a working safestrap and didn't get the bounty. However I get what your saying lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thesoldier:
I believe it would take the root + recovery bounty which is around 4k, but not the root + bootloader unlock, since it wouldn't be a true unlock.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Menardo:
I got $10 for safestrap...

Edit created post for his donations. ..

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2421825
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jova33:
BUT.... from what I read, custom kernels would be a more difficult task than just getting safestrap working. So, I mean, I'll still buy him a twelve pack, but will others?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] hotpl8:
Thanks Hash. I was on D3 before this. Glad and a little disappointed (no offense) that I see you again.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] twizzlejr:
This is all a little beyond me but my question here is with this method what rims would we be able to download since we're stuck on me7 would we be able to flash any rom
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jova33:
Well, what he was saying is custom kernels would be harder to figure out, and AOSP ROMs don't use the TW kernel. Google edition and TW ROMs could work with the stock kernel.

So basically, with just safestrap, you'd be able to flash ROMs that can use the stock kernel. If they figure out a way to flash custom kernels, then there'll be a little bit more.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] meowenf:
So in theory we could flash the GS4 Google edition ROM that is out? Is LTE built into that ROM? I would think that it is.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] revolt1:
yes cause it uses the stock tw kernel
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Obsidian...:
Glad to see you made it sir. I'm grateful as always for the work you do and the time you take out of your life to make our lives better. I know if I was using a S4 instead of my N2 I would be unequivocally relieved after seeing your first post here. You're a good man Hash. I find it funny that people think aosp roms don't work with SafeStrap (I know it takes a lot of hard work and your own tree but you still get it done). Otherwise you and DH wouldn't be pay of the official CM team. Cheers

Connecting people is kind of my thing huh Sam? I just hope everyone truly realizes how fortunate they are and stop giving half hearted thanks. That kind of crap is completely uncalled for and ungrateful.

It's just "THANK YOU" not "Thank you followed by a stipulation". You know what I mean Samuri?

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sppatel:
a big thank you from me as well!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
Indeed I do. If I were stuck on me7 I'd be super psyched right about now at the thought of getting some ss loving. People aren't fully grasping the concept here so let's see if I can help spell it out a little better...

1) Get initial ss up and running so you can have rom slots for multiple roms that use the stock kernel. Ability to hot swap between roms.

2) With some hard work, patience, and luck, perhaps an added bonus of kexec kernel replacement. This allows for hot swapping the kernel with a custom kernel in memory and mostly bypasses the limitations of having a locked bootloader. At this point you'd be darn near completely free.

3) None of this is mutually exclusive with work being done on flashing a full recovery. Meaning you can have your cake while you wait for pie.

All in all, options are a wonderful thing to have on a locked phone. And ss opens up a ton of them while you wait for full recovery and/or a true unlock.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] killajoe:
I'm so excited. Thank you Hashcode and Obsidian and everyone working so hard to get this figured out. Can't wait to test this awesomeness out!! You guys rock!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sppatel:
With SS, if you were to flash an AOSP based rom such as CM (which would not have a TouchWiz based kernel) and possible custom kernl modifications from the CM team, wouldn't that be considered a kernel replacement and require kexec? It seems as if there would be a limitation on what type of rom we could flash, being limited to only touchwiz based roms using the stock kernel. Is my assumption incorrect?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
And Google edition rom since it's also on stock kernel.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sokrboot:
[MENTION=4392156]sppatel[/MENTION]

Maybe here is an answer:

Or maybe here:

http://www.droiddog.com/android-blo...s-on-the-note-universal-kernel-now-available/

««I used to be a Serial Flasher...now I'm just a Cereal Flasher.»»
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
In step one of getting ss, kernel replacement won't be possible. You'll only be able to use the roms that work with your default me7 kernel. That's at least a good first step in the right direction, however, as you won't be stuck on the stock os. Anything that runs on the native kernel is fair game at that point. Step 2, after a lot of hard work, should allow the use of kexec kernels. In this case aosp roms become possible. Hash and others have outlined the challenges on that front. They aren't impossible but they are challenges nonetheless. Kexec won't come soon. In the meantime, once an initial version of ss is released, you can enjoy a bit more freedom than you currently have. And who knows, someone may solve the custom recovery problem during all this. The point is to start having options again... Rather than where it's at now with only root and waiting for something to happen.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
Sorry, but could someone explain the difference between Google Edition ROMs and AOSP?

