yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot] vadyr56:
Yeah I do have the same job, but for the time being I've just been leaving my phone in the truck so its not exposed to the moisture. As for my set up, currently running stock rooted with agats kernel, but I've tried 100% stock for a while before and it still did it, as well as a few other configurations and its consistent. I actually have to knock on wood, it didn't do it once yet today, although I did lose data several times but that happens with sprint no matter where I am. Honestly I feel like its a problem I may not be able to fix, unfortunately the troubleshooting options are very limited. :(
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot] xxaddictedxx:
well if its loosing signal and then not picking it back up it kinda sounds like a faulty antenna.....its hard to say with out a diagnostics hooked up to it but even if you take it in your unlikely to get a straight answer. if it is infact a hardware issue the only ones capable of fixing is manuf.(sprint will just pass it off or make up some reason for you to file a ins claim) from what you have told me it sounds like your in a normal setting. do others in your area that have sprint have the same problem?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot] vadyr56:
Nah not to my knowledge... I have heard of very few cases of the same issue only with the S4 but I guess sprint/Sammy won't recognize it until there are more people with the issue. And yeah just like you said, sprint gives me the runaround when I call them and the guy in the store does the same thing, says his hands are tied cause usually they do whatever they can. I am grateful they got me a refurbished device for free even with water damage though.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot] xxaddictedxx:
yessir thats what they do.....well if it truly is a hardware issue with the s4's i hope you can get some light shed on it soon so you dont have to deal with anymore. I remember it from the s2 days and it was definatly annoying at best. but hey look on the bright side.....at least you aren't having menu wakes like the s2 did. my only advice i can give is just try different combos of roms,kernels,modems to see if you can find one that may at least somewhat mask the issue. unfortunatly if its hardware thats failing then its only going to get worse and worse.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4] kevinrubio1:
What's a good cheap S-Pen for the S4?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4] DroidOnRoids:
You mean a stylus? There won't be S-Pen functionality on this phone because TouchWiz on the S4 does not have S-Pen features.

You can find cheap styluses on Amazon for like a dollar in a pack of 3.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4] kevinrubio1:
Yeah! And thanks! I always wanted one
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4] KillaHurtz:
There is no S-Pen functionality because the GS4 lacks the Note's wacom digitizer, it has nothing to do with the apps.

There is this, but it's just a fancy stylus.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II] themichael:
Trying to figure out a way to disable crt off animations. Already have animations off in developer options but the animations are still there. Running jellybutter 8.5, any thoughts?

Edit: figured it out:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II] hopesrequiem:
Why would you want to?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] benyben123:
Hi

Broke the screen + digitizer (i guess).

How do I fix? Where? How much?

Thank you!

September 8, 2013
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] XxLostSoulxX:
Google my friend repair places for electronics. It'll cost anywhere from 100 to 150.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] benyben123:
I might as well buy a new one

(:
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] afridiim:
Hi guys...

I bought Xperia Z Ultra just couple of days back. I was excited about having it but the party was ruined when.I realised that it has Calibration problem. (Bought without Warranty)

See if some of you guys has the same problem and can suggest some fix:-

1- Dialing the wrong number from Call Logs.

2- Sometimes the keyboard goes crazy while Drafting email and start typing multiple alphabets I.e. eeee /dddd / ooooo etc.

3- Lag in registering Touch especially on Phone dialing.

Kindly help me with the solution if you have or had the same issue

Regards

Afridi
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] bASKOU:
Which firmware are you on? Had lag with touchscreen. So you should look if you can update your phone.

Also go on Settings/About/test device. There you can test everything on your phone and see what go wrong.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] afridiim:
I am latest firmware 14.1.B.1.510. Recently updated.

I tested the device as you said and it seems fine there... But the problem is still bothering me and making my phone almost unusable.

It seems pure display calibration problem
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] bASKOU:
Really annoying as there is no calibration setting on the phone. Tried a factory reset? Updated from Pc Companion or with flashtool?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] anirudhks:
Just do a repair via pcc most of the devices had thia peoblem.with the old firmware not getting updated properly
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] waveloom:
a fix here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2470070
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] afridiim:
Thanks Bro.. appreciate your reply.. I have sold the faulty XZU...but this can help a lot of ppls I believe, having same problem
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
I'm resurrecting this topic because as of August 28th, h311sdr0id, a recognized developer, reported that it is possible:

These are the most details he has posted:

After that, he closed the thread on August 29th. He most recently teased on September 4th:

IMO, being able to downgrade to an exploitable bootloader is a MUCH more desirable alternative to Safestrap. JTAG isn't without its inherent risks, but many of us already have JTAG capabilities, or would be skilled enough and willing to spend $100 for a RIFF box to downgrade our phone. This is a topic that is VERY worthy of discussion.

