Root Issues with the K3 update?

[Masterchief87]

T-Mobile just recently released an ota update for the Avant (software version G386TUVU1ANK3) and after I installed it, TWRP wouldn't install and and CF auto root wouldn't work either. My only way to get root access again was to flash the older firmware (G386TUVU1ANHA) through Odin then flash TWRP and restore a pre-rooted nandroid backup I had made. Also, after flashing the older firmware I tried CF auto root and it wouldn't work anymore. If I didn't already have a rooted nandroid backup to restore I would have not been able to get root access back.

[Edit] I just found out from ShabbyPenguin that Sammobile now has the newest firmware for both MetroPCS and T-Mobile for download and I decided to give it another shot and strangely it worked this time. CF auto-root and twrp both flashed and worked fine this time with no issues. Im still not sure what was going on earlier.

 

[rck01]

Any idea where i can find the MetroPCS image for my Avant? I only see the T-Mobile flavor when I browse sammobile's DB.

Also, noob question: If I flash one of these images, will I lose the "unlocked" aspect of my phone? Or is unlocking not related/tied to the ROM image?

Thanks in advance for your help!

RCK

 

[Masterchief87]

Any idea where i can find the MetroPCS image for my Avant? I only see the T-Mobile flavor when I browse sammobile's DB.

Also, noob question: If I flash one of these images, will I lose the "unlocked" aspect of my phone? Or is unlocking not related/tied to the ROM image?

Thanks in advance for your help!

RCK

In sammobiles firmware database you will find two different model numbers for the avant, SM-G386T(T-Mobile) and SM-G386T1(MetroPCS). The SM-G386T1 is the MetroPCS avant. When you click on it you will find two firmwares for download which are incorrectly labeled as being for T-Mobile. These two firmwares are G386T1UVU1ANH3 and G386T1UVU1ANK3. Both of these are actually for MetroPCS even though they say T-Mobile.

The avant has an unlocked bootloader no matter what firmware version you are using. Also, one interesting thing that another member found out is that if you have the MetroPCS avant, the T-Mobile firmware works with both MetroPCS and T-Mobile without having to sim unlock the phone. This means you can buy a MetroPCS avant then flash the T-Mobile firmware and activate it on T-Mobile and save about 70bucks off the price that T-Mobile charges for the avant.

 

[rck01]

Actually, my main concern is with the carrier unlock. I paid my MetroPCS dealer to unlock my phone early so I could take it overseas. I bought it in Florida but am now in the Indian Ocean running with a new sim card from orange. I don't want to lose that capability by flashing a factory ROM.

Is there any risk of somehow borking the carrier unlock by flashing any of these ROMs?

Again, sorry if these are noob questions. I'm just trying learn as I go and hopefully avoid any known pitfalls along the way.

RCK

 

[Masterchief87]

I have no idea if or how it will affect that.

 

[rck01]

So I assume then that you're working with a carrier-locked device? One that's tied to either t-mobile or metro?

Wish I understood more about what is inolved in carrier unlocking, etc.

RCK

 

[Masterchief87]

Ya im on metro and dont really need to carrier unlock

 

[codenamesql]

[Edit] I just found out from ShabbyPenguin that Sammobile now has the newest firmware for both MetroPCS and T-Mobile for download and I decided to give it another shot and strangely it worked this time. CF auto-root and twrp both flashed and worked fine this time with no issues. Im still not sure what was going on earlier.

I did that OTA update to k3 as well.. had no problem with either cr-autoroot or TWRP recovery 2.8.3.0

Must have been a one off glitch that didn't take. Of course I had the sammy firmwares ready in case of samsungular meltdown..

 

[Masterchief87]

I did that OTA update to k3 as well.. had no problem with either cr-autoroot or TWRP recovery 2.8.3.0

Must have been a one off glitch that didn't take. Of course I had the sammy firmwares ready in case of samsungular meltdown..

Yeah I dont really know what happened but when I flashed cf auto-root it installed supersu but didnt install the su binary. Then when I flashed TWRP, it didnt stick. When I booted into recovery it went to the stock recovery. When i had the problems it was the k3 update for T-Mobile but this time when it worked I flashed the k3 firmware for Metropcs from sammobile. I really need to change the thread title considering that i only had that problem once and nobody else has at all.

 

[docfreed]

Yeah I dont really know what happened but when I flashed cf auto-root it installed supersu but didnt install the su binary. Then when I flashed TWRP, it didnt stick. When I booted into recovery it went to the stock recovery. When i had the problems it was the k3 update for T-Mobile but this time when it worked I flashed the k3 firmware for Metropcs from sammobile. I really need to change the thread title considering that i only had that problem once and nobody else has at all.

Not so fast! I had a slightly similar issue. I was originally on rooted ANG6 firmware and I ODIN'ed the ANK3 update (downloaded from Sammobile) and then ODIN'ed the CF-Autoroot. It took but I had to install supersu from the playstore and then install the binary - it rooted with no issues.
I'm about to install the TWRP 2.8.3.0 so I'll report back on how it went (I'm on T-Mobile).

