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Amz 2

Friday, January 17, 2014

My Take on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 LTE (SM-P605, XME) (UPDATABLE)

Year 2014 has arrived and I've finally received my coveted Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition(LTE)(SM-P605) to commerate - nerdgasm, yeaaahh. As I've covered (most of) my first Android device - the Nitetology Black Peark II(i9400), I am glad to do it again for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, let's call it SGN 10.1 2014 for short.

Full specification details:
If some of you are still in the grey, my version has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU which is also the only available model in Malaysia.
http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/2014galaxynote10.1/specification.html
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Samsung-GALAXY-Note-10.1-2014-Edition_id8139
http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-101-2014-edition-specs

Note: I know I could compile them all my self and maybe put them in a nice JPEG or PNG but there's already plenty of detail out there and I don't need to plagiarize or make more copies of them(reference from Lifehacker ).

Details from tablet:
AP / CSC (PDA) versions: Dial *#1234#






I've done quite a few readings on rooting SGN 10.1 2014 and I can tell you for sure that ROOT is DEFINITELY available for SGN 10.1 2014 running Android Jelly Bean 4.3. BUT the problem is, there's an additional security feature on the SGN 10.1 2014 which is called KNOX. KNOX is Samsung's security software basically which has a deep grip in monitoring changes to the devices ROM. Since rooting does something like that, it will cause KNOX to trigger. Trigger as in KNOX flag changes from 0x0 to 0x1. If it does then say "bye bye" to your warranty. To date, I've found 2 'reputable enough' methods to ROOT - one will trigger KNOX (CF Auto Root) while the other MIGHT trigger KNOX (Universal Root de la Vega(URDLV)).
Sources:
WILL TRIGGER(CF-AUTO Root)
MIGHT TRIGGER(URDLV)
Related to URDLV

To be EXPLICIT, I have NEVER tried any of the aforementioned rooting methods for SGN 10.1 2014. Some people have claimed URDLV worked but others not. So i've not taking the risk of losing warranty over root access. The tablet as it is is already very satisfactory since we can install any apps we want even without root.
SO, I decided on waiting because of the release of Android Kit Kat 4.4.2(SOURCE) and also the famous Chainfire's recent news. 

The only problem with the tablet without root is the present bloatware but good thing most of them can be disabled; which is the same as freezing them through an app manager like Titanium Backup. Just go to Settings>Application Manager>All tab.

So just be patient and await the release of Kit Kat 4.4.2, plus root.


 ---------------------------UPDATE(23/10/2014)------------------------------

 Update for Samsung Note 10.1 2014 - Malaysia HAS BEEN RELEASED! F***ING FINALLY!!! Luckily, I checked late today at Lowyat Forum(exact page of mention) and a user mentioned the update available OTA . The weird thing is I wasn't informed of the update earlier during the day although I used it then. Not sure if it was a bug with the software update app or they just released it or something else. Here's a screen of the update:
 From Samsung Kies 3

 New firmware version mentioned: PDA:NJ1 / PHONE:NG1 / CSC:NI1 (XME)

It's a reasonably sized update for 685.55 MB  I believe. A user from the Lowyat Forum mentioned significantly improved smoothness in UI plus looking more like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. I have not looked at the Note 4 UI myself so I can't tell for sure but this update is really well needed as I experienced stutter and force-closes here and there. Most notably the proprietary app, S Note. Although I didn't use it as much, it's somewhat slow and crashed several times. Trying to search for a change log seems to come up with nothing (it was a quick search and still early anyways) as it will most likely be an interesting read catering to fixes of the fair amount of problems with the Note 10.1.

There's an archive online for the ROMs of pretty much all Samsung devices. Here's the one for the tablet:
Samsung Update Live (showing Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 LTE (SM-P605))




---------------------------UPDATE(25/7/2015)------------------------------

Another update. This time 99.90MB. I believe this update was rolled out much earlier since I didn't connect my tablet to the Internet for almost 3 months. Will update if any changes noticed. 



---------------------------UPDATE(17/6/2016)------------------------------

After all a long and painful wait, I finally managed to get Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 on my Samsung Note 10.1 2014. I couldn't wait for a certain company who did not give enough attention to software development to provide it for me as a customer who have paid for a device that is expected to be up to date at least to a certain extent. I ended flashing the 3rd party ROM of Android Marshmallow myself. 

@@@@@CAUTION@@@@@
The following methods WILL lead to your Samsung KNOX(a.k.a. efuse) to trip and permanently void warranty. Mine's already over a year to warranty isn't an issue to begin with.

Root the tablet
  1. Download CF Auto Root HERE. It contains Odin Tool as well that will be used to flash to the phone.
  2. Enable USB debugging on the tablet
  3. Go into Downloading Mode by turning off the tablet then pressand hold volume down key and the power button at the same time until a warning message appears. Press Volume Up to continue
  4. Run Odin Tool and connect the tablet to your PC
  5. A message will appear in the Odin tool. Now press the PDA button and point it to the CF Auto Root File.
  6. Press start and wait till it finishes. A green button with a PASS will appear once it completes.

Installing the ROM
NOTE: There are 2 ways to do this, one is to download TWRP HERE and use Android Debug Bridge(adb) to install or download the app to download TWRP and install. I used the latter method as the first method caused my tablet to stuck in a loop during boot and it drained the battery as a result.

  1. Download the Android Marshmallow ROM by Schischu HERE
  2. Download GApps(from the same XDA Forums page in 1)
  3. Download SuperSU(from the same XDA Forums page in 1)
  4. Flash TWRP 2.7.1.1 or higher (Note: 2.8.7.0 does not work). I used the app with Root so get the app HERE
  5. Reboot into recovery. Go into wipe menu. Select "Advanced Wipe". Check
    • Dalvik Cache
    • System
    • Cache
    • Data
  6. and wipe them. Don't reboot just yet.
  7. Go into install (of TWRP).
  8. Flash aosp-XXX.zip
  9. Reboot to Recovery. Else flashing GAPPS will FAIL!
  10. Flash GAPPS.zip
  11. Flash SuperSU.zip
  12. Reboot to System
  13. Check Settings->System Updates (Creates /sdcard/OpenDelta/FlashAfterUpdate)
  14. Copy SuperSu and Gapps zip to /sdcard/OpenDelta/FlashAfterUpdate so that they are automatically applied after OTA update. Else your system will be unusable after an OTA!(NOTE: for this last step, I couldn't find the directory and decided to create my own folder and copied the files into the internal storage of the tablet)

As would be expected, this (self) update is a tremendous performance improvement for teh tablet. ALL, and I mean ALL, bloatware has been removed as this is a pure Android Marshmallow ROM. I am still unsure about the copying SuperSu and Gapps to that directory step as the respective folder didn't show up even through searching of the file system. Hope no issues arise during the next update.

References: