# [How-To][Noob Friendly Guide]Getting your Stratosphere back to stock for warranty replacement/repair



## RoyJ

UPDATE (9/08/12) :



acejavelin said:


> *Do not use this method to return to stock for the new update... It will return your device to EH2 software, which is fine for a return for replacement, but cannot be updated to the new FF1 OTA update as it is the incorrect starting version.*
> 
> More info coming soon...


UPDATE (8/22/12) FAQ added
UPDATE (8/10/12): Guide seems to be tested working! FAQ is still being written up. Coming real soon.

Let me start by saying that, *I DO NOT take any credit whatsoever for the programs or files found in this guide*. All copyrighted material belongs to their respective owners. I simply needed to return my Stratosphere back to stock and there weren't any quick, easy guides available to me. I was having a lot of trouble returning it to it's "out of the box" state and the clock was running down before I needed to send it back in to Verizon! I decided to make this guide to save anyone else from having to dig online for various troubleshooting steps across multiple different sources.

Notes; *<----- IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING THIS PROCESS*
This guide was written on/for Windows Vista 64bit machines.
You may or may not need to delete your Samsung drivers before starting this process. I did not have to do this, but I've read that if you are having any issues, that is something you should try.
I do not own a Stratosphere anymore. I will do my very best to help you troubleshoot your problems and help you fix them, just know that I CANNOT recreate them on my end. Sorry.
IF YOU DO NOT SEE "Gadget Serial" as stated in Step 9 - Please use your PC's device manager to DELETE your "Samsung" drivers. Delete the Samsung drivers and reboot your PC. Reboot the phone to Download Mode and plug it back in. This should fix the issue.
Standard Disclaimer;

I am in *NO WAY* responsible for any damage done to your phone as a result of using this guide.
***THIS *WILL NOT* RESET YOUR BOOTLOADER FLASH COUNTER***
**IT IS VERY POSSIBLE FOR VERIZON OR SAMSUNG TO SEE YOU FLASHED CUSTOM FIRMWARE DUE TO THE FLASH COUNTER**
*USING THIS GUIDE DOES *NOT* GUARENTEE THAT YOU WON'T BE CHARGED FULL RETIAL PRICE FOR YOUR PHONE*

*REQUIRED DOWNLOADS*
https://www.dropbox...._package.tar.gz

Now that we have that out of the way, let's get started!

First, you will need to download the program "heimdall". You can find & download directly from the developers website, here;
http://www.glassechi...ducts/heimdall/
*Please note that heimdall *requires* the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package. You MUST have this installed on your PC in order to continue.*
**As per the Glass Echidna website, heimdall version 1.3.2 breaks compatibility with certain devices. If you are having trouble, try downloading version 1.3.1. It can be found by scrolling down to "Old Releases" *

