How can I just root and not unlock - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting

gjjh25 said:
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you will need to unlock to flash custom zip, but u can relock after

gjjh25 said:
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question - why? What do you want to root your phone for if not to use the wonderful tools of root. Why do you think fully rooting your phone will harm something. Locked or unlocked bootloader is not going to affect your phone. Rooted stock rom with recovery will not make it act funny.... Sorry not putting you out there but just asking why? Feel free to ignore me if you must...
Edit: Sorry to answer your question like the post above said you can root and then lock it right back up if that is your preference

playya said:
Question - why? What do you want to root your phone for if not to use the wonderful tools of root. Why do you think fully rooting your phone will harm something. Locked or unlocked bootloader is not going to affect your phone. Rooted stock rom with recovery will not make it act funny.... Sorry not putting you out there but just asking why? Feel free to ignore me if you must...
Edit: Sorry to answer your question like the post above said you can root and then lock it right back up if that is your preference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have come from an HTC Desire, which I rooted and had a custom rom (Cyganonmod) on and was very happy with it.
I am still not sure of what I would gain by doing the same with my Nexus 4 ?
any advice is much appreciated.
Is this new Cyganonmod installer the best way to go?

gjjh25 said:
I have come from an HTC Desire, which I rooted and had a custom rom (Cyganonmod) on and was very happy with it.
I am still not sure of what I would gain by doing the same with my Nexus 4 ?
any advice is much appreciated.
Is this new Cyganonmod installer the best way to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone is built for rooting and modding. You wont know what benefit you have until you either read up and see if the mods are ones you want or actually flash a rom. Sure try the CM installer but if you dont toolkits or just basic knowledge of android can get this phone roooted in minutes.
the CM rom on your HTC will give you the same benefits on your Nexus 4

playya said:
This phone is built for rooting and modding. You wont know what benefit you have until you either read up and see if the mods are ones you want or actually flash a rom. Sure try the CM installer but if you dont toolkits or just basic knowledge of android can get this phone roooted in minutes.
the CM rom on your HTC will give you the same benefits on your Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, what do you recommend for the easiest way to unlock and root then?

gjjh25 said:
Thanks, what do you recommend for the easiest way to unlock and root then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a toolkit but honestly you can unlock manually by just booting into bootloader mode. Go into development and try Wugs Toolkit.... Rooting the phone is easy and all methods are relatively the same.
I do not see anything wrong with giving CM a try as well

gjjh25 said:
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend you to stick to your original plan, its your phone, do what you like, you don't need to flash custom roms if you don't want to. I am using stock kernel and stock KitKat right now and the performance is excellent.
Follow these instructions to unlock bootloader, install latest kitkat factory image, install custom TWRP recovery, and root. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2010312
The links to fastboot package and driver required is in my signature.
Link to download factory image: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
Link for latest TWRP: TWRP recovery
Link for latest SuperSU package: SuperSU package
After you do all that, in bootloader menu, you can flash back the stock recovery (recovery.img), which is location in the "image-occam-******.zip" of the factory image. (fastboot flash recovery recovery.img)
Then lock your bootloader by "fastboot oem lock". You can also use BootUnlocker to lock and unlock your bootloader on the fly while in the phone, without losing your data, since everytime you do fastboot oem unlock, it will wipe the entire device.
By using stock rom, stock recovery, stock kernel and temporarily unroot (SuperSU) or hide root (SuperSU paid version), it allows you to receive future OTA updates from Google. If you want to modify your phones more while staying with stock, read up on Xposed Framework and its module Gravity Box, which is not yet compatible with Android 4.4 but will be eventually.
Just remember if you don't have custom recovery, once something goes wrong and your phone can't boot, its very hard to save the data inside. Once you have custom recovery like TWRP, you can make a backup of your stock image (which also backup your stock kernel) and try out other custom roms and easily go back to stock, then you can flash stock recovery again to receive OTA updates.

Thanks for advice everyone.
I rooted and unlocked with Wugfresh over the weekend. A lot easier than I thought it would be

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] Quick firmware question

If I was lucky enough to get a new GS4 At&t with the mdl firmware I can root and install a custom recovery like twrp. Is that right?
I was thinking of using this guide and then installing cyanogenmod. This should be possible right?
SSMI said:
If I was lucky enough to get a new GS4 At&t with the mdl firmware I can root and install a custom recovery like twrp. Is that right?
I was thinking of using this guide and then installing cyanogenmod. This should be possible right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - MDL firmware will work with the loki bootloader exploit no problem. Definitely read that guide and probably the other stickies as well, so you fully understand what's going on.
Also, when you get the phone, take measures to make sure it does not download the update. Remove the SIM card and turn off wifi so it can't download anything. Then root and install custom recovery and you can turn that all back on (update can't happen with custom recovery).
If you're going to keep it stock for a bit, make sure you root and use Titanium Backup to disable the update apps. You can find those in one of the stickies.

can't update to marshmallow

Hello friends
My phone is HTC One m8w
There isn't "update" in
Setting
About
Android version,
5.0.1
Software number
1.0.0.m8w
Build number
4.19.1402.15 CL458284 release-keys
Please help me for this problem
How can I update my phone?
Thanks a lot
Hello, I experienced something similar- complete absence of system update! A little digging revealed that any modifications to the system partition would render the device un-updateable, so naturally I downloaded the complete marshmallow package update for my device, booted into standard recovery, and updated from sd card
Hope this helps
Ta3miyyasandwich said:
Hello, I experienced something similar- complete absence of system update! A little digging revealed that any modifications to the system partition would render the device un-updateable, so naturally I downloaded the complete marshmallow package update for my device, booted into standard recovery, and updated from sd card
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There isn't any update for my build number
Sent from my HTC_M9pw using Tapatalk
if you are willing to, just root your phone and flash the marshmallow rom on to your phone and use titanium backup to backup everything before you do so.
you can root your phone,flash twrp recovery,flash Marshmallow rom.
lmentor said:
you can root your phone,flash twrp recovery,flash Marshmallow rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I just said
justinchao740 said:
if you are willing to, just root your phone and flash the marshmallow rom on to your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need root to install TWRP, nor to install a custom ROM.
Exception is Verizon, where you need root to s-off, and then unlock bootloader; as bootloader unlock by HTCDev.com is not supported for that version alone.
redpoint73 said:
You don't need root to install TWRP, nor to install a custom ROM.
Exception is Verizon, where you need root to s-off, and then unlock bootloader; as bootloader unlock by HTCDev.com is not supported for that version alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get bootloader unlocked, you basically rooted your device cause now you are allowed to modify the system data and make modification that can result in unusable phone. Plus if you are willing to take the risk of unlocking your bootloader, why don't you just root anyways, its just a matter of flashing super su zip.
justinchao740 said:
If you get bootloader unlocked, you basically rooted your device cause now you are allowed to modify the system data and make modification that can result in unusable phone .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you didn't. Root is a very specific thing. You either have root (SU) priviledge, or you don't. Unlocked bootloader does not give you root privilege. It only allows you to flash unsigned zips to certain partitions.
justinchao740 said:
Plus if you are willing to take the risk of unlocking your bootloader, why don't you just root anyways, its just a matter of flashing super su zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it would be a wasted step (completely unnecessary), if you are going to flash a custom ROM.
redpoint73 said:
No, you didn't. Root is a very specific thing. You either have root (SU) priviledge, or you don't. Unlocked bootloader does not give you root privilege. It only allows you to flash unsigned zips to certain partitions.
Because it would be a wasted step (completely unnecessary), if you are going to flash a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think of it this way. If you flashed a cm ROM without root in the first place, you would get root. I'm not saying unlocking bootloader immediately give you root access but it allows almost anything that you flash to have root access
justinchao740 said:
Think of it this way. If you flashed a cm ROM without root in the first place, you would get root. I'm not saying unlocking bootloader immediately give you root access but it allows almost anything that you flash to have root access
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some folks keep incorrectly stating that you need root to flash custom recovery on this device (on some devices, you do - but not this one). I'm just trying to make sure that misinformation doesn't keep getting conveyed (the post after yours said it, too).
Stating the process precisely, is the best way to do that.
redpoint73 said:
Some folks keep incorrectly stating that you need root to flash custom recovery on this device (on some devices, you do - but not this one). I'm just trying to make sure that misinformation doesn't keep getting conveyed (the post after yours said it, too).
Stating the process precisely, is the best way to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed plus my post never stated anything about rooting.
justinchao740 said:
Agreed plus my post never stated anything about rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While my intent is not to be the guy that always has the last word; I also can't let you state a complete falsehood.
justinchao740 said:
if you are willing to, just root your phone and flash the marshmallow rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Cleanest root

