[Q] Where to begin? (Uber noob, GS4 Verizon) - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi everyone,
I'm brand new to the world of androids (just got a galaxy S4 for verizon) and I'm looking to root it and do...other cool things with it. However, I really have no idea where to start. I'm thinking to follow the following guide to root my phone:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2290798
Then what's next? What I want to is to be able to optimize my battery, get rid of junk apps first. Then maybe have some widget button that can toggle wifi/4g easily? Not really sure what to do after rooting, but I want to have an understanding of what to do after following that guide. I don't know how if I'm supposed to install a ROM after, a CWM (not really sure what that is) etc. Are there any step-by-step guides of what to do after following that rooting guide I linked above? I'd appreciate any help guys!!

I would just get it rooted so you can kill ads and other basics and read up on the various possibilities. Check all the stickies in each section and go through those tutorials of which there are many. You don't need to read every word just get yourself an idea of what is possible. Once you have an idea of what you can do you are going to have a better idea of what you want to do.
Your link 404ed for me so I'm not sure which way you were going with that. IMO for a beginner starting with chainfires autoroot is probably your easiest most foolproof way to root. An alternative is to install a pre rooted stock rom as those are starting to show up now. The threads for each have detailed installation instructions
It can wait for a bit but if you are going to stick with Android and are the type that plays with roms I would highly recomment getting titanium backup. The pay version is more useful so I would cough up, once you figure out how much easier it makes swapping roms you wont regret spending that ching. Also consider getting a root file application. I use root explorer but there are other options that work well.

Related

[Q] Complete Android Noobie...

Hey Guys!
I just got my first android device (switched over from iPhone 3g) and I LOVE IT!
With that said, now to business! I read a lot about rooting the Evo, and other android devices, and I must say, I am quite lost in the lingo. I looked through a bunch of threads, and there are a bunch of tutorials about rooting the device in many different ways. And, after reading a lot of them, I found out about unrevoked, but I am not quite sure what it does. I gather it is a one step rooting program, but if that is the case, what is PC36IMG.zip needed for if unrevoked already roots the device in one click?
Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.
Arm0 said:
Hey Guys!
I just got my first android device (switched over from iPhone 3g) and I LOVE IT!
With that said, now to business! I read a lot about rooting the Evo, and other android devices, and I must say, I am quite lost in the lingo. I looked through a bunch of threads, and there are a bunch of tutorials about rooting the device in many different ways. And, after reading a lot of them, I found out about unrevoked, but I am not quite sure what it does. I gather it is a one step rooting program, but if that is the case, what is PC36IMG.zip needed for if unrevoked already roots the device in one click?
Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok so rooting removes the protected recovery on the phone. a recovery lets you restore/factory reset and install updates manually. with the non protected recovery, you can make the phone think it is being manually updated, but really you are modifying it to your hearts content. read up on roms. i reccomend flashing the ava froyo v7. very good. have fun with your newly rooted device!!!! just tell me if you need more info.
btw, this should be in questions and answers
Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, and thanks for the respond. Figured, can't go wrong with General!
So, if i just root it without running a custom recovery, can I still run tethering apps and the screen shot app?
Basically the root gets you access deeper in the phones files than you previously had. You also gain a new set of permissions (superuser permissions) with the process so that your phone allows you to do more, similar to the iphone jailbreak.
You will need a custom recovery. The updates that sprint/htc usually send out over the air (OTA) can't be used anymore because you will lose your root, so you have to apply them manually through recovery instead. This is just one reason, but the custom recovery is a necessity. It can look complicated, especially the way it reads on the forums, but it is very simple once you have it in your hands.
After rereading your post, you may be referring to a custom rom, not recovery. You do not have to use a custom rom, you can just use stock with root access and superuser permissions and be good to go for wifi tether & screen shots
So, from what I gather, we use unrevoked to unlock the phone and get more privileges, and the custom recovery is used to not lose root privileges after Sprint or HTC puts out new updates to the devices?
essentially, you got it. The recovery is used for lots of different things, like adding themes, changing kernels, custom roms, backups, ect.
There are also methods besides unrevoked to gain root. It all depends on the type of person you are, if you want root and don't want to think about it, use one of the one click methods. If you want to learn a little check out regaw_leinad's root thread and the videos that are in the OP and you will get root and you will know how it happened when your done.
My recommendation is to choose your method of root and do it and stick with the stock rooted rom for a bit. Read the forums, mostly the OPs on the different custom roms and the kernel threads and you will start to get an idea of what you want from your rooted phone. After a week or two of hanging out on the forums, you will know what you want and you will have enough grasp to go for it. Read OPs thoroughly and follow directions to the T and you will not have any problems.

