EFIDroid for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4/Note Edge (Snapdragon Variants)

I have ported EFIDroid (developed by @m11kkaa) to the Snapdragon variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4/Note Edge.
@m11kkaa's original EFIDroid thread here: https://xdaforums.com/android/software-hacking/efidroid-t3447466.



This is an unofficial port of beta software. I am not responsible for anything that may happen to your device. Use at your own risk.



Note: This has been tested with Samsung stock ROM, EmotionOS 7.1.1, and TWRP 3.0.2-0 on an SM-N910V/trltevzw. All other configurations are untested by me, but should work.

Confirmed working on:
- SM-N910V (trltevzw) (my device)
- SM-N910T (trltetmo) (thanks @viewsfromthepi)
- SM-N910G (trltedt) (thanks @Preet Juneja)
- SM-N910P (trltespr) (thanks @carlosggb)
- SM-N910W8 (trltecan) (thanks @d3multimedia)
- SM-N910F (trltexx) (thanks @cod_r) (possibly some issues with multiboot)
- SM-N915FY (tbltebtu) (thanks @jpearn)
- SM-N915F (tbltexx) (thanks @Juank2007)

I believe this works on all Snapdragon variants. If you're willing to test a variant not listed above, follow the instructions below, and post below if you had success, or if you encountered any issues.



Warning: There have been reports of the app failing to backup the boot/recovery partitions on other devices, leaving the device unable to boot to the OS and/or recovery. I have no way of testing whether this happens on the Note 4, so be ready with a working recovery/boot img on your computer...

I believe this issue does not affect the Note 4, as there have been successful installs with the app. However, I am leaving the related info on how to recover below, just in case this happens to one of you.



Installation

1. Install the attached EFIDroid Manager apk. Since this is an unofficial port, the EFIDroid Manager app from the Play Store won't work.
2. Open the EFIDroid Manager app, open the menu (at the top left), and click "Install/Update".
3. Click the big orange Install button.

And voila, you're done in 3 easy steps! Reboot to see your new 2nd-stage bootloader!
Post below with your variant/installed ROM if you have success.

To update EFIDroid, just repeat step 2, and the click the big orange Update button.
The app won't automatically check for updates, so I'll post an announcement on this thread whenever an important update is available.

Multibooting

You can use EFIDroid as a multiboot manager. To add a multiboot ROM, do the following:

1. Open the EFIDroid Manager app. Press the plus button at the bottom right side of the screen to start adding a multiboot slot.
2. Under "Location", there should be a couple paths. Select the one containing "/data/media/0" if you want the new slot to reside on the internal SD card (recommended for speed). Select the one containing "/mnt/media_rw/" if you want the new slot to reside on the external SD card.
3. You can give the slot a name/description by using the appropriate fields.
4. Press the checkmark at the top right side of the screen to create the multiboot slot.
5. Reboot. When EFIDroid comes up, select TWRP, then select the newly created slot.
6. Go to the "Wipe > Advanced Wipe" menu. Select "System", then swipe to wipe.
7. Install all the zips you want on that slot.
8. Reboot, and when EFIDroid comes up, your new slot should automatically be selected. Press the power button to boot, and enjoy!

Migrating from Dual Boot Patcher

Coming soon!

Troubleshooting

If you are unable to boot the OS/recovery from EFIDroid, do the following (you do have a working boot.img and recovery.img, right?)
This assumes you have fastboot properly setup.

1. In EFIDroid, use the volume keys to navigate to "Fastboot", the press the power key to select it.
2. There should only be one entry in the Fastboot menu. Press the power key to select it.
3. Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable. Run the following (on the computer), one line at a time:
   Code:

   fastboot flash boot <path/to/boot.img>
   fastboot flash recovery <path/to/recovery.img>
   fastboot oem exit

4. In EFIDroid, use the volume keys to navigate to the back button at the top of the screen. Press the power key to select.
5. Use the volume keys to navigate to "Reboot", then press the power key to select.
6. If Maintenance Mode comes up, press the home button to reboot.

