Excuse me for my ignorance, ahead of time. I am new to an android phone. I have spent all morning searching and reading on the forum. I am a Unix geek, though, so not completely unfamiliar with some of these concepts. I have a few newbie questions that I need answered:
1. Is the T-Moble version of the MyTouch 4G the same as referenced as the HTC: Glacier? (I mean i noticed an HTC label on the back of the phone, just want to make sure).
2. I am looking for a new ROM for my son's phone. I want to be able to totally disable the GPS and camera. Is there one that allows this?
3. In simple terms, what is "rooting"? Is it just installing a new OS? I see that the steps always include "partitioning" the phone, but i don't see instructions or options for this anywhere.
4. I also see that you can use a tool to create a backup so that you can undo changes or revert a prior version. What tool is best for this?
5. I am a mac user, are there explicit instructions somewhere on these basic concepts of my first "root"?
I know these are very simplistic questions but I have to start somewhere to get the concepts.
deeker said:
Excuse me for my ignorance, ahead of time. I am new to an android phone. I have spent all morning searching and reading on the forum. I am a Unix geek, though, so not completely unfamiliar with some of these concepts. I have a few newbie questions that I need answered:
1. Is the T-Moble version of the MyTouch 4G the same as referenced as the HTC: Glacier? (I mean i noticed an HTC label on the back of the phone, just want to make sure).
2. I am looking for a new ROM for my son's phone. I want to be able to totally disable the GPS and camera. Is there one that allows this?
3. In simple terms, what is "rooting"? Is it just installing a new OS? I see that the steps always include "partitioning" the phone, but i don't see instructions or options for this anywhere.
4. I also see that you can use a tool to create a backup so that you can undo changes or revert a prior version. What tool is best for this?
5. I am a mac user, are there explicit instructions somewhere on these basic concepts of my first "root"?
I know these are very simplistic questions but I have to start somewhere to get the concepts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you should probably research more before rooting BUT
1) Glacier is the same as the mytouch 4g
2) that's harder to do but you could uninstall the camera app and native GPS app.
3) Rooting turns off a checkpoint when updating the recovery which allows you to flash a custom recovery image allowing you to install custom roms
4) it's not an app its built into clockwork mod recovery (replacement recovery image)
5) you can root from your phone the os of your computer doesn't really come into play until you want to start deving
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
deeker said:
3. In simple terms, what is "rooting"? Is it just installing a new OS? I see that the steps always include "partitioning" the phone, but i don't see instructions or options for this anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, i see rooting is gaining access to the base / so that the major phone binaries can be replaced... i see i need 3 things: terminal, asto, and visionary... no adb prompt needed???....
so, visionary 11 or visionary 14, but not 12 or 13???
I just really want to make sure I don't end up with a "brick"!
... right?.....
still waiting on some answers....
well, it is a matter of "faith" with regards to the camera and gps.. my son thinks his friends have hacked his phone and can turn on his camera and gps and determine where he is and see what is going on around him...... i am not one to say they did or didn't for your kids are always right....
so, he won't turn his phone on unless HE wants to use it.... i wanted to re-root his phone with a ROM that saved the battery and gave him the ability to basically change gps dev and camera dev to readonly... so that any app that tries to use them will be denied... unless he turns it on, purposely....
i do this on my mac with the camera for webex takes control of it, if it can, and you have not control over who can see you sitting at your computer.... i just disable it... and only turn it on when i want to skype with my kids..
plus, i think it is cool... i am delving into this for this old lady just wants to learn, too!...
Ok well I'm not too sure on the changing permissions for cam and Gps but saying his friends 'hacked' his phone is preposterous lol a factory reset would eliminate any chance of having a malicious app such as that. As for rooting I used r11. Basically temproot via visionary move gfree files to data/local and then open terminal type
CD data/local
Chmod 777 gfree
./gfree -f
And reboot
Run visionary again and hit permroot
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
yea, let's just say i he is having "paranoid" issues at the moment... i thought, if i went through the terminal and rooting and making him actually do it, it might spark an interest for him to take control, instead of assume with no facts.....
if a person is "paranoid".. give them the tools to know better... ...
glenD
deeker said:
yea, let's just say i he is having "paranoid" issues at the moment... i thought, if i went through the terminal and rooting and making him actually do it, it might spark an interest for him to take control, instead of assume with no facts.....
if a person is "paranoid".. give them the tools to know better... ...
glenD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hah then I'd have him do those instructions followed by rebooting into recovery so he can wipe away everything to give him peace of mind
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
I doubt that there is an app for his friends to do that..Unless they mean the Qik app installed which is for video chat or google latitude, which lets you locate others.
