Database Users

/!\ WARNING /!\ Do NOT relock your bootloader around the time of updating to 5.1!

Guys,
We've seen several people have flashed system.img's and OTA's and ended up in a bootloop.. Not the end of the world really, BUT for some reason, before you can unlock your bootloader using fastboot, you must enable OEM unlock in Developer options in Android settings - which you cannot do if you are bootlooping.
If you still have a custom recovery, you'll be fine but if you're 100%, locked bootloader and bootlooping, we haven't found a fix yet so please do not lock your bootloader.
If you feel you absolutely must relock your bootloader (at your own risk) please boot the phone up to check it works properly before doing this. If you intend flashing roms and kernels or custom recoveries, locking the bootloader is not a good idea
Please also see the below link provided by @efrant
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6172890?hl=en
This goes into more detail about how google have enhanced device security with 5.1 and some other pitfalls that you may wish to avoid. This is pretty salient information, so do give it a read.

Good advice, i would add to that NEVER LOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER. ???
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

ChristianJay said:
Good advice, i would add to that NEVER LOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I would add that I completely disagree with this statement. Coming from an infosec standpoint, I keep my bootloader locked, and just suffer the reset when I need to tweak. If you don't, anyone - not just you - can replace your system partition or boot a random IMG which could inject functionality. This may not be the most common mechanism for attack as it requires physical access, but it basically obviates the encryption with a deepfreeze style boot IMG.
Additionally, when you think about this in context of the border crossing exemptions many countries, including the US, have to protections against unwarranted search, I would recommend that anyone with proprietary or sensitive business data who crosses international borders keeps their bootloader locked when not modifying the system. Also, until custom recoveries include security features, I recommend using stock.
Why are we making our phones so insecure just to have root? Not cool.

So just to be clear the correct procedure would be to boot the device after updating enable the setting and then go and lock your bootloader? Or just keep it unlocked overall.
Personally I keep mine unlocked but for those wanting to take full advantage of androids new device protection a locked bootloader would serve a purpose. Preventing someone from just flashing a custom rom and keeping your device.

:thumbup:

I thought I really #$# up
Thank you for posting this...when 5.1 was dropping, I attempted to return to stock...all the way.to be able to take Verizon's OTA...when i locked the boot loader, i was stuck in a boot loop with the android guy and the gear box spinning FOREVER.....its is not easy to get out of the loop, but i managed to boot back up into boot loader mode, and force a stock image using toolkit.
I am now unlocked, running 5.1 on Verizon, have full LTE/VOLTE, can speak and surf at same time...i have not rooted yet...but just glad it was not me....had a heart attack two nights ago...

xander45 said:
Thank you for posting this...when 5.1 was dropping, I attempted to return to stock...all the way.to be able to take Verizon's OTA...when i locked the boot loader, i was stuck in a boot loop with the android guy and the gear box spinning FOREVER.....its is not easy to get out of the loop, but i managed to boot back up into boot loader mode, and force a stock image using toolkit.
I am now unlocked, running 5.1 on Verizon, have full LTE/VOLTE, can speak and surf at same time...i have not rooted yet...but just glad it was not me....had a heart attack two nights ago...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im so new to this but im rooted with an unlocked bootloader but im running full stock android. i only rooted just so i can chance the provision to get free tethering with my unlimited data. i have the wugfresh nexus tool kit and cant for the life of me figure out how to upgrade my nexus 6 to 5.1. Is there in anyone that can get me a step by step on how to update so i can take advantage of hd calling and silmutaneous voice and data... ive been waiting tooooooooooo long for this update..

rootSU said:
Guys,
We've seen several people have flashed system.img's and OTA's and ended up in a bootloop.. Not the end of the world really, BUT for some reason, before you can unlock your bootloader using fastboot, you must enable OEM unlock in Developer options in Android settings - which you cannot do if you are bootlooping.
If you still have a custom recovery, you'll be fine but if you're 100%, locked bootloader and bootlooping, we haven't found a fix yet so please do not lock your bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi root,
I saw that thread yesterday ...
I thought this was already covered when the N6 came out, to get the bootloader unlocked you had to do a 1st boot of the device and ENABLE OEM Unlock, then you were good to go to get into fastboot and unlock.
The reason was google put the option there for 5.0, vice all our previous versions which had no toggle for it.
I think it was people jumping the gun and not doing that first boot, but immediately jumping into fastboot and flashing, and that caused it, yes? Because the BL wasn't unlocked, they couldn't flash the OTA and boot img ...

