Database Users

[Q] Im new to this rooting thing. I have a few questions.

So originally when I bought this phone I decided I was no going to root it because I was afraid of voiding the warranty or bricking the phone. Now I kind of want to root it but I have a few (dumb) questions:
1. What are ROMS? I hear of custom ROMS and I dont know what they do or where to get them. Help?
2. What is "Superuser Access" or whatever its called that gives you the rooting powers?
3. Why root? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
4. When I root, what are some of the first things I should do? Like do I have to restore my contacts, pics, etc or back anything up to my computer?
5. And last, what are some of the best apps to get after root?
Thank you guys for the feedback. This community really helps whenever I have dumb questions.

Goto YOUTUBE AND AKASKRILLER has videos you can watch no pc needed and not warranty damaging. ....my phones twice as fast and its like he did it for me my.02
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U508p2jRtlg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

alright ill check it out. thanks!

alecjake said:
So originally when I bought this phone I decided I was no going to root it because I was afraid of voiding the warranty or bricking the phone. Now I kind of want to root it but I have a few (dumb) questions:
1. What are ROMS? I hear of custom ROMS and I dont know what they do or where to get them. Help?
2. What is "Superuser Access" or whatever its called that gives you the rooting powers?
3. Why root? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
4. When I root, what are some of the first things I should do? Like do I have to restore my contacts, pics, etc or back anything up to my computer?
5. And last, what are some of the best apps to get after root?
Thank you guys for the feedback. This community really helps whenever I have dumb questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm fairly new to it myself and took a bit to figure out but I've become pretty comfortable with it.
The 2.2 Froyo update will be here soon enough so I haven't even bothered looking at any ROM replacemnts.
The Superuser Permissions will show up after you root the phone. It allows the programs that need these permissions to use em. You'll get a dialog box asking you to allow and if you want to remember the preference when you first run an app that needs this.
Several neat/tweaking apps require a rooted phone. You can also delete alot of the crap that came on the phone that you don't need once it's rooted. I like to tweak and customize alot which is why I decided to go ahead and root it.
I'd definitely download a good backup app and save everything. I use Ti Backup myself. I also did the RyanZa's lag fix. It makes a nice difference. Benchmark went from around 900ish to 1800-2000. I've also removed the boot up/shut down sounds and installed an app that kills the lockscreen so all I have to do is hit the power buttom and I'm at my home screen. There's a few other apps I'm using that require a rooted phone but that's the highlight.

The first post in the Tips/Tricks sticky is a good place to start if you haven't already looked at it.
I'd also suggest doing the GPS fix if you haven't already. It makes a nice difference.
Home screen replacements are a good start too but don't think they necessarily require a rooted phone. I'm using LauncherPro with a custom dock bar and it looks nothing like it did to begin with now.

Wireless tether is a must have that requires root. Other than that, I haven't modded my Vibrant. On my rooted G1 I changed ROMS almost as often as my socks and installed everything under the sun. It made a world of difference on that phone.

Just rooted now what?

I've just rooted my phone now what can I do? Can someone point me in the direction of some good roms
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App

Well I'd say one of the best things that comes from a rooting your phone is Wireless Teather
https://market.android.com/details?id=android.tether&feature=search_result
You can "teather" your phones internet connection to other WiFi devices, like a laptop or portable device.
Also, overclocking your phone (making the processor run faster) is pretty sweet:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.antutu.CpuMasterFree&feature=search_result

Not to be a jerk but it's "tether" not "teather". SetCPU is a great overclocking app and is free if you get it from XDA but overclocking will only work on kernels that support it.

RideZeLitenin said:
Well I'd say one of the best things that comes from a rooting your phone is Wireless Teather
https://market.android.com/details?id=android.tether&feature=search_result
You can "teather" your phones internet connection to other WiFi devices, like a laptop or portable device.
[/url]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Despite the slight grammatical errors pointed out by another poster, tethering is indeed a great tool to utilize after rooting your phone.

LivetheRiceLife said:
Despite the slight grammatical errors pointed out by another poster, tethering is indeed a great tool to utilize after rooting your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please explain what exactly tethering is?
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App

Tethering is allowing your computer or laptop to use your phone's internet connection. Depending on the app and type of tethering you might also be able to use things like a nintendo DS, tablets, etc. Most game consoles can also be tethered but not directly, you have to share the connection through a computer.
P.S. the only reason I corrected the spelling is to make searches easier, not to be a jerk.