Sent from Navi
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sokrboot:
To my (limited) knowledge, the GPE ROM is pure android (AOSP) with no Touch Wiz influence...the difference is that it uses the stock S4 kernel while most other AOSP ROMs use a custom kernel.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

««I used to be a Serial Flasher...now I'm just a Cereal Flasher.»»
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
I think the root+recovery bounty should go to Hash when there is a breakthrough. He deserves it.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
Sort of. The gpe is using a custom non-tw kernel developed by Samsung to run a stock android base. The gpe isn't 100% stock as it has additions for the cover, as an example. AOSP is as pure as you can get. Everything comes from the Google repo. Obviously whoever is making the rom from aosp can modify it as they desire, including kernel modifications.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] brycekerr:
Eh he is getting my portion regardless... I believe he hit the requirements even though I don't think it was the actual intent of the bounty.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
I'd love to get hyperdrive running with this :P

Sent from Navi
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] roboots21:
I have seen some of the work Hashcode has done before (mostly on the Kindle Fire I have) and he is quite the man. I am very very very happy to see him here giving us S4 users some hope, probably the most hope we have had of yet being on ME7. Thanks be to you brother!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sppatel:
I can't remember where I read it, but I read somewhere that TouchWiz, "the framework" exists in GPE. This is how the camera works, since it depends on TouchWiz. I'll have to find the link.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
Not in 4.3, no.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Jayrod76:
Thank you obs for bringing hashcode in. I was of the (obviously false) impression that SS wouldn't be able to work on the ME7 update. I am still trucking along on MDK with the wonderful Loki exploit and while it's not the same as the DEV and GPE,it defiantly gets the job done.

I do hope that SS does come to fruition and those who are stuck in hell can get out.

Coming from the bionic and RAZR using SS made it a very good experience.. especially being able to have multiple ROMs ready to go if something happened to one or for theme testing.

Very cool to have you looking into it Hash!

Sent from my Platyraptor extreme ultra maxxxx 4gLTE/GSM/ABC/123 Nick Knack Pattywack Ermegherd GED, MD,RNA,DNA,YMCA Edition S4! Via the 4th dimension....NOW RUNNING ECLIPSE
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
Nope not in 4.3 but in 4.2.2 it did.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] daveseris:
I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but since there's such a positive attitude here, could someone review the list of apps that need to be frozen to block any automatic OTA updates once a potential safestrap is achieved.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2413420

Look, and you shall find.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
That's correct, yes. Which is why 4.3 is so much faster and easier on battery life. However, 4.3 isn't without its own set of problems...No idea when the carrier S4's are going to start seeing 4.3 but I'd guess sometime starting next month starting on the International and TMobile versions.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
You want to specifically freeze "SDM 1.0" to stop updates.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thejulianath20:
Ditto!

I too have a Kindle fire 1 and saw hash'shashes diligence to helping the cause! So excited now!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Metallice:
Hope this works out. Will make the thought of breaking my MDK and getting a replacement under insurance a little more tolerable.

If hash gets safestrap working WITH kexec kernel support I don't see why he shouldnt get the root+recovery bounty, although I can see how it is a gray area as that bounty was meant to apply to a Loki like exploit.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
I have been on lake Charlevoix many times and I'd have to disagree. I think its a better experience on Torch. We don't get the state park drunks. Sure we have the sandbar and that gets insane but it's not as spread out. Obviously ranked #3 in the world for beauty make the experience incredible. Plus you can still boat over to lake Michigan. Its a longer ride but still an option. But everyone has their own opinion. :)

[MENTION=430073]Obsidian[/MENTION]

My ex's parents live near Muskegon so I often took 31. And yes my house is directly on Torch. North east end.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Obsidian...:
I'll keep checking in as I hear things but at least there seems to be a light at the end of this dark tunnel. Maybe some friends of Sammy devs could let them know of this possible solution so they are ready and willing to start deving for it if it comes to fruition.

I hope this brings some relief to those on me7 and make sure you show hash some love. He definitely deserves it

