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I know most people are gonna tell me I should root my phone, but just hear me out really quickly...
I just got my Samsung Vibrant and I truly love the phone. It's a huge upgrade from my G1 in pretty much every way I can think of. I had my G1 rooted since like the second week I had it. I started off with JesusFreke's ROMs and then made my way to Cyanogen's ROMs with a few others that I tried here and there. I tried a bunch of different themes and I used quite a few root apps. I know my way around the rooted Android scene (or at least the rooted G1 scene) pretty well, but I'm not entirely sure if I want to root my Vibrant and here's why:
I'm afraid of voiding my warranty.
There's not really anything that I want to do with the phone that it can't already do (for example, it has plenty of space for apps without the need for A2SD).
I don't want to risk losing things like my text messages over and over again from switching to different ROMs (this happened to me quite a bit with my G1).
My G1's battery and overall performance were much much worse than my friends' G1s which were not rooted. I don't want this happening with my Vibrant.
Some people will think that these reasons are either unimportant or nonexistent, but I disagree. Again, before people start saying "these are the risks of rooting, deal with it or leave," I want to stress that I'm not a newbie at this.
Anyway, the main reason that I DO want to root the phone, regardless of the fact that I told myself I wouldn't, is because of all this junkware that T-Mobile preinstalled the phone. I didn't know the phone came with this crap (like GoGo, TeleNav GPS, Slacker, etc.). We all know that you can't remove this stuff without rooting...I've counted 11 apps that I want to remove from the phone because they're effectively advertisements and I don't want them. So before I make a decision, I'd like to ask some questions...
Would you root the phone if you were ME?
Is it possible to root the Vibrant, remove the apps, and then unroot it, thus leaving the apps gone?
If not ^^, then is it possible to root the Vibrant and keep the stock ROM? I really don't want any custom ROMs...I just want to remove the junkware.
I'm sorry if similar questions have been asked before, but I feel like my specific needs and concerns probably aren't shared by most of the XDA community so I created my own post...
Thanks,
Gerard
actually I think what most are going to say is search the forum... There are several threads on the topic.
You don't have to add any roms if you're rooted. Yes you can remove the bloatware with root. Yes its easy to take your phone out of root, but with the bloatware missing its not hard to see that you have had root at one point.
I actually did root my phone just to remove the junkware....and then used titanium backup to remove what I didn't want....it took me 3 mins to root compared to the 15 mins it took for my nexus....i say its worth it....you can't even tell its rooted so I'm pretty sure the warehouse will never catch it if a exchange is ever needed.....you ll personally make up ur mind as soon as u see the cyanogen 2.2 rom come out hopefully that will be soon....I SAY GO FOR IT
Sent from my Samsung™ Vibrant using XDA App
I'm not bothering to root while I can still return the phone (1st 30 days) and not all the HW issues are know. Once a decent custom ROM is available I'll start looking into rooting, customer recovery, etc. The only thing I'm missing a bit from not being rooted is my Wifi tethering...
Thanks for the replies, guys (and/or girl(s) it looks like lol). I'm glad I wasn't destroyed by people telling me to search the forums...
I'll probably end up doing root sooner or later with very few modifications (if any). I'll wait it out a bit, though. My questions have been answered.
Thanks again!
Gerard
Samsung is a new device. Running 4.4.2 KikKat and having the best mobile processor in the market meaning that most (if not all) of you will exploit this bad boy in many different ways. The most popular way is obviously gonna be rooting.
Now, im fairly new to rooting. (Having only rooted my v2.1 Galaxy S Vibrant) Meaning I have no idea (or experience for that matter) in rooting new phones.
Most of you know that Sammy implanted new Knox security, and rooting an S5 early on will void it's warranty.
My question is: Is it recommended to root an S5? Aside from the cancelation of the warranty will the phone suffer any other consequences? And lastly, are there any actual mods that will make rooting an S5 beneficial? Or are all the mods just aesthetical?
