yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
OK, hold off for a minuite. What rom version you are running right now? kitkat or LP? If you are running kitkat with safestrap installed, you need to flash the LP OD5 bootloader first, before you can flash LP rom. You could flash OD5 LP bootloader through Odin.

Edit: (if you are on Kitkat rom and upgrading to LP):

1)Flash the LP OD5 bootloader first (https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347768483). You could flash OD5 LP bootloader through Odin.

2) Once done with the bootloader, boot to safestrap. Use safestrap (twrp with 8 boxes...lol) to flash the G900V_OG5_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip

3) Then flash the OG5 kernel https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347792743. No boot up in between flashes.

Boot up and enjoy. You phone is now using OD5 bootloader, which allowed to downgrade to older firmware, with Safestrap installed and using OG5 rom. Also the NI2Flasher.apk (https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23991606952614131) is use to boot to SS in case you want to flash another rom.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
Hi buhohitr,

Thanks for your reply. I guess I am getting confused since both you and SoccerRef12 are giving me great assistance to accomplish the task but there are differences between the process to use. And, being a cautious person, I want to make sure I understand the steps to prevent bricking my phone.

Maybe I need to back up and explain what I want, as some of the above may be more than I want/need.

I have KK 4.4.4 with the NK2 build, and it is rooted. I am not running a custom ROM and really don't see a need.

I would like to move up to the latest (or at least a stable) version of LP as many are now saying the problems on the VZN version have been fixed and battery life is as good as KK. While I could do OTA, I do not want to lose root, as I heard the latest OTAs make it difficult, requiring you to go back to KK first. I do NOT care to switch between ROMs, just load a LP version that is stable and rooted for tethering and bloatware freezing. Of course, if I find LP sucks, I want to be able to go back to the KK I have.

Lastly, I do not want to trip Knox as the phone I have was recently replaced by VZN and is under warranty (plus I have their insurance to fix the phone if there is a hardware issue), and I would prefer not to have to do a wipe of programs/data if that can be avoided.

Given that, I believe the ROM you mentioned is the way for me to go and I have downloaded the zip file and it is sitting on my SD card. I have backed up the current KK Rom using SS and it too is on that SD card. For safety sake, I also copied that folder to my PC server.

My question, given the above, is what is the least intrusive way to now move to the LP ROM you indicated is pretty much stock. If I can just use Odin or (even better) just use SS, that is what I would prefer. It seems to be an Odin equivalent, and fine with me to use since I went to the effort of installing it.

Thanks again for your and SoccerRef12 help.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
[MENTION=4183220]FMinMI[/MENTION] - Basically the OG5 LP rom you about to flash is pure stock with included root. Since you're running KK rom, You need the LP bootloader which is OD5 (anything higher than OD5 bootloader will prevent you from downgrade back to prvious version and lost root). So if you decided to use SS to flash, you need to use Odin to flash the bootloader OD5 (the bootloader is .tar file so you have to use Odin). During booting up, you have the option to go into recovery (SS) or boot up, select recovery (button on the left) and you are now in SS twrp screen (with 8 boxes), now use this to flash the OG5 rooted stock rom, then flash the OG5 stock kernel. Reboot and you are done. OR if you use FF, just follow the OP. I hope you understand the theory and if anything goes wrong or if you want to return the phone, just use Odin to flash any pure factory stock rom and your phone will be like you just purchased from the store. Just go for it, you won't mess-up unless you flash the OE1 and OG5 factory stock, then you screw without root.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] SoccerRef12:
Exactly...there are two methods, FF vs SS, to achieve the same result. I've used SS with my droid razr maxx for years and found it quite easy and safe. I've also used FF to flash ROMs with my GS5. I now use both for different reasons. I just think there are more backups and safety in SS, but totally personal preference. Good luck!
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
[/COLOR]

Just got this after replying to buhohitr. I see SS as being good, but if I need to also use Odin with it I would prefer FF if it is a one-stop app. If I read buhohitr's post correctly, you thought I was already on LP so before I can do your two-step process with SS (flash LP ROM, then flash LP kernel), I would still need to do Odin to flash a boot loader, right?