If it's not already on your computer and you didn't follow the link on Glass Echidna's website, here's the link to download the 2010 Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package required by heimdall;
http://www.microsoft...ls.aspx?id=5555
INSTRUCTIONS:
-----STEPS
Boot your phone into download mode and connect it to PC via USB cord.
Download the heimdall .zip file from the website linked above.
Extract the contents of the heimdall zip file to your desired location.
You should now see a folder in the location you extracted the files to named "Heimdall Suite"
Open the folder
Navigate the the folder titled "Drivers"
You will see a .exe file by the name of "Zadig" run the program and hit OK to any warning messages you get.
Once the program opens, find the "Options" menu on the top. Select "Show All Devices"
There will be a drop down menu with a bunch of options in it. Select the one that says "Gadget Serial"
Below that box there will be another area labeled "Driver" with your current driver information displayed. To the right of that you will notice an area that lets you select a few different options. Those options should look something like "WinUSB" "libusbK" & "libusb0"
Select the WinUSB option and hit "Install Driver" or "Replace Driver" This will take a few minutes. Feel free to grab food or drink at this time.
It is very important that you now reboot BOTH your computer AND your phone. *Reboot phone to download mode again*
Once you get your PC rebooted and your phone back into download mode, go ahead and plug it back into the computer.
Navigate back to the "Heimdall Suite" folder you extracted earlier.
Open "heimdall-frontend"
You will notice a few tabs across the top of the program. Click the one that says "Utilities" Under "Device Detect" hit Detect. Assuming nothing went wrong so far it will say that it detects your phone!
Navigate back over to the tab labeled "Load Package"
Hit the "Browse" button
Locate and select the "schi405factory_heimdall_package.tar" - Heimdall will decompress and extract the files for you. Again this will take a moment or two, be patient.
Once that process has finished you should see some information filled in as far as firmware name, version and platform, etc.
Select "Load/Customize"
You will be taken to "Flash" tab. Do NOT change any options. Simply hit "Start"
Wait for it to finish.
You should see a message indicating that the flash was a success. At this point unplug your phone and pull your battery.
Boot your Stratosphere into Stock Recovery and Wipe Data/Factory Reset & Wipe Cache Partition.
Congratulations, you're Stratosphere is now ready to be sent back to whoever it needs to go to!!! Feel free to boot it back up just to make sure everything is how it should be. 

*Credits*;
Glass Echidna (for heimdall)
Microsoft (for C++ package)
Zack Skagen (heimdall flashable .tar file for SCH-i405 STRATOSPHERE)
Crystawth (helping me figure everything out)
acejavelin (also helping me figure this all out)
DemoManMLS (for his original guide to the stock ROM)

*If you feel I have in some way violated your work by not crediting you in this guide please PM me and I will edit the post as soon as I get a chance. I have no problem adding your name or any other sites this info may have been previously posted on prior to writing up this guide. As I said earlier, I take absolutely zero (0) credit for all of this. Just putting my hours and hours of research on the topic into one place. Thanks! 

***Coming Soon***
-FAQ's
-Possibly pictures


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## RoyJ

Frequently Asked Questions;

*[Q] How do I boot my phone into download mode?*
Answer: From a powered off state, hold volume down(-) & the power button. You should see a warning about flashing custom firmware. Hit OK and you should see something along the lines of "Downloading... Do not turn off target" - This is download mode. When a step in the guide says to be in download mode, that's what you should see when flashing. 

*[Q] I opened Zidag, but I only see Samsung + a few other drivers, no Gadget Serial. Which one do I pick?*
Answer: None. Open your PC's device manager and find those Samsung drivers. Now delete them, YES delete! Reboot your phone and PC once more. Phone should be rebooted into download mode. Once you reboot you should no longer see those "Samsung" drivers listed. Instead you should now see Gadget Serial. Good to go!

*[Q] Should I use heimdall v1.3.2 or 1.3.1?*
Answer: We had users confirm the process worked for them on 1.3.1 as well as 1.3.2. If one is giving you errors, simply try the other. 

*[Q] I keep getting a libusb error 12, what do I do?*
Answer: This seems to be an issue with incorrect drivers. Make sure your phone is in download mode. Delete all drivers related to your phone and reboot your computer, multiple times if needed. Plug the phone into the PC again and make sure you use GADGET SERIAL from zidag.exe. Also make sure you are selecting WinUSB from the options listed, NOT libusb0 or libusbk.

*[Q] Do I have to wipe data/cache after flashing it back to stock?*
Answer: I'm not 100% sure on that, but I think you might end up boot looping if you don't. Can't hurt!

*[Q] How do I boot into the stock recovery to wipe data and cache?*
Answer: Hold both the Volume UP(+) and Volume Down(-) keys while powering on the device.


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## acejavelin

Think this deserves pinning!!!


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## Crystawth

I was going to write something like this up this weekend.. guess you beat me to it. =)


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## RoyJ

Anyone willing to test this for me? Just so I know I'm not pointing people in the wrong direction. I mean it worked for me, but I'd like to be sure.