I personally have a RIFF Box, and if I figure this out I am more than willing to "pass it forward"... I'm sure we can quickly get together a list of trusted volunteers to downgrade phones for other forum members.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sokrboot:
Is it possible to JTAG to GPE or developer edition?

««I used to be a Serial Flasher...now I'm just a Cereal Flasher.»»
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Noremacam:
developer mode is set via a efuse. Once that fuse is blown, it can never be developer mode again. All Verizon phones come with that fuse blown, so it'll never be able to be turned into a developer phone. Since they don't make a google phone edition that is compatible with Verizon's network, that's not possible either.

Sorry. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
I don't know about the dev edition, but I've surely heard that the ME7 also blew a QFuse... yet that apparently hasn't stopped h311sdr0id.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Noremacam:
the qfuse is checked prior to flashing, but not during booting.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
I posted on the RIFF JTAG support forum and got a reply from legija, the RIFF product manager:

I'm not entirely sure how to qfuses are used, or what was tripped with the ME7 update. But it doesn't make a whole lot of sense if all it does is prevent from downgrading in download mode. Per h311sdr0id, "I can use JTAG to bring a device to a state where it can then be flashed with the MDK via odin."

For this to be the case, it would need to check for a certain fuse for the flashing routine, but the boot secure values would need to be unchanged.

Which brings me to my question, what is unique about JTAG such that this would be possible, but you couldn't achieve the same results via lets say dd. What is preventing you from using dd to overwrite the ME7 bootloader and other partitions? If it isn't a hardware qfuse check preventing it from booting, what is the holdup?

Either way, I've got a RIFF box sitting on my table ready to go if I get a little more guidance on how to proceed :cool:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Noremacam:
dd won't work because of ARM's TrustZone prohibits write access to that area, even with kernel level access/root. Only the Odin interface is capable of making those changes(and blocking Samsung's undesired changes).... except through jtag which bypasses that.

I've read a LOT to try to understand that issue, and that's the best I can come up with, so I may be wrong on a few things.

One of the areas that are worth looking to exploit is their implementation of TrustZone, to see if you can get free write access to the bootloader to downgrade that way - but it'd be a painful process since a successful initial exploit would leave the phone unbootable and in need of jtag anyways. If the exploit exists in TrustZone it'd be a pain to turn into a usable unlock.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
So if it's just a block in ODIN, wouldn't that be a software block? Why is the assumption that a qfuse was blown?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Noremacam:
It's possible I am wrong on that point, however the error message displayed on the phone when attempting to Odin back to MDK suggests that it's a fuse issue.

I could be wrong - and I don't have access to a screenshot of that message right now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
Can someone please explain the entire concept and process of a riff box? I've seen a lot but not really understanding how this could help us with our phone. Hell, if someone could write a guide I may just buy one.

Sent from Navi
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Rebel908:
(sorry nothing to see here)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] nicholi2789:
It's complicated. Extremely so. It's not really a practical solution and for someone who doesn't have years of experience; a quick trip to $700 paperweight-land.

Here are a couple links just for your knowledge:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1000175

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Test_Action_Group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnA8Djs55Ds
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] michaelg117:
What other things is this used for..?

Like, where do people get "experience" with riff box and JTAG other then just practice with phones? I never heard about it before hand.

Sent from Navi
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
I would disagree with the last poster. It's really not complicated, you just need soldering experience. At that point, dumnping/flashing/unbricking are literally almost one click operations with the RIFF software.

The verizon S4 is kind of a PITA because the JTAG contacts are on the back of the motherboard, so you need to fully tear down the phone. But once you get to them, the solder pads are actually very large, and there isn't much near them to mess up.

There are certainly hazards, though.Yesterday when I tearing my phone down and popping off the antenna, the antenna connector ripped off the board. That thing is TINY. I had to use a multimeter to determine which of four points was signal and which were ground, prep the points, strip and tin the antenna wire, solder, and secure with hot glue. That is where experience comes in. But you don't need JTAG experience... just experience working on small electronics :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mlin:
Which is why its not really a practical solution.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Dra$tiK:
Guinea pig?

I'm buying a s4 from craigslist and I would be willing to take a bone stock ME7 and send it to someone who has a riff box.. :) just want the unlocked potential in the s4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sound-mind:
You can turn a developer edition into a non-developer edition by flashing ME7. Thus, it is a soft fuse (efuse?), not a qfuse (hard fuse?). It appears any device can be turned into a developer edition *unless* ME7 is blowing a hard fuse that is checked by MDK as well. I doubt MDK is checking for a non-existent qfuse state. The only difference between the dev edition and the vzw are the early bootloaders. The ME7 Odin package replaces them so you lose the unlocked bootloader.

