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

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ajnycguy said:
Answers :)

1. One does not simply remove the Knox Bootloader.

2. A custom recovery only contains a "recovery.img" which is why its OK to use Odin to get a recovery on the phone. Do not use Odin for anything else though as there is a chance you can brick the phone. You can flash any custom ROM over the custom recovery as long as it doesn't have a custom bootloader most don't so don't worry about it. I suggest *Philz Recovery BTW ;). USE ODIN FOR RECOVERY AND RECOVERY ONLY.

3. Yes! I unfortunately I took the OTA as well and was able to root and I'm currently running **CM11! Like I said in #1 though you will still have the Knox Bootloader.

4. When you flash the unknoxed version (I suggest deodexed if your into customizing the ***stock ROM a lot) you WILL trip the Knox Bootloader not to fret though because you will have already tripped it by using Odin to get your custom recovery at this point and you will still have the Knox Bootloader. The ROM will not have the Knox apps installed.

Hope this helps! I updated via OTA as well so if you have any questions I can help you along the way seeing that we both GOT KNOXED UP!

* Link to Philz Recovery Thread by jdsingle76
** Link to CM11 Thread by struckn
*** Link to Stock 4.3 w/out Knox which also has the MK5 modem and WiFi fix by jdsingle76 and
TheBritton
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AJ, very, very nicely done! I don't feel any need to clarify or add to this, you knocked this out of the park my friend!! Very happy to see that we have a new consultant on hand, thanks as well for your responses to the "Am I screwed" thread.
 
jdsingle76 said:
Yes, nicely done aj....nicely done indeed
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TheBritton said:
Yes, thank you! I've been out all day shopping.

Headed to bed now but I'll be around tomorrow roaming the threads ;)
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struckn said:
AJ, very, very nicely done! I don't feel any need to clarify or add to this, you knocked this out of the park my friend!! Very happy to see that we have a new consultant on hand, thanks as well for your responses to the "Am I screwed" thread.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys :thumbup: I'm here to help!
 
ajnycguy said:
Answers :)

1. One does not simply remove the Knox Bootloader.

2. A custom recovery only contains a "recovery.img" which is why its OK to use Odin to get a recovery on the phone. Do not use Odin for anything else though as there is a chance you can brick the phone. You can flash any custom ROM over the custom recovery as long as it doesn't have a custom bootloader most don't so don't worry about it. I suggest *Philz Recovery BTW ;). USE ODIN FOR RECOVERY AND RECOVERY ONLY.

3. Yes! I unfortunately I took the OTA as well and was able to root and I'm currently running **CM11! Like I said in #1 though you will still have the Knox Bootloader.

4. When you flash the unknoxed version (I suggest deodexed if your into customizing the ***stock ROM a lot) you WILL trip the Knox Bootloader not to fret though because you will have already tripped it by using Odin to get your custom recovery at this point and you will still have the Knox Bootloader. The ROM will not have the Knox apps installed.

Hope this helps! I updated via OTA as well so if you have any questions I can help you along the way seeing that we both GOT KNOXED UP!

* Link to Philz Recovery Thread by jdsingle76
** Link to CM11 Thread by struckn
*** Link to Stock 4.3 w/out Knox which also has the MK5 modem and WiFi fix by jdsingle76 and
TheBritton
Click to expand...

Thank you Ajnycguy, I will let you know if I need additional assistance. It is very nice of you to offer. I am just glad these samsung phones are easier to root/ROM compared to some HTC devices. The paper clip shorting to remove encryption always seemed a little ridiculous to me.

I will probably give this a go over the New Years period. Just waiting a few weeks to test the stock out and make sure I have no hardware issues before I go Voiding warranties.
 
A big thanks to all, finally got my phone upgraded to 4.3 using this method.

1) The MK5 rom download kept petering out on me after about 250 Mb. Took 4 attempts before connecting to a mirror that - a. didn't say it would take >6 hours, and - b. actually downloaded the whole file.

