Hi,
I am new to the Atrix, but have a background in software development and was a sys admin on unix for a number of years.
I would like to know if, after a phone is rooted, do all apps run as root? or does routing simple install a setuid "su", and root apps call that when they need root access?
The webtop2sd post looks very complete and also something I will try soon. Do I need to unlock the bootloader to run a modified webtop from my sd card?
I would like to keep my phone as stock as possible, but enable a hacked webtop on the sd card.
Also there are 1000's of root threads, what is the safest canonical method (that can easily be undone)?
Many thanks and sorry for asking for your time. I have not found these answers around, but then again, there is a great amount of mis-information out there.
thx,
Scott.
Don't take this as "authoritative" but I don't believe they do, for 2 reasons.
1) If all the apps were running as root, we wouldn't run into permissions problems and have to run "Fix Permissions" to fix the resulting FC's. But we do.
2) If all the apps were running as root, none of them would need "su" to gain superuser permission but I still get that for certain root apps (Samba, Titanium Back, Rom Manager, etc, etc, etc).
Related
Hi all,
First post here, be gentle.
I am a linux user (pretty noob but learning) and I'm a bit confused about what I've been reading on rooting android. I'm looking at getting a Droid X and I'm just trying to understand things before I dive in (already running 1.6 as a VM to play with it).
As far as I can tell--my bash skills not being quite good enough to completely understand everything in the rooting wikis--the methods employed to gain root access to a phone (from: wiki link) use an external OS to push image files onto the phone, then remove the native rights management files (mid.txt?) and replace them with something else in the pushed files. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, cause I probably am)
When completed, this presumably allows you to run su and changes the root password or removes it (though I have no idea how that would work). If this is the case, and I root my phone does this mean that my default login to new sessions will be as root, or will I have to run su to gain privileges? And if I have to run su, what's the password?
One of the first things I learned when getting into linux was that root can be dangerous--you can kill your computer etc.--so, what does this mean for my phone? Can I just login as an admin and then sudo for the apps that need it? (Yes, I realize that I would have to install sudo and edit the list of sudoers etc.) Is it not dangerous to run as root or it it dangerous but easily ignored?
I'm just curious about this because it seems funny to me that a lot of joe shmos who have no idea what they're unleashing by running as root might suddenly hear that it's a great idea to go into a terminal and run
Code:
#rm -rf /
and I have this desperate hope that it's not as simple as that and there is some kind of rights management still in effect once a phone is "rooted." If not, and rooting a phone really does log you in as root for every session then it's much more dangerous than I had thought.
Thanks,
Bob
Is there really no one here who can answer this?
My phone is coming on Wednesday and I'd love some help with this and I can't believe that one of the brilliant people here can't answer this.
Sorry nobody replied yet. When you root there is usually a one click root app that does everything for you. After you are rooted you can install superuser from the market and it lets you choose what apps are allowed to have root access. You can search the droid forums for more info since I have an epic. If this helped please hit the thanks button below
Sent from my Epic that craves frozen yogurt
Not sure if this will take off or not but I had some questions that I'm sure new xoom owners share and I am hoping that it can become a reference[sticky] for others. I'll update the OP with new questions & answers (giving credit) as they are posted.
Why should I root my $600 tablet and void it's warranty? While there are risks, rooting gives you the ability to access and edit things on your tablet that are otherwise unaccessable. It allows you to flash custom ROMs and Kernels which allow for new features and abillities you wouldn't otherwise have. Rooted users can already overclock, enable USB hosting and use the SD card slot. -PMD
I see a lot of different threads about rooting the various Xoom models. Whats the safest/best one for the US WiFi only model? I used the method from THIS POST to unlock my xoom and it was extremely easy. I used the method from THIS POST to root my xoom and it was easy enough as long as you have adb set up correctly and follow the steps exactly. - PMD
What is the difference between rooting and unlocking the xoom? Unlocking the bootloader will allow you to flash a custom recovery, witch will then in turn allow you to flash an unsigned update.zip. This is mostly beneficial to allow the installation of custom kernels/mods. Rooting gives you su permissions in the android system. Su permissions will give you a low level access to hardware and system files not normally accessible to standard users. This access is most commonly used for apps like titanium backup, and setcpu. So the two are really complimentary to one another eg. Unlock your bootloader, flash clockworkmod, then a new kernal. And because you have root you have low level access and can overclock your cpu. - eliteone
Why doesnt my SD Card slot work on my stock xoom? Because Motorola sucks and locked the sdcard slot down pending a future update. This is just another reason to root your xoom. -PMD
Does Netflix work on the XOOM? Not currently, but hopefully it will eventually. -PMD
Can the XOOM boot.img be edited to allow booting from the SD card similar to the Nook Color?
