Database Users

Downfalls of rooting

Appreciate your responses in advance guys.
I am new to Android (Nexus One being my first) from a long line of rooted Nokia phones (N73, N86, N81, N95, E61, E71, 5800, E75 and now sick of those products and their manufacturer).
Anyways, my single biggest gripe with the Nexus One is poor use of the trackball notification. The frequency is too low to grab my attention (for emails, IMs, SMS and missed calls) and the color white does not stand out in daylight.
Reading few threads it looks like one has to root the device to get colored lights and custom frequency.
Looking around, it seems there are certain disadvantages which may break or make the deal to root. If someone can validate/substantiate them for me, that would make my decision easier.
1. Lose OTA updates
2. Lose Google Talk/IM application
3. Lose Google Maps application
4. Cannot go back to original stock ROM build (restore to factory virgin with OTA)
5. Cannot go back to 'locked' boot-loader to restore warranty
Are there any other things I should be aware of beforehand in terms of points of no return? Nokias could always be flashed back to original like nothing ever happened.
Thanks again guys!

dextroz said:
1. Lose OTA updates
2. Lose Google Talk/IM application
3. Lose Google Maps application
4. Cannot go back to original stock ROM build (restore to factory virgin with OTA)
5. Cannot go back to 'locked' boot-loader to restore warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Mostly Yes (could be ROM dependent)
2. Mostly No (could be ROM dependent)
3. Mostly No (could be ROM dependent)
4. Yes, you can go back to the original ROM for OTA
5. Not yet, but it's being looked into
Keep in mind though that no full ROMs have released for Nexus, I'm basing 1, 2, & 3 on Dream/Magic ROMs.

The G1/MT3G phones running Cyanogen's ROMs all have the default Google Apps (Google Talk, maps, etc).. it really depends on the ROM, but you can always redownload those apps through the market anyways.

Accused187 said:
1. Mostly Yes (could be ROM dependent)
2. Mostly No (could be ROM dependent)
3. Mostly No (could be ROM dependent)
4. Yes, you can go back to the original ROM for OTA
5. Not yet, but it's being looked into
Keep in mind though that no full ROMs have released for Nexus, I'm basing 1, 2, & 3 on Dream/Magic ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So when I root the Nexus One to get pocket torch and custom trackball colors notifications and blink rates - am I installing a custom ROM at that point for it as well - or just the app with root privileges?

You're just rooting your phone, nothing more, it's like creating an Administrator account on Windows if you want to put it really simply.

Thanks guys this is reassuring.

I've got my nexus rooted and I've got maps & navi working great. Google talk is NP. I don't really worry about the warranty much, if the phone gives me too many problems I can always "lose" the phone. Of course I have to pay, but I love this phone.

Would Cyanogen's Addon stop me from getting OTA updates?

Ssantos6981 said:
I've got my nexus rooted and I've got maps & navi working great. Google talk is NP. I don't really worry about the warranty much, if the phone gives me too many problems I can always "lose" the phone. Of course I have to pay, but I love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So i'm curious why did you root your phone? What applications are you running right now that you could not run before?

maybe a noob question, but as for the loss of OTA updates, if you simply root and do not load a custom rom couldn't you potentially still receive the updates? i had a sprint hero before switching to the N1 and the dealbreaker for me to root was the wifi tether app. it came in handy a lot, and i was under the impression that i would still be able to receive ota updates, is that not the case with the N1?

reasons for root
Some good reasons to root are:
Super user apps (tether etc., trackball, etc.)
Overclock phone
Custom rom/addon support
And themes once u have a custom rom
And to help u choose. I had the g1 for 5 months as stock and finally took the plunge to root and use cyanogens rom and i have never looked back. There are huge advantages to rooting. I just wish i would have sooner.

