Several people have indicated just unchecking superuser and installing the latest 08/10 update is NOT sufficient. They get into boot loops and since the update also restores factory recovery there is currently no way to fix them.
Either do a full unroot and reboot before updating or flash the already updated firmware in the system image thread.
Ironically the Idol 4.7 models DO have a reboot to bootloader in THEIR factory recovery but that doesn't help US at all. Thanks ALCATEL.
Is there guide to full unroot?
I clicked option in SuperSU "full unroot" and it's unrooted now but still TWRP is here.
How to delete TWRP full and lock bootloader and other stuff?
I need to take my phone to service but it won't be under warrianty if there is any trace of illegal operation.
Can you help me?
If you received ota and have root.
Use any root explorer, seek for update.zip in data ( i can't remember where it is) copy to sd card then to pc.
Open it, delete the default recovery or replace it with TWRP giving it the name of default recovery and aboot.img or you loose fastboot.
You can check the update-script with notepad++ to know the corresponding names for aboot and recovery, i think only aboot have a different name...
Then, now you can update with out loosing anything, only replace your modified update.zip in the corresponding data folder
I don't need it to update. Just to clear all stuff from phone that no one can tell that phone was rooted and all that "illegal" things that affect warrianty. Root checker said that phone doesn't have root now.
Only left to remove TWRP and lock bootloader?
glcvr6 said:
Is there guide to full unroot?
I clicked option in SuperSU "full unroot" and it's unrooted now but still TWRP is here.
How to delete TWRP full and lock bootloader and other stuff?
I need to take my phone to service but it won't be under warrianty if there is any trace of illegal operation.
Can you help me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Find the ota update.zip ( is here in forum), open build.pro with notepad++ and change the phone model to your real phone model, example 6045A to 6045Y then update it, it will clean all. The bootloader i don't know, try the same method than unlock but with lock or relock key.
Hi everyone!
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-i9505 running Android 5.0.1 build oj2.
It has a Google Authenticator database on it which I would like to extract, so I can migrate it over to a new phone.
I would rather not have to cancel and renew all my 2fa accounts currently stored withing Google Authenticator.
It seems I need root access to access the database file.
I found some references to things like motochopper, psneuter, providing temporary root, and I tried a couple of those, but it seems my S4 has been properly patched.
I tried compiling and executing a copy of Towelroot I found on GitHub under /geekben/towelroot, but that didn't work either (maybe I did not correctly compile...)
Priority #1 is not losing access to my Google Authenticator database (no bricking, no factory reset, ...)
What are my options? Does a simple root exploit exist for my S4 that would allow me to copy the db file? I was unable to find it.
I read something about a custom recovery, and then using nandroid to backup, which, I think, would allow me to extract the db from the backup?
I'm not sure about the risks involved; if flashing the custom recovery fails for whatever reason, do I still have 'normal' access to my S4?
Is it at all possible to flash a custom recover without first wiping everything on my S4? I'm reading mixed information.
Any other options perhaps?
Also, my S4 just finished downloading an OTA upgrade to 'something' (it's not showing what it has downloaded, about 490Mb in size) and I may have postponed the upgrade by rebooting.
Perhaps an upgrade to Android 6.0? I don't know if that would be better or worse for what I'm trying to do here...
Thanks in advance for any pointers...
CF-Autoroot via Odin is what you use to root the S4. This will trip Knox, but at this point it shouldn't be an issue as the I9505 hasn't been produced for a couple years now. However, if you downloaded Authenticator from the Play Store Google should have backed up the database, unless doing so creates a security hole.
Backing up and restoring the Authenticator data can be done with ES File Explorer, as I routinely do it with my copy of Authenticator when I need to do a clean install of my N6's custom ROM. Other apps like Titanium Backup may also work, but I don't use Titanium Backup so I don't know how well it would work with Authenticator. Go here for a tutorial on how to backup both app and data using ES File Explorer. Ignore the requirement for the Pro version. The copies of ES File Explorer that I offer from the link in my signature have the ability to backup app and data. Just make sure both of your devices are rooted and have ES File Explorer installed.
EDIT: The one thing that tutorial doesn't mention is that you need to enable root in ES File Explorer; the setting for that can be found in the menu, accessed by tapping on the three lines at the upper left. It also doesn't mention that after enabling root you need to go into the settings, tap on App, and make sure everything on the page is checked before backing up. Otherwise, the app data will not be backed up when you back up the apps.
Ok, this is what I'm reading about Odin and CF-Autoroot at android.wonderhowto.com at /how-to/android-basics-root-with-cf-auto-root-0167401/ (sorry not allowed to post links):
CF Auto Root works by unlocking your device's bootloader, which means that if your bootloader is not already unlocked, you will lose all of the data on your device.
And there are many more articles hinting that my phone will get wiped if I unlock the bootloader, for an S4 as well as other models.
So.... I'm a little confused here. I never touched my S4 with anything special, so I'm guessing that it's bootloader will be locked?
So this will wipe my S4? I can't do that - I'm looking to save and copy my Google Authenticator database as priority #1, not looking to root my phone. I may do so later but rooting is not prio #1.
You're in a bit of a catch-22 here. There's no guarantee you won't lose your data if you run CF-Autoroot, but you have no choice BUT to run CF-Autoroot if you want to retrieve the Authenticator database at all. Since the database is in the /data partition, unavailable to a normal user, root is required in order to access that partition to retrieve the database, and in order to root you have to risk having your data wiped. To restore the database to your other phone also requires root, for the same reason.