The difference between rooting and unlocking: Unlocking the bootloader will allow you to flash a custom recovery, witch will then in turn allow you to flash an unsigned update.zip. This is mostly beneficial to allow the installation of custom kernels/mods.
Rooting gives you su permissions in the android system. Su permissions will give you a low level access to hardware and system files not normally accessible to standard users. This access is most commonly used for apps like titanium backup, and setcpu. So the two are really complimentary to one another eg. Unlock your bootloader, flash clockworkmod, then a new kernal. And because you have root you have low level access and can overclock your cpu.
how i just rooted my wifi xoom was basically fastboot unlock bootloader, push the recovery with adb, and then run wifi root tools with recovery.
was super easy.
eliteone said:
The difference between rooting and unlocking: Unlocking the bootloader will allow you to flash a custom recovery, witch will then in turn allow you to flash an unsigned update.zip. This is mostly beneficial to allow the installation of custom kernels/mods.
Rooting gives you su permissions in the android system. Su permissions will give you a low level access to hardware and system files not normally accessible to standard users. This access is most commonly used for apps like titanium backup, and setcpu. So the two are really complimentary to one another eg. Unlock your bootloader, flash clockworkmod, then a new kernal. And because you have root you have low level access and can overclock your cpu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just to clarify can you root without unlocking?
PMDColeslaw said:
So just to clarify can you root without unlocking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not with the xoom that I've seen. Rooting involves flashing a custom .zip to run an exploit in order to gain root.
Ok since all but one question in the OP has been answered I removed the [Q] from the title and hopfully this will help others. Also please feel free to post questions here and as they're anwered I'll add them to the OP as well.
THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED!
Has anyone created a method to root Acer a1-713 manually?
Those one click methods are really crude also I don't even know what's happening in there.
If anyone knows it please help me.
Dreadful man said:
Has anyone created a method to root Acer a1-713 manually?
Those one click methods are really crude also I don't even know what's happening in there.
If anyone knows it please help me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some said that Kingroot worked for them in this Q&A thread -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/root-recovery-acer-iconia-tab-7-a1-713-t2851573
JnFrks said:
Some said that Kingroot worked for them in this Q&A thread -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/root-recovery-acer-iconia-tab-7-a1-713-t2851573
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it didn't for me. Also I want to know what I am doing with my tab and not just know that tapping this button will root my tab.
Have you ever tried to look at this site -> http://www.oneclickroot.com/device/acer-iconia-a1-713/. They featured this one-click rooting and it seems they can be trusted. I've downloaded and installed their software so no worries. Well, I'm also using a one-click root utility and it's always working. (just sayin')
The process of rooting a device is too complicated for those who don't have knowledge in Linux (like me), so your question about manually is out.
http://www.oneclickroot.com/device/acer-iconia-a1-713/
Well this one click root website was also a waste of time and didn't work either .
I may have to wait a little bit more before dumping this thread.
Rooting an android device basically means (for me) granting You (as the user) to do whatever you want to your device's system, hardware, etc. But what does root will actually do to your device that will cause you to obtain that superuser access? It's because of the "su" (Switch User) file used by Android and other UNIX-based systems that allows a process of switching of a user to be the superuser (or root user) that has access to the commands and file system, meaning those processes that requires root permission (root access or superuser access) need to invoke su. So basically the process of rooting will just push this su, a binary executable file, to the file system so that you can switch to the root user to give root permissions... And the Superuser application is just optional, but really required for some reasons, it serves as the "gatekeeper" of the su binary so when a certain command or application that invokes su will prompt the user by the Superuser app first before granting the root permission since becoming the root user can do whatever to the system which means it can cause the device to malfunction, etc... So what do you mean by manually?
Sorry for what I'd just suggest you that OneClickRoot waste your time...
Oh, there's a bad news after spending time searching how to root your device, read the news here -> [GUIDE] Firmwares, ROMs, CWM, Root - Acer Iconia (MTK) Tablets [ⒶⒸⒺⓇ ⒹⒺⓋⒾⓁⓈ]
Can't find a best way to root your Acer.
Well thanks for enlightening me on the topic, I hadn't really understood what really is su..
By manually I meant by using computer and tinkering with the files hands on.
