So I am new to the whole Root and ROM Android arena. And I came up with a few questions that hopefully you guys can help me with.
1. I read people saying they lost their ROOT after an update from 4.1 to 4.2 or 4.2.1 to 4.2.2? How did this happen for them?
Do you have to Un-root and flash to stock before updating to a different build (Such as 4.1 to 4.2 or 4.2.1 to 4.2.2)?
2. Right now I am using a custom ROM on Android Version 4.2.2.... if a new Custom ROM with a new android version released (Let's say 4.2.3) can I flash from one Rom to the other with just wiping Cache/Factory wipe and Dalvik Cahce or is there something else I would need to do because of the Android version update?
Sorry those two questions above are very similar but I wanted to ask them both ways.
3. If I were to get bored of the Custom ROM I am currently on. Are there any Best Practices "rules" I should know about when switching from one custom ROM to another?
4. Last if I am on a custom ROM with a nightly build..... is it more common to update to every nightly build that releases? Or is it more common people to only pick and choose choice nightly build versions. And if people do update to every new Nightly build.... can you update too much and destroy your device?
Sorry guys I know these seem like very basic questions..... and Yes I did search the forums. However while I found some very basic answers nothing went into great depth in explanation. All the answers seemed to be very vague.
does anyone have some suggestions on where to find these answers?
1. If you are on stock, rooted, and you update versions of the OS, you are essentially UPDATING the /system partition. That is how you lose 'root' when upgrading. If you modify any system files while rooted, you have to either revert to stock or change those modified files back to the original before running the update.
2. Just run FACTORY RESET in your custom recovery and flash the new custom rom. No need to wipe any caches (/cache is wiped during a factory reset anyway). It doesnt matter what version to what version. Sometimes new versions might require new bootloaders, but you will be bombarded with that information here if that becomes the case.
3. See number 2. Its the same thing. backup your apps with Titanium Backup, do a Factory Reset in custom recovery and flash new rom....done.
4. doesnt matter. you can update as much or as little as you like. some people prefer stability over new shiny, but then others are just crack-flashers....and will literally flash ANYTHING posted to see what happens
Pirateghost said:
1. If you are on stock, rooted, and you update versions of the OS, you are essentially UPDATING the /system partition. That is how you lose 'root' when upgrading. If you modify any system files while rooted, you have to either revert to stock or change those modified files back to the original before running the update.
2. Just run FACTORY RESET in your custom recovery and flash the new custom rom. No need to wipe any caches (/cache is wiped during a factory reset anyway). It doesnt matter what version to what version. Sometimes new versions might require new bootloaders, but you will be bombarded with that information here if that becomes the case.
3. See number 2. Its the same thing. backup your apps with Titanium Backup, do a Factory Reset in custom recovery and flash new rom....done.
4. doesnt matter. you can update as much or as little as you like. some people prefer stability over new shiny, but then others are just crack-flashers....and will literally flash ANYTHING posted to see what happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I really appreciate the response. :good: You'd be surprised how many "Tiny Parts" of answers you get from searching. Very rarely the whole answer you need.
I am glade to hear that Question 2 only requires you to just factory rest. From the misinformation gathered on other forums... I was starting to think you had to flash back to stock before updating to another Custom ROM Build.
@20mmrain
You've probably looked at a number of posts by confused newbs. For better or worse, this site is nothing like a moderated wiki, so you find treasure mixed in with trash.
Rooters fall into four broad classes:
(a) Those that "root & modify" stock ROMs
(b) Those that abandon stock and use custom ROMs and kernels
For each of the above cases, there are diligent and careful users who make full (nandroid) backups... and lazy idiots who do not. It is almost always the lazy idiots you observe coming in here in a panic, independent of whether they are in class (a) or (b).
Beyond that, newbs taking approach (a) seem to perpetually labor under the false impression that their modified versions of a stock ROM should be able to be upgraded by the OTA process - when in fact that there is absolutely no reason to believe that. The OTAs carefully check hundreds of different files before they perform any changes; if even a single one of them has been altered, the OTA aborts without making any changes.
It is *possible* that if none of those hundreds of files are changed that an OTA will succeed on a "nearly stock" ROM. When this happens though, it is quite typical that:
- the "su" binary (part of a root kit) in either /system/bin or /system/xbin gets its' setuid permissions reset by a recursive permission-setting command in the OTA
- the custom recovery can possibly be overwritten by the new stock recovery.
Folks tend to refer to either of the above as "losing root". True in principle, but they are trivially fixed up - if the user actually understands how Android rooting works. (With fastboot, you simply reflash the custom recovery, boot into that and reflash the same root kit originally used).
It's too bad that folks who put together rooting guides seem to neglect putting an emphasis on making backups. They give you both security and freedom.
Bottom line: whatever you choose to do, make nandroid backups. You don't need to keep them all on the tablet - but for convenience reasons, you should have at least one known good ROM as a backup available to be restored.
good luck
Wow that is a really in-depth explanation and that is exactly what was looking for! Since I have been working in the IT world for years I will say with pride that I am an individual who believes in safety first and always back up any important project I am working on! So I am happy to hear I made the right decision there.
I guess a great deal of my questions also stem from working in a windows based world for so long ....that I am still learning Linux/android.
Right now I do keep a nandroid backup on my nexus 7 but only one. How backups do you have? And do you just keep the rest on a thumb drive?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
20mmrain said:
Right now I do keep a nandroid backup on my nexus 7 but only one. How backups do you have? And do you just keep the rest on a thumb drive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment I have 6 on the tablet - all generated in the last 60 days. Two in the last two days (one a rooted stock/jdq39, another a cm10.1 nightly). Plus recent TiBu market app & data backups. 32 GB model, so I have plenty of room.
That doesn't reflect any particular strategy or goal. I hook it up to a PC every once in a while and at that time either copy off any backups worth saving or delete them. Most of the those I have on the PC will eventually be deleted as well without ever being used. You could use a USB key if you want to. Really you only need to keep one on the tablet - mostly as a convenience in case you wedge your daily driver ROM with some random mod: you can restore a working ROM right from your tablet rather than having to find a USB key or return to your PC to get the tablet booting again.
There is one type of ROM backup that I think is very useful to keep a permanent copy of - a pure stock ROM. The reason for that is that any radio images (tilapia) or bootloader upgrades that are *sometimes* delivered by OTA can be trivially installed by:
- make a backup of the current ROM
- restore a pure stock ROM backup (including the stock recovery! ***)
- take the OTA
- ***soft-boot a custom recovery and make a backup of the NEW stock ROM (including its' recovery!)
- hard-flash the custom recovery to the tablet
- restore the backup from the first step above.
Doing things this way is the safest possible way to install either a bootloader or a radio image. Not only that, but for folks that prefer to mod stock ROMs, it gives them a backup archive of /system to recover arbitrary (stock) files from.
*** soft-booting a recovery is the most convenient way to capture a stock recovery as part of a nandroid backup. I.E.
Code:
fastboot boot recoveryimagefile.img
If you hard-flash a custom recovery before you make a nandroid backup of a stock ROM, you lose the opportunity to get a copy of the stock recovery along with the rest of the stock ROM.
good luck
The SUPER Custom Rom Guide and Troubleshoot
There came a new version, your droid got old school and there is no support from Samsung cause they have forgotten about you.
Service centers you looked upon, and to mention exorbitant fees plus service tax came along. Thank You ma'am. will see you around.
Your droid is lagging and hanging and Lo, stops working suddenly. Now you just want to try something new, cause you can't sell them or buy new.
You search on google,
find on Youtube,
Read between surveys and blogs,
tried it yourself,
sometimes got lucky sometimes got thorny.
