Database Users

New to Samsung devices, but just need to make sure

Hello all,
This is my first Samsung device, the Galaxy S7 Edge Dual sim (SM-G935FD) bought from UAE.
I used to install TWRP and root every android phone I had before, so I am still not sure whether to root this one. I already have the files required for rooting, but I noticed that there are 2 ways of rooting:
1. Using Odin to install TWRP and then from there install SuperSU.
2. CF-Auto-Root.
What is/are the difference(s) in both methods?
My other question is: I read that rooting will trip Knox, and there is NO WAY to get it back to normal even flashing the original ROM. Is that the case?
One last thing, I am now stuck in the download mode (turned off the phone, pressed "Volume down", "Home" and "Power"), I did that just to check the info on the top left (model and warranty void...) but I cannot seem to restart the phone even by pressing the power button for more than 20 seconds, how can I turn the phone off then back on?
Thank you
*****EDIT*****
Regarding my last question (stuck in Download mode), pressing the same combination got me back to start the phone normally

Cf-AutoRoot will root your phone but then you will have to put your recovery on also usually flashed with Odin anyway or an app if it's working for the Galaxy S7... Twrp plus superuser will root and you'll have the recovery installed.... They both will trip your official (0x0) knox and make it (0x1) custom.... You can always go back to stock rom and get OTA updates but your knox will remain at 0x1......this is supposed to void the warranty but depending on where you live it won't make a difference.... Also if you want to flash roms and mods and kernels just use the twrp method and if you just want root and to be able to use root permission apps use the Cf-AutoRoot.... As of right now I haven't rooted because there aren't to many Roms available... I'm sure I will cause I miss titanium backup and the ability to get rid of all the bloat ware (especially Facebook & Microsoft ****).... The phone runs great without root and battery is excellent.... The last reason I was waiting was Samsung pay won't work with tripped Knox counter.... I live in the US but have the international 935F... So it doesn't look like this variant will support Pay anytime soon.... Probably gonna root when development picks up a little....
*edit*... Always have a stock rom just in case saved to your computer just in case... That would of saved me lots of freak outs and headaches years ago... Now it's the first thing I do before Rooting or flashing anything to my phone
Galaxy S7 edge

Kjc99 said:
Cf-AutoRoot will root your phone but then you will have to put your recovery on also usually flashed with Odin anyway or an app if it's working for the Galaxy S7... Twrp plus superuser will root and you'll have the recovery installed.... They both will trip your official (0x0) knox and make it (0x1) custom.... You can always go back to stock rom and get OTA updates but your knox will remain at 0x1......this is supposed to void the warranty but depending on where you live it won't make a difference.... Also if you want to flash roms and mods and kernels just use the twrp method and if you just want root and to be able to use root permission apps use the Cf-AutoRoot
Galaxy S7 edge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the detailed reply.
I made a research yesterday on Knox (as I said, this is my first Samsung device), and I just wanted to make sure that I understood things properly.
So now after reading, tripping Knox will disable Samsung Pay (I do not have it in my country) so that is not going to make any difference. But, what about paying using the fingerprint sensor in Google Play, will it stop working if Knox is tripped? I also use the fingerprint sensor to login to my mobile banking app (instead of typing the password every time I want to login), will that stop too? I guess not but again just to be sure.
Thanks a lot once again.

I know when I rooted my S6 all the fingerprint stuff still worked so I dont think it will make a difference... Im not sure with the S7 edge but I would think it would still work cause all of those require a typed password before you use your fingerprint(1st setup only) Then use your fingerprint there after... .. Doesn't have anything to do with Knox
Galaxy S7 edge

yep, it all still works. just Samsung pay & private mode.