I don't mean to butt in but it's highly unlikely that his friends are remotely activating the camera/gps. Just do a factory reset if theres a bad app that they could be using. And like the other person said he could just be signed into apps included on the phone that track and broadcast your location online (he could have just skipped through some setup stuff or something and pressed allow), or left a video chat app running and had some type of auto-answer on. So just do a factory reset.
If your whole reason to root is to disable those things just don't bother, unless your son is in to that and wants to try out different roms, overclocking, etc.
And yeah Glacier is HTC's "codename" for the myTouch 4G.
Theres a app in the market that you can use to block those functions. You will just have to look for it
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
deeker said:
if a person is "paranoid".. give them the tools to know better... ...
glenD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a person is paranoid... it doesn't mean that they aren't after him
But really, I think that if his friends manage to get his phone for a few minutes (some distraction/diversion action, perhaps involving a voluptuous blonde hottie ), then they may install some applications on his phone that will allow them to remotely trigger the GPS, get his location, initiate a call and listen/spy on him, erase his data, lock his phone etc. etc.
Big brother, Big friends, whatever. Anyway one has to get used to CCTVs everywhere, biometric tracking by the CIA and KGB, friends spying on you through FaceBook (and Android phones, apparently) and god looking to everything one does, says and thinks... Man, am I being paranoid or they really are after me???
Hey guys, I just got the MyTouch4G. I've been on the Cliq for quite a while and have rooted and installed custom ROMs. I've tried ROOTing this but only have succeeded in temp ROOT. I just want to unistall crap apps that I don't use and just suck battery. Also, I'm having difficulty installing CWM recovery to use with ROM manager. I'm looking for a one app solution for ROOT if possible. I tried Z4Root, and another ABD type app neither seem to do the permenant ROOT, only temp.
There is nothing like what you're looking for.
Go to Development section, read the rooting thread.
tvotony said:
Theres a app in the market that you can use to block those functions. You will just have to look for it
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the app name "App protector"
Related
Hi,
I think i rooted my phone using the once click automatic root. I just came from a Att tilt (on wm6.5) to this phone so android is really new to me, and i have a few questions if noone minds:
1. How do i know if i rooted my phone or not.
2. I would like to remove most of the bloatware that came with my phone, how would i got about doing that?
3. Where do i go from here?
4. should i expect any improvements in things?
Thank you so much.
To find out if you have root, you can download an app from the market called "Terminal emulator"
Once you open it up, type in "su" without the quotes and hit enter.
If you have root access, you should either get a prompt asking if you want to grant that app super user privileges and/or see "#" on the following line. There's probably other ways to find out but this is how I found out with mines.
Check the awesome Tips and Tricks sticky for the rest of your questions.
Read the sticky.
since i already started this thread, is there anyway to specify that the gmail app always shows pictures?
While I appreciate you trying to not start several threads, if you ask an entirely new question, you should start a new thread. There is probably someone out here who knows your answer but will never see the question because they read the title and don't know about root.
That said, I don't know your answer.
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant
engineer14 said:
since i already started this thread, is there anyway to specify that the gmail app always shows pictures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe so. Its intended to keep your email running smoothly and keep your bandwidth usage down. Just tap the show pictures button and the pop up in a couple seconds.
So originally when I bought this phone I decided I was no going to root it because I was afraid of voiding the warranty or bricking the phone. Now I kind of want to root it but I have a few (dumb) questions:
1. What are ROMS? I hear of custom ROMS and I dont know what they do or where to get them. Help?
2. What is "Superuser Access" or whatever its called that gives you the rooting powers?
3. Why root? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
4. When I root, what are some of the first things I should do? Like do I have to restore my contacts, pics, etc or back anything up to my computer?
5. And last, what are some of the best apps to get after root?
Thank you guys for the feedback. This community really helps whenever I have dumb questions.
