Database Users

Why root???

I have been in the cellphone scene for a while and done some iphone modding and dabbling in the android stuff. What is the point of rooting?? I know what the purpose of jailbreaking is. Is it the same basic concept?

More or less, yeah.
Install custom ROMs
Block ads
Modify system files (Remove stock apps, change fonts, etc)
And a lot more.

Sorry i didnt post why i put it in here. I am getting a vibrant on tuesday because i completely destroyed a mytouch 1.2 trying to root it. I wish there was a way to bring it back to life. I was wondering if rooting voids the warranty, I think i read i can reverse it. Is this true?

Remove bloatware that can't be normally uninstalled
Use apps that require root access such as:
-screenshot apps (like drocap2 or shootme)
-backup apps (like mybackup and titanium backup)
-file managers that have access to the whole phone (like Root Explorer or SUFBS)
-performance managers (like SetCPU and cachemate)
-and many more. . .
Add a more powerful recovery screen (like ClockworkMod Recovery) which can flash custom ROMs and create full backups of your system
Run custom ROMs (like the upcoming Galaxy S version of CyanogenMod 6 which is based on Froyo)
tgrantjr said:
Sorry i didnt post why i put it in here. I am getting a vibrant on tuesday because i completely destroyed a mytouch 1.2 trying to root it. I wish there was a way to bring it back to life. I was wondering if rooting voids the warranty, I think i read i can reverse it. Is this true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically yes, I think it does, but with method used to root the Vibrant, it is very easy to return it to its stock, unrooted condition. Plus, I've had to deal with T-Mobile and Asurion on three separate occasions with filing warranty/insurance claims on my G1 and my wife's G1, and I have never been asked if the phone was rooted and after sending in the defective or damaged phone they have never contacted me or charged me because they discovered the handset had been rooted.

How would you go about un-rooting the vibrant? I just got it on tuesday and am in love with it. I just want to get rid of the telenav and stuff, not really install any other apps. I have the sdk installed and everything, i think i just need the vibrant's drivers. After doing the root what commands can i use to uninstall telenav? Sorry im asking so many questions but im kinda new and dont want to destroy my phone. Thanks

Read the sticky.every question in this thread is answered

sorry I see that now. Thanks
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Has rooting been worth it to you guys?

I have a sprint s4, thinking off rooting.
Has it been worth it to do this, please tell me why you did it.
I use Nova instead of tw but I don't care for the extra programs and I want to block ads on my browser.
Thinking of a asop rom.

If you are "thinking about rooting" the phone, without clear knowledge why would you NEED it - DO NOT ROOT.
rooting is for the peoples who know what they want , why they want it and how to do it.

sah0724 said:
I have a sprint s4, thinking off rooting.
Has it been worth it to do this, please tell me why you did it.
I use Nova instead of tw but I don't care for the extra programs and I want to block ads on my browser.
Thinking of a asop rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give a change to THIS program. It no void ur warranty (KNOX 0x0)

Yes rooting for me has been worthwhile.
I root so I can:
Disable ads in browser
Disable exchange policy so I don't get the annoying security screen all the time
XPrivacy a valuable tool to control permissions for apps
Root explorer, so I can control all aspects of the system
Tweaks using Xposed module to control and change aspects of the OS
I can control what apps start up when my phone boots using Xposed module Boot Manager
Those are just some examples. For me I've rooted all my Android devices present and past and will continue to do so in the future, :good:

11 5986438
Can't think of a life before root
I started rooting my old HTC Desire and haven't stopped yet (on a Galaxy S4 now)
The two biggest for a normal user is
Adblock
Bloatware removal
So if you feel comfortable with the process, Go for it!
/Jörgen

Just make sure you setup your favorite custom recovery ...
With it you can backup and restore within few minutes
, even you can flash superuser or what ever as a zip file to gain root access with custom recovery
And it stays even if root access removed
You can go back to stock recovery by flashing it through odin easily
Sent from dish washer

If you can't answer the question 'Why do I want to root my phone' without other people's input, you really want to consider not messing with your phone in the first place.

