Database Users

[Q] Can someone please explain the rooting on this phone to me?

I apologize if there is already a thread like this, but the search wasnt working.. I know what i can do with my phone once it is rooted, I am just interested in what happens tot he actual phone. I could be wrong, but once i root it isnt it always possible to tell that i rooted it even if i unroot it so therefor all warantees are voided? sorry if im being unclear, i cant think of another way to explain it haha.

The K-Zoo Kid said:
I apologize if there is already a thread like this, but the search wasnt working.. I know what i can do with my phone once it is rooted, I am just interested in what happens tot he actual phone. I could be wrong, but once i root it isnt it always possible to tell that i rooted it even if i unroot it so therefor all warantees are voided? sorry if im being unclear, i cant think of another way to explain it haha.
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The language on the "warranty void" screen says that unlocking the bootloader "may" void your warranty. On the Nexus One, HTC usually honored the warranty if the issue was with anything hardware related and could not have been the result of software tampering. Granted, that's them and this is Samsung.
Further, unless there is something hidden in the system files that counts the number of times you unlock the bootloader, you can always relock it prior to sending it in for repair with fastboot oem lock.

unremarked said:
The language on the "warranty void" screen says that unlocking the bootloader "may" void your warranty. On the Nexus One, HTC usually honored the warranty if the issue was with anything hardware related and could not have been the result of software tampering. Granted, that's them and this is Samsung.
Further, unless there is something hidden in the system files that counts the number of times you unlock the bootloader, you can always relock it prior to sending it in for repair with fastboot oem lock.
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So there is a way to kind of undo the root without them knowing? THanks a lot btw. I figured it was something like this.

The K-Zoo Kid said:
So there is a way to kind of undo the root without them knowing? THanks a lot btw. I figured it was something like this.
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Click to collapse
unlocking the bootloader and rooting are two different things

jblade1000 said:
unlocking the bootloader and rooting are two different things
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Ahh i have no idea what unlocking the bootloader does then.

The K-Zoo Kid said:
Ahh i have no idea what unlocking the bootloader does then.
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Click to collapse
In a nutshell, unlocking the bootloader means you will be allowed to flash non-Google/custom files to the system partition and more or less enables superuser access(aka root). Once thats done, then you "root" the device, push the Superuser.apk which will enable the rooted apps. Please check out the rooted section of my stickied FAQ for more detail on how to do this if you decide to. There are two great threads I link to.
Once you lock the bootloader, you lose access to the system partition and superuser I believe which effectively unroots it.

unremarked said:
In a nutshell, unlocking the bootloader means you will be allowed to flash non-Google/custom files to the system partition and more or less enables superuser access(aka root). Once thats done, then you "root" the device, push the Superuser.apk which will enable the rooted apps. Please check out the rooted section of my stickied FAQ for more detail on how to do this if you decide to. There are two great threads I link to.
Once you lock the bootloader, you lose access to the system partition and superuser I believe which effectively unroots it.
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So basically if you want to do any sort of mods, flash roms, etc. you need to unlock the bootload and root. Thanks a lot for explaining that. I think i understand it now, but just to clarify, if i unlock the bootloader and root will i be able to get the phone back to stock without samsung knowing that i rooted/unlock the bootloader?

The K-Zoo Kid said:
So basically if you want to do any sort of mods, flash roms, etc. you need to unlock the bootload and root. Thanks a lot for explaining that. I think i understand it now, but just to clarify, if i unlock the bootloader and root will i be able to get the phone back to stock without samsung knowing that i rooted/unlock the bootloader?
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Click to collapse
Yes, to mod/flash roms you need to unlock the bootloader. It's possible that sometime down the road someone may develop a method of gaining root access on the phone without touching it, but it's unlikely given the fact that we can both unlock and lock the bootloader very easily.
Right now, the answer is... more or less. If you make a NAND backup in Clockwork Recovery/Rom manager of your stock ROM, you can restore back to that, fastboot flash the closest thing we have currently to the stock recovery(check development section for this), then relock the bootloader. This will give the phone all appearances of being stock. Unless Samsung has something deep in the system files tracking the number of times you've unlocked/locked(which I doubt, since I'm sure such a system would have been found by now), you should be good to go.
Most people who have returned the phone to Best Buy have noted that they don't even power on the device or check to see if the bootloader is unlocked or if there's a custom recovery on there. But your mileage may vary.

