Related
BIG QUESTION:
I have not turned on Sprint service on the phone yet and was wondering if Sprint will detect if the phone has been rooted before I try to activate it and then not allow me to activate it?? I am basically wondering if I should wait to root the phone till after I activate it, because I don't want Sprint to ban it, but I also don't want all that bloatware on it either.
Background:
I have kept "feature/dumb phones" ever since I've had Sprint and I've been with the consecutively for more than 10 years with the same "plan" that gives me free 3G internet, but times are changing and while my plan is perfect for me (price and everything else balanced) I'm finally giving in to the data and bandwidth Gods. I find it a shame Sprint or other carriers don't provide a toolkit to customize their phones to how people want them and for the most part I just want my smartphone to be "barely smart" and mostly just a NICE phone with broadband convenience. I don't want to live so plugged in all the time, so a custom ROM seems right.
I have held out for a very long time on getting a smart phone. I don't change phones, but every 4-5 years. I bought a HTC EVO Shift 4G used with a slightly cracked screen (on the edge) and have refurbished it with a new screen and new circuit chip/ribbon cable and I've got it all working nicely now. I'm rockin an old Samsung Rant (slider) and honestly I think sliders are dying, but as long as I can use one I always will.
I have been teaching myself how to root my phone through various posts (the whole past week) on this web site and the only thing I've found that will temproot my HTC Evo Shift is Visionary+ and I had to install it manually since the PLAY market doesn't have it anymore. I'm working on getting through all the various instructions to permanent root it. Then I was gonna load JustWorksTechnology's ROM v2 and hopefully like it and use it bloatware free.
Lastly - I have temprooted the phone, and even then I don't see the option to remove the bloatware apps when I go to manage applications in the regular menu system. Do I find a bloatware/root uninstaller type app, once I'm temprooted, to remove this stuff if I wanted to stick to the stock ROM and just get the bloatware off it? or how else is removing stock apps from a stock ROM accomplished?
FYI - I've gotten rom manager/clockwordmod recovery on it, but I realized before trying that I can't even do a backup ROM to "start the ROM experimentation process" without having full permanent root privileges first.
Sorry if this was a little long. Just figured I'd introduce my highly technical Android and PC freedom forever - SELF. 1st post on this site. Yes, I actually did watch the NOOB video.
To get rid of bloatware you need a root explorer or something like Titanium Backup. Just be aware deleting it may cause issues when trying to get OTA updates.
And there's no way for Sprint to detect root.
Sent from my Droid using xda app-developers app
About detecting a root
Well if Sprint would be able to detect a root at all, then activating a phone or not, it would be detected.
You can either detect a root, or not detect a root.
And to answer your question; "Can I uninstall bloatware from my stock ROM?"
I was about to give a "no", but then I realized something. If you root and use your stock ROM, you can download Titanium Backup (app in the Playstore) and the app will let you delete bloatware. Only if rooted though, obviously.
Yes ofcourse, ROOT ALL
Welcome to "Rooting community
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Posting to root or not to root on XDA is like saying should we legalize weed at a weed distribution center, Anyways you are ONLY gaining functionality by having root and really not losing anything.
I love the responses. lol thanks everyone. Well, then I guess activating a ROOTED phone on Sprint shouldn't be an issue. Thats what I needed to know.
1. Well, then what remains is what ROM is best for my SHIFT. Anyone got experience with the JustWorksTechnology one that has very recently been updated? or recommendations of any certain ROM?
2. Do these ROMS include all the default menu system that comes on the phone or do they do away with that as well?
IE: I know the main purpose is of a ROM is to get rid of bloatware and gain performance and a few added features, but will I be missing any normal parts of the menu system that are normally there or do I get all that too with the Android OS?
3. Whats a good Android emulator for me to play around with ROMs before loading it to my phone?
You're activating it over the air right, not taking it into the store to have it added to your account? If you're doing it yourself or having them do it over the phone you're good, but if this is something you bought from someone else and have to get put on your line in-store then you don't want to root until after they have it in the system.
MissionImprobable said:
To get rid of bloatware you need a root explorer or something like Titanium Backup. Just be aware deleting it may cause issues when trying to get OTA updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, Titanium Backup (and the like) can't remove bloatware unless you are rooted right?
What type of OTA updates would cause issues? PRI, PRL, Firmware, etc.. ?
I figure you are just saying if it tries to update something that isn't there, there could be issues right?
What the issue could be with a used phone is a bad ESN.
Sent from my xt862 using xda app-developers app
Cheers!
Congrats! Always fun learning something new. Personally I started off rooting with a previously water damaged HTC MyTouch 3G Slide. I eventually ended up with 3 altogether, and as these phones required repair I turned to the XDA community. I couldn't be happier with learning all the in's and out's of working with Android, the various phone producers and the different cell phone companies. So, Cheers! Wish you the best of luck.
Rooting before activation?
Hello,
I'm am going to take advantage of Sprint's Black Friday promotion to get an SG3 for my partner. He's not very technical but I'd prefer to root his phone so that he can take advantage of Titanium Backup. Do I need to activate the phone prior to rooting it or can I root it first? I know I have to turn it on and enable USB debugging mode. I want to say that when I got my E4GT, I had to activate it before doing anything on the phone.
Is there a non-root method for backup that will back up app data and not require a connection to the computer? I looked at the Ultimate Backup Tool, but it appears to require a USB connection to a computer to work. I like the simplicity of TiB.
