Hello XDA community,
This is my first post on here and I hope I'm not doing something wrong in terms of protocol, but I have a rough idea on finding a root for this phone that needs support and refining from you guys, the XDA community.
My idea is this: If we can find a way to downgrade the phone software back to before the December 2016 security patch, we can run a Dirty Cow root exploit (, which is ready to go on GitHub, ) to temp root this device (or any device, in theory). Once we have temp root, we could run a program like SunShine or whatever else to turn that temp root to perm root. (SunShine currently says that, to full root this device, it needs some kind of temp root.)
Now going back to the first part about downgrading the software to before the December 2016 security update, I initially thought we could achieve this through mfastboot or RSD Lite, since they allow flashing of officially signed Motorola firmwares. However, I read that when upgrading the Moto Z, and presumably all other variants, from Android MM to Android N, the (locked) bootloader is updated, too, and will not allow downgrading, resulting in a prevalidaton error. This is where I need your help.
The question is: How can we downgrade the firmware back to MM, or some other before-December firmware, to use Dirty Cow for root. Please leave ANY suggestions in the comments.
Thank you for your time and help. I have faith that we will be able to solve this together.
I don't think you can downgrade. But i've been running this for the past 9 or so months to prevent the forced updates: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/themes/app-moto-z-play-apps-stop-ota-motocare-t3538812
(no idea if that would work on the z force)
Well I know there are many videos on YouTube claiming to downgrade certain Moto devices through RSD Lite or mfastboot for different budget Moto devices, but I suspect they are all fake. Nonetheless, I hope there is a legitimate way to downgrade.
I forgot to mention that if you can get a replacement Moto Z Force from Verizon, which is very easy to do in my area, they ship you a refurbished replacement, which runs marshmallow and has no updates installed, but I don't have the opportunity to get another replacement, so for anyone else, that's one way you could "downgrade" and try Dirty Cow to root the device.
I'm just going by this topic https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z/how-to/dont-upgrade-to-nougat-ota-t3524456
but i don't really know for sure
Wow. Now I wish I'd known about this MUCH sooner. Its too late for me. Well, in that case, try to see if you can revert back to marshmallow if you unofficially upgraded to nougat and check what month of security patches you are on. If it's before the December 2016 security patch, then you can run Dirty Cow and get temporary root. With temp root you can most likely find a way to make it permanent root.
Related
1. Is it advised to gain root NOW prior to the forthcoming Sony Lollipop OTA?
Point being if I don't root and I update to the latest forthcoming lollipop ROM from Sony then will it become a difficulty to gain root via the current downgrade method of rooting.. Or will downgrading from Sony's lollipop ROM be easily achieved via flashing .93 from flastool for instance.
My idea being can I remain unrooted and update via forthcoming ota from Sony and still achieve root via the current root methods of downgrading.
2. If I gain root now though, and lose ota facility because of root then will i be able to flash the latest official Sony lollipop ROM via flashtool manually and still retain root?
Sorry for any repetition above it's crazy late here. I've been itching to root but have been holding off in anticipation of an imminent Sony lollipop release... After some thought on the questions I post above I'm trying to determine if it's best to root now to prevent a potentially unrootable Sony lollipop rom?
Thanks in advance
1. Will downgrade from lollipop be possible? I have seen both happing with other devices so could go either way. No guarantees because we just don't know yet.
2. There is no downside to rooting now. Once you're rooted you don't want to install any official OTA anyway. You could lose root or even damage the device (we don't know yet). What you want to do is flash Pre - rooted firmware which you can download in the forums here (usually you get updates sooner than through OTA this way)
It's like a whole new world once you familiarised yourself with the possibilities.
Root is recommended you don't have any downside. If you want the ota update so bad you can still decide to flash your current software again. Though this I would not recommend since there is a possibility that you will be stuck in lollipop like clouds5 said (if no downgrade possible) .I don't think this will be happening since Sony until now is not really restricting users to flash official firmware. Hell they even encourage bootloader unlock officially. That said, just root and the enjoy the countless advantages.
