yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
This method can be used to root any Rom.

Once you have root you can practically do what you please.

As for tripping Knox if you mess with the system partition, that's the whole point of root it already messes with the system partition. It shouldn't trip Knox, but never say never.

Just ensure once you have root you remove everything Knox related.

I can't confirm if a custom Rom will trip Knox, but as already stated as long as the bootloader and kernel are stock I believe it won't trip Knox.

Custom recovery may trip Knox.

You can go back to stock any time you wish.
[Galaxy Tab S General] 3DSammy:
ashyx, as I'm a Linux user its taken me a while to set up a Windows machine but I finally have KIES working and Odin recognizing my Tab S. Now I'm doing my "read your how-to OP twice and root once" prework, but I'm left with a bit of confusion. In my case I am already on Lollipop 5.0.2 so have downloaded stock 4.4.2. When I read steps 12 and 13 I became a bit confused.

What I want is to be rooted (SuperSu) on stock lollipop (T800XXU1BOE2) so I'm assuming that in step 12 I will be using Flashfire to flash boot, recovery and system from the Samsung stock 5.0.2 lollipop firmware file. My confusion comes in step 13 as it seems redundant to flash the lollipop bootloader I just flashed in step 12. Is step 13's flashing the bootloader redundant if you flashed it in step 12?

I apologize if this is a noob question but I just want to get things right and avoid a bricked device especially when the bootloader is involved. At this point I'm only looking to remove bloat and add specific apps that require root so rooted stock is good enough but I'll be in position to try a custom ROM if I feel the need.

Thanks again
[Galaxy Tab S General] shayind4:
Good question. DO NOT flash bootloader in step 12 (newer bootloader) as Knox is likely to be tripped when you flash the 4.4.2 bootloader via odin in step 13. That was the instruction in Mobile odin (which could not flash bootloader). Flashing bootloader in step 12 is redundant.

shayind4
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
Firstly, nowhere does it state to flash the kitkat bootloader on a lollipop Rom in step 12 or 13.

By step 13 you should be running a lollipop Rom.

Secondly Knox should not trip when flashing a stock bootloader. The bootloader can be flashed independently in Odin.

Lastly Flashfire does NOT flash bootloaders.

If you don't flash the bootloader your Rom won't boot.

I suggest you digest the guide again. :rolleyes:
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
It doesn't state to flash the boot loader in step 12? :what:

Your boot loader will be replaced when you downgrade to kitkat via Odin.

You need to reflash the lollipop boot loader after using Flashfire to install your Lollipop Rom or it won't boot.
[Galaxy Tab S General] Paddiii:
Do i need to use a prerooted rom with flashfire, to maintain root, or can i just flash any original samsung room even if its not prerooted?
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
No, this is the whole point of the post. Flashfire will root for you.
[Galaxy Tab S General] 3DSammy:
My bad, I saw the word "Boot" in step 12 and incorrectly assumed that was referring to a bootloader image.

Thanks for correcting me and your patience.
[Galaxy Tab S General] bibihub:
Sorry for being so long to give the feedback I promised.

I have one thing to say: thank you ! Your method works perfectly ! I am now running stock samsung lollipop on my T800 with knox untripped (0x0).

Little thing: your 4.4 file for the T800 isn't working (something wrong when flashing for the Hidden img). I took the same file but in XEF (I'm in France).

I just have a few questions now that could help other users:

-You say you are not sure about flashing another rom as long as it is with stock kernel and bootloader. But on a scale from 0 to 10 how sure are you about it working ? (I know you don't have any responsability in what happens, I just want a piece of advice).

- If for any reason I want to go back to stock, I just need to reflash the firmware with Odin ?

-Can I uninstall apps like the knox related ones without any risk about tripping knox ? (I think it is okay) (Edit: Ok I did it and knox not tripped. I used this tool http://xdaforums.com/android/software/debloater-remove-carrier-bloat-t2998294 that is very convenient for that purpose )

Again thank you for this tutorial !
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
The hidden.img failure is because its carrier/region related.For some it will flash ok, for others it will fail. It isn't actually required at all. Even if it fails to flash the rest of the Rom will.

All that needs to be done after that failure is to wipe cache in recovery.