Thanks.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] SoccerRef12:
No...read the post I sent you thoroughly. You can use SS to flash the "OG5 Flashable kernel" when flashing the LP ROM from KK. You retain root and can easily go back to KK with the NI2 flasher.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
First, you can have both FF and SS installed (recommended).

If you previously already on LP, then you are good with LP bootloader. You don't need to flash OD5 bootloader.

So now it pretty simple:

Boot to SS, flash the rooted OG5 rom, then flash the OG5 kernel, boot up and enjoy!
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
Lets try again - I am having problems with this forum logging me out unexpectedly and losing my posts:

OK. I don't care what I use to get to the endpoint, so if SS will require me to still use Odin as well, does FF do it all? If so, then I:

1: remove SS

2: install FF

3: download G900V_OG5_Stock_Rooted_ROM and G900V_OD5_Bootloader to my SD card

4: Follow these steps from the post:

1. Place the ROM onto your device (use either internal or ext-sdcard).

2. Open the FlashFire app and "Agree" to the Terms and Conditions.

3. Press "(+)" twice to bring up the "Actions" menu.

4. Select "Flash Zip or OTA" and locate and select the ROM. Leave "Auto-mount" unchecked under the "Options" menu and press the checkmark to continue.

5. From the main menu Uncheck all options under "EverRoot" and set "Reboot" setting to *"Download."

6. Press the lightning bolt then "Ok" to begin the **flash.

7. Once the flash is complete and the device reboots into "Download" mode, flash the G900V_OD5_Bootloader using Odin's PDA/AP slot.

*If you are already on a 5.0 bootloader, i.e. OC4 or OD5, set "Reboot" setting to "Normal" and skip Step 7.

**The screen will turn black then display the contents of your system before beginning the flash. FlashFire will pause for about 1 minute while flashing the "system" partition.

So is that correct?

Thanks.

Frank in Michigan

---------- Post added at 12:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:39 PM ----------

Ok. I am so sorry for being stupid on this stuff. I will re-read what you sent. Being a novice at flashing, I try to find step by step instructions. Saying to flash this, then that is still to complicated for my elderly brain to comprehend.

I greatly appreciate your time and effort to help. Please don't get mad at me. I trying to figure out the simplest way to do this with you and buhohitr giving me different paths to accomplish the task.

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

---------- Post added at 01:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------

Hi buhohitr. OK. I understand I can have both but would prefer to use only one if I could do all the steps needed.

I was never on LP. I am on KK. The only thing I did to my S5 was root it while I was at 4.4.4. So if I follow your directions, I need to flash OD5 bootloader first before proceeding.

What I don't understand is why I cannot, with SS, take G900V_OG5_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip and install it, since it has root built in. What is my old, decrepit mind not understanding?

Thank you very much for your help and patience.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
It seems like you still not understand. We both show you the same thing.

Yes you can flash the G900V_OG5_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip using Safestrap. You also need to flash the OD5 bootloader using ODIN, since you never being on LP. Then the final step is to flash the OG5 kernel using Safestrap. That's it.

Note:

If the file has .TAR extention, you need to use ODIN to flash and if .ZIP, you use Safestrap. In this case the bootloader OD5 is .tar so you need Odin to flash.

BTW, you should have both SS and FF installed, from time to time you may need both depended on the needs.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
OK. I will follow the 7 steps in the first post, line by line and use FF since there are specific steps on how to do it. I understand that I will need to do step 7 in Odin so I will have my phone connected to my PC.

Once I finish step 7, I will be in LP. I will then use SS to back it up. Then, since I don't want to see SS coming up each time I reboot, I will turn it off.

One last question - it talks about optional flashes and the tetherAddOn sounds interesting. Since I will flash OG5 I assume I use G900V_OG5_TetherAddOn. The one one below it (OE1) says to use FF. Can I use FF for the OG5 download as well? Or SS?