brought a desire z nam, some questions

Hey guys,
I broought a desire z nam (Bell mobility branded) over the holidays. This is my first android device, so after a month of using it, I finally feel like I have my bearings for the platform (I'm coming from symbian). However, I have a few questions:
When I brought the phone, it came unlocked (I'm using it on AT&T's network in the US. Does this mean the phone has already been rooted? Is there an easy way I can check on this?
Since I am using the phone on at&t network, how will updates work for me? Is it possible for me to get any OTA updates? Or am I restricted to custom roms for updates? I am a little hesitant to use custom roms, as I need this phone to be reliable above all else, and I keep hearing about how unstable some of those roms can be.
What exactly is Cyberon Voice Commander? I always see it hogging a huge amount of memory in my running apps, and I'm wondering if its one of the base apps included with android. Searching around, it seems that it is used for speech to text, so if I remove it, will voice seach and voice actions no longer work?
Speaking of running apps, is it normal to have 50+ apps running at the same time? This phone boots with a ton of apps already running, and a lot of them seem like system processes. The phone does feel sluggish at time; however, this being my first and only android device, I don't really have a good reference to whether this is normal or not.
The touchscreen seems off. It always tends to register touches slighty above or below where my finger hits (super annoying when you're trying to select something on a list) is there any way to calibrate the screen?
On the subject of screens, is there a way to activate the screen other than pressing the power button? That button is a bit hard to reach for me, especially with 1 hhand operation
Htcsense.com doesn't seem to be working for me. It can't locate my phone, making the phone ring doesn't do anything, and I don't see the menu bar up top. Anyone know what's up with it?
And finally, I'm trying to find a good chinese handwriting input method; the phone comes with pinyin and wubihua input methods on the default htc keyboard, but no handwriting reconginition. The only app I found on the market for it is terrrible at picking up my strokes (HanWriting IME), can anyone recommend anything for it?
Thanks a bunch

I have the same device running on ATT as well.
The phone does not come 'rooted' even if it is an unlocked version. Root allows you to write to the 'OS Partition' on the phone memory in addition to other things. To check if you have root, you need to boot into the recovery mode of the phone. The first line in recovery will read either S-OFF (root obtained) or S-ON (no root). I suggest reading up on 'GFREE' and using that method to obtain root. Visionary is also an option, but doesn't appear to be as 'safe' as GFREE.
As far as I know, we are on our own for OTA updates. I have been using Custom ROMs on my device since about day 3 of owning it and it was the best decision I have made. I currently run CyanogenMod 6.1 and it runs great. Much better than stock. It is VERY stable and I haven't had any issues, everything is working. They are currently developing CyanogenMod 7 (Android 2.3) but it not officially released as stable version yet.
I am not familiar with that Voice Commander app. Check Google.
I don't have 50+ apps running but do have quite a few. Froyo 2.2 (shipped on phone with HTC Sense Skin) is designed to automatically shut down applications that are not being used so they do not eat up system resources. I didn't use stock for long, so I can't say how it performs but I have no lag issues with Cyanogen.
I do recall a 'calibration' option on Stock, but again I didn't use it for long and can't remember where it was.
In Cyanogen mod you can wake up the screen by pressing the track pad. Search in the Themes and Apps section of the Desire Z/G2 forum and there is an application you can install that does the same thing. I think its called Trackpad Wake.
Sorry never used HTCsense.com or any chinese writing apps. For the writing app, you can check the Android Themes/Applications thread from the main forum page. There are lots of other apps discussed there that are no in the Desire Z forum.
Welcome to Android!

Some good answer in the post above. Just to add some additional info:
The Vision Wiki describes how to verify root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vision
But your phone is likely not rooted. When you buy a phone unlocked, that usually means SIM unlocked, so you can use other SIM cards besides Bell. Cell phone dealers usually just have ways to get the SIM unlock codes for phones, same as the paid SIM unlock services you find on eBay and other places.
All ROMs have bugs, including the "official" ones. In my experience, the custom ROMs usually are more stable and less bugs than the official ones they are based on. In any case, I wouldn't worry too much about OTA updates. If you want to flash an official ROM, they get posted on here faster then you would get them OTA.
I just checked, and I have exactly 50 apps running on my Bell Desire Z (running on AT&T like you). I wouldn't worry about it. As mentioned in the previous reply, Android is designed to keep processes open in the background until the memory is needed, then it kills idle processes as needed.
I've never used a Symbian phone. But the Desire Z is one of the fastest Android phones currently on the market. It gets bogged down a bit by the Sense UI in some conditions (especially if you have lots of widgets loaded). But this is minor, and I have found the performance to be very good overall. If you want some more speed, you can root and overclock the CPU. Overclocking to 1 GHz does not even increase voltage to the CPU, so the effect on battery life and risk is minimal.
HTCSense.com is still a work in progress, unfortunately. The features not working is normal, its not just you.
Cyberon Voice Commander is bloatware pre-installed by Bell. Its supposed to allow you to command the phone (with your voice, obviously) without having to touch the screen to perform certain functions (call or find a contact, play a song, etc.). But its pretty useless, and pure crap, IMO. Even when it recognizes your command, it will often still require touch input to make the selection, which completely defeats the purpose! Its faster to just access the functions the normal way.
Bloatware is part of the ROM, and therefore not completely straightforward to remove. All methods require the phone be rooted, AFAIK. The following thread has a method (using Titanium Backup) to remove most of the bloat.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=831584
I've also found a paid app ($1.99) on the market called Absolute System Root Tool removes the bloatware successfully
As mentioned, there is a hack to make the trackpad button wake the phone. But I couldn't tell if the feature could be removed or turned off, so I haven't tried it yet, personally.

Aha, a fellow Symbian convert! Welcome to the greatest phone ever - like an N97 that doesn't suck. I used to run Symbian-Guru.com - please feel free to PM me with *any* questions, I still love to help folks.
I would *highly* suggest you root your phone, if for no other reason than to dump the bloatware that comes with it and be able to take screenshots and that sort of thing. You may also want to look at the Virtuous ROM - it's a port of the Desire Z ROM that has some extras built-in. I've been using it on my G2 pretty much since I got it and it's fan-freakin-tastic. I easily get 12-15hrs of battery life, and that's with normal usage. It also has trackpad wake built right in - it's awesome.
Most of your other questions were answered above. In any case, welcome to XDA, and to Android.

Thanks for the replies. I'm loving the phone so far; just there's a lot of quirks in android that I'm not used to. That's to be expected with any transition to a different os, so I'm sure ill adapt.
you mentioned offical roms are also posted there as well; will flashing those roms require S-OFF? I might be in the minority, but I actually like senseUI. The only thing I wish I could change would be replacing the customization button on the dock with a browser shortcut. I've tried adw and launcherpro, but everytime I end up missing the htc widgets and going back to sense.
Ill probably start looking into some custom roms. I'm really holding out for the offical 2.3 update though. Ill also have to find a way to revert to the original rom should I not like the new one. I can't seem to find a copy of the original rom from bell to download anywhere; so is titanium backup my only option? Finally if I flash in a new rom, (offical or custom) will I lose my carrier unlock?
Thanks

Before you flash any different ROM you should do what is called a "nandroid" backup of your current ROM via Clockwork Recovery/ROM Manager (which you can install once you have root and S-OFF).
No, flashing a different ROM will not lose your SIM unlock.
If you have SuperCID from gfree, then you will be able to flash different official ROMs, not just the Bell one.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z

makken85 said:
Thanks for the replies.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please hit the "thanks" button on the responses that were helpful to you. So those of use that took the time to answer can increase their thanks meters!
You're not completely alone. I like Sense also! FYI, the Virtuous ROM recommended by orange bandit is a custom one built on the Sense UI. Although I'm probably going to wait until a Gingerbread Sense ROM myself.

makken85 said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm loving the phone so far; just there's a lot of quirks in android that I'm not used to. That's to be expected with any transition to a different os, so I'm sure ill adapt.
you mentioned offical roms are also posted there as well; will flashing those roms require S-OFF? I might be in the minority, but I actually like senseUI. The only thing I wish I could change would be replacing the customization button on the dock with a browser shortcut. I've tried adw and launcherpro, but everytime I end up missing the htc widgets and going back to sense.
Ill probably start looking into some custom roms. I'm really holding out for the offical 2.3 update though. Ill also have to find a way to revert to the original rom should I not like the new one. I can't seem to find a copy of the original rom from bell to download anywhere; so is titanium backup my only option? Finally if I flash in a new rom, (offical or custom) will I lose my carrier unlock?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Virtuous ROM is basically the same as what you're running now, but fully rooted with some improvements here and there (trackpad wake, a bit of overclocking, etc).
There is a Rosie hack to be able to replace the right dock button with whatever you want, here's the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876464
I did it on my Virtuous ROM, works great, though I couldn't stand the simplicity of Sense and went back to LauncherPro, myself.

What are the benefits of rooting this device?

It's already stock.