daijizai said:
And I would add that I completely disagree with this statement. Coming from an infosec standpoint, I keep my bootloader locked, and just suffer the reset when I need to tweak. If you don't, anyone - not just you - can replace your system partition or boot a random IMG which could inject functionality. This may not be the most common mechanism for attack as it requires physical access, but it basically obviates the encryption with a deepfreeze style boot IMG.
Additionally, when you think about this in context of the border crossing exemptions many countries, including the US, have to protections against unwarranted search, I would recommend that anyone with proprietary or sensitive business data who crosses international borders keeps their bootloader locked when not modifying the system. Also, until custom recoveries include security features, I recommend using stock.
Why are we making our phones so insecure just to have root? Not cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is nonsense.
You need *physical* access to it in order to carry out such an attack.
If your phone leaves your PHYSICAL access, then you already know not to trust what is on it, whether or not it has an unlocked bootloader.

xander45 said:
Thank you for posting this...when 5.1 was dropping, I attempted to return to stock...all the way.to be able to take Verizon's OTA...when i locked the boot loader, i was stuck in a boot loop with the android guy and the gear box spinning FOREVER.....its is not easy to get out of the loop, but i managed to boot back up into boot loader mode, and force a stock image using toolkit.
I am now unlocked, running 5.1 on Verizon, have full LTE/VOLTE, can speak and surf at same time...i have not rooted yet...but just glad it was not me....had a heart attack two nights ago...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kng60ft said:
im so new to this but im rooted with an unlocked bootloader but im running full stock android. i only rooted just so i can chance the provision to get free tethering with my unlimited data. i have the wugfresh nexus tool kit and cant for the life of me figure out how to upgrade my nexus 6 to 5.1. Is there in anyone that can get me a step by step on how to update so i can take advantage of hd calling and silmutaneous voice and data... ive been waiting tooooooooooo long for this update..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no need to lock the device to take an OTA. You can keep it unlocked and do an ota

doitright said:
This is nonsense.
You need *physical* access to it in order to carry out such an attack.
If your phone leaves your PHYSICAL access, then you already know not to trust what is on it, whether or not it has an unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not nonsense. Yes you need physical access to carry out the attack, but with a locked bootloader and the new precautions against unlocking and fastboot it makes locked bootloaders fairly bulletproof.
I cannot recommend unlocked bootloaders to anyone that works SCIF'd and leaves their phone in a shared box during the day, anyone that crosses international borders, or anyone whose phone might contain IP or trade secrets and could be a target of theft.
This is as much about trusting the phone afterwards as it is about protecting your data on the phone - even when encrypted.

y2whisper said:
So just to be clear the correct procedure would be to boot the device after updating enable the setting and then go and lock your bootloader? Or just keep it unlocked overall.
Personally I keep mine unlocked but for those wanting to take full advantage of androids new device detection a locked bootloader would serve a purpose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just keep it unlocked

rootSU said:
Guys,
We've seen several people have flashed system.img's and OTA's and ended up in a bootloop.. Not the end of the world really, BUT for some reason, before you can unlock your bootloader using fastboot, you must enable OEM unlock in Developer options in Android settings - which you cannot do if you are bootlooping.
If you still have a custom recovery, you'll be fine but if you're 100%, locked bootloader and bootlooping, we haven't found a fix yet so please do not lock your bootloader.
If you feel you absolutely must relock your bootloader (at your own risk) please boot the phone up to check it works properly before doing this. If you intend flashing roms and kernels or custom recoveries, locking the bootlaoder is not a good idea
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this boot loop also, but clearing Cache and Dalvik seemed to fix the loop for me.

nyteryder79 said:
I had this boot loop also, but clearing Cache and Dalvik seemed to fix the loop for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats good.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...orial-how-to-flash-factory-images-lg-t2713833
This may help if you got stuck in a bootloop.

is there a fix if my mem shows i own a 32g device when i bought a 64g device, im unlocked/rooted and on custom rom?

darren.wlsn1 said:
is there a fix if my mem shows i own a 32g device when i bought a 64g device, im unlocked/rooted and on custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know too. I'm unrooted, stock everything, with 64GB Blue, but it shows 23GB total space for the device with 16GB available. Was fine before the 5.1 update.

Marcellus1 said:
I'd like to know too. I'm unrooted, stock everything, with 64GB Blue, but it shows 23GB total space for the device with 16GB available. Was fine before the 5.1 update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58201783&postcount=106
should help

darren.wlsn1 said:
is there a fix if my mem shows i own a 32g device when i bought a 64g device, im unlocked/rooted and on custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Marcellus1 said:
I'd like to know too. I'm unrooted, stock everything, with 64GB Blue, but it shows 23GB total space for the device with 16GB available. Was fine before the 5.1 update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset?
Not really the thread to ask this though.

rootSU said:
Factory reset?
Not really the thread to ask this though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, and sorry

Sony Releases Recovery for Z1 Compact and other Sony dDvices

http://developer.sonymobile.com/201...for-a-range-of-unlocked-xperia-devices-video/
They also added support for Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia T2 Ultra, Xperia T3, Xperia M2, and Xperia E3
Sony is rocking it!