Question about 6.0.1 Update for Verizon S5 that is on Straight Talk

Hi all,
A couple quick questions here. I've done some reading up, but most of the information is more in depth than I need at the moment so I'm looking for some quick answers.
My SO has a Verizon S5, that has a locked bootloader, is not rooted, and is still on 5.0.
She swapped carriers a while back, so is no longer on the Verizon network. The IMEI is clean, and her Verizon account is fully paid, and everything on the phone works fine, aside from it being stuck on 5.0.
It will not update via the automated system, because I assume it's trying to reach out to straight talk for the update and gets a response that it's on the newest version.
I downloaded the Verizon OTA update file (approximately 1 gb) for 6.0.1. It's named update.zip to allow for automated updating.
Here are my questions:
1. Would it be ok to just slap the update file on her phone and let it auto-update using the built in software?
2. Are there any major downsides to updating to marshmallow, considering it's an official release on the correct version of that phone?
3. Will root be needed prior (I'm assuming not) for using the OTA update file?
4. Will her information stay intact; email accounts, contacts, apps, samsung account, etc?
5. While root would be nice for locking down some of the bloatware after, it isn't a deal breaker, simplicity is the key here as she is not an advanced user, but would updating via the OTA file remove all possibilities of rooting the device after (it seems to be the impression I get, as her bootloader is locked)?
Thank you very much for your assistance!

Hi bladebarrier, I actually just did the same thing a few weeks ago with a used S5 from Verizon going to Straight Talk.
1. Would it be ok to just slap the update file on her phone and let it auto-update using the built in software?
I'm unsure if that would work, someone else may be able to answer as to that method, however I used the Odin tool v3.11.1, downloaded the PD1 image from here. There are some good video tutorials on YouTube and on writeups on this forum as well regarding how to flash the Marshmallow update using Odin.
2. Are there any major downsides to updating to marshmallow, considering it's an official release on the correct version of that phone?
No downsides that I've noticed and seems to have slightly better battery life.
3. Will root be needed prior (I'm assuming not) for using the OTA update file?
You do not need root to flash it if using the Odin tool.
4. Will her information stay intact; email accounts, contacts, apps, samsung account, etc?
Yes, but it's always a good idea to make a backup of everything.
5. While root would be nice for locking down some of the bloatware after, it isn't a deal breaker, simplicity is the key here as she is not an advanced user, but would updating via the OTA file remove all possibilities of rooting the device after (it seems to be the impression I get, as her bootloader is locked)?
The only thing that the locked boot loader affects for now is the ability to flash custom ROMs. I was able to downgrade to 5.0 Lollipop which you can still root, even after upgrading, however I decided to just go back to Marshmallow and wait for an exploit to be found, if one ever is.

jesimpki89 said:
Hi bladebarrier, I actually just did the same thing a few weeks ago with a used S5 from Verizon going to Straight Talk.
1. Would it be ok to just slap the update file on her phone and let it auto-update using the built in software?
I'm unsure if that would work, someone else may be able to answer as to that method, however I used the Odin tool v3.11.1, downloaded the PD1 image from here. There are some good video tutorials on YouTube and on writeups on this forum as well regarding how to flash the Marshmallow update using Odin.
2. Are there any major downsides to updating to marshmallow, considering it's an official release on the correct version of that phone?
No downsides that I've noticed and seems to have slightly better battery life.
3. Will root be needed prior (I'm assuming not) for using the OTA update file?
You do not need root to flash it if using the Odin tool.
4. Will her information stay intact; email accounts, contacts, apps, samsung account, etc?
Yes, but it's always a good idea to make a backup of everything.
5. While root would be nice for locking down some of the bloatware after, it isn't a deal breaker, simplicity is the key here as she is not an advanced user, but would updating via the OTA file remove all possibilities of rooting the device after (it seems to be the impression I get, as her bootloader is locked)?
The only thing that the locked boot loader affects for now is the ability to flash custom ROMs. I was able to downgrade to 5.0 Lollipop which you can still root, even after upgrading, however I decided to just go back to Marshmallow and wait for an exploit to be found, if one ever is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your thorough response. It sounds like it will be a nice smooth flash, and I will use the full Odin version instead of the OTA file, to ensure it goes through comfortably.

Odin looked like it wanted to wipe the apps, so I ended up using the stock recovery/installer that's built in, and placing the OTA update file on the external SD card.
That worked like a charm. It took a bit, as expected, but all of the apps and info were ok after.
The only thing I can't sort out is why I can't find an option for the "Themes" setting in touch wiz. Any suggestions? I realize I could have her go to a third party launcher, like nova, but I have all of the theme options on my note 3, that's ported to MM note 5, and the theme option is still right there in the settings list, per normal. Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but I couldn't find an option on her S5 during 5.0, or now on 6.0.1. Is that something they never updated for the older phones?

Sprint s7 edge Root and recovery question

I just ordered my sprint s7 edge. And have a few questions. i am looking for somthing up to date and not from march which seams to be most of the threads i find regarding this topic.
After browsing the S7 edge for Att, verizon, T-mobile and international it seams they all have root, roms and recoveries. What is so different about sprint?
Main things i want from my s7 (short of installing a slimmed down rom) is Full ad blocking (Not just in browser ad blocking) and titanium backup for freezing apps, backing up call log and SMS/MMS and the likes.
Any help would be great, thanks.

ch0de said:
I just ordered my sprint s7 edge. And have a few questions. i am looking for somthing up to date and not from march which seams to be most of the threads i find regarding this topic.
After browsing the S7 edge for Att, verizon, T-mobile and international it seams they all have root, roms and recoveries. What is so different about sprint?
Main things i want from my s7 (short of installing a slimmed down rom) is Full ad blocking (Not just in browser ad blocking) and titanium backup for freezing apps, backing up call log and SMS/MMS and the likes.
Any help would be great, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We first of all please take time and read up on the phone.
Basically there are various models of the phone but two processors.
The Qualcomm (US versions with T-Mobile, ATT, Spring and Verizon) all are Qualcomm. The Qualcomm phones (to include your Sprint phone) have locked bootloaders. What this means is that you cannot ODIN flash anything not signed by a carrier or by Samsung. It just won't install. If you do manage to acquire root and modify the system, the kernel will cause it to bootloop. Currently, we have an engineering kernel that allows root access and to boot the phone... but many to most people (to include my own experiences) report the phone to run sluggish (or lag), hot and with terrible battery life. Most I can ever get from my phone before rooting was about 20 hours. I get about half of that now. A lot of games are unplayable now and sometimes the phones just lock up and/or crash for no reason. A few have even reported waking up to see their phones stuck in a bootloop and had to flash the stock firmware and re-root just to fix it. So.... we're a long way from perfect regarding rooting.
Some things to research:
After rooting you'll notice a strange icon. That's the RCS icon. There are threads with instructions with how to remove it.
Look up Busybox on Rails to install busybox. You'll need that.
Lookup and install Flashfire from Playstore. You'll likely need that.
We don't have a custom recovery so Flashfire will be as close as you can get.
Just in case, download a copy of your firmware from Sammobile.com. You'll never know if you need to restore back to stock.
Also, check my signature for a guide from psouza4. That'll really help.
Remember that almost nothing that you can think of is original so I'm sure that almost anything that you can think to ask has been asked before. Search before posting.
Good luck!

S7 rooted bootloop

Odin to root. Xposed. Custom gapps. After about a week, multiple apps will begin to force close at random. Reboot in a bootloop on the att screen. Only solution is to master reset and start again. This has happened twice now. Is the problem in busy box? Xposed?

had this happen to me too, exactly the same deal. in fact happened just now ugh. att s7, not the edge model but whatever.