Thanks
cajunlibra said:
Hello,
I'm am going to take advantage of Sprint's Black Friday promotion to get an SG3 for my partner. He's not very technical but I'd prefer to root his phone so that he can take advantage of Titanium Backup. Do I need to activate the phone prior to rooting it or can I root it first? I know I have to turn it on and enable USB debugging mode. I want to say that when I got my E4GT, I had to activate it before doing anything on the phone.
Is there a non-root method for backup that will back up app data and not require a connection to the computer? I looked at the Ultimate Backup Tool, but it appears to require a USB connection to a computer to work. I like the simplicity of TiB.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered the phone and it should arrive next week. Do I have to activate the phone before rooting it? This would just be a rooted stock JB ROM. Giving him anything else will confuse the hell out of him. If you think not rooting it is better, what would be the best way to backup app data, etc? I haven't really found any non-rooted backup solutions that don't require connecting to a computer. Once rooted, will he have to ignore all OTA updates as well?
Root all your life
Inviato dal mio Desire HD con Tapatalk 2
OTA Block
MissionImprobable said:
To get rid of bloatware you need a root explorer or something like Titanium Backup. Just be aware deleting it may cause issues when trying to get OTA updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are ways to block OTA updates, thus preventing root issues. From when I was researching root for my Motorola Droid X2 last summer, if your phone receives an OTA update and you froze/removed system apps it can brick your phone.
Looking back on that, I question "brick". You can probably still SBF, although probably won't keep your data.
cajunlibra said:
:
Originally Posted by cajunlibra
Hello,
I'm am going to take advantage of Sprint's Black Friday promotion to get an SG3 for my partner. He's not very technical but I'd prefer to root his phone so that he can take advantage of Titanium Backup. Do I need to activate the phone prior to rooting it or can I root it first? I know I have to turn it on and enable USB debugging mode. I want to say that when I got my E4GT, I had to activate it before doing anything on the phone.
Is there a non-root method for backup that will back up app data and not require a connection to the computer? I looked at the Ultimate Backup Tool, but it appears to require a USB connection to a computer to work. I like the simplicity of TiB.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered the phone and it should arrive next week. Do I have to activate the phone before rooting it? This would just be a rooted stock JB ROM. Giving him anything else will confuse the hell out of him. If you think not rooting it is better, what would be the best way to backup app data, etc? I haven't really found any non-rooted backup solutions that don't require connecting to a computer. Once rooted, will he have to ignore all OTA updates as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can anyone help me with this? The phone is expected to arrive either Wed or Thurs and I'll be heading out of town to see him on Saturday.
Okay, so, yes, I know to use the Search function, but alas all information is either outdated or there is no concise answers / solutions to be found. Trust me, I have scoured.
Overview: Okay so Thursday I bought an SGH-i337, being the nerd that I am knowing that I use MetroPCS (can't beat unlimited 4G LTE for $60) I scoured the net and researched ALL models of the S4 and G3. Decided the screen size of the G3 too big coming from a 5C. Decided Sprint's version might work, but not on 4G. Verizon, would switch from LTE to 2G with no 3G support, so that would be a desperation act, haha.
So, my main options were T-Mobile, then AT&T, because MetroPCS and T-Mobile were one and the same. All the people that had T-Mobile based phone sellers were being a pain in the butt to deal with... so, I found an AT&T owner that was ready.
The tragic love story: So on once I used the MicroSIM card in the S4 to cut an old full-size SIM to scale a border around my Nano SIM and finally got it placed perfectly to read... I was happy... which faded quickly as it was locked, how could I be so dumb!
So, the previous owner is now awaiting an unlock code as I found EVERY method to use the UMTS Menu is impossible to get to "[6] Phone Control" option. Due to that silly Auto Updating AT&T bloatware and Kernel upgrade/Firmware.
Okay, I should wait, but... does anyone know a way to get to the Phone Control menu using a secret code?? I have noticed some of the many codes go straight to the Debug Screen or go straight to the other menu options... so could there be one for Phone Control?
Also, maybe is there a way to get the phone to output the NCK Key manually connecting it to a computer and using a prompt? I may have heard about such a thing on SureWest routers through TelNet, to get the administration password... not that I personally have done this. Just feel like if these websites are able to use an IMEI number to charge you for a code... it has to be stored on the phone somewhere right?
Rooting and Downgrading
Also, has anyone tried the Odin way of downgrading and rooting these phones, has personally worked for them? I have found the threads on here and it seems pretty interesting... when I look at previous versions of Droid they look to allow more functionality for more advanced users than this 5.0, so if that be the case I am interested in taking this back to stock and beginning removal of all AT&T programs.
Maybe I am sounding like an idiot, but I have been on a Jailbroken 5C for... probably 2 years now and even with that it seems limiting to the curious, nerdy, mess with things side of me.
Summary:
- Should I just wait the 2-5 days for the code? / Would downgrading firmwares negate the entered NCK code if used prior to downgrade?
- Are there any known ways to unlock this model fully upgraded?
- Should I use the Odin methods of downgrading to stock? / Do you prefer previous versions over 5.0?
- What problems should have you guys faced / should I consider prior to doing anything?
- Should I just try to find a T-Mobile model of the S4??
Phew, sorry, if you read all of that and hate me for it, haha. Please, be knowledgable and not tell me how dumb I am for being so antsy to be able to use this phone w/o WiFi! Haha, you guys try using a 5C forever and see the screen difference / abilities you've been missing out on for so long!
Thanks!
The method of downgrading to 4.4.2 (aka NB1) then rooting and then going to lollipop by keeping the root has worked for me. There is no direct way, to root lollipop atm.
First downgrade to stock rootable 4.4.2. You can do this from any base, and/or use it if you mess your phone up (bootloops, etc). Link here. Second post on that thread, step 1. Make sure you download the rootable one.
To root it use TowelRoot. Run it - Tap make it ra1n - After a succeseful root, install SuperSU.
The follow this post here to goto stock rooted lollipop 5.0.1 (aka OC4). I recommend downloading the deodexed version, so you can install xposed if you want in the future.
Thats it for rooting lollipop. And now that you have root you can get rid of that bloatware.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I personally, don't really fancy lollipop. High Ram usage.
Secondly, i bought this phone on eBay and it came unlocked, and even after flashing different firmwares, its still unlocked. I think if you unlock using that NCK code, the phone will stay unlocked forever.
Thirdly, the T-Mobile version has an unlocked bootloader, which is a big up in comparison to the i337. We are restriced to only using one costum recovery, that is SafeStrap. Others, don't work.
Thank you
I will probably have to go through that whole process. Got it unlocked thankfully, but am feeling as though based on specs and the little apps I have installed the phone should be a bit smoother in basic functionality especially Web browsing.
So yeah definitely already feeling your point in resource hog and though I disabled the bloatware, I don't think it helps being installed.
Also, figuring out after using the phone in my car that Galaxy has very quiet audio output via the 1/8" headphone jack. Seems that you can find volume controlled headphones easier than just straight cords! However, found this a known issue for all Galaxies and rooting it may be the easiest workaround.
Thanks for the organized list of information/insight! Now I will have some more stuff to geek out on... ?
Peptobismal said:
Also, figuring out after using the phone in my car that Galaxy has very quiet audio output via the 1/8" headphone jack. Seems that you can find volume controlled headphones easier than just straight cords! However, found this a known issue for all Galaxies and rooting it may be the easiest workaround.
Thanks for the organized list of information/insight! Now I will have some more stuff to geek out on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome
I don't know, but cranking the volume to full on my phone using earphones, makes my ears hurt . The audio output on mine is great, nothing modified.
Oh, if you decide to stick with kitkat, check out these posts. I'm sure they will come in handy for stock roms. Simply to make life easier.
Remove AT&T carrier name from the notification bar
Restore Mobile Data Toggle in Notifications Bar (First method - apk on third post)
TheJuli said:
You're welcome
I don't know, but cranking the volume to full on my phone using earphones, makes my ears hurt . The audio output on mine is great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'd say it's probably fine with headphones, but through a car's auxiliary it is probably 25-30% quieter than my iPhone even at "full" volume.
Read that there are files to modify, but you have to be rooted.
What is this Mobile Data Toggle? Would it be really at all useful seeing as I have MetroPCS? * I assume that ridding AT&T is just a general tweak, which I do like getting rid of the carrier.
Peptobismal said:
What is this Mobile Data Toggle? Would it be really at all useful seeing as I have MetroPCS? * I assume that ridding AT&T is just a general tweak, which I do like getting rid of the carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mobile data toggle is used to enable Internet from your carrier/sim. Ridding the AT&T thing is sorta general because you need to have root.
Before I start I just wanna say this is a really amazing phone, I have root from kingroot (then used super su me) and haven't had any probs except this. I've been able to make the sdcard fully writable, enable tethering, use liveboot, recently, lucky patcher, enable init.d scripts, and even use flashfire without any problems. I also have the latest beta 2.71 supersu with pro (Yaaay!) Buuuut I was unable to get Viper4android to work and that's where my problems came in, I installed it correctly through a zip using flashfire even tho the driver installed it would never work and always said adnormal and audio format was unsupported so none of the effects worked I figured this had something to do with selinux being always enforced (even tho the zip I got was supposed to work without changing selinux to permissive it still wouldn't work) I guess I'll have to wait till someone makes a custom kernel that's permissive. I'm an audiophile and I heard people raving about how amazing the sound quality was from viper4android and I wanted to try it but unfortunately I've had no luck getting it to work. Anyways now that I uninstalled it, driver and all the only audio that comes from my phone is if I have my Bluetooth headphones connected other than that no sound from speakers or wired headphones and that totally bums me out I want my sounds back :crying: viper4android has totally ****ed up the audio_policy.conf and audio_effects.conf files and uninstalled audiofx musixfx and dsp manager. All I'm asking is if someone could copy their audio_policy.conf and audio_effects.conf file and use an app like es file explorer to backup the apks for the ones that I need for me. And hopefully that could fix my sound problem. Sorry for going on and on about my phone just to end up asking for some files and apks, but I don't wanna get a new phone or have to wait till someone uploads a stock rom. Cuz I like the way I have my phone at now except for that I freaking knew it! When enabling force enable v4a it said that it could cause no sound and battery drain which is exactly wuts happening. Guess I should have read past the could fix no effects problem part... Sorry, I couldn't post a screenshot
Oh god I'm going to have to just get a new phone, I tried calling someone and no audio comes from my phone so I can't talk even the microphone won't work so I can't talk to them and they can't talk to me. Also videos play in slow motion and skips if I'm using mx player. I've factory reset my phone twice and still nothing. So should I just get a new phone maybe one that has a working custom recovery and several roms for it like a galaxy s5? That's with I should do. I'm not even gonna me viper4android again. Do anybody know if those files could fix my phone's audio problem? I'm so frustrated!!
Never mind I'll just get a new phone.
Reinstall stock using keis or check sammobile for an odin compatible version
Edit; Also check the viper4android forums for the correct uninstall method, it involves reediting files.
Next time you make changes, remember to make a back up!
I couldn't make a nandroid backup or something like that cuz there isn't a custom recovery available yet and to uninstall viper4android all it said was to remove the driver and app I didn't see where it said about editing files. Also my dad wanted to look at it and he told me not to root it so I used the supersu app to fully unroot it but that bricked it and now it's stuck at the bootlogo (I didn't think that would happen tho) I'll see about that odin thing cuz I know how to get into download mode and all that. But I'll have to do it when he's at work. I probably should have looked into viper4android more or just not attempted it. I didn't even see that it uninstalls the dsp manager until it was too late if I had known I wouldn't have tried it.
Also could you give me more info and how to go about doing that? This phone is pretty obscure and unknown. Out of all the versions of the grand prime this is the most difficult to find resources and info on. If nothing works out I'll get a new phone maybe an htc or huawei something more looked upon and cared about.
What model is it exactly?
u0aol said:
What model is it exactly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime The SM-S920L straight talk version: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-...axy-GRAND-Prime-LTE-S920C-Smartphone/46716301
CocoBun said:
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime The SM-S920L straight talk version: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-...axy-GRAND-Prime-LTE-S920C-Smartphone/46716301
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll look into it as soon as I'm home and let you know.
Thanks heh heh good luck trying to find viable information on that, I've looked everywhere
CocoBun said:
Thanks heh heh good luck trying to find viable information on that, I've looked everywhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check here; http://forum.xda-developers.com/gra...-download-sm-s920l-straight-talk-usa-t3265004
Apparently it's been built from different parts
I've got a g531h so I can't test it for you but check out the thread
u0aol said:
Check here; http://forum.xda-developers.com/gra...-download-sm-s920l-straight-talk-usa-t3265004
Apparently it's been built from different parts
I've got a g531h so I can't test it for you but check out the thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aw, yeah I saw that before. It's a rom made from the core prime that should only be used if u bricked ur phone and a lot of things don't work with it (network doesn't work and it's glitchy) they call it Frankenprime. Putting something like that on it would do more harm than good. I should just wait until they put out a stock rom for this one.
CocoBun said:
Aw, yeah I saw that before. It's a rom made from the core prime that should only be used if u bricked ur phone and a lot of things don't work with it (network doesn't work and it's glitchy) they call it Frankenprime. Putting something like that on it would do more harm than good. I should just wait until they put out a stock rom for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I was thinking the same but it wasn't for me to decide haha, sucks your phone is such an obtuse model, the Grand Prime is an awesome phone.
Yeahs it is a good phone, the hauwei nexus 6p is probably the best phone out now tho
Yeah, I guess, but I got this phone for a hundred bucks, where I live a new nexus is a couple months of wages haha
u0aol said:
Yeah, I guess, but I got this phone for a hundred bucks, where I live a new nexus is a couple months of wages haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna get a job this summer and I'll save up some money for a new phone, I dunno if I could get that ur right it is very expensive
I got mine from Amazon yesterday, I already bricked it a few hours ago by messing with the recovery. It should be an easy fix once I get hold of the stock firmware. I got another one coming tomorrow, so I'll focus on just extracting the rom from that one
Bricking aside, I got 20/10mbs down/up on speedtest using my T-mobile US SIM, and the signal indicator showed LTE. Forcing it off LTE I got 10/5mbs down/up.
Battery life is awesome, I used it constantly for 8hrs and only got down to 50%, my note4 would have been dead after that much use with the screen on. The overall feel of Android 6.0 was smooth, no stuttering. There is no bloatware, just a few utilities for fancy wallpapers.
The phone charges faster than any other phone I have. The included TPE case doesnt increase the thickness of the phone too much and I like that It keeps the camera lens off the desk when I set the phone down.
Dual SIM functionality works nice. It was one of the main features I was looking for, though I will miss T-Mobile wifi calling.
Some notes:
I used adb & fastboot in my attempts to root. After running
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot reboot
the display now showed
Code:
Orange state
Your device has been unlocked and can't be trusted
Your device will reboot in 5 seconds
So it appears that it is best to oem relock it when you're done updating, as the message goes away if you relock.
Backing up the ROM
I found SP Flash Tool v5.1632 for Linux and I've been practicing saving chunks of ROM from my bricked phone. I should be able to grab the recovery portion of the new phones' ROM tomorrow.
Based on the scatter.txt file I've found for the Gionee S8 AmigOS Marshmallow ROM, recovery starts at 0x8000 and is no more that 16Mb is size. So, in theory, I should be able to grab that range of the ROM and flash it using fastboot back to my bricked unit. I'm using the word "bricked", but its far from that, I should just say "unbootable" to be more clear.
Earlier today I was trying to get MTK droid tools to detect my Blu Pure XR so I could extract the scatter file, but It never was detected. All the drivers installed ok, so maybe its not compatible, I'm not sure yet. I'll get back onto that after my first unit is back up and working, hopefully tomorrow.
Edit: I just found a modified MTK Droid Tools for 64bit cpu phones, I'll give this a try too.
Edit next day: I got the second phone this morning. I used SP Flash Tool to grab the recovery.img portion of the new phone, then I used fastboot to flash it to the damaged phone, and it worked fine. The bootloader unlock/relock caused the phone to wipe itself and then re-encrypt the file system, so I lost a few test photos, no big deal. FWIW, I could have flashed the recovery back to the damaged phone using SP Flash Tool, but I wanted to make sure it worked with fastboot, which it did.
Heres the recovery.img for those that may need it and don't have two phones
View attachment xr-recovery.zip
Monday or so my mom gets her phone, so I'll be able to test LTE on AT&T with her SIM card. I just got 34Mbs download on a speed test (T-Mobile), which is is fine, considering all the naysayers reviewing on Amazon who didn't have the guts to buy the phone, saying LTE wouldn't work at all.
I just heard of this device today. I wonder how quick Android 7.x can be flashed over to this, but for $299 it's a good looking phone.
It may be a while since there's not much activity happening on this device yet.
I'm focusing on creating a rooted boot.img right now, as I'll be happy with 6.0 and root. I plan on having this done today. I've never created a custom twrp recovery, but I may try that next.
I need to figure out how to prevent the full wipe after oem unlocking/relocking, that's a real pain having all my setup deleted after every test, as it makes it hard to use the phone while developing.
Got root
Firstly, I'm still learning about Mediatek based devices, so I feel like a noob again. I haven't edited a ROM in several years and there's a lot of crap info on the internet. Most articles that write up "how to root a phone" basically say "Install twrp, then supersu", yeah, thanks
After struggling with all the selinux controls in 6.0, I switched to hack mode. As per phhusson's super-bootimg script, I used his sed technique to force the init in boot.img to not enforce security policy and added his bits to init.rc to load su. I put su and in system.img along with a suid root shell just in case. Its working, I have SuperSu installed, and it pops up to ask me to grant permissions. It won't update its su binary, I've got some permission problem there, but it's not a show stopper. Also,I found its easiest to just leave the bootloader unlocked while testing, I just have to get used to the annoying boot message and 5 second delay.
This week I'll start from scratch and document the procedure I used and hopefully make it repeatable for anyone else who may want to try it. Maybe someone will just port twrp and save me the time of learning how to do it
Some notes on the software I used:
Windows:
* SP Flash Tool with a bogus scatter file to grab the stock ROM sections of my phone as the Linux version would timeout reading large ranged of flash.
Linux:
* mktool to unpack/repack the boot.img
* loopback mounted the system.img to add su to it.
* used img2simg to convert system.img to a sparse image
* fastboot to flash the boot & system images to the phone.
AT&T Speed Tests
No good, ~500kbs up/down, even though signal strength showed 4 bars on 4G. No LTE at all. Changing the band set to 3g/4g had no real effect either way. Don't buy this phone I you plan on using it with AT&T, although my mother hasn't noticed the ****ty 4G in actual use yet (I'll switch her to T-mobile soon).
Update: After using the phone for 1 week, I am extremely pleased with it. I chuckle when I read the negative reviews on all the big phone web sites. Reviewers hate the wiggly button, LOL, but it doesn't bother me as I'm used to it on my Samsungs. Other than the wiggly home button, its a solid phone. I prefer the metal back as opposed to glass. By the way, who's brilliant idea was it who thought an all glass phone was a good idea?
It's not AOSP, but I find it's AmigOS Carefree launcher very pleasant to use, and I've used countless launchers over the years. It's got way better specs than the Nexus 5X and after struggling with the security in 6.0, I'm not in any rush to find out what security bull**** awaits me in 7.0 (for my benefit of course).
On the flip side, I don't use NFC payments, Google Pay, Google Play, no Google anything. All Google stuff disabled. I run my own calendar/contacts/tasks sync server, use oandbackup to save/restore all my apps and settings, the majority of my apps come from f-droid. I don't play games. So I'm not an average user. I've been using Android devices since the Nexus One and I have a pile of phones in front of me. Blu (or Gionee) has shown it can make quite a competitive device that I enjoy using all day, (though I wouldn't be using it at all unless it was rooted, so luckily for both of us that is the case).
Rant: Things that are actually more annoying than a wiggly button:
* Dozens of phone review websites that all publish a review of this phone within 2 days of each other after the phone was released on Aug 29th ,with all the same content. It's like they are all run by the same hack, just to get advertising dollars.
* Websites like rootoreviews.com that use a template on how to root this particular phone using twrp, when twrp doesn't exist yet for the device. WTF is that? Why would someone think this is a great idea? They have the same instruction set for every phone on the site with the make/model info swapped out. Are they just hoping twrp becomes available soon so they have the first post on the topic by default? Lame!
rotohammer said:
No good, ~500kbs up/down, even though signal strength showed 4 bars on 4G. No LTE at all. Changing the band set to 3g/4g had no real effect either way. Don't buy this phone I you plan on using it with AT&T, although my mother hasn't noticed the ****ty 4G in actual use yet (I'll switch her to T-mobile soon).
Update: After using the phone for 1 week, I am extremely pleased with it. I chuckle when I read the negative reviews on all the big phone web sites. Reviewers hate the wiggly button, LOL, but it doesn't bother me as I'm used to it on my Samsungs. Other than the wiggly home button, its a solid phone. I prefer the metal back as opposed to glass. By the way, who's brilliant idea was it who thought an all glass phone was a good idea?
It's not AOSP, but I find it's AmigOS Carefree launcher very pleasant to use, and I've used countless launchers over the years. It's got way better specs than the Nexus 5X and after struggling with the security in 6.0, I'm not in any rush to find out what security bull**** awaits me in 7.0 (for my benefit of course).