[Q] advice what to do on new tab?

considering this is my 1st android, what should i do with the tab? step by step
lurking in this forum, i definitely want to root and be able upgrade firmware or to do anything in my tab
but what should i prepare? in the noob root for beginner, there's only explanation about rooting
can i save the original rom? what app to use? do i need to back up 1st? using what?
and can i upgrade the stock firmware to the jk1 without flashing it 1st to jj4? (since from what i read jj4 is full flash and jk1 is not, logically the stock firmware must be full flash also)
many thanks to those who can explain it in beginner's language
or maybe a couple of links would help
i already got the tutorial for the rooting process, so basically, what i need to do before rooting is what i need so i wont lose anything precious
I'd just start using it. Get some apps installed, see what you need/want/like to do with it, and if something you need/want/like to do is prevented by not having root access, then root it.
I'd say for the majority of Android users, there really is not much need to root, since Android lets you do so much right out of the box, unlike the competition that requires "jailbreaking" (God I hate that term) just to do simple **** like customizing.
Same goes with firmware. Unless you really enjoy the process of flashing and all that's associated with it, there's not always a clear need to do so. The only time I recommend somebody flash custom/leaked firmware for more than the fun-factor is if there's a problem in the current firmware that can only be fixed by flashing.
That said, this is XDA, which is all about custom ROMs and rooting and extracting more from a device than what the manufacturer shipped it with. Have at it.
jailbreaking lol, yeah, hate that
well something that bugs me is about the mobile browser view that some ppl actually advising rooting to be able to do that
hmm, what about what to do 1st if i actually want to root? any advice what to do and what app to use?
rooting on the Galaxy Tab is extremely simple:
1) Open the Market
2) Install and run 'z4root'
3) Hit the 'root' button' and wait
That's it.
Once you're done with that, one of the first things I'd suggest is to get AdFree installed and updated. It'll quite successfully block all those annoying ads.
i know about z4root, what i need to know is what i should do before rooting, like backing up the stock OS or data or app or anything like that, so i wouldnt regret having rooted my tab in case i flashed it with newest firmware like jk1
Rooting doesn't prevent flashing, or do any harm by itself, and when you flash, you wipe/reset the root.
oh, i see
so basically it just void my warranty and give me administator authorities like in windows?
thanks then
If you have to return your tab for any reason just reflash stock rom from whatever cell provider you got it from and the root is gone thus no breaking of the warranty
Yep, I rooted with z4root the other day. Was a piece of cake, although 1st attempt required a restart before it got going. 1st thing to install after that is Adblock.
Perfect.
Oh yeah, after that I installed titanium backup to get rid of the crappy gallery and replace it with the modded gallery 3rd form hi res zooming.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
What modded gallery are you talking about? I'd like to change the gallery because I hate the stock one!

uber n00b needs advice.