Now you come to the XDA community. there is too much to absorb and you're kind a new, welcome to all of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dealing with most of the trouble making bugs and useful insight into cornering them like a rat
1. Tab is Stuck on Charging Screen. Tab is not turning On, battery completely depleted/Not charging, Nothing is Working
2. Stuck On Samsung Logo Screen.
3. Stuck in a Boot Loop.
4. Stuck On Firmware Upgrade Encountered an Issue.
5. Bricked.Explained in Post number 2
Well that would sum up for me and most of the users will agree that these are the cases that really needs attention and no cussing about how your droid lags and hangs, doesn't makes it to the lists So, by the end of this guide, I would hope and expect at least so much from users to at least have a better knowledge and general idea of how things work here. so users don't just go on saying HELP HELP I am a NooB, Please read and understand first, dude. Thank you I will try to make it simple even if you're not so cool.
A few words about me if you're interested
OH!! you clicked!! wow. well what should I say here. ahem, hello gorgeous. I am Sam So, unlikely,
So guys, I wasn't lucky enough to get everything organised at one thread and spend a lot of time finding a perfect place for everything I would want to, so I thought this would be worth a share. It took me almost a month to write this stuff. yeah I was bored to the core, so put in some fun stuff
along with most of my learning experience and knowledge gained here on XDA in this Guide over the span of 3 years, I would just read and experiment it myself, kind of guy, I wouldn't have dared to put up this guide sooner, but now after successfully solving most of the cases even other people hard bricks and trivial issues that I get to see everyday and keeping myself safe from hard bricks with still not knocked out by one. all thanks to this community this is my gift that I would like to give in return, and I am just someone who likes to get to the edge of the world, exactly, on a round globe. Thank You
Android Broken into 5 parts, Worth a Look
Well not exactly broken but explained in 5 parts ( There are more but I choose not to, thank me for that)
1. Boot section(bootloaders/kernel)
This is droid's heart(accept it), responsible for the droid's birth and keeping it alive, sleeping, waking up, slowdown and speedup, overall working of the system, it has impact on every part of the droid. mess up things here, and droid won't start up at all and will stop beating and malfunction. then you will need a pacemaker and CPR(J-TAG) to revive it or it will keep the brain in coma. yes pretty much like our heart.
2. System section
This is a droid's mind, Its the place where all main work and processes are happening, with rooting and flashing you get a licence to open that mind and analyse, read logs, stats. that brain, heart and all your body is producing, you can see it all and make changes in it, put few things from outside. clean it, format it, wipe it, make amend(patches). So, imagine all that happening in your mind and the idea of cleaning your brains for once, wiping the mind, giving new and fresh experiences(newer and updated files) new interface(new UI), affecting the overall performance and changing to a whole new perspective with which you look at things.
So Clear your mind about this and remove your bad experiences and upgrade it with new stable ones. err not the custom beta and alpha ones, cause then you will give your headaches and put them in depression.
3. Data
This place is the memories part, and everything is stored up here. Everything. some would be overtly stored(on sdcard) and some deep inside you(under system/data/data). now overtly ones are not a concern here but deeper ones are hard to forget and lingers in your system, these won't go well if your heart and mind changed or aren't supposed to be the same, or in trouble will they? (i know I am good at explaining this)
4. Cache
Well, this one is the dreams part. damn I am right just admit it now. they come from your memories, keep it or forget about it, that's unto you. sometimes it can interfere with your old memories when you get new ones. so if unknown problem persist, with your heart and mind working nicely please clear your dreams and look into some of the memories. otherwise get the mind checked first.
5. Recovery
This is the soul part, whenever your heart or mind or data or dreams are feeling lost, you connect to it and revive them accordingly, or contact ODIN.
I hope you had some fun in the above part and a very clear and better understanding, So now you know where things are going wrong
The Beginning
Ensure your Charging Adapter, USB ports and your USB cable, are in good shape and working in accordance, Never depend on USB hubs or any USB port that is a faulty or slow performer, use original cables, or buy new ones, the cable does create problems in some cases. if you're sure that these are fine, then let it in charging for few hours to even a day. depending upon how fast the droid recovers.
So what do you do, when you have to go the custom way or solve your problems?
i. Press Power and Volume Up(right button) or
ii. Press Power and Volume Down(left button) or
iii.Press Power and Hold touch screen combinations.
iv. Press nicely and hold it for good few seconds there, no hurry, really.
v. Long press the power button, release the power button and, when you see a logo appear during boot-up, hold down both the volume up and volume down buttons. Continue holding the two buttons until the droid boots up with a safe mode indicator at the bottom-left corner of its screen.
vi. Plug it in PC with the USB.
vii. Remove the Battery blow air on it and pat a little and put it back inside.
So what happens after doing what I said above?
i. (a). The tab goes into download mode
ii (b). The tab goes into recovery mode
iii(c). the tab switch off/on again.
iv (d). Now the Combinations worked properly, beware cause many a times on droids this could be a seriously tricky part.
v (e). The tab goes into safe mode.
I know you got tired there holding the buttons and No you didn't had to press it so hard
vi (f). Your droid and PC responds and connects.
yeah, I know Nothing much of a Help, but it will make sense when it doesn't
vii(g).
this is an age old trick of which there is no proof of success, but it has been working since ages.
As long as you can enter download mode or recovery or safe mode you can walk the path of going custom and troubleshoot along the way. Piece of cake. Most of the ways including how to root, upgrades, lag free and better performance starts here
[if you're ready to take the plunge, remember there is no backing out.]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Choose your steps wisely here now, if possible just read the main points and see if you have done all those first. that will save your data in some case and in some save you from getting all messed up.
CORA, (CODE OF RECOVERING ANDROID)
For NON-ROOT USERS
Safe mode
Stock recovery
Download Mode
FOR ROOTED USERS
Custom recovery,
Nandroid BACKUP,
Download mode
Safe mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WITHOUT MODIFYING SYSTEM FOR HARDCORE STOCK USER
1. SAFE MODE
This mode generally helps when the problem is arising from 3rd party apps and is making your droid reboot again and again, lagging, hanging issues, so whatever is causing problem, if you can reach here, you can uninstall them clear their data and cache, and yes, free up some internal space too and backup your data from settings-backup as well. then factory reset if you want to.
2. STOCK RECOVERY WAY
You have never rooted your droid and you don't want to root and you don't want to move away from stock, well pressing the Power and Volume Down(left button) will take you there.
try to clear cache/data factory reset(will lose you data stored on internal droid) and yes it does solve few of the cases, even if it doesn't look so promising, it has solved, and will solve quiet a few issues. no chance of getting that data stored on internal., phone book, messages, chats.
3. THE DOWNLOAD MODE WAY
Flash a stock firmware Explained in post the download way.
Code:
Now if you are already Rooted or want to Root to have a better option of saving your data, or reviving your droid
it's like performing a surgery on your body by yourself.
So be careful, you have been warned, Samsung voids the warranty,
and I don't give any Guarantees that these Instructions will work for all.
MODIFYING FOR PEOPLE WHO RISK IT
1. Getting Rooted
2. Custom recovery Way and (post number 4)
3. Download mode Way. (post number 5)
AND FOR THOSE WHO WILL BLAME ME
Seriously?
The most important and most essential part here is GETTING/HAVING a NANDROID BACKUP, the very FIRST THING that you MUST HAVE DID/DONE upon getting ROOTED. Make a Stable Clone guys.
You will need to get rooted and custom recovery to do that, not to forget enabling the USB Debugging Option from Settings->about device-> Build number-> press 7 times->back->developer->Enable USB Debugging and that's the beginning my friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other threads with good post for the tab 2 series about rooting guides, containing firmware links, recoveries, Roms list, kernels, pretty much everything.
All about P51xx
All about P31xx
Latest Roms, Recoveries updated by Android-andi, the best developer around here
other droid users please look it up under your device thread tree, they will surely have a way, tailored and to the point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Getting Rooted is only advised if you're going to stay on stock rom, debloating the system and making changes yourself.
if you're going to install a custom rom, which would be generally rooted, so you can skip to getting a custom recovery first.