As regards flashing custom roms. Remember your Rom is already custom as you have modified it.

I would say a good chance custom stock roms won't trip Knox as long as it's build properties reflect its a stock Rom.

However something like Cyanogen probably would trip Knox as its not based on stock.

I won't say this is for sure, but I think it's the general consensus.
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
Over one thousand views and literally only one person has bothered posting feed back. :confused:
[Galaxy Tab S General] 3DSammy:
OK now two. I successfully applied your instructions yesterday. I really appreciate your guide.

What I did, differently is flashed with Odin using a Virtualbox Windows guest VM from my Ubuntu 14.04 host PC. It took a few days of false starts to get that working. Here is a "[How-To] Linux, Virtualbox and ODIN for your Samsung device", that I just posted to help others who do not have access to Windows machines.

Of the whole procedure the scariest moment was after flashing 4.4.2 stock with Odin over my devices 5.0.2 install. The reboot was too fast for me to get into recovery to wipe user data. I could not power off the SM-T800 and holding POWER + VOL DOWN just rebooted where it would hang displaying "SAMSUNG".

Booting into recovery ( POWER + VOL UP + HOME) had no effect what so ever. Finally I found that if I was fast enough I could reboot (POWER + VOL DOWN) and as soon as the screen went blank hold down the "POWER + VOL UP + HOME" buttons, then the tablet booted into recovery where wiping user data worked as described in your guide.

After completing your guide I am on stock Android 5.0.2 with Knox 0x0000.

My root apps so far:

Busybox

Titanium backup

GMD Gestures.

ES File Explorer with RW access to all partitions

System Uninstall Pro

Universal init.d

See Update below: "Unfortunately so far Viper4Android is not working as I cannot get SELinux permissive enabled either by the SELinux app or an init.d shell script using the "setenforce 0" command. From what I've read that is due to the Samsung stock bootloader."

V4A now works, see: "[HOW-TO] Installing Viper4Android (V4A) Audio on a Lollipop Tab S"

I took the high road and only froze the following KNOX related apps using titanium backup:

com.sec.enterprise.knox.attestation

KLMS Agent

KNOX

KNOX

KNOX II

KNOX SetUpWizardClient

So far I debloated 117Mgs of other apps using System Uninstall Pro. I bought the pro version of Flashfire just to show respect for Chainfire's development efforts. I have not tried to see if Flashfire's backups can be successfully restored yet.

Thanks again for your guide.:good:
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
Thanks for the feedback, it's constructive and encouraging for others to know It's successful.

For future reference you can disable auto reboot in Odin then manually reboot with POWER + VOL DOWN + HOME then as soon as it restarts switch to VOL UP while continuing to hold the other buttons.

The above procedure can be used at any point and will restart the device and get you into recovery every time.
[Galaxy Tab S General] vancities:
just registered to suport OP, it works

I thought I did not need to run the su script as I could use kinguser w/o problems. But the flashfire is not compatible with other kinguser. Hope chainfire could remove this restriction. Maybe there is another way to flash rom or other mobile odin alternatives.

The OP could add a link about how to use odin for newbies like me. The odin 3.10 have different wording than previous version.

One more thing to mention is that the kingroot will work if you downgrade. I was in kitkat XXU1ANFB which is only one version up. The kingroot failed 20 times. XXU1ANF8 only takes 3 times to work.

After debloating in lolipop, the system is not smoother than before. The display has less contrast and dimer than kitkat. I did not wipe data/cache so my setting stays the same.

I rooted only for better battery performance as charging will take 10+ hours and could not hold charge at use with power cord plugged. It seems that the performance is not improved for this device after debloating.
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but I think youre saying you had success?

Regarding Odin, it is not the intention of this post to spoon feed every single step, some knowledge is expected prior to following this guide. Anything relating to the actual process in this guide is explained in detail. Any other information you would ever require is already posted on XDA.
[Galaxy Tab S General] vancities:
I had success. What I mean is the step 6 7 8 9 are not necessary if flashfire could work with kinguser.