As another alternative, and only because it hasn't been pointed out, you could also try to simply remain confused. The challenge in this is in hopefully coming to a point of peace with your circumstance by no longer worrying about it. I've been awake for far too long and have been sleep deprived over the past days, thus having no business making posts like this and accepting ir as innapropriate, but the general philosophy expressed remains solid ?
Since i don't have it in my signature, don't forget to hit "Thanks" ?
[email protected]
I will proceed to root now to prevent an unrootable Sony lollipop OTA ROM - which is incredibly likely given chanfires views on the difficulties of rooting lollipop "specifically devices with locked bootlaoders."
Given we would all like to retain our DRM keys for when reverting to stock based ROMs I think I've come to my conclusion.
Thanks for your thoughts, it has certainly helped to proceed with rooting now (with I've been itching to do) rather than wait patiently for Sony's lollipop OTA (which could become a hindrance, now that I've fully understood the 'potential' for an unrootable lollipop ROM.)
I like your signature ;o)
dillalade said:
[email protected]
I will proceed to root now to prevent an unrootable Sony lollipop OTA ROM - which is incredibly likely given chanfires views on the difficulties of rooting lollipop "specifically devices with locked bootlaoders."
Given we would all like to retain our DRM keys for when reverting to stock based ROMs I think I've come to my conclusion.
Thanks for your thoughts, it has certainly helped to proceed with rooting now (with I've been itching to do) rather than wait patiently for Sony's lollipop OTA (which could become a hindrance, now that I've fully understood the 'potential' for an unrootable lollipop ROM.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jeah it is very unlikely that L will get root since it has already been obtained and the bounty is fulfilled. So there is no real motivation to keep working on it for this device. And also like Clouds5 said you will probably get your hands on rooted stock lollipop sooner here than through the official OTA update. Or 1-2 days later. Enjoy it .
Root now or regret it later.
I'd recommend you root now. The ability to get OTA updates is not a big deal at all. If you root, you can still install stock roms which would be just like the OTA roms. Sometimes the unofficial stock roms come out sooner than the OTAs, if not, then very shortly after. I actually like SONY's stock rom. I'm rooted, and I plan to just use the stock rom with some root enabled modifications.
I'd say that most custom roms are just as good or better than official stock roms from OTA.
With my last phone, I regretted not rooting when I had the chance. Sure, I was okay with it overall, but I wished I had root so I could have my phone exactly the way I wanted. There were some really useful functions that I missed from having a rooted phone, like screen-off music player controls. I missed being able to tether without the carrier knowing.
Some companies are making it harder and harder to root, so I say root now while you can.
If you root now, you're in control. If you wait for OTA, who knows.
My Fire automatically updated to 5.3.2.1 in December and now I cant root it without hard bricking it so I had some questions about my situation here.
Will there be root in the future for 5.3.2.1? I'm not knowledgeable in the matter at all but I've seen some groups/teams say that the hack they released will only ever work on a certain version and not in future ones due to system limitations or the company patching the security flaw they worked so hard to find so I was curious if there's still hope for people that updated or accidentally updated to latest.
And what is the best way and most efficient to disable system updates while I hope for root in my current version?
Thanks
It is just a matter of time, Kingroot would probably be the first to root this device version.
It's so crazy that it's even legal for companies to deny people root to their OWN devices, insane and I hate it.
So Nougat has been released for AT&T Users. I realize that Root for Nougat has not been achieved yet, but I want to get the ball rolling and start a discussion on the topic.
I'm assuming the engineering kernel root won't work on nougat, so we are once again without root. Has any development begun on root? I know there is pretty much no chance unlocking the bootloaders, but how long do you think it will be before we can get root? A month? maybe two? Do we know who is working on it?
destroyer557 said:
So Nougat has been released for AT&T Users. I realize that Root for Nougat has not been achieved yet, but I want to get the ball rolling and start a discussion on the topic.