Does anyone know of any custom recoveries that take advantage of this?

And what about drm keys for Sony functions, are they lost after unlocking? If it's official, the ta partition remains the same?
tapatalked

geesoos said:
And what about drm keys for Sony functions, are they lost after unlocking? If it's official, the ta partition remains the same?
tapatalked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must have a unlocked device already, before flashing this open recovery bootloader. So yes, I guess TA will be wiped

hm...
a bit disappointed, obviously is a great opening by sony that declares, clearly, love for our developers, but i would have preferred some kind of OTA with a simply boot.img update that will not unlock my device, leaving intact DRM and TA keys, or a simply official kind of auto restoration returing on official o.s.

You dont need DRM Keys for stuff like camera bionz and xreality, if thats what you are afraid to loose, i have unlocked bootloader and thanks to a good chinese team here, i am using lollipop unlocked bootloader, rooted, dual recovery AND bionz/xreality working properly.
But i am still dissapointed with Sony and their DRM/Anti Piracy crap, they loose costumers like that, they can piss users off really easy with that kind of attitude, and they dont just do it in smarthphones, they do it in consoles, CD players, DVD Players and what not... I really like Sony but frankly im starting to get bored of their stance and probably will move back to Samsung smarthphones. At least i can control iso settings in third party application. And yes bionz post processing is good but imo samsung does a way better job at that department and you dont see them nerfing peoples phones for trying to root or install a custom firmware.

TheWarKeeper said:
You dont need DRM Keys for stuff like camera bionz and xreality, if thats what you are afraid to loose, i have unlocked bootloader and thanks to a good chinese team here, i am using lollipop unlocked bootloader, rooted, dual recovery AND bionz/xreality working properly.
But i am still dissapointed with Sony and their DRM/Anti Piracy crap, they loose costumers like that, they can piss users off really easy with that kind of attitude, and they dont just do it in smarthphones, they do it in consoles, CD players, DVD Players and what not... I really like Sony but frankly im starting to get bored of their stance and probably will move back to Samsung smarthphones. At least i can control iso settings in third party application. And yes bionz post processing is good but imo samsung does a way better job at that department and you dont see them nerfing peoples phones for trying to root or install a custom firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a bit skeptical about it, I am aware that has been made some portings of the sony bravia engine even for "not sony" devices, but since I was an HTC Sensation XE owner i was never satisfied of this portings or strange integrations of stock capabilities, because when i went to CM roms i have always flashed a mod that that will restore the Beats Audio goodies but it did not give me absolutely the same audio performances of the original ROM with Beats Audio, so I'm afraid that they are only some tweaks that resemble the original work, but they aren't close the original screen/camera quality that original software with drm keys can do ...
in particular to the quality of the camera, that i know drastically decline after losing drm keys and flashing a custom rom...
I know that TA partition and DRM keys nowadays can be backed up and restored, but I just wished that with this new sony's move everything will just start to be much simpler for flashaolic guys like us, but i was wrong, nothing different from what we can do nowadays unlocking the bootloader and flashing a new kernel or boot image.
Despite this i'll keep to be a sony's user, their terminals are really perfect fitting for my wilings, when I will start to be not satisfied with the performance of my z1c (and possibly when warranty declines) i'll start to roll up my sleeves.