Hello everyone !
I currently have a H870 european LG g6.
I want to root my phone but I don't want to install TWRP.
I want the lightest and "as stock as possible" way to root.
Is it possible? Thanks a lot for your help !
Your NEED to unlock bootloader. Then ADB to root.
Why not have twrp installed? Great for backup restoring flashing latest root list goes on.
If you want a rom which is 'stock as possible' install Fulmics rom. You do need to unlock your bootloader and use TWRP to install the rom tho'.
kurskoo40 said:
If you want a rom...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?? He just wants root. Nothing else. No ROM.
Aight if you don't want any rom, you still got to unlock your bootloader cause you need to install TWRP to install magisk or supersu. Which root app do you prefer?
I have the US997 and want something similar. I want to root the stock rom with Magisk and still be able to take an OTA. Ideally, unlock, flash TWRP, root, and then flash back stock recovery. This is possible correct?
Irieone said:
I have the US997 and want something similar. I want to root the stock rom with Magisk and still be able to take an OTA. Ideally, unlock, flash TWRP, root, and then flash back stock recovery. This is possible correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea you can do that. You can keep the stock rom if you want but you will need to flash TWRP to install magisk. Magisk comes with a .zip file which only can be installed with TWRP.
kurskoo40 said:
Yea you can do that. You can keep the stock rom if you want but you will need to flash TWRP to install magisk. Magisk comes with a .zip file which only can be installed with TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible at all to avoid flashing TWRP (like going with SuperSU instead of Magisk)?
sp_1st_timer said:
Is it possible at all to avoid flashing TWRP (like going with SuperSU instead of Magisk)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you always need a custom recovery to flash SuperSu or Magisk.
Anyway, why you don't want the custom recovery? You can always remove it by flashing the stock one.
Killua96 said:
Nope, you always need a custom recovery to flash SuperSu or Magisk.
Anyway, why you don't want the custom recovery? You can always remove it by flashing the stock one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read a lot of issues other users have trying to make TWRP to work. I was thinking it would be better for me if there was a way to skip TWRP when rooting my LG G6.
sp_1st_timer said:
I have read a lot of issues other users have trying to make TWRP to work. I was thinking it would be better for me if there was a way to skip TWRP when rooting my LG G6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zefie's TWRP doesn't have any major problems, official one is unable to mount system and has problems with backups, nothing to do with normal usage of the phone.
Killua96 said:
Zefie's TWRP doesn't have any major problems, official one is unable to mount system and has problems with backups, nothing to do with normal usage of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I wish somebody knowledgeable would post an "Ultimate Guide to Rooting your LG G6" thread and make it a sticky. There are contradicting/incomplete instructions on when to press and release the Volume & Power button, when to disconnect the USB cable, etc.
I believe many simple questions on flashing recovery and rooting will keep coming back until a correct, complete and detailed step-by-step guide gets posted.

Freshly bought Mi A1 - to OTA or not to OTA?

Hey guys,
want to mod my freshly bought Mi A1 to the max, but I'm not sure if i should OTA first or better start modding right away?
I already unlocked the bootloader and it didnt wipe it - it also has 7.1 installed still. Generally I'm usually reluctant to do official updates because they usually make modding harder - but I tried booting the treble TWRP installer .img through fastboot (without installing it) and it failed because some partition was missing it said.. so I just want to hear if OTA is necessary to use the latest custom roms or if i can keep the old bootloader etc?
Would be cool if someone who knows could say smth about that.
Or is updating through OTA actually recommended even when not planning to ever use stock roms?
zroice said:
Hey guys,
want to mod my freshly bought Mi A1 to the max, but I'm not sure if i should OTA first or better start modding right away?
I already unlocked the bootloader and it didnt wipe it - it also has 7.1 installed still. Generally I'm usually reluctant to do official updates because they usually make modding harder - but I tried booting the treble TWRP installer .img through fastboot (without installing it) and it failed because some partition was missing it said.. so I just want to hear if OTA is necessary to use the latest custom roms or if i can keep the old bootloader etc?
Would be cool if someone who knows could say smth about that.
Or is updating through OTA actually recommended even when not planning to ever use stock roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If security matters for you yes
The only thing you'll share with a custom ROM is the bootloader
Since may update locking or relocking the bootloader will wipe your data
It's your choice
but it will still work as easy as before to unlock/lock with just a fastboot command, right?
and will a custom rom work with a locked bootloader? Like first unlock, install custom rom + kernel, then relock?
zroice said:
but it will still work as easy as before to unlock/lock with just a fastboot command, right?
and will a custom rom work with a locked bootloader? Like first unlock, install custom rom + kernel, then relock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to enable it in Developer settings.
zroice said:
but it will still work as easy as before to unlock/lock with just a fastboot command, right?
and will a custom rom work with a locked bootloader? Like first unlock, install custom rom + kernel, then relock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will always be that easy to unlock and relock the bootloader
No don't relock on anything that is out of stock (custom kernel , magisk, custom ROM etc) this will lead to a softbrick and you'll have to be on edl more to reflash a stock rom
What's the interest of having a locked bootloader with a custom ROM? You won't pass the safety net anyway
Just keep it unlock
You can do ota with an unlocked bootloader
Dead-neM said:
It will always be that easy to unlock and relock the bootloader
No don't relock on anything that is out of stock (custom kernel , magisk, custom ROM etc) this will lead to a softbrick and you'll have to be on edl more to reflash a stock rom
What's the interest of having a locked bootloader with a custom ROM? You won't pass the safety net anyway
Just keep it unlock
You can do ota with an unlocked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alright. thanks very much for explaining in details - exactly what i was looking for.
What's the use of your android one device if you will not update it, that's what you pay for.
HidekiRyuga said:
What's the use of your android one device if you will not update it, that's what you pay for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahahaaa exactly the point :laugh:
well once you have everything "perfectly set up" updates can ruin it. but yea relocking the bootloader really was a stupid idea - it was the idea to make it tamper proof but since custom kernels wont boot with locked bootloader that wouldnt work.

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