Also kingroot only works on XXU1ANF8 and maybe lower. I mentioned this because in other thread about kingroot, someone got success but most did not.
[Galaxy Tab S General] djoutlaw32:
So my feedback . everything was great , was a little confused about Odin at first but like you said everything can be found on xda. Need to be on the most recent Odin which I believe is 3.10. Kingroot took forever to root but I believe it has something to do with connectivity to the servers. So my tab s is rooted no Knox counter. I'm hoping the custom tw rom doesn't revert all the hard work ? thanks again op.
[Galaxy Tab S General] newbie4258:
ok

Ok thanks can u tell me quickly tell me how to flash the ironrom once I have rooted lollipop running.
[Galaxy Tab S General] wizardcud:
Do we loose root access after we do all the process and factory reset one day ?
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
You lose root if you flash a stock Rom using stock software. You won't lose root with a factory reset.
[Galaxy Tab S General] wizardcud:
Thanks. Now that I'm rooted I tried to delete some bloatware like WebEx or Evernote with system app remove but it seems like it is not remove. The app shows with an sdcard logo and only updates are removed. Is there any way to fully remove the app.
[Galaxy Tab S General] Tinderbox (UK):
Use this app.

I just freeze them with Titanium Backup.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp&hl=en

John.
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
Thats the recycle bin. Whenever you uninstall an app it moves it to the recycle bin incase you ever want to restore it.
[Galaxy Tab S General] wizardcud:
How to fully remove it then ? With titanium backup ? Because system app remover doesn't do the job
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
It does remove them completely. Its a safety measure that moves them to a backup folder incase something goes wrong. If you want to completely remove (not advised until you are sure there are no ill effects), hit the recycle bin icon then select all of the apps you want to permanently delete then hit the delete button. Gone forever so be careful.
[Galaxy Tab S General] wizardcud:
I did that. But it leaves com.cisco.webex.meetings on the drawer for example even if I delete it from the recyle bin. And on the play store it still appears as if I have the app and it suggests me to open it or update it. However when I tap open it says com.cisco.webex.meetings force stopped.
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
You need to reboot after deleting.
[Galaxy Tab S General] wizardcud:
I'll see if that is the reason. thank you !
[Galaxy Tab S General] coelhooliveirar:
Did anybody root the 5.0.2 for T700? Is there any specific faq for this model and without flashing another rom?
[Galaxy Tab S General] alialexali:
im bit miss understating

i need to downgrade my T805 Lollipop to Kitkat.

my device is not rooted , knox 0x0

1 What is the bes t way to do that, as i now i should use ODIN and stuck frimware

2 how can i found that what kind of kitak i had before in my deice, before upgrating to Lollipop?

3 after downgrade to Kitkat, do i boot in kitkat or no? if not what shall i do? wipe data?

4 Please link mi the best and easy way to root my kiktak, without voiding my device Knox 0x0

5 if latter i want to upgrade , to unroot lollipot or higher can i do it? ( i think i should unroot, then upgrade to lollipot im i right?

6 if i want to unroot my device , is it enough to update my device by stock firmware?

7 what dangers think i should not do during rooting to dont lose my knox, for example az i now custom recovery by odin?

8 if i want to downgrade to kitkat and stay on kitkat an root my device, do i need to do your step until 12? or use KINGROOT after downgrade?

thankx and appreciate
[Galaxy Tab S General] sunny7day:
Just bought a T-705, I am going to upgrade to liplop and root it with kingroot. Anything I should be caution of?
[Galaxy Tab S General] leapinlar:
If you upgrade to lollipop kingroot will probably not root it. Try to root it first per this thread.
[Galaxy Tab S General] DUHAsianSKILLZ:
I just installed kinguser for the fun of it and to get rid of it really easy, I used this app called super sume. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=darkslide.com.supersume

Just open the app, kinguser will popup to ask for permssion for root access so just hit allow, the n hit the blue button in supersu me and it will delete king stuffs and give you supersu. I upgraded brinaries just fine too
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
Unfortunately doesn't seem to have much success in my tests.

Tried with both 4.5 and earlier.

While it does successfully remove Kingroot, in most tests the su binary could not be updated, just once it managed to update. However unfortunately after reboot, root is again lost.

At the moment the easiest way now is to use Kingoroot.

It does successfully also remove Kingoroot, but again root is lost after reboot.