Interesting stuff. I was under the impression that once clockworkmod is flashed there is no way to remove it at this time.
Reading this thread I'm guessing and hoping this is not the case?

I had clockworkmod installed but used rom manager to flash the 2.3.1 update and i've now got the stock bootloader back. I guess the ota update does the same? It would seem that getting back to stock is pretty easy.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

xspyda said:
Interesting stuff. I was under the impression that once clockworkmod is flashed there is no way to remove it at this time.
Reading this thread I'm guessing and hoping this is not the case?
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My apologies, I posted that before I came to the same understanding regarding the stock recovery.
Like the poster above me mentioned there is a NAND backup of stock 2.3.1 you could restore to which has the stock recovery.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Thanks for the clarification. I'll do some more reading in the dev section

Thanks a lot, this really helped me out a lot. I will proceed to rooting

So, just want to make sure I have this straight... You unlock the bootloader, load custom recovery, SU, and now phone is rooted. If you lock the bootloader, you lose root?
For me, I'm not big on custom roms since I just don't have time to keep things up to date or participate in the bug process, but I do like to maintain backups with Titanium (my primary reason for rooting). So by locking the bootloader down I will not be able to use Titanium. Furthermore, unlocking the bootloader wipes the device. So is there a reason one would not want to keep the bootloader unlocked? Have I completely misunderstood the system?

[Q] General questions about motochopper

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 on AT&T. This is my first android and I'm trying to get a grasp on rooting as an ex-jailbreaker. I've tried reading and searching but unfortunately I just need to ask some specifics.
My understanding is that the current root for this phone is derived from a Motorola root and that it does not include a way to make backups. I am eager to root but I really don't want to take extra risk than is necessary. Is something like CWM required to backup your phone in a way that protects you against accidentally messing up the filesystem? And is there any way to get something like CWM on this phone yet?
I see that there is now a custom recovery for this phone on galaxys4root dot com but can I even use it without something like CWM.
I'd appreciate any info, thanks for your patience.

HardOnChairs said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 on AT&T. This is my first android and I'm trying to get a grasp on rooting as an ex-jailbreaker. I've tried reading and searching but unfortunately I just need to ask some specifics.
My understanding is that the current root for this phone is derived from a Motorola root and that it does not include a way to make backups. I am eager to root but I really don't want to take extra risk than is necessary. Is something like CWM required to backup your phone in a way that protects you against accidentally messing up the filesystem? And is there any way to get something like CWM on this phone yet?
I see that there is now a custom recovery for this phone on galaxys4root dot com but can I even use it without something like CWM.
I'd appreciate any info, thanks for your patience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We cant have CWM until bootloader is unlocked (assuming you have the US AT&T version)
That being said, seeing how there is no custom ROMs you can use ODIN as a kind of backup. It'll wipe and then install factory /system partition, leaving /data alone (you can wipe /data in stock recovery if needed).
CWM works better as it backs up YOUR phone (including mods and /data).

_Dennis_ said:
We cant have CWM until bootloader is unlocked (assuming you have the US AT&T version)
That being said, seeing how there is no custom ROMs you can use ODIN as a kind of backup. It'll wipe and then install factory /system partition, leaving /data alone (you can wipe /data in stock recovery if needed).
CWM works better as it backs up YOUR phone (including mods and /data).
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Click to collapse
Would a stock firmware be enough to get me back up if I mess up my phone with root access? That's my main concern.