dottnick said:
I'm a bit skeptical about it, I am aware that has been made some portings of the sony bravia engine even for "not sony" devices, but since I was an HTC Sensation XE owner i was never satisfied of this portings or strange integrations of stock capabilities, because when i went to CM roms i have always flashed a mod that that will restore the Beats Audio goodies but it did not give me absolutely the same audio performances of the original ROM with Beats Audio, so I'm afraid that they are only some tweaks that resemble the original work, but they aren't close the original screen/camera quality that original software with drm keys can do ...
in particular to the quality of the camera, that i know drastically decline after losing drm keys and flashing a custom rom...
I know that TA partition and DRM keys nowadays can be backed up and restored, but I just wished that with this new sony's move everything will just start to be much simpler for flashaolic guys like us, but i was wrong, nothing different from what we can do nowadays unlocking the bootloader and flashing a new kernel or boot image.
Despite this i'll keep to be a sony's user, their terminals are really perfect fitting for my wilings, when I will start to be not satisfied with the performance of my z1c (and possibly when warranty declines) i'll start to roll up my sleeves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont see any advantage into lying Sony users and they can indeed restore bionz and xreality even without DRM keys by following the officiall DRM Restore patch thread, which doesnt actually restores the DRM keys, it just cheats the phone into thinking that the keys are still there and executes the software normally, mind you it works for Bionz and XReality, ive readed older posts saying that it didnt use to work with official sony playstation apps, whatever those are, i didnt even bother checking them as i dont use them.
So yeah, you can actually bypass Sony Nuisance thanks to that great team who bothered to not leave us with a disgusting camera without post processing and a pale boring screen.
EDIT: And it has nothing to do with porting other camera apps from z2 to the xperia z1c such as 4k recording, thats a completely different thing, that patch is not a port its just a bypass tool. Even though im happy my phone is working properly again, i strongly believe it shouldnt be the effort of other development teams to fix sony mistakes, Sony should just drop their anti piracy and Digital Rights attitude as it does nothing else but to screw up its costumers which eventually will get tired and move on to other companies that respects costumers that paid a high end price for a high end device. Frankly i was thinking maybe one day ill buy Z4 or whatever comes next if my phone gets to be obsolete meanwhile, but since i know that their attitude will be the same and my freedom to use my phone is pretty much the same freedom you have to use an iphone i will almost surelly go back for Samsung Galaxy S devices, i could do tons with my old galaxy s2 without worring that the company would screw up my phone on purpose.

I also would like to know if there is some recovery that takes advantage of this new bootloader.
Also, how can I find out if the bootloader is the special or the normal one?

Regarding the backing up and restoring of the TA partition. Do we know if it's even safe to flash a TA backup from before upgrading the bootloader?

Xeon3D said:
I also would like to know if there is some recovery that takes advantage of this new bootloader.
Also, how can I find out if the bootloader is the special or the normal one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it still needs some time because the bootloader is made for sony's 3.10 kernel. Most custom roms still use 3.4, because camera isn't working yet with 3.10. This old kernel may not work with the new bootloader so it's still useless for most roms.
Also recoveries should be updated to include the 3.10 kernel.

Rekoil said:
Regarding the backing up and restoring of the TA partition. Do we know if it's even safe to flash a TA backup from before upgrading the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done it three times now, phone was working but I´m not sure that TA restoration was complete
CoolDevelopment said:
I think it still needs some time because the bootloader is made for sony's 3.10 kernel. Most custom roms still use 3.4, because camera isn't working yet with 3.10. This old kernel may not work with the new bootloader so it's still useless for most roms.
Also recoveries should be updated to include the 3.10 kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Latest AOSP for amami has an own recovery.img, but this build bootloops and the recovery is not possible to reach by any method known by me

funiewski said:
I have done it three times now, phone was working but I´m not sure that TA restoration was complete
Latest AOSP for amami has an own recovery.img, but this build bootloops and the recovery is not possible to reach by any method known by me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The procedure described here doesn't work?
Power off.
Press Power and Vol Down simultaneously until device vibrates.
Release Power, keep holding Vol Down.

Rekoil said:
The procedure described here doesn't work?
Power off.
Press Power and Vol Down simultaneously until device vibrates.
Release Power, keep holding Vol Down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope not with the recovery inside aosp build 150518

One of us have to learn how to compile twrp based on Sony mosh kernel (or similar) i guess?

I opened My Z1 this way for recoverys and of course unlocked My bootloader but, just like others I can't access recovery with power and volume down. And even worse, I now can't update to. 270 neither with pc companion nor with flash tool.
Any idea?

ASLANOO said:
I opened My Z1 this way for recoverys and of course unlocked My bootloader but, just like others I can't access recovery with power and volume down. And even worse, I now can't update to. 270 neither with pc companion nor with flash tool.
Any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have made backup of your ta, relock your bootloader after that you can use pc companion

funiewski said:
If you have made backup of your ta, relock your bootloader after that you can use pc companion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't backup my ta I wasn't actually caring much about drm keys anyway but now this
Should I flash a ftf anyway over it without excluding ta partition or should I exclude it.

funiewski said:
If you have made backup of your ta, relock your bootloader after that you can use pc companion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem solved. If there is someone facing the same problem -> relock bootloader using BLU on flashtool -> update via pc companion -> unlock bootloader using BLU on flashtool again. Done

i would ask again, did anybody know a working recovery for the sony TA method?
Also if yes, pls let me know how to install it.
actually i installed the TA like sony said, but couldn't find a recovery.
thx

PSA: Android Pay and SafetyNet no longer work with unlocked bootloaders.

