Database Users

Is rooting the S5 recommended this early on?

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)

Is Galaxy S6 worth rooting?

Hi guys!
I'm writing this thread to anyone who is considering rooting his own S6. Well I wasn't sure for 5 month because I was afraid of losing my warranty. Like 3 days ago I decided to end with bloatware. This was one of the best thing I did in my life with my phone. Flashed XtreStoLite and custom kernel (arter97) and this device is now crazy fast... Damn I didn't expect these results. Also my battery is now much improved than it was before.
I know it's XDA forum, but maybe there are people like me, who are still waiting to root their phones. This thread will help them to take their decision.
Also you guys with rooted phones - write your feelings when you did it.

I've always rooted my phones and used custom ROMs, but I've become more and more reliant on my mobile banking apps recently. As they don't work on rooted phones, my S6 is staying unrooted.

Is Samsung Pay the only function you lose when rooting and/or installing a custom TW ROM?

HKSpeed said:
Is Samsung Pay the only function you lose when rooting and/or installing a custom TW ROM?
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Hmmm... In my country Samsung pay is not available yet. So I don't care about this one. Also I don't know about any other disadvantages of root or custom ROM.

HKSpeed said:
Is Samsung Pay the only function you lose when rooting and/or installing a custom TW ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You also lose Knox, warranty (depending upon your country) and OTAs.

I've always rooted my phones starting back when the galaxy s fascinate came out, been on this forum a long time and rooted lots of tabs and phones thru here. You can always flash back to stock if you don't like root.

I actually rooted my Nexus 5 but don't feel the need to root my S6. The only thing i used it was to change the dpi on nexus but with the screen grid option i don't even need to on S6. Phone is working perfectly fine and unrooted gives me peace of mind of safety and OTA updates.

Since Adblock Fast is available for M6.0.1, I don't need to root my SGS6. Web advertisements and banners was main reason for rooting my phone, because i was using Adaway, which is "root only" app. Adblock Fast is working like Adaway (except adcvertisements in free apps, of course - i don´t mind of that, I'm willing to pay for good app) and without root. Yes, with root I can have more functionality (exposed framework, tweaking stock apps, ...), but I can live without that. And I'm happy that my Knox is not tripped and have automatic OTAs.

I'm incredibly glad I didn't jump straight into rooting mine... The camera started to occasionally play up after a month, sometimes making a noise when focusing. This progressed over the months to becoming more frequent, and sometimes I'd have to literally shake the phone to get it to focus.
Two months in I handed it in but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Five months in it was so bad that they couldn't deny it and repaired it there and then when I read the newspaper with a coffee (kudos to Samsung: only some stores offer that service).
So yeah, I wouldn't root my phone again within six months for that reason.
I'll still root it though - I'm just waiting for official TWRP compatibility at the moment.
As a side note, I asked the guy who handed my phone back if they check KNOX routinely. He told me yes for software issues, and occasionally for hardware issues (especially for screen issues). He didn't bother checking mine apparently.

2ZE said:
I'm incredibly glad I didn't jump straight into rooting mine... The camera started to occasionally play up after a month, sometimes making a noise when focusing. This progressed over the months to becoming more frequent, and sometimes I'd have to literally shake the phone to get it to focus.
Two months in I handed it in but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Five months in it was so bad that they couldn't deny it and repaired it there and then when I read the newspaper with a coffee (kudos to Samsung: only some stores offer that service).
So yeah, I wouldn't root my phone again within six months for that reason.
I'll still root it though - I'm just waiting for official TWRP compatibility at the moment.
As a side note, I asked the guy who handed my phone back if they check KNOX routinely. He told me yes for software issues, and occasionally for hardware issues (especially for screen issues). He didn't bother checking mine apparently.
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Click to collapse
Just so you know there is official twrp support

552eden said:
Just so you know there is official twrp support
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Click to collapse
Not for MM bootloader. TWRP on MM at the moment can only be installed via Chainfire's or Arter's modified version

Big_Rich_1983 said:
I've always rooted my phones and used custom ROMs, but I've become more and more reliant on my mobile banking apps recently. As they don't work on rooted phones, my S6 is staying unrooted.
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Click to collapse
Rootcloak fixes this.
I rooted mine mainly for adaway and xposed, but I have to say that not getting OTA is annoying - however Samsung is too slow with the updates that I don't care anymore (still no marshmallow in my country).