On the flip side, I don't use NFC payments, Google Pay, Google Play, no Google anything. All Google stuff disabled. I run my own calendar/contacts/tasks sync server, use oandbackup to save/restore all my apps and settings, the majority of my apps come from f-droid. I don't play games. So I'm not an average user. I've been using Android devices since the Nexus One and I have a pile of phones in front of me. Blu (or Gionee) has shown it can make quite a competitive device that I enjoy using all day, (though I wouldn't be using it at all unless it was rooted, so luckily for both of us that is the case).
Rant: Things that are actually more annoying than a wiggly button:
* Dozens of phone review websites that all publish a review of this phone within 2 days of each other after the phone was released on Aug 29th ,with all the same content. It's like they are all run by the same hack, just to get advertising dollars.
* Websites like rootoreviews.com that use a template on how to root this particular phone using twrp, when twrp doesn't exist yet for the device. WTF is that? Why would someone think this is a great idea? They have the same instruction set for every phone on the site with the make/model info swapped out. Are they just hoping twrp becomes available soon so they have the first post on the topic by default? Lame!
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Click to collapse
Hi theer just curious on how you get it to root then??
Thanks for potentially inspiring some activity here regarding this phone. It looks like an impressive device, but I won't pull the trigger until there're some solid rom options.
Hey brother hope you r doing well. Glad to see this thread with the smartphone similar to mine. My phone is symphony helio s20, mtk6755 helio p10 processors, 4gb ram 64gb rom with the similar system.img and boot.img of gionee s8 & blu pur xr.
I was desperately looking for a pre rooted rom or a custom, custom recovery and rooting tool for almost 2 months, requested so many times all around this site, but unfortunately didn't get any respons (really frustated). I just badly need to root my device but I'm just a noob on modding and tweaking with Roms. I got my stock rom from Service Center, when I bricked my phone flashing a custom recovery. Later I tried all the method found all over the website but non of them are working only misleading. Bricked my phone several times but luckily I managed to reflash the stock rom by sp flash tool. Please keep this good work up and help us root our devices without any hassle. You are doing a really great work so keep it up bro!
Here is the link of my stock firmware with sn write tool if you need it for anything bro.
Best regards
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BywTv6KKZO4jX3BMMGRGVUFRa28
http://www.mediafire.com/download/7...N_Writer_tool_exe_v1.0_1604.00_All_In_One.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/download/pa2f3wqpf24t0db/Helio_S20_flashtool.zip
thanks in advance
Hey guys, thanks a lot for all your info and everything you posted Could you be so kind to describe how did you root your Pure XR devices??? Big hug from Cuba
I'm going to guess something with KingRoot. This is a rebranded Gionee S8, so China is already no stranger to this phone.
Not surprised about AT&T performance considering I've never seen an unlocked phone support so few LTE bands (2, 4, 7). Ridiculous. It supports less than half of all the LTE bands AT&T uses. Unless your area uses primarily band 2 or 4 you're screwed if you're on AT&T. Even worse if you're on T-Mobile. It only supports ONE band on T-Mobile. Does Blu even realize it's 2016?
bailsafe said:
I'm going to guess something with KingRoot. This is a rebranded Gionee S8, so China is already no stranger to this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried every rooting tool, including KingRoot, none worked. There's an OTA update for the stock firmware, but I wont be able to install it until after I un-root. I probably retrace the steps I did the first time: backup all my apps, flash the stock firmware, do the OTA, then save/edit it to have root, then flash the result. The phone works so good right now that I'd hate to mess it up.
Tikerz said:
Not surprised about AT&T performance considering I've never seen an unlocked phone support so few LTE bands (2, 4, 7). Ridiculous. It supports less than half of all the LTE bands AT&T uses. Unless your area uses primarily band 2 or 4 you're screwed if you're on AT&T. Even worse if you're on T-Mobile. It only supports ONE band on T-Mobile. Does Blu even realize it's 2016?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was a Gionee S8 originally, which only supported FDD-LTE bands not in use in the USA. It's a miracle they got FDD-LTE in here at all, I guess, but if you're gonna sell in the US market... they really need more bands.
Rotohammer said:
I tried every rooting tool, including KingRoot, none worked. There's an OTA update for the stock firmware, but I wont be able to install it until after I un-root. I probably retrace the steps I did the first time: backup all my apps, flash the stock firmware, do the OTA, then save/edit it to have root, then flash the result. The phone works so good right now that I'd hate to mess it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's probably your best bet. I'm surprised KingRoot wouldn't work, even on the newer updates...
hey I was wondering for some reason my blu pure xr does not receive notifications at all except for certain apps and it keeps on disconnecting from messenger and such is there any remedy for this?
orlandotisk said:
hey I was wondering for some reason my blu pure xr does not receive notifications at all except for certain apps and it keeps on disconnecting from messenger and such is there any remedy for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press left button to bring up the running apps list, long press the button with 3 rectangles in it, then press "Clean white list". Here, you press"Add into white list" and choose "messenger" and any other apps you don't want "auto cleaned".
For example, my white list includes Alarm Klock, K-9 mail, CSipSimple, Silence (all apps that I want running all the time)
rotohammer said:
I got mine from Amazon yesterday, I already bricked it a few hours ago by messing with the recovery. It should be an easy fix once I get hold of the stock firmware. I got another one coming tomorrow, so I'll focus on just extracting the rom from that one
Bricking aside, I got 20/10mbs down/up on speedtest using my T-mobile US SIM, and the signal indicator showed LTE. Forcing it off LTE I got 10/5mbs down/up.
Battery life is awesome, I used it constantly for 8hrs and only got down to 50%, my note4 would have been dead after that much use with the screen on. The overall feel of Android 6.0 was smooth, no stuttering. There is no bloatware, just a few utilities for fancy wallpapers.