Difficult question to answer imho. I'm no leet phone user or maybe not the best person to ask, but I rooted because of droidwall, xposed network and xprivacy (basically because I want a access to iptables and decide which items can use which data, etc. I also like to customise and freeze unwanted stuff in titanium backup. But if the positive side supersedes the negative side I don't know. Must be up to you to decide. If you are into to protect your own privacy policy root is must. Cheers
Sent from my SM-G900F using xda app-developers app
Im also not leet phone user or anything but to answer your question about if there is any useful mods...
well firstly if you're rooted you can remove all of the bloatware... this will typically extends your phone battery by 15 - 40% depending on how you use it... but for sure its 15% better (samsung is known for putting a lot of bloatware and some of them runs in the background and you cant turn them off -> the only way is to freeze or delete them)... secondly is that if you have some specific things you want on your phone, rooting and flashing mods/roms will help you achieve them, for example: I like to have my "sound+vibration/vibration" options on the notification but stockrom has "sound/vibration/mute", and so far that I've noticed the "sound" option doesn't force vibration so if you just restarted the phone and put on the "sound" option it won't vibrate until you go to settings and set it to do so... so without rooting I won't ever be able to mod the notification toggles to do what I want.... there will also be mods that makes your phone more responsive (faster)... the lists of things you can do with root is just too much to be listed lol...
now to answer your main question "Is rooting the S5 recommended this early on?", now this is all my opinion so take it with a bit of salt... I would say no...
there isn't much of roms around (not much of choices atm, you can check like s2/s3/s4 to get an idea of how much of choices you can expect once the device has been out for 6 months+), so if you root right now, you pretty much have to do all of the modding by yourself and etc... so why root and lose warranty? just play it cool and wait for a better time XD the decision that you wait 1 - 6 months before root might saves your phone ass, if something happens... and I seriously doubt you gona gain that much if you root now... unless you're uber modder/rom cooker
Don't get me wrong though, I personally recommend every android user to root lol... Android without root is like iPhone... what is the point of the ability to pretty much modify everything but you dont use it? (dont get mad now iphone fans... Im on android just coz of the customization, not of brand or specs)
Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)
Rooting restriction is carrier based. Some carriers lock down from rooting, others dont.
Knox is a one way trip. Once tripped it stays that way. It is effectively a fuse.
Had my N4 for two weeks and am loving it. Came from a rooted S4. Not really missing root that much. Wish I could still turn GPS on and off with Tasker and wish I had better access to the SD card. Not big deals though. There is another thread here about non-rooted solutions to many things people want root for.
Might become more an issue in a couple years if Samsung/Verizon fails to do timely updates.
Best advice to new N4 users is learn to use the S Pen. It is what makes the N4 stand out.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
1. No it doesnt allow rooting. get a 910U - so far it seems the least hassle.
2. no rooting.
3. yes once you try to root your warranty is void. for all purposes assume you will never get root. then again, you dont need root. in fact having no root and knox is much better. you can have a dual personality phone which works very well.
4. irrelevant. if you get the note 4 expect to run factory.
5. no. you cant have root.
6. you need a full case to hold it. its a thin glass panel. ive got an iblason armorbox for it. also would recommend buying the wireless back and wireless chargers. cables are too much of a hassle on this phone.
My recommendation would be little biased towards Samsung given my last four phones were all galaxy. I never had to root Note 3 but I rooted Note 4 in few days of owning it. Google must have thought let's give some punch to Samsung by disabling write access to external SD giving excuse of security as Samsung is the only high end phone manufacturer that still has it. And one of the most used function that was very important to me was copying files off network share to SD which no longer worked. Only for this I rooted.
I buy Note series not for amoled or big screen or good battery life or running AOSPs. I buy for SPen. I snap, print screen, doodle and write catchy text and share, adds that special touch. And that Microsoft One Note supported inking in android, I am loving it even more.
Note 4
Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated!
While it seems most of you use the note 4 for its main purpose of being a multitasking phone. I on the other end just need the good camera, screen and battery. Everything else is gimmicks (for me atleast). However, this opinion of mine could be due to the fact that ive never owned a note before.
I did see some guides of being able to root the SM-N910W8 with CF auto root, as well as a way of bringing devices back to stock as i can see form this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/general/ref-stock-firmware-kernel-modem-recovery-t2920452
Now, is that really the case or is there somehting im not seeing?
you can NEVER bring it back to stock. the efuse blows once you root. Do NOT root a note 4 until youre familiar enough with knox to make the choice
By stock i dont mean resetting the knox fuse. I mean, if I am on a cusotm rom, i can bring it back to stock for warranty purposes (which I know after the knox fuse is blown, is a hit and miss)
So my question still stands, will I be able to root my phone based on the thread i mentioned above and be able to return it to stock afterwards, or is there something im not seeing there.
qwertyman007 said:
Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Note 4 with Bell so to answer your questions:
1) Yes. This is true for all Canadian carriers AFAIK.
2,4) Should be sufficient with just a root. I haven't been around for a week so I haven't caught up on new developments yet. I didn't see much in the way of AOSP last I looked.
3) This I can't answer but I know for example there is an XPosed module that will allow applications like GOOD to continue to work even with KNOX tripped/removed.
5) The W8 is similar to the 910T. I'm actually running DynamicKat with the KTNote4 Kernel. When you install DK part of the install script checks if your phone is a 910T or a 910W8 and installs the correct kernel. I had an issue with my initial flash of it bootlooping but I used the Stockish kernel from twistedumbrella that I had flashed when I still running stock rooted and backed up the boot image so I restored that boot image and it booted, then I flashed KTNote4 myself. Check here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/development and here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/orig-development for roms/kernels.
6) Yes you can just flash a stock rom (should be floating around somewhere) but Knox will still be tripped.
7) Overall I'm absolutely loving it. I came from an S3 that I was running CM11 on with KT's kernel (seriously, his kernels are amazing!) and I liked it for a really long time but it started to get really sluggish and it just can't handle multitasking the way I'd like it. I do still notice slow downs, and the phone does still get pretty hot sometimes, but that's the price you pay for multi-tasking. KTs kernel certainly isn't perfected (granted I'm on a build from 2 weeks ago) and sometimes it will randomly reboot and bootloop at the splash screen but once I clear cache it boots right up. Usually only does this once it's been pretty hot for a while. I love the multitasking windows, that's exactly what I want. The one thing that threw me off the most was the DPI. It's a big phone, I don't need everything on it to be gigantic. So I did end up using the XPosed module App Settings to scale the DPI down to 480 from 640. There are a couple quirks when doing that, like the task switcher is smaller (since it was designed for 640 DPI) and there are a couple apps that you have to set back to 640 as well like the camera but you can always fix those as you find them.
I'm a firm believer that Android is a dev's playground. I could not use this phone happily without root. In fact, I rooted it the same night I got it within a couple hours. I bought the phone outright since I would have had to change my plan if I wanted to early upgrade and my plan is too good to do that. Happy modding!
Just use Autoinput. Can trigger GPS.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app
I've rooted my last 3 phones, and for the longest time, considered it an essential step in the true Android experience.
But let's be honest, rooting is a bit of a PITA. You risk destroying your warranty, which worries me with a phone that I got on launch day. You have issues with OTA updates. If you load a custom ROM, you're blowing away all your settings each time you load an update. There's more, but I won't keep going.
Of course, there are a LOT of benefits, too. Most of them, however, are ways around annoying little nits that I have, and with this phone, I find fewer of those nits, and far fewer items that are larger than nits. With the improvements in Android and with a good launcher, I can completely hide away all of the annoying Sprint and Samsung apps.
If I rooted this phone, these are the benefits that I think I could realize are: Getting rid of the volume warning (nit), changing my boot animation (nit), Titanium backup (which I don't really need if I'm not constantly loading a new ROM), better ad blocking (nit), the ability to remove unwanted apps (bit of a nit, but it would be beneficial to reclaim the ram and storage space), and probably the biggest - wifi hotspot (which I rarely use, but I will miss if I don't have it).
I'm curious if anyone else thinks this same way about this phone. Are there other serial rooters who are not rooting the S6?
well, first thing I did with my S6 was to load custom recovery and custom ROM
Still on the same boat, don't want to trip knox by installing a custom recovery or custom kernel and not knowing what ping-pong root really does is a little worrisome.
When considering whether to root or not your S6, remember that there is a debloat method which doesn't require root: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/safe-to-debloat-s6-threads-t3090383.
I agree with OP: as time passes by and Android evolves there are less and less "serious" reasons to root a phone.
Pingpong is pretty safe(warranty wise) and it's easy to reflash your stock rom. I usually never root on first day but now I saw no reason not to.
Having had a rooted phone since the days of cupcake I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I got my Xperia Z2 before it was rootable with a locked bootloader and in those few months I discovered I could live without titanium backup if I wasn't flashing roms left right and centre but I hadn't realised how pervasive ads had become in the mobile world and it was something that really bugged me, as the non-root blocking methods didn't give me much joy, so when root was finally achieved I knew I couldn't live without ad-blocking.