I had problems with mine I was on 5.1.1 rooted updated to marshmallow my phone came up with emergency calls only back on 5.1.1 after repair funny thing is the repair shop rooted my phone to make sim work again weird

Hi guys (and gals)
I've always rooted my phones because I wanted to have more powerful, flexible device. I did this with my old HTC Wildfire, HTC Desire HD and Nexus 4 but with S6 I don't feel I need this anymore. The device is just as good as-it-is – without root, Xposed, mods and so on. And 6.0.1 update gave it new shine and powers. Of course it's my personal opinion only but I must repeat – Galaxy S6 is the first Android phone I'm pleased to use without any modifications (maybe except for Nova Laucher ).
Have a great day!

I am happier with my marshmallow now that it's 6.0.1 rooted with xposed mods to tweak with it. I'll always root if I can just because I can't stand not messing with it, lol.

Hoccco said:
Rootcloak fixes this.
I rooted mine mainly for adaway and xposed, but I have to say that not getting OTA is annoying - however Samsung is too slow with the updates that I don't care anymore (still no marshmallow in my country).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got Marshmallow 6.0.1 about 2-3 weeks ago, and I've had two minor updates (around 13-15Mb each) since then. Can't fault Samsung in my country.

Is losing the warranty worth rooting? Is it ever not a good choice?

I have been rooting my phone ever since my first Android years ago (HTC Incredible). I'm not too wild with the customizations, basically root it to make minor GUI changes, overclock at times just out of mere curiosity and boredom for when I want to have fun, and to remove the bloatware. So basically, I never really have used a custom ROM. Whether it was the Note 4 with the one click root app, or using a program on my PC with the original rom for the LG G2.
My question though... Is there much to worry about when I trigger Knox in my S7 edge and lose warranty? I pay for Asurion insurance* (yes, it's overpriced but it's a luxury I like to retain) but would there be a scenario where having a valid warranty would be beneficial? I remember back years ago there were times when my phone broke and I got a brand new phone through warranty* (avoiding insurance - which means not having to pay a deductible).
Is what I use root for worth the loss of warranty?
Thank you for your time guys!

One aspect to keep in mind is Samsung pay. From what I understand, Samsung Pay will not work once Knox is tripped. This mat not matter to you if you dont care to use Pay, but it may affect resale of the phone if someone interested did want Pay. Thats a negative I can think of. Just my 2 cents.
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using XDA-Developers mobile app

kabreu said:
I have been rooting my phone ever since my first Android years ago (HTC Incredible). I'm not too wild with the customizations, basically root it to make minor GUI changes, overclock at times just out of mere curiosity and boredom for when I want to have fun, and to remove the bloatware. So basically, I never really have used a custom ROM. Whether it was the Note 4 with the one click root app, or using a program on my PC with the original rom for the LG G2.
My question though... Is there much to worry about when I trigger Knox in my S7 edge and lose warranty? I pay for Asurion insurance* (yes, it's overpriced but it's a luxury I like to retain) but would there be a scenario where having a valid warranty would be beneficial? I remember back years ago there were times when my phone broke and I got a brand new phone through warranty* (avoiding insurance - which means not having to pay a deductible).
Is what I use root for worth the loss of warranty?
Thank you for your time guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We can't tell. That's your own decision. We don't know your financial situation, we don't know how you would benefit from a rooted device. So; If you can afford to repair the device with your own money + if you'd benefit a lot from rooting it, go ahead. If both scenarios are not applicable to you, the don't.

I've always rooted my phones except this last one because there was no root. But after using it as is for 1/2 year I'm actually ok with it. Samsung pay and a couple of other things that never worked on rooted devices work ok. I already used the warranty once so that's good. And my main reason for rooting it was adaway and titanium backup. But now there are a few apps that block ads in the browser and don't require root. And they work ok for the most part. Lack of backup is not great but I learned to work around this using samsung and google. And only needed to use it once when changed the phone. Otherwise I am enjoying it. It updates itself while not loosing any data, everything works, warranty is there and I don't get too many ads. I hardly have 1-2 apps that give me ads and that I use maybe once a month so that doesn't bother me anymore.

