Monday, July 8, 2013

Rooting and unlocking your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 phone in WINDOWS. From start to finish! (root Samsung Galaxy S4 SCH-I545)



DISCLAIMER: ROOTING YOUR PHONE WILL PROBABLY VOID YOUR WARRANTY FROM BOTH THE CARRIER AND THE MANUFACTURER FURTHERMORE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF PERMANENTLY DAMAGING YOUR PHONE, IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ACCEPT FAULT FOR ANY ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ROOTING, THEN DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS A FICTIONAL SCENARIO WHICH MIGHT JUST HAVE COINCIDENTALLY HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE!



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I have put a lot of time into these blogs,
and after all this time, all I ask in return is you go to the Android Play Store and download my app "VIP Blackjack 21" and rate it. Please, it will only take you 10 seconds, consider the endless hours I put into these blogs through trial and error.

Here is the direct link: 
VIP Blackjack 21
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This is a guide to help those trying to unlock and root their Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 Phone.

Here are the steps and sites I used to accomplish this task, and I hope my experience can help you guys out.

The following steps are from the great people at xda-developers.com and androidcentral.com, a great place to find Answers you can not find anywhere else.

a) Download Samsung Drivers if you do not already have them. It is an Exe file: DOWNLOAD

b) Run what you just downloaded, to install the drivers.

c) Download the ODIN3 Software, this software lets you flash (which means write to the hardware of your computer which is normally not possible) your phone. The file you are downloading is compressed, which means you need to first uncompress it. DOWNLOAD

d) Extract (Uncompress) the folder you just downloaded, and run ODIN3 which will be one of the files inside the folder you just extracted.

NOTE ODIN3 is an Executable File, which means you do not install it, you just click on it to run it.

e)  Now we need to download the file VRALEC Bootchain. This file will be used by to allow us to flash (using the ODIN3 software) a customized recovery image on to your phone. DOWNLOAD


f) We need to now download the Super User Package to grant us Root. DOWNLOAD

NOTE: This package is a compressed zip file. DO NOT UNCOMPRESS THIS FILE, YOU NEED IT TO BE COMPRESSED.

g) Connect your phone back to your computer, and copy the zip file you just downloaded in step u, to your phone's External SD card. (SuperSU_Bootloader_FIXED.zip for example, will be the name of the file that you will copy over)


Section - The process of replacing the Recovery Image.


NOTE: What an image is, is simply a snap shot of a harddrive, sort to speak. Someone who has advanced knowledge of the Android OS, created a snap shot of their Phone "Harddrive" (firmware) so that others could simply replace their current Android OS, with the customized one.


h) Turn off your phone. HOLD DOWN the Volume Down Key,  Home Key, and the POWER down key. As soon as the phone Vibrates release the POWER button only. Once the ODIN Screen comes up, release the other two buttons and hit the Volume UP key.

i) Now connect your phone to your computer using your USB Cable.

j) Now on your computer, bring up ODIN3 and click on PDA, this will bring up a file selector. You want to select the VRALEC Bootchain you just downloaded (VRALEC.bootchain.tar.md5 for example).

WARNING: DO NOT CLICK ANY CHECK-BOXES, YOU  WILL DAMAGE YOUR PHONE.

NOTE:  After you select the file, the box next to the PDA button should now be populated with the location of the file: C:\Users\yourname\Downloads\VRALEC.bootchain.tar.md5.

k) Now UNCHECK the Auto Reboot option, which is located to the middle left

l) Now locate the Start button, located below the PDA button.

WARNING: DO NOT UNPLUG YOUR PHONE OR TURN IT OFF DURING THIS PROCESS.

m) Once its complete, unplug your phone and take out the battery. DO NOT Turn off your phone yourself, just unplug it and take out the battery while its still on.

n) Once the phone has been unplugged and the battery has been out for at lest 20 seconds, place back the battery. IMPORTANT! We need to go to Recovery Mode, when the computer first starts up, otherwise you need to repeat the steps starting from step "f)" all over again.

Section - Installing the Super User files (SU) to grant us Root access.

o) We now need to get into Recovery mode again. To get into Recovery mode follow these steps; Turn off your phone. Push and hold down the Volume UP Button,  Home Button, and the POWER Key. As soon as the phone Vibrates release the Power Button only.

NOTE Once you see "Recovery Mode..." at the top left of the screen you can let go of the buttons.

l) Once you are in recovery mode, select "- install zip from sdcard" 

NOTE: We need to first turn off signature verification so we can install the SU package

m) Click on "toggle signature verification"

Note: Once you click on this, you will see all the way at the bottom "Signature Check: Disabled"
If you see "Signature Check: Enabled" that means if was already off, and you re-enabled it, just click it again to disable it again.

n) Then click on "- choose zip from sdcard"  

n) Then click on "0/"  

o) Now find the file you downloaded and copied over. (SuperSU_Bootloader_FIXED.zip for example) and select it.

NOTE: if you can't see the file, you may need to scroll down, to find it.

Sigh... this is a long process.... I am past step z!

p) Click on "- Yes - Install SuperSU_Bootloader_FIXED.zip"

q) After its finished, a you will see the menu again. Click on "++++++ Go Back+++++++"

r) Click on "- reboot system now" your system should now be restarting.


YOU ARE NOW ROOTED!

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