HardOnChairs said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 on AT&T. This is my first android and I'm trying to get a grasp on rooting as an ex-jailbreaker. I've tried reading and searching but unfortunately I just need to ask some specifics.
My understanding is that the current root for this phone is derived from a Motorola root and that it does not include a way to make backups. I am eager to root but I really don't want to take extra risk than is necessary. Is something like CWM required to backup your phone in a way that protects you against accidentally messing up the filesystem? And is there any way to get something like CWM on this phone yet?
I see that there is now a custom recovery for this phone on galaxys4root dot com but can I even use it without something like CWM.
I'd appreciate any info, thanks for your patience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answers to all of the questions you asked are in these threads...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2252248
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2257058
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2259933
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261232
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2254274

I found a few of those threads, they are what prompted my additional questions. But the second to last one seems to answer my question. Thanks.

HardOnChairs said:
I found a few of those threads, they are what prompted my additional questions. But the second to last one seems to answer my question. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use either Kies or Odin and the stock factory firmware to completely return to factory stock, but be careful with ODIN, if you check the wrong options it can hard brick your phone.

MotoChopper
I would like to know ...
I rooted my S4 with Motochopper and I realized that my boot animation changed (to the one Samsung used in older models...) Is it easy to put back the new one ?

Root Question

Okay so I just have a few questions about rooting my phone before I do it, since I saw the root here that works for the most recent OTA update.
1) If someone happens with my phone (either bricking it from rooting or something inconsequential) will they not replace my phone due to it being rooted?
2) If they won't replace it due to being rooted (if it wasn't bricking), is there an easy way to unroot the phone?
3) I can't tell from the instructions, but I'm pretty sure some others have said that it might require you to restore factory settings, does this one require that?
4) The thread says that it is now impossible to unlock the bootloader, does this also mean that you can't use a custom ROM? How exactly do you add a ROM?
Sorry for all the questions, I've never rooted an android device before, and I don't have the time or energy to go running around Google/forums trying to find these answers.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: yes I know i've already asked 2 of these questions, but I'm a stupid poop who needs validation.

wholocked10 said:
Okay so I just have a few questions about rooting my phone before I do it, since I saw the root here that works for the most recent OTA update.
1) If someone happens with my phone (either bricking it from rooting or something inconsequential) will they not replace my phone due to it being rooted?
2) If they won't replace it due to being rooted (if it wasn't bricking), is there an easy way to unroot the phone?
3) I can't tell from the instructions, but I'm pretty sure some others have said that it might require you to restore factory settings, does this one require that?
4) The thread says that it is now impossible to unlock the bootloader, does this also mean that you can't use a custom ROM? How exactly do you add a ROM?
Sorry for all the questions, I've never rooted an android device before, and I don't have the time or energy to go running around Google/forums trying to find these answers.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: yes I know i've already asked 2 of these questions, but I'm a stupid poop who needs validation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first, rooting your voids the warranty, so technically, they (either VZW or Motorola) are not obligated to replace it. that being said, you can always play dumb and say that you accepted some OTA install, and now the phone won't boot up. usually, VZW will try to restore the phone, and if not, they'll replace it - no worries.
2.) I believe there is an unroot method, but I have not explored this. try doing a search on this forum for "unroot razr m"
3.) restore factory settings could unroot - check the threads
4.) you can still install a custom ROM, but you'll need to install Safestrap first. however, the custom ROMs available for SS are out-dated, and I don't think that any devs will be providing any going forward. however, I would not be too discouraged by this, as the phone is very solid stock. so rooting is the key to remove the bloatware to help increase battery life, increase performance, and reduce excess data usage.
hope this helps.

[Q] Backing up phone BEFORE rooting?

I'm about to take my baby steps and root my Nexus 4 for the first time. I've read the sticky's and have a good idea of what I'd be doing, but I don't see much in the way of backing things up before root and as I understand, rooting wipes your data. Can anyone help me on this or at least better understand what I should do?
I'm also having difficulty understanding the whole bootloader and custom recovery too but not too much trouble. I'd just like to know how to install a custom recovery and how much risk I'm at of messing up my bootloader.

