[Q]Rooting N7 - Nexus 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi,
Can you just root the N7, without loosing all your data?
I just want to be able to root it so I can use USB OTG properly.
With StickMount etc.
I don't want custom ROM's etc, just plain old root.
Any way to do this without loosing my apps/layout/data etc.
THANKS !

In order to "just" root, at a bare minimum, you will need to install su. In order to install su, you need to flash a custom recovery. To flash a custom recovery, your bootloader must be unlocked. Unlocking your bootloader erases everything unless you are already unlocked.
There might be a way but it involves relocking your bootloader before booting to the system. Booting the system in an unlocked state causes it to erase everything. All rooting operations can be done without booting the system and the last step would be to lock the bootloader. I have not tried this so no guarantees.

In order to root, you need to unlock your bootloader which will wipe your N7 app layouts etc. You can use adb to backup your apps and settings, or you can have a toolkit do it for you. Unfortunately, I can't help you with exactly how to backup. I didn't backup my settings when I unlocked my bootloader because I did it soon after I got my N7. I'm sure there is someone on here that's more knowledgeable in adb that can tell you the right commands.
Sent from my Paranoid Nexus 7

RockNrolling said:
In order to root, you need to unlock your bootloader which will wipe your N7 app layouts etc. You can use adb to backup your apps and settings, or you can have a toolkit do it for you. Unfortunately, I can't help you with exactly how to backup. I didn't backup my settings when I unlocked my bootloader because I did it soon after I got my N7. I'm sure there is someone on here that's more knowledgeable in adb that can tell you the right commands.
Sent from my Paranoid Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks both, what about the "All-In-One" nexus toolkit, I think that has a backup function and stuff.
And I guess this is a note to self "Root" before you customise and get all set etc.
I wouldn't even root it if I didn't want OTG but things have to be done I suppose.
Can any1 shed any light for the easiest way of rooting, and keeping my apps etc, because its such a ball-ache setting it up again

Related

Is there any method to root the Nexus 7 without unlock the bl?