hello, i'm new here, new to androids as well, actually new to phone hacks in general. Ive jailbroken and unlocked iphones before (my wife has a 3gs 4.2.1 unlocked using with tmobile). but i have no XP with android,.... i'm thinking, rooting is like jailbreaking? i dunno really.. halp! please just give me the basics. like once I ummm, jailbreak my MT4G (hehe got the abbreviation from these forums) how can I modify it with like free apps and such, and the cool themes i see everybody showing off. please halp, please
rooting doesnt give free apps (or at least it didnt when i had a g1) your able to flash a new rom to your phone when you gain root, you can take off some bloatware that comes with certain phones, tweak settings and make stuff more customizable
it is like jailbreaking but i dont think android is against rooting like apple is against jailbreaking
thanks for the reply, so once I root it, can I apply some of the themes and apps mentioned on these forums? I saw a thread regarding apps for rooted devices. Is there a different "app store" once I root my device?
im just getting back to android after having the hd2 for 4 months and a lot may have changed
but when i rooted the g1 there was apps that were labeled as only use if you have root access, so yes there are (were) certain apps that could only be used if you have root but it was the same app store, i remember the cyanogenmod app and it would update the theme with the click of a button
and yeah after root you could do the roms that are in those threads
VDubLife said:
thanks for the reply, so once I root it, can I apply some of the themes and apps mentioned on these forums? I saw a thread regarding apps for rooted devices. Is there a different "app store" once I root my device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only 1 market for apps. Some apps are for rooted devices, some (most) are not. The main difference between a rooted device is that you will be able too have full access of you're phone and flash roms. But if you have no clue what you're doing you can cause some serious damage to your phone (brick).
Sent from my HTC Glacier
yup just be very careful when flashing new roms and themes. dont flash anything until you make a nandroid backup too. i have a very simple saying when doin anything to your own phone: "if it feels wrong, it is wrong" and if you have any questions when doing something always ask for help. because most likely someone on here has already made a mistake that you might be doin and save you alot of headaches lol once you gain root access, everything is cake
Please post questions in Q&A section.
mftek said:
The main difference between a rooted device is that you will be able too have full access of you're phone and flash roms. But if you have no clue what you're doing you can cause some serious damage to your phone (brick).
Sent from my HTC Glacier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, rooting your phone alone does not give you the capability to make Nandroid backups and/or flash ROMs. Rooting gives you root access to otherwise locked down system folders. Making backups and flashing ROMs require the presence of a custom recovery image (like Clockwork recovery).
To the OP; READ, READ, READ! Read as much as you can (and search) before attempting to root your phone. There's a lot of info in these forums that will get you through but you HAVE TO READ and have good confidence in what you're doing. Once you're ready, root, then flash Clockwork recovery, then install Titanium Backup. Use Titanium to make backups of your apps (including system apps). Use Clockwork to make a (Nandroid) backup of the phone's internal drive chip. Once that's done you can move on to flashing ROMs with the ability to get things back to normal if something doesn't work right. Good luck!
Great advice folks, thanks so much. I am permarooted with s=off! w00t, already made a nandroid backup using clockwork... so time to have some fun! Please help with the following questions:
1.) Are there any directories of all ROMs available for our phone?
2.) Will all droid ROMs work? or are they phone specific?
3.) Do I need to keep USB Debugging on?
4.) Do I need to keep the files on my SD card after I've already installed them? (ie: root folder [the one from the rooting guided], and application .apk files)
Thanks! great forum