Its a personal choice... I dont use custom roms mainly because they dont work, the only one I used was a a stock rom for the note 4 that was deodexed, the rest of the roms alwas have some sort of problem, cam doesnt work, led doesnt work, battery drain, crashes, etc, etc, etc, just read every rom thread, no one is fully working.
I rooted the phone to make the battery last longer. Some days ago I unrooted the phone to play pokemon go with my kid and android poped up an alert notifying that my device was slow... and ofcourse iit was slow because of the stupid apps that im not using that are running in background alone.

Going back to the early years of Android, there were many compelling reasons to root your device.
As time has passed, the "stock" experience has got better and better, and the number of reasons to root has definitely got smaller.
Personally, I've not rooted any of my devices since the Note 3, and I've had many since then.
I know some people like to root as soon as a device leaves the box, but my advice these days is to use a device stock for a period before making any decisions on rooting.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Worth rooting

is it worth rooting S8 SM-G950F?
my warranty is going to start in october.

i'd say no. what do you want with root? the most i need from root is ad-blocking which is provided by knox so i dont really benefit from root anymore

If you have to ask that, then root is not for you.

I rooted, but had issues, got into bootloop first time i restarted phone after rooting, went back to stock and just removed the bloatware with adb, much happier now.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

I've had three 955F and one 950F, two of them not rooted and two rooted, if you are thinking to sell the phone soon, I will say it notes worth it. But if you are planning to stay on the phone until some maybe better device come out like me, I will say root totally worth the price.
I can even imagine to use my daily driver phone without changing kernel or moving to my favourite custom rom.

I would only root for custom ROMs, to get stock rom but as it stands no stock rom so root not worth it for me. Also I don't keep my phone's for long and rooted phones are difficult to sell since you lose warranty.

the best firewalls require root
removing system apps requires root
you can customize your interface after rooting
can modify sound, camera, temporary screen aspect ratio, etc., after rooting
you control your phone after rooting with the exception of bootloader, which is a different matter
ad-blocking can be much better after rooting
unlimited tethering after rooting
the question is rather: why would you not root? warranty is a scare tactic, you could always Odin flash a specific, official carrier ROM to virginize--just download at sammobile.com/firmwares

Thanks
All of you. I think, I'm gonna keep my phone stock.

little things that add up
LOL, I've been pulling my hair out because it's much harder to root the US Snapdragon S8+ than it is the Exynos variants! Every iPhone I had was jailbroken and every Android afterward (lost count) was rooted except the aforementioned; honestly, I can't stand not having a rooted phone. For example, I like the iptables firewall Android Firewall because I can totally lock down every internet aspect/app of the system (e.g., kernel, Samsung, Google, etc.) and control input chains. I also use HDMI out but cannot change aspect ratio to 16:9 for 4k UHDTV without root; Samsung Smartview allows change to 16:9 wirelessly via Miracast, but that's only at 1080p. It's the little things you can't do without root that add up; but, if you aren't used to rooting advantages, you won't know what you're missing.

i dont see real purpose rooting on recent hi end devices. more to lose instead. unless u r incline into software piracy/cracks.

just do a search in Google Play for the word: root
monx® said:
i dont see real purpose rooting on recent hi end devices. more to lose instead. unless u r incline into software piracy/cracks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My last device was a rooted Galaxy Note 5 on Nougat firmware with TWRP recovery. I never knew if Samsung Pay still worked or not, because I never use the app. All the rest of my apps worked fine. I still have the Note 5 collecting dust, but I suppose it could be a good thing to have in case I ever lose my US Snapdragon S8+. I mainly use Linux for a PC OS. Being the administrator user for my PC running Linux is analagous to having a rooted Android phone; it would be unacceptable to me to not be able to gain root access on my Linux OS--as if I were some child restricted by parents or non-administrator on a Linux office PC. You own the phone, so don't let some carrier tell you you don't, basically. I don't even know why someone would have a XDA account if they don't root?
---------- Post added at 08:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 AM ----------
My one suggestion for people debating whether to root or not: just do a search in Google Play for the word root. Take a look at all the apps that can be installed by anyone (i.e., no root needed to install, just root needed to either successfully use or to fully use), and ask yourself if any of them look useful.

