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Bad news everyone! I've been hearing more from people in places associated with Samsung, and it is becoming more likely that this KNOX status is indeed an eFuse. I might talk to some Samsung guys myself this weekend, if there's anything interesting about that, I'll let you know.
Worse than that, I've also been hearing that service center instructions are indeed that devices with this status tripped will not receive any warranty repairs. (Of course, the action they take may still depend on the service center). Their excuse is that the hardware is damaged by the owner. Seems Samsung is catching up in scumbaggery to HTC, who years ago attributed my HTC Diamond's screen damage (digitizer detached) to the installation of HSPL :)
To anyone in the know it is obvious that this doesn't really fly, and the eFuse blowing (is this the hardware damage?) is intentionally done by the bootloader when unsigned software is loaded. One could even argue against the legality of that under EU regulations.
Anyway, of course there's that EU regulation (1999/44/CE) that is generally interpreted so that rooting/flashing may not break hardware warranty. As I've said again and again, this may be true, and you may be legally entitled to free repairs but this doesn't necessarily mean they'll actually repair your device.
Warranty needs to be provided by the seller, not by the manufacturer. The shop will usually depend on the manufacturer's warranty, though that's really none of your business or concern - your deal is with the seller. The shop will send you (or your device) to a service center, which may not be OEM operated or owned (but licensed instead) and are furthermore under no obligation whatsoever to repair your device if they don't want to. And if their instructions say to not repair in case X, then they will not, as the OEM will not reimburse them for the parts.
The shop will just tell you that the OEM says your breakage isn't covered by the warranty, and that will be that. You will have to slap said shop around a bit with EU regulations, and possibly take them to court before they will repair/replace your device. Even if you take them to court, and if you win (I've not seen or heard from such a case winning yet), you'd just be hurting the shop, it has no effect on the OEM, and you've probably spent a lot more time and money than you would've just buying a new device.
Only the OEM wins in this scenario, which is pretty sad, really.
Of course, I am not a lawyer, so take all this with a grain of salt.
+Chainfire I've fought with my telco (Telmore, Denmark) over hardware warranty after Sony denied said warranty on a bootloader unlocked Xperia Arc. I have documentation on winning said dispute and will publish it for everyone to use if so desired.
My case was based on the 1999/44/CE EU regulation .
Seems all the more reason to go for a Nexus next time for me.
+Sven Frenzel why yes, this would be most helpful!
Your assessment of the legal implications in practise is pretty accurate.
+Chainfire my current documentation consist of quiet a few emails, but I just asked my contact at Telmore to write up a brief but complete description of the case. I will publish said document if I ever receive it. If not I will publish the necessary emails.
Triangle..knox bootloader..region lock..whats next ?! I am done with samsung !!
Hell, I'm glad I decided NOT to go the Samsung way anymore. I just bought a cheap Chinese Android phone (iOcean X7). Performance-wise it's ok, and I paid about 1/3 of a Samsung device. I probably won't get any software updates, but that happens with Samsung anyway after a while (my old Note is still at 4.0.x).
Hi Dude
why I did not flag "Knox" on my SM-N900 purchased Samsung Store in Morocco?
Good but why, when I installed the application Knox!?
Root with your CF Auto-root ;)
look : https://plus.google.com/photos/104886045107775954436/albums/5932676982763261393
+Bogdan Sladaru there is an official 4.1 update for the original note ;)
+Sven Frenzel Thanks, I'm sure many will appreciate it!
+Sven Frenzel not available in my country :), thanks to Samsung.
+Bogdan Sladaru bad luck!
+Sven Frenzel nope, not bad luck. Stupid Samsung.
Of course I can install the firmware via Odin, but there's the risk of bricking my device. If the brick would happen via the OTA update, then I could go to the service and tell them "it's your fault, fix it". If it happens via Odin, it's my fault.
+Bogdan Sladaru sadly that's correct!
I hope this doesn't have a knock on effect on the price I receive for recycling my SGS4 because my Knox warranty is void. I was hoping to cash it in for cash towards the nexus 5. If the recycling companies get wind of this it may cause the price of any Knox warranty voided device to plummet!
Samsung...what kind of shit storm have you kicked up!?
Simple answer. don't buy Samsung anymore. that is the only thing that will convince them to stop. I planned on getting a note 3 but now I won't.
Quite worrying, especially since people are having crooked home buttons and multitouch issues with their note 3. This was my first Samsung device (Unless the Galaxy Nexus counts) and it may well be my last.
Thanks for the report!
Can I ask what is Samsung doing? To its hardware to brink it?
+Chris B Samsung isn't "bricking" (I presume that's what you mean) anything. Inside the processor (or other hardware component) there is (theoretically) a thing called an "efuse". Think of this as a tiny bit of flash memory that you can only ever write to once. It stores a single bit of data and starts off as 0. Samsung's bootloader checks the status of the data on the phone (Kernel, ROM, recovery, etc.) and if it detects a custom or non-official one, it sets this little bit of data to 1. Remember, you can only do this once, it's very similar to a real fuse (like what you'd find on an power lead) except it cannot be replaced. Once it's blown, it's blown. It has absolutely no impact on the hardware though, everything still works as before, just the efuse has a value of 1 instead of 0. They're used in lots of things, such as Xbox 360's, which has a whole bunch of efuses and will occasionally "blow" them to prevent people from flashing an older version of the firmware (which might have an exploit in it).
+Tommy Wooding Jr Yes
+Chainfire what dose this mean for us canadians .....I mean we don't have a boot loader locked... Why treat the american version different then the Canadian variants?
+Anthony Djekic this has nothing to do with bootloader locking. I'm talking mostly about European Note3's here, not American. I think most American models have the KNOX warranty void status as well, so the situation is pretty much the same - but I don't know if the US or Canadia have any laws against this BS like the European Union.
+Chainfire well, the EU might have laws against this, but to be honest I prefer not to buy a +Samsung Mobile device anymore. I don't wanna spend 1 year in courtrooms just to force them to give back my money, I need a phone in that period of time too. And I'm sure most of the people think the same.
+Steve Donaghy Thanks Steve, by the way I am a communication Technician/Engineer. I understand Chips and flashing. I just did not think Samsung would go so low as fuse their chips.
+Steve Donaghy good at surface mount soldiering too.
+Bogdan Sladaru I'm not advocating for or against buying Samsung phones. I'm just spreading the information.
If I ever have a non functioning note 3 with a triggered efuse, I would make the device non bootable (soak in water) and turn into insurance for replacement. If device is impossible to power up they will not see efuse blown.
I wonder how long until someone releases a modified bootloader that just has the Knox string changed to always be 0x0?
Is this if you download Knox or what? I have a Note 3 and have chosen not to install the app. Am I good?
+Chainfire I know, I just said that me, after 2 Samsung devices, decided I won't buy another Samsung in the near future, and I'm convinced I'm not the only one.
I understand their concern regarding possible bricking because of wrong updates, but that's one thing to refuse the warranty for a device bricked by a wrong software update, and there's a completely different story to refuse warranty for ALL devices just because you installed a non-signed firmware.
I mean, they could refuse to replace your broken USB port because you did a non-signed update :)
+André Möller shame as they're otherwise quite well made devices, what would your non-HTC, non-Apple recommendation be out of the current swathe of options?
Oppo
I have full faith in devs like, +Chainfire , to figure out a way around this. Please let us know how your talks with the Samsung guys go, if you do indeed get a chance to talk to them
+Neil Shephard I went with a noname Chinese Android phone and I'm quite happy with my choice.
Just look for some reviews and verify that the phone is physically ok (doesn't rattle, the back closes ok without gaps etc).
The latest Chinese phones are usually based on the MT6589 chipset, with at least 1Gb of RAM and pretty decent internal storage; also most of them support an additional micro SD card and usually dual SIM (if you need that feature).
