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Help My Samsung Note 3 won't update SOLVED

C

Cole G

Newbie
When I first got my Note 3, I decided to root it. But after about a day I didn't see any perks, so I removed it. A month or so later, i'm still stuck in MDF v1.0 Release 2, or Android Version 4.4.2
Any help at all works. I've tried factory resets, and the AT&T store wants me to call a hotline. But being that I rooted my phone, id prefer not to.
 
Let me restate this just to be sure everyone understood. I am no longer rooted, I have ran root checks and my phone is no longer rooted. I just want to normally update to the latest android OS
 
Cole G said:
Let me restate this just to be sure everyone understood. I am no longer rooted, I have ran root checks and my phone is no longer rooted. I just want to normally update to the latest android OS
Click to expand...
You can press full unroot to no end in SuperSU and yes it'll remove the binaries. And root checker will say not rooted. The device will not update via OTA due to the system being modified and it will say modified on the device.

The only way for you to update is to find the firmware version you want which will have to be higher or equal to what you have now. You have been linked to a page that contains alot of different variations, rooted, not rooted etc. Then you boot download mode and flash the firmware in Odin. The device boots up into the newer version and is like new when it boots. If it gets stuck on the Samsung logo etc. During boot then you would need to factory reset it.
 
Okay, let me completely restate all of this. I rooted my phone, and i dont want it to be rooted any more. So I unrooted it using the software I used to install it and everything was fine until a few months after that the latest software update was released. About 23% into the install it stops and reboots the phone. On startup it showed a notification saying it failed to update device. So what I want to know is how to update my phone to the latest version without trying to update my root like many of these threads suggest. An app called "Safestrap" tell me that my device is not rooted. I just want to update my device and finally be caught up with every one else
 
I rooted my Samsung Note 3 (AT&T) a while back, I didn't see the big deal for it so I un-rooted and saw no issues with my device for some time. When the next software update was released I downloaded it as soon as I could, 23% into the installation, it skipped to the reboot. On startup my device said it failed to update and put me on my way. Now i'm almost three years behind on software and i'm starting to get ticked off. Factory reset has done nothing, and most of these threads have told me to update my root which is not what i'm looking for. Any advice at all would be nice
 
These are the tar files for stock 5.0 OC1 that you can flash with Odin.
AT&T doesn't release their firmware updates. This is probably the best you are going to find.
 
Jfalls63 said:
These are the tar files for stock 5.0 OC1 that you can flash with Odin.
AT&T doesn't release their firmware updates. This is probably the best you are going to find.
Click to expand...
So this should update my phone to Lollipop? What do I do when marshmellow is released?
 
The easiest would be the all-in-one/Non-wipe tar file. Download the file from the link.
Put phone in download mode and connect to Odin
Select the AP slot.
Locate the file you downloaded and select it.
When Odin checks everything and is ready,press start
 
Jfalls63 said:
The easiest would be the all-in-one/Non-wipe tar file. Download the file from the link.
Put phone in download mode and connect to Odin
Select the AP slot.
Locate the file you downloaded and select it.
When Odin checks everything and is ready,press start
Click to expand...
What do you mean by download mode? I have my phone plugged in and USB debugging on as well
 
To put phone in download mode from off.
Press and hold the volume down + home +power till you see a warning screen then release all buttons.
Press volume up to continue into Odin/download mode.
 
Cole G said:
I rooted my Samsung Note 3 (AT&T) a while back, I didn't see the big deal for it so I un-rooted and saw no issues with my device for some time. When the next software update was released I downloaded it as soon as I could, 23% into the installation, it skipped to the reboot. On startup my device said it failed to update and put me on my way. Now i'm almost three years behind on software and i'm starting to get ticked off. Factory reset has done nothing, and most of these threads have told me to update my root which is not what i'm looking for. Any advice at all would be nice
Click to expand...

Without knowing exactly what error the OTA was getting, it's difficult to be sure that your previous rooting and related activities are the cause of the OTA installation failure, but it's likely that they were.

An OTA (over-the-air) software update will have cross-checks in it that ensure that the files that it will patch was completely stock and match what is expected. Unless your un-rooting involved re-flashing your stock setup, it's likely that you had/have a modified file.

Not being a Samsung "guy", I can't tell you your steps for getting you back to stock, but I could offer to move your thread to the SG S3 root area for you--lemme know if you'd like me to do that.

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Be sure to read the thread at the XDA link. May have answers to any questions you might have and you can see if anyone had any problems/issues and how to solve them.
 
Just a quick pop-in to let everyone know that I've merged Cole's two recent threads (the newest one just had his post #8 above and my reply in post #18.

You're in great hands w/@Jfalls63, so I'll just sit back in the shadows :).

Cheers!
 
Jfalls63 said:
To put phone in download mode from off.
Press and hold the volume down + home +power till you see a warning screen then release all buttons.
Press volume up to continue into Odin/download mode.
Click to expand...
My device says its downloading and Odin says its working on System. Anything else?
 
If flash is successful, phone will reboot and you will get a green PASS in the upper left of Odin screen. You can disconnect phone then and start setup.
 
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