Rooting Telecom Samsung GS4 I9505 issues

Forums › Android › Rooting Telecom Samsung GS4 I9505 issues - help???

FlameBeard

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# 129340 11-Sep-2013 17:37

Hi all,

First Post (Oooorah)

So I am having some issues here with flashing my Samsung GS4. I acquired a device when they first came out from Telecom NZ, and am really loving it. Much better than the iCrap that is available in my opinion (had both iPhone 5 & GS4)

I had previously had a Samsung GS2 when they came out a few years ago as well. Great phone, and when I had that one I had wondered about flashing it to gain root access to it.
Now that I have another droid and want to do more with it, I kind of need to have root access, as I want to get rid of the significant amount of bloatware and flash a custom ROM onto my device.

So I have been reading through ovesees forums and watching a few hours of YouTube about flashing it to gain root access. Pretty comfortable I know what I need to do.
So, I set about trying to flash my device with Clockwork Mod (cwm) through ODIN this afternoon. Now unfortunately I am getting the below out put and I have literally no idea why

<ID:0/007> Odin v.3 engine (ID:7)..
<ID:0/007> File analysis..
<ID:0/007> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/007> Initialzation..
<ID:0/007> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/007> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/007> ANDROID!0]n
<ID:0/007> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/007>
<ID:0/007> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

as it seems I need a recovery ROM or PDA to gain root access this seems to be a fundamental issue with the root access process.

Can any of my fellow GeekZoners lend an assist? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

All the best

- Flame_Beard

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# 894392 11-Sep-2013 17:54

sorry maybe silly question but you have root access already just trying to flash custom recovery?

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FlameBeard

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# 894393 11-Sep-2013 17:56

Hey thanks for the reply.

No I don't have root access yet. Just trying to get the recovery in place. Still learning about the process as well. So any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

michaelmurfy

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# 894394 11-Sep-2013 18:00

You should just be able to flash CF Auto-Root, this will let you keep your ability to do automatic updates etc, how I did it will be far different from how you did it since I run Linux but following this guide [Here] should be all you're needing to do to gain root, if you're wanting to flash a custom rom then do your research and make sure you know how to revert it to TNZ Stock and reset the flashcounter just in case you need to claim warranty.

jeffnz

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# 894395 11-Sep-2013 18:01

need to get root first. go here since you odin then retry doing recovery with odin

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FlameBeard

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# 894397 11-Sep-2013 18:10

I've tried the CF - Auto root as well. And just again using ODIN.

This is the output from ODIN,

<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> CF-Auto-Root-jflte-jfltexx-gti9505.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/007> Odin v.3 engine (ID:7)..
<ID:0/007> File analysis..
<ID:0/007> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/007> Can't open the serial(COM) port.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

Have checked that all the drivers are installed correctly. I can use Kies as well. USB Debugging is turned on. I'm in Dev mode as well.

Any pointers?

Talkiet

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# 894402 11-Sep-2013 18:18

Couple of things. Try a 32bit Windows OS. For whatever reason, it's more reliable. Don't use a USB hub or extension cable - and you may as well switch to another USB port on your PC and confirm you are using an original (or try another) USB cable.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

nzgeek

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# 894405 11-Sep-2013 18:22

Which version of Odin are you using? The GS2 used v1.85, but the S4 needs v3.07.

Also, what's your reason for rooting? Are you looking to run a custom ROM, or just use root apps on the standard ROM? If you're going with a custom ROM, you only need to flash a custom recovery. I can supply you with a CWM Touch images that works with Odin. If you're just trying to gain root, CF AutoRoot it's probably the best option.

jeffnz

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# 894406 11-Sep-2013 18:30

its not recognising your port onn computer change to another usb and try again

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# 894424 11-Sep-2013 19:11

It's sounding like the drivers ain't installed properly, check in device manager to see if your phone is showing up properly. Also make sure you're in download mode.

timmmay

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# 894446 11-Sep-2013 19:55

Easy way to get into download mode is to download the Android development kit then run

adb reboot download

with the phone plugged into the computer. Also

adb reboot recovery

is helpful. Autoroot worked perfectly for me, and Clockwork Mod went on just as easily. I was a total n00b when I did it too.