The processing power is normally more than enough. You don't have the best GPU, but if you don't play 3d shooters it should be ok (for example, I play Anomaly Warzone Earth on my phone and it's more than decent; also it doesn't heat that much as my previous Note).
The pros are that it's much cheaper (usually 1/2...1/3 of a Samsung phone).
The cons are that you probably should forget about service (you usually have a period when you can ask for another device if the one you receive is DOA), but that would happen with new Samsung devices anyway if you flash your own ROM.
Also software upgrades might be an issue (e.g. I don't know if they will ever make one), but if you're into flashing your custom ROMs you'll probably search for an unofficial ROM anyway. On the other hand, Samsung isn't that fast at pushing updates either.
+Jason Blasi this might be an issue that can't be solved by software....
+Bogdan Sladaru Cheers for the info/ideas, will do some market research when I get round to upgrading the S2 (don't mind flashing firmwares).
This maybe a good thing.. if samsung are trying 2 get android into the bussiness world. They really need a secure way of doin it like ios has.
How do I know if I have Knox on my phone...can someone please help so I know before I root. I have XXUBMG4
+Andy Cullis This is half of what is happening. Second half is described above...
I should add on my Galaxy I9505
I know its a pain atm but if android does become into the bussines market it wont be such a bad thing. Maybe when samsung reach there business market and business trust useing android then maybe they wil relax a bit. They need to push very hard to get business enterprises to trust and use android.
Thanks for the write up. making it easier for us to understand
Hey +Chainfire , how do I know if my s4 has Knox on it
+Andrew Battistella XXUBMGA and earlier do not have it. It would appear you do. Reboot into download mode if you have the Knox stuff on your screen your out of luck
Hey +Matt Booth , what will it say in the download screen
+Andy Cullis That's funny, because who do people turn to? Just this morning I had someone call me about rolling out new company phones and if those should be Androids. Guess which brand I didn't recommend ? :)
I went into download...but I don't see anything that says Knox...it is just the normal typical download screen blurb
Thanks Chainfire for good Dev and investigating Knox
+Chainfire i know what you mean. We can all live in hope that samsung do a u turn or they are going to lose a lot of customers includeing me if we cant get this knox thing sorted. This s4 wil be my last samsung phone unless samsung change there idea in 2 years. I would love to root my gs4 like i did on my gs2. But it always seems something doesnt work correctly thanks to samsung.:( hopefully this gets sorted in next few updates. Keep up the good work and info chainfire.
Had anyone got a pic/screen shot of what the download screen looks like when Knox is installed...really want to root my phone...just for Titanium and a couple of other apps
+Andy Cullis if this is the way they try to enter the business world, then it's the wrong way.
I mean: ok, you can give users KNOX and all enterprise users MUST have the KNOX flag to 0, otherwise they won't be allowed in the enterprise environment. I understand that, you want the employer to be sure their employees aren't logging in the enterprise environment with a potentially hacked device.
But tying that flag to the warranty? No way, that's not "entering the enterprise world", that's just plain BS.
This is exactly why I sprung for the Google Edition S4!
If Samsung Devices can't be root..is fark me out anytime..
Hello Chainfire, Does it mean that the only sure way to root a new samsung now is a System partition modified as done for the ATT Note 3 ?
fuck Knox! I don't even want it to be on my phone. why can't +Samsung Mobile make it as optional to us, the consumers?! I hate to be forced to accept something. It might be beneficial to enterprise users, but not everyone needs that extra security!
may you find a way to bypass this CF. Even right now it seems like the future is bleak for Samsung devices, but hey, who knows maybe you'd eventually find a way right? go go CF! :D
Dont think there wil be an easy way arround knox.
+Andy Cullis yep there are a few easy ways around Knox. They are called HTC/Motorola/LG/Meizu/random unknown manufacturer.
It's interesting.
On the enterprise front this concept of an efuse and the sandboxed software partition that depends on it, is very much appreciated.
But i like having root, and i like having warranty.
I suspect that Samsung will be forced to support warranty for everything except knox... If you root and trigger the knox flag, Samsung will not "support" a broken knox problem.
But if their screen dies etc then knox flag or not, they will warranty support the rest of the hardware under normal warranty conditions.
This seems reasonable to me.
+Bogdan Sladaru htc/motorola/lg/meizu and unknown manufacturer no thanks. I have never heard of meizu. I will stick 2 a brand thats is knowen. Maybe this is then end of rooting with warrenty still on the device. As far as i can make out you can stil root and mod the device but knox is set to 1 so you wil lose warrenty rights. If you do want to root and mod the device you stil can but without warrenty. so there is no hardship in that. How iften have you done a warrenty job on your samsung device anyways? I have never need to send any of my samsung devices back in 5 years as i dont overclock them. This maybe a way samsung is stopping warrenty on the devices that have broken and come in for warrenty because of people overclocking there device.
+Bogdan Sladaru HTC? Seriously?
+Andrew Battistella if you want to know if Knox is present on the phone, just go to the app manager, All, scroll down to K see if it's listed. It's listed on mine. I got the S4 intl version.
Nope i would never get a htc they look good and all but there is 1 big problem for me with htc there interface no removable battery and no sd card slot. Thats a big problem for me.
+Andy Cullis well... one failed OTA update (OTA, so their own automated update, not ODIN) that bricked the device, and one USB connector that developed a broken contact (or something similar), so that the phone appeared as connected to USB all the time. In 4 years of using Samsung smartphones.
Also, 6 years ago I wouldn't buy a Samsung phone either. Their phones (normal, not smartphones) were some of the worst phones I ever saw. And still, about 4 years ago I bought my first Android phone and it was a Samsung (Galaxy S). So never say never.
Do you believe the warranty isn't a part of the price you pay? By saying "I will root my phone and lose warranty, no big deal" you're in fact throwing some money out the window.
+Helmi Jr. it was just an example. I won't buy any HTC device until they'll change the way they treat their customers, I just listed whatever Android manufacturer came to mind.
I don't think that Knox flag has anything to do with warranty it has more that the device is fit for corporate usage. Samsung wouldn't get number 1 by embracing such practices like HTC or Sony. I still love Samsung phones, expecially the Note series.
+Bogdan Sladaru i do understand that. But if you root and overclock your device are you not throwing the warrenty out of the window any way? Why would samsung honor the warrenty if you have overclocked the device any way. There maybe a simple answer.. Stop all the devs and pull every overclocking app from the play store. If the likes of samsung see all the overclocking apps can you wonder why they have done this. Basically in there minds its you must have rooted and overclocked you device because there is so many overclock app on the play store. Pull every overclock app from the play store and see if samsung let us keep warrenty after rooting in a few years time. But if no devs pull and stop makeing overclock apps this wil never happen.
I never overclocked my phone, I don't see the point in doing this. Overclocking means less battery and more heat.
I do root my phones and I don't see a reason to lose the warranty because of that. Both phones that were in service were rooted (well, I unrooted the one with the USB issue before going to the service) and nobody complained, because I didn't use root to overclock it, just to install a firewall and Titanium Backup.
Also, the rooting process on my Note was always very clean, I never tripped the triangle warning.
Also, they can see if the phone was overclocked by looking at what was damaged. If the CPU is burned, then it might be an overclock, and you check if the phone was rooted and overclocked. If the USB port/audio jack/SIM slot/whatever aren't working anymore, it has nothing to do with the overclocking.
I all for root also. I have never overclock my device eather. But if u look on the play store it is so easy to overclock your device. I dont see the reasons why any dev would make a overclocking app for your device. If we could get all devs to remove overclocking apps maybe samsung would think differently about rooting and warrenty. But atm they can only see the wrong side of root. We maybe have to show them the good in root.Because overclocking apps is just showing them the bad side of rooting.
Don't complicate things... Just smash your phone in front of the insurance company door and claim :) like this I did
If all the devs can work to gether and make an app that would benefit any device im sure samsung would see root as a benefit to them.
+Chris B Teach me!
+Andy Cullis ... They won't ... How I said and special for you I will say again.... We are too small for this game that is a world wide game ;)
+Stanescu Dan well the devs need to try i guess at least to try and save there long time in root. As all the manafacurs are trying to kill the root access. If the devs are not willing to try and save the root access then it wil go pritty quick. At least they can all try there best to save all there hard work for the future devices.
+Andy Cullis tell me an app that you are thinking about and there isn't yet on market?!
"Bad news, everyone"? What, are you Professor Hubert Farnsworth now? :-)
Hey +Andy Cullis . Are you seriously trying to convince devs not to write whatever they want?! What country do you live in? Devs can write whatever they want and we can install whatever we want. If Samsung tried to curtail that freedom then shame on them. We can vote with our pocketbooks by either choosing to buy knowing what the consequences may be or we can choose not to. I do know this in the US if a manufacturer tries to unreasonably limit our use of a device they will soon be answering to a class action. It's been done before and it will be done again. But suggesting that devs NOT write a particular type of app is naive and irresponsible, thus my question as to what country do you hail from. The US does not cower to any manufacturer, well, except kool-aid drinking Apple munchers. ; )
So bye bye Samsung hello Nexus 5 or Oppo find 5
Thx for the heads up. my s4 will be my last +Samsung Mobile USA
Solution: Create a software that will kill the motherboard like the "sudden death" issue. If you need warranty, copy everything you need to a safe place, kill your phone and take it to Samsung for repair. They can't reject a phone when the mobo is dead and need replacement and they won't have any way to find out that it has been rooted/tempered with...
They should totally rename KNOX to ®eFuse...
+Hardy Bryant Boot to download mode. (Turn phone off, hold home, power, and volume down) You'll see one of the Knox values that says 0X1. That's how you tell if the efuse is triggered. Out of the box it says 0x0
+Andy Cullis This have nothing to do with anything other than greed. If Samsung can get out of repairing/replacing your device they will. It have been like this from day one, with most manufacturers. And it has nothing to do with overclocking apps on play store.
+Hardy Bryant lucky you. you have the older bootloader without the Knox binary counter.
Last time i buy a samsung phone.
Curious about your upcoming news this weekend after your talk with the insider. Can't wait.
Thank Zeus I have an OPPO Find 5. I sent it with TWRP installed for repairs.... No problem
Is there a limit until you cannot flash your phone anymore and not be able to use it? GT-I9505.
I've already exchanged my Knox tripped device here in Canada :D
+Juha Uotila that wouldn't tell us much. You have a software problem as a direct result of rooting problems. We can really only reasonably expect samsung to support hardware problems.
+John Wickenhauser Soaking your phone will do you no good, water damage isn't covered and a even a little too much humidity will discolor the telltale stickers in your phone...
It sucks but I can live with it. I'm actually liking stock Samsung and running a launcher. Last time I submitted a phone for replacement or repair was in 2008, I've been able to fix my damage or incidental damage on my own. OK not my own, with the help of xda devs, like you.
Thanks for all you do and keeping us informed.
Just picked up a nexus 4 at T-Mobile and they tried talking me into any other phone, like the nexus was a piece of crap. So I politely told them where they can shove their skinned, locked down, never see an update, flagship phones. The only android products that I will buy any more will proudly say nexus on the back.
My Note II N7100 is out of warranty, but just wondering if 'Knox counter' feature is compatible with it (and S3 because they're similar) hardware-wise. The leaked 4.3 ROM for the device had Knox inside but it didn't do anything to the boot loader (except update the baseband)...
Wonder if someone can put an App on the store that will secretly blow the efuse without anyone knowing, if that app was downloaded by a lot of samsung users would Samsung have any legal way of not honouring warranty then?
+Keith Schumaker I think the sales rep was actually doing you service by offering you a newer phone. The Nexus 4 is now outdated hardware and includes the TMobile tax on it compared to what Google was selling them for. The Nexus4 did not even have top end specs when it was new, it was a mid level spec phone. If I had my heart set on a Nexus I would have waited for the new model. I only hope they gave you deal on left over stock.
If it's a software based blow can't you just say 'prove that i blew the fuse and that a bug in your software didn't' they can't prove it, so therefore innocent until proven guilty.
Personally I think Samsung has a way to reset Knox. Imagine situation when official OTA fails and thousands of devices would have to be replaced because one bit of information.
+Chainfire +Andy Cullis On my S4, Knox appears in my apps...but it doesn't yet appear in the download screen.... does that mean it is active or not? Can I root without that doing what it is supposed to do and possibly voiding my warranty
+John Wickenhauser A lot phones (dunno about the Note 3) have internal stickers that turn a different color when it gets wet...
+Chainfire suppose that we can't change the knox value, maybe three is the possibility to not change it? I mean, if we hack before he changes, we can stop it from change...
Which version effect? I see N900 have no KNOX Warranty on bootloader
sounds to me like samsung geting more and more applelike with this boot stuf... common, this is Android... im staring to think mu next device will be FirefoxOS or some sort of Ubuntu...
Is the back door left open????
V
no more samsung devices.. without root and Roms.. it is not an android anymore.. ooops
+Chainfire update: I'm discussing the details of the document with my contact at Telmore at the moment. Expect a release within the next 7-14 days :)
I believe in +Chainfire :)
Now I am absolutely selling my Note 3 for the Nexus 5. Good Job +Samsung USA on fucking a superior phone with this Knox bullshit. The Android Community is known for tinkering with their phones and customizing it to their liking and if you don't like that, fuck you, we'll go somewhere else.
Damn
Bummer man! I've always loved, used and recommended Samsung. I have always rooted and enjoyed my Samsung fully. It feels that my freedom to enjoy my new note 3 has been destroyed by Samsung saying I will loose my warranty for doing what I've always enjoyed about the device. It feels like a betrayal in a way. It's just a shame I was never given the option to use knox and I was not informed by the seller that I'm buying a phone that I can't personalise the way I originally wanted. Part of the magic of android was freedom. Not anymore it seems.
Hello! Fellow roothead/flashhead! I just wanted to jump in and say something. Firstly, thanks to chainfire and designgears, nothing is stopping us from rooting. It doesn't even trip the Knox flags and Xposed offers quite a few worthwhile mods. (Thanks for that, you sexy bitches) Also, with such an expensive device, do you really blame them for not wanting to take just large monetary hits on Warranty fraud. Everyone knows that rooting voids the warranty. You just can't hide it now. Customization is a risky business that way. I don't blame them one bit for trying to protect themselves against fraud. Hats off to the asshole behind Knox. For now, he wins. But for my money, this is still the best device out there (even if the bastards at AT&T locked the bootloader).
Cheers
I'm pretty sure Knox comes every phone in future updates.
Maybe the Knox app will, but the eFuse is a physical component. If it wasn't manufactured with one in place, it can't be tripped.
大婶
Samsung Galaxy S4 its my last +Samsung Mobile +Samsung Mobile USA phone.. I'm very angry with whole thing...
Is there away to pull knox code before root and possibly reset/flash it after root is done theoretically wouldn't that reset the efuse since from what I read it's the knox status/code that's rewritten during root
+Juha Uotila: A bootloop can be easly fixed...
+Alfredo Durán todavia no se sabe, es muy probable que si (pero en la actualizacion 4.4) porque segun se sabe el S3 tambien incluye ese dichoso eFUSE.
Samsung are a bunch of wanks. For those in the US and other places NOT in Hong Kong, at least you guys got the 32GB versions.
