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June 8, 2012 By: Will Verduzco
By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the Samsung HardBrick bug that has reared its ugly head on various Samsung Exynos 4210-based devices including but not limited to the Galaxy Note GT-N7000, Epic 4G Touch, AT&T Galaxy S II, and the Korean SHW-M250S/K/L. In fact, we recently featured an app made by XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire aimed at determining your particular device’s risk for hard brick.
Samsung is aware of the issue, which was first noted by Elite Recognized Developer Entropy512, and is in the final stages of delivering a solution. Until then, however, it is still advised to not flash any leaked kernels, or kernels in which MMC_CAP_ERASE is present.
As seen on a Google+ post by XDA Elite Recognized Developer codeworkx:
We’ve contacted Samsung about the problem where performing a mmc erase could hardbrick your phone (i9100, i9100g, n7000, m250 – MAG4FA, VYL00M, and KYL00M with firmware revision 0×19 // T989 and I727 with fw rev 0×12) if it’s having a faulty emmc chip.
Read this thread for more informations about it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1644364They’re working as hard as possible on a clean solution which will be ready soon.
Please be patient and try to not flash any leaked kernels or kernels based on sources where MMC_CAP_ERASE is present.
In fact, earlier today Samsung contacted me to inform the community that progress has been made. In addition simply releasing a fix in the form of updated stock firmware, Samsung is also working with community developers to provide them the information they need to fix the issue in their own releases. This is important because binaries or patches released to end users require extensive (and time-consuming) testing. This way, however, developers can begin to incorporate the fixes as soon as possible.
We’re thinking two steps to provide.
One is to share the information that open source developers can use to fix the problem.
The second one is the patches applicable for both Official Samsung ROM users and Custom ROM users.Due to our duties to provide more complete binaries to our customers, our patches require the full testing, which takes longer time.
That’s why we want to share the information first.
Good job, Samsung! It is commendable to see not only your team’s efforts to fix the issue, but also work with the community to ensure that the fix is disseminated as quickly as possible!
Those looking to learn more should head to the discussion thread started by XDA Forum Member androidindian.
[Image taken from egzthunder1's fantastic article on the matter.]
June 6, 2012 By: Will Verduzco
By now, we’re all familiar with the hard brick bug that’s plagued various Samsung when updating to leaked builds of ICS. The bug has shown up on various Samsung Exynos 4210-based devices including the Galaxy Note GT-N7000, Epic 4G Touch, AT&T Galaxy S II, and the Korean SHW-M250S/K/L.
However, as we quickly found out, not all eMMC revisions were equally afflicted. Instead, the 0×19 revision was highlighted as known bad, whereas the 0×25 is thought to be safe. Revisions between 0×19 and 0×25 are thought to be possibly bad, whereas those newer than 0×25 are probably safe. Adding insult to injury, those keen on hex will be quick to notice that 0×19 converted to decimal is 25!
Naturally, someone was bound to create a simpler way of determining the status of your device, and that someone is XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire. With his new app Got Brickbug, users can easily check their device to see their risk status for the hard brick bug. As explained by Chainfire himself:
Attached is a simple APK that reads out your chip’s type and CID, and lets you know if we know that chip is dangerous or safe.
Just uninstall again after using.
Obviously, this comes “as-is”, we’re not responsible what you do with your device, etc. No rights can be derived from the output of the program!
Internal data used:
MAG4FA, VYL00M, or KYL00M fwrev 0×19 –> known bad
MAG4FA, VYL00M, or KYL00M fwrev >= 0×25 –> probably safe
MAG4FA, VYL00M, or KYL00M fwrev != 0×19 && < 0×25 –> probably bad
Everything else: unknown chip
As this is relevant information for any flashaholic, we recommend you head over to the application thread to test your device.
[Image stolen from egzthunder1's fantastic article on the matter.]