PGvossman said:
I'm about to take my baby steps and root my Nexus 4 for the first time. I've read the sticky's and have a good idea of what I'd be doing, but I don't see much in the way of backing things up before root and as I understand, rooting wipes your data. Can anyone help me on this or at least better understand what I should do?
I'm also having difficulty understanding the whole bootloader and custom recovery too but not too much trouble. I'd just like to know how to install a custom recovery and how much risk I'm at of messing up my bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting does not wipe data, the unlocking process does. There is no really good way to backup everything prior to unlokcing, you could use My Backup but you should really use the Pro version which is $4.99 (Many people swear by it for unrooted phones, I have no real experience with it). Wugfresh's toolkit has a backup and restore when doing unlock, but honestly, it messed up my phone and I had to factory default anyways.
As long as you are syncing stuff to Google (contacts, pictures, videos, etc), have Android Backup& Restore enabled (handles apps and common system settings), SMS Backup & Restore (text and pix messages), and you pull of the other files you want, there is no real need to backup at all. I swap ROMs all the time, and this is all I do to go from one ROM to another.
As far as the actual rooting process, ie. flashing SuperSU, there is no need to backup prior to that... all that is going to do is add a few files in some system directories and that's it.
The greatest thing about a Nexus device is it's ability to be modified... and within normal means it is virtually unbrickable, so give it a shot, and if you screw it up ask for help, thousands of people here have done it and can help, and if you still can't figure out a problem just restore the Google system images and whoalla... your phone is back to out of box condition.

You are able to root and unlock without wiping any data. Just check out my guide (the link is in the stickies, too)

mihahn said:
You are able to root and unlock without wiping any data. Just check out my guide (the link is in the stickies, too)
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Click to collapse
I opened your links but they all seem to be about Xperia devices.
I don't quite understand. Isn't the unlocking process needed to root the phone, thereby loosing all the data?

easy
before rooting, you hav to unlock bootloader and it wipes your all pics videos etc so better backup in your pc and thn try root. foloow guide ,its easy, or search on youtube for videos...

parveen75 said:
before rooting, you hav to unlock bootloader and it wipes your all pics videos etc so better backup in your pc and thn try root. foloow guide ,its easy, or search on youtube for videos...
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Click to collapse
OK I guess that makes sense. Does that include phone contacts, SMS and passwords?
And I suppose my final question is the danger of the bootloader. Is it possible for a newbie like myself to ruin something accidentally?

PGvossman said:
I opened your links but they all seem to be about Xperia devices.
I don't quite understand. Isn't the unlocking process needed to root the phone, thereby loosing all the data?
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Click to collapse
Yeah I meant the one in the stickies here, I'll add the guide to my signature later
But I meant this guide. It'll root before unlocking the bootloader and you are able to unlock without wiping then. Check it out

PGvossman said:
OK I guess that makes sense. Does that include phone contacts, SMS and passwords?
And I suppose my final question is the danger of the bootloader. Is it possible for a newbie like myself to ruin something accidentally?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I m also a newbie earlier . lol.. Only follow guide corectly for rooting.. U wl b good to go
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

mihahn said:
Yeah I meant the one in the stickies here, I'll add the guide to my signature later
But I meant this guide. It'll root before unlocking the bootloader and you are able to unlock without wiping then. Check it out
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Thanks. Where does the whole custom recovery and such come into play on this though?

PGvossman said:
Thanks. Where does the whole custom recovery and such come into play on this though?
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Click to collapse
It's not necessary to flash the recovery, but you may flash it if you want to and if you need it

Couple ways to do a backup without root.
Use adb,
eg. adb backup -all -apk -nosystem
Then pull files you want to backup
eg. adb pull /sdcard/
Or use helium app available from play store which is basically a gui for the adb backup command.

Thanks. I notice the -nosystem command, does that mean it won't back up system details?
I suppose my final question is Windows 8 support. I saw a thread a while back when you have to do something extra for the drivers and I can't seem to see it in the sticky threads.

Recover Old Snapchats?

I wanted to look into the possibility of recovering old/expired snapchats, and I was wondering if any of you have knowledge of this. If you do, do you mind giving me instructions on how to do it?
My phone is currently not rooted, but if need be, I will root it.
Thanks!