Samsung are lying tosspots. They released the 16GB when they announced they're scrapping the 16GB. I'm sorry, isn't that technically false advertising? I wish I had the brains and money to sue their corporate asses.
And this KNOX counter, eugh, dare I say it, they're becoming like Apple....actually no, they're much worse than Apple, at least Apple you can go from JB to stock in just a switch!
so is there no way to fool the bootloader to see a custom flash as an official update as it sounds like if there is ever an update to the Note 3 it wouldn't trip the fuse.
+Chainfire it is happen to international note 3 lte? Coz, my country is malaysia and we use international versio note 3.
you'd have to get the encrypted signature and then most likely flash via odin. so someone's gotta "leak" it from samsung.
Is this like dell saying that if you uninstall windows and run your computer on Linux, the hardware warranty is void?
I dont care about Knox System..Knox created by human not a God..i trust +Chainfire ..
I really don't think that this is ok at least with european laws. You don't lose warranty if you work under an admin account on windows and you should not if you do as root on android.
I am not talking about custom ROMs here, but about root.
The computer manufacturers already lost on court when they started this stupid "Warranty void if removed" - stickers. I stricly believe the same will happen to "anti-root-warranties".
I really wanted the 2014 Note. Not sure if I really need that anymore.
On the other hand: Like a lot of germans (34% to be precise) I own a defense insurance. So lets try that
+Chainfire I'm wondering did the SuperSu update of yesterday fix some of the problems. My S4 keeps saying that SuperSu is blocked due to an unauthorized acces trial. So I can't update true OTA and true ODIN anymore. What to do?
Well, it seems someone came up with a root that does not trip the knox counter on the Verizon Note 3 and +Chainfire was credited with assisting. Perhaps there is still hope for us that have not rooted our Sprint devices.
Verizon Note 3 has a root that does not trip the Knox counter, +Chainfire . Any chance that one will be developed for the Sprint flavor now.
Root de la Vega !
Root de la Vega doesn't help people who already tripped "KNOX warranty void" (state 0x1). I think i speak for many people if i say "hopefully this can be reset somehow".
Take Samsung's CEO's family hostage til they change this.
My guess is that the great majority of the Samsung consumers don't even know what the Android community or Android forums are, don't root their phones (don't even know what root access is), the just buy the devices based on the specs and follow trends.
I just hope that even those consumers, will be aware of the newest Samsung's low, the Region lock, before buying their latest flagship phones, like the Gnote3.
Arrogance makes blind and I hope that Samsung idiotic policies, well eventually backfire on a larger scale...
Chainfire, I am new to these terminologies, to put it simply, are you suggesting that if I change the tom of my note 2 to leaked android 4.3 jb and then root it, the warranty of my Note 2 becomes void. ..right?
I wish samsung were to make 2 note3 phones:. Consumer edition without knox, and enterprise edition woth knox. Why?
The differentiation on the marketing end would help boost sales of the device in the enterprise by marketing it as such. Consumers get the phone with the feature included as desired and suits the requirements of the business for which the phone will be used for.
Then there can be a non-knox version that doesn't have this warranty-void bs. With the android community being as strong as it is, how often is a malicious bootloader seen in the wild as to destroy a phone?
99.99% of bricking is due to not following the directions, a bad flash due to improper file checksum, bad usb cable etc. So why is knox in the mix for your average user? This is ridiculous.
Ok..I'm very confused and worried. ..I literally just rooted via odin...so far nothing has happened but am I in any danger?
Galaxy Nexus FTW!
//Runs away
I have a S2, custom ROM. I've decided since a while back not to buy Samsung shit anymore. TouchWiz is bs and so is the company. Nexus ftw.
My S4 got repaired with:
Knox Kernel Lock: 0x0
Knox Warranty Void: 0x1
Some sensors were broken.
Germany, datRepair.
I just want to clear something up that I think a lot of people misunderstood from the get-go. This because I even see newsarticles talk about a "new exploit that doesn't break KNOX, which was thought to be impossible". That's not really a fair assessment, not is it any sort of special accomplishment. It was always clear a modified system would just work (duh). So yes, you can get "just root" without tripping KNOX. But as soon as you go any further (custom recoveries, custom kernels, etc) you will still trip KNOX warranty bit.
Root is plenty for me. I just want to tweak it stock for additional functionality. I used to mess with roms and kernels but I ended up losing mms capabilities or battery life wasn't what it used to be... etc. Etc
I love the concept of Knox: proof that your phone is virgin and therefore enterprise eligible. But to deny warranty work on a phone like a physically broken charge port because of knox status? That's downright wrong.
Knox is so irritating. I've updated my Note 2 to leaked Android 4.3 JB; rooted it; flashed the counter using Triangle Away; still I keep getting the flipping Knock block application message. Continuous Input or Swype is not working. I am no longer able to connect to my All share Cast dongle or hub. All this is really frustrating me. I wouldn't have rooted my phone or upgraded the stock rom had it
...had my Note 2 not gone in an infinite loop at the start up. ..I am in such a catch 22 situation right now. ..grrrr. ..
Is the Galaxy tab 3 suffering from this knox? Damn those +Samsung Mobile forcing us to accept knox and not hack our android.
I hope you find a way to bypass this knox security on galaxy note 3 SM-9005 as i was going to root it and now i have stopped, once you find a solution i will gladly donate to your excellent work once again..thank you sir.
Pardon my ignorance, I'm atbwork and don't have time to do much research but knox is a hardware technilogy and not implemented via software yes? How can note 2's be affected?
Hello! i have a GS4 GT-I9505 from Vodafone Portugal i unlock but i want to know if i can flash firmware MH8 TPH over MGG TCL via Odin to remove vodafone bloatware. thanks for your time
John Note 2 is once you upgrade it's stock tom to leaked android 4.3 jb
Rom*
+Chainfire i have a GS4 GT-I9505 from vodafone Portugal firmware MGG TCL can i flash firmware MH8 TPH via odin? to remove the bloatware from vodafone thanks for your time
Might as well just root and use titanium backup to freeze the apps
Just want to people know that i sent my i9505 with knox 0x1 to the sat ( ´cos a non signal problem) and they changed me the "rf board" in warranty without problems, in Spain, at the moment no problem with SAT and Knox...
I Have another problem.. installed MJ5 update today and the Recovery menu was awesome greater letters and no error messages fpr Wipe Cache Partition... after rooting with CF-Autoroot the Recovery changed back to smaller font and a red warning message is at startup shown
"Recovery is not in SELINUX state enforced"
Can somebody make an flashable recovey tar for MJ5 Recovery???
Okay found a solution xD flashed MI8 Stock Recovery i found .. works like before ^^
+Chainfire so just to be clear, you can obtain purely just root and retain 0x0, but not using CF-Auto-Root, right?
+Chainfire We should use "Root de la Vega" for that, right?
Folks which firmwares contain KNOX or are KNOX Enabled. as far as i get only from MH1 and later? am i correct (i own a i9500 S4)
all firmwares who are setting SELinux to enforced and with the Knox warranty void Flag in Downloadmodus are Knox Enabled AND with new bootloader which doesent allow downgrade to non knox firmwares anymore
Yeah this app give me big head cant even uninstll guys try help me up get this KNOX away damn this app block every app I download from blackmarket...trying for 3days uninstall from my S4 but cant uninstall it...
Guys how do we know which firmware has KNOX or not BEFORE we attempt to install those. can anyone confirm for the S4 that >=xxMH1 is KNOX enabled ?
+Chainfire +Sven Frenzel We unlikely to win on court because technically the customer is irreversibly damaging the hardware by loading unsigned hardware.
The EU regulations say that the device covered under warranty if the damage is not caused by the unsigned software. And the manufacturer has to prove that the damage is caused by the unsigned software.
