Galaxy S4 storage.

[Krimsonmyst]

Can you point me to what thread has official OS updates? Navigating that place is a nightmare.

Yeah it can be a bit confusing if you're not used to it

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2250824

There's the link for the Pre-Rooted, De-Bloatware'd Stock Roms. It also includes the Google Edition Roms (pure Android).

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[0dev]

Yeah it can be a bit confusing if you're not used to it

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2250824

There's the link for the Pre-Rooted, De-Bloatware'd Stock Roms. It also includes the Google Edition Roms (pure Android).

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks! So according to that thread, if you have a stock ROM on a rooted device you can still install OTA updates like normal too?

At least that's what I gather from:

Fully working KIES & OTA updates (FYI: root will be lost after software update)

 

[Krimsonmyst]

Thanks! So according to that thread, if you have a stock ROM on a rooted device you can still install OTA updates like normal too?

At least that's what I gather from:

Correct. Pre-rooted stock ROMs will still keep your device status as 'Samsung official'.

Keep in mind though, as soon as you flash any mods, or if you flash a modified stock ROM (like mine, which is a slim, de-bloatware'd version), your device status will change to 'modified', and OTA updates will no longer work.

 

[0dev]

Correct. Pre-rooted stock ROMs will still keep your device status as 'Samsung official'.

Keep in mind though, as soon as you flash any mods, or if you flash a modified stock ROM (like mine, which is a slim, de-bloatware'd version), your device status will change to 'modified', and OTA updates will no longer work.

And is there a way to restore the status to official? Is that what triangle away does?

 

[Krimsonmyst]

And is there no way to restore the status to official?

It's very easy to restore it to official. You just download an official Samsung ROM from somewhere like sammobile.

Once you flash that through Odin your device status will be 'Samsung official' and you'll have access to OTA updates once again

Edit: Triangle away is to reset the flash counter on the device. On the s2 and s3, when your device was modified a yellow triangle would appear during boot. Triangle away gets rid of that, and also resets your flash counter (meaning you'll never be able to tell the phone was ever modified).

 

[0dev]

It's very easy to restore it to official. You just download an official Samsung ROM from somewhere like sammobile.

Once you flash that through Odin your device status will be 'Samsung official' and you'll have access to OTA updates once again

Edit: Triangle away is to reset the flash counter on the device. On the s2 and s3, when your device was modified a yellow triangle would appear during boot. Triangle away gets rid of that, and also resets your flash counter (meaning you'll never be able to tell the phone was ever modified).

Awesome, thanks for all the info! I'm not a noob to Android but I'm still getting my head around all the Samsung specific stuff

Looks like the best thing for me to do if I get an S4 is flash the pre-rooted ROM, best of both worlds.

 

[Krimsonmyst]

Awesome, thanks for all the info! I'm not a noob to Android but I'm still getting my head around all the Samsung specific stuff

Looks like the best thing for me to do if I get an S4 is flash the pre-rooted ROM, best of both worlds.

No worries mate, it's a weird and wonderful world to explore.

Being a low level Android developer and modding demon, there are 2 things I'd stress VERY strongly.

1. Learn how to use CWM. This stands for Clockwork Mod, which is the recovery system built into MOST custom ROMs. That XDA thread I linked you earlier will have links to download it if your ROM doesn't come with it. You flash it through Odin just like you would a ROM.

The best thing about CWM is it's backup system. It will literally create a freeze state of your device. This is SO invaluable before you flash a new ROM or a mod. Even if the mod you're about to flash is 100% reported as being stable, I can't stress to BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP. If something goes wrong or even if you just don't like how the mod works, it's SO good to be able to just restore a backup and have your phone be 10 minutes back to how it was before you flashed.

Also, if you flash something you shouldn't and you brick your phone (bootloops, crashing errors), backups will go back to before it was broke. Saved me so many times.

2. When rooting/flashing, there isn't a WHOLE lot that can go wrong, especially because Android has become a whole lot more robust recently in being able to recover from crashes and things like that.

HOWEVER, the #1 cause of bricking phones is flashing software that isn't meant for your device. Make sure you check what you're flashing BEFORE you flash it. If your device is the I-9505 (Snapdragon S4), make sure whatever you're flashing is for the 9505. Also goes without saying, but don't flash anything for a whole other phone altogether - I once had a friend who flashed a stock ROM for the HTC One because he liked how the One's interface looked and wanted it on his Xperia Z....

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help out. Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

[0dev]

No worries mate, it's a weird and wonderful world to explore.

Being a low level Android developer and modding demon, there are 2 things I'd stress VERY strongly.

1. Learn how to use CWM. This stands for Clockwork Mod, which is the recovery system built into MOST custom ROMs. That XDA thread I linked you earlier will have links to download it if your ROM doesn't come with it. You flash it through Odin just like you would a ROM.

The best thing about CWM is it's backup system. It will literally create a freeze state of your device. This is SO invaluable before you flash a new ROM or a mod. Even if the mod you're about to flash is 100% reported as being stable, I can't stress to BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP. If something goes wrong or even if you just don't like how the mod works, it's SO good to be able to just restore a backup and have your phone be 10 minutes back to how it was before you flashed.

Also, if you flash something you shouldn't and you brick your phone (bootloops, crashing errors), backups will go back to before it was broke. Saved me so many times.

2. When rooting/flashing, there isn't a WHOLE lot that can go wrong, especially because Android has become a whole lot more robust recently in being able to recover from crashes and things like that.

HOWEVER, the #1 cause of bricking phones is flashing software that isn't meant for your device. Make sure you check what you're flashing BEFORE you flash it. If your device is the I-9505 (Snapdragon S4), make sure whatever you're flashing is for the 9505. Also goes without saying, but don't flash anything for a whole other phone altogether - I once had a friend who flashed a stock ROM for the HTC One because he liked how the One's interface looked and wanted it on his Xperia Z....

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help out. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Yeah I know about CWM and Nandroids, I got that all sorted on my Nexus 7, I'm just new to ODIN and other specific Samsung stuff. Thanks a lot though, can I add you to my friends on here so I can contact you if needed? You're a lot more friendly than xda

BTW, the pre-rooted stock ROM should work exactly the same as a normal stock ROM right? I ask because an issue I always have with flashing ROMs is it breaks the built in encryption. I don't mean I had it encrypted and the flashing broke it, I mean the device will be unencrypted, I will wipe and flash, then I will attempt to enable encryption and it just won't work. I had this issue with CM10 on my old Sensation and many others have had it with CM, AOKP, etc. on various other phones. I have no idea if the problem is lack of drivers in AOSP ROMs or if it's caused by rooting or custom recoveries, hence my asking. As long as I don't lose this functionality I'm all good for flashing the pre-rooted ROM

 

[Krimsonmyst]

Of course, feel free to add

The pre-rooted ROM should be EXACTLY the same except you'll have root access.

 

[0dev]

Of course, feel free to add

The pre-rooted ROM should be EXACTLY the same except you'll have root access.

Awesome, added you, thanks

I'll continue this conversation via PM so as not to clog up the thread