Again, thanks for all your patience and help.

Hopefully the next post will be my comments on LP.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
BTW, I don't mind if you ask questions, that is how we all learned. Some days, you may able to help out Noobs..

After you flashed OG5, you will not see SS anymore. If you need to get back to the SS boot screen you need the NI2 kernel or there is an app I mentioned before to help you get back to SS. SS will just be there when ever you need it. Any zip file you can use either FF or SS. However, after you flashed OG5, you are officially on LP, so use FF would be much quicker.

Just for your knowledge, if you decided to use SS, you need to use the NI2flash.apk to boot back to SS, then flash the G900V_OG5_TetherAddOn, then flash the OG5 kernel, then boot back up.

SS or FF is preference of choice. For me I still believe that SS is more reliable than FF. I have zero issue when using SS to do nanodroid backup/restore, flashing etc... For FF, in a few occasions, it did not work correctly when I flashed custom rom. It flashed, but nothing changed.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
OK.

Lets skip SS for now. I am going to remove it, then proceed with the 7 steps using FlashFire v19, which is recommended (however it does say Flasfire Play Beta Preview is REQUIRED - NOT SURE WHY).

Given that 'change', how do I do the optional tetherAddOn with FF? I don't see that in the directions.

Thanks.

Frank
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
Same steps as for flashing the rom. In FF reboot options, set to Normal, so the phone will boot up after flashed. How about just flash the rom first, before jumping the gun.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
That is fine. I asked just in case they needed to / should be done at the same time. Wasn't sure if they somehow needed to be 'merged' during a single flash process. I saw in SS where it asked for multiple .zip files...

Will do the LP first. Then come back for the tetherAddOn is all goes well. Tether was one of two reasons I rooted...

Thanks.

Frank
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
You could use Foxfi for tethering without root.

There is no merge process like you think. An addon is an add on, it can be flash anytime.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
I know about FoxFi, and bought it, but I have had issues. Just recently I heard it was down for a couple of days due to a VZN change. Found rooting and using some of the root-tether appa to be almost foolproof.

So, I followed all the steps, but it didn't come up in download mode even though I set the box to do so (used v.24 FF). So, after booting, I just powered down, went to Odin mode, flashed OD5 bootloader and restarted.

Right now it is loading all my apps. I guess I didn't think about losing all the setting/programs - thought they would have stayed. Since I have never done OTAs with new major builds, I expected they would still be there, but maybe I was naive. NP. Just need to spend time now getting it set up again.

Don't need tether right away so will play with LP, then use your instructions above to do the option.Before removing SS I kept the backup I made by moving the TWRP folder to my server. If I need to go back, I should be OK.

BTW, is OG5 the current VZN ROM? And I assume I do not have to freeze anything with TB Pro so OTAs don't happen? I checked but didn't see SDM or FWUpgrade in the list...

Thanks for all your and SoccerRef12 help.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] SoccerRef12:
When you upgrade from KK to LP you want Google to just restore apps. If you try to restore KK version of apps to LP, you'll have lots of issues. I agree that SS and FF used together is the best of both worlds. I use FF to upgrade ROM and FF to restore data after flashing a new ROM. Good luck!
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
yes OG5 is the latest and you don't need to do anything to prevent OTA upgrade. Like SoccerRef12 stated, going from 4.4 to 5.0, don't restore data, you will have issue.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
Well, I have a big issue with LP. I use the fingerprint system to protect my phone. After setting it up, it worked fine.That was until I accidentally swiped across the middle of the screen as I was trying to position the phone to swipe my finger over the middle button. Guess what - the phone unlocked. And I have reproduced it many times. If I change to PIN, it works fine - swiping the screen does not unlock it. But as soon as I change it back to Fingerprint screen lock mode, I can swipe the screen with any finger any place once locked and it goes right to my home page. This is not good at all.

This is a major security bug. I might be going back to KK very soon...