Samsung will say that eFuse damage is caused by the unsigned software.
Samsung is cheating the law and damaging the hardware intentionally as +Chainfire said.
I think this is illegal!
Guys look this is how I get away this damn Knox Go-~~-~~>Setting-~~>More-~~>Security-~~> Devise Administration~~> Unclick Knox...
Got Uninstall all Knox related and Uninstall From Titanium Backup as well then I can get this stupid damn Knox away from my Hp...Remember inside Devise Administration all unclick after uninstall click bk other applications...
LOL +Kane Pua
If you've flashed a custom kernel/recovery, then reboot in to the Download Mode and see your KNOX bit :)
Hi Chainfire,
Is there a way to safely root my GT-I9505 without tripping the Knox counter? Also, will using Wanam Xposed and the Xposed Framework trip the Knox counter?
Selahattin G, Are you serious..
Message urgently to chainfire then !
so is it possible to reset flag from 0x1 to 0x0 ?
Hi, is-it possible actually or later to unlock the bootloader of our galaxy S4 4.3? With the new update JM5 4.3, my bootloader is locked.. No way to back on 4.2.2 whitout to lose wifi, sound or to install a custom kernel..
I hope soon :D The 4.3 works fine.. Hoewever i want to reinstall my Cyanogenmod ;)
+Selahattin Göz So what? Such an important comment and now silence for two days ;)?
Bring it on
Maybe because nobody knows how to unlock :p It was easyer with our old xperia, fastboot and it's was gone!
Dear Sir,
I used your CF root for my galaxy note 1, S3. Everything is OK. Thanks for your great work. But I just bought Note 10.1 2014 edition LTE version 32GB SM P605. I really need to root my new tablet. I search CF root on internet but I can't find anything. I saw one on XDA site for P600 but my device is P605 LTE version. Can you please kindly help us to release CF root for P605 Note 10.1 2014 edition LTE version? When can we expect to get CF roof for LTE version? Please kindly reply me.
Thanks you very much,
Aung Thu.
email: aungthummu@gmail.com
Selahattin can you please at least tell us Note3 users that we still have hope to get rid of this knox counter or reset it? I am running out of time to return my phone and will do so if this is a no go...
Thank you for everything you do and for the quick response on this.
Will the hack be released for the GT-I9505 too?
The phone I have is T-Mobile's N900T I am hoping that the hack will apply to it...
I9505 here
Anymore news on this hack?
So Selah did u sucessfully reset that knox flag on ur phone?
I am wondering the same thing...
Where's the best place (website) to quickly find out if they somehow manage to restore knox 0x1 to 0x0... in the future I mean ofc.
No news on release of this supposed hack?
Probably no hack , that's why
Any news on resetting Knox back to warranty bit 0 on SGS4 I9500
A reference to a particular thread on xda relating to this fix would be appreciated...
Selahattin can you shine some light on whether the hack was a success or do we need to keep waiting?
Eugene - We can clearly see that he was talking crap! If you look over other posts about Knox he is complaining across each one, and even asking how to get rid of it on others! The guys a joke.. No evidence, no replies. I think this sums it up.
Maybe he his facing some difficulties, which he can't share at the moment. Give him time
Gullible is all I'm saying.
+Mathew Rennie Yeah, I'm with you. I talked with him and do you know what he said? he said: dont ask me again. So 100% he lies us.
+Selahattin Göz I've been away for almost a week. If you have something, PM me on XDA.
+Juha Uotila Any update? Did you get your warranty?
Hi... i need to 0x0 , because i have the s4 i9505 with 0x1 . please .. thanks!!
The more time goes by the less credible the claims of a working hack are becoming...
+Selahattin Göz how do you contact +Chainfire???
He said 10 miutes before you that you should PM him/her on XDA...
and that he's been away for almost a week...
On Smartphones gives a app called GooglePlusChat an i downloaded it to wirt with him but if i saw the answer that i contact him on xda i wirte him.
+Selahattin Göz and we are to believe that someone who doesn't know how to contact someone is a magical Dev. ?
Come on..!!
lol
Nah, what is a URL. .. hahaha
+Chainfire knox is not an efuse. Rather is a cryptograph key stored in the Secure bootloader. When the Device is returned to original manufacture state.. IE Kernel, Bootloader and Android version. Then Knox will reset back to 0x0. As such in my case I would need to wait on my Mobile Company (Vodafone) to release an updated firmware of my original state. Now the only issue which I know that could result in a mix match of keys is the Kernel on reset.. Flashing a stock Firmware after having a custom kernel installed still flags a custom environment having been there.. now Triangle Away or Official Status Mod only resets the counters it does not restore the original certificates. I'm almost certain that if the original status (cert keys ) can be restored.. Then knox can be reset... hope this makes sense??
As your the Kernel expert you'll know how to reset the original keys I hope.. then all we need is a bootloader expert to match the bootloader to kernel.. Sort of like installing an SSL Cert on a dedicated server. Everything needs to match in order to get the SSL installed correctly.
Edit: this also explains why transferring images using a Jtag doesn't work as the signatures being transfered are not for said device causing a failure in booting.
Thanks for the update Mathew. Also, big thanks to Chainfire and the folks working on this hack. I now have hope again :)
Hello sir,
is this true?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2504258
and also,
I'd like to ask if downgrading my modem could also trigger the knox flag?
Chainfire, please look at this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2504258
and this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=46955822&postcount=16
It seams that it is possible to reset it back to 0x0
Fuck this, Chainfire is right about Samsung being a scumbag. This is why I just renewed my mobile contract with a new Xperia Z1, and I let Samsung go away with Note3. Its sad to see whats going on but I dont feel I have no options... ;)
Well.. I feel bad for everyone else. Personally I'm glad I have insurance on my cell. If the thing ever fails, I'll be damn sure to make a claim for a replacement.
+Chainfire, I think +Mathew Rennie is correct. My GT-i9505 came with an NZC carrier branded ROM. Using PC ODIN, I flashed a later pre-Knox BTU stock version and had this rooted with CF-Auto-Root. I later attempted flashing a Knox enabled BTU ROM with Mobile ODIN, but upon finishing flashing I had no wifi, calls didn't work, etc. Did a factory reset and then used PC ODIN to flash this same Knox enabled BTU ROM and everything was fixed and remained at 0x0. Obviously this is because Mobile ODIN doesn't flash the bootloader whereas PC ODIN does. The point of all this is that I'm at 0x0 on a BTU ROM when my GT-i9505 came with an NZC ROM. Maybe that's because the bootloader was updated to BTU prior to the Knox enabled ROM being flashed and since I flashed another BTU ROM (albeit Knox enabled), it remains at 0x0. I even just did an OTA update to XXUEMJ7 and still at 0x0. But...I'd really like to have root back! :(
+Andrew Williams +Chainfire Then it's simple, it is purely Rooting or Flashing a custom kernel which causes the 0x1. As I thought breaking the Cert Keys.
Well this doesn't help (eFuse or Software?) but it does give a hint of how this happens - Email from Knox Support:
Hello Mathew,
I apologize for the issues you're experiencing. Please note that resetting the 0x1 flag on the device will not be possible as "Error message" gets populated when the device is rooted. Unfortunately I cannot assist you any further in customer-related issues. Please escalate the issue with your local Samsung mobile Service and Support center.
Best regards
**
Samsung KNOX Team
I'm not bothered about rooting, as I've explained to them, and this message is in one manner not true as I didn't ROOT my device prior to updating to 4.3...! It's a custom Kernel from the original that I used (Leaked 4.3) when updating.
