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Help Unrooting - Needing Samsung's firmware? Help please.

Kev 83

Newbie
Aug 24, 2015
11
2
I ordered my Galaxy S5 Mini direct from Samsung.

I rooted it & the phone turned out to be faulty anyway. So i can send it back for a refund but obviously it needs to be unrooted.

I flashed this with the o2 firmware since my carrier is o2, but now the startup has o2 branding over it whereas before it was unbranded.

Clearly Samsung are going to notice this & say it's been tampered with & wont refund me.

When i had a look at the list of available firmwares they were all carrier firmwares (o2, Vodafone, EE etc).

So how do i flash with the firmware that Samsung use so they can't tell?

It was v. 4.4.2 & i'm based in the UK.

Thanks.

EDIT: If it helps any, then i backed the phone up before i even rooted via KEIS.
 
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G800F/

Is this where you were looking for firmware? I'm not sure which one of those, if any, are unbranded but I'd think it exists.
Yeah that's where I got it from I think. There was a couple of sites actually.

Hopefully someone knows of an unbranded firmware so I can return this phone to Samsung.

Would it be worth sending it back with O2 firmware installed or will they just 100% refuse refund?
 
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My guess is they're gonna be able to detect the device was rooted,regardless.
Go to the bootloader & if you see a 0x1 in there,that's gonna tell Sammy the device has been previously rooted/non-stock firmware/etc... has at one time been installed.
Thanks. How do I do that (the boot loader)? I've only been an android user for a few days. :)

But would they do this? I read that simply unrooting will mean your warranty is no longer void as it is when rooted.
 
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Ahh thanks. I'll take a look when I get home from work.
So if it says KNOX WARRANTY VOID: 0x0 then it's ok
But if KNOX WARRANTY VOID: 0x1
Then it's game over?

I know nobody here will know exactly what Samsung would do but are they really going to go through this before issuing refund if it's no longer unrooted?

Even if they don't refund, I would still need an unbranded firmware to sell it as unlocked so i'd still kind of be in the same position (as needing unbranded firmware)
 
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I'll have a look tonight.

Does anyone know how to debrand the S5 mini?

I've done some googling but can't really find anything suitable.


On a side note: now I have flashed with O2 firmware will that mean the phone has become locked to the O2 network or will it still be unlocked as it was when it came direct from Samsung?
 
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Yeah that's where I got it from I think. There was a couple of sites actually.

Hopefully someone knows of an unbranded firmware so I can return this phone to Samsung.

Would it be worth sending it back with O2 firmware installed or will they just 100% refuse refund?

The one marked BTU is the unbranded one. (UK - BTU). It's the first one listed in the link I provided above...assuming you do in fact have an SM-D800F. If not, adjust the model.

Also, since you have a perfectly booting phone, you can use an app to check Knox status if you want.

Knox Status App

Phone Info Samsung App
 
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Yeah it functions.
It freezes too frequently (usually on the internet).
The keyboard is beyond laggy. Let's say i go to type "The Cat Sat On The Mat". It'll be...

The...e...e...e..e & then FINALLY it registers the e
Ca...a...a...a...a...a FINALLY it registers the a
& so on for damn near every word.

Again this is on internet apps - both browsers, hangouts, etc. Not the SMS app.

I try to load internet pages in either browser. They refuse to load. I have the correct settings installed. My iPhone had the most perfect signal it could get at work, others at work on my network with Samsungs have a perfect signal, yet the S5 mini would refuse to load pages.
Then it'd actually produce a google search result so i'd go to click a link & it just wouldn't load it at all.

Not a single problem with my iPhone (which i've gone back to today).

So no internet & a keyboard that doesn't work as it should. Very annoying.

Tried different keyboards, different launchers.
 
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No no, these are the problems.

To me that is faulty - it's not functioning as it should. I've tried another SIM in the phone also so it's not that. The phone should have working internet with correct settings installed. The phone shouldn't freeze so frequently. The keyboard shouldn't have those issues.

Not to forget the phone isn't even that old. It arrived last Thursday & i started using it Saturday.
 
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Thanks for that.

Yeah i may try my luck with Samsung. My only concern is if they reject it & send it back in a worse condition than what i sent it them.

Right now it has a tempered screen protector on it. I'd be bothered they'd remove it & the screen ends up marked/scratched up. As it stands it can be sold in as new condition.

Shame these things don't sell too good on eBay. Even old iPhones get snapped up. Bit of a struggle for these things though.
 
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I'd try a return (after flashing the correct firmware). If they don't pin the issues to root, which they shouldn't if it's on stock firmware, they very well may issue a replacement. The whole Knox trip thing is more a way to cover phones which the user clearly screws up due to mistakes made due to having been rooted. This is not being sneaky..the Knox trip is clearly visible but its otherwise on factory firmware which is root free and should function as designed.

Its no guarantee, but that has been my general obsevation from feedback others have shared in a similar situation to yourself. Its certainly worth a shot.
 
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Kolio - i tried them to be honest. They give a fraction of the cost. I'd be looking at about £80-£100 for a £225 layout. Quite a drop.

iowa - thanks :) I just hope this BTU firmware i've downloaded is the same as what was on when Samsung shipped the phone out as it's taken about 2:30hrs to download.

EDIT: Damn. The rar file failed. That was 2 hours wasted :(
 
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So, you would foist your broken phone off on some unsuspecting buyer?
Put it as "SOLD AS SEEN", but on Ebay like that, you'll only get a fraction of what you paid for it. If you try and pass it off as perfectly working, chances are the buyer will not be happy. Will leave negative feedback, make a complaint to Ebay, buyer will make a chargeback, etc.

Ebay protects the buyer, not the seller.
 
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