Beginner needs rooting advice

Hi guys,
Just installed the 4.2.2 update on my Nexus 7, but I decided I wanted to go further. I have had plenty of android devices in the past, but I was always cautious about rooting them in fear of messing up. Well, after reading up about the benefits of rooting I think it's worth a try. I have read up on the basics of what rooting is and how to do it, but there are so many roms and kernels out there I have no idea where to begin!
So I saw an article on a website I frequent that has a guide on how to root the Nexus 7 with the newest update.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/4...7-official-android422-jdq39-jellybean-ota.htm
What do you think about using this guide?
Also some side questions:
1.) Is there a way to backup my Nexus 7's unrooted state before I begin, so if I decide to go back to unrooted I can easily do so?
2.) Should I root my Nexus 7 on the 4.2.2 ota, or downloading it here on the forums? ( I assume they are slightly different)
3.) I don't want to ask what is your favorite rom, but what would you say is the most popular one around here? My biggest needs are stability, as well as better battery and performance.
Please excuse me if my questions seem strange or obvious. I've tried reading up more on this subject but quite frankly I don't understand it. I probably will get the hang of it. I was once a beginner to PC building but eventually I made myself a monster rig and overclocked the hell out of it. But since I'm thinking of rooting tonight, I would really appreciate it if someone would be kind enough to help me out! Thanks
Apav said:
What do you think about using this guide?
Also some side questions:
1.) Is there a way to backup my Nexus 7's unrooted state before I begin, so if I decide to go back to unrooted I can easily do so?
2.) Should I root my Nexus 7 on the 4.2.2 ota, or downloading it here on the forums? ( I assume they are slightly different)
3.) I don't want to ask what is your favorite rom, but what would you say is the most popular one around here? My biggest needs are stability, as well as better battery and performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guide looks fine from what I skimmed, I would follow the toolkit found here though. It does everything for you basically.
1) Unlock your bootloader, install CWM, then nandroid backup from there. Transfer your backup to your PC.
2) No point in rooting your current rom if you are switching out.
3) I don't know which roms are the most popular but I switch between these two:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1800268
-best customizing options and on the fly phone/phablet/tablet UI changing
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2098139
-stable, smooth and fast. Performance rom here.
Now you should hold off flashing these until the devs have integrated 4.2.2 into them, shouldn't take long...they are both working on them!
coolloser said:
The guide looks fine from what I skimmed, I would follow the toolkit found here though. It does everything for you basically.
1) Unlock your bootloader, install CWM, then nandroid backup from there. Transfer your backup to your PC.
2) No point in rooting your current rom if you are switching out.
3) I don't know which roms are the most popular but I switch between these two:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1800268
-best customizing options and on the fly phone/phablet/tablet UI changing
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2098139
-stable, smooth and fast. Performance rom here.
Now you should hold off flashing these until the devs have integrated 4.2.2 into them, shouldn't take long...they are both working on them!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! So the tutorial I linked is just to unlock the bootloader but not to install a ROM correct? Then why is SuperSU included in this guide?
Apav said:
Thanks! So the tutorial I linked is just to unlock the bootloader but not to install a ROM correct? Then why is SuperSU included in this guide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because some people just want Root on stock?
rooting =/= rom
Thanks guys! Last question. Should I have restored my Nexus 7 to factory settings before I updated to 4.2.2, or before I root? I know with the 4.2 update a lot of people recommended doing it since it increased performance. That was a bigger update though, so probably not, but I just want to be sure before I root that it would or wouldn't make a difference.
From what I've seen the easiest way to root the Nexus is 'Nexus Root Toolkit' which does the whole job with a couple of clicks of the mouse (you run it from Windows).
(Note: at the time of writing NRT v.1.6.2 doesn't support 4.2.2 so wait a couple of days before trying it and it will be updated.)
1) Do a full backup (MyBackup Pro is excellent for unrooted devices) as the process wipes your Nexus back to factory settings.
2) Connect your Nexus to the PC and copy the backup (the 'rerware' folder) to your PC (I'd copy everything, just to be safe).
3) Install and run Nexus Root Toolkit on the PC, enter the details for 'Your model type' and run the 'Full Driver Installation'.
4) Click 'Unlock', let it do its thing, then click 'Root' and after a while you'll have a fully rooted device.
5) Install MyBackup Pro on the Nexus, copy the 'rerware' folder back to the Nexus and restore it.
It really couldn't be easier and it works a treat.
Once you're rooted you'll find Titanium Backup is a better app as it can backup more stuff but it only works on rooted devices.
Or you could spend the 15 minutes to learn the right way and you would understand the process that takes place with the click of that 'magical button'.....then you wouldnt have to wait for a toolkit to update...
KNOWLEDGE REALLY DOESNT HURT.