It seems that Google has turned it's back on devs a bit more. Tons of people are having this issue, as I was finally tweaking around and could never get safetynet working. Turns out I got an early taste of Google's rollout yesterday.

Happening to me as well. Both on my 5x and N6 that used to work. Locking the bootloader (I'm not rooted) will now wipe the phone, right?

I have a completely stock 5X. The only modification is an unlocked bootloader. When I installed the 7.1.1 DP update yesterday, Android Pay quit working. I tried to pay for an Uber ride using Android Pay and it failed. I assume the same is true for trying to use Android Pay via NFC in stores.
---------- Post added at 02:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:40 PM ----------
Minker17 said:
Happening to me as well. Both on my 5x and N6 that used to work. Locking the bootloader (I'm not rooted) will now wipe the phone, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocking the bootloader wipes the device. Locking does not.
http://www.androidcentral.com/how-unlock-nexus-5x-bootloader

I've seen reports that it started wiping a few versions ago. This is for a 6p, but have seen others. Does it just not apply to the 5x?
https://plus.google.com/+ArtemRussakovskii/posts/49VyN48ixDp

I relocked my bootloader yesterday, it does now cause a factory reset. It will also cause bricking to happen if you have a modified system, recovery or boot partition, recommend practice would be to flash a factory image before relocking if you have rooted or used twrp etc.
If you do go ahead also remember to back up anything you have on your storage first.

It was only a matter of time before they started doing stuff like this... I didn't know they were really that worried about nfc payments yet.

Minker17 said:
I've seen reports that it started wiping a few versions ago. This is for a 6p, but have seen others. Does it just not apply to the 5x?
https://plus.google.com/+ArtemRussakovskii/posts/49VyN48ixDp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the previous guy is confused. On 5x, t has been forcing a factory reset during lock since at least MHC19J if not since the beginning.
On older phones it didn't force factory reset during lock, only unlock, so I think many people are just going by memory and probably never relocked on 5x.

sfhub said:
I think the previous guy is confused. On 5x, t has been forcing a factory reset during lock since at least MHC19J if not since the beginning.
On older phones it didn't force factory reset during lock, only unlock, so I think many people are just going by memory and probably never relocked on 5x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's correct. I just relocked mine last night and I had to do a factory reset.

So, I installed the 7.1 preview a few days back without rooting or anything else, can I safely just relock bootloader to get android pay working again?
I was on the 7.0 factory image before hand, again, unrooted and stock recovery

Mikey F said:
So, I installed the 7.1 preview a few days back without rooting or anything else, can I safely just relock bootloader to get android pay working again?
I was on the 7.0 factory image before hand, again, unrooted and stock recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but be aware locking or unlocking your bootloader will wipe your device.

yochananmarqos said:
Yes, but be aware locking or unlocking your bootloader will wipe your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK cool, yes I'm aware it will wipe the phone, I'm prepared for that.

The Flash's kernel now had a fix for that bootloader check.
Try it and see if it works for you before locking the bootloader. It is easier to flash a boot.img than it is to format.

odunke01 said:
The Flash's kernel now had a fix for that bootloader check.
Try it and see if it works for you before locking the bootloader. It is easier to flash a boot.img than it is to format.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So flashing the flash's kernel means android pay should work with unlocked bootloader?

With flash or Franco kernel I pass safetynet helper. So I am assuming it will work with pay, I don't have any cards at up atm to try.
Edit. Just enrolled a card and all good.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/24/android-pay-is-coming-to-hundreds-of-thousands-more-websites/
It's a losing battle imo. Either root or use banking and ap. No reason to try both. It's just frustrating.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA-Developers mobile app

Wait. Just so I'm clear, unlocking the bootloader alone will break Android Pay? I typically unlock my bootloader as soon as I get a new phone, mainly so I can manually flash images, but I don't root or flash custom recovery. It's be really annoying to lose that option.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Yeah I think I'm going to just back up and relock my bootloader, android pay, once I'd started using it, became really handy

Don't use Android pay! Don't use any of those features. It's the only way to let Google know this is too far!
Same for SafetyNet.
It's MY device, so I want to decide how to use it. Therefor I won't use any app that forces me to lock bootloader, unroot, or whatsoever.

Bright.Light said:
Don't use Android pay! Don't use any of those features. It's the only way to let Google know this is too far!
Same for SafetyNet.
It's MY device, so I want to decide how to use it. Therefor I won't use any app that forces me to lock bootloader, unroot, or whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's fine and your decision, but AP is Google's service and they can operate how they want with what security features they want. And with lots of banks & lots of money on the line, you better believe it Google needs to ensure as much security as they can with it.

