VZW OTA 4.4.4 Just pushed.

[droidstyle]

im on NI2. I just got the phone today and Towel root said my device isnt supported

NI2 can not be rooted however you can downgrade to the NCG kernel.

1) download towel root

2) from download mode odin NCG kernel in AP/PDA slot

3) once booted up, you will get force closes. Quickly open Towel Root and install ..apk

4) power off and go back to download mode...Odin the NI2 kernel and reboot.

5) go to playstore and install SuperSU.


Enjoy your rooted NI2.

 

[BigSam_iam012]

I need help with Odin and my Galaxy S5

Hey man, I am trying to root but I cannot get odin to recognize my phone. I have a galaxy s5 g900v running android 4.4.4 NI2 version. I have tried a few different versions of odin and also tried putting the phone into download mode then taking the battery out as I seen that tip on another thread but nothing has worked.. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!
Thanks in advance.

 

[wanab3]

Okay folks, you all are super lucky today as I decided to be impatient and personally test this out for you guys. Confirming the below method fully works for me.

1. Make sure you are on stock unrooted NE9 build (if not flash this NE9 firmware in ODIN)
   NOTE: If you are on a newer firmware just flash the stock firmware for that version instead
2. Take the NHA (Android 4.4.4) OTA and confirm all is working
   NOTE: If you are on a newer firmware just take the OTA for whichever is next version instead until you get to the latest
3. Flash the NCG kernel in ODIN: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23578570567722142
   WARNING: After flashing this kernel you may get lots of crashes and hanging but try to push through to next step below little-by-little.
4. Root using Towelroot: https://towelroot.com/
5. Install/Open SuperSU and let it update the binary normally
6. Flash the NHA kernel (I provided earlier) in ODIN: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23622183712469066
   NOTE: If you are on a newer firmware just flash the kernel for whichever version you are on
7. Reboot and you should be all set

Video guide courtesy of DroidModderX:

First, thanks for the guide.

Sorry If this is redundant. I read through the thread and couldn't discern an answer I was satisfied with.

I'm stock-rooted on NI2. I have my phone debloted perfectly for my purposes. I have a lot of apps (sms and games mostly) with data and settings that I would rather not redo. I have not had good experiences with backups in the past so I'm leery about them actually working for me.

I want to upgrade to NK2 to avoid bugs I may encounter, even though I haven't thus far.

If I use this guide will my precious app settings and data get wiped? I would like to hear that they will not. From the video it seems like apps stay, but the data is what I'm mostly concerned with.

Thanks!