The only devices that had locked bootloaders were in the US, so you should be ok running CF-Autoroot. But there are no guarantees here.
Thanks for your input.
Indeed there's a catch-22 here, except that I also have the option of, one by one, cancelling and renewing all my 2fa accounts and not root at all. I'm trying to decide what to do here, as obviously, renewing all ma 2fa in case of dataloss (losing access to my accounts in the process) will be much more difficult than simply re-doing all my 2fa accounts while I still have access. Rooting my new phone is less of an issue as it contains no important data at the moment.
I think I also read about installing a custom recovery, and using that to make a nandroid backup, which would then allow me to extract the file I need from the backup. Is that a possibility? And, if yes, would this be less risky than using CF-Autoroot? Would my S4 still be able to boot and function normally if I flash some total garbage file as a recovery partition? So I could try and flash a custom recovery, and if that fails for some reason, my S4 will still boot as usual?
Thanks
You can install a custom recovery, make a nandroid backup, and retrieve the database that way. You would then have to transfer the nandroid to the other phone, install a custom recovery to the other phone, and then restore just the data. To me that's a lot of work for little gain. Rooting and using ES File Explorer or Titanium Backup to retrieve the data is far simpler to do and causes less headaches.
As to flashing a custom recovery being less risky than CF-Autoroot, no. It's the same level of risk as both the custom recovery and CF-Autoroot are installed in the same fashion. The only difference is that CF-Autoroot runs a temp environment, roots the device, and then commits seppuku.
Thanks again for your input; much appreciated. I'm trying to learn and understand what is happening, and with all the slightly different combinations out there, it is sometimes difficult to know what applies to my S4 and what is not applicable.
So there is at least the boot loader, the recovery image, and the main android image (file system?). Perhaps a kernel partition also?
These will probably be separate flash partitions within the same flash chip.
The boot loader will always be started when I power up the device. When no special key combination is pressed at power-up, the boot loader will simply load the Linux kernel which will eventually load the main operating system which will end up launching android.
With some special key combination is pressed, the boot loader will launch the recovery image in stead.
I wonder, what would happen if, using Odin, I write a completely invalid data file to the recovery image (I pick the wrong image, or the image is corrupt, or by accident I pick a jpg file of my cat in Odin, or the process is interrupted due to a sudden power loss on my phone or even my computer running Odin), and suppose Odin will just go ahead thus destroying the recovery image. My recovery partition is now corrupt, unusable and will crash the system when launched.
Does this brick my phone? Will I still be able to boot normally? Will I still be able to use Odin and try flashing the recovery image a 2nd tine?
2kman said:
Does this brick my phone?
Will I still be able to boot normally?
Will I still be able to use Odin and try flashing the recovery image a 2nd time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
Yes.
Yes.
I need to recover accidentally deleted files so I temporarily need root. Unlocking the bootloader will wipe the memory, defeating the whole point. Any ideas? (Kingo root failed.) Is it possible to even get a memory dump (like a nandroid backup) which I can process offline?
Thanks!
- Mike
Some feedback on this would be excellent btw
Juan
I flashed my phone with Magisk and noverify. But I did take a backup before doing it and I have the backup files. If I restore the files, can my phone be updated with OTA updates again? any specific order I should restore my files?
davejames500 said:
I flashed my phone with Magisk and noverify. But I did take a backup before doing it and I have the backup files. If I restore the files, can my phone be updated with OTA updates again? any specific order I should restore my files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably will require more work:
- restore stock recovery if you flashed TWRP (better to boot image)
- reverse effects of no-verity
In the end you'll probably find it easier to reload stock via RSD Lite. There are other threads that discuss techniques and cautions. Not for the faint of heart.
Starting from a non-rooted SM-G950W with a locked version 7 bootloader, what does it take to make a disk image backup (like with `dd` or `adb pull`) of the /data/media, without first destroying the data that's there? Is it even possible?
I ask because I did something dumb that truncated (not deleted) all files in shared storage to 0 bytes. If I could take a disk image of /data/media, I'd be able to use offline recovery programs (like PhotoRec) to restore what was on there, but I'm currently blocked from doing that since my phone isn't rooted.
I could root my phone, but it looks like most options for rooting involve wiping out /data/.
After having done some research, it appears that I may have the following options:
Install a custom recovery like TWRP, which will grant me root access in Recovery Mode that I can use to make a disk image. The problem is that my bootloader (version 7) is locked, meaning I'd need to use Safestrap, but that apparently requires root. Is it possible to install an additional custom recovery with a locked bootloader (as opposed to replacing the built-in one) without rooting first, or am I out of luck?
Install an additional custom ROM that has root, leaving the phone's original ROM intact as opposed to replacing it, if that even makes sense.
I think I've gone in circles about what the requirements are for installing a custom recovery or ROM. This post in a G950 rooting thread says it's possible to install a custom recovery image that has root access (at least on the S8+):
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=81922221&postcount=9
The linked instructions are for installing a custom ROM with Safestrap:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s8+/development/rom-t3771206
But the link for G950W leads back to the G950 rooting thread, which requires wiping /data/:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8/development/root-t4060701
Also, the Safestrap install guide says that root is a requirement:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8/development/recovery-locked-nougat-7-0-safestrap-t3772760
Is there a solution here, or are all options locked out?
Thanks in advance!