Bright.Light said:
Don't use Android pay! Don't use any of those features. It's the only way to let Google know this is too far!
Same for SafetyNet.
It's MY device, so I want to decide how to use it. Therefor I won't use any app that forces me to lock bootloader, unroot, or whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Entirely your call, but working in the computer repair business, I deal with a lot of end users that have been done over by malware and ransomware, so any efforts to stop that are welcome. I'm happy to be able to use android pay at the cost of a more secure phone, so I'll be relocking my boot loader when I'm home from holiday

What do I lose if I root my device?

*I know this must have been answered before, I am sorry for playing the newbie, but I couldn't find this anywhere.
I need to know exactly what is at stake for rooting my device, what would I lose access to, and what not.
I've read somewhere that you lose DRM or something like that, is that meaning I will not be able to watch Netflix download and go, or Google Play Music, etc? what does it means?

LionLorena said:
*I know this must have been answered before, I am sorry for playing the newbie, but I couldn't find this anywhere.
I need to know exactly what is at stake for rooting my device, what would I lose access to, and what not.
I've read somewhere that you lose DRM or something like that, is that meaning I will not be able to watch Netflix download and go, or Google Play Music, etc? what does it means?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will lose your warranty because you have to unlock your bootloader but if anything goes wrong you can always relock your bootloader and take your phone to a service center and claim your warranty they don't even check it in most cases other than that everything works fine
Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

prajwal2001 said:
You will lose your warranty because you have to unlock your bootloader but if anything goes wrong you can always relock your bootloader and take your phone to a service center and claim your warranty they don't even check it in most cases other than that everything works fine
Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And apart from that, do I lose anything else?
Some guy said I would lose access to that extra anti theft security from Google that works kinda like iCloud, is it true?

LionLorena said:
And apart from that, do I lose anything else?
Some guy said I would lose access to that extra anti theft security from Google that works kinda like iCloud, is it true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing else only warranty
Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

LionLorena said:
And apart from that, do I lose anything else?
Some guy said I would lose access to that extra anti theft security from Google that works kinda like iCloud, is it true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Provided you're still on the stock ROM, I don't think rooting affects your anti-theft protection (I recall it's called Factory Reset Protection?). Even if you've enabled OEM unlocking in Developer Options, someone resetting your phone would still need your Google credentials to use the device. Also, if you're logged into your device at the time, you could still locate and wipe your phone via Android Device Manager.
Of course, with an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery (as is generally required to root), someone could still flash a custom ROM and bypass those protections and, also, could in theory still access your data. (but only if they have physical access to your device)
As for DRM, I'm not sure but some apps have been/are now detecting the presence of root and will refuse to work (Snapchat, Pokemon Go, some banking apps come to mind) or for other devices, Android Pay and other security dependent features may not work. I recall magisk, a root manager, does have the ability to mask root from those apps, as well as pass SafetyNet, which is Google's security/anti-tamper detection. Your experience may vary. However, some apps require root access to function properly (e.g. kernel managers, battery monitors) just as to how they function, it's entirely up to you if you see yourself using those rooted apps on a regular enough basis. The root managers available (e.g. SuperSU, magisk) are supported and work well, just ensure you're using the latest versions, and if you're on stock Nougat, to flash a custom kernel prior to rooting (since the stock kernel won't permit modifications, if I recall).
Overall, in my view, you're trading security and warranty (as mentioned by prajwal2001) for convenience/flexibility by rooting - the flexibility alone to flash what you wish is what interested me in rooting my device, if anyone else has any other comments, feel free to add.

echo92 said:
Provided you're still on the stock ROM, rooting shouldn't disable your anti-theft protection (which I recall is Factory Reset Protection). Even if you've enabled OEM unlocking in Developer Options, someone resetting your phone would still need your Google credentials to use the device. Of course, with an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery (as is generally required to root), someone could still flash a custom ROM and bypass those protections and, also, could in theory still access your data. (but only if they have physical access to your device)
As for DRM, I'm not sure but some apps have been/are now detecting the presence of root and will refuse to work (Snapchat, Pokemon Go, some banking apps come to mind) or for other devices, Android Pay and other security dependent features may not work. I recall magisk, a root manager, does have the ability to mask root from those apps, as well as pass SafetyNet, which is Google's security/anti-tamper detection. Your experience may vary. However, some apps require root access to function properly (e.g. kernel managers, battery monitors) just as to how they function, it's entirely up to you if you see yourself using those rooted apps on a regular enough basis. The root managers available (e.g. SuperSU, magisk) are supported and work well, just ensure you're using the latest versions, and if you're on stock Nougat, to flash a custom kernel prior to rooting (since the stock kernel won't permit modifications, if I recall).
Overall, in my view, you're trading security and warranty (as mentioned by prajwal2001) for convenience/flexibility by rooting - the flexibility alone to flash what you wish is what interested me in rooting my device, if anyone else has any other comments, feel free to add.
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Hm I see.
That's a pretty big downside
I guess I will pass root for now, I was only wanting to do to use the ADB via USB OTG and boot disk creator.
Thanks everyone for all the information!