I root my S8 G950 /AQG5. Why? Now my device is free to change everything i want. Customizing and better battery. And now with Renovate ice ROM. Everything is great. I want to be free. My phone wants to be free ? i love it. And about warranty. Hmm. I dont give a F....... all my Android phones are rooted. You can fix your phone always with the developers on XDA✌

Haven't rooted my S8 yet, not worth it at the moment....
I used to root for:
- Adblocker
- Removing System apps
- Backup/restore (titanium backup, twrp)
But with package disabler, adhell and not tinkering also the need for backups has declined. Also, there is more storage on the S8 (with the S7 and older I could also use the free space).
Would still like to root and use some custom roms, but at the moment I don't want to loose warranty over it. Also wrt possible resell value and all that

Personally I dont want to root my s8, I have rooted my s3, s5 ,s7edge because touchwiz was just bad and I want to use just aosp but now s8 software is just great and so much better than before with nougat and unique features like samsung pass , secure folder and etc are so great and only work fine without rooting as Knox since s7 is so secure and root is permanent. on s7 I was able to use s8 ported roms as I love s8 software but now with my s8 I have all I want and for now no rooting is planned . First time I am satisfied on my phone without any rooting, and I have rooted all my previous devices including tabs and tested every mods and roms for them but now I think on s8 I can't have anything better that stock

robhug said:
Personally I dont want to root my s8, I have rooted my s3, s5 ,s7edge because touchwiz was just bad and I want to use just aosp but now s8 software is just great and so much better than before with nougat and unique features like samsung pass , secure folder and etc are so great and only work fine without rooting as Knox since s7 is so secure and root is permanent. on s7 I was able to use s8 ported roms as I love s8 software but now with my s8 I have all I want and for now no rooting is planned . First time I am satisfied on my phone without any rooting, and I have rooted all my previous devices including tabs and tested every mods and roms for them but now I think on s8 I can't have anything better that stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to see you over here :good:

I may totally be wrong as I didn't log any performance on paper. But since I've rooted and removed like more than 30 bloatwares included with stock rom. My batttery life improved a lot.
I went from 90k in Antutu to 16X XXX
I also removed one of the feature I thought I'll like, The small overlay bar you have at the right of the screen. It was totally useless, since when you drag something from this edge, then ALL the screen is covered even if the usefull part is only 20% of the area..
This improved my battery too

I'm itching to root my s8 plus as I've rooted every device apart from the Xperia xz premium
Apart from Samsung pay what else does tripping knox break?
That's what is holding me back not having a full list of what it breaks
Thanks

until an AOSP rom not based on samsung I won't root.
Right now the main benefit could be only:
- viper sound ( but I don't listen so much with in-ear )
- some tasker stuff ( which I don't know yet)
- double tap home to instant sleep phone
- bixby remapped without adb command
on the other side I lose phone warranty ( which I don't give a damn) and encryption which is a very good thing for me...
Because all the other stuff are well done with standard samsung interface, lawnchair home screen/launcher and package disabler...
And don't get me wrong, previous phone were ALL rooted and changed many many roms, at Incredible S times it was one every 10 days...
brockyneo said:
I'm itching to root my s8 plus as I've rooted every device apart from the Xperia xz premium
Apart from Samsung pay what else does tripping knox break?
That's what is holding me back not having a full list of what it breaks
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tripping knox is not a problem, as can be masked, I am more concerned as rooted secure vault can be cracked...
btw I think that tripped knox means that you cannot use anything of samsung knox...

bob8x said:
until an AOSP rom not based on samsung I won't root.
Right now the main benefit could be only:
- viper sound ( but I don't listen so much with in-ear )
- some tasker stuff ( which I don't know yet)
- double tap home to instant sleep phone
- bixby remapped without adb command
on the other side I lose phone warranty ( which I don't give a damn) and encryption which is a very good thing for me...
Because all the other stuff are well done with standard samsung interface, lawnchair home screen/launcher and package disabler...
And don't get me wrong, previous phone were ALL rooted and changed many many roms, at Incredible S times it was one every 10 days...
Tripping knox is not a problem, as can be masked, I am more concerned as rooted secure vault can be cracked...
btw I think that tripped knox means that you cannot use anything of samsung knox...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not too worried about Samsung pay ECT just don't want to brake any apps that might interfier with the use of the phone like retina scanner or image quality (like in the Xperia devices)
And what's the benefits of masking tripping knox?
Thanks

brockyneo said:
I'm not too worried about Samsung pay ECT just don't want to brake any apps that might interfier with the use of the phone like retina scanner or image quality (like in the Xperia devices)
And what's the benefits of masking tripping knox?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For start not all kernel/roms support masking knox..
The benefit is that you can use knox, that otherwise is un-usable...

