Updating S4 Active bought in another country

[Bodzabodza]

I have bought a T-mobile branded, not-rooted, SIM-free S4 Active in Germany last year. I used it with a Vodafone card for about a month.
Then I came home to Hungary(and not going back to Germany), and right now I'm using the phone with a Hungarian T-mobile SIM card without any problems.

It's my first "smart"phone, and I love it. But I have a question.

I noticed on Sammobile, that a lot of S4 Active got the KitKat update already(even in Hungary).

My phone is still on 4.2.2.

AP:I9295XXUBMK3
CP: I9295XXUBMK3
CSC: I9295DTMBMK1

So basically 4.2.2 is the latest, but should I wait longer til the official come out? Im waiting since September...
I found two hungarian 4.4.2 firmware for my phone:
Product Code: XEH
PDA: I9295XXUCNI1
CSC: I9295OXXCNI1
MODEM: I9295XXUCNI1
and
Product Code: PAN
PDA: I9295XXUCNI1
CSC: I9295PANCNI1
MODEM: I9295XXUCNI1

Can I install one of them? Or it will cause problems? Do I have to root the phone?

/Sry but I'm new to these things/

 

[Rukbat]

You have to install the German ROM for the phone. (If there's more than 1 carrier listed for Germany, then the TMobile German ROM.)

Yes, you can install them, using Odin.

Rooting would be foolish, since it's the firmware that's rooted and you're going to be replacing it with non-rooted firmware almost immediately. (The reason people root before flashing a ROM is usually that they don't understand what rooting is. Basically it's just adding one file that Google deliberately leaves out [because a single command line in a terminal or adb, if you're rooted, can remove everything in the phone but the hardware, turning it into a box of useless electronic parts]. Flashing a new ROM gives you a ROM that doesn't have the file you added to the original one, so you wasted the time and effort of rooting.)

BTW, waiting won't get you an update - it's TMobile in Germany that would send the update to your phone. since you're not their customer, they won't put your phone on the list. And even if they did, you wouldn't get it in Hungary - it's too far from the nearest German TMobile tower. The files on SamMobile are the official files. You will lose everything on the phone, though - you're installing a new operating system. You can check on the XDA Forums S4 Active forum for your device to see if any of the developers captured a German TMobile update file. If you install that, it will only update your system - you'll keep all your files.

 

[Bodzabodza]

There are 3 firmware options in Germany:
Product Code: DTM (T-mobile)
PDA: I9295XXUBMK3
CSC: I9295DTMBMK1
MODEM: I9295XXUBMK3
Version: Android 4.2.2
Added: 2013-12-19

Product Code: VIA (O2)
PDA: I9295XXUBMK3
CSC: I9295VIAAML3
MODEM: I9295XXUBMK3
Version: Android 4.2.2
Added: 2014-01-12

Product Code: DBT (Brandingfree)
PDA: I9295XXUCNE5
CSC: I9295DBTCNE1
MODEM: I9295XXUCNE5
Version: Android 4.4.2
Added: 2014-06-29

The german T-mobile is still on 4.2.2. So I dont think there's a 4.4.2 german T-mobile update file on XDA forums.

So if I want to update now which one can I use? The german DBT(Brandingfree 4.4.2) or hungarian XEH (Brandingfree 4.4.2) since there's is no t-mobile version(the PAN version is by another carrier called Telenor) in hungary and no t-mobile(4.4.2) yet in germany. :/

 

[Rukbat]

The german T-mobile is still on 4.2.2. So I dont think there's a 4.4.2 german T-mobile update file on XDA forums.

So if I want to update now which one can I use? The german DBT(Brandingfree 4.4.2) or hungarian XEH (Brandingfree 4.4.2) since there's is no t-mobile version(the PAN version is by another carrier called Telenor) in hungary and no t-mobile(4.4.2) yet in germany. :/

The only two guaranteed to work in your phone are the 4.2.2 and the German TMobile 4.4.2 on XDA. The Hungarian versions may work, but the only way to find out is to try them, and if they don't work, you need a bit of experience to get the phone working again. Since you're obviously comfortable in German (you can't live there too long without being able to use the language - I say that as an American who worked in Germany for a few months), the German 4.4.2 will be fine for you. If it's an update file, not the whole ROM, it's even better.

If not, back up everything - including the apps (so you don't have to waste time downloading them again) and the data for the apps, pictures, videos, music - everything - before you install the ROM, then do a factory reset. (DO NOT do a factory reset if it's an update file - you use an update file so that you preserve all your data and a factory reset erases all your data.)

One thing to think about. If you don't root the 4.4.2 ROM, you'll have problems writing to the external SD card. As of KitKat (4.4), it's part of the Linux filesystem, so an app has to have permission to write to a particular folder. It does make things neater for those who scatter files all over the place, but it makes it more difficult for those who know how to use a computer. So you have to root the ROM and use something like NextApp SDFix: KitKat Writable MicroSD (root) to get back some of the access to the SD card that you used to have. I updated to 4.4.2 as soon as there was a rooting method for it, but I'm not sure that I gained anything by updating - the phone was working just fine on 4.3. (4.4.4 is now out for my phone, but I uninstalled the update function, so it won't bother me to update. If and when Google comes out with an improvement to 4.4.2 [Lollipop is a few steps backwards], I may update, but for now, a working phone without a prettier face is better than a prettier face on a phone with bugs.)