The most important part is (is earlier said):
Create a nand backup!
Create a nand backup!
Without that you will cry some
/Jörgen

[Q] Terminology Explained

HI, I have an LG G2 that I want to root, mainly so that I can get rid of some of the stock apps that are running in the back ground and using system resources however before I even venture down the rooting road I need some of the basics explaining to me. I am computer literate in the windows environment so am quite happy to have a go at rooting my device however I would like to get a better understanding of the terminology etc first, I also have a number of rooting specific questions if anyone can answer them. Ok here goes:-
1) ROM - What is it, my understanding is that this is basically the operating system shipped with the phone and therefore it follows that a custom ROM is one made by a third party that can be installed on the phone instead of the standard one. Am I correct on this.
2) Recovery - I have no idea what this is but am guessing that it is some way of recovering the device / re-setting it to its default factory settings if the phone goes completely wrong, I would therefore guess that a custom recovery is a third party recovery that does different things to the one provided by the manufacturer. Again am I correct in this or not.
3) Is it possible to gain root access on the device and keep the standard ROM. As I said before I want root access so that I can control the default apps and get rid of the ones that I don't use or run in the background, at this stage I don't want to install a custom ROM until I have had a go at just rooting the device (I suspect this will change as I love tinkering)
4) I am aware of the issue around warranty being void if a device is rooted, is there anyway to restore the device so that it is un-rooted and the repair centre etc will never know that it has been rooted. I understand that this is something to do with a counter needing re-setting but have no idea how to do this.
5) What software do I need to root the device.
I appreciate I have a lot of questions, most on the very basic side of things but I would be very grateful any help offered.
Thanks
Ben

Monkeyhands said:
HI, I have an LG G2 that I want to root, mainly so that I can get rid of some of the stock apps that are running in the back ground and using system resources however before I even venture down the rooting road I need some of the basics explaining to me. I am computer literate in the windows environment so am quite happy to have a go at rooting my device however I would like to get a better understanding of the terminology etc first, I also have a number of rooting specific questions if anyone can answer them. Ok here goes:-
1) ROM - What is it, my understanding is that this is basically the operating system shipped with the phone and therefore it follows that a custom ROM is one made by a third party that can be installed on the phone instead of the standard one. Am I correct on this.
2) Recovery - I have no idea what this is but am guessing that it is some way of recovering the device / re-setting it to its default factory settings if the phone goes completely wrong, I would therefore guess that a custom recovery is a third party recovery that does different things to the one provided by the manufacturer. Again am I correct in this or not.
3) Is it possible to gain root access on the device and keep the standard ROM. As I said before I want root access so that I can control the default apps and get rid of the ones that I don't use or run in the background, at this stage I don't want to install a custom ROM until I have had a go at just rooting the device (I suspect this will change as I love tinkering)
4) I am aware of the issue around warranty being void if a device is rooted, is there anyway to restore the device so that it is un-rooted and the repair centre etc will never know that it has been rooted. I understand that this is something to do with a counter needing re-setting but have no idea how to do this.
5) What software do I need to root the device.
I appreciate I have a lot of questions, most on the very basic side of things but I would be very grateful any help offered.
Thanks
Ben
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 Yes it is the operating system, AOSP means its full on custom. While STOCK based roms are the basic OS the phone came with but with multiple tweaks to improve performance and the system in general but keeping features that are not released publicly and drivers. For example camera performance etc.
2 Yes. The manufacturer recovery only resets the RoM to factory default. Custom Recoveries let you Backup your entire System (except files) to exactly the way it was before so if you do something wrong you can go exactly to the way it was before down to apps installed and messages.
so Stock is a Restore partition. Custom needs you to backup system first unless you store a Rom on Memory or external to *flash*
Custom actually gives you more options to recover a broken phone than stock.
3. Yes you can. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45692679#post45692679
4. The samsung Galaxys had counters to check root and flashes etc i believe LG G2 Doesnt you can remove root and also flash back to complete STOCK firmware for returning to manufacters.
5. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45692679#post45692679 GL read into it

