Root [Virgin Mobile] [GUIDE][MK5][WIP]Rooting MK5 4.3 for Newbies!

[TheBritton]

thanks, i'm downloading that now, knox app remover did nothing for me as it does not remove the boot loader which I think is the root of the problem..no pun intended..

Well, the Knox bootloader is not removable. You are stuck with it forever. I hate to say it. But the Knox bootloader should not be keeping you from rooting. I have the Knox bootloader and I am rooted as are many others.

Did you reflash the SuperSU zip after flashing the Knox bootloader?

 

[ajnycguy]

thanks, i'm downloading that now, knox app remover did nothing for me as it does not remove the boot loader which I think is the root of the problem..no pun intended..

One does not simply remove the Knox Bootloader.

 

[struckn]

One does not simply remove the Knox Bootloader.

Best reply I have seen in a while! Go Lord of the Rings!

 

[photostar808]

ok, I followed the instructions , when I try and run SU it gives me this error message "there is no SU binary installed and SuperSU can't install it This is a problem. If you just upgraded to Android 4.3 you need to manually re-root, consult revenant forums for you device"

Pretty much where I was before MK5 update...

 

[ajnycguy]

ok, I followed the instructions , when I try and run SU it gives me this error message "there is no SU binary installed and SuperSU can't install it This is a problem. If you just upgraded to Android 4.3 you need to manually re-root, consult revenant forums for you device"

Pretty much where I was before MK5 update...

Which rom are you flashing? If your flashing the odexed version try flashing the deodexed version. I have the bootloader and I did the deodexed version, WiFi fix(some need this, other don't), supersu (1.80), Knox remover and it worked with no errors. (Maybe not the problem but I figured I'd throw it out there)

 

[jdsingle76]

ok, I followed the instructions , when I try and run SU it gives me this error message "there is no SU binary installed and SuperSU can't install it This is a problem. If you just upgraded to Android 4.3 you need to manually re-root, consult revenant forums for you device"

Pretty much where I was before MK5 update...

It's not the odex/deodex but must likely your recovery. Are you using Philz? If not, flash that from cwm recovery and reboot into philz and try again.

 

[jdsingle76]

Feel free to post a link to this...just thought since so many people liked the recommendation, I might as well make it easier to find Enjoy

http://androidforums.com/boost-mobi...ouch-recovery-6-0-11-24-13-a.html#post6320806

 

[photostar808]

thanks, that was the problem, Philz did the trick CWM couldn't fix, got tethering working too, oh happy day!

 

[severme]

oh my gosh. I accidentally got to step 9 without putting the files on the card. idiot.

I can't believe I forgot. I was so rushed. Is there anything I can do to boot up and get those files on there... or did I really screw the pooch?

**update: Thanks TheBritton, after I stopped panicking I figured it out, and did just what you recommended. All seems well, just need to reinstall some apps and hopefully full success!

 

[TheBritton]

oh my gosh. I accidentally got to step 9 without putting the files on the card. idiot.

I can't believe I forgot. I was so rushed. Is there anything I can do to boot up and get those files on there... or did I really screw the pooch?

It's no problem. If you have already wiped system, data, and the caches, then pull the battery, take out the sdcard and put it in a reader and insert into computer and put them on there. Replace card and boot into recovery then proceed. If you haven't wiped anything yet then just reboot and put them on the card. The recovery might not stick after the reboot so you might have to reinstall the recovery with Odin again and proceed once again

 

[severme]

I have repeated all the steps twice. Note I had to install the WiFi fix because wifi stopped working. The second time I didn't install the newer modem because I don't think it's needed.

After both times I've done this my phone rejects my 64 sandisk memory card. "SD card safe to remove". I tested the card in a friends s3 4.3 non rooted and it works fine. But everytime I boot, it's rejected immediately. I know no one else has posted this. Sadly, I don't know what else to do.

**update**
I found a link online "Galaxy S3 exFAT support removed Build BVALF4". Now that's not my (our?) build. But it seems that the s3 has some problems with exfat in some builds. I only mention this because my friend's Sprint 4.3 non-rooted reads it just fine. I don't have access to a pc to dump the files and reformat the card as fat32. I will when I get the chance, but I am sad that this rooting process has disabled the exfat capabilities, even if it was buggy (as the interwebz says).

**interesting update**
booting into recovery (philz) I can read the card just fine. This begs more answers to even more questions!

 

[TheBritton]

I have repeated all the steps twice. Note I had to install the WiFi fix because wifi stopped working. The second time I didn't install the newer modem because I don't think it's needed.

After both times I've done this my phone rejects my 64 sandisk memory card. "SD card safe to remove". I tested the card in a friends s3 4.3 non rooted and it works fine. But everytime I boot, its rejected immediately. I know no one else has posted this. Sadly, I don't know what else to do.

I had issues with the 64gb as well. You might back up the cards data and format the card to fat32 instead of exfat.

Also, what version of android are you on? This is the guide for MD7 and MG2 but you refer to a Wi-Fi fix indicating you are using MK5. So I'm confused as to what build you are on and what guide you are following..

 

[severme]

My apologies. Yes I posted to the wrong guide. Using philz recovery... I think there's an issue with removing exfat compatibilities. moving to that section. sorry!