The phone charges faster than any other phone I have. The included TPE case doesnt increase the thickness of the phone too much and I like that It keeps the camera lens off the desk when I set the phone down.
Dual SIM functionality works nice. It was one of the main features I was looking for, though I will miss T-Mobile wifi calling.
Some notes:
I used adb & fastboot in my attempts to root. After running
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot reboot
the display now showed
Code:
Orange state
Your device has been unlocked and can't be trusted
Your device will reboot in 5 seconds
So it appears that it is best to oem relock it when you're done updating, as the message goes away if you relock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bro how are you? How's family? I hope that everything is well for you and yours. Basically I just wanted to say thanks for sharing such great info. And I'm really glad that there's someone who's onto something like einstein. I just hope that you can figure out a way to get root with your own custom build of twrp recovery using chainfire's supersu to work with this smartphone. Cos that'll be super-awesome right? But I'm just a noob so all I can do is just wish you the best of luck. So best of luck until you crack the code. And I have complete faith in you. You will achieve it I know that for sure. Wish you and yours all the best. And thanks again in advance. Peace!
Does anybody succeed rooting ?
Please share the method!!
so no one knows how to root?
rotohammer was able to achieve root and said he would get back to us with the method on how it was done, but he hasn't posted it yet...
I wanted to start a thread in the AT&T forum for everyone to share there successes and workarounds after rooting with Samfail. I know there is a thread for the root process here https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/development/root-samfail-galaxy-note8-t3685340 But i wanted this to be a place where we can share also what works for the AT&T phones.
I just rooted tonight, so far all i have done is disable the AT&T bootup sound but going to /system/omc/ATT/res/media/audio/ui and renaming PowerOn.ogg to read PowerOn.ogg.bak
As i figure out more things I'll keep updating the op.
Please feel free to share any tweaks you may know.
dirtydodge said:
I wanted to start a thread in the AT&T forum for everyone to share there successes and workarounds after rooting with Samfail. I know there is a thread for the root process here https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/development/root-samfail-galaxy-note8-t3685340 But i wanted this to be a place where we can share also what works for the AT&T phones.
I just rooted tonight, so far all i have done is disable the AT&T bootup sound but going to /system/omc/ATT/res/media/audio/ui and renaming PowerOn.ogg to read PowerOn.ogg.bak
As i figure out more things I'll keep updating the op.
Please feel free to share any tweaks you may know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I sure you've seen my complaining in the root thread -- My main issue is the inability to get full calling features
It is very weird from my perspective in that everything seems to provision properly. I can make WiFi Calls but if I turn Wifi off then try ot make a call the call Ends suddenly unless I turn Enhanced LTE services off. But the really weird thing is that I can make calls in the area near my work (it is a bit more remote than where live) and it does appear that the calls are being made VoLTE. So why would the network in one place allow the calls to go through but in another the calls suddenly end ??? I think the answer to this might be the clue to getting this issue fixed for AT&T users.
I know many of you don't need the full calling features but for me it is essential and I would go without root if I can't find a solution :crying::crying:
jcrompton said:
As I sure you've seen my complaining in the root thread -- My main issue is the inability to get full calling features
It is very weird from my perspective in that everything seems to provision properly. I can make WiFi Calls but if I turn Wifi off then try ot make a call the call Ends suddenly unless I turn Enhanced LTE services off. But the really weird thing is that I can make calls in the area near my work (it is a bit more remote than where live) and it does appear that the calls are being made VoLTE. So why would the network in one place allow the calls to go through but in another the calls suddenly end ??? I think the answer to this might be the clue to getting this issue fixed for AT&T users.
I know many of you don't need the full calling features but for me it is essential and I would go without root if I can't find a solution :crying::crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea i never video or WiFi call (ok maybe have yo WiFi call about 2 or 3 times a year) so losing those two things don't bother me. I've always turned off enhanced lte services since they introduced it simply because it drains more battery plus from what I've googled about it, it don't really pertain to anything i need. I am hopeful though that once people start to use this root method, we'll start to figuring out how to fix everything like normal.
I'm not really sure the purpose to use this root method, its not even really root to begin with. What are your plans with using this method? I mean there are a few fun things to do but not worth a unstable system and 80% battery.
timmy10shoes said:
I'm not really sure the purpose to use this root method, its not even really root to begin with. What are your plans with using this method?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you say "it's not really root to begin with"? By doing this method you gain access to root files and to the heart of your phone. SuperSU installs and works, you are able to deodex, theme, modify all as you want if you know what your doing. Sure there are a few issues with it (battery limited to 80%, WiFi calling, and camera) but none of this will get fixed we work on finding out the issue, but root has always brought about some type of issue one way or another in locked bootloader devices. My plan with rooting my phone is to build my rom with the tweaks and mods that i like, run the ad blockers that i like, possibly install xposed (haven't used it in a while). One of the main purposes of root in my opinion is to make your phone the way you like it. I mean you can sit around and wait for someone to make the phone how they like it and then possibly share it with others or you can take the initiative to learn yourself. Not really root to begin with? It's root, just not how it used to be. I hope someone does figure out a different root method that don't render the battery to 80%, i wish i knew how to look for exploits (I'm currently trying to learn) but until then, this is what we have. What are your reasons for believing this is not a real root method?