CF auto Root are better option for any device to get rooted rather than other options
CFauto-root GT-P3100
CF auto root for GT-P51xx
or you can visit the chainfire homepage for your device which contains the root file for almost every device.
ROOT FROM DEVICE WITHOUT PC
in cases where you can't use ODIN for rooting or you want root your droid and there is still no method explained for Root on XDA then using framaroot, towel root, baidu, kingo or any other app(they can root some sets of droid) is advised, without ODIN or in case you couldn't connect your tab to the PC with the USB, only then these apps are good ways to get root. after that you can use flashify app or other apps for same purpose that has the feature to flash .img files, you can also use Mobile Odin app which can pretty much work when you can't use Odin from Pc.
then you can download a copy of the custom recovery image.(recovery.img) browse in the app and let it do the installation for you. this is useful for droids which doesn't have that much support like we and others have here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Common Issues faced
If you have read about my explanation of android's partitions in the OP(Original Post above), you would know where exactly to look for the problems. Moving on,
For other Geeks
Please remind me if I missed few things, you see I have put up this Guide mostly of the files I have in my system partition,I might have missed few that were stored in data or cache partition
1. Tab is Stuck on Charging Screen. Tab is not turning On, battery completely depleted/Not charging, Nothing is Working
Possibilities
* if the tab doesn't feels warm even after charging for a whole day,
F1. Battery dead,
F2. Circuit/Motherboard blown,
F3. Bad Charger/charging point
F4. No electricity
if it's getting warm and still not turning on
F5. Hardware buttons not working
F6. Motherboard needs replacement.
F7. Flashed a bootloader/kernel(along with a Rom/firmware), or something not meant for your device, which is the hard brick in this category please refer to case number 5. (process on post 2)
F8. Some Custom Roms have bugs that won't Charge, stay stuck on the battery icon, unless you remove the plug and turn on. always read before flashing a Rom, if there are no info, better ask the developer before you go flashing or post your Question in related thread where they would get noticed.
2. Stuck On Samsung Logo Screen.
This could be from various reasons generally not so serious ones mostly recoverable issues of which, some are
Flashed a incompatible Custom Rom zip or any other flashable zip containing files not meant for the exact device.
Flashed a kernel/ bootloader incompatible with the Rom, wrong kernel modules, messed up system lib files, (lucky enough to still not be in hard bricked section.)
Formatted system partition and there is no OS installed. (one of the silliest mistakes I have done)
Some other that I maybe forgetting just like I completely forgot about the above
Possible Solutions
Go to the stock recovery and wipe data/factory reset (this will make your precious data that you stored vanish, except data stored on SDcard) (explained further in post 3)
Get a working stable compatible kernel/Rom or flash stock firmware. (explained in post 2 and 3)
Download from a different source cause chances are the file got corrupted or infected while downloading or transferring. (post 3)
Find the file that is stopping the device from booting up, starting from the kernel, to the system files. duh?
Go to the custom recovery way.
Go to the download way
3. Stuck in a Boot Loop.
Boot Loops are crazy and they will make you mad, they can hit you anytime for even little of tasks, Root or not root, either you are testing a new app, modifying/copying/editing/deleting/overwriting files in the system or data that don't even look so dangerous, just flashing some mod, GAPPS, or just updates rolled out by devs(nothing against them) this will surely hit you, no matter how focused and diligently you work. boot loops will make you do hula hoops.
Boot Loop is generally solved by
Hello? whatever you did that I mentioned above, just roll it back.
if you can't figure it out, well then
Remember the CORA order Quoted above in the first post? Read on
Safe Mode?
Go to recovery and clear cache then reboot.
Clear data/factory reset from stock recovery(data stored will be lost) (root users can skip this and directly go to 7)
No, Recovery?, You sure pressed the button nicely?
Flash a custom recovery image(recovery.tar) from Odin
Repeat from 1-3
Backup/Restore from Nandroid backup
Don't sit for the next exams without memorizing your lesson.
Cleared cache/dalvik cache?
Flash a Compatible Custom kernel
Find the stock replacement of the file/app you messed up from a firmware or a custom Rom, put it in a flashable zip and flash it (advance users)
Clear/data factory reset either from custom recovery. (*loses data)
Flash the Custom Rom, first dirty flash then clean flash.
Flash a Stock firmware from Odin. (loses data)
4. Stuck On Firmware Upgrade Encountered an Issue.
Well this problems hits non-root users and root users too? why? because we wanted an update.
it was trying to upgrade and something got in between to make it stop
Battery/Power/Electricity - for non root users, the most common culprit would be the battery, seriously guys, please keep the battery in mind always. it's a very common mistake that cost many of users. For ODIN users, please see you have a uninterrupted supply of power to your device and you are using latest version along with Hi speed USB ports.
kies!!! I hate that thing and majority of others will support me here. I got rid of it the day I installed that thing on my PC.
interruption from the user side while the device was taking an upgrade. removed battery? fell down on the floor? no?
hardware issue, unlikely, rare I would say, in case the device did came out with a weak emmc card.
Bad/wrong firmware downloaded files.
In case you had a custom recovery and its still working, check the custom recovery way
I Know 1st didn't helped you,
Refer to the Download Mode way and get a custom recovery
Don't forget to clear cache, you do know that's where the device keeps the downloaded/image firmware file, and that's where it is installing/extracting from. the dream partition, no wonder you got errors. you got a nightmare now
try the download mode way
probably it's best that you either forget about the mobile, or give it to a service center for a J-TAG and get it repaired.
I knew you would look here, there is indeed a last ray of hope, explained at the last thing to do in download mode way
5. Bricked.
There are 3 types of Bricks, Soft Hard and The Brick, That's it.
Soft brick
well you are safe and sound, you can even recover from custom recovery mode.
Hard brick
skynet has fallen, just like it infected the droid Arnold Schwarzenegger of the terminator version 3.0, the codes were injected into his heart making the brain dis balance and resulting in partial heart seizure and a coma, but he still had the cache and data part intact along with recovery, so it went there, restored a nandroid backup and went online again. BAM!! so easy. but why? I mean ours droid having reached version 6.0 can't recover from the same way? Where only hope here is a CPR or getting J-TAGGED? not to mention, which should be done by expert surgeons who would charge exorbitant . So, don't waste time with a jig or any other miracle to happen and please don't go on the droid with a shocking therapy. I am more of a practical guy and prefer professionalism.
The Brick
err, that's the solid one, put that on your heart, and forget about this droid and shell out money for a new one. : that's what the company wants to tell you here and that's the reason it doesn't want to put the nandroid on the stock recovery cause they want the blame on you and not them. shhh, keep it hidden, don't say I told you their secret
General Overview of the Next Options we have.
a. The Download Mode Way
Before going this way I would suggest you see the recovery mode way, if it's not working for you, then go ahead here.
You have four things that you can do (other's I never needed to venture upon)
1. Flash a Recovery -
In case you want to change or update a Recovery or fix/access a Recovery again, to root, complete backup from recovery(nandroid), install new custom Rom, install stock Rom, plenty of options here. Probably the safest option here cause you don't lose your data unless you do something wrong here as to format it. whether you root your tablet or not, install a custom Rom or stay on stock, everyone MUST have a custom recovery, I don't understand why Stock recovery can't have this option as well?
2. Flash a stock firmware package -
in case you are on stock recovery never rooted,
can't reach or can't flash anything using custom recovery,
bootloops(applied in all cases), want to revert back to stock factory state. tab system is behaving weirdly, virus and Trojans attacked or you just want to upgrade or change your droid firmware.
Note Using this method, will result in the loss of all your data stored on the device internal card.
