Help Please! At my wits end with this thing! - Samsung Galaxy Tab E Questions & Answers

Hey All - I'm REALLY new to this whole thing (hence my name). I HAVE successfully rooted a nexus 5 and installed lineage OS without issue, but about 2 years ago I attempted a similar process for my Galaxy Tab E POS and I finally just gave up. Since then, I have been suffering along with the stock Samsung OS which is awful as i'm sure you all know. Before I take the damn thing to the shooting range for target practice and replace it with something better, I'm looking for some advice from you all who are clearly way more knowledgeable:
Important context, the ONLY thing I plan to use this for is for my kid's school work (youtube and basic web browsing). So my questions:
Custom ROM Recommendations:
IF I attempt a root and custom ROM install again - I want something fast enough (compared to the samsung stockOS) to be worth my time doing it, but I also want it to be STABLE and not a buggy experimental/trial version. What do you recommend?
Replacement Options:
IF I end up bricking the thing in the process (again I don't care, It's fate would have been at the end of a barrel anyway) I need to replace it with something. Recommendations for a rock solid android tablet that is LIGHTNING fast, under $800, and that I can root/install a custom ROM on to wipe off the bloatware?
Thanks all!

You can package disable unwanted apks* with no root needed. Or use ADB editing.
Much easier and safer than rooting.
I use this on my stock Samsung phones.
*most disablers are based on Samsung Knox, if the tablet doesn't have Knox there is a non-Knox variant.

Related

Questions regarding the Note 4

Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)
Rooting restriction is carrier based. Some carriers lock down from rooting, others dont.
Knox is a one way trip. Once tripped it stays that way. It is effectively a fuse.
Had my N4 for two weeks and am loving it. Came from a rooted S4. Not really missing root that much. Wish I could still turn GPS on and off with Tasker and wish I had better access to the SD card. Not big deals though. There is another thread here about non-rooted solutions to many things people want root for.
Might become more an issue in a couple years if Samsung/Verizon fails to do timely updates.
Best advice to new N4 users is learn to use the S Pen. It is what makes the N4 stand out.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
1. No it doesnt allow rooting. get a 910U - so far it seems the least hassle.
2. no rooting.
3. yes once you try to root your warranty is void. for all purposes assume you will never get root. then again, you dont need root. in fact having no root and knox is much better. you can have a dual personality phone which works very well.
4. irrelevant. if you get the note 4 expect to run factory.
5. no. you cant have root.
6. you need a full case to hold it. its a thin glass panel. ive got an iblason armorbox for it. also would recommend buying the wireless back and wireless chargers. cables are too much of a hassle on this phone.
My recommendation would be little biased towards Samsung given my last four phones were all galaxy. I never had to root Note 3 but I rooted Note 4 in few days of owning it. Google must have thought let's give some punch to Samsung by disabling write access to external SD giving excuse of security as Samsung is the only high end phone manufacturer that still has it. And one of the most used function that was very important to me was copying files off network share to SD which no longer worked. Only for this I rooted.
I buy Note series not for amoled or big screen or good battery life or running AOSPs. I buy for SPen. I snap, print screen, doodle and write catchy text and share, adds that special touch. And that Microsoft One Note supported inking in android, I am loving it even more.
Note 4
Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated!
While it seems most of you use the note 4 for its main purpose of being a multitasking phone. I on the other end just need the good camera, screen and battery. Everything else is gimmicks (for me atleast). However, this opinion of mine could be due to the fact that ive never owned a note before.
I did see some guides of being able to root the SM-N910W8 with CF auto root, as well as a way of bringing devices back to stock as i can see form this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/general/ref-stock-firmware-kernel-modem-recovery-t2920452
Now, is that really the case or is there somehting im not seeing?
you can NEVER bring it back to stock. the efuse blows once you root. Do NOT root a note 4 until youre familiar enough with knox to make the choice
By stock i dont mean resetting the knox fuse. I mean, if I am on a cusotm rom, i can bring it back to stock for warranty purposes (which I know after the knox fuse is blown, is a hit and miss)
So my question still stands, will I be able to root my phone based on the thread i mentioned above and be able to return it to stock afterwards, or is there something im not seeing there.
qwertyman007 said:
Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Note 4 with Bell so to answer your questions:
1) Yes. This is true for all Canadian carriers AFAIK.
2,4) Should be sufficient with just a root. I haven't been around for a week so I haven't caught up on new developments yet. I didn't see much in the way of AOSP last I looked.
3) This I can't answer but I know for example there is an XPosed module that will allow applications like GOOD to continue to work even with KNOX tripped/removed.
5) The W8 is similar to the 910T. I'm actually running DynamicKat with the KTNote4 Kernel. When you install DK part of the install script checks if your phone is a 910T or a 910W8 and installs the correct kernel. I had an issue with my initial flash of it bootlooping but I used the Stockish kernel from twistedumbrella that I had flashed when I still running stock rooted and backed up the boot image so I restored that boot image and it booted, then I flashed KTNote4 myself. Check here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/development and here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/orig-development for roms/kernels.
6) Yes you can just flash a stock rom (should be floating around somewhere) but Knox will still be tripped.
7) Overall I'm absolutely loving it. I came from an S3 that I was running CM11 on with KT's kernel (seriously, his kernels are amazing!) and I liked it for a really long time but it started to get really sluggish and it just can't handle multitasking the way I'd like it. I do still notice slow downs, and the phone does still get pretty hot sometimes, but that's the price you pay for multi-tasking. KTs kernel certainly isn't perfected (granted I'm on a build from 2 weeks ago) and sometimes it will randomly reboot and bootloop at the splash screen but once I clear cache it boots right up. Usually only does this once it's been pretty hot for a while. I love the multitasking windows, that's exactly what I want. The one thing that threw me off the most was the DPI. It's a big phone, I don't need everything on it to be gigantic. So I did end up using the XPosed module App Settings to scale the DPI down to 480 from 640. There are a couple quirks when doing that, like the task switcher is smaller (since it was designed for 640 DPI) and there are a couple apps that you have to set back to 640 as well like the camera but you can always fix those as you find them.
I'm a firm believer that Android is a dev's playground. I could not use this phone happily without root. In fact, I rooted it the same night I got it within a couple hours. I bought the phone outright since I would have had to change my plan if I wanted to early upgrade and my plan is too good to do that. Happy modding!
Just use Autoinput. Can trigger GPS.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

