yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] Larry2999:
You can download a fresh stock image from sammobile.com or the same source you used earlier OR a rooted version courtesy of XDA Developer Mr. Robinson via the following link ... http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23269279319199494

Once you have this, save the zip file to an external SD card. Flash custom recovery to your phone. You mentioned you had philz-touch? Or you could flash TWRP or CWM via Odin. Place the SD card in your phone. Boot into recovery mode and flash from the card. Wait for firmware installation to be complete. Clear your cache/dalvik and reboot to system. Hope this works.
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] numsgil:
The link you posted is actually an Odin flashable image file, so I started another Odin-flash. But now it is unable to do anything too!!! The log in v3.09 is :

<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> root66_BMC_I747MVLUEMK5.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin v.3 engine (ID:3)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..

And it is stuck there, for like half an hour now... I'm completely confused now, what do I do? Go buy a new one? I hope not (no money right now)...

EDIT :

- Tried my stuck image : stuck on Initialzation again

- Tried root66 with Heimdall : can't establish connection (might be me that did something wrong with zadig)

- Found a PIT file for the SGH-i747M 16GB and tried both with Re-partition enabled : stuck on Initialzation again

- Found a post on another forum about a dude that got the same problem as me and got the answer that the internal SD is dead......Damned...

Am I still crazy or this phone wants me dead?
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] Larry2999:
My apologies! Sorry. Didn't check the file myself but I just assumed it was a zip for recovery. From your log, the MD5 seems valid so it isn't likely to be from the file. If Odin couldn't flash it (and Heimdall didn't work either), could indeed be a problem elsewhere. Believe me, however, your phone is far from being dead or bricked when you can get into download or recovery modes. I'll do some more research and we'll have it figured out.

Can you also try flashing Philz Touch recovery to your phone via Odin from the link below earlier advised by Audit13 and see if you can use it to flash a custom ROM.

http://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_A..._Edition/d2lte
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] numsgil:
This gives me hope! As I'm not at home right now, did some tests on my Ubuntu Laptop using Heimdall (works better on linux I think) but can't initialize the protocol. In verbose output, it said :

Heimdall v1.4.0

Copyright (c) 2010-2013, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Manufacturer: "Sasmsung"
Product: "MSM8960"

length: 18
device class: 2
S/N: 0
VID:PID: 04E8:685D
bcdDevice: 0100
iMan:iProd:iSer: 1:2:0
nb confs: 1

interface[0].altsetting[0]: num endpoints = 1
Class.SubClass.Protocol: 02.02.01
endpoint[0].address: 82
max packet size: 0010
polling interval: 09

interface[1].altsetting[0]: num endpoints = 2
Class.SubClass.Protocol: 0A.00.00
endpoint[0].address: 81
max packet size: 0200
polling interval: 00
endpoint[1].address: 01
max packet size: 0200
polling interval: 00
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...

Initialising protocol...
WARNING: Control transfer #1 failed. Result: -9
WARNING: Control transfer #2 failed. Result: -9
WARNING: Control transfer #3 failed. Result: -9
WARNING: Control transfer #4 failed. Result: -9
WARNING: Control transfer #5 failed. Result: -9
WARNING: Control transfer #6 failed. Result: -9
ERROR: Failed to send data: "ODIN"
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...

And exited, so again not working. And by the way, the link you sent isn't working. Is it this? Which version do you recommend? I used 6.26.6 before and it didn't work.
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] Larry2999:
Yes, you have the correct link. Suggest you try an older version like the 6.25.0.
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] numsgil:
Nope...still stuck with the same error at home :

<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> philz_touch_6.25.0-d2lte.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin v.3 engine (ID:3)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..

What to do now?
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] Larry2999:
Did some checking. It could indeed be your internal SD card. It could, however, be a simpler problem like the data cable or firewall settings on your computer. Either way, the phone and computer are not communicating correctly. Check the USB cable you are using and make sure it's of very good quality. If using Odin, temporarily disable the anti-virus settings and firewall on your PC (make sure you reinstate them afterwards). Finally, if you find a recovery flashable zip and get into recovery mode, do an advanced wipe and format to remove all existing system prior to flashing new firmware.
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] numsgil:
I have no antivirus and the windows firewall is completely disabled (it caused problems when hosting some games). I tried 3 different cables and 4 different USB ports on 2 different computers (without AV and firewall). I tried 4 different recovery softwares : Philz, CWM, CWM Touch and TWRP, and they all can't format the System partition. So I think I'm all out of options here...Anyway, If by any chance you find another thing to try, I will conclude that my phone's dead.