+Chainfire please tell me that you haven't gave up, and that you are secretly working on a fix and that's why you are staying quite.. :)
Cheers,
Mat.
damn, a couple of years back I really used to value samsung, but these moves are not appreciated... the note 3 is a stunning device, but this time +Samsung Mobile my money goes to the Nexus 5
I have S4 ( I9500) it says Warranty Bit : 1. Is it the same thing as 0x1 as in Note 3 ?
Otimo
Well, in the EU the company must provide proof that the softwear mods caused a hardware failure, its completely stupid, they act like kids when we mod their softwear.
Software mods should be legal, it not like we're modding consoles to play pirated games... I never understood why android devices aren't rooted by default? Instead of jumping through hoops why isn't it in the development menu as a hidden option or something??
+Andrew Battistella did u take the latest
OTA..you would see it ...it says Knox an has a security shield ..I took the up date don't ask why I never do but had issues with phone an couldn't go back to mdk so did what I had to do ...now I'm stuck with just a basic s4 ...
The Knox e-fuse is in my opinion a valid addition to the device. Knox is a security feature that ensures that a user cannot compromise their device and still get access to secure data.
I do however not think that "blowing the e-fuse"should void the hardware warranty (f.ex. faulty display or faulty memory etc).
I need flash my i9505? Any idea?
Knox Kernel Lock: 0xffffffc
Knox Warranty void: 0xffffffc
Write protection: enable
eMMC BURST MODE: enabled
If flag is 0x1, the waranty is gone. Thats bad really. Anymore drawbacks?
I switched to T-mobile. Got the Htc One ..had enough of Verizon ..an lock down phones ..
+Greg Robinson thanks for that
Maybe no one has asked this question yet because I can't find an definitive answer but why do I care about the knox. Issue. I root my phone so that I can do what I want with it. I don't use it for corporate crap. If I break it it's my fault therefore I'm not taking it back. So if my knox is set to tampered then is it broken. I'll reiterate. I don't care about knox. Does that mean my phone is broken and does that mean that I can not get updates in the future. I'm only rooted no other mods.
Hi Mr Chainfire. Does using Triangle away trip 0x0 to 0x1?
+Chainfire Can you please help with rooting of newly updated Candian i337M galaxy S4 to official 4.3 jellybean. How to root it without tripping Knox. If you updated file for i337m with 4.3 to root via odin. Thanks for your help in advance.
Sorry to ask again but chainfire please give us a hint are you going to develop any root method which will not increase the knox counter.
+Dim Kit Its already there. search xda forums
+Sivaram Gudivaka sorry but I read xda every day and I can not see any root method by chainfire which does not increase the knox counter. Can you please give me a link?
+Sivaram Gudivaka I know this method but, as far as I know this method of root includes malicious software, which send your imei in a Chinese server
After Knox, Samsung ever again. I sold my S4 to buy the LG G2.
I think you tripped knox...
Yes he did: warranty bit: 1
I update the note 3 via OTA from MJ1 to MJ7. Now after factory reset...device status is still custom and supersu can't be removed (only can be disabled). (Previously rooted with URDLV)
If now I flash stock MJ7 downloaded from sammobile via Odin v3.09....will the knox be triggered? Thanks
If it is official stock it wont trigger the knox...
thanks...everything is in original state now...
Hello everybody. Today i bought note 3 and i need to install my region firmware:
Model: SM-N9005
Country: Baltic
Version: Android 4.3
Changelist: 2019540
Build date: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 07:58:12 +0000
Product Code: SEB
PDA: N9005XXUDMJ7
CSC: N9005OXXDMK1
MODEM: N9005XXUDMJ7
It's from SamMobile.
Will it flag Knox? Please tell me.
None of the officials roms will trip knox. Only root and custom recovery (twrp , cwm) will trip knox. Dont touch recovery and you will be good:) oh, and custom roms need custom recoveries, so...
+Chainfire I wonder how the refurbished/insurance market will handle this. T-Mobile in the US uses a third-party insurance company to send refurbished replacement phones when a customer has an issue they can't resolve through phone support. I've read reports that claim the refurbished phones are arriving with the Knox flag already tripped. Seems to me, at least in my case, getting a "warranty replacement" from TMO might well be worth it - as it would provide me with a perfect excuse... "It came that way from the vendor!".
Word to anyone who's receiving a refurbed replacement phone from their carrier in the US - check it for Knox flag being tripped before you ever do anything with it. If it is, you're scott-free.
+Yu Kwee Siow no, but you lost root when you updated it and now you can't root with urdlv anymore, in others words, the only way to root now and keep knox 0x0 is with kingo or vroot. If you succeed, use mobile Odin to update your roms.
it doesn't make any sense !!
if it was an efuse like what are you saying ?? how does samsung planning on upgrade galaxy s3 to knox mode ? and as you know s3 came before knox showed up ??
its not rational to make normal users like us to buy a device could be dangerous by something like efuse it could burn by wrong password .
if i want a phone like that .. i should be some kind of spy to have data can be burned by wrong password .
i think its a trigger software that if something doesn't match his standard it locks even if you fix that issue ... tho Samsung need to fix it and make it compare every time till the device matches Knox standard
i had S4 and upgraded by Kies then Knox trigger was locked already .. im not sure about the reason but i called Samsung Center and they advice me to reach the closest repair center to fix it .
but if they didn't and ask me for money .. i'll drop the device by the sea and go buy Xperiaz .. i heard regardless about great android, sony Xperiaz is a water proof, and "NO IRREMOVABLE BUGGY VIRUS FAIL SECURITY KNOX".
worst news indeed, for those live in non samsung service centre country , how you expect them to ship the faulty device to overseas, the cost will be very expensive eg like n7100 due to drop or emmc problem ,cannot on, of coz service centre with licenced will only theirs hope to try to repair for them
worst for country dont have Samsung service center or no skilled enough technician for repair.Wost case in the future Samsung might be became htc and Nokia, due to HW issue, or suddenly death, cannot booth for HTc, especially nowadays using Booth-loader by Software, Soft brick or hard brick.this is common issue For nokia N8 Start ,E5 and others, HTc also many model especially HTc ONe X,S etc,Sony Xperia Z, Sony Experia Z Ultra, now Samsung DUe to Emmc bug problem or customer accidental Drop, cannot Switch on anymore, and Many others, For those Developer, pls Find A better solution For Country , for those not Samsung Authorized Service Centre, For my Stated Country, They only Can Called (AGENT) BUT NOT Professional And Skill Enough As Worldwide Authorized Service Centre, For Samsung Now Trying to lock the Boot loader, Follow Htc, might Got Bad Effect. For my opion Unless Can Come Up the phnoe will not faulty due to cannot Boot or Hardware chip, emmc and so on, OR else will make Some users Stop Support it especially Those Dont ahve Wordwide Service c entre, this is my opion only , no mean to offend any one or any ...
hehe, coz i one of local certificad Repair centre only, but repair moslty samsung ,apple, nokia , sony Etc
Unless Samsung Can One by one repalcement IF confirm Faultyby manufacturing eg Emmc Bug, cannot on Dont Care where buy, should be wordwide can claim
And ONe more things,Sometimes We Need To Repair That IS why We need to root, now you Lock it With what you called Knox boot loader, how i going to settle customer , unless you can provide One by One replacement Worldwide. it seems Some Country NO Worldwide For if GOt Faulty by manufacturing loh, or Software Bug, that is another reason we try to oder EMMC chip to Repair loh, and JTAG, if no problem why WE want to buy,if you can provide more secure and warranty to us not only limited bu country, shuld be worldwide, eg if i buy in singapore, and go back to malaysia, i should also can claim the warranty there, not mean because i need to claim the warranty , i have to buy air ticket to Singapore again, then my Cost of Repair if added the air ticket and etc, is MORE THAN the PHONE
flag Knox, Good For More secure For many ppls, but in the end For Country Dont have real Authorised Service is worst situation, For me customer phnoe cannot On, cannot boot, sometimes we need Specific Root Permission to repair Sometimes , this very common in repair Emmc Bug after repacing Emmc, you Need To write Something To Get Network back or else imei Became 004999xxx, if like this Root also Void the warranty and Restock Back to latest Firmware For 4.3 or 4.2.2 or 4.1.2, uselss For ME, very Disappointing loh, if my phnoe got problem, i just From mobile retail shop repair our customer warranty issue
Good point. What's warranty if you can't enjoy your phone.