is there any method to root the nexus 7 without unlock the bootloader?
i read several posts about rooting n7, but every posts needs to unlock the bl first.
and "Flash Clockwork Mod Recovery" .
but i really don't know what the "cwm" is ! i want to use the stock nexus7 rom with rooted. is the cwm recovery will ruin something original?
could anyone solve my anxiety? thx!
You need to unlock the bootloader in order to root.
WugFresh's toolkit has a friendly interface making this extremely simple:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1766475
Follow the instructions within the toolkit to ensure drivers are correct, backup apps, unlock bootloader, root device.
After doing this your Nexus will still be identical to stock.
mythomasy said:
is there any method to root the nexus 7 without unlock the bootloader?
i read several posts about rooting n7, but every posts needs to unlock the bl first.
and "Flash Clockwork Mod Recovery" .
but i really don't know what the "cwm" is ! i want to use the stock nexus7 rom with rooted. is the cwm recovery will ruin something original?
could anyone solve my anxiety? thx!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep you need to unlock your bootloader to root.
You don't actually need Clock Work Mod recovery in order to be rooted.
In fact, I believe that the Wug Fresh toolkit posted by retrobeans above allows you to root and not install CWM.
Having said that, all CWM does is replace the stock Recovery on your device. This allows you to make backups, flash new ROMs and mods etc. If you never go into it, you will not notice a difference - you will still be running your stock rooted ROM. So i wouldnt be afraid of installing it . Or you can always do it at a later date if you want.
Bootloader can always be relocked with "fastboot oem lock" anyway...
why are you concerned about unlocking, or do you just not understand fastboot?
mythomasy said:
is there any method to root the nexus 7 without unlock the bootloader?
i read several posts about rooting n7, but every posts needs to unlock the bl first.
and "Flash Clockwork Mod Recovery" .
but i really don't know what the "cwm" is ! i want to use the stock nexus7 rom with rooted. is the cwm recovery will ruin something original?
could anyone solve my anxiety? thx!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can use a great toolkit by wugfresh which applies root without cwm. You still need to be unlocked though
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Harry GT-S5830 said:
you can use a great toolkit by wugfresh which applies root without cwm. You still need to be unlocked though
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there any harm of being "cwm"ed? if not , i will try the easier way of one click root.(btw, i tried the wugfresh's toolkit ,but failed to install the driver...)
CWM (clockwork mod) is just a custom recovery image, from here you can flash files to your phone, wipe data, take full system backups (or restore).
Its a handy way to do key things people require when changing or modifying roms.
If in the future you will want to do any of the above then you will require a custom recovery.
Its not (in my opinion) the best recovery for the nexus 7 though, I use the Team WIN (TWRP) recovery.
You failed to install drivers? Or maybe when you installed Wug's tool it didn't download correctly? If you go and manually install the drivers which come with the tool I don't understand how they would have failed. Not trying to sound condescending or anything so sorry if I do. But Wug's toolkit (I know it's not the only one out there) is extremely easy and efficient. I would try re-downloading and on the driver install part go to
Right Click on computer
Manage
Device Manager, Here you should see a device either not detected or says that it's incorrectly installed blah blah
Right click the device and uninstall
at the top click on "Scan for Hardware Changes" (or something along those lines)
and right click your device when it comes up and the drivers are located wherever you installed his toolkit
I hope this helped and if not then just ignore. :laugh:
mythomasy said:
is there any harm of being "cwm"ed? if not , i will try the easier way of one click root.(btw, i tried the wugfresh's toolkit ,but failed to install the driver...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the pdanet drivers, cwm is just a custom recovery, for wiping data and caches. Just has a few nice options like backing up full system data and boot.img . No real disadvantage and you can always flash back stock
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Im In Same Situation
is it possible to lock bootloader after and still have root?
Also do you still recive ota updates?
jxer4567 said:
is it possible to lock bootloader after and still have root?
Also do you still recive ota updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can lock bootloader after.
You can get OTA but you would lose root and also lose your custom recovery, and with a locked bootloader you would be unable to root again
Sent from my Jelly Nexus S
Thank you bummed a little do i still recive ota with unlocked bootloader so i can have it rooted im wanting to keep original recovery no custom recovery but unlocked bootloader will i get ota?
jxer4567 said:
Thank you bummed a little do i still recive ota with unlocked bootloader so i can have it rooted im wanting to keep original recovery no custom recovery but unlocked bootloader will i get ota?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, unlocked bootloader does not affect OTA
Sent from my Jelly Nexus S
So only if i install custom recovery i lose ota just im wary with nexus 7 alot more important than v845
Sent from my Vodafone 845 using xda app-developers app
Sorry fellows, but you are wrong There IS a method to root the Nexus 7 without unlocking the bootloader.
Then you can have root without wipping your data, for instance, as happens when you unlock your BL. And with root you can unlock the BL without wipping your data too. All thanks to efrant with his awesome tutorials! It is in the Galaxy Nexus Forum, but me and some others have reported to be working on the Nexus 7 too.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1894717 -- Root without unlocking
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1731993 -- Unlock BL without wipping
Let me sum it up.
Can i root without unlocking bl? yes.
Can i unlock bl without full wipe , when i do it the first time? no.
So u install pdanet drivers(i know, i had driver problems on my old win xp company laptop), then unlock bl, root. Thats it. u dont need to install CWM(btw, I prefer TWRP).
OTA updates n recovery: As far as i know, u will receive OTA updates whether u have CWM or not, but when u click install for the update, if u have CWM/TWRP, it wont install. It will install properly only if u have stock recovery.
OTA updates n root: U will get n will be able to install updates whether or not u have root. But u will lose root if u install the update. Re rooting is esy if u already have an unlocked BL, but theres an app "voodoo ota rootkeeper", that makes a backup of your root status b4 update n then restores it after update. N its free!! Nice, huh?
Unlocking BL shindig: So u would have 2 reasons for not wanting to keep ur BL unlocked. First, if anything goes wrong(very very very unlikely, believe me I have done a lot of crap on this phone, its extremely hard to brick), u need to return it in BL locked state. Second: Security. If your phone gets stolen n ur BL is unlocked, some guy could easily flash CWM n flash a custom rom n access all your data. For both cases, I suggest a very useful technique.
1.Unlock BL.
2.Root
3.Relock BL.
4. Install app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.segv11.bootunlocker. This app will let u unlock BL from within a rooted phone without having to wipe your whole phone. If you are confused at this point, let me explain further, in case something happens to your phone n u need 2 return, u can just return it, if BL is locked, there wont b any issues. Also, if your phone is stolen, the theif wont b able to access it without completely wiping ur phone(unless he is a xda member n knows about that app!!! lol).
Got it?
Lennyuk said:
CWM (clockwork mod) is just a custom recovery image, from here you can flash files to your phone, wipe data, take full system backups (or restore).
Its a handy way to do key things people require when changing or modifying roms.
If in the future you will want to do any of the above then you will require a custom recovery.
Its not (in my opinion) the best recovery for the nexus 7 though, I use the Team WIN (TWRP) recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think The peeps who also agree twrp is much better than CWM is grown to the point where is the preimanant force for custom backup now. This Dev is 100% correct in my opinion also