Awesome Root only apps, Ad blocking, Being able to tweak your device for countless reasons including performance improvements, battery improvements and many others, Can flash sick custom ROMs with features that stock does not offer, Volte, Band 12( T-Mobile), Cyanogen Mod, Layers Manager( Sick theming app that's ROOT only)
Prob forgetting some things...
You could have just googled this and saved yourself some time but I was happy to help.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

The benefits of rooting is universal with practically every phone. You get much deeper control of your device. You can install a custom rom to get extra features and potential performance increases. You can tweak the kernel to underclock (to save battery life) or overclock (to get more performance). Xposed modules, such as Gravitybox, can get you custom rom features on a stock based rom (such as TruPureX). You can block ads. Titanium Backup is a legendary root app for backups. There are plenty of other root apps to get the most out of the power of root. You can maximize the phone's potential by rooting, however, if you don't find these things particularly compelling for you to go through the whole process of rooting and flashing roms (which isn't too complicated), the stock rom will do you just fine.

The reasons to root all depend on you. If you just want a phone without carrier bloat, then rooting your phone is not necessary since this phone is already there. Otherwise, rooting gives you the ability to do many tweaks and customizations to your phone that is not otherwise possible. Read up on it and decide if it something worth your while
Sent from my awesome phone!

Xposed!

Bobaroo said:
Xposed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My main reasons are for Titanium Backup, Emoji Switcher, Better Battery Stats, & Sixaxis Pair Tool.

AdAway!

When you look at the pros (other replies above) and cons (have to unlock bootloader, so you void your warranty), I'm no longer convinced there is a great deal of benefit in rooting the phone.
In the last 5 years this is my 4th android phone and it's the 1st one I haven't bothered to root.
I look at the custom ROM threads and they're full of "this or that doesn't work"
I've used Apex to customise the UI (no root required for most things). The only thing I'd like is to have time/date shown in the middle of the status bar - but I'm not loosing my warranty just to get it!
I should say I'm a very "light" user of the phone - so stock Android gives me everything I need, and I'm not finding battery life an issue.

^^ This. Apex launcher, custom kernel for color and slight performance tweaks, center clock, and skipping tracks with the volume rocker all on stock rom. Thats all I really root for.
Sent from my iPhone 6s Plus

I'm sure this analogy has been used somewhere before.
If you're the type that likes to tinker, unlocked bootloader gives you [mostly] full access.
It's like going target practice and shooting with blanks or real bullets

I have decided not to root for now. With previous Android phones, my primary reasons to root was to remove and/or disable carrier bloat and freeze some manufacturer baked in functions I never used. In addition I could get a way to turn off LTE which AT&T is notorious for removing the capability. With this phone it is not an issue and the few things moto has baked in I actually find useful. I was able to block ads in the browser through ad blocker plus. Other than a few minor things that I miss I'm largely enjoying this phone. I don't find rooting necessary for me at this point. After my warranty I will probably give it a go.

One reason for me and its to turn off ascending ring tone as its affecting my notifications.

Looking for a fresh start - Rooted N910T, Maximum OvrDriVE MM v3.2, heavily tweaked

I have a rooted Galaxy Note 4 (T-Mobile), with TWRP recovery, and the Maximum OvrDriVE custom ROM installed. I used several apps to perform various tweaks on my device, and lost track of what all tweaks I've done, over the last couple of years. Somewhere along the lines, I think I used some tweaks that are either incompatible with each other, or with the device itself. It has been spontaneously rebooting at random, for several months now, and I've gotten frustrated enough to do a full factory reset.
However, it's been so long since I rooted, and first installed a custom ROM, that I need some help, particularly since OvrDriVE is no longer developing for the Note 4. I'm looking for a replacement ROM, with the following qualifications:
- Overall TouchWiz/Samsung Experience, or at least those features unique to the Note line, or even Samsung/Galaxy in general.
- COMPATIBILITY! I need for the ROM (or launcher) to not break apps or features. I still want to be able to use the full functionality of the S-Pen, split-screen apps, THE CAMERA, ability to write to external storage, all wireless connectivity, etc. I'm fine with a ROM ported from a later Note series device, as long as it doesn't break anything.
- Reduced bloat: I don't necessarily want ALL "bloat" apps removed, but I DO want to know what each actually DOES. I want space freed up, but I also don't want to reduce/eliminate functionality. I'm perfectly fine with adding GApps - either individually, or as a package - after installation.
- Customizable capacitive buttons functions. I realize this was probably a feature of some app, but I can't remember what app/tweak/whatever I used, for this customization.
- Various root/ROM options/preferences which, while currently made available by root, would be made more accessible.
- Ongoing development. I don't want to install a ROM, only to have it turn into abandonware, 3-4 months from now
I probably want plenty of other things, but those are the core features I want to keep. Please let me know what ROM(s) come closest to meeting the above requirements.
I prefer to do as much of this as possible from the device itself, but if connecting it to my PC would yield better results, I'm more than willing to do so. I'd like step-by-step instructions, when possible, too. I want to do a full factory reset, and after installing everything, I want the latest versions of TWRP recovery, a custom ROM fitting the above requirements, and a custom launcher (I currently use Nova Launcher, and see no reason to change). I've already backed up all my apps and contact/sms data, so I'm ready to wipe and reinstall, as soon as I've got a ROM picked out, and good, detailed instructions.
TL;DR
I want to wipe my phone, and start over with a new custom ROM that is as close to the stock Samsung Experience as possible. I want to remove/reduce bloatware, without sacrificing features/functionality unique to the Note series or Samsung devices in general. I want good, detailed, step-by-step instructions.

