Got lucky, joining the gang. - Nexus 7 (2013) General

Found two 16GB and one 32gb at staples. Bought them all. 32 is for me and my wife, 16 is for my 5 and 1 year old to share.......the other 16 is sealed and on the auction site, lol.
I LOVE this thing so far. Granted it doesn't do anything My LG G2 doesn't do, but the 7" size is far more comfy to watch a show or browse around on when I'm lounging at home.
Couple cases ordered already, but the big question.....to root or not? To Rom or not (I have the 5.0.2 downloaded but haven't installed yet)..........

No reason to root really for general use.
it works fine right out of the box.

taqulic said:
No reason to root really for general use.
it works fine right out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
Felt no need to root mine at any time. Any bloat you dont like can be disabled. :angel:

Don't really need to root if you don't want to, but unlocking the bootloader before you get it all configured how you like probably wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if you think you might root in the future.
It makes rooting and not losing data later much easier.

Well, I'm not a crack flasher by any means, but I also know there's some kernels out there that have the knock knock baked in (I absolutely LOVE the knock knock in my G2), and I always appreciate a cleanrom (used to run that on my HTC Rezound), but I'm thinking root for both mine and my kids so I can install adaway at the very least. I'm just trying to verify if having root without installing a custom recovery will block OTA's because I'd like my kids N7 to be able to receive those.

Fastbird said:
Well, I'm not a crack flasher by any means, but I also know there's some kernels out there that have the knock knock baked in (I absolutely LOVE the knock knock in my G2), and I always appreciate a cleanrom (used to run that on my HTC Rezound), but I'm thinking root for both mine and my kids so I can install adaway at the very least. I'm just trying to verify if having root without installing a custom recovery will block OTA's because I'd like my kids N7 to be able to receive those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't "block" the OTA from showing up, but it will most likely fail to install when it verifies files. Do you think you'd want your son to just install the update when it comes out, or just that you'd be able to update it?
It can be done, but the OTA usually requires the /system and /recovery partition to be stock. What I've done is use the factory images from Google to reflash the entire system to upgrade it (went from 4.4.4 to 5.0, a few weeks later 5.0 to 5.0.1 and most recently 5.0.1 to 5.0.2). If you edit the "flash_all" batch file before running it to remove the -w flag near the end, it won't wipe any data. Takes about 60 seconds to flash.
After the factory image is done, I just run Chainfire Autoroot (CFAR) again to get root back and I'm on my way. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes with each update.
Note: flashing factory images and running CFAR both require your bootloader to be unlocked. Unlocking will wipe data. If you don't remove the -w flag in the batch file, your data will be wiped when you flash the factory image.

The biggest reason to root IMO is for ad blocking. I use adaway and it's just such a better experiencing browsing etc. Without ads, especially if you use certain sites that do streaming for TV.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app

I just want the option to upgrade to a newer release if I feel like it. Not so much on my kids N7 as much as mine. I upgraded both to 5.0.2 before unlocking and rooting, both went without a hitch. Kind of impressed with Lollipip........hoping they drop it for the G2 someday. Only downside I've really found is lack of Xposed Framework functionality on 5.0.2 which was a bummer.
And yes, AdAway was the FIRST thing I put on the newly rooted N7's. I may try a rom or two on mine, but I'm pretty happy with it as-is after loading up Beautiful Widgets (had this paid for since like 2010) and Apex Launcher. Only thing I'm really exploring is a custom kernel with the knock knock coding baked in since you apparently can't find it as a Standalone.

I have a G2 also along with my Nexus 7. There is a kernel that has KnockOn and off support just like the G2. It is the Elemental kernel. It uses an Aroma installer in recovery to set the options. I didn't get too fancy with it, like the gesture support and all that... I just use Knock On and the status bar to knock off. I think it also allows swiping the status bar for brightness control, which I do use too.
Then I use either Nova or Action Launcher to set double tap > screen off. Works like a champ. I am running Elemental on the stock Lollipop rom.

Related

[Q] Unlock bootloader, still get updates?

