My Galaxy S8 Active Will Not Update Software

[Larry Coffin]

Well, I finally found all the downloads I need. I installed Odin 3.14.1 and SamFirm 0.4.1. The thing that has me baffled is the USA versions, like USA(AWS), which apparently is Amazon web service. There are 3 more: TMB, CLW, and DOB. Which ones do I use?
My phone was refurbished thru Walmart and was originally Sprint. But it was unlocked. I still cannot for the life of me figure out how this thing got rooted. It happened right after I downloaded some apps from Play. Could one or more of those apps been infected that caused it? The thing that worries me is a MitM that's going to a C2 and logging all the stuff on my phone.
Anyway, when I do all this, is my phone supposed to be Power Off, or just turn it off with the normal power button? And at what point do I plug it? Do I turn it on, or do I use Volume Up, Bixby, and Power Button to pull up the menu?
Sorry about all the questions, but my head just doesn't work as well as 40 or 50 years ago. i can't seem to catch on things like I used to. In 1985 or so, I taught myself Assembly Language from textbooks on a TI 994A and then a TI Pro. Can't do that anymore.

mustang7757 I just took a strong dose of a dopamine agonist which causes somnolence, so I may be down for the count until tomorrow.

 

[mustang7757]

Well, I finally found all the downloads I need. I installed Odin 3.14.1 and SamFirm 0.4.1. The thing that has me baffled is the USA versions, like USA(AWS), which apparently is Amazon web service. There are 3 more: TMB, CLW, and DOB. Which ones do I use?
My phone was refurbished thru Walmart and was originally Sprint. But it was unlocked. I still cannot for the life of me figure out how this thing got rooted. It happened right after I downloaded some apps from Play. Could one or more of those apps been infected that caused it? The thing that worries me is a MitM that's going to a C2 and logging all the stuff on my phone.
Anyway, when I do all this, is my phone supposed to be Power Off, or just turn it off with the normal power button? And at what point do I plug it? Do I turn it on, or do I use Volume Up, Bixby, and Power Button to pull up the menu?
Sorry about all the questions, but my head just doesn't work as well as 40 or 50 years ago. i can't seem to catch on things like I used to. In 1985 or so, I taught myself Assembly Language from textbooks on a TI 994A and then a TI Pro. Can't do that anymore.

If you can go system settings scroll all the way down tap about phone then software information need a screen shot of that

 

[mustang7757]

mustang7757 I just took a strong dose of a dopamine agonist which causes somnolence, so I may be down for the count until tomorrow.

Understand , ill work with you at your convenience.

 

[Larry Coffin]

Ok I got the SamFirm going, I think. I didn't know which one to use, so I chose USA (TMB). Is that the right one?

Now what? I haven't tried the Odin thing yet.

(I appreciate your patience and understanding of my physical problems and your willingness to work with me at my pace. You have no idea how helpful that is for me. You seem like a good person)

 

[mustang7757]

Ok I got the SamFirm going, I think. I didn't know which one to use, so I chose USA (TMB). Is that the right one?

Now what? I haven't tried the Odin thing yet.

(I appreciate your patience and understanding of my physical problems and your willingness to work with me at my pace. You have no idea how helpful that is for me. You seem like a good person)

View attachment 320187

That's the correct samfirm, you on tmobile use that firmware

 

[Larry Coffin]

Actually I have Cricket carrier, but it is a refurbished Sprint. It has some Sprint stuff on it. That's the main thing that can be a problem when you're poor and have to buy refurbished.
I downloaded SuperSu and a file manager. Both of those showed that my phone is NOT rooted, but then when performing certain functions, it says that that function or action cannot be performed because it's rooted. That info may be worthless in our case, don't know.
Anyway, where do we go from here?

 

[mustang7757]

Actually I have Cricket carrier, but it is a refurbished Sprint. It has some Sprint stuff on it. That's the main thing that can be a problem when you're poor and have to buy refurbished.
I downloaded SuperSu and a file manager. Both of those showed that my phone is NOT rooted, but then when performing certain functions, it says that that function or action cannot be performed because it's rooted. That info may be worthless in our case, don't know.
Anyway, where do we go from here?

