Help Samsung Galaxy s5 Active (sm-g870a)

[KJohns]

I can't seem to get this darned device working properly.. Phone was having boot loop issues after receiving the lollipop update so here is what I tried:

1) factory reset - did not fix the issue.
2) re-flashed stock firmware (the only available was 4.4.2 from sammobile) which worked after a reset and clearing cache from recovery menu.
2a) downloaded and installed the ota update to 4.4.4, still working at this point.
2b) downloaded and installed ota update to 5.0, this bricked the phone.

I tried flashing the stock firmware again and this time it wont make it past the at&t logo. ive tried factory reset, flashing in both Odin and in Kies. Can't seem to get this thing booted up. If anyone could spare a moment to help me out with this i'd be extremely grateful for the assistance.

[edit: the device is completely stock, no root, its got stock recovery etc.]

 

[KJohns]

ok... after hours of trying to fix it i think i got it figured out. I was finally able to get it to boot up by grabbing the 4.4.4 fota update and placing it onto an external sd card and sideloading it from recovery. This got the phone to a bootable stage. After this i began encountering the s5 random reboot issue these things are notorious for. To fix this I went into developer options and switched from dalvik to ART. Once all of the apps were done optimizing its been running flawlessly with no reboots. (a huge improvement over the rebooting every 15 seconds it was doing before.)

Hopefully this information helps someone else that is experiencing some or all of the issues i was, because i was about to give up on it lol.

 

[Mikestony]

Nice, but did you ever get it to 5.0?

 

[KJohns]

Nice, but did you ever get it to 5.0?

Yessir, after the sideload and switch to art i took the fota lollipop update and it worked like a charm. Was wracking my brain for hours trying to get it to work - when in actuality the solution/execution portion took 15 -20 mins . Go figure.

 

[Jill Campoy]

ok... after hours of trying to fix it i think i got it figured out. I was finally able to get it to boot up by grabbing the 4.4.4 fota update and placing it onto an external sd card and sideloading it from recovery. This got the phone to a bootable stage. After this i began encountering the s5 random reboot issue these things are notorious for. To fix this I went into developer options and switched from dalvik to ART. Once all of the apps were done optimizing its been running flawlessly with no reboots. (a huge improvement over the rebooting every 15 seconds it was doing before.)

Hopefully this information helps someone else that is experiencing some or all of the issues i was, because i was about to give up on it lol.

I have no idea what you are saying but could you come fix mine now, providing you actually have yours up and running properly? This phone is a joke.

 

[KJohns]

I have no idea what you are saying but could you come fix mine now, providing you actually have yours up and running properly? This phone is a joke.

still need help? I hadn't logged in for a while

 

[JustinBC2]

still need help? I hadn't logged in for a while

Where can I get the ota update to 4.4.4 ? Already have the ota update to 5.0 from 4.4.4, but One of my g870a is still on 4.4.2.

Thanks

 

[kicknfree]

Good Morning Everyone!
Hopefully we are still up and running here! I have the Samsung G, S5 Active g870a, factory unlocked with AT&T Splash.
Is stock with 4.4.2
Build #KOT49H.G870AUCUOANG3
KERNEL VERY ION
3.4.0-2304514
dpi@SWDD 5506 #1

******make note here! IMPORTANT FOR GAINING ROOT TO THIS PHONE!***********

Friday July 25, 19:09:29 KST 2014

I DO BELIEVE I FOUND A WAY TO GAIN *****ROOT**** AND *****KEEP ING IT*****
AFTER OMG LONG HOURS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATING!
I'll copy and paste the method that from about 4 sources all compiled together, yeah talk about
I NEED A VACATION!
PLEASE
Letc me know ASAP. If anyone has COMPLETLY. .. rooted and updated to lollipop or CUSTOMER ROM.
Something in my GUT has me concerned with this. ...
I'm going to copy n paste method that like I said quite a few beat the crap outta GITHUB to come up with this. From reliable sources, I got a confirmation of the ***SICK TRICK*** TO JUMP THE SM-G870A HURDLE!

Message me if you have other methods.

thank you to everyone in here in ADVANCE! Knowledge is power, with that POWER....... the unknown is reachable!

 

[Jfalls63]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/att...w-to-update-to-g870aof2-5-0-keeproot-t3161733

This is the guide I used. Worked perfectly.

 

[kicknfree]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/att...w-to-update-to-g870aof2-5-0-keeproot-t3161733

This is the guide I used. Worked perfectly.

Did you have the build dated before or after July 25,2014? I heard that makes a hell of a difference when attempting root...? I'm still on stock 4.4.2. And haven't gotten any updates at all because I know the issues they cause, hence if you update to 5.. You have to ODIN back... according to what I've read...on 4.4.2 towelroot is supposed to work but it said it wasn't able to..
Please advise

 

[Jfalls63]

Not sure of the build date,didn't write it down. When I took it out of the box and powered up it was 4.4.2 NG3. Followed the guide (note 5) and flashed the NE4 Tar with Odin. You can still downgrade if on NG3. Rooted with Towel Root then followed the rest of the steps to update to 5.0 OF3. I have the OC5 bootloader so I can still downgrade if needed.
The guide works if you follow the steps correctly. If you are already on 5.0 OF2 or OF3,your stuck with no way to root.