Thank you very much for your help!
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] SaintJohnPublic:
I have similar problem today still trying fix but most can do use customs cause some reason stock i747m koodo will not reflash it runs through updates all complets but when boot up it telus I747MVLUFNK2_I747MOYBFNK2_KDO.zip I747MVLUFNK2_I747MOYBFNK2_I747MVLUFNK2_HOME.tar.md5

but think its the partition doing`it damaged i need the official format.pit file for the i747m valid version for oden sence my boot still locked never been unlocked 4.4.2 on now latest from sam update site but seems one the custom recovery philz_touch_6.26.6-d2lte.tar.md5 was the cause the partion screwing up so never use it again less they add fix for it recovery-cwmtouch-6.0.4.7-d2att.tar best one works for me any one find a good i747m pit yet need one bad for oden
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] audit13:
What steps did you take to try and flash your Telus i747m ?

Let me know and I will try to help.
[Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ACiD0N:
I can't seem to find any legitimate way to root my G900A from AT&T.

I was with Sprint with my S4, and never had an issue. I made the switch to AT&T before buying the S5.. Was that mistake?

In all the threads I've combed through here there is one common, glaring, issue.. The G900A is not included in the supported devices.

Am I missing something obvious or am I screwed? Or am I just looking too soon?

Already gave the S4 to my daughter.

Thanks for any information or insight.
[Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SandeepEmekar:
Here is a universal root method.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2717061

Try to talk with a recovery developer to check your partition table.

(Other variant may have matching partition table with your variant)

I guess, [MENTION=2999829]PlayfulGod[/MENTION] can help you with it. ;)
[Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PlayfulGod:
I'm sure eventually a root method will come about for that model. Unfortunately tho, the vzw & att models have a locked bootloader and most likely locked down with knox as well and currently no way to boot custom recoveries or kernels. :eek:
[Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Aou:
[MENTION=2999829]PlayfulGod[/MENTION] is absolutely right. Even if an exploit is found for the AT&T or Verizon models, it is unlikely that you'll ever have full root access - thanks to the combination of locked bootloaders, KNOX, and SELinux.

Check your contract - most carriers have a 14-day "buyer's remorse" period in which you can return your handset. You might be faced with a $35-$50 "restocking fee", but depending on how desperate you are for custom ROMs and/or Recovery, it may be worth it to you. Please note that your carrier may try everything they can to stop you from leaving (in terms of talking you out of it). Your contact with AT&T should also have a "back-out" period of 30 days (unless that's changed recently).

Couple other notes:

1) That's the primary reason I switched from AT&T to TMO when I jumped from the S4 to the S5 - I was sick of locked bootloaders. Otherwise, I really just like TMO a lot more as a company, including some of their political standpoints.

2) I've heard of several people now buying TMO S5's and taking them over to AT&T. It's a lot of money up front, but might be worth it to you.

Good luck.
[Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ACiD0N:
Thanks guys

Thank you for the informative replies. They confirmed what I had already gathered, piece by piece, in a decent comprehensive manner so I appreciate it.

Unfortunately, this time around we gamed the system a bit and went in on this as a 'group' for the services and phones. As far as I can tell, as an individual, I don't have any options of returning the unit in favor of moving to another provider.

Besides that, I finally have good service where I live. I am in the middle of a city but my actual home was in a crap spot with Sprint. After doing research we found that we'd all have great service with AT&T. If the trade-off is no root, so be it I suppose. (Though I have heard that T-Mo has the same service in the same areas due to using the same connectivity)

The knox deal doesn't concern me so much.. This may be a bit cocky (and a little stupid), but I have yet to have to replace a galaxy since they started putting them out *knock on wood*. But it sounds like that's only one issue in a sea of others.

Long-winded story short, Thanks guys. I am much more informed on my situation than before. :good:
[Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] BJSerpas:
I expressly bought a G900W8 model because of the locked bootloader issue with AT&T. I've come from Verizon on the S4, and I wasn't doing the whole locked thing again - it was annoying and I just wasn't going to have it. What I did was buy an S5 from AT&T on a $25/month installment plan, turn around and sold it on Swappa for full price, and bought an unlocked W8 model the same day. I payed virtually nothing except shipping, I get a nice unlocked phone ready for AOSP when it comes out, and I didn't have to pay the ridiculous $650 price for what would be essentially a developer unlocked phone.

If your phone is still new and you think you could sell it and get mint condition pricing on it, do your research on the G900T model. That's TMobile's phone, but it has an unlocked bootloader, can be rooted/flashed/whatever you like, and if I remember correctly (please someone correct me if I'm wrong), it works on all the bands that AT&T does and will be virtually the same as far as mobile data goes. If you already have your service activated on your current AT&T phone, you can literally just swap the SIM card out and you shouldn't have any issues after that. There might be a little caveat as far as having an AT&T SIM in a Tmo phone, but as far as I've read on the forum, this is very easy to get past; you may very well not have any problems whatsoever.