Dang, Att firmware are hard to get , i have to talk to ruben who gets these .


Go to system settings >about phone > software page screen shot it for me

 

[Larry Coffin]

well, I got all the software installed and I think I figured out how to do it, but now this PC will not recognize my phone. It did yesterday OK. It is recognized by my other 2 PCs. Any ideas as to why?

 

[mustang7757]

well, I got all the software installed and I think I figured out how to do it, but now this PC will not recognize my phone. It did yesterday OK. It is recognized by my other 2 PCs. Any ideas as to why?

That's great , which one did you used ?
Try different port in computer? Maybe re-download the drivers for Samsung .

 

[Larry Coffin]

Yeah, I uninstalled all the Samsung stuff, drivers for the phone, Odin, everything, the reinstalled the drivers. But still nothing. The other 2 recognized it without the drivers installed. So, I dunno. Guess I'll use the PC that's hooked into the CCTV and surveillance system. I can do that without changing anything. I have an HDMI hub and a VGA hub and just switch it over with a push of a button.
But yes, i tried 3 different cables and all 4 USB ports on the front.

 

[mustang7757]

Yeah, I uninstalled all the Samsung stuff, drivers for the phone, Odin, everything, the reinstalled the drivers. But still nothing. The other 2 recognized it without the drivers installed. So, I dunno. Guess I'll use the PC that's hooked into the CCTV and surveillance system. I can do that without changing anything. I have an HDMI hub and a VGA hub and just switch it over with a push of a button.
But yes, i tried 3 different cables and all 4 USB ports on the front.

Thats strange I'm not sure

 

[Larry Coffin]

I'll Google it when I have time. Surely it's not a unique problem.

 

[mustang7757]

I'll Google it when I have time. Surely it's not a unique problem.

Could be maybe a simple reboot of that computer or the phone itself .

 

[Larry Coffin]

OK - Somebody, I got the SamFirm and Odin3 v3.14.1 downloaded. I have watched videos, read tons of crap on Google but cannot get things to work right. One video shows Odin3 loading files for Bootloader (BL), AP and selecting them from files extracted from the Odin .zip files. I cannot find the BL and AP files anywhere. So far today, I feel half-way good enough to try to get this done.
But the main problem goes back to when I downloaded some apps from GooglePlay. I try to perform certain operations( open certain files, run certain apps) and it tells me that I cannot do this or that because the phone is rooted. When I try to update the software it says Process Failed.
I ran SuperSU and a couple others, but they tell me the phone is NOT rooted.
I just need to get the good firmware on the phone and correct whatever the problem is. And I need to try to do it today while I am feeling up to the task.
As I stated earlier, I had to connect to another PC because the one I was using no longer recognizes the phone. I've tied all the website suggestions, but my phone does not have the necessary options needed in Settings. So I am hooked into another PC which recognizes the phone and loaded Odin, SamFirm, and Samsung USB drivers. and Smart Switch. If anyone can talk me thru this today I sure would appreciate it. Having to rely on a landline in this age is difficult, and my other cell phone has a few problems with it and is not reliable. Just never know when I'm going to feel good, and I feel good today.

P.S. I cannot even get the screen shown in my previous post now. It says it does not recognize the Region stuff.

 

[Larry Coffin]

I discovered that none of my USB ports were working. It was not recognizing my 2 external drives, therefore could not access backups, System Restore, or System Image.
All but 3 of my 8 taskbar icons were showing, and I could not load the PreSonus recording software, among others.
I started uninstalling all the Odin, SamFirm, and SmartSwitch. I got all the functions restored except no USB ports.
I have not had any responses in a couple of days (I realize I'm not the only one needing help), but I'll have to try a couple of others sites. I have no phone right now except for the landline and depend on my cell for emergencies. I have read online articles, watched videos, called around town, spent many hours trying to figure this thing out and am out of options and ideas.
When I uninstalled the SmartSwitch, which 2 articles and one video advised, my Taskbar Icons returned and cured a couple other problems.
I have asked in my posts if the apps I downloaded from Google Play could have caused my problem, and I listed those apps, but no one responded.