So yeah, I think you can turn a non-dev edition into a dev edition if you have an MDK and the dev-edition bootloader images. I don't have one to test, so this is just my untested opinion and will likely brick something.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
You are incorrect. You cannot turn a non Dev into a Dev edition. Read up on eFuse vs qFuse and how they are implimeted and how they trip and what they do, what checks for them and when. Then read up on what makes the Dev version different than non Dev versions. You will see that it is not possible because the fuse is already tripped on non Dev version. No going back.

ME7 doesn't work on non Verizon phones. :(
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
This is correct. All non-dev versions have the dev qfuse tripped no matter the firmware. And for clarification... the MDK bootloader was never unlocked. It was an exploit (loki) that bypassed the security checks AFTER the bootloader. For the user, the end result was practically the same... it allowed custom recovery and custom kernels.

There is an excellent writeup by Dan Rosenberg who created the Loki exploit. I recommend everyone reads it.

That vulnerability in aboot was patched in ME7, and doesn't allow downgrades via ODIN. But the theory is if we can get around those downgrade blocks, we would get loki back.

The "easiest" way would be via JTAG. Noremacam pointed out if we get around TrustZone we could potentially get write access to the bootloader and downgrade that way. A TrustZone exploit is actually exactly what Dan Rosenberg for his Motorola bootloader unlock. Again, another excellent writeup on that exploit is here.

The Motorola full-unlock was possible because those phones had an inherently unlockable bootloader, where it could be unlocked with a valid unlock token for your particular device. When you legit unlock the bootloader with a valid token, it blows a qfuse. The exploit tripped that qfuse, and bingo, the bootloader is unlocked.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Noremacam:
We now know there is a "state" the phone can be in that will re-allow the flashing of the older firmware. Instead of using a trustzone exploit to unlock the bootloader, a trustzone exploit could instead be used to bring the phone back to the state that enabled the flashing of the older firmware.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
I believe there's some confusion as to what has been accomplished and its potential. The referenced thread mentioned the ability to downgrade to pre-ME7 bootloaders via JTAG. This could be accomplished using JTAG to set conditional breakpoints where the qfuse check is done (within ODIN in aboot). Now the unanswered question is what good would that do you?

On the next boot, the pre-ME7 BL would fail to boot since theres a qfuse mismatch (expecting '1', but seeing '2'). You could of course bypass this check if your phone is connected to a JTAG, but that is not a feasible solution. Thus, I think this is why the original thread came to a halt.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
With all due respect, that is NOT what h311sdr0id claims to have accomplished. There is no "next boot"... if you flash with ODIN and there is a qfuse mismatch, it would fail on the very FIRST boot. Not to mention h311sdr0id has claimed to have downgraded, and proceeded to unlock/root... which takes multiple reboots. And then the fact he was advertising this as a free downgrade service for other developers... would be worthless if it wasn't persistent.

The theory is that the fuse value checked during odin is completely unrelated to any check/values at boot auth.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sound-mind:
Re-read my post ;) I said I turned a dev edition into a non-dev edition. I did mean to say a qfuse is blown.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Dra$tiK:
OK soooo do I buy a me7 and send in my Guinea or fork over about 5 bills for an already mdk'd(< I coined that term >{:) edition s4?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
This would be a huge, but fortuitous, implementation flaw by Sammy! It seems to be consistent with the dissassemblies, as ME7/MF3(ATT) were the first versions to add the fuse mismatch error.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mlin:
So, what's the conclusion? HD is downgrading phones on a pm request basis? Of all people, I'm surprised he hasn't chimed in on this thread.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
Exactly. When you attempt to downgrade via ODIN, it's the (ME7) software on the phone that is doing the check and preventing aboot from being flashed. If that part of the software is downgraded (in this case via JTAG), that check never occurs when you flash via ODIN.

All my efforts to contact him in the last week have been ignored, including pointing him to this thread. My hope is that he is on to something, and wants to be the first to claim the ME7 loki bounty :silly:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
Well, this is getting very interesting. I'm not sure this type of fix would qualify for the bounty, but it could be lucrative nonetheless!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mattevt:
Check out this thread, and give it a try. :)