Goto YOUTUBE AND AKASKRILLER has videos you can watch no pc needed and not warranty damaging. ....my phones twice as fast and its like he did it for me my.02
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U508p2jRtlg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
alright ill check it out. thanks!
alecjake said:
So originally when I bought this phone I decided I was no going to root it because I was afraid of voiding the warranty or bricking the phone. Now I kind of want to root it but I have a few (dumb) questions:
1. What are ROMS? I hear of custom ROMS and I dont know what they do or where to get them. Help?
2. What is "Superuser Access" or whatever its called that gives you the rooting powers?
3. Why root? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
4. When I root, what are some of the first things I should do? Like do I have to restore my contacts, pics, etc or back anything up to my computer?
5. And last, what are some of the best apps to get after root?
Thank you guys for the feedback. This community really helps whenever I have dumb questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm fairly new to it myself and took a bit to figure out but I've become pretty comfortable with it.
The 2.2 Froyo update will be here soon enough so I haven't even bothered looking at any ROM replacemnts.
The Superuser Permissions will show up after you root the phone. It allows the programs that need these permissions to use em. You'll get a dialog box asking you to allow and if you want to remember the preference when you first run an app that needs this.
Several neat/tweaking apps require a rooted phone. You can also delete alot of the crap that came on the phone that you don't need once it's rooted. I like to tweak and customize alot which is why I decided to go ahead and root it.
I'd definitely download a good backup app and save everything. I use Ti Backup myself. I also did the RyanZa's lag fix. It makes a nice difference. Benchmark went from around 900ish to 1800-2000. I've also removed the boot up/shut down sounds and installed an app that kills the lockscreen so all I have to do is hit the power buttom and I'm at my home screen. There's a few other apps I'm using that require a rooted phone but that's the highlight.
The first post in the Tips/Tricks sticky is a good place to start if you haven't already looked at it.
I'd also suggest doing the GPS fix if you haven't already. It makes a nice difference.
Home screen replacements are a good start too but don't think they necessarily require a rooted phone. I'm using LauncherPro with a custom dock bar and it looks nothing like it did to begin with now.
Wireless tether is a must have that requires root. Other than that, I haven't modded my Vibrant. On my rooted G1 I changed ROMS almost as often as my socks and installed everything under the sun. It made a world of difference on that phone.
Here's my situation:
I have two Droid incredibles at the moment. One I have had for months, its stock everything, no rooting. The other is new, hasn't even been activated yet. I only have one phone line. What I would like to do is use the new phone for tinkering; rooting and custom roms.
So I have a question: How easy is it to dial *228 or whatever it is and switch back and forth between these two phones on my one line?
And would the new phone need to be activated while I am rooting it?
http://support.vzw.com/clc/
from here click activate a phone underneath "support for your phone" and it should be pretty much self explanatory.
If you have a wifi connection, you can just use that on the non-registered phone. I believe you should be able to run the unrevoked root tool without needing to activate the device, from there can just install roms thru recovery.
Switching the active phone is fairly simple, but I have no idea if there is some limit verizon puts on number of times in a time period the line can be switched.
Phoenix111 said:
Here's my situation:
I have two Droid incredibles at the moment. One I have had for months, its stock everything, no rooting. The other is new, hasn't even been activated yet. I only have one phone line. What I would like to do is use the new phone for tinkering; rooting and custom roms.
So I have a question: How easy is it to dial *228 or whatever it is and switch back and forth between these two phones on my one line?
And would the new phone need to be activated while I am rooting it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I don't have the thread link but I read a post from someone that uses two phones. One doesn't have a camera that he/she can use at work and an Incredible for afterwards. On Verizon obviously and swithes back and forth like you want to. The post is somewhere in the KingKlick Kernal thread.Go back a day or two. Didn't mention having any issues with Verizon. Hope that helps.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Thanks for the reply. One other question, I want to try and keep these two phones two separate entities as much as possible. So much so that I don't want to use the same gmail registration for the second phone. I know that this would force me to re-pay in order to download the same apps. My question is, there shouldn't be any problems creating a new gmail account for this second phone to keep everything separate right?