+Chainfire could the chip be replaced with one more friendly. Just asking I am a Tech..
+Teb Tengri CFO rather than CEO...
It feels both good and bad. For me (possibly other customers also) it means: NO MORE SAMSUNG PHONES (and I already got 4 of them). Unless they change their approach.
Why it is good: as a business user (which I am) such feature would be required for me to have my company secure. But there is a risk of not knowing what is inside the phone - is it spying me? That's the risk of closed software and I wouldn't take that risk :(
As an end-user (which I'm also) it decreased the value of phone a lot. Root access is something natural for me (although used only when needed). I loved official firmware and the SELinux features. Virtualization (KNOX) sounded nice - but after all I don't need it.
If I would get the phone from my company - I would expect the restriction to be in place.
Since I bought it for my own money - I'm very disappointed. +Samsung Mobile lost a lot in my eyes with blocking warranty and not dividing their phones into business-KNOX and personal-rooted.
After all this was good - market was divided into +Samsung Mobile and Apple. Now other manufacturers would get more of the market (I guess that my next phone would be +LG Electronics or +Motorola Mobility or Nexus).
+Juha Uotila When you rooted your Note 3, was it then when the EFS partition got corrupted? Were you unable to reset or flash the same firmware? I feel I might have the same problem occurring but not as severe. It will boot loop sometimes and other times it will boot and then reboot almost like a hard reboot. I had the original note and rooted it with a custom recovery. What makes Knox so evil if all it does is trip the counter? Warranty is usually void regardless once its rooted. Its the risk everyone has to deal with when it comes to custom recoveries and custom roms. In the past if a bootloop happened all you would do is flash or do a factory reset in recovery mode.
Im so glad xda exists and to the guy who kept saying he had a fix, I have access to almost all Devs and I am just on XDA senior member , J rummy, shabbypenguin, franco, Qbking77.com almost all of them are friends of mine because they're just wonderful people that like to help it's easy to get ahold of them. I'm really upset that Samsung has done this but the note 3 is the most powerful fastest phone on the planet you can run 25 apps and the thing doesn't slow down at all, someone will be dis if not she'll be then Chainfire then someone else. Have faith. that's the fun of Android which will one day kill Microsoft and Apple and take over the world and I'll be happy Lol . XDA senior member Crwolv aka Craig Michael Curtice www.reverbnation.com/curtice
All Samsung is achieving is alienating current customers from ever buying their products. It is outrageous that they impose such nonsense. Flashing one's phone to get root privilege and going though all the mechanizations we have to go through isn't going to ruin a phone. A hammer might!
Just a thought, but you say this is an "efuse" except phones that ran 4.2.2 did not have knox untill 4.3 OTA so there must be a software workaround for some devices unless sammys been planning this for a LONG time and had the efuse already inplace but not being used in devices like S4
Well if they are affecting a piece of hardware by actions of the firmware that they put on the phone, because of an OS not being theirs, they are at fault. It is the booby trap effect. I won't be considering any Samsung device and it is a shame since I have so many of their products!
Alright, had a rooted ATT SGS3, 4.1.2 using CWM and SuperSU. I installed OTA 4.3 today, went to install CWM / SuperSU again and now getting KNOX block alerts. Here are my questions I need help understanding and lets just forget about the warranty factor here.
Will this ever work normally and can I continue to use CWM and SuperSU in the current state or will I have to wipe and reinstall?
Can I reinstall a Stock ROM?
I cannot seem to figure out how to get this to work, is there a current How-To on this for ATT SGS3?
After re-applying latest versions of CW and SuperSU things are back to normal. KNOX disabled and all is well as far as function goes.
Are you saying you are not getting the warranty bit error?
Hello guys.. I also tripped my knox counter .. when I rooted my note 2. When given it to Service center for os os upgrade. . they reset everything . Now I am running Stock 4.3.. so its just software trick from Samsung. .. it can be resetted... waiting for solution from chainfire..
+Chris Sparks I still have the warranty bit = 1. Some of my Samsung Apps are not working though, ChatOn | Samsung Link. /shrug - could be their services and nothing to do with the phone. - though I wish there was a way to reinstall the Samsung Apps in its entirety as I think something failed during the update for that.
It is my device i get to do what ever the shit i want to with it
+chainfire If it is an eFuse then we can eventually find it and keep it from being burned in the first place. I would assume that since it's 0x0 there are 2 eFuses being read. We used to do this on the original xbox 360s so we could jtag backwards if console updates broke or mods. There is hope!
my KNOX waranty status in download mode: 1 ... what does it mean ???
Means warranty in void
So I had mine fixed my the 2nd repair center that I tried and they in essence told me it was a good will gesture and nothing else would be covered. I sold the phone and bought a zopo zp998 for 250 quid and haven't looked back. It out spec's the s4 and is half the price. The only way to hurt samsung is with our wallets
my S4 i9505 started to do this weird thing which is always asking me to choose between Touchwiz Home and Touchwiz easy home, and even though I always choose Touchwiz home and hit the option always, it keeps coming to me. Long story short, samsung support told me on the phone that this problem is caused by some corrupted files in the kernel and the only way to repair it is to change the motherboard. My knox is tripped of course 0x1 and I have no idea what is the law about this here in Dubai. I was hopping that you Chainfire will make something like triangle (Thx for that by the way) but it looks gloomy in the horizon :(
what about the report where they get sent to the service center and the people get the phones back and the knox counter has been reset? or for t-mobile them doing them selfs there.. ive been hereing that alot lately
i have this problem and when sent it to samsung they say the hardware problem(mortherBoard) must change it .. very expensive money .. wtf samsung ..
I can't believe how lucky I was! My knox is tripped and I have this problem that I need to change my motherboard on my S4, and since I can forget about the warranty, there was a one Samsung Shop and only one in all Dubai that's making some sort of promotional thing and they will replace anything in your premium galaxy phone for only 100 aed which is 27$ !! I replaced my motherboard and a screen for my sister's S4. The promotion is only for 5 days and will end tomorrow. The best part is, my knox is not tripped anymore and my warranty is still on for another 6 months!
I have GT-N7100 international version.
Can I update via OTA/PC Odin to stock non-rooted firmware if knox is tripped?
Yeah you can if you're device status is official via ota
+Smeet
+Chainfire
To cover the warranty or to extend it, what we can do is downgrade to a knox-less firmware using odin, and goto service center I guess?
On a later date use ota to update your firmware to the newer version?
Possible?
If I have insurence on my phone and I ask for a replacement do they check the Knox warranty when I send it in and if so do the charge me for the phone
+Avineshwar Singh not possible to downgrade to knox less firmware
Hmm..
+Jc Wardzala Verizon never checked with my phones... I handed in bricked, rooted, custom rom'd phones all the time. YMMV
+John Giallanza thanks for the reply.