I'm assuming the engineering kernel root won't work on nougat, so we are once again without root. Has any development begun on root? I know there is pretty much no chance unlocking the bootloaders, but how long do you think it will be before we can get root? A month? maybe two? Do we know who is working on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's doubtful that anyone is working on root. The engineering kernel was a lucky break for us on MM, but for Nougat we most likely won't see root unless someone unlocks the bootloader. Google has been increasing the security of Android with each update, so exploits are getting harder to find. Even if we do get the su binary in place, dm-verity will stop us from booting, and disabling dm-verity seems to require a kernel modification which the locked bootloader doesn't allow. I'm sure people are interested in unlocking the bootloader of our phone, but considering the history of Samsung devices and bootloaders, that chance doesn't look great. Maybe somebody ought to start searching for a new engineering kernel... it'd be a better leak than some blurry device pictures
Or if you got your hand on the international version, it seem that the international version is still rootable.
I really new to the Samsung dev scene so please forgive any ignorance.
Is this what you're looking for? It seems to claim root on the G930A on Nougat.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71287574
Don't use it if your chipset is not Snapdragon.
THIS IS NOT FOR THE EXYNOS VERSION OF THE S7! <- this was the big fat warning for anybody not reading it. My phone is currently the Exynos version, so I won't be able to root it.
Hello,
I've just bought a second-hand moto G5 Plus that had a custom rom installed on it, I'm guessing it was also rooted at some point. It currently has the Aug 1 2018 version of 8.1:
build #: OPS28.85-13
It's been a while since I've messed about with flashing phones, so I wanted to ask for some assistance before potentially bricking the poor thing.
Ideally, I'd like to get it back on the stock update channel, so it can get OTA updates, but with root -- if that's not possible, I'd be almost as happy to just flash a Sept 1 2018 build (which my other 100% stock G5 plus already has) and root it. I've looked at a few posts here, notably this one:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5...o-twrp-flashable-stock-builds-coming-t3830482
Though not knowing the exact history of the device, I'm reluctant to just follow the instructions. Can anyone provide some insight as to the safe(st) procedure?
Thanks!
-pir
You can't have root and receive updates from official channel at the same time.. the bootloader need to be locked to recieve updates.. you can however flash twrp on the device.. flash the stock rom( you will find latest in the forums).. and when the updates come out someone will capture it and make a flashabe zip, so you just need to flash that.. you can have root that way and stay updated.. cause from what I've read so far you don't get OTA when you're bootloader is unlocked..
That makes sense. So I guess the moto software won't even attempt an update if the bootloader is unlocked? Thanks!
Unlocked bootloader won't make any difference. The OTA update checks the system files and bootloader. If you have made any modifications to the system, kernel, or are running an older bootloader version the update will fail. Lock status of the bootloader makes no difference.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
Greetings devs and members:
I have recently begun using a Moto G5 Plus (XT1687 - N. American SKU) that was never updated (due to being in a drawer someplace).
I know that many things have been unlocked and improved by the devs for this particular handset. My question is simply this:
How should I update it? Should I update it?
Should I go OTA (retus) (currently blocking), or should I bypass everything and go directly to Oreo (using the update file, after a factory reset and such)?
Or, hell should I stick with Nougat right now? It seems that lots of folks are having issues, and I just wanted a more informed opinion.
Thank you.
sinister008 said:
Greetings devs and members:
I have recently begun using a Moto G5 Plus (XT1687) that was never updated (due to being in a drawer someplace).
I know that many things have been unlocked and improved by the devs for this particular handset. My question is simply this:
How should I update it? Should I update it?
Should I go OTA (retus) (currently blocking), or should I bypass everything and go directly to Oreo (using the update file, after a factory reset and such)?
Or, hell should I stick with Nougat right now? It seems that lots of folks are having issues, and I just wanted a more informed opinion.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To stay with Nougat is not a bad choice, it's a well working system.
If you want to get to Oreo just apply all the OTA updates until you're there. No need to do anything else if your device isn't rooted or the system has been tampered in any other way.
Both firmwares seem to work well.
If the phone is not rooted, then OTA updates are the easiest. Make sure the phone is fully charged or plug it in first. Go to about phone, go to check system updates, accept OTAs until it says up to date, which is likely be Oreo. If it stops at -18 the it may take a few days before the phone alters you to Oreo update.