squee666 said:
1 Yes it is the operating system, AOSP means its full on custom. While STOCK based roms are the basic OS the phone came with but with multiple tweaks to improve performance and the system in general but keeping features that are not released publicly and drivers. For example camera performance etc.
2 Yes. The manufacturer recovery only resets the RoM to factory default. Custom Recoveries let you Backup your entire System (except files) to exactly the way it was before so if you do something wrong you can go exactly to the way it was before down to apps installed and messages.
so Stock is a Restore partition. Custom needs you to backup system first unless you store a Rom on Memory or external to *flash*
Custom actually gives you more options to recover a broken phone than stock.
3. Yes you can. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45692679#post45692679
4. The samsung Galaxys had counters to check root and flashes etc i believe LG G2 Doesnt you can remove root and also flash back to complete STOCK firmware for returning to manufacters.
5. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45692679#post45692679 GL read into it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI,
Thanks for the info, I have now rooted my phone and as anticipated now have a whole load of new questions. Firstly I installed an app Root Checker Basic by joeykrim, just to make sure the phone was rooted and the app reported back that it was not rooted despite the fact that esfileexplorer now has root access and I have been able to install SuperSU by Chainfire so whats going on, is my phone rooted, not rooted or partialy rooted (if that's possible). Also I am not exactly sure why I need to use the SuperSU app, it doesn't appear to have any options for uninstalling system apps or changing previously restricted settings etc which I was expecting once I got root access, the stock ROM hasn't given me access to this stuff either so the question is how do I now get access to it, from other apps I presume. One thing that I do need SuperSU for is to use it in combination with hidemyroot so that SKYGO will still work as this app will not work on rooted devices, if there is another way to get SKYGO to work on rooted apps then I will happily give it a go as it means I wont need SuperSU then.
Thanks
Ben

Be careful wich apps from system you want to uninstall, you can brick your device.

Do not remove anything from /system, ever. Use Settings->Disable on the apps that allow that, anything else you absolutely thing you need to disable use (as root) pm disable com.package.name.
Google it for more details.

LED control on stock with any app!

Thanks to an idea from the dev of GravityBox, we can now have full LED control on stock with almost any LED control app. I tested it with GravityBox, and a few ghetto LED control apps from the play store and they all worked perfectly!
This also enables the LED to light up when charging.
You can either use the flashable zip, or replace the file manually. To replace it manually download the file attached to this post, place it in /system/lib/hw/ and replace the file that is already there. Make sure it has the same permissions as the other files, and then reboot.
This has only been tested on 5.1.1 (I'm running LYZ28E).
And no, it doesn't blink. Either the CM team hasn't cracked it yet or the LED drivers are just not there to make it blink.
A flashable ZIP has also been added to this post. ZIP created by @spacetaxi

Thanks! Seems to be working fine on LMY47Z as well. :good: Did some quick tests on my Nexus 6 and will try to regularly use it now instead of LightFlow Pro.

Does led blinking work without light flow?

Unfortunately it doesn't seem so.

So you still need to install an LED apk besides this? Why not just use Light Flow in the first place with having to do this?
Not being critical...just confused on my end.

OKAstro said:
So you still need to install an LED apk besides this? Why not just use Light Flow in the first place with having to do this?
Not being critical...just confused on my end.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because a lot of people have issues with LightFlow since you have to do some really ghetto things to make it work. This guarantees that it will work and allows you to use any app you want.

OKAstro said:
So you still need to install an LED apk besides this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this is my setup: Stock rom, rooted, modified lights.shamu.so installed, Xposed installed, GravityBox installed. But: All LED related functions in GravityBox are disabled, so I don't think that GravityBox or Xposed has to be installed. I can enable LED notifications e. g. in K-9 settings - and it just works! No GravityBox, Xposed or LightFlow involved. So if the regarding app supports LED notifications there is no need to use a "LED contol app".
Edit: The led *blinking* does not work. Instead the led is switched on permanently during a notification.

OK - I got it now. I use Handcent and K9, and can set their LED notifications as usual now within the respective apk itself. I noticed charging works too.
Very well done...so long Light Flow :good::good:
---------- Post added at 02:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ----------
Does this include a battery low/charging/full feature too, or is the native built in one activated when this is installed. Reason I ask is because I didn't do anything for battery LED, plugged it in and am getting a green LED.

OKAstro said:
OK - I got it now. I use Handcent and K9, and can set their LED notifications as usual now within the respective apk itself. I noticed charging works too.
Very well done...so long Light Flow :good::good:
---------- Post added at 02:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ----------
Does this include a battery low/charging/full feature too, or is the native built in one activated when this is installed. Reason I ask is because I didn't do anything for battery LED, plugged it in and am getting a green LED.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it supports charging indication as well. I thought it was GravityBox doing it but apparently it is the OS.