3. Flashing a Bootloader
Generally these are included in every stock firmware pack. if you had a ICS(4.0.4) stock Rom, and the device got an Official JB(4.2.2) update. you must update to that firmware first before flashing any later custom Roms[from kk to M(6.0)], the version which never got released officially. flashing this part separately is very risky and done with utmost care, remember it's your droid heart. don't fool around with it.
3. Flash firmware with pit file -
Warning : this is some high level flashing, it will re partition your device along with the stock firmware. in cases where NOTHING ELSE on the whole Internet worked for you, and you have tried almost everything, only then choose this path with clear mind. make mistake in this, and your tab will virtually turn into a paperweight. if you're not sure you could handle it, please send it for the service centers. this is going to flash every part of the droid's body
4. Flash the 4 files with pit
This is the secret way, where miracles can happen even when there was no hope of recovering yourself.
b. The Recovery Mode Way
Stock recovery - Here You can clear cache, there is nothing much happening in clearing cache, just clearing some temporary files and making you feel like you have got some space cleared out. it's just files that you most probably already used.
data/factory reset and reboot. Easy and simple solution . that does solve some of the problems you face without modifying your device much. so those of you who are afraid to flashing things and ending up on some bigger mistake, you can give this a try, but keep in mind, you will lose all your data stored in the device.
there is apply update from recovery, but that seldom has use in an average android user's life nothing much of a recovery.
Go to download mode way of flashing a custom recovery
or
If you have rooted your tab somehow using framaroot, towel root, baidu or any other app, without ODIN in case you can't connect your tab to the PC with the USB, then you can use flashify app or Kernel Adiutor(the latest one) or any other apps that has the feature to flash img from inside the device OS. you can download a copy of the custom recovery image.(recovery.img) browse in the app and let it do the installation for you.
Custom recovery - Here you have many things that you can do depending upon which recovery and which version you choose. CWM is past, philz is ok, TWRP is awesome. most of the options are common in these 3, but some are really better and fast than the previous ones. we will discuss only one, my favorite TWRP(Respect for the legend CWM though), the process is common on all but twrp is more feature rich.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Important files you must have NANDROID BACKUP, STOCK FIRMWARE, PIT FILE, and 4 FILES FIRMWARE PACKAGE, GET them even before you need to search for them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Setting Up Everything
Before proceeding Always keep device battery fully charged and NEVER go flashing on low battery. Very Risky. Don't forget.
Always check the files that you are going to flash on your device. generally files will have device model mentioned in their filename.
Be Sure that you don't lose electricity or laptop on low battery while working. the device takes time to update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Things you need to Set up a 'Flashing Environment'
No, I am not going to talk about a flashy party setup
i. PC running Windows 7 and 8 (with 10 I haven't flashed anything yet, but it works.)
ii. A working data cable(some cables are bad and will not detect your device if you see unknown device better get a new one)
iii. Samsung USB Drivers it's much better than having samsung kies on your pc. I would personally suggest from my experience along with many people who have suffered from samsung kies, it's not worth the hassle. ODIN and KIES don't work alongside, so you will have to close.
iv. ODIN 3.10 (download plus instructions as well I used 1.85, 3.07, 3.09 All worked, and so will 3.10. if not, try different ones from Odin 1-85 to 3.07. these links have more step by step and detailed covering what I have left.
v. 7Zip better download this cause it can unpack most of the files.
Press and hold Power and Volume Up(right) button on your device for few good minutes until you see a download mode screen
Connect your USB cable to PC and press Up to Continue. sometimes there could be problem with the USB ports, you should check in all the ports available. avoid USB hubs or the front panel USB in case of PC, don't let a faulty port ruin this for you.
Problem/Failed with Odin? Refer to this thread Good Points here as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DOWNLOADING AND READING FILES
Believe it, this a very big problem that people tend to overlook
The file you need will look something like these
"P5100XXDMD1_P5100OJVDME1_P5100XXDLL2_EUR.tar.7z"
where
P5100 - Generally the first 5 letters/numbers means a device model number.
XXDMD1 this is PDA which will be 5 letters(much older devices)-6 letters denoting firmware build version.
OJVDME1 is CSC version these just contains regional wise APN, nothing much.
XXDLL2 is Modem version.
EUR is Country Code.
.7z means you need 7zip to extract this file.
Now see these 2 examples here
"S7562XXALJ4_S7562OXXALJ3_S7562XXLJ3_HUN.tar" and "S7562CZNUAMI2_S7562CCHUAMI2_CHU zip"
Sure it's S7562 device but wait the other one is S7562C !!! totally different device firmware. make mistake here and you are sure going to lose.
I Hope you can make out the difference now for every device now.
Now the real file that you need will always be inside a zip/tar/7z the correct format is "P5100XXDMD1_P5100OJVDME1_P5100XXDLL2.tar.md5 "
Remember to extract it and get the md5 file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are the known best sources
Enter and Download device model on sammobile
P5100 sammobile
P5110 sammobile
P5113 sammobile
P3100 sammobile
P3113 sammobile
*Bump Download firmwares available smart-gsm.net
Download firmwares available easy-firmware.comThe Only reason I am putting this here is while I was searching for genuine websites, I had a very hard time finding through sites that looks nothing else than scams and fakes and rarely had files that I needed and password protected. this websites has ads, but looks organized and for tab series, it had at-least all the firmwares downloading.
PHP:
Yes so, it will take time and require a good internet speed, there are other sites, but I don't recommend them unless they are from good source or sometimes the only option. Options are also available from GSMhosting site as well, its another good community but I feel XDA is much better. still if you have no options. you have to get it somehow. just stay away from the survey sites and bogus ones. specially the blogspot ones.
Recovery Mode Way
Recovering from a custom recovery
Important PartCreating Nandroid Backup - This is the most important thing that you will ever need, and will always regret not having it when you chose this path, should be the first priority.
Getting Inside
Switch off the device
Let it completely shutdown
Hold Power and Volume Down(left button)
This is how it looks saw that backup button? yes that is where you tap first (other recoveries will have different looks, but same "backup" and
This is where you do it . by tapping again or navigating through the volume up and down button in case of older recoveries this would not at all be same, this is the most latest feature rich recovery.
Those Running CWM older builds, won't find the options to select boot, system cache and data and instead there will be just "backup" and backup to external.
CWM by default will Backup boot, system, data, cache partitions. Philz will also do it. But TWRP has better features. although they do the same. You just select system, boot, data and cache. that would be all to recover using nandroid backup.
Now here it depends on what you are trying to do and what would you like to recover from, also depends on what you are comfortable with doing and how much space you can spare. if you have a lot, I would say skip this step and backup all for once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not Noob Friendly
if you have that same custom Rom zip that you would like to restore the backup of, then there is no need to copy/backup /system partition again, it will save you some space. so you can skip it in that case for TWRP.
if you're only going to modify device kernel - backup boot. or just data if you already have the custom Rom with kernel.
other than that twrp offers what CWM lacked, skip md5 generation during backup well this is a good option and saves some time while backup, on restoring you can also enable or disable it. the purpose of this is simple, md5 is like a security/seal on your backup file, so you don't mess up anything while restoring it on your device. after all you never know when a virus might attack or you might put the wrong files on it. if you are sure about your talents, you can skip it or else it's better to let it generate and verify while restore. CWM has this setup as default.
Now you have one? GREAT! GENIUS!! Now whenever you encounter a problem make sure you can use it like a BOSS.
Restore Nandroid Backup
Enter recovery mode by Pressing Power and Volume Down(left button),
you reach the main screen,
you see a "restore" option and tap it,
you will see folders name starting with the date you made a nandroid backup,
you recognize which one you want by the date and information listed there, and select it. CWM only offered dates, but twrp even offers more detailed info including OS version and Rom name. one more reason I suggest you to use twrp.