Fast-forward a year and I was holding off the S6 for the precise reason of not being able to root without tripping knox (which given the track record of my S2, S3 & S4 all needing to be repaired under warranty I cannot afford to do), but I ended up getting it thanks to breaking my Z2, with the hope of something like pingpong coming soon enough. This time again I found it painful dealing with the ads again but to add to that there's the frankly rubbish battery in this phone compared with my old Z2, and I was having little joy zapping all the wakelocks until I got root and greenify.
So TLDR, can't live without proper ad-blocking and greenify is essential for the S6 if you actually want to have a reasonable amount of functionality without carrying around a charger.
As for me, I like rooting so I can remove bloat, freezing an app is not the same as removing it and I can't stand ads. Do what you like, I have never had issues with warranties even with knox tripped. I have had the S, S3, S4, and now the S6 and I have never had to use the warranty, which expires after the first year anyway.
ipaq_101 said:
As for me, I like rooting so I can remove bloat, freezing an app is not the same as removing it and I can't stand ads. Do what you like, I have never had issues with warranties even with knox tripped. I have had the S, S3, S4, and now the S6 and I have never had to use the warranty, which expires after the first year anyway.
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Click to collapse
well, Samsung offers 2 years warranty, here in Europe anyway.
I have rooted pretty much every single android phone I have owned and with the superb debloater app I have zero need for root now and unless Samsung do something which is very invasive I cannot see any reason to root in the future,
That and the fact I have heard of stories of ping pong root tripping knox on some devices is worrying.
I rooted every phone which I had on the first day and never had problems with warranty but the phones hasn't knox. My note 3 was rooted too but there wasn't any reason sending to repair.
Now with the s6 I don't need the root.
The Rom is debloated for. There was only Microsoft and Vodafone apps. I use them both so no reason to debloat.
Thread cleaned, please keep it nice and friendly
Whiskey
Forum Moderator
I haven't and wont root this phone. I use adblock browser which gives me a perfect ad free browsing experience. I use zero apps which bombard me with annoying ads I can't ignore, I have plenty of space on my phone, and custom Rom's won't make it faster or more stable or improve battery life so personally there's no point.
I go back and forth with the idea of rooting. Right now, there's no method for my build - so, I want to root. Previously, when there was a method for build - I didn't root. I'm kinda of the similar thought as the OP...is there really a need to root anymore? The majority of the reasons/features we rooted our phones for in the first place are now part of Android. If I do root, it will be to get the maximum benefit out of using Greenify and TB.
I've rooted all my previous android devices and this is the first phone that I don't feel like I need rooting. I did go through the process with PingPong-root so that I could clean up some apps but after I couldn't get OTA's I went and restored it to factory settings. With Nova Launcher and the ability to inactivate most of the apps I don't use I don't see the need of rooting it just yet..
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
I unrooted a few days ago to fix Google now (I broke it somehow) and am having a hard time redoing it. Other then modding the themes..I can't find another reason. Most of the time I break stuff anyways lol so might be better if I dont!
Sheldor1967 said:
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's the only way I do it. I just root the stock rom and get rid of the ads. Backup my apps with titanium backup. All the usual things that I can't do with a non rooted phone.
With regards,
Beston94
My biggest reason I'd consider rooting is AirAudio -> Airport Express devices.
I need root as I use the automation app tasker an awful lot. I haven't purchased an s6 yet but it is something I am debating. It is between the s6 and N6 but either way I will be rooting whichever I choose
---------- Post added at 04:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
Sheldor1967 said:
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which method did you opt for with regards to rooting?
Flashed TWRP and the rooted from there. Knox is tripped - O-Well. I did it before the other methods were available...
I haven't been active (posting or lurking) since the S4 days, so I'm a little out of touch. I've been scouring the forum (this one and others) all night, and given the KNOX changes, locked boot-loader, non-removable battery, etc., made to the Galaxy S Series, I'm a little uncertain about the current state of affairs.
Long story short, I dropped my phone today and shattered the display. Phone still works and all, but it's hard to see anything. I, like everyone pretty much I guess, am eligible for a free upgrade. (I already paid for my current [broken] phone, so no issues there. I already called and asked.) April, or longer given the confirmed delay, is a long way off to wait for the S8 (though I probably will), but if I were to get my S7 tonight, here's my question:
If I'm not interested in new ROMs or anything and just want to root my phone so I can have full control (mainly just to delete bloat, but also to edit some various system cfg files... it's okay--I'm a professional ), is that still doable on the the S7 without much hassle?