Also this app isn't actually required to remove Kingoroot as long as Supersu is installed straight after rooting with Kingoroot.

Success every time this way.
[Galaxy Tab S General] Nishi24:
"sh /sdcard/mrw/root.sh" not working

Kingroot gave me root, however, after following your guide and going into the emulator, I was able to type su and get root but when I typed sh /sdcard/mrw/root.sh it said file or directory was not there. The mrw folder is in the root of the sd card and I have tried both opening the zip within my tablet and within the computer and placing the mrw folder on my sdcard. It does not seem to be able to read the sd card to execute root.sh It says there is "no such file or directory."

Can you please help?

Thanks!,

Nishi

EDIT: I noticed that the path to my SD card and the mrw folder in it was "/storage/extSdCard/mrw/root.sh" However, when I ran that after typing "su" and uninstalling kinguser (typing sh /storage/extSdCard/mrw/root.sh), the script returned a bunch of failures and did not start up SU.

EDIT2: I'm a newbie. I needed to put the mrw folder on my main storage not on my 'external sd card'. It is working now =D

Thanks!
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
It does state clearly in red that you need to put the folder in the root of your internal sd card. :banghead:
[Galaxy Tab S General] Nishi24:
Haha. I'm sorry. I'm a newb to tablets. I would consider stating the 'internal hard drive' instead of 'internal sd card.' When I think of sd card I did not think of the hard drive only sd cards for external storage.

Everything works now, rooted lollipop. The only thing that seems to be odd is the first time I validated root it showed busybox but after the flash with flashfire and the odin bootloader flash, my validator says busybox is not there.

Does this make sense?

Thanks!
[Galaxy Tab S General] leapinlar:
There is no "internal hard drive" in tablets, only an internal sdcard. Hard drives are mechanical devices and sdcards are solid state devices.

And yes it is normal for FlashFire to not install busybox. If you want it, install it with the busybox installer from Play Store.
[Galaxy Tab S General] Nishi24:
Solid state drives are 'hard drives' I have 2 of them in my PC. Mechanical drives have spinning disks. I honestly would have thought that they'd be using SSD technology in tablets and phones by now internally, but apparently they arent. Although, the flash chips are getting pretty fast too. Either way, I figured out it needed to be on the 'internal storage' root. Everything worked out and I'd like to thank the author again for a very good guide on using flashfire as I have not seen one that has been so new user friendly yet. I successfully rooted my tablet and learned a lot in a few hours.

Thanks again!
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
A couple of questions if I may:

I have T700xxU1ANL1 so I am presuming that I will need to downgrade first.

The only firmware I found that matches ANF8 is this one but the CSC = COO whilst I am BTU. Does this matter?

Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (WiFi)	SM-T700	COO	T700XXU1ANF8	Android	4.4.2	25.06.2014	1972538

The file is about 1.5GB. Your instructions don't really say how to downgrade using Odin which I've never used before. I don't want to screw up here.

You say:

What apps are you referring to?

We've already been instructed to install these :

System app remover(root)

Root Validator

Terminal Emulator For Android

KINGROOT 4.1

so are you referring to the superuser.apk in the MRW folder?

Then: Flashfire will load the Desired firmware? eg. If I want to return to my original ANL1 Kitkat rom ( I am not interested in Lollipop), I would download that with my BTU CSC and give that to flashfire?

Lastly:

This part is confusing as I am not sure why this step is necessary or is it only necessary for going to Lollipop? If not is the bootloader contained in the firmware ANL1 that I would download.

Sorry for all the questions but I've not had enough experience with Samsung devices other than the easy Towelroot which I used on my Note 3.

It would be great if someone would fill in the gaps with a dummy tutorial of the intermediate steps. I don't want to make a silly mistake.
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
Anf7 probably works. But it's irrelevant which region firmware you use as long as it flashes the system partition.

http://samsung-updates.com/details/30056/Galaxy_Tab_S_8.4_WiFi/SM-T700/BTU/T700XXU1ANF7.html
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
Ok thanks. Can you clarify the part about the bootloader. Is that not contained in the Firmware file I download to flash after rooting or do I have to get that somewhere else?
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
I know you don't want to spoon feed here but I am having trouble finding out the following if someone can at least help answer these or point me in the right direction:

1) Is there a particular version of Odin one should use or NOT use. I have downloaded 3.10.6 ?