In case you want only data to be restored, then you choose advanced restore and check the data and restore. but before doing this part make sure you are not restoring conflicting data or system or kernel with incompatible versions.
you can't restore a data backup from a Jellybean Rom and put it on a custom Rom based on Lollipop, neither a kernel from Lollipop to jellybean.
Data should only be recovered on the same Rom you took the backup from.
In case the custom Rom developer rolls an update of the same fixing issues,(not some major changes) then you can in some cases think of getting this worked out smoothly. This is called a "dirty flash". which is the reason why sometimes users experience problems running certain Roms, even when they are good and stable Roms. So before complaining to devs make sure you follow the clean install method.
Note: System and data most of the times will cause problems. Kernels are not meant at all to play with. they are the biggest source of bricks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wiping Part - Steer Clear the problems away
this is where wipe takes place[PIC]
here are the wipes options on a custom recovery
Factory reset - Wipes cache, dalvik, data/ excluding your media part on the internal drive.(your pics, videos are safe)
this will generally clear you problems if they are not some big issues. but you will lose the apps and contacts messages stored.
Advanced wipe - Format system
you can try to do this first if you don't want to lose your data while troubleshooting.
format system if you're facing issues with the files on system partition, but remember to install the same Rom you had earlier. if you had stock, you will need a stock Rom zip not to forget keeping the file ready beforehand on the external SD card.
Beware while navigating in advance wipe menu, never wipe in a hurry, never drink and wipe, never take eyes off here, cause you might end up touching external SD card, USB-OTG, internal storage and lose your precious data
Format data - this wipes the data partition
problems arising from the data partition side could be solved here, but you lose your precious data on the internal and get rid of the bad, virus, trojans, trouble making apps.
How to perform A CLEAN INSTALL when you are going to update to a new Rom?
Factory Reset and Format System, Format CACHE
or
Format /System, Format /Data, Format /Cache, WIPE Dalvik Cache, Factory Reset.
This will Surely Solve Some Great & Average Problems of Day to Day Flashing.[/B]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's a Dirty Flash then?
Format System, without Deleting Data partition. before doing this, please do a nandroid backup in case you mess things up. if not, format system again and flash the Rom that was initially running with that data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now Comes the Installing part
Installing Menu
You download a copy of a custom Rom or stock Rom, after following the developer's thread, reading through it's bugs and reviews. you don't want a unstable or alpha Roms.
There would be installing process explained on that thread follow it and always make sure that inside the zip file it contains a meta-inf and system folder with boot.img) always look inside before going to flash, don't trust me, don't trust anyone. although
if you tried to flash a firmware zip file containing a .img file, without Meta-Inf folder, it won't flash. cause the custom recovery needs instructions from updater-script. Now, I know this was mostly going on like this before, but now with latest custom recoveries, (twrp) you can even flash .img files without needing a zip.
You perform a Clean Install wipe stated in the wipe section above
Reboot to Recovery(Don't select reboot to system, there is no system after clean wipe)
You browse through the files list and external storage,
Find that zip file and
Swipe or press or touch to flash it.
You wait for it to complete the process then
You can wipe/cache/dalvik and reboot or you just reboot. depends on what you choose "clean install" or "dirty install".
You want to report any errors while flashing? you are free to do so on the Rom thread, don't expect me to solve those cases.
If all went well, reboot to system and your tab should be up running again. if not refer to the Download mode Way.
The Download Mode Way
The Download Mode Way
1. FLASH A CUSTOM RECOVERY
Find the recoveries in their respective threads. For P51xx and P31xx Recovery thread others can look in their respective device sections, XDA has development thread of most of the Samsung devices and people do post there.
it should look like this on your address bar
"http forum.xda-developers.com / galaxy-tab-2 / general"
xda website /__ (devicename)/ (sub-forum)
(development) OR (/general) section
You can always google it too.
remember you will need a recovery.md5 that will be inside a zip file extract from it.
Always check whats in the archive then go the recovery mode way, it should be .md5
Sorry I have not put up detailed step by step process here because my guide is covering a lot of things already and this is something each device specific, refer to this For General step by step instructions with pictures, this has very detailed process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 FLASH A STOCK FIRMWARE
These package contains files needed to update or revert to the same position where it was shipped to your country along with your android device. you can find all Samsung device firmwares released from all parts of the world, and yes, you can flash firmwares of other country/regions from the sammobile site just stay away from the carrier specific firmwares(unless you are on one) that should be used for the same specific carriers device only they are married to the carrier company and probably won't let you have your own ways with others.
You should also remember not to downgrade a stock firmware once you have upgraded, that will surely create problems
Run Odin as administrator
Browse PDA/AP and find the firmware .md5 file
This is how you should see on your ODIN screen. always be very very careful to uncheck the Re-partition. it's unchecked by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Code:
The yellow column/(Blue for other versions) means
your device is detected by the PC.
If it's not lit, you have messed up USB drivers
still not uninstalled kies Completely or
not connected the device properly.
try changing to different USB Ports.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Press Start
Wait for the process to complete and let the device reboot from download mode
Remove cable when you see PASS written with green above the Yellow/Blue com port.
PHP:
Most Problems are solved here when you see success/PASS.
Except one The emmc bug. Replace the internal emmc, or J-TAG or
mysteriously something else done by professionals.
[*]if it shows failed, see if you can go to recovery mode and clear data, check Mount/Unmount System, data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it still says failed, the downloaded file is corrupted, wrong Odin version(try with different Odin versions) you have flashed wrong device files which has messed up the partition table of your device. refer to other ways.
Threads with good post for the tab 2 series these contains firmware links, guides, recoveries, Roms list, kernels pretty much everything.
All about P51xx
All about P31xx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3. FLASH A BOOTLOADER
First ask yourself why you would want to do this?
Be extra careful with this part, if you have already flashed a updated firmware, you don't need this part.
Those who are using old stock firmware, please flash a stock last updated firmware. you won't need to do this.
Those who did not follow the above two, so it's now unto you, this a risky thing, you have been advised you are going further yourself
Those who are experiencing problems that are not solved even after most of my other instructions here, then it's onto you to decide you want to try this too or not. this could solve problems when device is in serious condition, after all it's the heart partition and remember no downgrades in this once you upgrade. thats it. this could seriously create problems, including bringing back the emmc issue as well.
Refer to this DETAILS AND INSTRUCTIONS to FLASH A BOOTLOADER for SAMSUNG TAB 2 SERIES follow safely by @Joery360 other users please be careful with these files and don't go on flashing others files? okay. Great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4. FLASH FIRMWARE WITH PIT FILE
Wait!! You are sure that you want to try this part? this is the point of no return. Whatever happens to your device by following this guide, good or bad, it's your own responsibility. You can't blame me for it. so be sensible, if you're not sure please let this be done by someone who has the experience of dealing with this kind of stuff.
Now pit files are some serious files, they contain information about your device partition and they help flash erase and rewrite files on their correct partition, so better not take a wrong file, sometimes you have the same device but different internal space, so don't end up choosing a pit file for a 8 GB variant on your 16 GB variant of device, in that case your device will end up using 8gb only, or worse if it's other device, it might never boot up again.
Always remember don't flash pit files ever without a firmware file in place.
Download Pit files for Samsung tab 2 p51xx p31xx series
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Run Odin as administrator
Browse PDA and find the firmware .md5 file
Browse Pit and select the pit file (reminder : file confirmed?)
Make Sure Re-partition is checked cause we are using Pit File to re partition again
Never flash a Pit file without a firmware placed in PDA/AP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press Start
Wait for the process to complete and let the device reboot from download mode
Remove cable when you see PASS written with green above the Yellow/Blue com port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it shows failed while flashing, you did used correct files, right? after this if there is still a download mode running on your device. try the special case files.
this has happened with me on a unknown MTK device, the pit file was slightly different from the original one on device, so it failed, but that was at the start before it could flash. I did somehow managed to flash that different pit file, just lost some disk space. cause I used a lower variant pit but it got the device running up again.