 

[mustang7757]

Get the computer going first before proceeding to flashing or use a known good computer.

 

[Larry Coffin]

I finally got one if the PCs running. Not sure how and still not sure if everything is fixed. Ran into problems I've never encountered before. The SmartSwitch is the main thing that really messed it up. It's a long story and long journey.
Anyway, I am almost afraid to download any of those programs again. Somewhere along the line, and for a reason God only knows, my external Toshiba 1TB is fried. It had tons of important stuff on it. I don't allow myself to fall into the Logical Fallacy trap, but all was well before I loaded the Odin3 3.14, SamFirm, Samsung Windows drivers, and SmartSwitch. The SmartSwitch was questionable as I did not understand why I needed it on my PC.
Anyway, I found a refurbished S8 Active on Walmart at $114, which is what I paid for the other one, and bought it. I wasted about 60+ valuable hours on the phone and PC problem, so I through in the towel. Not wasting any more time with it. Thanks for trying to help.

 

[mustang7757]

I finally got one if the PCs running. Not sure how and still not sure if everything is fixed. Ran into problems I've never encountered before. The SmartSwitch is the main thing that really messed it up. It's a long story and long journey.
Anyway, I am almost afraid to download any of those programs again. Somewhere along the line, and for a reason God only knows, my external Toshiba 1TB is fried. It had tons of important stuff on it. I don't allow myself to fall into the Logical Fallacy trap, but all was well before I loaded the Odin3 3.14, SamFirm, Samsung Windows drivers, and SmartSwitch. The SmartSwitch was questionable as I did not understand why I needed it on my PC.
Anyway, I found a refurbished S8 Active on Walmart at $114, which is what I paid for the other one, and bought it. I wasted about 60+ valuable hours on the phone and PC problem, so I through in the towel. Not wasting any more time with it. Thanks for trying to help.

Sorry you had this trouble , I wonder where you download this stuff from ? All the people I helped flashed never said anything like how your explaining. Good luck with the new phone

 

[Larry Coffin]

As I stated earlier, I made sure the URL was www.Samsung.com and not www.xyzz.com/Samsung. The latter means it's not the official site. I checked the sites with VirusTotal, McAfee, Malwarebytes, and HitManPro. As far as I could tell they were all clean official Samsung sites and not downloads like you get from, say, Tom'sHardware, or Bleeping Computer. Those are good sites and I trust them, but that gives you an idea of what I mean. I always look for check boxes and avoid Download Here, or Download Now unless I know it's the download I want. You know how you go to an official download page, but there will be a red box with Download that is a link to something else. But I'm not perfect and could have missed something. I'm too old for this crap. I learned on things like the early version of IBM Series One mainframes back in the Bronze Age, but that was 45 years ago. Between dope, booze, playing in rock bands and age, I've fried a bunch of brain cells.
Thanks again. I'll try to find the sites I got the stuff from, if I have time and send them.
Thanks again, but I'm just plum tuckered out, as we say in Texas.

 

[mustang7757]

As I stated earlier, I made sure the URL was www.Samsung.com and not www.xyzz.com/Samsung. The latter means it's not the official site. I checked the sites with VirusTotal, McAfee, Malwarebytes, and HitManPro. As far as I could tell they were all clean official Samsung sites and not downloads like you get from, say, Tom'sHardware, or Bleeping Computer. Those are good sites and I trust them, but that gives you an idea of what I mean. I always look for check boxes and avoid Download Here, or Download Now unless I know it's the download I want. You know how you go to an official download page, but there will be a red box with Download that is a link to something else. But I'm not perfect and could have missed something. I'm too old for this crap. I learned on things like the early version of IBM Series One mainframes back in the Bronze Age, but that was 45 years ago. Between dope, booze, playing in rock bands and age, I've fried a bunch of brain cells.
Thanks again. I'll try to find the sites I got the stuff from, if I have time and send them.
Thanks again, but I'm just plum tuckered out, as we say in Texas.

Lol ok