Android firmware Hack/Update

Hornetzero · May 12, 2020

Hello everyone,
So this is the sequel to this thread:

https://androidforums.com/threads/low-battery-life.1318473/

I figured that my phone has reached its maximum usage life, but I wanted to experiment changing its firmware and possibly replacing the old Jelly bean firmware it has to the relatively recent lollipop 5.1. On doing so, I came across this page:

https://www.xda-developers.com/update-firmware-any-samsung-phone/

The issue is that I can't find the firmware for my current model which is:

Model version: SM-N7505
Baseband version: N7505XXUANAC
Build number: JSS15J. N7505XXUANAD

I looked into possible ways to hack the phone's firmware and applying the firmware from another SM-N7505 but what I got from that was that my system would get "bricked".

Anyone familiar with this can shed some light?

ocnbrze · May 12, 2020

have you looked at sammobile?

just look for your country
https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-note-3-neo/firmware/#SM-N7505

and i would not used the word hacked. to gain control over your device would be to root your phone. but this will not apply to other device's firmware. firmware is very device specific and will definitely soft brick your phone.

svim · May 12, 2020

Go here and select the ROM that matches your country and carrier:
https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-note-3-neo/firmware/#SM-N7505
The sammobile site claims to only provide verified, valid stock Samsung ROMs so they should be untainted and sourced from the OEMs. Be sure to select the correct ROM, they are not interchangeable. If you do try to experiment with an incorrect ROM you might get lucky and just soft-brick your phone (and then you need to re-flash with the correct ROM) but if you're not lucky you might hard brick it.
When you select one, the resulting download page has basic instructions on the flashing process.

-- Use a quality USB cable to do the flashing.
-- Try to avoid using a USB hub and just plug your cable directly into a USB port in your PC
-- You 'might' have issues using the latest version of the Odin utility. Odin has had issues when it involved really dated hardware so if you run into a problem it might be less of a hassle to just use an older version. The most recent version might be fine but you can get older version from here and select the one specified for Lollipop:
https://www.droidviews.com/download-odin-tool-for-samsung-galaxy-devices-all-versions/
-- If you don't have access to a Windows PC (Odin is a Windows utility), look into Heimdall. It's an Open Source equivalent to Odin and available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. It's not an exact clone though so be flexible, some menus aren't the same but functionally is does the same thing.
https://glassechidna.com.au/heimdall/
-- If you already have Samsung's Smart Switch (or the older Kies) installed on your PC, you should go into the Process Manager and be sure to kill its process. Use either Smart Switch or Odin but not at the same time. They tend to conflict with each other. Since they do essentially the same thing they use the same system resources.

MrJavi · May 12, 2020

Forgive me, It might be slightly of topic but it is a "hacking/update" .

https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-neo/development/rom-noblerom-t3307389

Hornetzero · Mar 15, 2021

I realize I'm coming back late on this but life's been rough due to the COVID outbreak. Couldn't even get the chance to replace this phone so I have to make do with clean installing its OS and testing if that helps it function better.

Thank you everyone for your responses, but getting back to this thread:

Go here and select the ROM that matches your country and carrier:
https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-note-3-neo/firmware/#SM-N7505
The sammobile site claims to only provide verified, valid stock Samsung ROMs so they should be untainted and sourced from the OEMs. Be sure to select the correct ROM, they are not interchangeable. If you do try to experiment with an incorrect ROM you might get lucky and just soft-brick your phone (and then you need to re-flash with the correct ROM) but if you're not lucky you might hard brick it.
When you select one, the resulting download page has basic instructions on the flashing process.

This device came from UAE apparently, but I don't see the build number and base brand version match in any of the listed selections. Not that it matters since I'm thinking of trying something new.

What if I opt for LineageOS? would that work on my Android 4.3 version? There is no clear indication that it would.

-- Use a quality USB cable to do the flashing.
-- Try to avoid using a USB hub and just plug your cable directly into a USB port in your PC
-- You 'might' have issues using the latest version of the Odin utility. Odin has had issues when it involved really dated hardware so if you run into a problem it might be less of a hassle to just use an older version. The most recent version might be fine but you can get older version from here and select the one specified for Lollipop:
https://www.droidviews.com/download-odin-tool-for-samsung-galaxy-devices-all-versions/
-- If you don't have access to a Windows PC (Odin is a Windows utility), look into Heimdall. It's an Open Source equivalent to Odin and available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. It's not an exact clone though so be flexible, some menus aren't the same but functionally is does the same thing.
https://glassechidna.com.au/heimdall/
-- If you already have Samsung's Smart Switch (or the older Kies) installed on your PC, you should go into the Process Manager and be sure to kill its process. Use either Smart Switch or Odin but not at the same time. They tend to conflict with each other. Since they do essentially the same thing they use the same system resources.

I'm unfortunately having difficulty in the backup phase... how does one back up an old android's Phone contacts, SMS? Same with Whatsapp;I was hoping that the data would be stored online for that one, but apparently its also tied to the phone's memory somewhere.

svim · Mar 15, 2021

A good backup and restore solution for Samsung devices is to use Samsung's Smart Switch utility:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/app/smart-switch
but since you're apparently thinking of skipping on using a stock Samsung ROM that might not be so seamless and effective. Maybe look into the SMS Backup and Restore app to back up text messages and phone call logs. (note that attachments are not included)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en_US&gl=US
WhatsApp includes its own backup/restore function in its app:
https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-back-up-to-google-drive/?lang=en

Since you're apparently looking into something other than Samsung's stock ROM
(note you should have been looking for a ROM to match your country and carrier, not for an exact match to build or base I.D.s)
But whatever. Check if your phone is supported:
https://download.lineageos.org/

Hornetzero · Mar 17, 2021

A good backup and restore solution for Samsung devices is to use Samsung's Smart Switch utility:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/app/smart-switch
but since you're apparently thinking of skipping on using a stock Samsung ROM that might not be so seamless and effective. Maybe look into the SMS Backup and Restore app to back up text messages and phone call logs. (note that attachments are not included)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en_US&gl=US
WhatsApp includes its own backup/restore function in its app:
https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-back-up-to-google-drive/?lang=en

Alright thanks. I managed to backup my stuff.

Since you're apparently looking into something other than Samsung's stock ROM
(note you should have been looking for a ROM to match your country and carrier, not for an exact match to build or base I.D.s)
But whatever. Check if your phone is supported:
https://download.lineageos.org/

Here however, I'm having problems. I tried searching to determine if my phone is supported or not. Nothing in there indicates that as such. I also joined discord channel for lineage and asked about this there. Unfortunately no one responded.

Android firmware Hack/Update

Hornetzero

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ocnbrze

DON'T PANIC!!!!!!!!!

svim

Extreme Android User

MrJavi

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Hornetzero

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svim

Extreme Android User

Hornetzero

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