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## defe

Been having some mobile data connectivety issues (randomly dropping connection) so wanted to go back to stock to see if its a hardware or software issue. I just followed your directions and everything went fine. Was able to put the phone back to how it was when I first got it. Now to see if my problem still exists.


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## RoyJ

Good to hear! About the guide working haha, sorry about the mobile data issues.








Thanks for letting me know.


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## fc127

I followed your instructions and everything went well up until the flash... This is what I saw:

Now the phone is unresponsive... Completely.

Any Ideas?


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## fc127

Ok, sorry for the false alarm. Apparently this is what it looks like when Heimdall 1.3.2 doesn't play nicely with the strat... I tried 1.3.1 and it worked perfectly.


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## RoyJ

Sorry for the delayed response. I got that error trying to use heimdall commands via command prompt. I wonder why 1.3.2 works for some, but not for others. Just more research for the FAQ section I suppose. Glad you're back up and running.


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## JuggalotusHeat

Can't we just use Odin?


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## acejavelin

JuggalotusHeat said:


> Can't we just use Odin?


Yes, of course... Heimdall is just what several of the developers here use so it is common to instructions for the Strat with that.


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## JuggalotusHeat

acejavelin said:


> Yes, of course... Heimdall is just what several of the developers here use so it is common to instructions for the Strat with that.


cool thanks


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## JuggalotusHeat

hangs on odin...when initiating firmware.xml


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## acejavelin

Hmmm... I don't own a Stratosphere (or any Samsung device at all) anymore to guide you through it, probably best just to use Heimdall and start over unless someone else picks up on this quick. Also, you could drop into the #stratosphere channel at chat.andirc.net (or via your favorite IRC client) and see if bag or withere2 are there, they are kind of the experts in all things Stratosphere


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## JuggalotusHeat

acejavelin said:


> Hmmm... I don't own a Stratosphere (or any Samsung device at all) anymore to guide you through it, probably best just to use Heimdall and start over unless someone else picks up on this quick. Also, you could drop into the #stratosphere channel at chat.andirc.net (or via your favorite IRC client) and see if bag or withere2 are there, they are kind of the experts in all things Stratosphere


Forgot to add in my post that I used Heimdall and it was chill. There have been lots of issues with some packages working in Heimdall and some only work in Odin. With the S3, no packages work with heimdall at all, so we all use Odin. Just some info for the next folks in line ;O)


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## zzandrewst

In step 9, my drop down list does not have a Gadget Serial, but does have a Samsung Android USB Composite Device and also a Samsung Android USB Modem, should I select one of these instead? If not, how do I get it to show the Gadget Serial? Using Heimdall Suite 1.3.1.


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## Crystawth

zzandrewst said:


> In step 9, my drop down list does not have a Gadget Serial, but does have a Samsung Android USB Composite Device and also a Samsung Android USB Modem, should I select one of these instead? If not, how do I get it to show the Gadget Serial? Using Heimdall Suite 1.3.1.


if it is listing those, then chances are, you are not in download mode.


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## zzandrewst

I am in download mode, but Gadget Serial is not listed.


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## Crystawth

hmm.

Under the options menu, make sure list all devices is checked. If it already is, try going into download mode, and then plugging the phone into a different USB port then opening Zadig.


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## zzandrewst

All devices are checked, tried a different USB port and still not listed. I guess I will just ship it back to Verizon as is, my 5 days to return the device before they charge me for it is almost up.


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## Crystawth

hmm, seems a bit puzzling to me...Running Zadig.exe as admin?


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## zzandrewst

I did not run it as admin, maybe that was the problem. I have now sent the phone back, at least I did flash the phone back to the first cwm backup I made. Hopefully they won't charge me for it being rooted.