You could look for the W8 model, which wouldn't have any carrier branding on it, but those were hard to come by for me on Swappa, and the unlocked listing the main page gives you is for a phone that doesn't support 4G.

So like I said, if you think you could sell it, and you find a good listing on Swappa for an unlocked phone, I say go for it. Having an unlocked bootloader is going to put your device in a good place as far as updates go, and once developers start pushing out polished custom ROMs, you'll be happy to use your device for longer than the year's use that is generally expected.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
CWM flashable bootloader safety concern.

I have recently seen users here flashing bootloader with CWM, here is my just head up for safety concern of CWM flashble bootloader

Here is link to post by well known X-Note ROM developer [MENTION=4443870]soloilmeglio[/MENTION] regarding forcing bootloader with CWM

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2609561

even chances are less than a 1% it will be huge for terms of breaking device. We rarely rare seen any reported brick device by bad method of flashing on XDA.

Irrespective of this another concern is MD5 check. I strongly recommend to flash bootloader with MD5 check only. Once on CWM flashable format hardly any newbies doing md5 check before every flashing (even Philz have included built in). Any corrupted bootloader download flashing will high possibly end with brick. Bootloader best to be flashed with Odin with tar.md5 format so any corrupt download will auto fail bootloader flashig even one have not checked it.

Hope this will be enough to understand

Regards

PS : Anyone requires safe ND3 Kitkat bootloader with tar.md5 it is here.-flash using Odin for bootloader tab.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aukhan:
Good Info today morning i've flashed with TWRP but went on successful I am happy it did not Brick, But here on in Future will keep this in mind, Any possibilities now that the device is working fine are there any chances of bricking in future.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rraaka:
If bootloader is flashable through cwm zip then its possible to flash it via a full custom rom zip too then ? logical ?

theres a dev in Note 2 community who included the bootloader in his 4.3 rom ...i make sure I look at the skeleton of the zip after downloading. i never went to his thread again.

at that time everyone said bootloader doesnt get flashed through cwm. but whatever the case all devs have a moral responsibility to inform from before in changelog or instructions if bootloader is included in his rom zip whether it gets flashed or not. It should not be done surreptiously.

anyway good post, important discussions, should be made sticky :good:
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sumondhk1:
Thank you DR.KETAN for this very important advice.

I have flashed by odin but about to flash by CWM last night.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Who have successfully flashed have nothing to worry or nothing needs to do now.

If it includes in cwm plain or including rom risk remains same.

I can even make simple utility with which you can flash bootloader with simple application on device by just keeping bootloader file on SD card. But I will never do that.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] husokal:
So bootloader= odin. End of story :)
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Bootloader.tar.md5 = odin. :)
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
You mean to say that if we flash it through CWM or through any simple utility like you mentioned then there are chances of the bootloader going to the wrong partitions? Is that what you are trying to say?

I am thinking is there any way to find out which is the correct partition for the bootloader then?

Sent From My New Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] palace35mm:
Hi Doc this bootloader.tar.md5 file should be put in which option in Odin?

PDA

Phone

Bootloader

I think its the bootloader but want to be 100% sure.:laugh:
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Bootloader will flash to partition on which cwm script have mentioned. But look thread in op where partition was defined correctly even though it was bricked also we don't have complete mechanism and information about knox stuff and how Samsung have managed it.

When you flash with odin Samsung have already coded file where and how to flash and it will go correctly. Another big issue is cwm itself can't stop flashing if file is corrupted. Only concern here is bootloader, if you flashed corrupted recovery /modem/kernel chances of brick is almost nil and your device can be survived by correcting it. But when you flash wrong bootloader /corrupt bootloader there may not have any combo key working so you will be helpless. It may or may not rescued by jtag box.

So always wise decision is use only tar.md5 format with odin to make safest land.

Just remember if anything most dangerous in terms of flashing it's bootloader.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Bootloader or pda any.

I recommend bootloader.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
Yeah that is the most important thing of all.

And it's better to be safe with the bootloader. I don't think we have a hard unbrick method like the note 3 through sdcard.

So it's better to be safe [emoji106]

Sent From My New Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] haybill:
I repeat--many thanks for the warning---I will take notice--might even re-flash with ODIN--since you say that the original zip was not correct?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ify2gen2:
Thanks [MENTION=3931450]dr.ketan[/MENTION] for all your wonderful works, insight and knowledge:thumbup:

My concern is can we flash the above bootloader on DN3 rc2 rom provided by the great E-team?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Bootloader is not rom dependent. You can flash on any kitkat based ROM.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
No you need not to Reflash if your bootloader information is correct.

