yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
For any update process, make sure to back up anything you don’t want to lose to an external SD card or source. Many of the updates will completely wipe the phone taking your back to the way the phone was when it came out of the box. Once everything has been backed up, remove the SD card and SIM card from your phone and follow the steps below.

IMPORTANT: If your phone has 4.3 or 4.4.2 firmware on it, then there is no way to downgrade to 4.2.2 firmware. If your phone has 4.4.2 firmware on it, it is still possible to downgrade to 4.3, but many users have reported bugs after downgrading.

I537UCUCNH3 (4.4.2)

Released 2014-09-25

- OFFICIAL
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
For any update process, make sure to back up anything you don’t want to lose to an external SD card or source. Many of the updates will completely wipe the phone taking your back to the way the phone was when it came out of the box. Once everything has been backed up, remove the SD card and SIM card from your phone and follow the steps below.

IMPORTANT: If your phone has 4.3 or 4.4.2 firmware on it, then there is no way to downgrade to 4.2.2 firmware. If your phone has 4.4.2 firmware on it, it is still possible to downgrade to 4.3, but many users have reported bugs after downgrading.

I537UCUCOC6 (5.0.1)

Released 2015-04-21

- OFFICIAL

This post will be updated with the proper procedure for downgrading from OC6 firmware to other firmware once time permits. If you're looking for methods to update to the OC6 firmware, please see the other posts above.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] oodork123:
How do I know which firmware I'm using. I recently just got this Samsung S4 Active with root but I really want to upgrade to the 4.4.2 update. I do have recovery mode working finally. Just need a pointer on which one I should download.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] atvspecialties:
Menu, settings, more, then about phone. Scroll through to see your phone's info.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] APeter001:
Remove the SIM? Never did that before- last update was from update.zip which was actually ON the SD card. Is this just an extra precaution for the fragile 'secure element' cards?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Exactly. Odds are that there won't be any problems, but when using Odin (a very powerful program) it never hurts to be overly cautious. I'm sure there are people out there that say nothing bad could possibly happen with the SIM card in, but I'd rather not take the chance. Ultimately it is up to the user, these are just my recommendations.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] angelle97:
I can't seem to find the answer anywhere... Are any roms able to run on the ne3 firmware, or should I downgrade? Thanks in advance!
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
This question doesn't belong in this thread, but yes there are plenty of ROMs that will run on SafeStrap with NE3 firmware. Please read through this thread, it will have the information you are looking for.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] angelle97:
Thanks
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Added instructions to OP for NH3 firmware released on September 25, 2014.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] rekamyenom:
Odin will not see My S4 Active. Yes I have all the drivers, tried 3 computers and 10 cables. Odin and the computer see the phone just fine when NOT in download mode. Any help?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Uninstall Kies.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] rekamyenom:
Did that, and tried it on two computers that never had kies on them. I don't get this one.... has me stumped, I have used Odin on over 1000 devices, Never had one not seen by Odin in Download mode.

UPDATE:

After trying 3 different computers (windows XP & windows 7 64 & 32 bit, with Kies installed and without Kies installed), 12 different USB Ports, and 10 different cables at my house to NO AVAIL, just for a goof went to a friends house to try his computer (Windows 7 64 bit with Kies 2.6 & 3 installed), put the phone in download mode, connected it to his computer, with a random cable, opened Odin, and BOOM it showed up right away. I DON'T GET IT !!! WTF !! I have used Odin on no less than 1000 phones on my home PC with NO Problems, I try to hook this phone up to 3 different computers at my house (2 laptops and a PC), and Odin WOULD NOT see this phone. I am Stumped!

2nd update: After downgrading my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active from NH3 to NE3 my IMEI went to null/null, I had to repair it with my Otoplus box.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] audio_inside:
Complete Heimdall package for NE3

On my i537 I am on rooted MF3 and wanted to go straight to NE3 followed by a towelroot without "ladder upgrading" through ML2 etc.

Downloaded the complete ODIN package mentioned in the OP, but I can't use ODIN on my Mac, so I got Heimdall Frontend installed and detecting my i537 over USB.

Naturally, I couldn't find a Heimdall package corresponding to the NE3 ODIN package, so I used Heimdall to create one using the files in the ODIN package. Loading the original PIT file into Heimdall made this pretty straightforward since it prompts for each file in each partition and I'm not customizing anything..

However, being a noob I'm a bit hesitant to just go ahead and use Heimdall to flash my phone with this DIY package. Loaded it back into Heimdall successfully but nervous to actually push the button. :eek:

Is there anybody out there with the ability to idiot check the package and verify that I got it right? Here's the link to my Heimdall package:

Package: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95747613655047019

MD5: 0df9709dd9a73a9768697d82f9f7d585

Much appreciated if anyone can reassure me that I've got a valid Heimdall package for NE3 - or point me to a more appropriate thread for help.