Same thing here but this is the third time. Tried different root methods each time. Xposed framework is the only common denominator so far, doesn't seem to make any sense as the phone runs great and it's always around day 7 of the root that the phone starts stopping apps and services and that's when I know I have time to move any important photos or app information and perform a complete overhaul. Any ideas what could be causing this?

has nothing to do with root. in package disabler, disable policy updates and system updates and att updater
the policy updater was doing what you are describing to my phone

Awesome! Thanks for the info, I disabled the policy updates. Appreciate the help!!

demoicurn said:
Odin to root. Xposed. Custom gapps. After about a week, multiple apps will begin to force close at random. Reboot in a bootloop on the att screen. Only solution is to master reset and start again. This has happened twice now. Is the problem in busy box? Xposed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to master reset my s7 edge att version and its still stuck in boot loop. Also I tried odin too. Any ideas?

demoicurn said:
Odin to root. Xposed. Custom gapps. After about a week, multiple apps will begin to force close at random. Reboot in a bootloop on the att screen. Only solution is to master reset and start again. This has happened twice now. Is the problem in busy box? Xposed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem back on android 6.0.1 and on 7.0. The problem is with the engboot. It's not stable enough to be used everyday. If you wan' t root, I recommend flashing stock firmware and waiting for this guy named Nitay Artenstein to come out with a root. He is currently testing s7 Qualcomm variants to see if his exploit works.

TomatoesOnBluRay said:
I had the same problem back on android 6.0.1 and on 7.0. The problem is with the engboot. It's not stable enough to be used everyday. If you wan' t root, I recommend flashing stock firmware and waiting for this guy named Nitay Artenstein to come out with a root. He is currently testing s7 Qualcomm variants to see if his exploit works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beyond that his exploit is aimed to be a bootloader unlock which will open the flood gates for development.

Is bootloop when it's stuck on att logo screen and pulsating and won't turn off unless from recovery? Because if so I'm having that problem. I didn't know my s7 edge was rooted until this problem started

First off.
1. There is a search button for a reason. Please use it guys.
2. The boot loop is caused by the Security policy updater trying to force the policy to update on the Engboot. The Engboot Security policy and the ATT stock Policy dont mix well when trying to be over written.
3. The engboot is perfectly fine for daily use. been using it for months with no issue. Its all the extra add ons people keep trying to Mess with and install that make it unstable.
To fix:
Odin stock firmware.
ReRoot with Engboot and disable security policy updates.
Also. There will NEVER be an unlocked bootloader for the ATT Variant of this device. Whoever tells you that they are working on a bootloader exploit is lying. Whoever says they have an unlocked att bootloader is also lying. This goes back to step one of this post. USE THE SEARCH BUTTON!!!!!!!!
Mod/Admin Please close this post.

trying to understand between root bootloader and flashing rom

my first g6 had a broken screen last week. me being abusive to it. from frustration.
bought a used g6 as a backup very quickly but im not liking v9.0
id like to install the first 7.0 version it ever had available H870. I have 3 apps total installed more of a pro privacy advocate so no browser and would like to shut those annoying update popups which are extremely intrusive and come at the worst times. would like to block as much as possible to also have battery life
I dont understand what the roo does, what the bootloader does and I understand I need to flash a kdz rom. if I understand, I need to install 7.0 (not 7.1 or later) then use the root and bootloader to block updates notifications and to remove default apps in the phone.. basically tweak system things...is this correct?
I used to tinker with windows mobile back in the days but after years of fear of bricking and only have one phone, I had to suffer through annoyances in the OS they give. it is time to have a phone that doesnt annoy me and isnt intrusive. I really do need calmness after 18 months of hell with covid.
inevitably I will move to pinephone once it gets mature. for now using this g6. I dont run after the newest models.
any insight or experiences or tips you could throw at me would be appreciated as I think i may be mixing things up
stay afe

i have a used H870 here. Did the root+twrp, up to PIE and tryed/flashed many things, but wasn´t that happy at all. That was a few month ago. A week ago I replaced my battery and tada, sweet runner. So again I wanted more and bricked it to "no sim" after restoring from a kernel here. Since there isnt much for Pie, roms, deadlinks, broken twrp etc. the only tool which worked and helped me was LG bridge to restore to latest stock pie.
I would recommend u to root without recovery via magisk/fastboot method and go for some adaway, acc battery charger, lsposed + gravity, debloat and maybe a kernel manager + etc.
dont forget, when u have sporadic lags, go for the battery.
gl on ur way mate
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ps just for info
the only working usb drivers where delivered via the LG bridge tool driver update for me, i tryed many..