Your title is a little misleading.
To me stock means no root. You should add the line, (Rooted). Stock is stock, Stock (root required) is not stock. Stock ROM with root would be less confusing.

vvveith said:
To me stock means no root. You should add the line, (Rooted). Stock is stock, Stock (root required) is not stock. Stock ROM with root would be less confusing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock rooted is stock with the SuperSU app installed.
At any rate why are you not rooted? On a Nexus device that is almost a sin since it is so easy.

I am running Gravity Box and yes it does work, although LED on N6 sucks

vvveith said:
To me stock means no root. You should add the line, (Rooted). Stock is stock, Stock (root required) is not stock. Stock ROM with root would be less confusing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that root is currently only needed for the manual installation of the modified lights.shamu.so file. If somebody would build a flashable zip for this file, it should work without root.
Some volunteer out there?

spacetaxi said:
I think that root is currently only needed for the manual installation of the modified lights.shamu.so file. If somebody would build a flashable zip for this file, it should work without root.
Some volunteer out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a very good point. You could actually just do it in recovery if it supports ADB. You can push files over ADB really easily.

Just a tip. In order to get acurate red green blue colors for LED, instead of picking it, use exact hex value then its not going to mix with over colors
Blue #0000ff
Green #00ff00
Red #ff0000

Will this work in Android M?

jodvova said:
Will this work in Android M?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went ahead and pushed it over using ADB and recovery on my phone running Android M. So far it seems to be working fine, though you won't be able to alter the light without an application that supports it.

A few reasons.
GrayBoltWolf said:
Stock rooted is stock with the SuperSU app installed.
At any rate why are you not rooted? On a Nexus device that is almost a sin since it is so easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My original reason for getting a Nexus device was to not have bloatware and to not get penalized for unlocking a bootloader, since originally I was told that Google would not lock bootloaders on Nexus devices. The first turned out to be true, the second proved false and I've already seen people getting denied warranty service for having a unlocked bootloader even though they factory reset and removed SU and other root related programs before sending it in. Somehow they were still able to tell it was rooted. But the only reason I've ever applied root was to get rid of bloat, did not have any so did not feel the need to root. Plus originally I was told that all updates come straight from google with no carrier interference, but that also became untrue. So there you have it. No worries though, after using it for almost a year, I've became quite attached to it's size. Until something else comes along with a screen close to this one and great specs, I will stick with it.

vvveith said:
My original reason for getting a Nexus device was to not have bloatware and to not get penalized for unlocking a bootloader, since originally I was told that Google would not lock bootloaders on Nexus devices. The first turned out to be true, the second proved false and I've already seen people getting denied warranty service for having a unlocked bootloader even though they factory reset and removed SU and other root related programs before sending it in. Somehow they were still able to tell it was rooted. But the only reason I've ever applied root was to get rid of bloat, did not have any so did not feel the need to root. Plus originally I was told that all updates come straight from google with no carrier interference, but that also became untrue. So there you have it. No worries though, after using it for almost a year, I've became quite attached to it's size. Until something else comes along with a screen close to this one and great specs, I will stick with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who was denied warranty with unlocked bootloader? I haven't experienced that on any of my phones yet, even none Nexus devices

vvveith said:
My original reason for getting a Nexus device was to not have bloatware and to not get penalized for unlocking a bootloader, since originally I was told that Google would not lock bootloaders on Nexus devices. The first turned out to be true, the second proved false and I've already seen people getting denied warranty service for having a unlocked bootloader even though they factory reset and removed SU and other root related programs before sending it in. Somehow they were still able to tell it was rooted. But the only reason I've ever applied root was to get rid of bloat, did not have any so did not feel the need to root. Plus originally I was told that all updates come straight from google with no carrier interference, but that also became untrue. So there you have it. No worries though, after using it for almost a year, I've became quite attached to it's size. Until something else comes along with a screen close to this one and great specs, I will stick with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google has absolutely no way to tell if you unlocked your bootloader unless you either 1. tell them or 2. send you phone in unlocked.
There have been 0 reports of anyone being denied warranty service on a Nexus device and any that may exist were because the user told Google they were unlocked.
At any rate this mod does not require root, as you can flash it through recovery or over ADB.

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.