I didn't get you about original zip. Can you point me exactly?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] justkiddinghere:
Can we change bootloader frequently ?

Like I am on kitkat now then go to jellybean MJ5 then again kitkat ? No issue?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
No you can't downgrade your bootloader because of Knox security implemented

Sent From My New Galaxy S5 GT-N7100

---------- Post added at 11:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 AM ----------

[MENTION=3931450]dr.ketan[/MENTION]

I was just wondering if we could remove the Knox security or Knox part of the code from the bootloader files I mean sboot.bin,param.bin and tz.img so that we can get a Knox free kitkat bootloader. I know that won't work for people who already flashed MK4 and later. But it would really be helpful for people on MJ5 as they can retain warranty and be Knox free.

Is this possible?

Sent From My New Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rraaka:
i vote for no tinkering with official BL....for personal experiments fine but for community...no

ive come across many expert users who havent been able to use their wifi even with mj5 bl or later, reverting to stock hasnt helped either.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
No.

Probably this one is last for Note2, you may not need to flash bootloader in future. (I don't think Note2 will get 5.0 ever) :p

but No it's requires only when there is major OS change and once you have 4.3 OR 4.4 bootloader, you can't downgrade but still can use 4.3 by flashin ROM with CWM OR Odin without having bootloader in it.

I am too small to do it.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Since beggining I am saying this. Best is to upgrade bootloadr, but this workaround is just for those who want to preserve warranty. And now it's more than 1.5 yr of note2 release so user without warranty are increasing more and more, when I released patch first time at that time almost everyone was under warranty.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] husokal:
So after upgrading bootloader with no warranty concern. We can flash 4.3 and 4.4 roms with recovery. Can 4.1.2 or older ones?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] zsandras:
Hi Dr. Ketan I sorry to trouble you with my personal question but I`m curious to know your opinion.

I flashed the new BL_7100XXUFND3.tar bootloader posted on xda and as far as see my device works without problems.

I checked the Knox warranty void flag and it shows (0:1) so I don`t know if it was the same before.

Before I used BL_N7100XXUMJ5_1903221_REVO4 bootloader but I have not verified the Knox warranty void flag.

My question would be, am I now broke the Knox warranty void? Re-flashing the previous bootloader is it possible to revers the flag?

Thank you in advance.

&rew
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
Yes we can. Through recovery or mobile odin.

Sent From My New Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Yes, warranty is broken.

No you can't downgrade, it will fail if you try it.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] haybill:
What was the best option then?

For these expert users who had lost their wifi?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
[MENTION=3931450]dr.ketan[/MENTION]

Sir I read somewhere on s4 forums that it is possible to fake Knox flag in the bootloader.

And devs have stated clearly that it isn't an e-fuse. At least not on Exynos on N2 S3 S4.

So can't we also fake the Knox status?

I know there are very less people with warranty left but it still might be helpful for someone if we can do it. :)

Sent from my Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Yeah earlier device having single bootloader partition so it may be possible but bootloader engineering is quite difficult and ofcourse risky. Anything goes wrong and It will be out of our control, at least you need jtag box(no guarantee it will work though) and this is the reason no one doing it commonly.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
Yeah. No messing up with the bootloader since it is really not necessary.

Do you recommend to use triangle away? I guess that is also related to messing with bootloader stuff.

Still wondering if chainfire made triangle away he could really have made Knox away too :P At least for the older devices...

Sent from my Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rraaka:
stay as close to stock as possible i think
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Androidwizzard:
I have tested a few 4.3 custom roms on new bootloader ND3 but can't remember any 4.1.2 rom during the last half a year catching my eye, so seriously: who wants to run an ancient CR? And if anybody gives me the link to such a rom he wants to run I will test it for him :good:
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] husokal:
:) that question was for figuring things out about bootloader. The understanding of not upgrading BL was only for warranty :good:
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Yorik87:
To dr. Ketan

ND3 bootloader

Md5 error, binary is invalid

Message from odin

I try various download and some version of odin.

Same message.

Help please
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dr.ketan:
Bad Download.

Odin won't allow to flash corrupted file.

(that's beauty of Odin)
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmptyArea:
Point made.
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
[MENTION=3931450]dr.ketan[/MENTION]

Is it possible to downgrade from ML4 bootloader to MK4 bootloader?

If yes we could root without tripping knox on the newer builds as well.. :)

Sent from my Galaxy S5 GT-N7100
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mezo91:
Can flash official 4.4.2 with mobile odin?
[Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] smeet.somaiya:
Yes. Except for the bootloader.