Hey everyone. I'm an Android newb and would appreciate it if you could help me to make sure my understanding is correct before I do anything. I've spent a dozen plus hours reading forums and am no stranger to the Linux CLI, so please be as detailed as you like.
I bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 [SPH-L710] from Virgin Mobile to see if I liked the Android platform as a test before buying a top model. It hasn't been activated yet, but Kies tells me the firmware is L710VPUBMK5. My understanding is that this is 4.3 JB, which means it already has the Knox bootloader and software. It also gives me the option to update to NDC for the PDA, Phone, and CSC. My understanding is that this would correspond to 4.4.2 Kit Kat. Since Knox is already present, is there any reason not to upgrade?
I would like to be able to install different ROMs. Am I correct in my assumption that if I want to install a custom recovery, like Phil's Touch, CWRM, or TWRP, there is no way to avoid tripping the Knox warranty flag?
Part of my confusion comes seemingly conflicting information. In this guide http://galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-root/how-to-root-galaxy-s3-on-android-4-34-4-2-new/ to root the phone, it uses a custom recovery to install SuperSU, which then roots the phone and disables Knox. Am I correct in that he means it disables the Knox software, but that the Knox bootloader has still been tripped?
On the other hand, I also came across "saferoot". http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758 This says that the phone can be rooted *without tripping the Knox warranty flag*. Does this refer to the bootloader and is this actually correct? If it is, would I still need to install a custom recovery in order to try out different ROMs (and thereby trip the Knox flag anyway)? If saferoot does not trip the Knox flag when rooting the phone, is there a way to install custom ROMs without a custom recovery?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I RTFM and couldn't get the clear answers I need. Thanks for reading all this, and I greatly appreciate any help you can offer.
I bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 [SPH-L710] from Virgin Mobile to see if I liked the Android platform as a test before buying a top model. It hasn't been activated yet, but Kies tells me the firmware is L710VPUBMK5. My understanding is that this is 4.3 JB, which means it already has the Knox bootloader and software. It also gives me the option to update to NDC for the PDA, Phone, and CSC. My understanding is that this would correspond to 4.4.2 Kit Kat. Since Knox is already present, is there any reason not to upgrade?
I would like to be able to install different ROMs. Am I correct in my assumption that if I want to install a custom recovery, like Phil's Touch, CWRM, or TWRP, there is no way to avoid tripping the Knox warranty flag?
Part of my confusion comes seemingly conflicting information. In this guide http://galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-root/how-to-root-galaxy-s3-on-android-4-34-4-2-new/ to root the phone, it uses a custom recovery to install SuperSU, which then roots the phone and disables Knox. Am I correct in that he means it disables the Knox software, but that the Knox bootloader has still been tripped?
On the other hand, I also came across "saferoot". http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758 This says that the phone can be rooted *without tripping the Knox warranty flag*. Does this refer to the bootloader and is this actually correct? If it is, would I still need to install a custom recovery in order to try out different ROMs (and thereby trip the Knox flag anyway)? If saferoot does not trip the Knox flag when rooting the phone, is there a way to install custom ROMs without a custom recovery?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I RTFM and couldn't get the clear answers I need. Thanks for reading all this, and I greatly appreciate any help you can offer.