~Zach~ said:
I haven't been active (posting or lurking) since the S4 days, so I'm a little out of touch. I've been scouring the forum (this one and others) all night, and given the KNOX changes, locked boot-loader, non-removable battery, etc., made to the Galaxy S Series, I'm a little uncertain about the current state of affairs.
Long story short, I dropped my phone today and shattered the display. Phone still works and all, but it's hard to see anything. I, like everyone pretty much I guess, am eligible for a free upgrade. (I already paid for my current [broken] phone, so no issues there. I already called and asked.) April, or longer given the confirmed delay, is a long way off to wait for the S8 (though I probably will), but if I were to get my S7 tonight, here's my question:
If I'm not interested in new ROMs or anything and just want to root my phone so I can have full control (mainly just to delete bloat, but also to edit some various system cfg files... it's okay--I'm a professional ), is that still doable on the the S7 without much hassle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root, but it's more difficult on Bootloader 4 to root and keeo activation. It's all luck of the draw on whether the phone you get will come with a firmware on a earlier firmware. If you're on the APH firmware or below I believe, you can downgrade to APE1 and root pretty easily while keeping activation. I'd personally recommend it only if you want to root and are fairly experienced. Glad the first device I rooted was an S3 and not this.
YMNDLZ said:
You can root, but it's more difficult on Bootloader 4 to root and keeo activation. It's all luck of the draw on whether the phone you get will come with a firmware on a earlier firmware. If you're on the APH firmware or below I believe, you can downgrade to APE1 and root pretty easily while keeping activation. I'd personally recommend it only if you want to root and are fairly experienced. Glad the first device I rooted was an S3 and not this.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I got my start on the S3, too. S4 was easy, too, thanks to all the hard work to some very proficient devs here, at least until that update Samsung pushed to tighten KNOX and whatnot.
Anyway, about the S7, I've seen a couple of guides here and there about rooting the S7, but more prevalent are the "OMG... I've lost all my services!" or "OMG! My phone deactivated!" follow-up replies, and then those followed up by "hacks" to maybe get things working again. All in all, though, there really isn't much internet chatter (messages, videos, guides, etc.) about rooting the S7 compared to the S3 and S4, hence why I get the feeling it's not really recommended until you are extremely determined.
~Zach~ said:
Yeah, I got my start on the S3, too. S4 was easy, too, thanks to all the hard work to some very proficient devs here, at least until that update Samsung pushed to tighten KNOX and whatnot.
Anyway, about the S7, I've seen a couple of guides here and there about rooting the S7, but more prevalent are the "OMG... I've lost all my services!" or "OMG! My phone deactivated!" follow-up replies, and then those followed up by "hacks" to maybe get things working again. All in all, though, there really isn't much internet chatter (messages, videos, guides, etc.) about rooting the S7 compared to the S3 and S4, hence why I get the feeling it's not really recommended until you are extremely determined.
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Click to collapse
If you're fairly experienced with android rooting, go ahead and try it. I'd recommend backing up your pit file before you try anything though. Rooting and getting activation back on bootloader 3 is quite easy, but with the new FW's it's slightly more difficult. An XDA user has rooted the latest U firmware from sprint and has everything working from voice to data to all else. I'd recommend PMing @vegoja for help with bootloader 4 rooting, but anything with bootloader 3 rooting I can help you with. Good Luck!
Hello fellow s7 users..... i was wondering if i could possible get some help on this hellish root process that ive been waiting to gain. I have successfully rooted my device via pc, odin and that other stuff. However, my root access failed to keep activation as quick as it was to gain root. I was in the middle of disabling all the unwanted bloat ware and out of no where, my phone kicked itself into a reboot and fell victim to a bootloop. I managed my way out of it and was able to boot all the way through only to find out that a majority of the stock apps would "suddenly stop" itself. Took me a min to sort out that dilemma but after doing so, i realized that i no longer had root access but my device was still rooted...?? Ive done the uninstall, reinstall and clear data steps but still haven't been able to successfully grant superuser permissions. So maybe, i missed a step or misunderstood a thread but i cant seem to work my way around this predicament....... could someone please help me??
I apologize if I'm not on the right thread to ask for help.... worth trying at least.
Thank you