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## acejavelin

Honestly, I have never heard of someone being charged for sending their phone back rooted, granted most people send them back returned to "stockish" or with other damage or problems to the point it would be hard to tell... Cracked screen, moisture indicators, physical damage, wrong phone, that type of stuff will result in a charge, not to say they can't or won't charge, just never heard of anyone actually getting for it.


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## RoyJ

Sorry. I have problems with AT&T right now. Internet got cancelled and its hard to get online seeing as my data limit is close on my cell. Damn.

I see it's too late as you sent it back already, but you should have deleted those drivers then started over from step 1. I believe once you delete the recognized Samsung drivers the computer will pick it up as Gadget Serial, then you can flash the stock image.

So sorry again I'm late. At&t really screwed me over. I called and told them I forgot to pay my bill and that I would be sending out a check that day and not to turn off my service. (8+ year customer who was only ever late this ONE time.) The rep was very kind and polite and she assured me that she recorded the fact I was paying them that day and my service would not be turned off. 2 hours later they shut me off. Wow. Now they won't turn me back on until I pay for next month in advance?? No thanks. Sent them what I owe and cancelled the account. Needless to say I was furious. Comcast here I come!

So yeah, FYI. If anyone else has that same problem just delete the Samsung drivers from your device manager on the PC and you should be golden. Will update OP.


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## zzandrewst

RoyJ said:


> Sorry. I have problems with AT&T right now. Internet got cancelled and its hard to get online seeing as my data limit is close on my cell. Damn.
> 
> I see it's too late as you sent it back already, but you should have deleted those drivers then started over from step 1. I believe once you delete the recognized Samsung drivers the computer will pick it up as Gadget Serial, then you can flash the stock image.
> 
> So sorry again I'm late. At&t really screwed me over. I called and told them I forgot to pay my bill and that I would be sending out a check that day and not to turn off my service. (8+ year customer who was only ever late this ONE time.) The rep was very kind and polite and she assured me that she recorded the fact I was paying them that day and my service would not be turned off. 2 hours later they shut me off. Wow. Now they won't turn me back on until I pay for next month in advance?? No thanks. Sent them what I owe and cancelled the account. Needless to say I was furious. Comcast here I come!
> 
> So yeah, FYI. If anyone else has that same problem just delete the Samsung drivers from your device manager on the PC and you should be golden. Will update OP.


Thanks anyway!


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## theunderfighter

All is running smooth. And as I try to extract the .tar file, right after it hits 100%, this comes up. Any suggestions?


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## acejavelin

That is either a corrupt source file, or more likely a bad download. Try deleting the file you downloaded before and download again.

I see RoyJ doesn't have MD5's up for his files, maybe someone who has downloaded and tested this can verify them for us?


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## theunderfighter

acejavelin said:


> That is either a corrupt source file, or more likely a bad download. Try deleting the file you downloaded before and download again.
> 
> I see RoyJ doesn't have MD5's up for his files, maybe someone who has downloaded and tested this can verify them for us?


t

Well I think that was a successful theory. Because I deleted the .tar and redownloaded it and it was a success. Unfortunately, when I got to the Flash page and started it.... all seemed to be going well, and then I got this error message:









Being the smart guy I am... I decided, what's the worse that could happen? And proceeded as if everything did go well, and pulled the battery to restart the phone. And now it appears to be entirely bricked... Won't start. won't display a charging logo. Won't do anything at all. Are there any other drastic measures I can take at this point? Like dismantling the phone and doing something? Or am I just entirely fucked? I mean, at this point I'm willing to try anything.


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## Crystawth

and for this reason.. .i don't use the GUI... command line all the way.

if you can get into download mode, you can start from scratch


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## acejavelin

Hate to say it, but if you can't get the phone to do ANYTHING... it's probably truly bricked, without being able to get into download mode or into recovery I am not aware of any magic that can be done here.

Now, I am not saying to so this, but if you call tech support and tell them your phone is dead, you might get a replacement... should still be under warranty. If it is totally dead there isn't much they can do to see it was tampered with.