Does having my bootloader unlocked affect getting updates? I have no interest in installing custom roms(for now), and mainly just want root to block ads, install seeder to fix this damn lag, and possibly connect a ps3 controller to play games. Figured I'd just unlock and root. I didn't plan on installing cwm so I could still get updates straight from google. I know an update would just overwrite root, but not sure if the bootloader would affect it. My galaxy nexus I always installed custom roms so I don't know how the bootloader affected OTA's. thanks guys.
In principle it should not affect updates.
Have a look at a prior OTA update's installer script
./META-INF/com/Google/android/updater-script
The OTAs perform binary patching on individual files, one by one. (That is why OTAs can be so small.) Before they perform the patching, a checksum is performed on every file on the tab/phone targeted for patching. If even one of those checksums fail, the entire install is aborted.
In addition the version of the recovery is sometimes checked, too - so merely having a custom recovery can trip up an OTA if that type of assert() check is performed.
To put that in general terms, you could say that an OTA update will almost always succeed if you merely add things to a ROM and leave the stock recovery in place.
If you want to flash stuff without altering the stock recovery just use a soft boot of a custom recovery, e.g. "fastboot boot custom-recovery-image-file.img"
If an OTA fails, don't get scared - you can simply unpack it, modify the updater-script file to remove the failing assert(), re-zip it and flash it. This would need to be done with a custom recovery, though as the modified OTA would no longer be correctly signed.
HTH
Yes but don't remove any of the Google apps that come preinstalled, don't edit the build prop, and that might be it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
BrianDigital said:
Yes but don't remove any of the Google apps that come preinstalled, don't edit the build prop, and that might be it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep.
The most recent OTA had the boot image file as one of its patching targets, so it was also subject to checksum verification during the initial assert() sequence of "updater-script".
I guess that means that if you hook anything into the boot sequence that needs to be in the ramdisk, that will trip up the OTA, as it is pretty typical for OTA updates to diddle the kernel or ramdisk. I guess that if you want to stay on a near-factory base distro including new ota updates, that puts the onus on you to either
(a) check the installers of the stuff you flash to make sure the boot image is not being re-packed -or-
(b) maintain a chain of pure stock backup sequences: then you can then restore them, run the OTA patch kit on them, make a new nandroid backup, and re-run your custom flashes. Probably use TiB to restore your apps on top of that, too. Almost like an OS re-install sequence, frankly.
cheers
thanks guys! Does an update from google relock the bootloader? I'm guessing not since its a nexus and they're okay with us unlocking it but just wondering. Just trying to decide if its worth it. I feel myself using my nexus 7 less cause of the latest update. It's smooth once its running but turning the screen on after its been sitting, it take some time to get together.
tu3218 said:
thanks guys! Does an update from google relock the bootloader? I'm guessing not since its a nexus and they're okay with us unlocking it but just wondering. Just trying to decide if its worth it. I feel myself using my nexus 7 less cause of the latest update. It's smooth once its running but turning the screen on after its been sitting, it take some time to get together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops (old timers disease) I said "bootloader" in that post above where I should have said "boot partition" or "boot image". (Now corrected.)
Updates typically don't touch the bootloaders. Interesting question though - if you replace a bootloader via fastboot, does it change the lock status? To that Q I don't know the answer from direct experience.
Maybe I'll give it a try. Ugh that's gonna be a lot of backup/restore ops.
In the meantime, have you seen a page with links to (older) *full* ROM install bundles that Google no longer has on their site? I only got a N7 in early Jan '13, so I don't have any of those older full-ROM+bootloader fastboot-based install bundles.
bftb0 said:
Whoops (old timers disease) I said "bootloader" in that post above where I should have said "boot partition" or "boot image". (Now corrected.)
Updates typically don't touch the bootloaders. Interesting question though - if you replace a bootloader via fastboot, does it change the lock status? To that Q I don't know the answer from direct experience.
Maybe I'll give it a try. Ugh that's gonna be a lot of backup/restore ops.
In the meantime, have you seen a page with links to (older) *full* ROM install bundles that Google no longer has on their site? I only got a N7 in early Jan '13, so I don't have any of those older full-ROM+bootloader fastboot-based install bundles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah I haven't seen that. To be honest I've been so busy with flashing roms on my sgs3. I finally have settled down on a rom for my phone so I figured I'd give my nexus 7 a go. But I'd rather not be performing the whole backing up/flashing/modding on both. Its so much lol Plus my tablet I need to be dependable when I need it. That's why I hadn't planned on running roms, just basic root for blocking ads, etc. Before the last update this thing was so fast and enjoyable to use. It still is but its not to where it use to be. I was going to go back but I don't like knowing I'm not on the latest.
and mainly just want root to block ads, install seeder to fix this damn lag, and possibly connect a ps3 controller to play games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeder doesn't fix lag. Doesn't work. If your n7 is lagging then there is another cause.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

verizon note 4 5.1.1 root "very unstable"

Last night I was bored and tried kingroot again on 5.1.1. It had been a while since I had tried, and it always said they were looking for a method. This time, it rooted successfully, but made the system very unstable. It caused Lag, and the keyboard stopped functioning, but root checker confirmed root. Temp root of course.
Reminon said:
Last night I was bored and tried kingroot again on 5.1.1. It had been a while since I had tried, and it always said they were looking for a method. This time, it rooted successfully, but made the system very unstable. It caused Lag, and the keyboard stopped functioning, but root checker confirmed root. Temp root of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped messing with KingRoot some time ago, just didn't seem worth my time considering you lose root after a reboot. Especially when certain apps require a reboot to take effect, such as Adaway, Xpose, and several others. I'm more-or-less fine without root, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't root my phone if I were to come across a stable and perm root solution.:cyclops::fingers-crossed:
will4958 said:
I stopped messing with KingRoot some time ago, just didn't seem worth my time considering you lose root after a reboot. Especially when certain apps require a reboot to take effect, such as Adaway, Xpose, and several others. I'm more-or-less fine without root, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't root my phone if I were to come across a stable and perm root solution.:cyclops::fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on KK, and a friend of mine updated to 5.0.1. I said screw it and fully updated, not caring about root anymore. If this were more stable I would use it more. Temp root is annoying, but it survives hot reboots, which is sufficient for apps most of the time..
Reminon said:
I was on KK, and a friend of mine updated to 5.0.1. I said screw it and fully updated, not caring about root anymore. If this were more stable I would use it more. Temp root is annoying, but it survives hot reboots, which is sufficient for apps most of the time..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to use the hot reboot feature of a rooted reboot app I have on my Tab 3 8.0 after installing something like Xpose, but the root didn't survive. The only real reason I tried to install Xpose was to use the Motorola hotspot app found in it. I'm currently using the paid version of FoxFi and it works great, it's just a four step activation compared to the one touch I got spoiled by on my S4. No biggie.
Over on AT&T note 4 thread someone said that they have temp root for 5.1.1
Edit: someone already posted that disregard this ..[emoji4]
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Temp root only will give two things uninstall bloatware, SD card fix.... I don't see any other advantage, well I'll give a shoot and put my conclusion over here
EdrickMG said:
Temp root only will give two things uninstall bloatware, SD card fix.... I don't see any other advantage, well I'll give a shoot and put my conclusion over here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was on 4.4.4, I realized I could use the default file explorer to manage my SD card, meaning copy to, delete from, or anything else I needed to do with it. I'm currently on 5.1.1 now and have been for about a few weeks now. On occasion, when I install a big game, I'll get a prompt asking me if I want to move the app to my SD card, so no need for the SD card fix app. The only thing I don't like about the 5.1.1 update, though, is that the sidebar seems to pop out a bit slower than it did on 4.4.4, but that's to big a thing for me. Since I have the two apps I use the most that can be accessed from the sidebar on my Pie Control app, I can access them much quicker. Keep the dream of root alive, people. It'll come someday, hopefully. If not, at least we have cool phones to play with.
ok i can confirm that i obtained temporary root, uninstall all bloatware... so well its not perfect cuz system its very unstable but at least its a begining, now im gonna give a try to sd card fix and other stuff...
Ok SD card fixed worked... but i dont belive it will remain after reboot, so.... well at least i uninstall that Amazon stuff and Activation Agent "Not a Verizon card" stuff
Wait What........... Are we saying we now have temp root on 5.1.1
gersrt said:
Wait What........... Are we saying we now have temp root on 5.1.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's it right, at least now you can uninstall all Verizon and Amazon crap from the system
Would it be possible to disable the ****ty Verizon logo boot screen and have it disabled after reboot. Thanks
It's important saying temporary root was achieve in BPA1 bootloader, 5.1.1
I managed to get a keyboard to open by switching from the stock keyboard to kii keyboard. Have not tried any others. Is there a mod we can do for hotspot with temp root to use the native hotspot app? I'm so tired of using foxfi.
Is there a safe upgrade yet from 5.01 to 5.1.1 Thanks. I need to know in case I need to roll back to 5.01.
Thanks
Wasn't the sole purpose of the BPA1 update to "remove pre-installed Amazon apps"?
nubleeet said:
Wasn't the sole purpose of the BPA1 update to "remove pre-installed Amazon apps"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only the appstore and its widget..
Most of bloatware remains like NFL, and even instagram, however after deleted most of it, I don't know which one.. Allow me to use Hotspot without foxfi
Unstable indded
Reminon said:
Last night I was bored and tried kingroot again on 5.1.1. It had been a while since I had tried, and it always said they were looking for a method. This time, it rooted successfully, but made the system very unstable. It caused Lag, and the keyboard stopped functioning, but root checker confirmed root. Temp root of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it out and it says it root is successful, but on my phone it just locks up after the rooting. I just wanted to uninstall the crap. Bummer.
Ok So Ive been checking the ATT note 4 forum and they have been suggesting that the root exploit may have been found through the Note 4 Stock keyboard. A suggestion also made was before you root change your keyboard to Swype mode then root and it appears to be more stable. Maybe someone could try install a third party keyboard before root and see if it makes a differwnce.
Nada
gersrt said:
Ok So Ive been checking the ATT note 4 forum and they have been suggesting that the root exploit may have been found through the Note 4 Stock keyboard. A suggestion also made was before you root change your keyboard to Swype mode then root and it appears to be more stable. Maybe someone could try install a third party keyboard before root and see if it makes a differwnce.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I downloaded Swype and Nada. Just keeps locking up. Kingroot even updated a few min ago to 4.8.1. I thought yes! But still false hopes. Still locks up for me and can't do a darn thing. Can't wait until my contract is up I am so dumping Samsung and Verizon. I think I am gong back to a flip phone and a laptop. So tired of no root and feel like I got duped into this phone.

Security implications of rooting Nexus 6P

I have a 6p, and I've had many issues with it. I joined the Android beta program hoping the beta might help, and it did somewhat, then broke it again.
I'm considering rooting the phone so I can adjust noise cancellation and switch to a power optimized kernel, to fix the two major problems with the device.
Can anyone suggest the best way to do this while minimizing security risks, and what are the risks compared to just keeping stock unrooted? FYI I have rooted and flashed ROMs on phones before, so not a total noob.
Thanks!
sashby said:
I have a 6p, and I've had many issues with it. I joined the Android beta program hoping the beta might help, and it did somewhat, then broke it again.
I'm considering rooting the phone so I can adjust noise cancellation and switch to a power optimized kernel, to fix the two major problems with the device.
Can anyone suggest the best way to do this while minimizing security risks, and what are the risks compared to just keeping stock unrooted? FYI I have rooted and flashed ROMs on phones before, so not a total noob.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello...
Working method:
Unlock bootloader
Flash TWRP.img : https://dl.twrp.me/angler/twrp-3.1.0-0-angler.img
Boot into TWRP
Install SuperSU: https://download.chainfire.eu/1021/SuperSU/SR3-SuperSU-v2.79-SR3-20170114223742.zip
Reboot. Done.
From here you can install the kernel of your choice. Recommended kernels: ElementalX or Franco's Kernel.
Well, rooting a phone always.involve risks. Depending what you do with your phone. As long as you don't install apps from bad sources and don't allow root access before you know what it does.
Also, you don't need Root to install a custom kernel if you want.
Just fastboot boot TWRP.img and install kernel zip from TWRP. It may lack some features that need Root to work though...
Good luck...
sashby said:
I have a 6p, and I've had many issues with it. I joined the Android beta program hoping the beta might help, and it did somewhat, then broke it again.
I'm considering rooting the phone so I can adjust noise cancellation and switch to a power optimized kernel, to fix the two major problems with the device.
Can anyone suggest the best way to do this while minimizing security risks, and what are the risks compared to just keeping stock unrooted? FYI I have rooted and flashed ROMs on phones before, so not a total noob.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you unlock your bootloader and root you will get a nag screen saying Android can't ensure that your device is safe. It isn't really dangerous as long as you only download apps from trusted sources and are careful about what apps you give root access to. However, Android Pay and some banking apps won't work on a rooted phone unless you use Magisk and PhilsSu which are currently able to pass Androids Safety Net security measures by hiding root from those apps.
I should add that a handful of games like Pokemon Go require the device to pass safety net to work so again you would need to use the Magisk and PhilsSu combo to play them. If you are going to go to the trouble of rooting I would consider trying a custom rom (other than Pure Nexus) as well as flashing a custom kernel like ElementalEx or The Flash's kernel. It's easy enough to go back to stock of you want to. Cortex is a very good stock based Rom with Pixel features, a responsive developer and very few bugs. I'm currently on Dirty Unicorns (which is not on XDA) because I wanted OMS support for Substratum theming. The Rom is fast and smooth and all my apps work perfectly on it--unlike PN where I encountered some problem or another every time I tried it.
Hello,
No issues at all with Pure Nexus here... :good:
Cheers...
5.1 said:
Hello,
No issues at all with Pure Nexus here... :good:
Cheers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ran Pure Nexus 5 separate times, always a completely clean install and never once did I not have issues with it. I think the people who use that Rom have been brainwashed.
jhs39 said:
I ran Pure Nexus 5 separate times, always a completely clean install and never once did I not have issues with it. I think the people who use that Rom have been brainwashed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Thank you very much, have a nice day to you too... :good:
Cheers...
Thank you everyone for your input. I think I'm going to need to do this soon, as the phone is almost unusable sometimes - and battery life is downright awful on stock with this phone. It's now dozing correctly again, but when I'm actually using it I can literally watch the battery gauge drop, even with screen brightness turned way down.
It used to be that when flashing a ROM you were wiping the entire phone - i.e. even personal data has to be reloaded on the phone. Is that still true, or are they on separate partitions?
sashby said:
It used to be that when flashing a ROM you were wiping the entire phone - i.e. even personal data has to be reloaded on the phone. Is that still true, or are they on separate partitions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
To install a custom ROM you need to unlock the bootloader. When unlock it, the userdata partition is entirely wiped. The internal storage (personal data's: photos,, videos, etc...) is part of it.
So be sure to backup your photos, videos, etc... Before you do it...
Good luck...
sashby said:
I have a 6p, and I've had many issues with it. I joined the Android beta program hoping the beta might help, and it did somewhat, then broke it again.
I'm considering rooting the phone so I can adjust noise cancellation and switch to a power optimized kernel, to fix the two major problems with the device.
Can anyone suggest the best way to do this while minimizing security risks, and what are the risks compared to just keeping stock unrooted? FYI I have rooted and flashed ROMs on phones before, so not a total noob.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The full risk is this.
If I can boot your phone into TWRP and you don't have encryption enabled, I can unlock your phone by deleting the correct files.
Once the correct files are deleted I own the phone and your data.
So I've come to the conclusion in the last day while restoring my phone that encryption is a must with an unlocked bootloader.

Relocking bootloader

Hey guys.
Really sorry for having to post this again :/
Tried posting my issue in this thread but I think that thread's gone cold.
----
I have a Moto G5 Plus US, Model XT1687
Current ROM Info:
Software channel: retus
Build #: NPN 25.137-33
Security patch: Jan, 1 2017
Baseband: M8953_02.03.07.06R POTTER_NA_CUST
On a whim, unlocked the bootloader. Now id like to lock it back.
I haven't updated my phone / installed any OTA's, phone keeps asking to update to NPNS25.137-33-5, haven't done it.
Does this procedure work for me?
Which ROM should I use?
Id like to relock the bootloader and receive OTA updates as normal on my US variant phone!
Many thanks!
I'm pretty sure Motorola hasn't released stock firmware for the retus version.
Cats_PJs said:
I'm pretty sure Motorola hasn't released stock firmware for the retus version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, there's no way for me to relock my bootloader unless motorola releases it?
Can't I use another firmware that's available here at XDA?
What would you do?
Not update OTA and wait for motorola to release the firmware, or should just leave it unlocked?
Thanks
seed_87 said:
So, there's no way for me to relock my bootloader unless motorola releases it?
Can't I use another firmware that's available here at XDA?
What would you do?
Not update OTA and wait for motorola to release the firmware, or should just leave it unlocked?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there's a way to relock the retus version, but maybe I'm wrong.
As far as what I would do. I always run a custom ROM, so I'd flash twrp, make a backup and try a few roms..
seed_87 said:
So, there's no way for me to relock my bootloader unless motorola releases it?
Can't I use another firmware that's available here at XDA?
What would you do?
Not update OTA and wait for motorola to release the firmware, or should just leave it unlocked?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To relock the phone, you must flash a complete factory image that is the same or newer than what you have installed... Only way, not that it gains much except the ability to pass SafetyNet checks on pure stock, which you can do with some root magic anyway, but the bootloader will change to a state of 2 (Relocked), your warranty will still be void, and you will still get the bootloader unlocked warning screen (unless you flash a custom logo).
Cats_PJs said:
I don't think there's a way to relock the retus version, but maybe I'm wrong.
As far as what I would do. I always run a custom ROM, so I'd flash twrp, make a backup and try a few roms..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I originally wanted to just root the stock ROM and install a couple of things like: Adaway, some Xposed modules (Like the Youtube ad remover one), WiFi ADB (which requires root, allows one to wirelessly debug apks)
acejavelin said:
To relock the phone, you must flash a complete factory image that is the same or newer than what you have installed... Only way, not that it gains much except the ability to pass SafetyNet checks on pure stock, which you can do with some root magic anyway, but the bootloader will change to a state of 2 (Relocked), your warranty will still be void, and you will still get the bootloader unlocked warning screen (unless you flash a custom logo).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow relocking the BL sounds really useless once you realize what you're getting from it. I really don't care much for SafetyNet as (this model has no NFC). I don't use Android Pay either.
Honestly, I unlocked the BL but finally didn't root mainly because I read some issues when rooting. Please see this post
Thanks for the enlightenment!
seed_87 said:
Well, I originally wanted to just root the stock ROM and install a couple of things like: Adaway, some Xposed modules (Like the Youtube ad remover one), WiFi ADB (which requires root, allows one to wirelessly debug apks)
Wow relocking the BL sounds really useless once you realize what you're getting from it. I really don't care much for SafetyNet as (this model has no NFC). I don't use Android Pay either.
Honestly, I unlocked the BL but finally didn't root mainly because I read some issues when rooting. Please see this post
Thanks for the enlightenment!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do decide to root, I would suggest using magisk instead of SuperSU. I switched a few months ago, and it works perfectly
Safetynet isn't just for nfc, other companies and apps have used it in their software as well ie: Snapchat, and Pokemon go are 2 I can think off the bat.
Installing and/or rooting with magisk is fairly easy and painless, and it will have superSU which will give you root.
How to:
Must have twrp recovery, or some other custom recovery, although these days I would recommend twrp, as it works and is more widely used than say cm recovery is, since cm project was taken over by lineage now. Anyways, flash a custom recovery and use it. (note: I haven't used cm recovery or any other recovery in years, so I do not know it this works with antyhing else, aside from twrp, which I know it works fine with). There are also tutorials all over xda on how to install/flash twrp, as well as youtube videos if you prefer that better.
Go grab magisk.zip, (do a google search or look on xda, it's all over the place just do a search for like magisk zip, you'll find it).
The latest as of right now I think is 14.0 and you will also (if I recall correctly) need magisk manager, (and just like the zip file you can do a quick search it's also all over the place).
Once you have that, reboot into recovery, then flash the magisk.zip file, and reboot, it should give you magisk manager app in your app drawer and you should be rooted. (Note: You may need to update magisk manager.)
To check root grab an app called root checker on the plays store. (it's free)
It's that easy.
Short summary:
1: Install custom recovery (if you haven't already)
2: Boot to recovery, flash magisk.zip
3: reboot to system, and profit from root + safetynet hide.
Quick and painless root method.
I do all my rooting now this way, in fact I recently re-flashed my nexus 5x rom and instead of flashing superSU I flashed the magisk way instead, and it cover 2 things,
1: gives you root
2: it hides root from safetynet and lets you use nfc, pokemon go, snapchat, and other apps that use safetynet as well.
Cats_PJs said:
If you do decide to root, I would suggest using magisk instead of SuperSU. I switched a few months ago, and it works perfectly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, wow, I had the (wrong) idea that the SuperSU method was the better one and superseeded magisk. If that works great then awesome I will root using magisk, thanks @Cats_PJs !
easyrider77 said:
Safetynet isn't just for nfc, other companies and apps have used it in their software as well ie: Snapchat, and Pokemon go are 2 I can think off the bat.
Installing and/or rooting with magisk is fairly easy and painless, and it will have superSU which will give you root.
How to:
Must have twrp recovery, or some other custom recovery, although these days I would recommend twrp, as it works and is more widely used than say cm recovery is, since cm project was taken over by lineage now. Anyways, flash a custom recovery and use it. (note: I haven't used cm recovery or any other recovery in years, so I do not know it this works with antyhing else, aside from twrp, which I know it works fine with). There are also tutorials all over xda on how to install/flash twrp, as well as youtube videos if you prefer that better.
Go grab magisk.zip, (do a google search or look on xda, it's all over the place just do a search for like magisk zip, you'll find it).
The latest as of right now I think is 14.0 and you will also (if I recall correctly) need magisk manager, (and just like the zip file you can do a quick search it's also all over the place).
Once you have that, reboot into recovery, then flash the magisk.zip file, and reboot, it should give you magisk manager app in your app drawer and you should be rooted. (Note: You may need to update magisk manager.)
To check root grab an app called root checker on the plays store. (it's free)
It's that easy.
Short summary:
1: Install custom recovery (if you haven't already)
2: Boot to recovery, flash magisk.zip
3: reboot to system, and profit from root + safetynet hide.
Quick and painless root method.
I do all my rooting now this way, in fact I recently re-flashed my nexus 5x rom and instead of flashing superSU I flashed the magisk way instead, and it cover 2 things,
1: gives you root
2: it hides root from safetynet and lets you use nfc, pokemon go, snapchat, and other apps that use safetynet as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome explanation @easyrider77 I will definitely try to root using magisk. Thanks for the warning, don't play Pokemon go and haven't used Snapchat in years so i'm good! I'll try flashing the latest Magisk (v14.0)
One thing tho:
I think I want to (for now anyways) stay stock-ish (stock rom + stock kernel + twrp + magisk).
If I understand it correctly, flashing a custom recovery renders the phone unable to get OTA's (Not that I'd want to apply an OTA update on a modified rooted phone and risk a brick anyways) So, how would one eventually update Android? (Keeping in mind that Motorola hasn't released any retus firmware) Can I flash other non-retus firmwares? (Which wouldn't flash over twrp I think, I would then just loose root and have to flash magisk again, right?)
Thanks a ton guys :good::good::good:
EDIT:
Short xda search pointed me to this official TWRP link, will follow fastboot method to install TWRP.
I'm not sure what exactly stops ota from coming in. I've heard unlocking the bootloader is what causes it, and I've also heard that flashing a custom recovery is what causes it, and I've also heard a custom rom is what does it.
There are options as far as ota goes though, and work the same way, but you'd jsut have to wait. People release flashable ota files all the time, and can be flashed via twrp.
If you want to keep stock, and root that's fine too, but I personally wouldn't worry much about the ota issue at all, because eventually every phone will not get ota as it will lose support, but you can still get the latest and greatest up to date rom with it's features.
Prime examples would be:
Oneplus One,
Oneplus 3
some of the samsung devices like s4
These are just a few, and although they don't receive support officially, they are sporting the brand new android 8 oreo.
Even the samsung s4 has N for it and it came out in 2013 (that's near 5 yrs ago now) and started on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) and said it was upgradable to 5.0.1 (Lollipop), and now here we are running android 7.1.x.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-tmobile/development
(not sure if there were any unlocked variants of that phone at the time as it wasn't a common thing like it is now, that's why I chose the tmobile thread but there are other variants that get it as well)
So when it comes to ota, I personally would not an do not worry about that when I root, that's the last of my worries.
I prefer functionality and customization over ota myself, because most times someone comes out with either an official link to an ota or makes an flashable ota you can flash via twrp, although my semi-educated guess would be if you decide to install the official/stock ota, then it will erase everything you have anyways which can be a pain.
DO keep in mind once you unlock the bootloader, it "officially" voids any warranty and moto does have the option to refuse service if anything goes wrong with the phone, but I have heard some people had no issues and moto took the phone back even when rooted, but that is something you would have to make a choice and live with IF you decided to unlock the bootloader, as there is no way to undo that process.
I have re-locked the bootloader on a moto phone so yes it CAN be re-locked, but........it still gets triggered and moto will know that it's been unlocked even if you re-lock it, because that part is irreversible and cannot be undone, aside from you locking and unlocking it on your side.
As for flashing firmware and all that, make DOUBLY sure you know your phones model number and/or codename, this is key in flashing most anything you do with your phone, because even though a phone may have multiple variants, ie: tmobile, sprint, at&t versions, and even European versions, and the phones are identical in EVERY way hardware wise, you can't just simply pick a rom of choice and use it, it's a matter of knowing what your phones info is.
Example: you cannot take a t-mobile phone rom and flash it's official firmware or it's roms, and updates on a at&t variant, or a metroPCS on a tmobile variant, even though they use the same network, and are the exact same phone and hardware, there are subtle differences and can most likely brick the phone, either hard or soft.
So if I had the US variant of the g5 plus that would be codenamed the same "potter" like the rest, but, the number is different which is XT1687, so I would use that number as my reference, as apposed to the potter name, because there are 3 other variants of that phone which are Amazon Edition and the consumer cellular and of corse the European variants as well, I'm not exactly sure what numbers go with what phones other than the US unlocked variant, but on a quick look the other numbers are XT1684 and XT1685, perhaps someone else with more experience than I have can tell you what those number match up with said phone.
As far as the US variant goes though, I do not want to take a rom or firmware meant for the XT1684 XT1685 and use it on the XT1687 US variant, as it will most likely have bad results, ie: brick of some sort.
That's the main thing you have to worry about, other than that, there isn't much worry. Just do some major research and goggling and read and re-read and read again the directions on the threads at xda as most generally all of them are pretty simple to follow, if you do it step by step.
I recently bought an lg k20 plus phone from metroPCS, have never rooted that phone before and came to xda and followed the rooting thread and rooted it the first time. In a matter of 30 mins I had full root with stock rom (since there are no roms for that phone as of yet) but it is a metroPCS variant, (mp260) and in the case above, this phone is also sold by tmobile, is the exact same phones specs hardware, etc....I could not use the tmobile rom or firmware on this phone.
Hope this helps clear it up some.
Update:
I just bought a 64gb storage/4gb ram US variant of the g5 plus. It brought back some older memories of when I had my other moto, X I think it was, not sure anymore, but I DO remember you can unlock the bootloader as well as re-lock it, but, do keep in mind it still triggers something internally that can't be reveresed, so if moto did decide to check into things, they can tell if it's been bootloader unlocked.
So while you can unlock and lock the bootloader on our side, moto can still tell it's been unlocked, even when re-locked. Just hope if you send it back in they just don't check it and even if they do, hope they don't bother sending it back saying your warranty is void sorry.
Thanks @easyrider77
I used to install custom ROMs on my older phones. Recently though, stock android has gotten pretty good so maybe when this phone loses support I'll try some ROMs. Out of curiosity, what ROM/hacks/kernel do you use?
So, how does this sound:
- Install the OTA my phone's been prompting me to update to (upgrading from NPN25.137-33 to NPNS25.137-33-5 and I think it will then try to update to NPN25.137-83 with an August 1 security patch)
- Install TWRP via fastboot, make a nandroid backup!
- Root with Magisk v14.0
- Looking into maybe changing the boot.img "Your device is not trustworthy" thing
- Adaway! Xposed! Other goodies yay!
- Any other recommendations?
PS: Can Magisk root every firmware released by Motorola for the Moto G5+?
I've used it on my nexus 5x, and a lg k20 plus phone to root. I'm not sure if it has any limits when it comes to phones, but to my knowledge it should work fine.
Be careful with the boot.img file, if its not the correct size it will brick the phone too.
easyrider77 said:
I've used it on my nexus 5x, and a lg k20 plus phone to root. I'm not sure if it has any limits when it comes to phones, but to my knowledge it should work fine.
Be careful with the boot.img file, if its not the correct size it will brick the phone too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WIll do, many thanks for all your help guys!
@easyrider77 @Cats_PJs @acejavelin
:good::good::good:
Every rom I've tried on this phone works well, with only minor bugs. Right now I'm using the Pixel ROM. Elemental x is my kernel of choice because it's stable and has a sound option to increase volume. I use Kernel Adiutor for settings. The viper magisk module by ahrion works great, and ad away is a must. Good luck
Cats_PJs said:
Every rom I've tried on this phone works well, with only minor bugs. Right now I'm using the Pixel ROM. Elemental x is my kernel of choice because it's stable and has a sound option to increase volume. I use Kernel Adiutor for settings. The viper magisk module by ahrion works great, and ad away is a must. Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to hear cat.
I'm holding off on rooting just yet, although the temptation is really really great and pulling at me right now ina bad way . I just want to make doubly sure the phone isn't going to have issues, and hardware glitches. Anytime you mass produce a product, inevitably there will always be a bad batch(s) so I am just watching and waiting patiently on stock non-root (yes I said non-root LOL) but it's not as bad of an experience as I thought it would be.
I have to give this phone props, this phone is simply great. I bought the 64gb storage/4gb ram US variant, and have been nothing but happy with it, even on stock.
Camera isn't exactly your top tier phone camera but it certainly stands out as one of the not bad at all cameras. I see many saying the camera sucks, well if your zooming in and expect to get a good picture, good luck with that, simply put as I read in an article, two things 1: just don't use zoom, it's a digital zoom as apposed to an optical zoom, and simply will give you fuzzy and blurry pics a alot 2: if your after a good picture taking experience, for crimeny sake, buy a dang camera, these are phones people, NOT cameras. If they were meant for that, photographers around the world would be using phones, but guess what, news flash, they are using things called "cameras" wow what a concept LOL.
Anyways, if you just use very little zoom (I'd say 1.5 - 2.0x at most) but mostly just get closer to the subject or item you are takeing pics of, you'll have a much more pleasant experience with picture taking, trust me.
Ok of my soap box and tangent, sorry .
I will eventually root this bad boy, as I cannot resist the urge. For now I am just making sure the phone has no hiccups or glitches hardware wise, so glad to know roms are working well.
I did have a question about the sound though. I see people saying low sound volume with this phone, and I personally do not see (or hear in this case) the problems. I watched a few youtube videos last night and honestly I had to turn it down some because it was plenty loud, at least from this side.
Does the sound get lower with roms? (in wich case I can use viper) but I'm just curious.
easyrider77 said:
Nice to hear cat.
I'm holding off on rooting just yet, although the temptation is really really great and pulling at me right now ina bad way . I just want to make doubly sure the phone isn't going to have issues, and hardware glitches. Anytime you mass produce a product, inevitably there will always be a bad batch(s) so I am just watching and waiting patiently on stock non-root (yes I said non-root LOL) but it's not as bad of an experience as I thought it would be.
I have to give this phone props, this phone is simply great. I bought the 64gb storage/4gb ram US variant, and have been nothing but happy with it, even on stock.
Camera isn't exactly your top tier phone camera but it certainly stands out as one of the not bad at all cameras. I see many saying the camera sucks, well if your zooming in and expect to get a good picture, good luck with that, simply put as I read in an article, two things 1: just don't use zoom, it's a digital zoom as apposed to an optical zoom, and simply will give you fuzzy and blurry pics a alot 2: if your after a good picture taking experience, for crimeny sake, buy a dang camera, these are phones people, NOT cameras. If they were meant for that, photographers around the world would be using phones, but guess what, news flash, they are using things called "cameras" wow what a concept LOL.
Anyways, if you just use very little zoom (I'd say 1.5 - 2.0x at most) but mostly just get closer to the subject or item you are takeing pics of, you'll have a much more pleasant experience with picture taking, trust me.
Ok of my soap box and tangent, sorry .
I will eventually root this bad boy, as I cannot resist the urge. For now I am just making sure the phone has no hiccups or glitches hardware wise, so glad to know roms are working well.
I did have a question about the sound though. I see people saying low sound volume with this phone, and I personally do not see (or hear in this case) the problems. I watched a few youtube videos last night and honestly I had to turn it down some because it was plenty loud, at least from this side.
Does the sound get lower with roms? (in wich case I can use viper) but I'm just curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't have a problem with the sound volume, except when I plug it into my truck. If there's a good song on, and I really want to crank it up, I run out of volume, so I usually turn up the headphone gain in the kernel settings by 3.
I haven't noticed variance between ROM volumes on this phone, but I know on my old note 3 there was definitely fairly large variance between ROMs.