The device takes a long time to boot while it's updating firmware, so you are required to have sufficiently charged battery, Take no chances here.
if even after a successful flash with Odin, you face problems, then that's a emmc bug case. motherboard replacement or emmc replacement, or tab replacement. nothing else.
5. FLASH PIT WITH 4 FILES FIRMWARE
Find the repair firmware files at this Website
it has the 4 files for most of the devices including the Tab 2 series
Instructions for using these 4 files, however please note that the only difference would be the ODIN versions, cause device needs specific ODIN version, some can flash all.
this is the only way, that I have seen working for numerous devices and it is most successful one among all options to recover an almost bricked device, on which you have tried everything.
For other devices
Find them here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you'll find these buttons on every post.
it's better to notify a user when you're asking that user a question or use @username of the user for mentioning in your post, that will give in a notification for you.
I think there could be more, i know it's already lengthy but who knows?
Hi All
Looking for a best tutorial to follow and the right one for my phone really don't want to brick it, obviously :/. as there seems to be a few versions for the S7
I have the following: S7 android 8.0.0 SM-G930F not sure what else I need to know! I'm in the UK so I assume UK phones come with Exynos cpu's
and as far as I am aware android 8 is Oreo! but when they say Stock Rom I assume they mean the same as what came with the phone the original rom?
if so is there an alternative stable rom without the crap included or is it just as simple to delete every thing you don't want now it's rooted! and does that mean if I reset the phone its back to normal with all the crap included! or is there a way to keep it rooted even after reset! and should anything be disabled I.e prepare the phone before attempting to root like any kind of auto encryption that needs disabling and just one more question
if at anytime the rooting process hangs for a ridiculous amount of time when should I throw in the towel! and what are the chances of retrieving the phone back to original state! or does a dirty shutdown brick it?.
I started the root process but failed at first hurdle!, followed instructions install Odin3_v3.13.1 but when I connected the phone nothing showed up in Odin? though I will have another go just to confirm I followed it correctly, I'll update this when it's done.
this was the tutorial I followed:
Easy 4 Newbie [Root Guide]SM-G930F, G935F, G930FD, G935FD (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge)
Warning ! Please note that the official TWRP for Nougat on Galaxy S7/ S7 Edge is not available yet but based on my experience the Marshmallow version is working on Nougat. By installing a custom recovery on your S7 and S7 Edge and rooting it...
forum.xda-developers.com
I know alot of questions I would really appreciate any help and clarification on the above.
many thanks
Regards
Daz
Look pal, rooting the phone is just like being an adult, it means you will get rid of Samsung's "Child Care".
Yes, UK models use Exynos chip, but you have to be sure, look at your baseband version, if it is G930FXXX, then you are good.
ROMs are in two shapes:
Stock-based: These are just like the one you are using, or other Samsung phones does, like Samsung Experience, One UI, TouchWiz. Maybe MIUI and FlymeOS will come into account, as there are ROMs based on them + Samsung's.
AOSP: These are pure Android ROMs, with few modifications to the core, but keeping the UI as close to the source as possible, Google & OnePlus phones come with a near-to-pure operating systems.
Changing a ROM is not risky, as long as you follow the instructions, without any unaccounted improvising.
Before you install a ROM, read the working and bug list, to make sure you are installing something you have an idea of.
You need to install TWRP recovery (or any other one you like), and format data, in order to be able to travel among ROMs and/or root your device.
Formatting is only required because the phone is forcibly encrypted, and TWRP can not decrypt it, at least not for this device.
Rooting is simply about flashing a 5-MB file, Magisk, then rebooting to system, no need to wipe data.
No need to do any additional steps, unless you are trying to hide root from some apps and/or pass SafetyNet.
Mohamedkam000 said:
Look pal, rooting the phone is just like being an adult, it means you will get rid of Samsung's "Child Care".
Yes, UK models use Exynos chip, but you have to be sure, look at your baseband version, if it is G930FXXX, then you are good.
ROMs are in two shapes:
Stock-based: These are just like the one you are using, or other Samsung phones does, like Samsung Experience, One UI, TouchWiz. Maybe MIUI and FlymeOS will come into account, as there are ROMs based on them + Samsung's.
AOSP: These are pure Android ROMs, with few modifications to the core, but keeping the UI as close to the source as possible, Google & OnePlus phones come with a near-to-pure operating systems.
Changing a ROM is not risky, as long as you follow the instructions, without any unaccounted improvising.
Before you install a ROM, read the working and bug list, to make sure you are installing something you have an idea of.
You need to install TWRP recovery (or any other one you like), and format data, in order to be able to travel among ROMs and/or root your device.
Formatting is only required because the phone is forcibly encrypted, and TWRP can not decrypt it, at least not for this device.
Rooting is simply about flashing a 5-MB file, Magisk, then rebooting to system, no need to wipe data.
No need to do any additional steps, unless you are trying to hide root from some apps and/or pass SafetyNet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mohamedkam000
Thanks for replying. I'm not confused about why I want to root the phone. I'm just trying to understand the inner workings and the risks as I'm not as clued up with phone OS's as I am windows. I don't care about warrantees or hiding the the fact it's rooted I just want a clean rooted phone free of big brother well inside at least I know you will never completely keep them out but making it hard is a start lol.
Thank you very much for all the above especially on clarifying about the roms and the reason TWRP formats due to encryption nice one
My Baseband version slightly different though it's G930FXXU8ETI3 not sure if having a U instead of a third X makes any difference!
and I posted wrong tutorial I'm actually following this one below again not sure if that matters.
Guide How to root Android 8.0 Oreo Stock ROM on Galaxy S7 ( 100% Working )
Hi . i see too many peoples have problem on rooting Android 8.0 Oreo Stock Rom on Galaxy S7 ( edge ) and they cant get passed from the verification field error ! ok its bcuz they do only 1 step wrong , here i just wanna tell you all the steps 1...
forum.xda-developers.com
Again many thanks for clarifying that lot up very informative and much appreciated.
Kind regards
Daz
CitizenSmith said:
Hi Mohamedkam000
Thanks for replying. I'm not confused about why I want to root the phone. I'm just trying to understand the inner workings and the risks as I'm not as clued up with phone OS's as I am windows. I don't care about warrantees or hiding the the fact it's rooted I just want a clean rooted phone free of big brother well inside at least I know you will never completely keep them out but making it hard is a start lol.
Thank you very much for all the above especially on clarifying about the roms and the reason TWRP formats due to encryption nice one
My Baseband version slightly different though it's G930FXXU8ETI3 not sure if having a U instead of a third X makes any difference!
and I posted wrong tutorial I'm actually following this one below again not sure if that matters.
Guide How to root Android 8.0 Oreo Stock ROM on Galaxy S7 ( 100% Working )
Hi . i see too many peoples have problem on rooting Android 8.0 Oreo Stock Rom on Galaxy S7 ( edge ) and they cant get passed from the verification field error ! ok its bcuz they do only 1 step wrong , here i just wanna tell you all the steps 1...
forum.xda-developers.com
Again many thanks for clarifying that lot up very informative and much appreciated.
Kind regards
Daz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter which version of Android you are using, root is the same.
However, on stock ROMs, it might sometimes get rough, as you may end up with Wi-Fi not working (happened to me Q1 2020).
If you really want to learn how Android OS works, then rooting the stock ROM is not your way.
Try AOSP ROMs, preferably start with Oreo ones, you can root in 3 common way, LineageOS SU Add-on, Magisk, Super SU.
But before you tickle your phone, you have to make a backup of your current device, of every partition, EFS is the most important partition, so make sure it is safe.
Baseband version doesn't matter a lot, unless you're paranoid with updates, it is sorted alphabetically, each string on its own.
The phone is more similar to a linux machine than to a Windows PC.