Search market for AdFree , install and update(run) it.
It should rid ur phone from all kinds of advertisements , in-app and browser ones too, def a must have

Hello,
I rooted my phone (HTC Evo) in order to use screencast because I'm disabled and can't use my hands. I then installed cyanogen and my apps that came with the phone are gone (voicemail, market, etc). Can someone please help?
Thanks!
Adriana

You need to install the gapps.zip file for your phone to get market, youtube, gmail, etc back. You still won't have your data but the apps will be there.

dbzfanatic said:
You need to install the gapps.zip file for your phone to get market, youtube, gmail, etc back. You still won't have your data but the apps will be there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you! do i put it on the sd card?

You flash the gapps zip the same way you flash a normal ROM.

does overclocking make your device hotter?

It can yes, it can also shorten the lifespan of the phone if pushed too hard too long as well as cause stability issues but as long as you don't push it too far you should be fine.

dbzfanatic said:
You flash the gapps zip the same way you flash a normal ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The voicemail app/widget isn't back...what can I do?

[Q] T-mobile MyTouch 4g vs. HTC: Glacier

Excuse me for my ignorance, ahead of time. I am new to an android phone. I have spent all morning searching and reading on the forum. I am a Unix geek, though, so not completely unfamiliar with some of these concepts. I have a few newbie questions that I need answered:
1. Is the T-Moble version of the MyTouch 4G the same as referenced as the HTC: Glacier? (I mean i noticed an HTC label on the back of the phone, just want to make sure).
2. I am looking for a new ROM for my son's phone. I want to be able to totally disable the GPS and camera. Is there one that allows this?
3. In simple terms, what is "rooting"? Is it just installing a new OS? I see that the steps always include "partitioning" the phone, but i don't see instructions or options for this anywhere.
4. I also see that you can use a tool to create a backup so that you can undo changes or revert a prior version. What tool is best for this?
5. I am a mac user, are there explicit instructions somewhere on these basic concepts of my first "root"?
I know these are very simplistic questions but I have to start somewhere to get the concepts.

deeker said:
Excuse me for my ignorance, ahead of time. I am new to an android phone. I have spent all morning searching and reading on the forum. I am a Unix geek, though, so not completely unfamiliar with some of these concepts. I have a few newbie questions that I need answered:
1. Is the T-Moble version of the MyTouch 4G the same as referenced as the HTC: Glacier? (I mean i noticed an HTC label on the back of the phone, just want to make sure).
2. I am looking for a new ROM for my son's phone. I want to be able to totally disable the GPS and camera. Is there one that allows this?
3. In simple terms, what is "rooting"? Is it just installing a new OS? I see that the steps always include "partitioning" the phone, but i don't see instructions or options for this anywhere.
4. I also see that you can use a tool to create a backup so that you can undo changes or revert a prior version. What tool is best for this?
5. I am a mac user, are there explicit instructions somewhere on these basic concepts of my first "root"?
I know these are very simplistic questions but I have to start somewhere to get the concepts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you should probably research more before rooting BUT
1) Glacier is the same as the mytouch 4g
2) that's harder to do but you could uninstall the camera app and native GPS app.
3) Rooting turns off a checkpoint when updating the recovery which allows you to flash a custom recovery image allowing you to install custom roms
4) it's not an app its built into clockwork mod recovery (replacement recovery image)
5) you can root from your phone the os of your computer doesn't really come into play until you want to start deving
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

deeker said:
3. In simple terms, what is "rooting"? Is it just installing a new OS? I see that the steps always include "partitioning" the phone, but i don't see instructions or options for this anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, i see rooting is gaining access to the base / so that the major phone binaries can be replaced... i see i need 3 things: terminal, asto, and visionary... no adb prompt needed???....
so, visionary 11 or visionary 14, but not 12 or 13???
I just really want to make sure I don't end up with a "brick"!
... right?.....
still waiting on some answers....

well, it is a matter of "faith" with regards to the camera and gps.. my son thinks his friends have hacked his phone and can turn on his camera and gps and determine where he is and see what is going on around him...... i am not one to say they did or didn't for your kids are always right....
so, he won't turn his phone on unless HE wants to use it.... i wanted to re-root his phone with a ROM that saved the battery and gave him the ability to basically change gps dev and camera dev to readonly... so that any app that tries to use them will be denied... unless he turns it on, purposely....
i do this on my mac with the camera for webex takes control of it, if it can, and you have not control over who can see you sitting at your computer.... i just disable it... and only turn it on when i want to skype with my kids..
plus, i think it is cool... i am delving into this for this old lady just wants to learn, too!...