[Q] Root and update to 4.3

Hi everyone!
i want to root my nexus 7, if i'm not wrong to root it i have to unlock the bootloader, and i will lose all my data (i'll use the Wug's Toolkit)
if i root it now with 4.2.2, when i update it with the new 4.3, i'll lose root? if yes to root again my nexus, i'll lose again my data?
i hope my english is not that ugly :silly:
thanks for the help!
Zambo27 said:
Hi everyone!
i want to root my nexus 7, if i'm not wrong to root it i have to unlock the bootloader, and i will lose all my data (i'll use the Wug's Toolkit)
if i root it now with 4.2.2, when i update it with the new 4.3, i'll lose root? if yes to root again my nexus, i'll lose again my data?
i hope my english is not that ugly :silly:
thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, Zambo27...
Your English is fine... don't worry about it.
You don't necessarily have to unlock the BOOTLOADER to root STOCK JellyBean 4.2.2.
An 'exploit' has become available which obviates this need...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233852
I have tested this myself, and I can confirm that it works... it's actually really easy; takes about a minute or so. The only 'downside' is because the BOOTLOADER is still locked, you won't be able to flash any custom ROMs or kernels.
But if all you care about is running ROOTED stock, then this is by far the easiest way to go.
(And the the 'upside' of course is... it doesn't wipe the tablet.)
------
For any future OTA updates from Google, you should be able to backup your ROOT (su binary), and restore it again after the OTA, using Voodoo OTA RootKeeper - http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.projectvoodoo.otarootkeeper&hl=en.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Hi, Zambo27...
Your English is fine... don't worry about it.
You don't necessarily have to unlock the BOOTLOADER to root STOCK JellyBean 4.2.2.
An 'exploit' has become available which obviates this need...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233852
I have tested this myself, and I can confirm that it works... it's actually really easy; takes about a minute or so. The only 'downside' is because the BOOTLOADER is still locked, you won't be able to flash any custom ROMs or kernels.
But if all you care about is running ROOTED stock, then this is by far the easiest way to go.
(And the the 'upside' of course is... it doesn't wipe the tablet.)
------
For any future OTA updates from Google, you should be able to backup your ROOT (su binary), and restore it again after the OTA, using Voodoo OTA RootKeeper - http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.projectvoodoo.otarootkeeper&hl=en.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 try to get root... it almost killed me xD
on the first try SuperSU was installed but it told me that "su command" wasn't
then i tried again and now it's rooted and it work fine
one last question, i read a thing
if i modifies "too much" i'll lose the possibility to update to android's next version, i want to fix the issue with the xbox wireless controller (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792531) it will make me some problems?
GedBlake said:
The only 'downside' is because the BOOTLOADER is still locked, you won't be able to flash any custom ROMs or kernels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ged,
That is a mis-statement. Using a single "dd" command from a root shell - for example either adb or a terminal emulator, you can write a custom recovery image file to the SOS (recovery) partition.
$ su
# dd if=/sdcard/recovery-image-file.img of=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/SOS
That produces a tablet with a locked boot loader, a rooted stock ROM, and a custom recovery.
The very first thing to do at that point in time is to take a Nandroid backup - and get a copy of it off the tablet for safe keeping.
Jeez I wish the thread owners for toolkits and rooting methods would stress the importance of backups. There sure would be far fewer "omg help me please" requests in this (Q&A) forum if people would simply make backups of their nearly-stock ROMs.
bftb0 said:
Ged,
That is a mis-statement. Using a single "dd" command from a root shell - for example either adb or a terminal emulator, you can write a custom recovery image file to the SOS (recovery) partition.
$ su
# dd if=/sdcard/recovery-image-file.img of=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/SOS
That produces a tablet with a locked boot loader, a rooted stock ROM, and a custom recovery.
The very first thing to do at that point in time is to take a Nandroid backup - and get a copy of it off the tablet for safe keeping.
Jeez I wish the thread owners for toolkits and rooting methods would stress the importance of backups. There sure would be far fewer "omg help me please" requests in this (Q&A) forum if people would simply make backups of their nearly-stock ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, bfb0... I had some suspicions about the 'dd' command, but I wasn't confident/certain about whether it would work with a locked bootloader.
But if I understand you correctly, there would be nothing to stop somebody from gaining root by the 'exploit' method I alluded to earlier, and then flashing a custom recovery using 'dd'...
...and then by extension flashing a custom ROM or kernel...
If my understanding is correct, then does this not make unlocking the bootloader somewhat redundant (with the consequential wipe)... or am I missing something here?
