Help Your device has been modified. Software updates are not available - Please help!

jonj

Lurker
Hi

I recently purchased a Galaxy Note II on ebay (GT-N7105). When I try updating I get the error "Your device has been modified. Software updates are not available". When I check under the phone status it says "modified". Even when I connect it to my laptop the device doesn't get recognized.

Could anyone let me know why this might be the case and what I can do about it.

Many thanks
 

AlexRayquaza

Android Enthusiast
This means that either you rooted,installed a custom ROM,kernel,or recovery, or deleted some bloatware.

The only way to fix is to go complete stock and try again.
 

jonj

Lurker
Thread starter
The only way to fix is to go complete stock and try again.

Many thanks. Could you please give me some guidance as to how I would go about doing that. I've never owned a Samsung phone before so don't know much about them.
I basically want to return the phone to how it is when you first buys it so I'm able to get software updates, etc.
 

jonj

Lurker
Thread starter
What did you do to it exactly?

I bought it on ebay a couple of days ago. I didn't really do anything to it. Just tried updating for for the first time today and I got this message. Then tried connecting it to my laptop and it doesn't get recognized.
 

JunBringer

Android Expert
I also bought mine from eBay and it says the same thing. Can anyone link me to somewhere to get mine back to complete stock as well?
 

DonB

♡ Truth, Justice and the American Way !! ♡ ™
Moderator
If you guys bought it from eBay and they did not mentioned if the phone had a clean ESN or if it was rooted I would simply file a claim, who knows what they did to the phone. Before buy any phone used, you need to have the phone checked out to make sure it is clean, it is the biggest scam on the net these days, especially from Craigslist.
 

JunBringer

Android Expert
I don't have any other issues with it though. It works great on AT&T and T-Mobile, so I'm sure he at least unlocked it.
 

drexappeal

Extreme Android User
If you guys bought it from eBay and they did not mentioned if the phone had a clean ESN or if it was rooted I would simply file a claim, who knows what they did to the phone. Before buy any phone used, you need to have the phone checked out to make sure it is clean, it is the biggest scam on the net these days, especially from Craigslist.

Well, before filing a claim, I'd send a message directly to the seller first, to see if they had rooted the phone or made any sort of modification.

Just from my own personal experience with fraudulent buyers in the past, filing a claim right away, without contacting the seller, does more harm than good (assuming the seller is legit).
 

Sepero

Linux Guru
The method for unrooting your phone will be different depending on the version of Note 2 you have.

AT&T
T-Mobile
International
other
 

leftstrat

Newbie
The only way to get rid of this problem is to unroot your Note, and take it back to a stock ROM. I found a couple of step-by-step guides. If you are unsure of how to do this, you might want a smartphone savvy friend or coworker to do this. You also take the chance that you may wind up with a paperweight, if done wrong.

How to Unroot Samsung Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100 to Official Firmware [GUIDE] - IBTimes UK

How to unroot Galaxy Note 2 to Stock Official Firmware

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1939758

Hope this helps.
 
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