You should be able to boot the installed OS/recovery now. If this doesn't work, you can always Odin a TWRP tar, and then flash your original boot.img from inside TWRP, to get back up and running again.

Known Bugs

1. Aroma installers in TWRP may flicker, rendering them unusable.

Again, all credit goes to @m11kkaa for doing all the hard work in developing EFIDroid.

XDA:DevDB Information
EFIDroid, Kernel for the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Contributors
abraha2d, m11kkaa
Source Code: https://github.com/efidroid

Kernel Special Features: UEFI, MultiBoot

Version Information
Status: Beta
Current Beta Version: 0.1
Beta Release Date: 2017-03-18

Created 2017-03-19
Last Updated 2017-07-03

aaron74 said:

I have the Sprint model. Is it safe to try?
Anyone try this yet.?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I believe the Sprint variant is similar enough hardware-wise to the Verizon variant.

As with everything, make sure you backup, and store the backup somewhere other than your phone.

That being said, I believe there are no risks, other than possibly an hour or so of downtime (if something goes wrong with the installation). Since EFIDroid only modifies the boot and recovery partitions, if something goes wrong, you can always flash TWRP via Odin, and then in TWRP flash the boot.img from whichever ROM you're currently running to get back up and running.

If you're willing to wait, I have a friend who has volunteered to test this out on his Sprint variant in a week or two (when he gets his daily driver back).

Neuken69 said:

There is my error now ... what boot and recovery img are you talking about??

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Trying clearing the data of the EFIDroid Manager app.

Neuken69 said:

Same error

---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 PM ----------

im runnng aurora ROM now and i swap between that and Noble ROM not sure if that plays into the error

---------- Post added at 10:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------

im runnng aurora ROM now and i swap between that and Noble ROM not sure if that plays into the error

---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 PM ----------

If you have devices.json in that folder and your running a n910v ... can you share that file?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Is Noble ROM or Aurora ROM a Note 5/7 port? Because that may be the issue. The app might be getting confused.
I have another user who's having the same issue, with a Note 7 port ROM... I'll have to debug on my end, and see what the problem is... The app is supposed to be downloading that file from the OTA server...

Neuken69 said:

Same error

---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 PM ----------

im runnng aurora ROM now and i swap between that and Noble ROM not sure if that plays into the error

---------- Post added at 10:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------

im runnng aurora ROM now and i swap between that and Noble ROM not sure if that plays into the error

---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 PM ----------

If you have devices.json in that folder and your running a n910v ... can you share that file?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Preet Juneja said:

Being on Note 7 port, as you said I've changed product code.
I'm really sorry that I can't test right now by flashing stock firmware but I promise I'll do it sooner.
If anybody else is on stock, please report!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Guys, can you install the attached debug apk, clear data, grant storage permission, and then try again? If it still errors, can you send me a logcat?
@Preet Juneja There's a way to get logcat without a computer, using the Matlog app from the Play Store. See this for details:
https://www.xda-developers.com/guide-sending-a-logcat-to-help-debug-your-favorite-app/
You don't need to do the adb part if you're rooted...

Preet Juneja said:

All logs related to EFIDroid attached:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Did you just search for all lines containing EFIDroid, or did you actually filter by app? Because these logs seem incomplete...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using XDA Labs

Preet Juneja said:

Logs: (From launching efidroid app to pausing logs on matlog app)

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Did you put anything into the "Override OTA Server" dialog? From the logs, either there's something wrong with the app, or you put "samsung/trltevzw" into the dialog...

Preet Juneja said:

Oh. I put it when I didn't edit build.prop (when it was Noblelte). I already tried clearing data due to which it should've removed. Well if it didn't, how can I remove it?
I'm sure it's problem from my side and not yours... it's all because I'm using custom ROM.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

No problem, it should probably be clearer. That dialog is for entering a different URL for the OTA server, not a different device codename. Just remove what's in there, and press Ok. That will clear it. :good:

EDIT: Just saw your edit. Nice to hear it's working.