June 6, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
While going from one iteration of Android to the next, there’s a lot of exciting things that can happen. You get new features, a new UI, new apps, and just the overall good feeling of having something new. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some frustrations that come with new versions of Android. Sometimes, features you enjoyed may have changed, and not be how you remember them. Even worse, sometimes features you enjoyed can disappear entirely. This is now happening on the International Galaxy Note, as users upgrading to ICS have lost their ability to use WiFi calling. Annoying? Yeah. Can it be fixed? Oh yeah!
XDA Forum Member mrcasmir has released a new method for ICS users only that will restores WiFi calling—all you need to have is root access. The method involves modifying the framework-res.apk to allow SIP, which in turn allows WiFi calling. That’s not all the mod does though. Some other new features users will get include:
Enables internet call (Wifi & 3G)
Enables all orientations (your phone rotates all round)
Rotating Lockscreen (Landscape + Portrait)
Screen stays off on USB/Charger disconnect
Tablet like dialogue boxes
Users can apply this mod by pushing the included .XML file to the defined location and then push the modified framework-res.apk to its proper place and reboot. Simple as that. Users can either ADB push these files—which requires ADB knowledge—or they can use their favorite root explorer application to copy/paste and set the appropriate permissions. It’s highly recommended to make a backup, just in case something goes wrong.
For additional information and download links, check out the original thread.
May 28, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
For many Android fans who have been around the site for awhile, especially for flashaholics, you may have heard of wipe scripts. If you have not, many devices have a script somewhere that, when flashed in a recovery, will wipe your data, cache, dalvik-cache and system partitions for you so you don’t have to traverse the various menus to do it yourself. They are extremely convenient, and many flashers keep one in their flash folder to prepare for the next flash. In the recent past, users have been coming up with more effective and complete ways of removing old ROM clutter. So what about old kernel clutter?
Just like flashing ROMs, kernels can leave clutter as well. With that in mind, XDA Senior Member jblanc has developed a script for the International Galaxy Note that will clean all that clutter for you. Like many of the ROM cleaner and wipe scripts, the kernel cleaner script comes in a recovery-flashable update.zip. So, what does a kernel cleaner script find and remove? Says jblanc:
- cache
- dalvik-cache
- some init.d scripts
- modules that might be left from older kernel
- cache
- dalvik-cache
So much like the ROM wiper scripts, the kernel cleaner script removes just junk left over from previous flashes. In terms of init.d scripts, it only searches for and removes a few. XDA Forum Member jayGGjay was kind enough to list them here.
For more info, head on over to the script thread.
Sometimes, applying tweaks to an Android device can be a pain. With a plethora of installation methods from flashing via recovery and manual build.prop editing to activating scripts via ADB or the Terminal Emulator, finding a tweak and using it can be cumbersome for some. Additionally, once you start going on the admittedly addictive frenzy of putting scripts, tweaks and mods on your device, it’s hard to remember which ones you even installed sometimes. For those carrying the International Galaxy Note, there’s an app looking to solve all of these problems and more.
Carbon Tweaks by XDA Forum Member carbonassassin looks to fix this by giving users the ability to pick and choose which tweaks, script, and mods to apply to their phones, and giving users the option to remove them as well. It also carries a few other fun options such as backing up your init.d so users can save configurations they like, and it includes some popular mods such as Ultimate RAM Manager and the Dolby Sound Library. There are only a couple of issues, but they don’t have anything to do with performance. The browser will open to download the various tweaks for users and the shout outs list isn’t updated. The shout outs list will be updated with the next version, though, so those seeking credit need only be patient.
For more info, head over to original thread to get your tweak on.
May 20, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
It’s almost assumed that when the stock firmware is released for a highly anticipated device, developers will jump through hoops to make it work for their devices. As is the case with the Samsung Galaxy S III firmware, which was leaked yesterday. Developers have been getting their hands on it to give the users of their phone some SGS III love. Of course, it is assumed that the first thing to start making its rounds around the forum would be Samsung’s S Voice.
Originally posted for the International Galaxy Note by XDA Senior Member Zanr Zij, which showed that S Voice worked on the Note and probably many other Samsung Galaxy S devices, the S Voice has begun slowly making its way from device to device as users figure out whether or not it works for them.