EDIT: Smart Lock is causing the above issue. Rather than deleting the post, I am leaving it here so if anyone else has this issue, maybe it will help them. After turning it off, I did not see my unlock screen issue. But it is weird how it works - it is supposed to stay active but if there is a 4 hr lapse of use, it locks. However in my house, which is now a trusted site, I have seen it lock after just 20 minutes on one occasion, and about 1 hr on another. Going to take it away from the house to make sure it locks correctly...

Thanks.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
Hello.

I am a Canadian who just bought this unlocked refurbished SM-G900V on ebay not knowing the verizon version would be so problematic. Most of what I do on the phone is fine, but obviously the verizon stuff has created difficulty for me. I'm at the beginning stage here and don't know where to start.

I've read through this thread but still feel fairly nervous rooting my phone for the first time. I have Android Version 5.0 and Baseband version G900VVRU1B0C4. It seems these are these two peices of information is where much confusion lies during the process. So I thought I'd start with that. Due to the wealth of help in this forum and various steps offered for different situations, I am quite confused as to the step by step process I should take for my given version and baseband. I'm fairly certain with the correct step by step information I could get through this process without bricking my phone.

Can someone please copy and paste for me the detailed steps I must take to get my phone into shape? Thanks.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
Well, still unclear what you want to do?? are you just want your phone to work correctly with the same rom or you want to upgrade? Do you want root? For the start, you could reflash the full factory stock OC4 with ODIN and see if it run well!
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
I didn't know upgrading was an option. I want to do what is best and what I will get the most out of. I will do whatever you recommend as I'm not that familiar with samsung or android phones. ie...I would do what you would want to do. One example I have...I can't tether and I want to do that. What I've been reading about CyanogenMod sounds pretty good.

I could be available to do a step by step via messenger or something if someone has time. But a copied and pasted step by step I could follow would be greatly appreciated.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
Jamis,

I am the person that drove 2 of the experts here to drink as I tried to update my rooted S5 which was at KitKat.

The process at the top of this post worked fine for me. You will need to download the mentioned files there, as well as install Odin on your PC. The only problem I had was in step 5 - it didn't go back into download mode (for step 7) but that was not an issue. Just had to power down and put the phone in Odin mode (volume down, home button, power button simultaneously).

Note that it says Flashfire v19 is recommended but I used v.24. For some reason I could not get my download of v19 to work.

The only thing I cannot help you with is how to get your phone rooted with that version of the OS. That is required to do the 7 step process. Once you can get that done, you are golden with the step-by-step instructions mentioned above.

Good luck.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
Great. So I guess rooting my phone is the first step. Can someone give me a step by step for that? I'm ready to go with 100% battery charge! I just got the phone so no need to back any personal stuff up. :)
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
Yes, now is the perfect time. I didn't mention that but in going from KK to LP I lost all my settings/programs/etc. Just like getting a brand new phone. I didn't think about that before proceeding - thought it would all be there, but NP. It is now back to were it was, but now with LP.

There is a note at the bottom of the first post telling you how to root and it appears you will be OK to do it with your current build (you are at OC4 which is prior to OE1 if you didn't catch that). Using Odin is easy. Just make sure to import Full Wipe G900V_Downgrade_to_NCG.tar file into the PDA (or AP slot; the label is different depending on what version Odin you have). It will take some time to flash so don't panic.

Good luck

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
Ok I downloaded both Full Wipe, Odin, and towlroot to my computer desktop and unzipped. Now how do I use them? Perhaps I need a step by step for this as well.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
Hahaha.. I'm afraid of this "I'm not that familiar with samsung or android phones. ie..". Ok couple questions?

1. Is your phone has an UNLOCKED bootloader?

2.Do u know how to boot to download or recovery mode?

3. Do you know how to use these tools to flash firmware? Odin, Safestrap (SS), FlashFire (FF)?
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
1. I purchaced the phone off ebay. it is unlocked. If that's not what you are asking me. Then the answer would be no.