(Lots of words) I want to understand why I lose root instead of just flashing to fix

Let me start by saying I never gave rooted phones much though. I knew of them but never even knew anyone that ever had one. I figured the Galaxy S8 (G950U) would be a good phone to start with:laugh: Since it was my first rooted phone I couldn't resist experimenting, a lot. So I would flash this flash that, whatever I thought had a very small chance of working i flashed, lol. I usually would end up having to fireing up Odin and flashing the most important files on my PC, Partcyborg's awesome work, which I can flash with my eyes closed basically by now :laugh: Some things I would flash would just cause me to lose root though. It's driving me nuts not to be able to get it back without Odin. I could use Odin+Partcyborg's rom and have it back in 15 minutes, but I'm tired of being feed I'm ready to hunt, lol.
The thing is, I still have TWRP Safestrap custom recovery that I can access. I flash Supersu, it appears to flash fine but changes nothing, not even an SU icon in the app drawer. I did make SupoerSU Pro a system app a while ago, was that a mistake? I see it in the Apps list in Settings but I can't do much there except disable it and enable it (no it's not disabled,lol)
How can I get root back using custom recovery only? What should I have checked in Safestrap when flashing SuperSU?, Cache, System, Modem, etc? If anyone would care to explain some of the reasons I lose root but not custom recovery it would really calm my curiosity . I'm sure it would help a lot of other noobs also.
Boot animations is another thing that I find very interesting. Trying to change it has been the cause of at least 10 factory resets
I go to /system/media/ and swap out Booitanimation.zip, change the permission then I either get no change or I have reflash with Odin. What is all the files labeled Battery _000 Battery _001 Battery_002 all the way to Battery_100? Does the resolution need to be exactly the same as stock?
Is my rooted S8 not as rooted as other rooted phone? Lol, does that sentence make sense? Because of its locked bootloader and lack of custom roms is why I ask. Am I an idiot for buying a S9+ (G965U) since I love having root? I was hoping someone "cough...Part...cough cough...cyborg would be on it. If not though, no big deal. I do still have the S8 and still use it a lot even though it has no service, lol. Amazing phones not so amazing bootloaders though:laugh:
Thanks for reading. If you only skimmed it, thank you also. I know it's very long, lol. I just found something called a Combination Rom. Since I still have Safestrap I'm gonna do what I usually do, flash it and ask questions later:laugh:
Gregbmil1 said:
Let me start by saying I never gave rooted phones much though. I knew of them but never even knew anyone that ever had one. I figured the Galaxy S8 (G950U) would be a good phone to start with:laugh: Since it was my first rooted phone I couldn't resist experimenting, a lot. So I would flash this flash that, whatever I thought had a very small chance of working i flashed, lol. I usually would end up having to fireing up Odin and flashing the most important files on my PC, Partcyborg's awesome work, which I can flash with my eyes closed basically by now :laugh: Some things I would flash would just cause me to lose root though. It's driving me nuts not to be able to get it back without Odin. I could use Odin+Partcyborg's rom and have it back in 15 minutes, but I'm tired of being feed I'm ready to hunt, lol.
The thing is, I still have TWRP Safestrap custom recovery that I can access. I flash Supersu, it appears to flash fine but changes nothing, not even an SU icon in the app drawer. I did make SupoerSU Pro a system app a while ago, was that a mistake? I see it in the Apps list in Settings but I can't do much there except disable it and enable it (no it's not disabled,lol)
How can I get root back using custom recovery only? What should I have checked in Safestrap when flashing SuperSU?, Cache, System, Modem, etc? If anyone would care to explain some of the reasons I lose root but not custom recovery it would really calm my curiosity . I'm sure it would help a lot of other noobs also.
Boot animations is another thing that I find very interesting. Trying to change it has been the cause of at least 10 factory resets
I go to /system/media/ and swap out Booitanimation.zip, change the permission then I either get no change or I have reflash with Odin. What is all the files labeled Battery _000 Battery _001 Battery_002 all the way to Battery_100? Does the resolution need to be exactly the same as stock?
Is my rooted S8 not as rooted as other rooted phone? Lol, does that sentence make sense? Because of its locked bootloader and lack of custom roms is why I ask. Am I an idiot for buying a S9+ (G965U) since I love having root? I was hoping someone "cough...Part...cough cough...cyborg would be on it. If not though, no big deal. I do still have the S8 and still use it a lot even though it has no service, lol. Amazing phones not so amazing bootloaders though:laugh:
Thanks for reading. If you only skimmed it, thank you also. I know it's very long, lol. I just found something called a Combination Rom. Since I still have Safe-strap I'm gonna do what I usually do, flash it and ask questions later:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so the boot animations off top of my head are now located in something something and your carriers folder...The can be changed
Is it actually not rooted or is su just not responding
I have had it where the prompt never comes up and granting all just never works either normally a few reboots later it starts....
the custom rom thing is most def cause of locked boot-loader....
Up til boot-loader revision 2 is all we have root for and cannot be downgraded 3 and up....
I have myself tried flashing stock system img and then su and busy box from safe strap and up til now even this has been a no go...
Safe-strap is cool but basically No better than flashfire.IMO.
I am working with the possible bluetooth fix right now and have bricked and flashed 20 times over in the last 12 hours...
It actually is not rooted anymore after I flashed what claimed to be a boot animation for the G950U. If I open the SuperSU app it points me to a non-working site that has directions on "How to root". Plus all of the apps I have downloaded that require root all tell me I'm not rooted. Oddly enough though I was able to flash Xposed and had a green light once I opened it, (remember I still had SafeStrap recovery) it could only be accessed manually. I was shocked and yet even more confused, lol. I only tried out 2 modules before I reflashed Partcyborgs files again. Again, I was very confused as to why the modules actually worked but root only apps would start , only Xposed modules. I did only try 2 though AdBlocker Reborn and SpeedUp, both acted as if everything was normal . I wonder if it had something to do with making SuperSU a system app, which it no longer is since I reflashed with Odin.
Thanks for the info on the Bootanimation, but still I can't even delete the one I have now, for educational purposes only, Haha. It is a pretty freaking sweat bootanimtion Partcyborg included. I can't find it though T-Mobile (G950U) btw

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