If I was to flash my network branded s4 through kies with an unbranded firmware from sam mobile or the Google stock firmware. If I did it through kies will this increase the flash count and change the device status. Sorry for the silly question I'm new from iOS thanks
You can only flash official Samsung firmware on Kies. If you want to flash custom firmware for your Galaxy S4, say a custom ROM, you need to use ODIN to flash CWM and gain root. Then, find a ROM compatible for your phone and gApps for the ROM and use your custom recovery to flash both files. Official OS updates will not trigger the flash counter, but flashing custom unsigned firmware
WILL trip the counter. If one is available, you can flash a .zip containing code that will reset the counter to zero if needed.
The thing is, you need to provide us more info on your specific model of the Galaxy S4. Which carrier did you get the S4 from?