Definitely going to have to experiment with this... when I have the time.
----
Incidentally, I'm with you on the Nandroid backup issue... it is vaguely puzzling why this step isn't as ingrained in peoples flashing habits as perhaps it should be.
It's so easy to do... takes less than 5 minutes... and is a potential lifeline back to a working tablet.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
But if I understand you correctly, there would be nothing to stop somebody from gaining root by the 'exploit' method I alluded to earlier, and then flashing a custom recovery using 'dd'...
...and then by extension flashing a custom ROM or kernel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You understand correctly. Unlocking the bootloader only allows you extra functionality of the bootloader itself (via fastboot flashing/boot commands). It doesn't "unlock" data in partitions - that security is normally provided by the Linux kernel permission system. Once you have root in ANY booted Linux kernel which properly reads the eMMC (flash chip) partitioning and plumbs /dev/block/ entries into the device tree corresponding to those partitions, any root-privileged process can write whatever it wants into those partitions.*
GedBlake said:
If my understanding is correct, then does this not make unlocking the bootloader somewhat redundant (with the consequential wipe)... or am I missing something here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More or less, except that the bootloader will still fire up even if /cache, /data, and/or /system are completely bolluxed up. TWRP (and maybe CWM?) try to immediately mount /data and /cache so they are not quite as robust in the face of user screw-ups. But yeah - if you are careful, you could do everything you want without unlocking the bootloader... so long as the custom recovery stays healthy.
Mark my words: there will be people who root without unlocking their bootloader or installing a custom recovery (and thus fail to make a Nandroid backup), and then wedge their OS... and then come in here whining that they can't rescue their tablet without unlocking their bootloader (and thus wiping their entire tablet).
* there have been android devices which used hardware locking to restrict even kernel access to certain flash memory partitions, but there is no evidence that the N7 bootloader lock state affects any of the typical partitions involved in ROM flashing (recovery, boot, system, cache, use data).
bftb0 said:
You understand correctly. Unlocking the bootloader only allows you extra functionality of the bootloader itself (via fastboot flashing/boot commands). It doesn't "unlock" data in partitions - that security is normally provided by the Linux kernel permission system. Once you have root in ANY booted Linux kernel which properly reads the eMMC (flash chip) partitioning and plumbs /dev/block/ entries into the device tree corresponding to those partitions, any root-privileged process can write whatever it wants into those partitions.*
More or less, except that the bootloader will still fire up even if /cache, /data, and/or /system are completely bolluxed up. TWRP (and maybe CWM?) try to immediately mount /data and /cache so they are not quite as robust in the face of user screw-ups. But yeah - if you are careful, you could do everything you want without unlocking the bootloader... so long as the custom recovery stays healthy.
Mark my words: there will be people who root without unlocking their bootloader or installing a custom recovery (and thus fail to make a Nandroid backup), and then wedge their OS... and then come in here whining that they can't rescue their tablet without unlocking their bootloader (and thus wiping their entire tablet).
* there have been android devices which used hardware locking to restrict even kernel access to certain flash memory partitions, but there is no evidence that the N7 bootloader lock state affects any of the typical partitions involved in ROM flashing (recovery, boot, system, cache, use data).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, again bfb0...
Much of this is is beyond me, I'm afraid...(actually, a lot of your posts are a bit beyond me, to be honest)...
...but I pick up bits and pieces here and there...
And I can confirm the 'dd' command does indeed work as you suggest.
-------------
A few hours ago, I fully backed up my N7 to my laptop (latest TWRP Nandroids, Titanium, etc)...
Fastboot flashed back to stock (JDQ39).
Relocked the bootloader.
Ran the 'exploit' - and acquired root.
Copied everything back over to my N7 from my laptop.
Flashed TWRP in Terminal Emulator via the 'dd' command - this took a few tries, 'cos it's a long command and there's plenty of scope for typos.
Booted into the Bootloader again, then TWRP...
First off was to flash Franco's kernel... which occurred without problem. (This was more of a test, than anything - just to see if it would work).
Next was to restore my last Nandroid backup... which also occurred without probems.
--------
So... as I write this, my Nexus 7 is more or less back to how it was... but with one significant difference... Custom Recovery, Custom ROM and Custom Kernel are all sitting behind a LOCKED BOOTLOADER.... no UNLOCKED PADLOCK symbol on boot. Oh... and it's also Rooted as well!.
I'm not sure why, but I find myself slightly amazed by this - I wouldn't have believed it possible...
Guess you learn something new everyday.
Cheers, bfb0!
(...and apologies to Zambo27 for ever-so-slightly hijacking your thread).
Rgrds,
Ged.