Mi A1 Moddability in general and Oreo vs. Nougat?

Hey guys,
up till today I'm still using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with Android 4.3.
It is modded to the max to exactly meet my needs and "paranoia":
- Custom Rom TouchWiz based rom
- Custom Kernel with some special script based tweaks (for example: MAC randomization everytime I turn Wifi on - handy for time limited free access points and to prevent beeing tracked etc.)
- Full Disk Encryption with a password different than my unlock pin (so when the device is off it requires a long password, but when on only a shorter pin)
- Xposed with the "old" Xprivacy Pro, Greenify and lots of other useful modules (like device shutdown after x failed amounts of unlock password etc)
- Lightning Launcher (allows "pinned" widgets that do not scroll - like the clock always beeing shown on top of all my homescreens) and custom widgets made with UCCW
- Button mods (double tap menu button turns on/off auto rotation, long menu switches last two apps, long back kills foreground app etc.) and homebutton mod to turn on flashlight when held while device is locked (to turn it on blindly / without looking)
- Sidebar Launcher Appsi for all my apps (and using xprivacy to prevent certain apps from showing up in the list at all)
... etc etc.
It took me a long time to set up everything and whenever I bought a new phone I sold it soon after because they never could be modded that hard like my old note 3 could be. (not to mention the built in batteries - I HATE that so much about all new devices).
Long story short: The Mi A1 could maaaaybe finally be the device to replace my Note 3 - but for that I need to be able to really mod it hard again hehe.
What really is important to me is beeing able to use xposed and xprivacy (unfortunately the xprivacy lua is not that good as the old one as far as it reads in the description), controlling the device encryption with my own 20+ Character Passphrase while still having a shorter pin when the device is booted up (and it beeing "full device encryption" not just file based if that still exists?). Removing all google apps except the playstore (and the account manager - dont even want the google play services crap) and preferably beeing able to install modded playstore which does not autoupdate itself etc.
-----
Do you guys think this is possible at all? And if so - should I stay with a 7.1.2 based rom or go for oreo? I mainly care about modability as I explained..
Hope someone is in the same boat or at least knows enough about this phone and the roms/kernels/availabe and working xposed mods to help me out.

There's pretty much no development for Nougat so it would be better if you were to get on oreo
Modabillity is pretty great with this phone so far
Look around on xda and see if you like it

berezker said:
There's pretty much no development for Nougat so it would be better if you were to get on oreo
Modabillity is pretty great with this phone so far
Look around on xda and see if you like it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but does xposed and stuff like modded playstore etc exist/work for oreo? and do you maybe know if its possible to have a different boot password than just the unlock pin when device is powered on?
and how about rootcloak and stuff like that? On my old note i can pretty much fake everything to apps and prevent root to be detected or feed them with fake data through xprivacy - but does this all still work to the same extend on the newer android versions? This safetynet bull**** has been around since when again? Can that still be fooled?

zroice said:
but does xposed and stuff like modded playstore etc exist/work for oreo? and do you maybe know if its possible to have a different boot password than just the unlock pin when device is powered on?
and how about rootcloak and stuff like that? On my old note i can pretty much fake everything to apps and prevent root to be detected or feed them with fake data through xprivacy - but does this all still work to the same extend on the newer android versions? This safetynet bull**** has been around since when again? Can that still be fooled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really sure about modded play store and boot password stuff but what I do know is that you can use Magisk (Similar to SuperSu + Extra useful mods) to hide root from certain apps that you choose
Xposed does work perfectly fine but it depends on the modules and whether they work on oreo. If not, magisk modules are also pretty good
If you happen to own a phone that you can flash Oreo on, (see, Lineage 15), then you can pretty much know and discover everything about Oreo and how modding works on it