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## theunderfighter

acejavelin said:


> and for this reason.. .i don't use the GUI... command line all the way.
> 
> if you can get into download mode, you can start from scratch


Well I guess at 4 in the morning... I wasn't being patient enough haha. I can get into download mode again.So, just try it all over? Or do you have a command-line walk-through you'd recommend?
And yes... if I can't get it going... I'm on the verge of just going for broke trying to get a replacement. Feign ignorance... they can't really check anything.


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## acejavelin

I don't know if there is a guide to specifically what you are looking for but this might work...

http://rootzwiki.com...k-ei2-recovery/

It is pretty simple, but since you can't get to recovery you can't wipe data so your first boot that occurs will be dirty and might not even boot all they way, just pull the battery and boot into the stock recovery (think it is POWER+VOL UP but haven't done it in a while and don't have the device anymore) and do a factory wipe there.

Or wait for Crystawth to respond... he is much better at this stuff than I am.


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## theunderfighter

acejavelin said:


> I don't know if there is a guide to specifically what you are looking for but this might work...
> 
> http://rootzwiki.com...k-ei2-recovery/
> 
> It is pretty simple, but since you can't get to recovery you can't wipe data so your first boot that occurs will be dirty and might not even boot all they way, just pull the battery and boot into the stock recovery (think it is POWER+VOL UP but haven't done it in a while and don't have the device anymore) and do a factory wipe there.
> 
> Or wait for Crystawth to respond... he is much better at this stuff than I am.


Yea I went through that one as much as I could, which was really only the last step. Went into DL mode and did the command-line interface and it displayed the same information, and the same error. Just in a plan UI and not a pretty GUI. So apparently there is something wrong with my Kernel, or the Kernel I'm trying to flash... or SOMETHING.


Code:


<br />
Uploading KERNEL<br />
100%<br />
ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!<br />
KERNEL upload fail!<br />

both in GUI and command-line UI.


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## Crystawth

well if you want, i can try and help you via remote control. if you're interested send me a private message, i'll give you my AIM and we will set it up. and i'll see if we cant get you up and running.


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## theunderfighter

Crystawth said:


> well if you want, i can try and help you via remote control. if you're interested send me a private message, i'll give you my AIM and we will set it up. and i'll see if we cant get you up and running.


PM sent.


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## Crystawth

well we tried and tried and tried.. but alas, we had no luck. come to find out, the "repartition" box was checked when the GUI was used.... which could have caused an error in the partition information. I recommend NOT having that box checked if you use the GUI.


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## dwitherell

Crystawth said:


> well we tried and tried and tried.. but alas, we had no luck. come to find out, the "repartition" box was checked when the GUI was used.... which could have caused an error in the partition information. I recommend NOT having that box checked if you use the GUI.


I'm not familiar with Heimdall, but would pushing a .pit file be of any worth? I can check to see if I ever pulled one from the strat...


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## Crystawth

i pulled the pit file from MY strat, and tried pushing it to his with no luck.


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## Crystawth

Code:


heimdall download-pit pit

that downloads the pit to a file on your computer labeled pit.


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## Crystawth

i don't know, i may have did it wrong, or incompletely. but whatever the case, i think it's time to hang up the towel. he's going to call verizon and get a replacement


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## dwitherell

Crystawth said:


> i pulled the pit file from MY strat, and tried pushing it to his with no luck.


Dang - no good at all. Outside of trying ODIN just for the heck of it I'm not sure what the next move should be.


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## Crystawth

i even pulled my bootloader and tried pushing it to his. only gave a transfer error. was worth a shot though. believe me, i tried a bunch lol


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## Crystawth

well i'm not familiar with ODIN, but i think the results may be the same. once the partitions are messed up (if that is what it is) we have no way to correct it seeing as how we do not have all the required files to replace the partitions. =/ my best guess anyways.