UPDATE: I successfully updated from MF3 to NE3 using this package, created and then installed by Heimdall Frontend 1.4.0.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Once somebody is able to verify this package I will add it to the i537 Firmware Thread.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] namitutonka:
Rooted NH3 with disabled Safestrap to NE3 to rooted NE3 with enabled Safestrap

Further testing needed.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
No stock firmware for MF3? Not so!

"MF3 to MF3 (Official: Released 2013-06-21). Currently no MF3 files are available."

This is not true. What about this: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2504311&page=16 (in thepost by Shockndrop)?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
That is for a completely different phone and it will either fail to flash or you will completely brick your phone if you try to. Do not try to flash that on the i537.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
Thank you. I'm bummed. As best I can tell the only way to unroot my phone is to reinstall MF3 and there's no way to do that because you can't downgrade to MF2 and have to be on MF2 inorder to upgrade to MF3.

All I wish to do is unroot my phone so I can get the latest android system installed over at Best Buy.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
You can still do that. You don't need to be unrooted to update at Best Buy. All they're going to do is flash the latest stock firmware. It's the same thing you would do if you were going to flash any of the Odin packages here. Either way, you're wiping your phone.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
I went to BB and the S*B asked me out of the blue if I'd rooted my phone and then refused to update it "because you told me you rooted your phone"! Jerk.

So I then unrooted my phone (bc the first guy said his software would reveal the root status) using SuperSU, went to another BB, and they were happy to update it. No wiping occurred, though I did end back up with ATT stock ROM. It appears that they would not have seen anything in SMART that showed my phone's root status but according to several XDA posts I would have ended up unrooted again anyway (so that's OK), and simple rooting of I537UCUCNH3, which I have now, ins't available just yet from GeoHot (MY HERO!), so it'll be a bit before I can remove all the ATT and Samsumg bloatware.

If I may change the topic? The reason I use an ATT phone is because I want to be able to use Tracfone, ATT and T-Mobile networks and I know this phone's radio will work on those networks. I'd prefer to buy a blank international version but it has different radio frequencies. Yet they are sold on eBay all the time. Am I being too much of a fraidy cat?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
That's nice that they were able to update your phone without wiping it, I wonder how they are able to do that. As for rooting NH3, there are root instructions in the i537 Firmware Thread. Finally, yes, you are being a "fraidy cat". I have the i9295 and use it on AT&T, all I had to do was buy it and insert my sim card and everything works as it should. Having an unlocked bootloader and being able to install custom ROMs is so relieving after coming from the i537. Just buy it, you won't regret it, just make sure you get an i9295 because a lot of people one eBay have the i537 listed as the i9295.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
@Devo7v

Thanks, Devo7v, my appreciation!

According to BBGuy #2, all they do is upload files, the kernel and whatnot. The next step is that the apps all had to update theirselves. I only had one problem with Kindle, and BBGuy #2 fixed it on the spot. My battery is lasting much longer now too.

Lesson learned: Never tell the Samsung employee at BestBuy that your phone has been rooted, even if he asks you. Observation: Maybe Samsung has secret shoppers that check up on their employees. Who knows.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
Which country version of the i9295 should I consider? None of them appear to be made for the United States.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Are you taking about firmware? It doesn't really matter which version you flash, typically the newer firmwares have more bug fixes. The thing that really matters is the modem. You can mix and match modems, but just be aware that 4.2.2 modems don't play nice with 4.4.2 bootloader. That said, I'm using the NE5 modem with CM11 in Washington, D.C. and haven't had any issues.

If you're asking about different country's versions of the i9295 hardware, they're all exactly the same phone with unlocked bootloader.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
Well, I live in Ohio. I'd want to be sure that the phone works here and at the menus and such are in English.

Should I install the "unknown country" firmware?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
Thoughts?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Install NE5.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
Yeah but what about my question?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Every firmware comes with English as the default, install NE5.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
OK I'll install the "unknown country" one.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
Just as a clarification, NE5 is a software version. My question was about the region, not the software version.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
I'm not sure I know what you're talking about. NE5 is the firmware including the modem, I'm not sure what you mean when you're referring to "region". Are you taking about the firmware, because if you are it doesn't matter, you can install any firmware you want on the i9295.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
If you look at, for example, http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=GT-I9295, you wills see that firmwares are published by region. NEE is Finland, TPA is Panama, &c. Some region files (perhaps even those two) apply to several countries/areas.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
I understand what you are saying, but I'm not sure why you're so concerned about the region? Have you already purchased an i9295 and you're trying to figure out what firmware you should flash? If that's the case I wore previously that I'm using NE5 and everything works great. If you're asking because you're trying to purchase an i9295, then it doesn't matter because all i9295 phones are exactly the same.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Steev43230:
All I am saying is that which firmware wasn't the question I asked. The question I asked was which region
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] wahcha:
ML2 to NC9 not working

First of all I want to thank you all for this amazing thread!

