S4 Active might be a brick?

[superdave_427]

I have an ATT Galaxy S4 Active, was running KitKat 4.4.2 when I got it.

I was attempting a downgrade to 4.2.2 so I could unlock it using the method I had found but was not aware that ATT started putting bootloaders in the phones.

So when I tried flashing it using Odin, the flash failed, part of the way through, and since then I can enter download mode and that is it. I can not even enter recovery mode, it gives me the "Software not approved by ATT has been detected" message.

What I am needing is a way to be able just do a factory wipe and restore everything back to original and hopefully unbrick my phone.

 

[Rukbat]

I have an ATT Galaxy S4 Active, was running KitKat 4.4.2 when I got it.

I was attempting a downgrade to 4.2.2

Probably can't be done. Samsung phones on AT&T (and Verizon) can't be "backed down". Once you get 4.3, you can't go back to 4.2. Once you get 4.4, you can't go back to 4.3 or 4.2.

so I could unlock it

You just get the unlock code, put in the "foreign" SIM card, it'll ask for the unlock code, you enter it and the phone is unloocked.

was not aware that ATT started putting bootloaders in the phones.

All phones have bootloaders - that's how the operating system gets loaded (or booted). What AT&T and Verizon had Samsung do is permanently lock the bootloader, then weld it shut, then placed armed guards around it. It's easier to steal gold from Fort Knox than to get into one of these phones.

So when I tried flashing it using Odin, the flash failed, part of the way through, and since then I can enter download mode and that is it. I can not even enter recovery mode, it gives me the "Software not approved by ATT has been detected" message.

Try download mode and flashing 4.4.2.

What I am needing is a way to be able just do a factory wipe and restore everything

That just uninstalls any downloaded apps and deletes any information (accounts, etc.) you entered.

back to original

That's a common misconception - there's no "back". You replaced the 4.4.2 ROM with whatever you flashed - a 4.2.2 ROM in your case, or, at least, a part of it. Now you have to flash a 4.4.2 ROM (assuming the fuses aren't so out of whack that it won't accept a 4.4.2 ROM any more).

If you can't flash 4.4.2 (see SamMobile Firmwares), go to Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active - XDA Forums or AT&T, Canadian Bell, Rogers, Telus, Virgin Samsung Galaxy S 4 - XDA Forums for assistance. (If it is totally bricked, replacing the motherboard will fix it - that's what's bricked. But flashing a ROM is 100% cheaper - it's free.)