Curious about non blackbox root process for Nexus devices

I have been a Linux based software developer for over 10 years but recently started looking into Android development and just purchased a Nexus 6 phone from Motorola to start hacking on. The first thing obviously is to unlock the bootloader (which seems really straight forward) and then root the phone. But this leads me to a question.
I have been searching the internet for root techniques for the Nexus device and I keep finding tutorials that point me to downloading premade files from others that root the phone in a blackbox fashion. I would rather understand the actual root process than just follow a cookie cutter process designed to make it easier for people who don't want to learn how to do it. So my question is this, does anybody know of any information anywhere that details and explains the rooting process without using others downloaded files or actually explains what those downloaded files are doing? I am a curious guy and don't really like blackboxes if I have an alternative. I would much rather learn the process so I can start figuring out how to hack on this phone more effectively.
Thanks for any information you can provide!
Adrian
aew_78 said:
I have been a Linux based software developer for over 10 years but recently started looking into Android development and just purchased a Nexus 6 phone from Motorola to start hacking on. The first thing obviously is to unlock the bootloader (which seems really straight forward) and then root the phone. But this leads me to a question.
I have been searching the internet for root techniques for the Nexus device and I keep finding tutorials that point me to downloading premade files from others that root the phone in a blackbox fashion. I would rather understand the actual root process than just follow a cookie cutter process designed to make it easier for people who don't want to learn how to do it. So my question is this, does anybody know of any information anywhere that details and explains the rooting process without using others downloaded files or actually explains what those downloaded files are doing? I am a curious guy and don't really like blackboxes if I have an alternative. I would much rather learn the process so I can start figuring out how to hack on this phone more effectively.
Thanks for any information you can provide!
Adrian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlock the bootloader, flash TWRP recovery. Flash the SuperSU zip in TWRP.
Profit.
Thanks for the reply
Evolution_Tech said:
Unlock the bootloader, flash TWRP recovery. Flash the SuperSU zip in TWRP.
Profit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply! This seems like the general process I have seen in the tutorials. What I would really like to understand is the nature of the process though. Previously in all my other Android devices I blindly downloaded files and followed instructions to run them and it all just seemed to work. Now I'm trying to figure out the process and why it worked. You could say I am trying to understand how the people that create these downloadable files do it. I'm not looking for a quick root process, but a more thorough approach that actually teaches me what's going on.
For instance, I don't know why I need to flash the TWRP recovery (or even what it is doing in the process) and I don't understand what the SuperSU is doing? Consider me a very curious novice who would like to get to the point to where I could be a valuable contributor to a project like TWRP.
aew_78 said:
Thanks for the reply! This seems like the general process I have seen in the tutorials. What I would really like to understand is the nature of the process though. Previously in all my other Android devices I blindly downloaded files and followed instructions to run them and it all just seemed to work. Now I'm trying to figure out the process and why it worked. You could say I am trying to understand how the people that create these downloadable files do it. I'm not looking for a quick root process, but a more thorough approach that actually teaches me what's going on.
For instance, I don't know why I need to flash the TWRP recovery (or even what it is doing in the process) and I don't understand what the SuperSU is doing? Consider me a very curious novice who would like to get to the point to where I could be a valuable contributor to a project like TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe start here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2948481
aew_78 said:
I have been a Linux based software developer for over 10 years but recently started looking into Android development and just purchased a Nexus 6 phone from Motorola to start hacking on. The first thing obviously is to unlock the bootloader (which seems really straight forward) and then root the phone. But this leads me to a question.
I have been searching the internet for root techniques for the Nexus device and I keep finding tutorials that point me to downloading premade files from others that root the phone in a blackbox fashion. I would rather understand the actual root process than just follow a cookie cutter process designed to make it easier for people who don't want to learn how to do it. So my question is this, does anybody know of any information anywhere that details and explains the rooting process without using others downloaded files or actually explains what those downloaded files are doing? I am a curious guy and don't really like blackboxes if I have an alternative. I would much rather learn the process so I can start figuring out how to hack on this phone more effectively.
Thanks for any information you can provide!
Adrian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Find stuff from chainfire, for example: THIS.
You could check sources from superuser written by Koush. Although it is old, you will get the basic idea of what is going on with root.
Basically the entire idea is to get the linux su binary installed on the system.
The problem is that the user that you are using doesn't have permission to create or execute the su binary.
The root process is the process of making both of those true.
Sometimes a root kit needs to utilize an exploit for this to happen, or can simply be flashed (written to the system) before the system is booted (typically in recovery mode).
Picture twrp as your recovery tool for your comp. Basically same functions. SuperSU does the same thing as root on your Linux
Benefits if running Linux you only download 2 files. Twrp and SuperSU. Process is done in terminal so you can see everything that is happening. Also if you open a rom zip you can access the notes that tell it what to do and sorta see what's going on in there as well.

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