LionLorena said:
Hm I see.
That's a pretty big downside
I guess I will pass root for now, I was only wanting to do to use the ADB via USB OTG and boot disk creator.
Thanks everyone for all the information!
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That's fair enough - there's nothing stopping you from rooting your device, then performing what you need, before unrooting your device. (Just curious, does what you want to do require root, or are there other non-root methods?)
However, this will still involve you voiding your warranty (via unlocking your bootloader), and may also involve re-flashing your stock firmware to remove the custom recovery (and relock your bootloader, if you wish, though this won't recover your warranty, sadly). Honestly though, it's your device, up to you what you wish to do

echo92 said:
That's fair enough - there's nothing stopping you from rooting your device, then performing what you need, before unrooting your device. (Just curious, does what you want to do require root, or are there other non-root methods?)
However, this will still involve you voiding your warranty (via unlocking your bootloader), and may also involve re-flashing your stock firmware to remove the custom recovery (and relock your bootloader, if you wish, though this won't recover your warranty, sadly). Honestly though, it's your device, up to you what you wish to do
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Yeah the warranty is not on top of my mind right now, my concern are the other issues it may cause, such apps not working, and security issues.
Like, I had a Sony Xperia Play back some years and past a week I root it, and past 2 weeks it was on Cyanogenmod.
I had Bricked that device countless times and had somehow fixed, I had also replaced several internal components as well, but back then there were no DRM stuff and all, so the rooting part is not what I fear, is just this new wave of side effects regarding it.

LionLorena said:
Yeah the warranty is not on top of my mind right now, my concern are the other issues it may cause, such apps not working, and security issues.
Like, I had a Sony Xperia Play back some years and past a week I root it, and past 2 weeks it was on Cyanogenmod.
I had Bricked that device countless times and had somehow fixed, I had also replaced several internal components as well, but back then there were no DRM stuff and all, so the rooting part is not what I fear, is just this new wave of side effects regarding it.
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There is no DRM to lose on Motorola devices. On Sony devices, what you said is applicable. As for apps that refuse to work with root access, you can simply switch to Magisk, and enabled hiding root access from all apps.

zeomal said:
There is no DRM to lose on Motorola devices. On Sony devices, what you said is applicable. As for apps that refuse to work with root access, you can simply switch to Magisk, and enabled hiding root access from all apps.
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That's motivating.
And I've found a topic that says I don't even need to flash the custom recovery, I can simply hot boot it and do my stuff and keep the stock recovery.

LionLorena said:
That's motivating.
And I've found a topic that says I don't even need to flash the custom recovery, I can simply hot boot it and do my stuff and keep the stock recovery.
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There's no real point of not changing the stock recovery, unless you are planning to stick with a rooted stock ROM. If you keep the stock recovery, you'll be able to enable OTA stock updates.
From a security standpoint, if your device is lost, it becomes much easier for an attacker to breach your system and much harder for you to protect it. However, according to most security principles, once your device is lost from you, it's no longer your device, anyway.

zeomal said:
There's no real point of not changing the stock recovery, unless you are planning to stick with a rooted stock ROM. If you keep the stock recovery, you'll be able to enable OTA stock updates.
From a security standpoint, if your device is lost, it becomes much easier for an attacker to breach your system and much harder for you to protect it. However, according to most security principles, once your device is lost from you, it's no longer your device, anyway.
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The OTA updates are one of the reasons, yes.
And yes, from that point of view you are right.
I'm currently using some tracking solutions such as Cerberus, and disabling some features while the phone screen is locked, such as quick settings, and power off menu.
Also the extra layer of security imposed by Google version of iCloud, passes me some sense of safety.
The main thing that bothers me related to custom recovery is that the attacker can replace my software entirely.
While with stock I can have some time to recover the device using the tactics. Enabled.
And root could potentially aid me in that, I could add Cerberus to /system and etc.