Shocker! I'm considering not rooting

I've rooted my last 3 phones, and for the longest time, considered it an essential step in the true Android experience.
But let's be honest, rooting is a bit of a PITA. You risk destroying your warranty, which worries me with a phone that I got on launch day. You have issues with OTA updates. If you load a custom ROM, you're blowing away all your settings each time you load an update. There's more, but I won't keep going.
Of course, there are a LOT of benefits, too. Most of them, however, are ways around annoying little nits that I have, and with this phone, I find fewer of those nits, and far fewer items that are larger than nits. With the improvements in Android and with a good launcher, I can completely hide away all of the annoying Sprint and Samsung apps.
If I rooted this phone, these are the benefits that I think I could realize are: Getting rid of the volume warning (nit), changing my boot animation (nit), Titanium backup (which I don't really need if I'm not constantly loading a new ROM), better ad blocking (nit), the ability to remove unwanted apps (bit of a nit, but it would be beneficial to reclaim the ram and storage space), and probably the biggest - wifi hotspot (which I rarely use, but I will miss if I don't have it).
I'm curious if anyone else thinks this same way about this phone. Are there other serial rooters who are not rooting the S6?
well, first thing I did with my S6 was to load custom recovery and custom ROM
Still on the same boat, don't want to trip knox by installing a custom recovery or custom kernel and not knowing what ping-pong root really does is a little worrisome.
When considering whether to root or not your S6, remember that there is a debloat method which doesn't require root: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/safe-to-debloat-s6-threads-t3090383.
I agree with OP: as time passes by and Android evolves there are less and less "serious" reasons to root a phone.
Pingpong is pretty safe(warranty wise) and it's easy to reflash your stock rom. I usually never root on first day but now I saw no reason not to.
Having had a rooted phone since the days of cupcake I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I got my Xperia Z2 before it was rootable with a locked bootloader and in those few months I discovered I could live without titanium backup if I wasn't flashing roms left right and centre but I hadn't realised how pervasive ads had become in the mobile world and it was something that really bugged me, as the non-root blocking methods didn't give me much joy, so when root was finally achieved I knew I couldn't live without ad-blocking.
Fast-forward a year and I was holding off the S6 for the precise reason of not being able to root without tripping knox (which given the track record of my S2, S3 & S4 all needing to be repaired under warranty I cannot afford to do), but I ended up getting it thanks to breaking my Z2, with the hope of something like pingpong coming soon enough. This time again I found it painful dealing with the ads again but to add to that there's the frankly rubbish battery in this phone compared with my old Z2, and I was having little joy zapping all the wakelocks until I got root and greenify.
So TLDR, can't live without proper ad-blocking and greenify is essential for the S6 if you actually want to have a reasonable amount of functionality without carrying around a charger.
As for me, I like rooting so I can remove bloat, freezing an app is not the same as removing it and I can't stand ads. Do what you like, I have never had issues with warranties even with knox tripped. I have had the S, S3, S4, and now the S6 and I have never had to use the warranty, which expires after the first year anyway.
ipaq_101 said:
As for me, I like rooting so I can remove bloat, freezing an app is not the same as removing it and I can't stand ads. Do what you like, I have never had issues with warranties even with knox tripped. I have had the S, S3, S4, and now the S6 and I have never had to use the warranty, which expires after the first year anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, Samsung offers 2 years warranty, here in Europe anyway.
I have rooted pretty much every single android phone I have owned and with the superb debloater app I have zero need for root now and unless Samsung do something which is very invasive I cannot see any reason to root in the future,
That and the fact I have heard of stories of ping pong root tripping knox on some devices is worrying.
I rooted every phone which I had on the first day and never had problems with warranty but the phones hasn't knox. My note 3 was rooted too but there wasn't any reason sending to repair.
Now with the s6 I don't need the root.
The Rom is debloated for. There was only Microsoft and Vodafone apps. I use them both so no reason to debloat.
Thread cleaned, please keep it nice and friendly
Whiskey
Forum Moderator
I haven't and wont root this phone. I use adblock browser which gives me a perfect ad free browsing experience. I use zero apps which bombard me with annoying ads I can't ignore, I have plenty of space on my phone, and custom Rom's won't make it faster or more stable or improve battery life so personally there's no point.
I go back and forth with the idea of rooting. Right now, there's no method for my build - so, I want to root. Previously, when there was a method for build - I didn't root. I'm kinda of the similar thought as the OP...is there really a need to root anymore? The majority of the reasons/features we rooted our phones for in the first place are now part of Android. If I do root, it will be to get the maximum benefit out of using Greenify and TB.
I've rooted all my previous android devices and this is the first phone that I don't feel like I need rooting. I did go through the process with PingPong-root so that I could clean up some apps but after I couldn't get OTA's I went and restored it to factory settings. With Nova Launcher and the ability to inactivate most of the apps I don't use I don't see the need of rooting it just yet..
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
I unrooted a few days ago to fix Google now (I broke it somehow) and am having a hard time redoing it. Other then modding the themes..I can't find another reason. Most of the time I break stuff anyways lol so might be better if I dont!
Sheldor1967 said:
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's the only way I do it. I just root the stock rom and get rid of the ads. Backup my apps with titanium backup. All the usual things that I can't do with a non rooted phone.
With regards,
Beston94
My biggest reason I'd consider rooting is AirAudio -> Airport Express devices.
I need root as I use the automation app tasker an awful lot. I haven't purchased an s6 yet but it is something I am debating. It is between the s6 and N6 but either way I will be rooting whichever I choose
---------- Post added at 04:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
Sheldor1967 said:
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which method did you opt for with regards to rooting?
Flashed TWRP and the rooted from there. Knox is tripped - O-Well. I did it before the other methods were available...

