[Q] Need help: Rogers S4 4.4.2 I337MVLUFNI2 topic

Carrier: Rogers
Model: SGH-I337M
Android: 4.4.2
Baseband: I337MVLUFNI2
Kernel: 3.4.0-2767305
Build #: KOT49H.I337MVLUFNI2

Is there a different way I am supposed to go about rooting this phone? I've found a lot of information but none for this variant; it makes me worried to do things the conventional way since there doesn't seem to be much talk about NI2 specifically.

Can this be rooted the way it is, and if not, is there a different method I could use to root it without any negative effects?

I've done a lot of looking around, but I haven't found any clear answers which way would be the best way of going about this; being new at this I'm more than a bit worried I may brick my phone.

[Q] [I337MVLUFNI2] [Fido/Rogers] Some help needed topic

Hello everyone,

I'm a long-time member but seldom poster; owned several Samsung/Android devices in the past and rooted/installed custom ROMs in all of them, so I'm a not a newbie, have read the FAQs, searched, etc. I just got an I337M on my Fido renewal and was somewhat overwhelmed by warnings about requiring different approaches to rooting depending on the basebands, etc. Anyway, I have a couple of questions I did not find adequately answered and I hope you guys would be so kind to help. :)

In the course of composing this post, I took the plunge to root using CF-Auto-Root and install TWRP 2.8.3.0 - I guess Knox is now tripped and the warranty on my week-old phone is gone - oh well. Next on the agenda is to:
1) Unlock my phone;
2) Try to improve cell reception with a different modem (I have noticed I seldom have more than 2-3 bars while I have 2 other different devices in the same room on Koodo with full signal strength);
3) Flash @Danvdh's awesome 5.0.1 Lollipop GPE ROM.

My questions:
1) To unlock, it seems I have to downgrade to 4.2.2. first. @veryluckyguy suggests to get the MDJ ROM and only extract/flash the modem.bin and follow the rest of the instructions. Does the modem.bin get flashed over with any new complete ROM I flash or are they separate things? Will I lose the unlock when I flash a new ROM?
2) Are modems generally interchangeable across Android versions? For example, can I flash a 4.x modem in 5.0?
3) Anyone have experiences with poor reception on Fido/Rogers and solve it by flashing in different modem? If so, which?


Thanks for all help. :)