I succesfully update my s4 active from android 4.2 to 4.3

I didn't know how to do any of this but your instructions were very clear.

But I wanted to update it to 4.4 and followed the instructions but when i put the update.zip file on the INTERNAL storage of the phone, and then ask it on recovery mode to “apply update from EXTERNAL storage” it doesn't show the update.zip file, I guess because there is no sd card on the phone while flashing... but still shouldn't it appear? or i have to put the file in the SD card and then try to update it?

Can you please explain this more thruly?

Thank you very much! :)

Att: Total Newbie
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
Put it somewhere on your micro SD card (external) and apply it from there, that's what I had to do. Also you're going to want to go to at least NE3; I would highly recommend NH3, but at bare minimum you must go to NE3. NC9 was a very buggy release that was very swiftly replaced and superseded by NE3.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] wahcha:
Thanks for your quick reply!...so I just jump directly from ML2 to NE3 and after that I update to NH3?:confused:
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Yep. You could have I jumped from MF3 to NE3 if you wanted to. You just can't go backwards.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] wahcha:
THANKS!

Did it step by step and it's done!:victory: I've upgraded from MF3 to NH3, I read this to late so I actually updated it one by one, but I'm still surprised for how easy that was but one more question do i need to erase the file update.zip after using it or not? sorry for the dumb question but really you might be impressed of how new i'm to the subject hahahaha.

Now another question do you guys have any idea when 4.4.4 o Lollipop is released?

Thank you very much for all of your support!

now i'll think about trying to root... but I don't think i might use all that it has to offer that much though.. :)
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
I'm glad everything worked out for you, you can go ahead and delete the update.zip file, it is no longer needed. It is similar to an install file on your computer, once you run the install file and it installs a program on your computer you can generally delete the install file.

As far as another update from NH3, I posted this in another thread. TLDR: I wouldn't count on any more updates.

Finally if you do decide to root, I posted another guide on rooting and it is linked to in the sticky. Rooting is super easy and you don't have to worry about losing any data on your phone like you did when you updated. Just follow the steps and everything is super simple.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] musique101:
Hi everyone,

I'm having a problem and it is driving me insane! Anyway, I was able to update from L2 to NE3 without any problem. I wanted to continue (upgrading to NH3) But no matter what I do after restarting in download mode:

"use the volume buttons to scroll to “apply update from external storage” and press the power button to select."

sadly nothing happens when I scroll up/down and it remains in "downloading.." mode, which goes nowhere...

I have tried putting it in the internal storage - nothing happened. Same result with external storage.

sigh....

What am I doing wrong here? Can anyone please help me step by step? Sincerely appreciate any help that I can get.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
When updating from NE3 to NH3, you should be in recovery mode not download mode. And you don't use Odin
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] musique101:
WOW thisisapoorusernamechoice,

Thank U, thank you and ThanQ very much!:good:

Thanks for pointing out - "recovery mode" NOT "Download mode"

No wonder, it wasn't going anywhere. I was able to upgrade to NH3 without any issues this time. Although the android version shows as 4.4.4 .

Hmmmm ...is there anyway can I get 4.4.4?

Will that be too greedy of me? Hehehe
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
Always glad to help when I can. Unfortunately there is no official 4.4.4 for our phone. For that you will need to flash a custom rom, which is fairly straightforward as long as you follow directions. First you need to install SafeStrap "Recovery"; the best roms currently available for this phone are Super Nexus and Hyperdrive. I've given a very short description of each here and that post also has links to each rom's respective thread. I also mention some of the bugs later in that same thread I linked to
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] kickass007:
Hey nice work man. Quick question I'm on fm2 wanted to use your method on updating to 4.4 kitkat. But I ran into a wall when I read I needed a att Sim card for the update. I didn't see any other way in this thread so has to ask.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
You don't need an AT&T SIM card if you do everything manually. You only need an AT&T SIM card if you want to retain your data and have everything update automatically. Just download and flash the NE3 firmware and then update to NH3 by flashing the update zip. Be aware that this will completely wipe your phone.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] kickass007:
You are the man...thanks a lot:)

---------- Post added at 04:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:48 PM ----------

How can I install a backup recovery using CWM OR TWRP never had it installed from the get to do a backup period :confused:
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
The i537 has a locked bootloader, it is impossible to install a custom recovery or kernel.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] kickass007:
Oh and it's running on 4.2.2 so flash NE3 and update with NH3 zip? I hope it works don't want to brick his phone. Don't have a romantic backup
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
Flash NE3, root with towelroot (really easy) and then follow the directions in the OP here carefully, that'll get you onto lollipop, rooted, nice and easy
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Technoob321:
Noobie Problems