Worth rooting

is it worth rooting S8 SM-G950F?
my warranty is going to start in october.
i'd say no. what do you want with root? the most i need from root is ad-blocking which is provided by knox so i dont really benefit from root anymore
If you have to ask that, then root is not for you.
I rooted, but had issues, got into bootloop first time i restarted phone after rooting, went back to stock and just removed the bloatware with adb, much happier now.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
I've had three 955F and one 950F, two of them not rooted and two rooted, if you are thinking to sell the phone soon, I will say it notes worth it. But if you are planning to stay on the phone until some maybe better device come out like me, I will say root totally worth the price.
I can even imagine to use my daily driver phone without changing kernel or moving to my favourite custom rom.
I would only root for custom ROMs, to get stock rom but as it stands no stock rom so root not worth it for me. Also I don't keep my phone's for long and rooted phones are difficult to sell since you lose warranty.
the best firewalls require root
removing system apps requires root
you can customize your interface after rooting
can modify sound, camera, temporary screen aspect ratio, etc., after rooting
you control your phone after rooting with the exception of bootloader, which is a different matter
ad-blocking can be much better after rooting
unlimited tethering after rooting
the question is rather: why would you not root? warranty is a scare tactic, you could always Odin flash a specific, official carrier ROM to virginize--just download at sammobile.com/firmwares
Thanks
All of you. I think, I'm gonna keep my phone stock.
little things that add up
LOL, I've been pulling my hair out because it's much harder to root the US Snapdragon S8+ than it is the Exynos variants! Every iPhone I had was jailbroken and every Android afterward (lost count) was rooted except the aforementioned; honestly, I can't stand not having a rooted phone. For example, I like the iptables firewall Android Firewall because I can totally lock down every internet aspect/app of the system (e.g., kernel, Samsung, Google, etc.) and control input chains. I also use HDMI out but cannot change aspect ratio to 16:9 for 4k UHDTV without root; Samsung Smartview allows change to 16:9 wirelessly via Miracast, but that's only at 1080p. It's the little things you can't do without root that add up; but, if you aren't used to rooting advantages, you won't know what you're missing.
i dont see real purpose rooting on recent hi end devices. more to lose instead. unless u r incline into software piracy/cracks.
just do a search in Google Play for the word: root
monx® said:
i dont see real purpose rooting on recent hi end devices. more to lose instead. unless u r incline into software piracy/cracks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My last device was a rooted Galaxy Note 5 on Nougat firmware with TWRP recovery. I never knew if Samsung Pay still worked or not, because I never use the app. All the rest of my apps worked fine. I still have the Note 5 collecting dust, but I suppose it could be a good thing to have in case I ever lose my US Snapdragon S8+. I mainly use Linux for a PC OS. Being the administrator user for my PC running Linux is analagous to having a rooted Android phone; it would be unacceptable to me to not be able to gain root access on my Linux OS--as if I were some child restricted by parents or non-administrator on a Linux office PC. You own the phone, so don't let some carrier tell you you don't, basically. I don't even know why someone would have a XDA account if they don't root?
---------- Post added at 08:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 AM ----------
My one suggestion for people debating whether to root or not: just do a search in Google Play for the word root. Take a look at all the apps that can be installed by anyone (i.e., no root needed to install, just root needed to either successfully use or to fully use), and ask yourself if any of them look useful.
I root my S8 G950 /AQG5. Why? Now my device is free to change everything i want. Customizing and better battery. And now with Renovate ice ROM. Everything is great. I want to be free. My phone wants to be free ? i love it. And about warranty. Hmm. I dont give a F....... all my Android phones are rooted. You can fix your phone always with the developers on XDA✌
Haven't rooted my S8 yet, not worth it at the moment....
I used to root for:
- Adblocker
- Removing System apps
- Backup/restore (titanium backup, twrp)
But with package disabler, adhell and not tinkering also the need for backups has declined. Also, there is more storage on the S8 (with the S7 and older I could also use the free space).
Would still like to root and use some custom roms, but at the moment I don't want to loose warranty over it. Also wrt possible resell value and all that