Root: Yeah or Nah

Guys, I need your opinion on something.
I have the 6T for one month now, and on the first day I got it I rooted immediately, but I ran into bootloop after a few hours. So I decided to go back to stock and deal with this following problem when I have some spare time.
I have some free time on my hands now to handle the problem. My bootloader of course is unlocked and everything is ready to just flash magisk.
But I am really annoyed by the message when you start your phone up, that your phone is insecure and that you have to download whole system updates when they get released.
But then, on my previous phone, the OP2, I was all about rooting, and flashing stuff and I'm kind of sad to leave this rooting community.
So what do you suggest, is it still worth it to root on the 6T or should I revert everything back to stock and relock my bootloader?

myloarsul said:
Guys, I need your opinion on something.
I have the 6T for one month now, and on the first day I got it I rooted immediately, but I ran into bootloop after a few hours. So I decided to go back to stock and deal with this following problem when I have some spare time.
I have some free time on my hands now to handle the problem. My bootloader of course is unlocked and everything is ready to just flash magisk.
But I am really annoyed by the message when you start your phone up, that your phone is insecure and that you have to download whole system updates when they get released.
But then, on my previous phone, the OP2, I was all about rooting, and flashing stuff and I'm kind of sad to leave this rooting community.
So what do you suggest, is it still worth it to root on the 6T or should I revert everything back to stock and relock my bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted for a couple reasons only and they were to use adaway again and Substratum Swift Black. I'm not a fan of the insecure message either. This is the first time I've rooted in a few years. I used All In One tool to root.

I think the reasons for rooting are minimal, but it all depends on what you want. The thing that I keep hearing from everyone (and I agree with):
Root to allow yourself to block ads (Adaway or Energized) and Viper4Android. If you like to theme your phone, Substratum is also fun to play around with. Otherwise, I'd say it's not worth it. My personal preference for rooting is for the already mentioned, and also because I don't like to be held back by anything I want to do to my phone in the future. If I find an annoyance with the phone, I can almost always get rid of it with some root modification.

I posted a similar question recently.
OMGWTFISTHIS said:
Root to allow yourself to block ads (Adaway or Energized) and Viper4Android. If you like to theme your phone, Substratum is also fun to play around with. Otherwise, I'd say it's not worth it. My personal preference for rooting is for the already mentioned, and also because I don't like to be held back by anything I want to do to my phone in the future. If I find an annoyance with the phone, I can almost always get rid of it with some root modification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My main reason for rooting all my prior phones was to install AdAway, Greenify (to manage battery performance and kill background apps), and to remove carrier or manufacturer bloat. With the 6T and the latest OxygenOS, I don't really have a need for Greenify and at least on the non T-mobile variant there's no bloat, leaving AdAway as the only reason for me to root. I'm currently using Blockada along with an adblocking DNS which doesn't seem as efficient as AdAway however it's still effective, leaving me with no real reason to root at the moment, but I feel better knowing that I can easily root it at any time if I need to.
Another downside to rooting is that you lose Widevine L1, preventing you from streaming HD content (netflix, amazon video, hulu, etc.). More specifically, there's no way to be rooted with a locked bootloader, and if your bootloader is unlocked your phone is only Widevine L3 compliant, meaning no HD content. This may not be a dealbreaker (SD content is still very watchable on these tiny screens) but it's another thing to consider.

I haven't rooted in a few years. Once I stopped buying carrier bloated phones, buying direct from a manufacturer, most don't have any bloat or blocked features that I need. With the size of space on the built in SD cards, storage for me isn't a problem. I just block em and that is good enough for me.
As for blocking ads, I just use Adguard premium, which blocks about 99% of ads on websites as well as in app ads.
In "the old days" I would root my phone before even setting it up.

So far the only thing I'm really missing is CF.Lumen without root. It's a real shame that the high quality mode can't be achieved without rooting. Otherwise, I'm using Blockada and it seems good enough (I've whitelisted Firefox and installed uBlock Origin there).