Okay. So currently im backing up my s4 active device using samsung kies 3. android version 4.4.2. I have Broadband Version I537UCUNH3. The device is rooted using towelroot a while back. I wanted to know if i update to lollipop will it remove my root? Because i dont want root anymore and i want it updated. Is there a way to Update and keep my data and stuff. And it wont bother me if root is gone.

yesterday i tried to update it but it said update failed.(a message popped up to update) Phone rebooted and looked normal so i went to sleep. My question is again is that How will i update my device and keep my apps and such, even if it removes root. Dont want it anymore. AND if i cant is it bad to stay in this android version 4.4.2? Anyways thanks :) sry for my bad english.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
Try the KeepRoot method to flash OC6 (it's posted in the General section). I know you said that you don't need root, but since you rooted in the past there is no other way to update to OC6 without completely wiping your phone.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Technoob321:
So, what if do wipe my phone. How will i do it. Do i use kies to back it up? And then factory reset? And then? I dont want root anymore. And now will wiping it work? If so can i get steps :3 is it fine if i just stay at 4.4.2?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
If you want to start over (remove root and wipe your phone), then go backwards and flash the NE3 Full Odin package. Once you're on NE3 and confirmed everything working, download and flash the NH3 OTA, and then download and flash the OC6 OTA. When using Odin make sure you don't have Kies installed on your computer because many people have been reporting issues when trying to use Odin.

As far as backing up it's definitely easier to backup and restore everything when your phone is rooted because you can just do everything on the phone itself. But since you don't want to be, I think Kies might be your only option. I've never used Kies so I can't tell you if it's going to work or not.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] David182:
unknown IMEI and baseband

Thanks for the info. I will try an earlier version of Odin to flash my i537, UCUCNH3. I have lost my IMEI and baseband due to attempt to unlock.

I assume the only file to put in the phone area of Odin is the modem.bin file, correct? I've heard others say the modem file may be corrupt as well, which result in a " failed" attempt.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] Devo7v:
As I said before in response to your other post, don't quote the OP, it just clutters up the thread doesn't help anybody.

There are pictures in this guide that show where to put the files in Odin. If you're asking specifically about fixing your IMEI and where to put the modem.bin files in Odin, that question would be better directed to the IMEI fix thread. This thread has nothing to do with flashing modems or fixing corrupted radios.
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] cre8er:
Can I go From 4.2.2 Straight to 5.0.1 ?

Not finding any clear info here.

I'm on 4.2.2 MF3

Want to go to 5.0.1 OC6

Do I need to flash all ROMs inbetween or can I just go straight to OC6?

This Safestrap thing seems to be way different than ODIN. Anything I need to DL for it?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
Flash NE3 and then you can go to OC6. Don't worry about safestrap, you don't need it
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
Official OC6 to OC7 OTA file. Extract the .cfg file from inside the zip, rename the 2400258.cfg file to update.zip (yes that means changing file type). Copy update.zip to external SD card, install in stock recovery (assuming you're on unrooted, stock OC6).

Official NH3 to NH4 OTA file. Extract the .cfg file from inside the zip, rename the 2400258.cfg file to update.zip (yes that means changing file type). Copy update.zip to external SD card, install in stock recovery (assuming you're on unrooted, stock NH3).
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] kruche:
trying to downgrade OC6 to NE3

I have SGH-I537 (AT&T) with Lollipop 5.01 (UCUCOC6) . I have been trying to downflash to NE3 in order to root, following detailed instructions in this and the rooting threads. I start with the Odin package SGH-I537UCUCNE3_v4.4.2_ATT_ALL, however a) at least two of the files (BL, CP) in the package cause errors when loaded into Odin, so I end up removing .md5 extensions from them to allow them to be loaded by Oding, and b)when I try to flash them to the phone (in download mode VolDown+Home+Powr), the process always FAILs when it gets to the system partition.

I have tried both Odin 3.07 and 3.09 with the same failures in both cases.

In several places throughout these threads I saw statements to the effect that Lollipop 5.0x (OC6, OC7) cannot be downgraded to earlier versions b/c of the AT&T bootloader. But OTH, in many instances it is said that the whole NE3 image (BL+Phone+kernel+CSC) has to be flashed, and that this is possible on I537 with its locked bootloader.

Right now the phone is in a soft-bricked state, where I can put it into a download or into stock recovery modes. Any advice/suggestions on what else to try?
[Galaxy S 4 Active General] thisisapoorusernamechoice:
You have to do all four files at once in Odin (on 3.09 Bootloader is BL and PHONE is CP)

and it's definitely possible to downgrade from OC6 and OC7 to NE3, I've done it plenty of times, for rom-testing purposes

In case you are using the Google drive link and that's what's giving you trouble, here's the AFH link:

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23991606952608110