[Galaxy S 4 Active General] vskivanov:
First of all we should thank Samsung for their gesture of generosity, by allowing us to safely downgrade Lollipop to KitKat. Maybe this is because Lillopop is probably the last version of Android our devices will get.

But anyway, let’s stick to the topic.

The following is a step-by-step guide to unroot Galaxy S4 Active International (I9295) with Lollipop and reclaim warranty and/or downgrade from Lollipop 5.0.1 (DOB4) to KitKat 4.4.2 (CNE5) without tripping Knox. At least these are the steps I performed and the firmwares I’ve used. Other might also work, but I haven’t tested.

The main goal in this guide is resetting the flash counters and reclaim warranty.

As we know, for the moment rooting Lollipop with this method involves flashing a custom recovery, which activates the flash counter and the System and Binary status is Custom. However in Download mode there is NO KNOX WARRANTY VOID STATUS! Again: Thank you Samsung!:))

So, let’s get to work. The usual warning applied here: Do this at your own risk. I’m not responsible for any damage and/or loss of data or any other issues if something goes wrong during process. Fully charge the battery, backup your data and so on, you know the drill:) In short – I tell you EXACTLY what I did and, it worked for ME without issues! It might look a bit complicated, but it is really not. It is a workaround until we get an easier root, without the need of flashing custom recovery or Triangle Away get's support for this recovery and/or ROM.

1.*Download all necessary tools: Odin, the official KitKat firmware you are downgrading to, the official Lollipop firmware currently on your phone and ensure all Samsung drivers are up to date.

2.*Put your phone into Download mode. (Turn it on while holding the Volume Down key + Home keys). In fact holding the home button turns out to be optional:)

3.*Run Odin. Ensure “Auto Reboot” and “F. Reset Time” are the only boxes checked.

4.*Connect phone to the USB.

5.*Click AP and browse for the official Lollipop firmware. (This step is necessary if you have rooted you phone and have flashed a custom recovery. If you are just downgrading, I think you can safely skip it.)

6.*Click Start.

7.*Wait. :)

8.*When flashing finishes unplug your phone from USB and reset it to factory settings.

9.*Put your phone into Download mode again.

10.*Run Odin again. Same steps as above but now select the official KitKat firmware.

11.*Click Start.

12.*Wait againJ

13.*When flashing finishes, device might stuck in a Bootloop. Put it into recovery mode by turning it on while holding Volume Up key and reset it to factory default settings. If it is still stuck, put it into Download mode and then turn off the phone completely. For some reason just restarting the phone doesn't work sometimes.

14.*Start phone. If Wi-Fi doesn’t work perform a factory reset again. (Worst case scenario: you will need to flash the KitKat firmware again. Not a big deal:) But this is very unlikely anyway.)

15.*You should now have successfully restored KitKat firmware on your phone. Device status and Binary counter still will show Custom.

Now it is time to reset the flash counters.

16.*Root your phone with Towelroot. Towelroot won't trip Knox.

17.*Install Triangle Away.

18.*Start Triangle Away and choose Reset flash counter.

19.*When device reboot, reset the counters and then after several reboots by itself, a menu will ask you if you want to reboot phone normally or into download mode. Choose Download mode.

20.*When device reboots, Binary and System status and should now show Official and the Knox Warranty Void should be 0x0. (If you haven't previously tripped Knox, of course. It is not resetable.)

21.*Now you can choose if you want to finally downgrade and flash the official KitKat firmware or if you want to stick to Lollipop. In both cases you will have fully unrooted phone with an Official Device and Binary status..

Enjoy:)