LEASE please HELP/GOT A NOTE 3 SM-N9005 A FEW DAYS AGO WHICH HAD OFFICAIL 4.3,SO ROOTED WITH NO PROBLEMS,THEN INSTALLED A CUSTUM ROM LIKE I HAD DONE A 100 TIMES WITH MY S3,WHEN I REBOOTED THERE WAS RED LETTERS ON TOP LEFT /REC OVERY NOT ENFORCING/SEADROID ENFORCINGTHEN IN YELLOW LETTERS SETWARRANTY BIT,IT BOOOTED INTO HOME SCREEN,ALL MY APPS WERE THERE EXCEPT NO I HAD A BLACK BACKGROUND THEN WENT INTO SETTINGS AND THE PHONE WENT INTO BOOTLOOP`,TRIED A FEW DIFFRENT ROMS IN CWM,TRIED 4,4,2 AND 4.3 THEN IT JST BOOTLOOPED,TOOK TO A SHOP WHERE HE MANAGED TO INSTALL 4.4.2 BUT SAID THE IT NEEDS A OFFICAIL KERNEL ASI I HAVE NOO IME/BOOTLOADER/DOSENT THAT GET INSTALL ED WITH THE FIRM WARE NOW THE CONMAN WANT S£50 TO INSTALL THE OFFICAIL KERNEL AS I CANT MAKE CALLS,JST KEEPS SAYING NO SIM INSERTED,HAD IT BEFORE ON MY S3 BUT FIXED IT WITH A CUSTOM ROM,SHOULD I TRY INSTALLING INSTALLING A 4.3 OR .4..2 CUSTOM ROM ON IT PLZ PLZ HELP GUYS
+Selahattin Göz why must we wait, if you hacked it then share it for that device and let other devs take a look, chainfire is the best, but not the only one.
Because he's a liar. If he had a known method, we'd all know about it and he'd get his ackowledgements and what have you ;)
+John Wickenhauser That's what I was thinking. If rooting voids insurance, I'll just put a bullet through the phone. Same deductible either way, but I'll be damned if they'll get out of fixing a hardware issue just because I've run a different ROM.
+stephen sheldon caps lock is cruise control for cool
Telus user here with Sammy GS5. I've purchased the replacement/warranty for $7/month with them. If something's wrong with the device I'll put the phone in water and then dry it and replace it. What can they do? :)
Eh... if you intend on purposefully damaging your phone to avoid the 'possibility' of your warranty being voided due to a Samsung-only knox warranty void, I'd say don't do it. As I posted above, I've returned phones that bootloop, that are broken, etc. Nothing with physical damage like a broken screen or water damage though, I don't think the warranty covers stuff like that. I think it covers when it stops working or if you drop it and it breaks without screen damage.
If you're dead-set on damaging your phone and getting a replacement, I'd wrap it in tin foil and while it's on, bake it at 200* for a half hour. That should do it. Or take a spare charger and cut the end off exposing the wires, take phone apart and start passing the bare wires over random components until the phone no longer turns on.
This is sneaky stuff here, but if you must damage your phone because you'd rather intentionally break it than face what others have faced and be denied because of this bullshit KNOX, then try the above. Water damage is usually always incurs a deductible!
Also just decided NOT to by Samsung anymore, if there is a better alternative ... ((
goodbye Luckypatcher it was a pleasure to have you on me sgs3, hate me sgn3 now .. its useless
Taking my s4 to Samsung experience at best buy, will intentionally ask for a downgrade to 4.2
What has happened is that during the rooting process you have corrupted a partition in your phones memory known as the efs. The efs is unique to each phone, storing product codes, serial numbers and imei numbers. The easiest way I have found (Samsung ASC as well as technician) to repair this (as it is a common fault in the s3 [GT-i9300] when people either try and root or an over the air update fails) is to download a backed up efs which has been uploaded onto the net. You use Odin, the flashloader of the Samsung android devices which is open for public download, to reinstall the efs. This is done by loading the image (which should be downloaded as a .tar) into the PBA/AP section in odin and flashing it back onto the phone. This should end your bootloop and mark your imei as either 00000... or 00453... (corrupted gibberish). From there a Samsung ASC should be able to rewrite the IMEI onto your phone. If not the alternative, which has a 60% chance of working, is a program known as z3x. But, as an end user that is pricey just for one repair.
It is easier to just use +chainfire's autoroot in odin if rooting is absolutely necessary, which it shouldn't be.
As the ASC you took it to has ended your bootloop we can only assume they have repaired your efs partition already. which just leaves the data within it needing to be filled in. Z3X is able to do this.. but as I've said. that is rather expensive
+Chainfire Samsung has sent many bulletins and notices to their MEA ASC's regarding the knox warranty (its just as much of a pain In the ass to us too). As a summary it pretty much says that the knox is enforced through the bootloader's of models receiving Android 4.3 firmware (excepting the Galaxy S3) it is done as a protection against rooting but is most likely to die on custom roms and, by all accounts, is actually pretty harmless (phone works perfectly fine without it).
As an ASC its also pretty frustrating as the only "fix" for it is to replace the entire PBA assy (main board).
I must say though, recently I have been using your App "triangle away" and it works brilliantly, has not bricked a phone yet (knock on wood) and allows me to hide all the naughty things I do to phones to work around some repairs which Samsung claim to only be fixed through "a main PBA replacement" such as efs corruption (not IMEI - speaking of baseband here) which requires rooting and unofficial methods. But I digress, I mentioned this as a suggestion to make a centralised ftp/torrent/DC/xfcc location which allows access to all of your autoroots/ roots on your available models. It'll save me lots of time if you are willing.
+John Giallanza It all depends on the country you live in, in mine, and most others, Samsung has signed a deal with an insurance company which produces a policy which we know as ADH (Accidental Damage due to Handling) this policy covers user inflicted damage (to a degree) on certain models. This means that you are now able to drop your phone and receive a certain number of repairs. In the case of the Note 3, which +stephen sheldon owns, the ADH extends to what we know as ADH Premium which allows a NEW REPLACEMENT UNIT to be issued in the place of the damaged one.
What really irks me is that Google (via Samsung) DOWNGRADED my phone's functionality with KitKat, making my external SD card far, far less useful to me. And the only way to recover that functionality is to root my phone, thus voiding the phone warranty. In my opinion, Samsung have already butchered it with the "upgrade" - anything I do is secondary. But that won't wash if I ever need a warranty claim.
HOWEVER, thanks to TowelRoot, my phone is now rooted, Knox still 0x00 and the sdcard access problem gone. Just wish it hadn't existed in the first place.
+Gracie G. Becongco I have 4.4.2 on nk1 and I don't have knox warranty bit...could it be hidden
old thread - we now know KNOX is NOT an e-fuse, as in some instances the exynos processor equipped variants HAVE been resettable from ox1 back to 0x0 (link on xda). Some of the service centers have resettable technology too. So hopefully the snapdragon variant's' resetability will follow too. Yea, towelroot can avoid tripping KNOX, but that only allow you to dump Samsung's idiotic bloatware ... you install a custom recover, or rom, or radio, or the wrong kernel and boom - you're still hosed, as KNOX will then trip.
Even if knox isn't an efuse, surely it could be possible to modify the "Download mode" screen ever so slightly so both knox trip is always 0x0 and the OS status is set to what ever it said before it changes to custom.
+Nick Wood Holy Fucking shit you might have saved me 300 dollars... :DDDDDD
KNOX is slowly being undone. It is really more of an "illusion" of resetting back to 0x0 but effective none the less.
Guys... I had an S6 and i read a lot about knox. It IS a shit. Knox + Samsung = No CM, no root, no custom recovery. And time goes, phones get slow, and you can't speed it up, because it will trip the knox counter. Yeah, that's how they get more money. The phone quality is good. And... That's all. Buy Nexus ^_^
My old phone is samsung galaxy alpha and is knox waranty 0x1 .After purchasing a problem he is detected from the microphone. No calls only silence. Sent to the official Samsung service centers and warranty confirmation by Samsung. write from Slovakia.
+Sven Uhrenholdt Frenzel plz send me the documents of your case..My case is same as yours