Ok well I'm not too sure on the changing permissions for cam and Gps but saying his friends 'hacked' his phone is preposterous lol a factory reset would eliminate any chance of having a malicious app such as that. As for rooting I used r11. Basically temproot via visionary move gfree files to data/local and then open terminal type
CD data/local
Chmod 777 gfree
./gfree -f
And reboot
Run visionary again and hit permroot
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

yea, let's just say i he is having "paranoid" issues at the moment... i thought, if i went through the terminal and rooting and making him actually do it, it might spark an interest for him to take control, instead of assume with no facts.....
if a person is "paranoid".. give them the tools to know better... ...
glenD

deeker said:
yea, let's just say i he is having "paranoid" issues at the moment... i thought, if i went through the terminal and rooting and making him actually do it, it might spark an interest for him to take control, instead of assume with no facts.....
if a person is "paranoid".. give them the tools to know better... ...
glenD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hah then I'd have him do those instructions followed by rebooting into recovery so he can wipe away everything to give him peace of mind
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

I doubt that there is an app for his friends to do that..Unless they mean the Qik app installed which is for video chat or google latitude, which lets you locate others.

I don't mean to butt in but it's highly unlikely that his friends are remotely activating the camera/gps. Just do a factory reset if theres a bad app that they could be using. And like the other person said he could just be signed into apps included on the phone that track and broadcast your location online (he could have just skipped through some setup stuff or something and pressed allow), or left a video chat app running and had some type of auto-answer on. So just do a factory reset.
If your whole reason to root is to disable those things just don't bother, unless your son is in to that and wants to try out different roms, overclocking, etc.
And yeah Glacier is HTC's "codename" for the myTouch 4G.

Theres a app in the market that you can use to block those functions. You will just have to look for it
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

deeker said:
if a person is "paranoid".. give them the tools to know better... ...
glenD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a person is paranoid... it doesn't mean that they aren't after him
But really, I think that if his friends manage to get his phone for a few minutes (some distraction/diversion action, perhaps involving a voluptuous blonde hottie ), then they may install some applications on his phone that will allow them to remotely trigger the GPS, get his location, initiate a call and listen/spy on him, erase his data, lock his phone etc. etc.
Big brother, Big friends, whatever. Anyway one has to get used to CCTVs everywhere, biometric tracking by the CIA and KGB, friends spying on you through FaceBook (and Android phones, apparently) and god looking to everything one does, says and thinks... Man, am I being paranoid or they really are after me???

Hey guys, I just got the MyTouch4G. I've been on the Cliq for quite a while and have rooted and installed custom ROMs. I've tried ROOTing this but only have succeeded in temp ROOT. I just want to unistall crap apps that I don't use and just suck battery. Also, I'm having difficulty installing CWM recovery to use with ROM manager. I'm looking for a one app solution for ROOT if possible. I tried Z4Root, and another ABD type app neither seem to do the permenant ROOT, only temp.

There is nothing like what you're looking for.
Go to Development section, read the rooting thread.

tvotony said:
Theres a app in the market that you can use to block those functions. You will just have to look for it
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the app name "App protector"

[Q] To Root or Not to Root is Really NOT the question

I have been trying to operate under a No-Root standard consumer/noob mode and just keep running into walls.
All the advice on sideloading is irrelevant for most apps you'd want to run, like Skype, Opera, Firefox, and GoLauncher Task Manager. I can load the apps and get to the Install screen but am blocked there and have to cancel.
So I'm rooting. I saw a suggestion to keep the device in unroot mode until you need it, which sounded right.
I think the grail here is a non-root solution so users can customize the Ux, get rid of the lousy backgrounds Amazon puts up, and if sideloading is going to be allowed, truly let the user beware and let the sideloading begin.
What do you think? Hear Hear! or am I missing anything?

Rooting is trivial. Easy to do once you are setup with adb.
As to keeping non-root most of the time, that depends on if you use something that won't work while rooted, like VOD... In that case, you need to at least temp un-root and it will work (might need to close it first).
Otherwise, I see no real reason to run un-rooted after you have root.

i've successfully installed firefox with 'adb install' on my un-rooted kf. it runs with no issues thus far. i then tried to install adw launcher standalone from here. this also installs fine, but when i hold down the home button and choose adw i get a force close from adw. is this a dead end without root?

My ADW runs great with a backup I made from my phone with Astro

Piercing Heavens said:
My ADW runs great with a backup I made from my phone with Astro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just tried this with my CM7 phone (along with every variation i could think of) and still always getting force close no matter how i try to start ADW

krelvinaz said:
Rooting is trivial. Easy to do once you are setup with adb.
As to keeping non-root most of the time, that depends on if you use something that won't work while rooted, like VOD... In that case, you need to at least temp un-root and it will work (might need to close it first).
Otherwise, I see no real reason to run un-rooted after you have root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting is trivial for folks like us but I'm not going to tell a noob to download the sdk, mod files, etc. It is just too much for the young mind to grasp. It's why iPod and iPads rule the day and why AOL lived as long as it did--people don't want to take the extra steps.
Anyway, if there were really straightforward ways to sideload and not get locked out and to clean up the Ux issues, then imo most folks would do the lightweight appstore based mods.