You lose security. Every person with knowledge can access to your phone through TWRP, use the File Manager to erase files.key (this erases your gesture or PIN of lock screen) and can see all your info. If you unlock bootloader, every person can flash TWRP and do this steps.

alaindupus said:
You lose security. Every person with knowledge can access to your phone through TWRP, use the File Manager to erase files.key (this erases your gesture or PIN of lock screen) and can see all your info. If you unlock bootloader, every person can flash TWRP and do this steps.
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thats why i'm thinking 3 times before doing it.

Pros/Cons of Rooting Moto G5 Plus!?

I wish to root my phone(XT1686) but intend to keep the stock ROM(no bootloader unlock).
Is there any advantage in doing so? And will OTA updates be affected?

yourSAS said:
I wish to root my phone(XT1686) but intend to keep the stock ROM(no bootloader unlock).
Is there any advantage in doing so? And will OTA updates be affected?
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It is not possible to root without unlocking the bootloader on this device...
If you don't have a specific reason to root, don't do it.
And once rooted, you cannot accept any OTA... most likely case if you do it will just fail, worst possible case it bricks (which can happen but is extremely rare).

To answer the question in your title, about the advantages of rooting...
Rooting gives you near full access to your device, and thus the ability to customize it beyond the options provided to you via the default interface. Also, some apps provide additional features on rooted phones. For example, some security programs recommend rooting your device so that it can more forcefully integrate itself with the device to protect against malware, hacking, etc. I tend to install a security package that works better on a rooted device, as well as make use of features that tend to only work on a rooted device, such as folder mounting from the internal SD card to the external one. Also, allows me to access system files that are unavailable otherwise, allowing me to customize certain sounds (or copy them at least).
If you decide you want to root your device, make sure you understand the steps to take BEFORE trying it. That means when you come across a guide on how to do it, make sure you get all the files that will be required and reading through the instructions step by step. If any of the steps sound like it will leave you lost on what to do, then DO NOT do any of it. Also, make sure you read the comments for the guide as well, looking for any mention of issues encountered and consider if you might encounter those issues as well. For example, if it causes issues for devices that use a particular carrier and you use that same carrier, you might want to leave well enough alone. Compare your phone version numbers with what others report having issues with (kernel, baseband, build, etc). Anything that someone has an issue with where their phone somehow matches up with yours in some way, take that as a sign to investigate deeper, so as to avoid having any issues yourself.
For the most part, unless you have a need or desire for a feature/function that requires rooting your device, don't mess with it. I'm not kidding, as one mistake can leave you without a working phone and without any options for returning/replacing it.

Thanks for the replies & warnings.
I'm not a noob so I know the risks of rooting. So maybe I should have rephrased it-
What are the advantages of rooting Moto G5 plus specifically?
Say like in terms of mods and other stuff? Also, is it possible to unroot once rooted- I mean to ask if it's possible to revert the state to factory mode with bootloader locked and stock ROM so that device will be eligible for OTA updates again?

yourSAS said:
Thanks for the replies & warnings.
I'm not a noob so I know the risks of rooting. So maybe I should have rephrased it-
What are the advantages of rooting Moto G5 plus specifically?
Say like in terms of mods and other stuff? Also, is it possible to unroot once rooted- I mean to ask if it's possible to revert the state to factory mode with bootloader locked and stock ROM so that device will be eligible for OTA updates again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloader lock is not relevant to OTA's. You might be able to relock, but the fact it was once unlocked cannot be hidden, it will always be very clear that it was unlocked.
Unrooting is easy, the issue arises undoing what you did with root, undoing them all depends what you changed.
I don't know of any reasons specific to this device to root.

acejavelin said:
Bootloader lock is not relevant to OTA's. You might be able to relock, but the fact it was once unlocked cannot be hidden, it will always be very clear that it was unlocked.
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If the OEM knows I've unlocked bootloader, why will it push OTAs to my phone even though I've locked bootloader on my end? So isn't bootloader lock status relevant for OTA?

yourSAS said:
If the OEM knows I've unlocked bootloader, why will it push OTAs to my phone even though I've locked bootloader on my end? So isn't bootloader lock status relevant for OTA?
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No, the status of your bootloader is not relevant... Moto will notify you of an available update and happily attempt to apply it regardless if your bootloader is locked or not.
What matters is if the boot or system partitions is changed, if there is ANY change to those, among other things like if the radio version or recovery versions don't match or the partition table is changed, the update will fail. If you flash any custom recovery it will fail as well.

On this subject I mention a slight con which is that some banking or financial apps might complain to you if they detect root. I have maybe 10 different bank and credit apps installed and all work flawlessly except 1. The Huntington Bank app wont allow me to use fingerprint login but otherwise the app is fully functional like mobile deposits. Just wanted to mention to be aware.