Questions prior to warranty exchange

[texasniteowl]

So I need to prepare my 11 month old GS4 for a warranty exchange. I haven't actually done anything with it in terms of rooting or firmware changes since shortly after I purchased it last July. So to say I don't remember much of anything is an understatement. The reason for the exchange is debris on the main/rear camera sensor. I have no issues with the phone screen itself. Also the front facing camera is fine and does not display the problem. Only the main camera. I have tried using compressed air to dislodge the specs if there were dust but had no luck. There's no apparent damage to the lens and I've tried cleaning it. Example pics here:

http://i.imgur.com/d6VWJGw.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RTStfLs.jpg

Luckily there is an AT&T service center where I can walk in for an exchange about 20 minutes away from me, so I plan to do that.

However, I need to figure out what to do with my phone if anything before I go in.

I think I've pieced together what I did last summer when I first got the phone.

Used CASUAL to root ([ROOT[RECOVERY] Loki + TWRP + Motochopper CASUAL-R527b release:27May13 - Post #1 - XDA)
* Note: my device status has always remained "Official"
TWRP installed
SuperUser installed

I originally just renamed the wssyncmldm.apk but then I purchased Titanium Backup Pro and froze the 3 services and renamed wssyncmldm.apk back to original.

Titanium Backup Pro
- Froze: AT&T Software Update v42
- Froze: FWUpgrade 1.2.0
- Froze: LocalFOTA v2

Since then, I've done nothing. Never flashed. My android version is 4.2.2 and my baseband is MDL (I337UCUAMDL).

Q1: Do I need to do anything in terms of flashing or un-rooting before turning my phone in? Or since the device status says "Official" am I ok to just turn it in as if I haven't done anything?

Q2: In terms of personal data is there anything I need to do/check before exchanging the phone? And as far as wiping the phone, is doing the factory data reset when I turn it in enough?

Q3: Android versions...forums seem to indicate that 4.4.2 (kitkat?) is a horrible update? However, I'm assuming the exchanged phone is already at least at 4.3 or higher. Should I go ahead and unroot my phone and update it so that my data backup is going from/to newer versions?

 

[Swink]

warranty exchange is easy for Android versions
ChameleonJohn

 

[texasniteowl]

So in other words, I'm overthinking it and trying to make it more difficult than it is?

Will I have any problems with the exchange center since it is rooted but the device status reflects official?

 

[Loomis42]

I had to go through something very similar recently when my screen started acting up. I was rooted (S4 Active, via Geohot's Active Root). From other readings I found that what the techs might look for is a the Knox bit. 0x0 means no attempt to change ROMs occurred but 0x1 indicated an attempt, thus voided the warranty. This bit can be viewed with the app Phone INFO in the play store and will display under the heading "Knox Warranty Void:." I also read up on this Knox container and it appears it may not have come with the original version of 4.2.2. My S4 Active at the time before warranty showed "bit not found" and my brand new one, before root, showed "bit not found." So it seems to me the AT&T Jelly Bean 4.2.2 may not have come with Knox. I've read that AT&T protested updates since there are currently thoughts that Knox isn't as secure of useful as its intended to be. As long as you can unroot (using SuperSU app should do the trick) and your warrant bit doesn't read 0x1, you should be home free. I got my phone replaced about 3 weeks ago with no issues and the techs never asked about rooting (the dudes at the AT&T store did though, but i played dumb). In my case, the techs saw the issue on my phone, pulled the battery, did a restart which didn't fix the problem, then gave me a new phone instantly. We may both be over thinking the issue but I'd hate to be the one denied warranty because of rooting a device.

I started by reading this thread: No knox status in ODIN mode? Need to warranty rooted i537 - xda-developers and googling knox and unroot processes.

There's some info here about unrooting: [ROOT] Saferoot: Root for VRUEMJ7, MK2, and Android 4.3 - xda-developers

 

[texasniteowl]

Thanks for all the info Loomis42. I installed the phone INFO app and sure enough, since I'm still on 4.2.2 it says bit not found. I'll take a look at the threads you linked and go from there.

 

[texasniteowl]

Just an update...I've decided against exchanging the phone. A poster on XDA forums pointed out the camera module is available for around $20 and is easy to change out. Since I know the camera is the only problem on my phone, I'd rather swap out the camera than get a refurb unit that a - who knows what it's history is and b - will be at later android versions and basebands that are apparently crap (in case of 4.4.2) and in which the bootloader is now locked.