[Verizon Galaxy Note 3 General] bftb0:
[size=+2]As a convenience to the users here, I have created recovery-flashable versions of the SM-N900V (Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3) Stock ROMs from the following releases:[/size]

[size=+3]NC4 NJ6 NK1 OB6 OF1 PL1[/size]

These flashables are ONLY INTENDED FOR SM-N900V OWNERS WITH UNLOCKED BOOTLOADERS AND STANDALONE CUSTOM RECOVERIES.

These ROMS are NOT pre-rooted. You are responsible for doing that (flash a superSU .zip in the recovery following the ROM flash if you desire root). Or, use the custom recovery's offer to root for you.

These ROMs are NOT debloated. Almost all of the original bloat and crapware is enabled.

[size=+1]NOTE: Odin-flashable Modems are provided as separate downloads for those that want to mix-n-match.[/size]

[size=+2]::::: MODIFICATIONS FROM 100% STOCK:[/size]

A small number of preinstalled apps have been suppressed/frozen; specifically those involved in automatic recovery-partition regeneration, OTA, Knox, or carrier spyware. See notes at [*1]

Also, the following two "build.prop" properties were disabled:

ro.config.tima=0
ro.securestorage.support=false

This seems to produce more stable ROMs when bootloaders are mix-n-matched with different ROM versions.

A script is provided which allows reversal of all of the above modifications to produce a 100% stock ROM (should you want that). See the notes at [*3]

[size=+2]::::: DOWNLOADS:[/size]

ROMs - Courtesy of Androidfilehost.com

Flashable Modems - Courtesy of Androidfilehost.com

[size=+2]::::: INSTALLATION[/size]

- Wipe system, dalvik, cache, and data (do not wipe /data/media)

- Flash ROM

- (OPTIONAL: full stock behavior restore. See [*3] ) (if you don't understand what this is, don't do it.)

- (OPTIONAL: inject root using chainfire's flashable superSU .zip, or allow the custom recovery to inject root) See [*4]

These flashable .zip ROMs ONLY modify the "system" and "boot" partitions. No bootloader firmware, modem firmware, or recovery partitions are affected; nor are wipes performed on any other partitions.

A script is provided in /system/etc for the ROM suppressions to be completely reversed, resulting in an almost-identical-to-Odin-stock ROMs, including resumption of OTAs etc. [*2]

[size=+2]::::: FEEDBACK REQUESTED [/size]

Because of the bootloader firmware anti-rollback protections, it is impossible for me to test all combinations of bootloader vs. kernel+ROM versions. I am presently still on NC4 bootloader firmware and have run all of these on top of the NC4 bootloader (sometimes flashing the modem which matches the ROM version, sometimes not) If you use any of these with a unique combination of bootloader and kernel/ROM, please drop a success/failure report here. Make sure to report both the bootloader and modem firmware versions.

[size=+2]::::: APPLICATIONS (or, Why Would I Find These Useful)?[/size]

- You want to run a Rooted PL1 stock before a root method becomes available without flashing the PL1 bootloader firmware. Benefit of more security against malware, but all the flexibility of root.

- You want to work on attempting root exploits of the PL1 ROM/kernel without taking the plunge of potentially locking your device forever with an Odin full-PL1 stock flash. E.g., flash the PL1 stock ROM over prior bootloaders (NC4/NJ6/NK1/OB6/OF1). The device can be used as a daily driver while you test your code... assuming that it operates correctly (TESTERS WANTED!)

- You want to flash back to Stock "for a minute" to check something, but without having to completely backup, wipe the device, re-root, re-unlock the bootloader, re-install your custom recovery, and restore your "SD card" data.

- You want a ROM where GPS/NFC/BT "just works"

- You occasionally want to use those Samsung S-Pen or TouchWiz apps.

- You'd like to create your own version of debloated stock.

- You think you might have damaged your hardware doing something and want to "see if it still works on stock"

- You want to run a rooted-stock KitKat ROM despite the fact that your ROM will have giant gaping security holes in it (that can be elevated to root privilege from an app with absolutely zero Android privileges)

[size=+2]::::: FAQs[/size]

Q - I am going to sell/give away my device. Should I use this?

A - Probably not. Use Odin with a factory image instead. These flashes by themselves do not enforce consistent bootloader, modem, or recovery firmware.

Q - Why didn't you debloat XXX and YYY from these?

A - Laziness. And besides, everyone has a different idea of what "debloated" means. Moreover, I wanted something that could easily be toggled into a "100% stock" configuration.

Q - I flashed one of these ROMs and yet I still see the "Knox Warranty" message when I boot up. Are the boot images non-stock?

A0 - The boot images in these ROMs are pure stock, right from the Odin factory tar/.md5 blobs.

A1 - Does your bootloader version match the kernel/ROM version? At least with the NC4 bootloader, you get that message when booting any kernel which is not the NC4 Samsung kernel - even when they are validly signed Samsung kernels. So, the only time you do not get that warning message is when the boot image is unmodified AND it exactly matches the version of the bootloader. I suppose that is the same behavior for other bootloader versions. Sigh.

A2 - "Systemless" root injection modifies the boot partition. That certainly will break the signing as you have modified the original boot image.

There is a way to check to see if your boot image has been modified; here it is:

1) compute the md5sum of the "boot.img" file from the release

2) find out the size/byte length of the factory "boot.img" file ("ls -l boot.img")

3) dump the same number of bytes out of the boot partition and pipe those bytes into the "md5sum" utility:

dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot bs=FILELENGTH count=1 | md5sum

Q - I did the stock reversion process and I still have the "Custom" logo showing up on my phone during boot-up. Why?

A - Because you are using a custom recovery, or a kernel which is mismatched to the version of the bootloader firmware. These ROMs are intended for use with unlocked phones with a custom recovery in any event.

Q - I can't get Knox containers to work. Why?

A - Knox containers will not work on phones with a blown Knox Warranty flag. That's an irreversible change you made to your phone when you unlocked it and booted an unsigned kernel. Sorry.

[size=+2]::::: Revision History[/size]

0.95 remove umount /system at end of reversion script; undo Mobicore service suppression.

0.94 add ELM*{.apk|.odex|etc} to suppressions

0.93 correct chmod mode in restore script for bin/install-recovery.sh (PL1)

0.92 baseline

[size=+2]::::: FOOTNOTES[/size]

[*1] For example: bin/install-recovery.sh, LocalFOTA, SDM, Knox*, VMS, SysScope, et cetera. All the other commercial bloatware and Samsung apps remain. NOTE: because of the possiblity of running these kernels/ROMs on mis-matched bootloader(s) where TZ/Attribution failures could disable certain TrustZone capabilities, I have disabled the following properties in /system/build.prop:

ro.config.tima=0

ro.securestorage.support=false

These may be easily reversed and the device rebooted.

[*2] If you were returning to stock in order to sell or dispose the device, probably it is best to just use Odin with the factory images.

[*3] Using the custom recovery's Advanced->Terminal function, find the script name in /system/etc, i.e.

ls -l /system/etc/bftb0*

and then

. /system/etc/bftb0_README*

It is sort of unlikely that anyone would need to use this. It may even be the case that Verizon has stopped providing OTA updates on older releases anyway. But it's there if you want it.

If nothing else, this script is very easy to read and so it documents all the changes that make it slightly different from pure stock; if you want to reverse one particular suppression, just read through the script and perform those individual changes manually, and reboot.

[*4] Since about superSU 2.65, the SuperSU .zip installation method MODIFIES THE BOOT PARTITION! The same is true of "systemless" root installations performed by custom recoveries (e.g. TWRP). You need to be aware of this in one very particular application: Installing a new bootloader over the top of a pre-rooted ROM which has the stock kernel version matching the version of the to-be-installed bootloader/modem firmware.