Personally I dont want to root my s8, I have rooted my s3, s5 ,s7edge because touchwiz was just bad and I want to use just aosp but now s8 software is just great and so much better than before with nougat and unique features like samsung pass , secure folder and etc are so great and only work fine without rooting as Knox since s7 is so secure and root is permanent. on s7 I was able to use s8 ported roms as I love s8 software but now with my s8 I have all I want and for now no rooting is planned . First time I am satisfied on my phone without any rooting, and I have rooted all my previous devices including tabs and tested every mods and roms for them but now I think on s8 I can't have anything better that stock
robhug said:
Personally I dont want to root my s8, I have rooted my s3, s5 ,s7edge because touchwiz was just bad and I want to use just aosp but now s8 software is just great and so much better than before with nougat and unique features like samsung pass , secure folder and etc are so great and only work fine without rooting as Knox since s7 is so secure and root is permanent. on s7 I was able to use s8 ported roms as I love s8 software but now with my s8 I have all I want and for now no rooting is planned . First time I am satisfied on my phone without any rooting, and I have rooted all my previous devices including tabs and tested every mods and roms for them but now I think on s8 I can't have anything better that stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to see you over here :good:
I may totally be wrong as I didn't log any performance on paper. But since I've rooted and removed like more than 30 bloatwares included with stock rom. My batttery life improved a lot.
I went from 90k in Antutu to 16X XXX
I also removed one of the feature I thought I'll like, The small overlay bar you have at the right of the screen. It was totally useless, since when you drag something from this edge, then ALL the screen is covered even if the usefull part is only 20% of the area..
This improved my battery too
I'm itching to root my s8 plus as I've rooted every device apart from the Xperia xz premium
Apart from Samsung pay what else does tripping knox break?
That's what is holding me back not having a full list of what it breaks
Thanks
until an AOSP rom not based on samsung I won't root.
Right now the main benefit could be only:
- viper sound ( but I don't listen so much with in-ear )
- some tasker stuff ( which I don't know yet)
- double tap home to instant sleep phone
- bixby remapped without adb command
on the other side I lose phone warranty ( which I don't give a damn) and encryption which is a very good thing for me...
Because all the other stuff are well done with standard samsung interface, lawnchair home screen/launcher and package disabler...
And don't get me wrong, previous phone were ALL rooted and changed many many roms, at Incredible S times it was one every 10 days...
brockyneo said:
I'm itching to root my s8 plus as I've rooted every device apart from the Xperia xz premium
Apart from Samsung pay what else does tripping knox break?
That's what is holding me back not having a full list of what it breaks
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tripping knox is not a problem, as can be masked, I am more concerned as rooted secure vault can be cracked...
btw I think that tripped knox means that you cannot use anything of samsung knox...
bob8x said:
until an AOSP rom not based on samsung I won't root.
Right now the main benefit could be only:
- viper sound ( but I don't listen so much with in-ear )
- some tasker stuff ( which I don't know yet)
- double tap home to instant sleep phone
- bixby remapped without adb command
on the other side I lose phone warranty ( which I don't give a damn) and encryption which is a very good thing for me...
Because all the other stuff are well done with standard samsung interface, lawnchair home screen/launcher and package disabler...
And don't get me wrong, previous phone were ALL rooted and changed many many roms, at Incredible S times it was one every 10 days...
Tripping knox is not a problem, as can be masked, I am more concerned as rooted secure vault can be cracked...
btw I think that tripped knox means that you cannot use anything of samsung knox...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not too worried about Samsung pay ECT just don't want to brake any apps that might interfier with the use of the phone like retina scanner or image quality (like in the Xperia devices)
And what's the benefits of masking tripping knox?
Thanks
brockyneo said:
I'm not too worried about Samsung pay ECT just don't want to brake any apps that might interfier with the use of the phone like retina scanner or image quality (like in the Xperia devices)
And what's the benefits of masking tripping knox?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For start not all kernel/roms support masking knox..
The benefit is that you can use knox, that otherwise is un-usable...