2. No.

3. No.

I need step by steps for sure. :) I'm very good at following step by steps. Just start me off one by one and I'll get it done!
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
Before we do anything, we need all the info about your phone. When you said "unlocked", do you mean that you have a DE (developer edition) phone? Only DE phone can have unlocked bootloader, where you could install any custom rom as you like. If you have the RE (retail edition), you only can install TW rom through Safestrap.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
It says Verizon on the back. There's a ton of verizon bloatware on it. The phone is unlocked because I live in Canada and we don't have Verizon. So I am using it on Koodo and have a Koodo sim card in it.

Model Number: SM-G900V

Android Version: 5.0

Baseband Version: G900VVRU1BOC4

Kernel Version: 3.4.0 dpi@SWDD6315#1 Wed Mar 17 13:27:28 KST 2015

Build Number LRX21T.G900VVRU1BOC4

SE for Android status: Enforcing SEPF_SM-G900V 5.0 0002

Hardware Version: G900V.05

Security software version: MDGv1.1 Release 4 VPN v1.4 Release 3

KNOX version: KNOX 2.3

Configuration version: J13.SAM.SMG900V.1
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
Being a newbee, I am not confident to tell you exactly what to do. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

But, for Odin to work, you need to also have the Samsung drivers installed on you PC. Goggle for them and install them. Then plug your phone in and let them 'install'. This took over 5 minutes on my older computer.

Here are what I remember the basic steps to be (others on the thread please make corrections!):

1) Start Odin

2) Power down your phone, then press Volume Down, Home, and Power buttons all at the same time for about 2-5 seconds (screen will appear with small print, first line will say Odin mode). Press the Up volume button.

3) Using the USB cable that came with the phone (not a crappy $1 eBay one) connect your phone to the PC.

4) On Odin, the box in the upper left should show you are connected something like COMM port 3.

5) Click on either PDA or AP button, then find/select the Full Wipe file.

6) In the lower left portion of Odin, it will tell you if the ROM file is valid. If it is, click OK (or maybe Proceed? - can't remember what it says).

Status will appear in the the lower left box.

Once down, you will reboot your phone and it should take you to the 'new phone' screen where you set it up. However you are only doing this to be able to root the phone, so skip as much as you can. You want to get to the main screen.

7) Move Towelroot to your phone. Since it is not coming from Google Play, you will need to go into setting, security and allow UNKNOWN SOURCES to be loaded.

8) Run Towelroot and install

Once done, you should be rooted. You can check with an app like ROOT CHECKER (Google store)

At this point, you will do the 7 steps at the top of this long thread.

So, that is my 2cents worth. There should be YouTube videos you can watch to see how Odin and Towelroot work before doing it yourself.

Good luck!

Frank in Michigan

---------- Post added at 04:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 PM ----------

Aren't all Verizon Smartphones unlocked?
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] Jamis1979:
I went through steps 1-6 as you suggested. Odin said PASS!

When the phone restarted a Verizon red screen came up.

I installed the towelroot and then instaleld Root Checker. The root checker said Sorry! Root access is not properly installed on this device.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
OK. Did you see the post from buhohitr ? He was waiting to hear back from you and is the expert at doing this stuff and I don't want to step on his toes in the matter. He knows much more than me.

The only think I would suggest is to go to system, phone and see what version you are now running. If everything went correctly, you should be at version NCG, which would be KitKat.

Frank in Michigan
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] buhohitr:
Do me a favor, pull the battery and look for the words "Developer Device" printed on the S5's board under the battery. If you see this then you're a lucky guy....a very lucky guy. If you don't then you have a retails edition.

Frank - when people mentioned unlocked, it could mean unlocked bootloader or unlocked carrier (where you could use different sim from other carriers). So we need to be sure which one we are talking about here.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 General] FMinMI:
OK. I was thinking only about unlocked to other carriers and remember reading VZN agreed to do that in order to resolve some sort of FCC issue.

If his phone was Developer Device, wouldn't Root Check show it was rooted then?

Frank