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## Crystawth

when i pulled the partition info, it did show partitions... so im stumped..



Code:


heimdall print-pit

sry for all the posts lol.. just quick replying as i think of things.

my final attempt was.....



Code:


<br />
heimdall flash --pit pit<br />
<br />
heimdall flash --factoryfs systemfs.rfs --no-reboot<br />
<br />
heimdall flash --kernel zImageTS --no-reboot<br />
<br />
heimdall flash --recovery cwm5_recovery.bin --no-reboot<br />
<br />
heimdall flash --primary-boot boot.bin<br />

after 30 min or so of thinking and trying, i had to give up. lol


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## theunderfighter

He gave it his all, that's for certain. It's a bummer that "repartition" box was checked... might be all good if not for that. But... oh well, I think my original problem was hardware related anyways, so it was only a matter of time. Calling verizon tomorrow! Thanks again for your help Ben.

Just got off the phone with Verizon.... those gullible fools. Over-nighting me a phone for Tuesday. I almost felt bad, because both support peoples were women.


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## Crystawth

told you all you gotta do is feed em a line and you'll have a new phone. =)


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## p_025

So... My computer doesn't like Heimdall. In fact, it REALLY REALLY doesn't like it. I try to get heimdall to detect (either through frontend or command line) and my computer actually bluescreens with a BAD_POOL_HEADER error or some nonsense. Win7 x64

EDIT: So my laptop will detect it just fine. But when I go to open the .tar.gz file in heimdall, it shits out at me "Failed to open temporary TAR archive," no note from Microsoft, nothing. I'm getting pretty pissed off at this program.

EDIT²: It was because heimdall was in my "Program Files (x86)" folder and I needed to run it as an administrator... Stupid fucking...


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## acejavelin

*Do not use this method to return to stock for the new update... It will return your device to EH2 software, which is fine for a return for replacement, but cannot be updated to the new FF1 OTA update as it is the incorrect starting version.*

More info coming soon...


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## mrrifleman

i had the my strat near-bricked as well after using the heimdall GUI, could only get into download mode etc... i used ODIN and flashed clockworkmod recovery and now i can at least access recovery. cannot get a rom to boot up. but hey, that's a start right??


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## caveman90

acejavelin said:


> *Do not use this method to return to stock for the new update... It will return your device to EH2 software, which is fine for a return for replacement, but cannot be updated to the new FF1 OTA update as it is the incorrect starting version.*
> 
> More info coming soon...


Please keep us posted as us noobies are gonna need a good useable way to do this for the ota update


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## acejavelin

What we really need to do is find someone with a valid default stock nandroid, then anyone who has not flashed EH2 or EK1 should be able to return their phone to stock condition... the problem is we do not have (and probably never will) be able to get the RIL from EI2, so the method in thread works, but only for returning it to "near" stock for sending it on. At this time we have no real way to return the device to true stock, other problem is I no longer have a Strat, so I can't do much playing with it to try to get it working.


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## mrrifleman

oops, edited this post cuz it sucked...


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## dhchiang

I would imagine if we losers who flashed EH2 or EK1 could just use similar file like this, but with the FF1 rom, no? Is it not possible to obtain that? Coule we beg Samsung just for the modem files?


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## OFFBEAT

theunderfighter said:


> Yea I went through that one as much as I could, which was really only the last step. Went into DL mode and did the command-line interface and it displayed the same information, and the same error. Just in a plan UI and not a pretty GUI. So apparently there is something wrong with my Kernel, or the Kernel I'm trying to flash... or SOMETHING.
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> <br />
> Uploading KERNEL<br />
> 100%<br />
> ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!<br />
> KERNEL upload fail!<br />
> 
> both in GUI and command-line UI.


Use heimdall *1.3.1*


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## aosp

Mirror to the Odin package?


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## Furcht

aosp said:


> Mirror to the Odin package?


What do you need or are looking to do?


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