Why is the Verizon S7 Edge root so crappy (serious, not being mean)?

Hey all,
First off let me just say great work to everyone involved with rooting this now "ancient" phone, especially klabit87 and jrkruse. Additionally, I do not mean to be ungrateful with this post, nor suggest that rooting a phone is easy, especially one with a locked bootloader, or that the users here are entitled to such a feature.
With that out of the way....
I haven't looked into rooting this phone EVER until now. Haven't even peaked at XDA or Googled anything, I didn't even know it was possible until yesterday. I've re-ROMed all my previous phones but was actually satisfied with the stock S7 experience other than a Launcher swap and dealing with the always laggy Google maps. Well recently I got a new car and got fed up with the obnoxious list/action limit that Android Auto has as the voice search can be quite unreliable, the letter search is somewhat bugged on the media player I use, and in the end all it does is encourage people to just use their phone to change songs/settings and send messages, thereby completely failing at its goal of being safer. So, I really wanted to get Xposed installed to use the module that makes AA a lot more usable; however, now that I've looked back into the scene a bit, I'm not so sure I want to move forward.
To preface my question: Every Android device I've had before was essentially either rootable or not and ultimately banked on a security exploit that was eventually found. There were never really any concerns about major issues unless you were changing ROMs, kernels, or testing major CPU behavior changes. Just rooting itself was almost always issue free other than a small bug or two or the need to reapply at reboot.
From what I gather, it seems to me that they only way currently to gain root privileges on this device is to install this ENG kernel that's talked about in a lot of more recent posts. Is it truly the case that someone had to write a kernel from scratch that was pre-rooted and as of right now there is no way to root the device as it is stock? Is it that the only known exploit is how to flash another kernel, and the stock kernel is still locked up tight? It sucks that the current root seems so unstable/slow. I know there are a plethora of fixes but there really is no one major fix (other than potentially reflashing the stock bootloader that for some reason seems to work), and its a matter of installing a boat load of CPU and resource management tweaks and even then the performance/battery life isn't quite stock. Additionally it seems like its definitely a YMMV kind of thing as some users seem to still have significant battery drain or slowness/heat even after trying tons of fixes.
Since I am just now getting familiar with the "homebrew" the phone I've had for 3+ years and know nothing about the work that's been done, I genuinely just want to know the technical implications that got in the way of a cleaner root and why the current root method is stuck as sort of a work-around so to speak. The people that manage these breakthroughs rarely post about the process they went through unless its pertinent to a guide on how to root, so I was just curious why the root for this device is in the current state it is.
I would really like to root my Edge so I can be done with the AA nonsense but after just getting a new battery put in I really don't want to go through ****ty battery life again haha.
Thanks to all who weigh in.
Verizon requires most if not all manufacturers to lock the bootloaders. This is also Samsung choice as well. The T-mobile S7/edge and newer have locked bootloaders as well. Difference is T-mobile leaves it up to the OEMs whether they want to lock it or not. With some U.S. businesses and enterprises using Samsung Galaxy devices. They focus on being "enterprise ready" which makes sense from a business standpoint.
Believe it or not, Samsung used to be developer friendly when the S II came out. They even gave away Galaxy S2 devices to some XDA devs.
So, if you want a Samsung device with an unlock able bootloader. Get one that has an Exynos SoC or the Chinese Snapdragon variant.

Should I root and flash?

I'm about 2 years into my ownership of Moto G7, and have yet to root or install any custom ROM, so I'm running the latest OTA update of Android 10. In recent weeks, I'm really starting to notice a big slow down. So looking for quick and honest advice: will it be worth the time and effort to root and flash a custom ROM? Will that noticeably improve my performance and make me happy continuing to use this phone for a while? What's the best custom ROM for this phone right now? Thanks!
Probably should have stopped OTA updates on the last good version. Updates kill phones.
If the OS is fast, stable and fulfilling its mission... let it be! I'm still running on Pie on my 10+, no updates for over 1.5 years... and zero issues.
Security simply isn't an issue with Androids most times even with outdated firmware unless you do something stupid.
My current OS load is over a year old...
Try a factory reset if you haven't done one since a major firmware update. That may resolve the issues.
...or find whatever is slowing u down. or I can recommend Lineage OS 18...constantly updated and polished...lots of users hence good support!
I'd say yes, but have a backup phone. Maybe have a plan to buy a new one if this fails. It has been two years since I rooted my black/blue one and I haven't regretted it. Some of my apps require it.
I just got another one like it only in white that's badly broken. I have tried to root it but I'm tired and pain meds are making my mind unclear. I did unlock the bootloader without any trouble. Mainly I wanted it so I could change its battery without damaging it, then decide if I want to change the battery in the black one or take it to a shop.
If I can bring the project phone up to speed I'll run it with my secondary line.
In short, though, yes. Be sure to back it up first, as this will delete all user data. The G7 64 ROM / 4 RAM is a very capable phone even as old as it is.
Finally mustered the courage and did it. So far, so good. Glad I did. Thanks for the advice!

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