Edit: To root stock ROM, you have to flash dm verity, so you don't end up encrypted again.
Mohamedkam000 said:
It doesn't matter which version of Android you are using, root is the same.
However, on stock ROMs, it might sometimes get rough, as you may end up with Wi-Fi not working (happened to me Q1 2020).
If you really want to learn how Android OS works, then rooting the stock ROM is not your way.
Try AOSP ROMs, preferably start with Oreo ones, you can root in 3 common way, LineageOS SU Add-on, Magisk, Super SU.
But before you tickle your phone, you have to make a backup of your current device, of every partition, EFS is the most important partition, so make sure it is safe.
Baseband version doesn't matter a lot, unless you're paranoid with updates, it is sorted alphabetically, each string on its own.
The phone is more similar to a linux machine than to a Windows PC.
Edit: To root stock ROM, you have to flash dm verity, so you don't end up encrypted again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for clearing quite a few things up I thought rooting stock rom would have been far safer way forward wow how wrong was I! but I guess I am just trying to find any kind simile to windows in any way but as you pointed out again it's more like Linux which again I've only played around with ubuntu and mint for a short period so again not to up on Linux lol.
It's funny I was just reading up on AOSP ROMs then got your message. I see they have a stable but not complete! Android 10 not that I would consider it need as I need a stable OS so Oreo is fine for me.
I have backed up phone using Smart Switch on the PC I assume that copy's every thing that's needed, I reset the phone in anticipation all be it prematurely but at least it restored all my data so if anything that was a good test of the back up at least .
I will have look at some AOSP ROMs and see what's involved there, I'll check out their tutorial hopefully it will include the whole process including root.
I gather by your comment using a AOSP ROM you don't need to use dm-verity or will that still be needed!.
The first thing to do is to flash (install) TWRP, it's a custom recovery (think of it as a mini OS that can boot before Android), that will be the base for any of your future tinkering.
Here is the thread, read the FP carefully: [Recovery][Exynos] Official TWRP for Galaxy S7 (herolte)
Once TWRP installed, you can do many things:
Install addons like Magisk. Magisk is the tool you use to obtain root. Forget SuperSU, its outdated, and don't works in modern versions of Android.
Install a custom ROM (this subforum is the perfect place to find them).
Backup & restore an image of your current ROM (very useful).
mooms said:
The first thing to do is to flash (install) TWRP, it's a custom recovery (think of it as a mini OS that can boot before Android), that will be the base for any of your future tinkering.
Here is the thread, read the FP carefully: [Recovery][Exynos] Official TWRP for Galaxy S7 (herolte)
Once TWRP installed, you can do many things:
Install addons like Magisk. Magisk is the tool you use to obtain root. Forget SuperSU, its outdated, and don't works in modern versions of Android.
Install a custom ROM (this subforum is the perfect place to find them).
Backup & restore an image of your current ROM (very useful).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Mooms for the input
I tried to follow your links tutorial which he gives three options only one is any good to me and that was installing twrp using Odin but I'm having issues at every turn!. I can't even get Odin to recognise my phone it just wont pick it up I have Samsung driver installed and I have reinstalled many times I found an article claim to have a workaround but that was BS just selling some other app I even change the driver as described on there page,
7 Tips to Fix Odin Not Detecting Phone
Are you using Odin flash tool to flash your Samsung phone but it is not recognized by Odin? Here are 7 tips to fix Odin not detecting phone.
www.imyfone.com
.
but that did nothing so reinstall normal driver again.
feels like it's just not meant to be :/
Thanks again.
CitizenSmith said:
Thanks again for clearing quite a few things up I thought rooting stock rom would have been far safer way forward wow how wrong was I! but I guess I am just trying to find any kind simile to windows in any way but as you pointed out again it's more like Linux which again I've only played around with ubuntu and mint for a short period so again not to up on Linux lol.
It's funny I was just reading up on AOSP ROMs then got your message. I see they have a stable but not complete! Android 10 not that I would consider it need as I need a stable OS so Oreo is fine for me.
I have backed up phone using Smart Switch on the PC I assume that copy's every thing that's needed, I reset the phone in anticipation all be it prematurely but at least it restored all my data so if anything that was a good test of the back up at least .
I will have look at some AOSP ROMs and see what's involved there, I'll check out their tutorial hopefully it will include the whole process including root.
I gather by your comment using a AOSP ROM you don't need to use dm-verity or will that still be needed!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP ROMs are pure, you can't say they are not complete. They are complete, and what OEMs do, like Samsung and Xiaomi is just a customization that you can do, too.
It is preferred that when you take a backup, take it with TWRP, just to ensure you backed up phone's partitions, along with "EFS".
The root procedure on Android 6+ is done by patching the Kernel (boot.img), so unless you take backup of that, you cannot keep root.
There are stable custom ROMs, custom ROMs are meant for custom adjustments, however the stability depends on your phone, and the way you use it, you can compare AOSP vs. Stock and see the difference.
AOSP ROMs doesn't need dm verity, well, at least not if the developer did not mention the encryption part.
Mohamedkam000 said:
AOSP ROMs are pure, you can't say they are not complete. They are complete, and what OEMs do, like Samsung and Xiaomi is just a customization that you can do, too.
It is preferred that when you take a backup, take it with TWRP, just to ensure you backed up phone's partitions, along with "EFS".
The root procedure on Android 6+ is done by patching the Kernel (boot.img), so unless you take backup of that, you cannot keep root.
There are stable custom ROMs, custom ROMs are meant for custom adjustments, however the stability depends on your phone, and the way you use it, you can compare AOSP vs. Stock and see the difference.
AOSP ROMs doesn't need dm verity, well, at least not if the developer did not mention the encryption part.
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Click to collapse
Some of the roms I have looked at mention external touch buttons at bottom of phone do not work or something else in the phone I'm just reading their comments.
I understand about the stock & custom rom's now that's not my problem at least not at the moment as I am miles away from choosing a rom! as I can't even get out the starting gate!. I can not get TWRP on my phone as the only way I can see to get it on a unrooted! phone is to use Odin but as I said Odin doesn't work at least not for me it does not see my phone. I would love to take a back up using twrp but that won't happen until I find a way to get TWRP on a unrooted phone. what crazy paradox is this!. you can't root phone without twrp installed and twrp won't install on a unrooted phone!. that makes perfect sense.
CitizenSmith said:
Some of the roms I have looked at mention external touch buttons at bottom of phone do not work or something else in the phone I'm just reading their comments.
I understand about the stock & custom rom's now that's not my problem at least not at the moment as I am miles away from choosing a rom! as I can't even get out the starting gate!. I can not get TWRP on my phone as the only way I can see to get it on a unrooted! phone is to use Odin but as I said Odin doesn't work at least not for me it does not see my phone. I would love to take a back up using twrp but that won't happen until I find a way to get TWRP on a unrooted phone. what crazy paradox is this!. you can't root phone without twrp installed and twrp won't install on a unrooted phone!. that makes perfect sense.
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Click to collapse
Does your phone allow MTP communication? I mean can you transfer files when the phone is turned on?
Does the phone show any notification about a usb connection?
If not, then you have probably a bad USB cable, at least, or you have a hardware issue that can go as deep as a burned charging port.
If yes, then either your USB cable is not as fast as the phone requires, or you haven't installed the Samsung USB Drivers on your PC.
Unfortunately, you cannot root your device without PC, at least not since Lollipop.
CitizenSmith said:
Thanks Mooms for the input
I tried to follow your links tutorial which he gives three options only one is any good to me and that was installing twrp using Odin but I'm having issues at every turn!. I can't even get Odin to recognise my phone it just wont pick it up I have Samsung driver installed and I have reinstalled many times I found an article claim to have a workaround but that was BS just selling some other app I even change the driver as described on there page,
7 Tips to Fix Odin Not Detecting Phone
Are you using Odin flash tool to flash your Samsung phone but it is not recognized by Odin? Here are 7 tips to fix Odin not detecting phone.
www.imyfone.com
.
but that did nothing so reinstall normal driver again.
feels like it's just not meant to be :/
Thanks again.