FlameBeard

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# 894484 11-Sep-2013 21:25

Lots of great idea's here thank you all so much.

I will try another usb port on my PC. Unfortunately no 32 bit systems in the house - we like RAM

@NZGEEK I was using ODIN v1.85, now trying it on the newer version of ODIN, thank you very much for the suggestion. The reason I wast root access is to remove a lot of crap that comes with the device, as I own the device I think I should get the right to choose what stays on there and what doesn't. Also I like the little tweaks you can run with kernals etc and just generally don't want to have a device that says "no you can't do that sorry".

Thank you very much for the offer of the no-root access roms though. I may yet take you up on that.

@timmmay (love the name buddy) thanks for the suggestion. I'm downloading that now, taking some time but hey good things to those who wait. Thanks all who helped so far with your pointers. I have the grave yard shift at a the companies data centre tonight so no doubt will be fiddling with it then!

Will keep you all posted

Cheers

- Flame_beard

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# 894490 11-Sep-2013 21:39

Since you said bloatware - here's a simple way to remove it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2307355

Otherwise you can flash another rom like Wanamlite - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2283194

Whilst you can't brick your phone easily, please make yourself familiar with tools like Triangleaway and download the stock Telecom rom and have it on hand, work out how to flash it back just in case but once you've figured this out you've got the power to do what you like to your phone. If you're not needing all the S4 gimmicks you can also flash the Google Edition rom which is essentially stock Android: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2348272

Good luck! XDA and Google are your friend.

Edit: Just since the download for the TNZ rom is blimmin' slow I'll upload it to my Dropbox for anyone that wants it.

FlameBeard

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# 894509 11-Sep-2013 22:37

Cheers everyone for your help, have sucessfully go root access now for my GS4. Your input has been invaluable. For one last request. Does anyone have any tips for flashing a custom rom? I'm having issues getting a custom recovery onto the device, currently using the default one with goo manager. Also I'm thinking of flashing CM10.1 onto my device as that looks quite nice.

Cheers,

Flame_Beard

nzgeek

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# 894525 11-Sep-2013 23:20

Flashing a custom ROM (e.g. CyanogenMod) is pretty easy once you've got a decent recovery installed. I'd recommend the touch-based version of CWM over the non-touch version that ROM Manager installs by default. Download the recovery image from here to your internal SD card, then use SGS4 Flasher to flash it. No reboot is required, and when you next go into recovery mode you'll be able to use the touch screen to move around.

If you're flashing ROMs, I'd thoroughly recommend an external SD card of at least 16GB in size. I use mine to hold the ROMs themselves, the Google Apps (GApps) packages that custom ROMs often need, the latest zip for SuperSU, and firmware backups. The backups you do from within CWM recovery are excellent, and cover the kernel, the OS itself, and all of your apps/data. I almost always make a backup when flashing a new ROM, even if it's a newer build, as you never know if something will go wrong.

CyanogenMod (CM) is a pretty good starting point for custom ROMs. It gives you a nice stock Android experience, but has lots of little extras that give it a slight edge over the Google Edition ROM. I'd recommend the latest 10.2 nightly, as it should be stable enough for daily use. You'll also need a GApps for 4.3 package. SuperSU is optional, as CM already comes with root built-in. When you flash (after creating a backup!) you'll need to wipe your /system and /data partitions in recovery mode, then install the CM zip file, then GApps, then anything else. The phone will take several minutes to reboot, and you'll need to set it all up again, but it should work quite nicely after that. If you don't like it, just restore your backup. CM has a built-in update module, and you can get it to prompt you when new nightly builds are available.

Don't be too afraid of screwing things up. There's not a lot that can go wrong, so long as the bootloader isn't corrupted. Using CWM recovery to install ROMs is the safest bet as that doesn't touch the bootloader. If all else fails, you can reboot into recovery and restore a backup. At worst you'll need to install a stock ROM again using Odin, which gets you back to square one.

FlameBeard

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# 894544 12-Sep-2013 00:22

You sir are the man, I know this is probably getting annoying, but if I download that CM10.2 is there somewhere I can download the corresponding GApps?

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