DataPhreak said:
Rooting is trivial for folks like us but I'm not going to tell a noob to download the sdk, mod files, etc. It is just too much for the young mind to grasp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly the reason why I'm not sure I will root my Kindle. I rooted my Evo 4G and my Galaxy Tab, but I might leave the Kindle so I can USE it rather than configure it. Getting bored of trying to figure stuff out like that as I get older.
I have a co-worker who's the young hacker type and he's left his alone, just using Google's mobile web interface for gmail. I might do that, and recommend it for my mom who only checks her personal email like monthly, maybe with the instant on Kindle and wifi at work and home she'll check it more.

krelvinaz said:
As to keeping non-root most of the time, that depends on if you use something that won't work while rooted, like VOD... In that case, you need to at least temp un-root and it will work (might need to close it first).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is VOD? If you mean video on demand or streaming, it most certainly will work if you're rooted. The "trick" is to rename the "su" file in /system/bin/

YMark said:
What is VOD? If you mean video on demand or streaming, it most certainly will work if you're rooted. The "trick" is to rename the "su" file in /system/bin/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vod=video on demand.
How do you get vod or amazon prime video to work once rooted? I'm not rooted yet but taking the plunge tonight. BTW, What thread should I follow to root my KF and then install all the google apps?
Have 3 more questions.
What launchers work on the KF? ADW, LP,etc.?
All keyboards work?
Is there any way to text on the kindle? That would help me so much.
What email apps do you reccomend, the stock email app is not agreeing with me.

I have a kindle running 6.2 and I try to root it with superoneclick and it says everything goes ok but then my kindle hangs on the boot screen for a long time. I get it going then I run android terminal and do the su command then It says I dont have access to the root and ideas?

bal1985 said:
Vod=video on demand.
How do you get vod or amazon prime video to work once rooted? I'm not rooted yet but taking the plunge tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you have rooted, get the OTA RootKeeper from Voodoo. It will allow you to temp unroot really easy at which point you can use VOD without the block. IF you already have VOD running, you need to kill it from the applications screen (or some other task manager) and then it will run.
BTW, What thread should I follow to root my KF and then install all the google apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A commonly used one is: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1348830
Have 3 more questions.
What launchers work on the KF? ADW, LP,etc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using Go Launcher EX and it works well. I have ADW as well loaded, but I've never used it before so I have not yet messed with it.
All keyboards work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some do, some don't. You have to do some manual work to get any of them to work. I am using Thumb Keyboard with great success.
Is there any way to text on the kindle? That would help me so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True SMS is not really possible as it has no data radio, but you can use alternatives. I think with sprint you can use their web interface. There are other options but not something I've looked into.
What email apps do you reccomend, the stock email app is not agreeing with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IF I was using it for normal email, I would use K9Mail... I've not bother on this device, but I do have Touchdown for Exchange running on it for testing MaaS protection and it works very well for that. It only works with Exchange servers though (1 account).

bal1985 said:
Vod=video on demand.
How do you get vod or amazon prime video to work once rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted the solution in post 8.
---------- Post added at 10:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------
krelvinaz said:
After you have rooted, get the OTA RootKeeper from Voodoo. It will allow you to temp unroot really easy at which point you can use VOD without the block. IF you already have VOD running, you need to kill it from the applications screen (or some other task manager) and then it will run.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need OTA RootKeeper to get VOD while rooted. All you have to do is rename "su" to "su2" in system/bin directory.

YMark said:
You don't need OTA RootKeeper to get VOD while rooted. All you have to do is rename "su" to "su2" in system/bin directory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but get serious. With the app, you press a button and it is done for you. Without it, you have to physically go to the location and rename the file. Then when you want to use an app that needs root, you have to physically go and rename it back.
With the app, you just press a button and it does that for you without any mistakes much faster.
With the exception of VOD, I don't know of anything else that doesn't work when you are rooted (su showing). I normally just run with root on since I have other apps that require root to do their thing.