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Click to collapse
Which version of Odin are you using ?
Use this version (latest): Odin v3.14.4
Which version of the Samsung USB drivers are you using ?
Use this version (latest): https://developer.samsung.com/mobile/android-usb-driver.html
Mohamedkam000 said:
Does your phone allow MTP communication? I mean can you transfer files when the phone is turned on?
Does the phone show any notification about a usb connection?
If not, then you have probably a bad USB cable, at least, or you have a hardware issue that can go as deep as a burned charging port.
If yes, then either your USB cable is not as fast as the phone requires, or you haven't installed the Samsung USB Drivers on your PC.
Unfortunately, you cannot root your device without PC, at least not since Lollipop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Yes I can transfer files.
Yes phone asks to allow or block file transfer and it ohone shows up in Devices and Drives list and I can access the phone directory and shows up as Samsung s7 icon.
I will try another USB lead but the one I'm using is new and wasn't cheap but still a possibility I have had leads that weren't suitable for other things I was trying so it is worth a try.
Thanks
mooms said:
Which version of Odin are you using ?
Use this version (latest): Odin v3.14.4
Which version of the Samsung USB drivers are you using ?
Use this version (latest): https://developer.samsung.com/mobile/android-usb-driver.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I downloaded Odin this was latest one Odin3_v3.13.1 though I have doubts that one version update will fix this issue as I did not see many if any people having my issue so they all used Odin and I believe theirs are fine even with older versions! but as I said Mohamedkam it's worth a try I will down load that version and give it a try.
As for the Samsung usb driver I believe that is where I got mine
SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones no version visible under properties on file version 1.7.23.0.
The USB connection seems to be fine I have uninstalled then re-download and reinstalled a couple of times.
I can transfer files no problem it shows up as Galaxy S7 Icon with card and phone drive inside.
I'll update shortly thank you.
Update:
I just went to try new Odin and whilst checking my phone have seen I have Offical TWRP app installed? I have no clue as to how that's got in there! as Odin did not show phone so I could select nothing!.
In the phone I open app and if i select backup existing recovery it opens and Select Folder tab and under that Selected Folder: /sdcard Filename: Recovery .img and at the bottom of screen Root access required.
I just hope it's installed correctly!. it is showing in playstore my apps as well just to confirm. if this is now installed what should I do next Now not sure what tutorial to start following.
I am just going to try the new odin and see if it picks up the phone back soon.
OK Seem that it now shows up in the new Odin. at least I think it has! in the log window I see this: <ID:0/004> Added!!
I didn't see that before.
Would be grateful if you could tell me how to proceed from here!
Correct, you don't need he latst version of Odin or the Samsung drivers, bit it was just to be sure.
You need to be in download mode, but before, you must have checked OEM unlock & USB debug in developer options (mandatory).
I've written a tutorial with images here (in French):
Samsung Galaxy S7 (edge) - Mangez un Oreo! [Topic Unique] - Page : 487 - Téléphone Android - Technologies Mobiles - FORUM HardWare.fr
mooms said:
Correct, you don't need he latst version of Odin or the Samsung drivers, bit it was just to be sure.
You need to be in download mode, but before, you must have checked OEM unlock & USB debug in developer options (mandatory).
I've written a tutorial with images here (in French):
Samsung Galaxy S7 (edge) - Mangez un Oreo! [Topic Unique] - Page : 487 - Téléphone Android - Technologies Mobiles - FORUM HardWare.fr
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Click to collapse
As I said the older version did not show any kind of data what's so ever and the phone was in download mode. phone displayed "Downloading" which I believe it says that even if it's not doing anything! so a tutorial explained. I think it must have installed the Official TWRP app even though phone did not show up in Odin everything was blank however when I installed the new version of Odin like you suggested it then showed up as <ID:0/004> Added!!. so your suggestion work thanks for that and I did enable OEM unlock & USB debug I did long time ago.
I would check out your tutorial but unfortunately I don't speak French and translating instructions is too risky but thank you for the offer but I'll carry on look around still undecided on what custom rom to go for as I said some comments point out small issues and the developers also state certain things are not working so that is making it hard to consider one if you know what I mean.
Again Thank you for your input very much appreciated.
CitizenSmith said:
As I said the older version did not show any kind of data what's so ever and the phone was in download mode. phone displayed "Downloading" which I believe it says that even if it's not doing anything! so a tutorial explained. I think it must have installed the Official TWRP app even though phone did not show up in Odin everything was blank however when I installed the new version of Odin like you suggested it then showed up as <ID:0/004> Added!!. so your suggestion work thanks for that and I did enable OEM unlock & USB debug I did long time ago.
I would check out your tutorial but unfortunately I don't speak French and translating instructions is too risky but thank you for the offer but I'll carry on look around still undecided on what custom rom to go for as I said some comments point out small issues and the developers also state certain things are not working so that is making it hard to consider one if you know what I mean.
Again Thank you for your input very much appreciated.
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Click to collapse
Take a note that, when you flash TWRP, you have to boot immediately to the recovery, so as to enforce its existence, cause I remember they phone has an original recovery backed up somewhere, and gets triggered when you reboot directly to system instead of the unofficial binary.
I advise you to watch guides on YouTube, it's more .. understandable.
CitizenSmith said:
still undecided on what custom rom to go for as I said some comments point out small issues and the developers also state certain things are not working so that is making it hard to consider one if you know what I mean.
Again Thank you for your input very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend to go with ALEXNDR ROM: zero bugs, everything works perfectly (it's based on stock ROM).
[ROM][G930F/FD][ALEXNDR] * U8EUE1 * DevBase v7.4 * Encryption support [Jul-10]
Important notes for Developers / Chefs !!! This ROM is NOT based on any other custom ROM. My work contains many original ideas and innovations that I introduced as the first in the ROM development (see "Changelist" in post #2). Of course, it...
forum.xda-developers.com
Mohamedkam000 said:
Take a note that, when you flash TWRP, you have to boot immediately to the recovery, so as to enforce its existence, cause I remember they phone has an original recovery backed up somewhere, and gets triggered when you reboot directly to system instead of the unofficial binary.
I advise you to watch guides on YouTube, it's more .. understandable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yer I read that but I've ended up with TWRP installed and did not do that process because I was unaware it installed until it showed up.
As I said I'll just keep looking for now I know I'll find one that works for me from start to finish.
and I've been checking youtube but wouldn't want to use any links their providing but it may help familurise myself with the whole process if i watch enough of them.
Thanks again for your help.
mooms said:
I recommend to go with ALEXNDR ROM: zero bugs, everything works perfectly (it's based on stock ROM).
[ROM][G930F/FD][ALEXNDR] * U8EUE1 * DevBase v7.4 * Encryption support [Jul-10]
Important notes for Developers / Chefs !!! This ROM is NOT based on any other custom ROM. My work contains many original ideas and innovations that I introduced as the first in the ROM development (see "Changelist" in post #2). Of course, it...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mooms
I will check that out many thanks. I wonder if you could help me here. I am in the middle of the rooting process but have hit a snag. again!
I have now installed TWRP successfully then no-verity-opt-encrypt-3.1 all went fine and I'm at point of flashing Magisk but have an issue when I swipe to flash is gives me a error in red saying "invalid zip file format !"
I downloaded it from github here.
GitHub - topjohnwu/Magisk: The Magic Mask for Android
The Magic Mask for Android. Contribute to topjohnwu/Magisk development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
I click on "code" tab and then "download zip" and I placed that in a download folder on my sd card when I select it I get the above error any ideas as to why I am getting this am I downloaded the correct file?
thanks for any assistance you could give.