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2421303
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mlin:
Oh yeah, I forgot there was all sorts of money on the line. I hope that is the case.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Dra$tiK:
What I was getting at is I don't wanna pay 500 for one.. I want to buy a me7 for about 300 and then send it off to be MdK'D :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] trook:
I got in touch with him no problem and he graciously offered to JTAG my S4 back to MDK, I have just been working so much this week it's ridiculous, I'm a field tech for Verizon and we're doing the aws portion of lte, it's pretty much just lte overflow but all of my sites are getting it, don't know why I'm rambling, anyway as soon as I get a chance I'm going to take him up on the offer, this phone is useless to me without beans or hyperdrive or any Damn rom , if we (Verizon, not my division) keep this crap up I'm bouncing to t-mobile or something. I'm so sick of encrypted bootloaders f*** moto, Samsung, Verizon and every other bootloader locking nazi. I'm not the only employee that feels this way, half the Damn company roots and roms their personal phones.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
I don't mean to come off as attacking or anything. I just don't want anyone to be mislead by what you said and mess their phone up. You said you turned your Dev into a non-dev. That's fine and all but its still on ATT not Verizon. Flashing MF3 on a Dev will get you a non-dev but its still on ATT.

And 2nd you said you THINK you can turn a non-dev into a Dev. We both said no, not possible.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] andybones:
why dev to non-dev??

I'll trade right now!

I'll take that dev phone!

I have a mint s4 i can trade
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sound-mind:
No worries about attacking it didn't come off that way. We're all trying to figure out a solution to a problem and any mis-conveyed or mis-understood information might be a loss.

I'm with you now it was about the last line in my post. OK that makes sense in the strictly speaking.

I turned my Verizon, not ATT, into a non-dev. That is, SCH-I545ZKDVZW into, well, something else. I flash the Verizon ME7 via Odin over my shipped MDK.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
Ok gotcha... I thought I read in a previous post that you had a ATT Dev and so I wrongly assumed you tried to flash it to be on Verizon non-dev. :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
If anyone has a JTAG and ME7 on their device, send me a PM if you wanna do some testing :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
PM sent.

And for an update... I've stalled because I need a device with MDK to dump via JTAG. I bit the bullet and ordered one on Swappa. Best case I will be able to downgrade my ME7 and post the findings. Worst case, I got a second S4 with MDK :laugh:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bfmetcalf:
So will something like this work, or do you need a full fledged riff box?

http://www.amazon.com/JTAG-HS2-Prog...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379453145&sr=8-1&keywords=JTAG
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
A few people have msg'd me to test some jtag ideas..Just out of curiousity, has anyone tried JTAGing ONLY the MDK aboot on a device with ME7?

I know ODIN won't allow it, that check has been identified. I have seen qfuse checks in sbl2/3, but maybe there's hope that sbl3 doesn't check the aboot fuse_version before loading it..
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
Just replied to your PM. And yes, I plan on trying that after making full flash dumps of both ME7 and MDK.

To update everyone else, I got two new VZW S4s, one ME7 and one MDK. After making complete backups via JTAG I will start experimenting. I finally got a copy of the RIFF JTAG plugins (they are MIA from the RIFF update servers) I need so I can flash only select partitions from a full flash dump. After I make complete backups, it should make flashing only aboot, or the entire bootchain, trivial.

I analyzed the PITs from both ME7 and MDK and they look identical, at least for the bootchain. Hopefully I will have a JTAG downgrade instructions posted here by Monday :silly:

Once the concept is proven, hopefully the smart people will step in and find a software exploit for the downgrade, instead of focusing on a new bootloader/loki exploit.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
Use the riffbox emmc plugin and simply try to replace ME7 aboot with MDK. :fingers-crossed:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] xbadace:
I have been experimenting with my phone all day at work. I work at a phone repair store so we have a riff box. After the JTAG odin will fail the flash back to MDK. I'm a little new to flashing individual files via JTAG, so any instructions on a possible downgrade would be greatly appreciated. I would also be willing to help other users who needed the downgrade.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skitals:
I'm dumping my me7 phone now... Looks like it will take over 25 hours :( So at least 2 days to dump both.

Do you have an MDK jtag dump? What exactly did you try before Odin?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeboo:
You need to add the plugins to riffbox directory:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5v4ut4fmucpu57q/UsefullPlugins.rar

Then go into the plugins tab, hit 'load from device' and you will see aboot in the list..Then just load the MDK ver and flash (I haven't tried this yet, waiting for test phone to arrive).
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] xbadace:
I did not dump before because worst comes to worst I ressurect and flash ME7 via odin. I just downloaded the plugin. I could not find it earlier while I was at work, so I appreciate that. New issue is my phone is not picking up service. I was borrowing a note 2 from work while I was experimenting with my S4. My verizon account still shows the note and I have a crossed circle where service should be. I'm thinking a bad sim, but have to wait until tomorrow to get a new one.....and no backup phone. If my phone is bad somehow my replacement should me MDK and I will do a full dump before sending it back.