timmy10shoes said:
I mean its not really root because they are using a modified system file, not finding a real working exploit. It is a leaked factory image and a leaked factory kernel that needs to go with it. The 80% isn't going away. Its built into the kernel with can't be touched or motified. But we can always dream
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's why I'm still hoping for a different root method they don't have to use leaked files. But i can say that this root method runs a lot smoother than the method we had to use in the S7. This method hasn't been out very long, but is say within the next few months we'll start seeing more development happening . Or at least i hope. I've just recently started making my own roms (i don't release them to anyone being as I'm still learning and can't give a lot of trouble shooting assistance) but it's fun for me to pass the time at work. (I have a real laid back job with nothing to do a lot of times lol)
I mean its not really root because they are using a modified system file, not finding a real working exploit. It is a leaked factory image and a leaked factory kernel that needs to go with it. The 80% isn't going away. Its built into the kernel with can't be touched or motified. But we can always dream
---------- Post added at 04:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------
I get the fun part of it, thats why I use unlocked devices to flash the good stuff.
timmy10shoes said:
I mean its not really root because they are using a modified system file, not finding a real working exploit. It is a leaked factory image and a leaked factory kernel that needs to go with it. The 80% isn't going away. Its built into the kernel with can't be touched or motified. But we can always dream
---------- Post added at 04:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------
I get the fun part of it, thats why I use unlocked devices to flash the good stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've thought about buying am unlocked device but have read conflicting posts about service and radio bands messing that are used here in the US so I've always shyed away from them.
I have developed a few roms myself for the Bionic and Razr. Its highly entertaining and I want it myself but there hasn't been true root since the note 3 I believe.
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:53 PM ----------
dirtydodge said:
I've thought about buying am unlocked device but have read conflicting posts about service and radio bands messing that are used here in the US so I've always shyed away from them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use unactivated devices. There is a ton on trial and error so I don't use my daily driver for that.
Are there any ROM anywhere for the snapdragon? Also anyone know where the stock firmware is located or can be found? When you go back,is it like it never happened ?
Don_Pachuco said:
Are there any ROM anywhere for the snapdragon? Also anyone know where the stock firmware is located or can be found? When you go back,is it like it never happened ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No roms yet (on AT&T at least that i know of). Not trying to be rude but do you even search, see attached picture. Literally 4 post down from this thread.
I did search, and the one thread that I found, says "link removed". Then further down, it has files for the S8+.
Don_Pachuco said:
I did search, and the one thread that I found, says "link removed". Then further down, it has files for the S8+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-galaxy-note-8/how-to/n950u-odin-5-files-stock-firmware-t3715770
Help!!! Please help!!!!
This is my first time with odin or basically anything computer related i am stuck at 2nd step of samfail. can some one please tell me what to do. it says fail (auth) thank you in advance. I have already done step 1 and it failed just like the instructions say but now in step 2 it fails every time. I'm stuck please help!
truly in over my head hear
jforest3026 said:
This is my first time with odin or basically anything computer related i am stuck at 2nd step of samfail. can some one please tell me what to do. it says fail (auth) thank you in advance. I have already done step 1 and it failed just like the instructions say but now in step 2 it fails every time. I'm stuck please help!
truly in over my head hear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a thread for mods done after rooting, post questions about getting rooted in your root thread please.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...nt/root-samfail-galaxy-note8-t3685340/page323
the %80 max battery issue
I've enjoyed a rooted Note 8(sm-n950u) Nougat7.1.1 for over a week via samFAIL method and am quite thankful to the samfail/pwned team for providing it.
The max battery issue is the only drawback as far as I've noticed so far. I have a nice and speedy phone that is devoid of bloating apps, and vendor/carrier garbage.
As far as the max battery issue, I've done some digging and haven't found a cure yet.
I've noticed a couple things.
in /efs/Battery and in /sys/class/power_supply/battery there is a file named batt_capacity_max that has something to do with the max battery limit which is obvious by name of course.
Notes:
1. You can not change the value in /sys/class/power_supply/battery/. You can edit and write the file without any error or sign of failure; But checking the file immediately afterwards, you'll find that the contents did not change.
2. You can change the file in /efs/Battery/, but the contents are reset upon reboot.
3. The file contains only a number.
In my case, batt_capacity_max contains the number 1000 regardless of the charged state. i.e. It is 1000 when the phone if charged to max, and it is 1000 when the phone is nearly drained.
I change the value to see if it has any effect, and it does.
I interpreted the 1000 as binary 8, and changed to number to 1010 (binary 10). Then I charged the phone only to find that I could not charge the phone past 17% eep! This wasn't a problem though as rebooting the phone or returning the file to its original value restored the function to normal(rooted normal, that is..max 80%).
I've also deleted the file, then charged the phone to find that there was no effect.
I then came across a slightly older xda thread charge to 100 snapdragon root(s8 sampwn)
The thread had a great number of contributors and provided a great deal of background info, but the method described therein has become obsolete or does not apply to the Note 8 i believe.
If anyone has discovered anything effective regarding the battery max limit, I hope they will contribute that info here, or at least link to an existing thread that I may have missed.
One thing I would like to understand is what processe(s) are being employed in this battery limit system. Is it merely a sub-function of the SafetyNet, or something else? I've filtered what I believe are the pertinent logs(dmesg and logcat) trying to find reference to batt_capacity_max but have come up empty.
I have't tinkered with this in a couple days, but I plan to get back to it tomorrow. Anyone has ideas or suggestions, please contribute. personally I don't really care wether I "fix" this issue as much as I am using this pursuit to glean a better understanding of the android/samsung subsystems relative to it. .. to fix it, of course, is ideal.
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