 

[TheBritton]

My apologies. Yes I posted to the wrong guide. Using philz recovery... I think there's an issue with removing exfat compatibilities. moving to that section. sorry!

No problem I'll move these posts for you

 

[ssethv]

Finally Got ROOT! First, when trying to open ODIN, i kept getting the error that tmaxx.dll was not installed. I tried doing this on 3 different computers when I realized that I needed to extract all of the files first. once I did that I could actually start the process of rooting. next I used root checker and my phone kept saying that I didn't have root access. All I had to do was go back into recovery, wipe cache, then into advanced settings and wipe dalvik. then I reflashed superSU, rebooted and ran root checker. BOOM! all is good now! Thank you soo soo much for this thread. I will be coming back here often

 

[ssethv]

Can I Flash any sprint/Virgin rom now? OR can I only flash MK5 roms? Would it hurt my phone if I now flash an MK3 rom? Sorry if this isn't posted in the right section.

 

[struckn]

Can I Flash any sprint/Virgin rom now? OR can I only flash MK5 roms? Would it hurt my phone if I now flash an MK3 rom? Sorry if this isn't posted in the right section.

Didn't see it in your posts, are you Knox-free or not? Makes a difference in what advice we can give here.

 

[ssethv]

Didn't see it in your posts, are you Knox-free or not? Makes a difference in what advice we can give here.

I bought my phone a few days ago and it immediately updated to 4.3 with knox. I used this Thread to gain root access on my phone. I am now running CM4.4.1.
I am a little confused, do I or don't I have Knox. I would assume that I do.

 

[TheBritton]

I bought my phone a few days ago and it immediately updated to 4.3 with knox. I used this Thread to gain root access on my phone. I am now running CM4.4.1.
I am a little confused, do I or don't I have Knox. I would assume that I do.

Upgrading to 4.3 via OTA or receiving a phone shipped with 4.3 does in fact have the Knox bootloader.

You are free to flash roms no matter what version as long as they do not contain bootloaders (most do not)

Do NOT downgrade firmware via Odin as Odin package do in fact contain bootloaders.

In short, the Knox bootloader will brick your phone if you try to downgrade it to a non Knox bootloader. Other than that, you're fine.

 

[struckn]

Britton is absolutely correct, as always. FYI, I just updated my thread on CM 11 to supply the latest CM 11 nightly which I have modified for personal use, they are now on 4.4.2 to reflect Google's most recent change.

http://androidforums.com/virgin-mobile-galaxy-s3-all-things-root/802604-cyanogenmod-10-2-stable-release-official-cm-11-upcoming-edit-its-here.html

In case you want to check out the "latest and greatest" with all the dirty work already taken care of!

 

[ssethv]

In case you want to check out the "latest and greatest" with all the dirty work already taken care of!

I flashed it and am running it now. I have a question, in order to get into PhilzCWM I have to shut my phone off and get into it with the volume up method. Isn't there a way to access it through an app while the phone is on? Also, when I press the power button it doesn't give me the option to reboot into recovery. Is there a way to fix this too? Sorry to sound like a noob. I knew my thunderbolt inside and out. this phone is a bit different.

 

[struckn]

I flashed it and am running it now. I have a question, in order to get into PhilzCWM I have to shut my phone off and get into it with the volume up method. Isn't there a way to access it through an app while the phone is on? Also, when I press the power button it doesn't give me the option to reboot into recovery. Is there a way to fix this too? Sorry to sound like a noob. I knew my thunderbolt inside and out. this phone is a bit different.

You can enable the extended reboot method several ways, I go into settings and then at the bottom of the list under Developer Options, it may be "hidden" until, and trust me because this sounds weird, but select About Phone and press the Build Number line repeatedly until you get a notification that "You are now a developer!"

Update: just looked, on CM11, go to Settings and choose Buttons and then Power Menu.

 

[ssethv]

You can enable the extended reboot method several ways, I go into settings and then at the bottom of the list. It may be "hidden" until, and trust me because this sounds weird, but select About Phone and press the Build Number line repeatedly until you get a notification that "You are now a developer!"

Update: just looked, on CM11, go to Settings and choose Buttons and then Power Menu.

Thank you so much! After I enabled the hidden developer menu I accessed the newly unveiled developer options under settings and then chose enable recovery through power button. I love this phone even more.

 

[struckn]

When I get home from work tonight I will let you know what else can be done under Developer Options, I like using Tapatalk but some things I really just need my computer for!

Update: Ok, so the main other thing that can be enabled in Developer Options which is of use, besides the ADB Debugging option, is to adjust the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale to ".5x" this should help conserve resources so that the cpu doesn't have to do extra work to make your animations and transitions appear "amazing" or whatever. Some devs recommend going to zero on those settings, but .5 works for me. Can't really give a truly "technical" explanation besides that, but have seen it suggested enough that it is now one of the first settings I adjust when flashing a new ROM. Also, enabling Developer Options unlocks Performance Options as well, if you are running the kernel that came with the ROM, then this is all you need to change governors and schedulers. For custom kernels, you will need more than just this function, but that is another topic entirely.

 

[JeebusJones]

Hey, everyone. I