Help How to flash a Galaxy S4 to Boost?

[Pepsik4os]

My friend has a Samsung Galaxy S4 that he doesn't use. He said he would sell it to me if I was able to flash it over. The thing is I don't know how to flash it over. I've done research and I can't seem to find what a "donor phone" is. Can anyone give me all the steps I would need to do this? Also I've tried looking for an msl but it doesn't let me do it I don't know if it is because this phone is 4.3 android instead of 4.1 but if anyone could help me with this as well it would be great help. Also please list the software I would need to use for flashing. Are there any free ways? Also flash it to be able to use full 4g service, multimedia messaging, text messaging, and calling.

 

[Rukbat]

Is it a CDMA phone or a GSM phone? (IOW, what carrier is it on?) You can't flash the hardware, which is different in the two technologies.

 

[ironass]

Thank you for your post. However, there are currently 18 different models of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and over 1,000 different stock Samsung firmware versions covering 3 different Android platforms. Not all issues affect all models or firmware releases and your answers to the following 3 questions may help in the forum's answers to your specific query.

#1 Could you post your Model number and Android version...

To locate these, go to...

Settings > More > About device > Model number and Android version

This will give you the model of Samsung Galaxy S4 that you have and which Android version you are on.


#2. Your current Firmware version, (not baseband)...

To locate your current firmware version, go to the dial pad and type in...

*#1234#

This will give you your, "Version", details in full, usually 3 lines of information which may all be relevant.


#3. Also helpful would be your carrier, (service provider), and if your phone is rooted and running a custom ROM.


Thanks. The above helps us to help you and hopefully someone will be able to reply to you shortly.



(Tip: You can go to the green bar at the top of this forum and click on, "User CP", which will take you to your User Control Panel and then select, "Edit your details", under the heading, "Your profile", on the left hand side. Here you can fill in your model and firmware under, "Current devices", in, "Additional Information". This ensures that your device details are shown under your user name on the left, in every post you make. You can update this as often as you like and will help other users immediately identify your current phone and firmware details.)

 

[Pepsik4os]

I believe it is a GSM it has a SIM card. It is from sprint. Does it have to be CDMA for it to work?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Make sure it's it's a CDMA phone (Verizon, Sprint, etc.). A GSM phone, like from AT&T or T-Mobile, will not work. I have no personal experience with it, but this method sounds promising:

 

[Pepsik4os]

So here are the details
1. The Phone used to run on Sprint and is now deactivated and I want to flash it to Boost.
2. I looked for the firmware and it says
AP : L720VPUEMK2
CP : L720VPUEMK2
CSC : L720SPTEMK2
3. The phone has a SIM card I do not know if it is gms or cdma I looked that up and it said that if it had a sim card it was gsm

 

[Pepsik4os]

Make sure it's it's a CDMA phone (Verizon, Sprint, etc.). A GSM phone, like from AT&T or T-Mobile, will not work. I have no personal experience with it, but this method sounds promising:

So all sprint phones are CDMA?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I believe it is a GSM it has a SIM card. It is from sprint. Does it have to be CDMA for it to work?

Just saw your post after I posted. You better verify what your friend actually has, because CDMA does not use a SIM.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

So all sprint phones are CDMA?

Based on this, I would say YES.

 

[Pepsik4os]

Just saw your post after I posted. You better verify what your friend actually has, because CDMA does not use a SIM.

well then it is a sprint phone that has a sim card

 

[Rukbat]

All Sprint and Verizon phones are CDMA for talk and text. They use a SIM card for data. So the old "SIM is GSM, no SIM is CDMA" rule no longer applies.

Whether you can put a Sprint phone on Boost is actually up to Sprint (since it owns Boost, and the phone will be operating on the Sprint network) - it depends on the ESN (electronic serial number) of the phone. And changing the ESN is a federal crime in this country (illegal cloning of a cellular device).