Motorola Is Listening

Hi,
Some of you Razr I owners might want to look at this.
Motorola Is Listening
http://www.beneaththewaves.net/Projects/Motorola_Is_Listening.html
Some commentary is available at:
Motorola cell phones are regularly phoning home
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5973282
I'm a bit concerned about this, although not sure whether the Razr I is affected.
Curious to see what other's people's opinions are?

bengtan said:
Motorola cell phones are regularly phoning home
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5973282
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just saw that post about an hour ago; it's an interesting read.
There have been a couple of forum posts about Motorola customer service reps allegedly knowing that your phone is rooted when you call in for help/repairs/etc. This might be related.
I'm a bit concerned about this, although not sure whether the Razr I is affected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on the strings in the article I'm guessing it is related to /system/app/cce.apk (com.motorola.blur.service.blur) - do you have this package or anything that sounds similar?
If so, are you able to block it with AFWall/DroidWall?
I'm attaching the manifest file from my copy (Droid Razr M running 4.1.1).

We should be "safe" if we use a custom rom without MotoBlur like http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2174731.

Craps.
I just connected to my Razr I (running 4.1.2 Retail.en.GB) with adb, and 'adb shell pm list packages' gives
Code:
package:com.motorola.blur.service.blur
package:com.motorola.blur.setup
package:com.motorola.blur.setupsettings
package:com.motorola.blur.updater
package:com.motorola.blur.weather
Running 'ls /system/app/cce*' in the shell also gave me this:
Code:
cce.apk
cce.odex
so a related version of the software may also be on the Razr I.

On my device there's :
com.motorola.android.omadrm
all the "suspicious" stuff i could find.
if you perform the debloater provided for Omar's rom motorola can't track you (i think)

omfg! haha!
can i block this?

Do they listen or not
Does anybody know for sure, if this is true for the Razr i as well?
Seems that not a lot of users care about, because every data goes to the NSA anyway
Thanks,
Marti

mrmartischmi said:
Does anybody know for sure, if this is true for the Razr i as well?
Seems that not a lot of users care about, because every data goes to the NSA anyway
Thanks,
Marti
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably RAZR i as well. Just use Omar ROM + debloater and everything seems to be fine.

I had run the debloater too but after reboot were the Motorola apps still at the razr I. The only difference I have seen was,that the settings were lost.
Do you have any idea what was wrong?
Be
Gremly

Not sure if this will help in anything, I have installed Network Log, in the first half hour, it has logged activity for the shown apps, I removed activity from FB and Google services though... What do the 'root' and 'kernel' apps represent? are these the ones being talked about here?

gremly said:
I had run the debloater too but after reboot were the Motorola apps still at the razr I. The only difference I have seen was,that the settings were lost.
Do you have any idea what was wrong?
Be
Gremly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you remember to turn off play store auto update?

Oops, talked too fast... there's big M...

gremly said:
I had run the debloater too but after reboot were the Motorola apps still at the razr I. The only difference I have seen was,that the settings were lost.
Do you have any idea what was wrong?
Be
Gremly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem. And I tried it three or four times.
At the end I had a look which apps should have been removed and did it manually.
via RazR I & Tapatalk 4

Of course, I deactivated the automatic updates because I do not like any changes without my confirmation.
I had run the debloater several time but no change. Chrome I was able to de-install manually but for Google maps, this way didn't work.
In addition, I have some trouble in accessing the local memory. External sd-card no problem and root access to local memory too but e.g. the local download folder, I can access in recovery mode but in normal mode not.

If u use the ES-Fileexplorer u have to push it into system/app to get full access. And in settings u must allow rootaccess
I prefer Filemanager. There is no need to push it into system-folder and for me it is easier to use.
And ofcause u have to navigate to system/apps with the explorer and delete the apk and odex manually
via RazR I & Tapatalk 4

The back-port of the trebuchet file manager,I tried to but when I started, I will only get a blank white screen. About 3 minutes later, I will get a crash message. At the defy, I liked that explorer but not further.
With ES explorer,I have access to all the internal folder but downloads, music and so on, I do not find. Before I unlocked the boot loader, I hadn't seen this.
Root access isn't the problem.

bengtan said:
Hi,
Some of you Razr I owners might want to look at this.
Motorola Is Listening
http://www.beneaththewaves.net/Projects/Motorola_Is_Listening.html
Some commentary is available at:
Motorola cell phones are regularly phoning home
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5973282
I'm a bit concerned about this, although not sure whether the Razr I is affected.
Curious to see what other's people's opinions are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm meant to be getting a brand new RAZRi in the next few days - I'll be doing tests on this myself and will report back if I find anything along the lines of what's in the OP.
It doesn't surprise me to be honest. Very crafty.

Wtf is this? Do anyone knows if samsung or htc does the same?

MauricioRPP said:
Wtf is this? Do anyone knows if samsung or htc does the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd assume so. I can't see Moto being the only ones.