EDIT: Just installed TWRP 2.8.3.0 with no hitches whatsoever. Making a nandroid backup as we speak and then for some tasty ROMS!

 

[Masterchief87]

Not so fast! I had a slightly similar issue. I was originally on rooted ANG6 firmware and I ODIN'ed the ANK3 update (downloaded from Sammobile) and then ODIN'ed the CF-Autoroot. It took but I had to install supersu from the playstore and then install the binary - it rooted with no issues.
I'm about to install the TWRP 2.8.3.0 so I'll report back on how it went (I'm on T-Mobile)

Just so you know you can also flash the recovery.img with flashify if odin doesn't work right.

 

[docfreed]

Just so you know you can also flash the recovery.img with flashify if odin doesn't work right.

I've never had an issue with ODIN (been flashing Samsung phones for many years) - I'm using ODIN 3.09 on Win 8.1

 

[codenamesql]

Obviously there's something to the k3 issue. Seems both of you had root prior to the update. Mine was *not* rooted prior. Perhaps SuperSU was a bit chapped at having to repeat himself.

 

[Masterchief87]

When I had the issue with cf auto root it was because supersu installed to the system but the su binary didn't. I flashed the newest available firmware and did a factory reset, then I accepted the k3 ota update. After that cf auto root wouldn't work and twrp wouldn't install. I flashed back to the previous firmware then flashed twrp and restored my newest backup to get root back.
After the headache I got from the problems with the T-Mobile k3 ota I stayed on the previous firmware for a little while. Then I found out that sammobile had the k3 firmware for T-Mobile and had just gotten the h3 and k3 firmware for metropcs. I decided to download both MetroPCS firmwares and flash the k3 update.
After flashing the MetroPCS k3 firmware I didn't have any problems with cf auto root or twrp. I havent tried with the T-Mobile firmware again since I have no need for it unless I want to use the phone on T-Mobile without having to pay to get it unlocked.

 

[codenamesql]

I have MetroPCS as well. Now that I have my nandroids, I think I'll play with the various versions of G386T and G386T1 FW and see if I can consistently repro the issue. Doesn't seem to be anything which can't be worked around, but still, it's apparently there. May a;s well discover why.

 

[afr33sl4ve]

I've got SuperSU 2.4 installed. Busybox refuses to see it. Using K3 firmware. My Galaxy Light didn't give me this bad of a headache. :\

 

[Masterchief87]

I've got SuperSU 2.4 installed. Busybox refuses to see it. Using K3 firmware. My Galaxy Light didn't give me this bad of a headache. :\

If busybox gives you a hard time you can uninstall it then try again. For me, that usually helps.

 

[afr33sl4ve]

If busybox gives you a hard time you can uninstall it then try again. For me, that usually helps.

I got it working with Busybox installer from GPlay.

 

[LormarTX]

Obviously there's some confusion as to what carrier-lock and unlock are/mean, and also what a locked/unlocked bootloader is. Carrier unlocking is also called SIM unlocking. MetroPCS/T-Mobile are the same company, and they use the same network and towers. So, in theory, you shouldn't have to have the phone carrier-unlocked to switch between the two, just swap the SIM cards out. Although if you're going to do this, I'd suggest having it carrier unlocked to be sure of no unpleasant surprises down the road.

T-Mobile will unlock the Avant for free as long as the phone is completely paid off. And just to make it as easy as possible, they also include a remote unlock app that will let you temporarily, or upon approval, permanently SIM-Unlock the phone, I would assume Metro does the same... On CDMA phones, the equivalent of this function is unlocking it with the MSL code.

All that said, flashing the firmware on your phone -may- re-activate KNOX, and it may also strip your root privileges but in my experience and as far as I know from what I've picked up over the last 4 years or so, it will -NOT- cause your phone to be SIM/Carrier-Locked again unless you completely obliterate all of the phone partition, radio, baseband, etc. information and completely "factory" flash it, which 99% of the time is absolutely unnecessary.

Although Samsung doesn't bother with the whole locking the bootloader business on most (if not all) of their phones. The only thing that I can imagine would cause an issue is KNOX, which the Avant includes in the stock ROM. There are multiple articles out on google regarding how to remove or disable KNOX, so I won't get into that. However, be aware, that part of KNOX is hardware based and uses circuitry on the system chip of your phone, so while you can disable it, you may not be able to prevent it from declaring your phone to be modified. I'm not sure if the software that removes the yellow bang from the boot screen on the older phones also resets the KNOX trigger.

Oddly, if you initiate a complete re-flash of your phone using KIES, it doesn't seem to trigger either of those items, only ODIN and custom-recovery flashing seems to set off the warranty alarm.

Does anyone know if Samsung still offers a single complimentary re-flash to factory firmware to developers or not?

 

[Masterchief87]

Flashing the firmware with odin didn't trigger Knox. Kies wouldn't work for me.