Root Nexus 4 with motochopper

Appreciate if someone can advise if it works or not. Thanks.
Why you want to do that with a Nexus device?
Want root?
fastboot oem unlock
Don't want to unlock bootloader as it will reset everything.
yes it works
I did it in a friend's phone, as she didnt want to lose data and I was lazy enough to not make a backup
just make sure adb is working properly...
My pc didnt recognize her phone immediately, adb was saying device was offline
after updating adb everything went ok
ariesting said:
Don't want to unlock bootloader as it will reset everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root it with motochopper and then use the bootunlocker app on the play store to unlock the boot loader without using data.
You can also do fastboot OEM unlock, and flash a recovery with fast boot. Clearing the cache in recovery should stop you losing data, theres a thread in the general section that tells you how to do this
Edit: here it is -http://forum.xda-developers.com/sho...FE! Simple bypass of data wipe when unlocking
Sent from my Nexus 4
Great. Does root affect future OTA update?

[Q] Nexus 4 Un-Rooted on 4.3 update. Best way to re-root?

Hello, after updating to 4.3 JB on my Nexus 4, the phone had been unrooted.
I have a few questions, I'm new to rooting, so please bear with my (possibly simple) questions.
1. Why did it unroot when it updated? (I was told it would not unroot).
2. If I use helium to backup my phone, will all settings be the same exact as they are at the time I make a backup? Are there any non-root backup programs that work as well or better?
3. I rooted using the "Nexus Root Toolkit" by: WugFresh. The BootLoader is unlocked. Do I just need to root it, or do I have to go through the bootloader process again?
Thanks very much for ready this. Hopefully someone can help me out.
mntwins7 said:
Hello, after updating to 4.3 JB on my Nexus 4, the phone had been unrooted.
I have a few questions, I'm new to rooting, so please bear with my (possibly simple) questions.
1. Why did it unroot when it updated? (I was told it would not unroot).
2. If I use helium to backup my phone, will all settings be the same exact as they are at the time I make a backup? Are there any non-root backup programs that work as well or better?
3. I rooted using the "Nexus Root Toolkit" by: WugFresh. The BootLoader is unlocked. Do I just need to root it, or do I have to go through the bootloader process again?
Thanks very much for ready this. Hopefully someone can help me out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The process your went through in order to gain root access was overwritten by the update. Normally, you can use apps like root saver or whatever to keep root through updates, but too many things were updated on 4.3 so there was no way to save root.
2) There are no backup apps that don't require root that will work as well as apps that require it. However, backups made through CWM or other custom recoveries don't technically require root and create exact images of your phone at the time of backup.
3) You don't have to unlock the bootloader again, just flash the SU binary through a custom recovery. I'm not familiar with the toolkit so I can't give you any specific information.
Good luck
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
hoponpop said:
1) The process your went through in order to gain root access was overwritten by the update. Normally, you can use apps like root saver or whatever to keep root through updates, but too many things were updated on 4.3 so there was no way to save root.
2) There are no backup apps that don't require root that will work as well as apps that require it. However, backups made through CWM or other custom recoveries don't technically require root and create exact images of your phone at the time of backup.
3) You don't have to unlock the bootloader again, just flash the SU binary through a custom recovery. I'm not familiar with the toolkit so I can't give you any specific information.
Good luck
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thank you very much!

Relock Bootloader with Nexus Root Toolkit

I have a 6P running 7.1.1 that has never been rooted or modified in anyway other than unlocking the bootloader. When I first got the phone I unlocked the bootloader so I could root the phone later if I wanted to without wiping the contents. I never rooted it.
Now Android Pay doesn't work with an unlocked bootloader. I would like to relock it. I understand that this will wipe my device. My question is, can I just press the button in NRT that says "OEM Lock" and it will take care of any flashing or resetting that needs to be done? I was more up to speed on all this when I had my Nexus 5, but the 6P hasn't really required me to get that involved.
Thank you for any help or advice.
Yes, OEM Lock will work, it just sends the ADB commands to your phone. Yes it will (unfortunately) factory reset the phone so to be sure to backup what you need, or at least be sure the Google backup feature is enabled for your apps.
Couldn't you just flash a custom kernel to get AP working again? For example, ElementalX has the bootloader check removed from the kernel. Use fastboot to boot into latest official TWRP without flashing it to the device and use that to flash EX kernel.
v12xke said:
Yes, OEM Lock will work, it just sends the ADB commands to your phone. Yes it will (unfortunately) factory reset the phone so to be sure to backup what you need, or at least be sure the Google backup feature is enabled for your apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback. I knew I was going to lose everything, I just didn't want to brick it someway because it was 7.1.1.

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