2) Had to flash both the modem and the fix before wi-fi would connect.

Now back to reinstalling everything - but I look at it as a time to prune out apps I no longer use. Always look on the bright side of life... (whistle)
 
Thinking about installing this rom but have a couple of questions. 1. Is it normal to have your build different from your baseband? Phone was brand new and got ota 4.3 update and I installed 4.1.2 through restore with philz after a soft brick. (First time with custom roms) 2. Will this rom give me a MK5 build and baseband?
 
The baseband is your modem. If you were on MK5 4.3 and you flashed a 4.1.2 rom, your baseband will still remain at MK5. The basebands should be flashed separately from the roms.
 
Just want to make sure I have this correct. I have already taken the 4.3 OTA and tripped Knox as well. Can I still follow the instruction here and flash Philz and the Rom so I can get Root?
 
ahoslc said:
Just want to make sure I have this correct. I have already taken the 4.3 OTA and tripped Knox as well. Can I still follow the instruction here and flash Philz and the Rom so I can get Root?
Click to expand...

Yes. Just follow the first post as it was written specifically for us who did the 4.3 OTA or purchased the phone with 4.3 already. TheBritton did a very great job on the instructions.

So how did you trip knox already? ODIN a recovery?
 
I find the initial post potentially misleading. The thread talks about rooting the S3, but in the instructions, we're told that we will install SuperSU and the MK5 rom.

But what if you just want to root? Why install a new rom just to root? Am I missing something?
 
Also, if I were to install the MK5 rom w/o KNOX, would that allow me to use software that checks KNOX? So for example, if my company's software checks KNOX, and I have the MK5 rom w/o KNOX, could I use my company's software on my phone?
 
as far as ur first post, yes you can achieve root on the bone stock phone the guide just took it a step further to make everything easier, cause you'll need to have custom recovery anyway to flash anything and that trips the Knox sensor so since its already tripped "for most users atleast, may be different for you" why not install a stock ROM so you can customize things you normally couldn't

as far as the second question I have no idea about, I'd wait till someone with more knowledge on it answers before you do anything
by if I remember correctly I believe the answer is no, cause while the phone still has Knox all apps for it have been removed
 
Thanks for the response. Re-reading my post, I see that I might have come across as wondering why you would install a rom just to root. That wasn't quite what I meant. I was just wondering if we had to. Thanks for clearing things up.

As a side note...I've flashed custom roms on all my previous phones, but I think the S3 rom might be good enough to where I'm not anxious to deal with any headaches that often come with custom roms. Just my two cents, of course.
 
completely stock the s3 is still an very nice phone, and its always good to run with the " if it ain't broke don't fix it" saying lol

for me personally I tend to go with a few ROM usually simply for customization, I really really don't like that you can't change the colors on a stock android and as someone else said in a different thread and i agree android for some reason seems to choose some nice colors but then it seems like they sat around like what other color could we use that will clash so badly with the standard color that itll actually hurt ur eyes trying to read I'm like isn't this open source lol arnt you's all about the users and them playing with and customizing thing oh except this....this....this...and that over there lol

also I Hate Hate Hate that they sometimes make it so u cannot uninstall shipped with the phone apps, of course now with root and apps you can but non root bone stock they basically force you to have all that stuff

then of course later down the road you'll start seeing Roms with better battery, signal,etc
 
Flashed this back when it first came out everything worked great until this morning. My phone is randomly turning off and restarting every 10 minutes or so i cant seem to figure out why. Did a hard reset, wiped all cache im just confused, and reflashed rom. Can someone else me :(
 
Hello folks I've read through the forum and I don't see my situation listed. I have the S3 but it is not activated yet with VM. My contract with Boost ends in Feb and I'm wanting to start rooting the phone and such to get my data from my prior EVO 3D moved to it. Is there any issue rooting before activating the phone? I don't want to go to try to get it activated in Feb and have VM deny me because the phone is rooted. Thoughts or suggestions?
 