2) I have searched for instuctions on using Odin but what I've found are related to other phones and the latest is 2011 the interface is different.

3) Bottom line - I am assuming that Extracting the firmware I leave the .tar.md5 extension as is and put this into the AP field and hit start without any other changes to the options in Odin?

Finally:

If I do flash Lollipop I take the file called sboot.bin and just put it into a tar file?

Then point to this with Odin BL field.

Tell me if anything in here is wrong. I want to understand fully before I start.

Thanks
[Galaxy Tab S General] DUHAsianSKILLZ:
1) You can use any Odin v3 and above. Older ones may be buggy.

2) Search for some S5 tutorials on how to flash back to stock or flashing cfautoroot. They should give you an idea on how to use the updated Odin.

3)simply just extract the contents in the zip and place the .tar.md5 file into the ap and plug your device in when its in download mode. Then when you see added in Odin, hit start and let it do its thing. If it's an bootloader, place it in the BL Tab in Odin, if its an whole firmware, place it in the ap Tab in odin

4. Don't extract anything from the .tar.md5, some files need to be in the tar.md5 like sboot and a few more files. Putting those into a .tar and flashing it may lead to problems. I tend not to mess with that stuff
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
Thanks I am clear on this. The only reason I ask about placing sboot into a tar file for the bootloader section is because ashyx in his original post 13) has a tar file for the bootloader which contains just the sboot file. He also states:

But what you are saying is that I could put the full firmware package into the BL section and Odin will automatically take sboot from within that file? As his file is for the T800 I need to provide the T700 bootloader one way or another.
[Galaxy Tab S General] dd_unlimited:
I'm in the same boat as [MENTION=644996]louiscar[/MENTION]. The instructions for flashing lollipop on T700 are unclear. The only guidance given is "extract the bootloader from the stock rom and tar it up." I don't quite understand that. How do I go about that? Currently on 4.4.2 on T700 and rooted with this method but I can't figure out how to upgrade to lollipop since I don't know what to flash.
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
Go to http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-T700/

and pick Lollipop region that suits you.

If you extract that file there will be a file called Sboot.bin. Compress it as a .tar file.

Now please try to get someone to confirm this before taking this advice but it's what I understand so far. I haven't got that far yet but you will need the appropriate utility to create the .tar file since compressors such as Winzip / Winrar can unpack them but won't create them.

Again as I understand it, to get your system to Lollipop you need to give the main archive to Flashfire first then Run Odin on your pc and give it the Tar file you created in the BL section.
[Galaxy Tab S General] stefan.pilsu:
Why not try this :

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/root-stock-lollipop-5-0-2-kingroot-t3158198
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
Well after the initial downgrading steps to ANF7 which appeared to be successful I've got a constant message Android.process.acore has stopped . I can't seem to get out of this. Any ideas?

Edit : got past it by clearing contact storage ..
[Galaxy Tab S General] dd_unlimited:
I wound up finding a guide and doing that a while ago. Extracted bootloader, used flashfire to flash firmware and then used Odin to flash the bootloader. So far so good, rooted and running smooth.
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
Many thanks Ashyx. Finally it worked and I am back on my original Kitkat rom. Root validator says I don't have busybox - do I need it?

I appreciate your patience. :)
[Galaxy Tab S General] ashyx:
No, but it's worth installing now you have root as some apps don't work without it.

Remember to make that backup with flashfire before you go messing!
[Galaxy Tab S General] louiscar:
Thanks - doing the back up (Full) now.

---------- Post added at 10:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:05 PM ----------

Just noticed when looking over the info that my CSC code / country are blank but says original CSC is BTU.

Then looking at firmware I see that my bootloader is still ANF7 which makes sense because Flashfire doesn't do bootloaders.

Would it be a good idea to get the ANL1 bootloader in there with ODin? I presume it would sort out the CSC too
[Galaxy Tab S General] dd_unlimited:
Flashing ROM with Aroma installer

Is it possible to use this setup to flash a custom ROM like IronRom without tripping Knox? No TWRP leads me to believe you have to go the flashfire route. Any help?