Fortunately, XDA Senior Member dolcedavinci was brave enough to give it a shot and found out that the proprietary Samsung app actually does work on the HTC One S. And of course, this means that it doesn’t require any Samusng-specific framework and will likely work on many, many other devices as well. Installation is simple, just install the apk and give it a whirl.
For additional information, check out the Galaxy Note thread where you’ll find the download link to the apk for S Voice. You can also check out the One S thread to see it working for the HTC phone. Since you can just install the app like any other apk, and thus uninstall it easily, there’s no risk in trying this for yourself on your own device!
May 18, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
While mounting NTFS may not be the first feature users line up for when buying an Android phone, it can certainly be useful at times. For those out there who may be thinking of mounting an NTFS USB key or hard drive to their Android devices, you actually now have an app for that.
XDA Forum Member Kwull has release NTFS Mounter that does what it says and automatically mounts NTFS drives when plugged in. Currently, the app is known to support the Samsung Galaxy S II I9100, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, and the International Galaxy Note. However, to work on these devices, the user must be running a rooted ICS ROM with a kernel that has the fuse driver. For people who don’t feel like looking, you can use the CF-Root Kernel by XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire on the Galaxy S II. Says Kwull:
2. The app installs ntfs-3g if it does not exist in the system
3. App receives MEDIA_NOFS event and tries to mount all unmounted /dev/sdXXX devices as NTFS volumes
4. Does not mount NTFS formated SD card, yet
One of the most interesting planned features is to one day allow users to format their external SD cards using NTFS. This will eliminate the low file size limit in FAT32, and may even help performance in certain cases.
To get started, visit the original thread.
May 17, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
In most cases, getting an upgrade to a new version of Android is exciting. It usually ushers in numerous bug fixes, performance enhancements, new UI elements, and a whole new experience with the device than what people are used to. That said, sometimes it can be a real pain when a new version of Android comes out because a number of bad things can happen. For starters, you may loose root, along with the exploit used to acquire root. Secondly, the new version of Android may be a little buggier than you would like. This is why there are downgrade guides—so users can get back to an older version for whatever reason.
This is the case for the International Galaxy Note, as users who installed the LPY ICS update or received their phone with the update preinstalled cannot simply flash back to Gingerbread if they so choose. This would be a serious problem if there were nothing they could do, but luckily there is. XDA Senior Member thehackersz has released a tutorial to downgrade users from LPY Ice Cream Sandwich back down to Gingerbread safely. The guide is easy to follow, as it simply involves flashing a number of things over ODIN and a custom recovery. Do pay attention to the order though, as flashing in the wrong order can be detrimental to the health of your Note.
There is, however, one thing to take into consideration. Some users have reported that using PC ODIN to flash has bricked their phones and that XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire‘s Mobile ODIN is the way to go. Of course, there are also users who’ve bricked their phones using Mobile ODIN, and recommend the PC version. So be warned that there could be serious risk when attempting this method as, you may brick your device if you’re not careful.
For additional information, make sure to visit the original thread.
Update: Due to issues some flashers are having with this method, we recommend that users wait for a more foolproof method in the future.
It has been just a couple of days since we brought you news of the International Galaxy Note getting ICS, along with news that the update had been repacked and released for everyone. However, with every new iteration of Android comes a new challenge, and that’s rooting the new firmware. For some devices this can take months, leaving early adopters of new firmware releases without root. Thankfully, for the International Galaxy Note, this isn’t an issue.
XDA Senior Member deathst has released a root method for the ICS update for the International Note that doesn’t increase the phone’s binary count. While we already covered a method of rooting the newly updated device, this would have increased your flash count. Now users can root without worry.
The root method requires users to download ClockworkMod recovery and the root files. Then users boot into the stock recovery, flash the ClockworkMod update.zip, boot into the new ClockworkMod recovery, and flash the rest. Even if we knock Samsung for their plastic build quality, you’ll have a hard time beating how easy it is to obtain root on their devices. After flashing root access, users will boot back into their phones, and the whole process takes a total of about 5 minutes.
For the full method is available in the original thread.
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