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eklipz3:
If hash pulls this off i think he well deserves the bounty because until he came on the seen people was starting to lose hope. no updates no hope. hash the prophet has arrived.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Mightycaptain:
I posted a link back to this thread last night in the hyperdrive thread so Sbreen94 is aware Hashcode is working on a solution. I believe he is also familiar with Hashcode 's previous work. So he may already be ready if it is a Safestrap style solution. I tell you though IMO there are several rom devs for this device that seem fantastic sbreen94, nitro, dubsy, Andybones, beanstown. very nice work from all of them. Both on the TouchWiz and AOSP side. The big aosp rom's, slim, cyanogenmod, aokp, pac etc... Will adjust. I think these guys Locked in me7 will have some nice options and this would attract more devs.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] redbean25:
Glad to see Hash is here. I feel better now. I run his stuff on my Kindle Fire 1st gen.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] meowenf:
Someone should contact OpenYourEyes to see what he thinks about giving hashcode the bounty money, or atleast a portion if he is able to get all this working... I personally feel he should atleast get some portion of the bounty, but I also didn't donate because I'm short on money so my opinion doesn't really matter.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] twizzlejr:
I'm just glad to see some kind of progress I've never used hashes work but dude sounds incredible and so do our choices for roms thanks everybodt
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Hashcode:
All the talk of bounties and stuff got me thinking: I was considering leaving the bounty alone and putting this particular version of Safestrap (for the VZW S4) as a .99 download on the Play Store.

This does 2-3 things:

- Keeps the bounty intact for a future dev to claim should they crack the bootloader in a way that satisfies the entire community.

- Lets each user can make their own choice on whether to pursue modding a locked device. Instead of the 40+ users who put up the bounty paving the way for them. Also, there would be threads discussing how it's working which users could follow, and get a good idea of what you're going to pay for. Not exactly true w/ the bounty.

- I've never used my Google dev account and it's going to waste.

I'm also not entirely sold on this idea either. I'm sure there could be backlash at charging for something like Safestrap... who knows. Money has never been my primary reason for doing anything.

Just tossing that out there.

FYI, I have the new Safestrap (based on TWRP 2.6.0.4) running on the Moto OMAP4's where I'm debugging a few things. The next step is to clean up the RAZR-HD build and re-write the hijack for a more generic point which the S4 also has. And if the play testing goes well at that point, I'll build up a 1080p theme and hopefully get a few beta testers.

Here's some screens from the droid razr (540x960):
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] msterwolf:
Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication. I greatly appreciate that you're taking time out of your life in order to make this possible. I was beginning to lose hope of ever flashing another non-TouchWiz based ROM on this device, but you have come and suddenly brought my hopes up! Once again thanks for you hard work and dedication. Wish you the best of luck!:good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Blue:
I can be a beta tester if you need one. I'm avaliable almost 24/7 except when sleeping :p

Thanks for your work and Good luck(:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] decaturbob:
hard work should be rewarded hashcode!! Cant wait to get SS on my GS4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sokrboot:
[MENTION=4243514]Hashcode[/MENTION], I just smiled.and cried and drooled all at once...I didnt even know that was possible! I'd be glad to beta test for you when the time comes and I will certainly either buy your safestrap or throw in for tour share of the bounty as you see fit.

THANK YOU!

««I used to be a Serial Flasher...now I'm just a Cereal Flasher.»»
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Mightycaptain:
Personally, as far as I'm concerned if you put in the work and want to put it in the play store for. 99 cents, go for it. I certainly wouldn't say a peep and if it was on me7 would gladly pay that. Who knows we may all end up taking the update and then using this solution.

Those of us with MDK and were able to use the loki exploit will become a minority over time to be sure. Be interesting to see if the devs push us in that direction over time as we become the minority.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Noremacam:
By using safestrap do you have to use the me7 kernel, or can you replace it with an aosp kernel or similar? Does it work like kexec? Sorry, I'm new to these alternative methods.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jaydubbs:
Hell, people are charging more than .99 for a UCCW skin so I can't understand any backlash for something that allows for such modification (and that's not taking into consideration the hard work and time you've put into it.) Count me in!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SamuriHL:
Very nice work, Hash. If anyone has a problem paying 0.99c for something this useful then they probably don't deserve it. Lol!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] ozzzzysh:
Shut up and take my money. :) Honestly the theme could probably wait. Lol I think at this point people would even type out the commands to get a better ROM running. Haha

Also, it probably goes without saying, but my device is open to any beta voodoo you want to test. ;)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
If you read a few pages back, you could've answered your own question...Here's the link http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=45021994
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jova33:
Honor system. We're all adults(hopefully), and we honor our commitments.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Bloodcrav:
http://blog.hash-of-codes.com/how-to-safestrap/

---------- Post added at 12:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 PM ----------

If this method could be of any use
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Au_A7:
droidviews.com/2013/how-to-downgrade-firmware-on-samsung-galaxy-devices/

Has anyone tried to downgrade to mdk with this method?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lycwolf:
Method won't work. As stated in both bounty threads. The ME7 update locks the bootloader from any older versions.