BEER3O said:
Hello folks I've read through the forum and I don't see my situation listed. I have the S3 but it is not activated yet with VM. My contract with Boost ends in Feb and I'm wanting to start rooting the phone and such to get my data from my prior EVO 3D moved to it. Is there any issue rooting before activating the phone? I don't want to go to try to get it activated in Feb and have VM deny me because the phone is rooted. Thoughts or suggestions?
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Shouldn't be a problem. You can just make a nandroid of your rooted ROM, then flash an unroofed stock ROM.
 
Exactly like up convert said just wanted to throw some info at ya as well

Rooted/Unrooted phone shouldn't matter when activating, only thing is it must be the stock VM software to activate not a rom

So as up convert stated you can put a custom recovery on
Then, nandroid backup your stock phone
From here I believe you could just root the stock phone and be fine
Or you could go full custom ROM which will be rooted and have your nandroid backup of stock for activation
 
Tokens210 said:
Exactly like up convert said just wanted to throw some info at ya as well

Rooted/Unrooted phone shouldn't matter when activating, only thing is it must be the stock VM software to activate not a rom

So as up convert stated you can put a custom recovery on
Then, nandroid backup your stock phone
From here I believe you could just root the stock phone and be fine
Or you could go full custom ROM which will be rooted and have your nandroid backup of stock for activation
Click to expand...

So just to be sure I'm clear on this. What I want to do is steps 1-8 and then on step 9 only install the SuperSu.zip file not the MK5 rom file. Then do a nandroid backup ... right?
 
BEER3O said:
So just to be sure I'm clear on this. What I want to do is steps 1-8 and then on step 9 only install the SuperSu.zip file not the MK5 rom file. Then do a nandroid backup ... right?
Click to expand...

Correct, the nandroid is gonna be like most with a random number and date name so I'd say change it to something like 100% stock rooted and besides leaving a copy on our SD I always suggest placing a copy on our PC in case u accidently format SD or in case it gets corrupted

Then youll have a stock phone with root ready to activate, and a backup of it

So then if u wanna put a custom ROM u can but if ur activating soon I'd suggest waiting, makes it much easier on you

Also while I'm on the SD card subject, ur probly gonna wanna go with fat32 format, this phones stock ROM can't really handle exfat even tho it says it does, once u have a custom ROM and kernel I believe it can handle it but I've just been leaving mine on fat32 for the time being

Also avoid the OTA update while on stock(if you didn't download it already) the update brings the phone to android 4.3 but also installs Knox boot loader, you can still do everything even if u have Knox you just need to be careful that nothing you flash has a boot loader included if u indeed do have knox
 
Tokens210 said:
Correct, the nandroid is gonna be like most with a random number and date name so I'd say change it to something like 100% stock rooted and besides leaving a copy on our SD I always suggest placing a copy on our PC in case u accidently format SD or in case it gets corrupted

Then youll have a stock phone with root ready to activate, and a backup of it

So then if u wanna put a custom ROM u can but if ur activating soon I'd suggest waiting, makes it much easier on you

Also while I'm on the SD card subject, ur probly gonna wanna go with fat32 format, this phones stock ROM can't really handle exfat even tho it says it does, once u have a custom ROM and kernel I believe it can handle it but I've just been leaving mine on fat32 for the time being

Also avoid the OTA update while on stock(if you didn't download it already) the update brings the phone to android 4.3 but also installs Knox boot loader, you can still do everything even if u have Knox you just need to be careful that nothing you flash has a boot loader included if u indeed do have knox
Click to expand...

Yeah my SD is already fat32 so I'm good to go there. The phone came with 4.3 already on it so I'm guessing I've got knox. I did look in the download mode and there isn't anything with 0x0 or 0x1. The last two lines are:
Warranty Bit: 0
BOOTLOADER AP SWREV: 1
 
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