Phoenix111 said:
Thanks for the reply. One other question, I want to try and keep these two phones two separate entities as much as possible. So much so that I don't want to use the same gmail registration for the second phone. I know that this would force me to re-pay in order to download the same apps. My question is, there shouldn't be any problems creating a new gmail account for this second phone to keep everything separate right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems what so ever.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I'm pretty interested in rooting my Droid X for things like custom ROMs, themes, and lowering voltage use/underclocking for better battery life. The only thing that's stopping me from doing so was an article I read about how certain apps on rooted phones were displaying passwords as clear text. Now as much as I want to unlock the full potential for my phone, I don't want people being able to access my personal data. My question is can someone access my data on my rooted phone if I have Bluetooth/WiFi/GPS disabled? I don't use Bluetooth devices with my phone, I'm perfectly happy with 3G coverage for my phone's internet uses, and I don't really use the GPS feature.
When you "root" your phone all you're doing is gaining Admin privileges. That being said, even in "un-rooted" environments you can have Apps doing crazy stuff. My best recommendation is know what you're downloading, check reviews.
I am aware that rooting gives super user access and access the root directory, but does that mean that other people can access the root directory on my phone over 3G/Wifi/Bluetooth?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
No, you specifically give each app root access when it requests it.
You can then choose to always allow, allow once, or deny.
zanix said:
No, you specifically give each app root access when it requests it.
You can then choose to always allow, allow once, or deny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok great! Looks like I'm going to root mt Droid X!
im going to root my droid x too did you find a one click process?
hocman22 said:
im going to root my droid x too did you find a one click process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used this YouTube video as a guide and it worked perfectly. Read the comments if you have problems.
tht is the one i am using also but it freezes when it says restarting adb and suggestions?
Same problem. Try changing the USB mode to charge only, if you're still having trouble. I just rooted today and I'm trying to learn the terminology for all things root, bootstraps, rooms and the like.
Good luck, and enjoy rooting!
thanks i actually was able to get mine through by closing all programs running and it took about 10 mins to pass. Also does anyone know if it is okay to turn off usb debugging while rooted?
hocman22 said:
thanks i actually was able to get mine through by closing all programs running and it took about 10 mins to pass. Also does anyone know if it is okay to turn off usb debugging while rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it's perfectly ok to do that.
I've just rooted my phone now what can I do? Can someone point me in the direction of some good roms
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App
Well I'd say one of the best things that comes from a rooting your phone is Wireless Teather
https://market.android.com/details?id=android.tether&feature=search_result
You can "teather" your phones internet connection to other WiFi devices, like a laptop or portable device.
Also, overclocking your phone (making the processor run faster) is pretty sweet:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.antutu.CpuMasterFree&feature=search_result
Not to be a jerk but it's "tether" not "teather". SetCPU is a great overclocking app and is free if you get it from XDA but overclocking will only work on kernels that support it.
RideZeLitenin said:
Well I'd say one of the best things that comes from a rooting your phone is Wireless Teather
https://market.android.com/details?id=android.tether&feature=search_result
You can "teather" your phones internet connection to other WiFi devices, like a laptop or portable device.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Despite the slight grammatical errors pointed out by another poster, tethering is indeed a great tool to utilize after rooting your phone.
LivetheRiceLife said:
Despite the slight grammatical errors pointed out by another poster, tethering is indeed a great tool to utilize after rooting your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please explain what exactly tethering is?
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App
Tethering is allowing your computer or laptop to use your phone's internet connection. Depending on the app and type of tethering you might also be able to use things like a nintendo DS, tablets, etc. Most game consoles can also be tethered but not directly, you have to share the connection through a computer.
P.S. the only reason I corrected the spelling is to make searches easier, not to be a jerk.
Search market for AdFree , install and update(run) it.
It should rid ur phone from all kinds of advertisements , in-app and browser ones too, def a must have
Hello,
I rooted my phone (HTC Evo) in order to use screencast because I'm disabled and can't use my hands. I then installed cyanogen and my apps that came with the phone are gone (voicemail, market, etc). Can someone please help?
Thanks!
Adriana
You need to install the gapps.zip file for your phone to get market, youtube, gmail, etc back. You still won't have your data but the apps will be there.
dbzfanatic said:
You need to install the gapps.zip file for your phone to get market, youtube, gmail, etc back. You still won't have your data but the apps will be there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you! do i put it on the sd card?
You flash the gapps zip the same way you flash a normal ROM.
does overclocking make your device hotter?
It can yes, it can also shorten the lifespan of the phone if pushed too hard too long as well as cause stability issues but as long as you don't push it too far you should be fine.
dbzfanatic said:
You flash the gapps zip the same way you flash a normal ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The voicemail app/widget isn't back...what can I do?