Oh, and you needn't to be sorry since everything I tried didn't work. Sometimes I had root till the app was open while sometimes it existed until the next reboot.
Also looked at the link you gave and well, what can I say, it really is bad news and there sure is the risk of bricking my device.
Well thanks for taking your time.
Hi guys,
is it possible to gain a temp root through adb?
after upgrading from Android 4 to 6, there are some applications that has been removed.
For example, Microsoft Account application which provide you the 2-step authentication for your accounts.
I can't install it anymore, i keep getting error code: -505
which is probably related to some data already present on the device which it cannot erase.
right now, that there's permission management for application, i don't see any real reason to be rooted.
therefore, my question is if i can remove this specific application data from the data partition without being rooted?
Thanks
I've read since day one of my Android experience that when you upgrade a full version (as opposed to small incrementals) such as Kitkat to Lollipop, or Lollipop to Marshmallow, you should back up, do a full wipe, and reinstall all your apps from scratch. You have upgraded two full versions, so it's not surprising that you're having problems. Rather than messing around with temporary root and deleting from partitions you should be doing it right as I've stated above.
Thanks dahawthrone,
This might work indeed but will take too much time to accomplish.
not really worth it.
Really? You prefer to put up with a broken phone? This is just one symptom of corruption. Who knows how many others there may be? And particularly with something as important as 2-factor authentication...
root ur phone do wht ever u need to do then unroot through super user
and yes u can delete data from data partition using es explorer and after everything is done unroot ur device through super user!
not broken.. just having a difficulties with his specific app
I just solved it.
root was not needed, although, usb debugging mode was mandatory.
through adb:
1. adb uninstall com.microsoft.msa.authenticator
2. adb install com.microsoft.msa.authenticator-2.apk
and we're done, works like a charm!
thanks for all the advice's.
Currently running a OnePlus 8T + 5G with unlocked/TWRP bootloader which is not rooted, since neither of the two methods want to work on my specific version (KB2007; unlocked former T-Mobile).
Anyway, I'm trying to switch to another ROM but I'm wondering how best to backup/restore all of my apps. Loved using Titanium Backup way back in the day, but am I still correct in assuming that it doesn't work correctly without root access? If so, are there any non-root methods of backing up all or most of my apps along with their current configurations/etc to restore into the new ROM once it's installed? Obviously, most ROMs will support doing it through Google Play, but then it takes forever to log back in to each app, set it all back up, etc. If I've been missing some basic way of restoring all the apps with their configurations intact, please feel free to smack me upside the head with the answer =)
And my apologies in advance if I'm misusing any of the terminology. Before this phone, it has been at least five years since I even tried rooting/unlocking/etc, so I'm a bit rusty.
In the world of computers an app belongs to person who installed it, app's data are owned by the app itself.
Hence it should be obvious that only an user with elevated rights ( AKA Superuser or Root ) can perform a backup and/or restore.
Take note that a temporary root is enough to do the jobs.
Got it. So, in other words, figure out how to root the phone despite the troubles I've been having trying to do so. Unless there's some sort of temporary root privs available that I've never heard of?
To get a temporary root all you have to do is to add to Android OS the binary called SU
Example
Code:
adb push <LOCATION-OF-SU-BINARY-ON-COMPUTER> /data/local/tmp/
adb shell "chmod +x /data/local/tmp/su"
what then allows you to run Android shell commands when elevated rights are needed
Example
Code:
adb devices
adb shell "/data/local/tmp/su -c '<SHELL-COMMAND-HERE>'"
Am I correct in assuming that SU is the same as "switch/substitute user" in *nix? Does that mean I can run TB from the ADB shell, assuming I include the correct command line arguments? Something along the lines of doing a SUDO in *nix before running something that requires admin access or whatever.
I know this might be quite different from what you're looking for maybe?
In the future if you get a rooted rom, I use something called Migrate from the play store, it requires root and just copies all your data into a bunch of twrp flashable zip files.
Play Store
silentrawr said:
Am I correct in assuming that SU is the same as "switch/substitute user" in *nix? Does that mean I can run TB from the ADB shell, assuming I include the correct command line arguments? Something along the lines of doing a SUDO in *nix before running something that requires admin access or whatever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SU in root context usually means super user, as a user with all privileges, but it's the same thing as super user, so yes.
Hello Everyone,
I too am interested in a backup solution for my Android smartphone.
I would happily root or temporarily root, but despite having a computer background that dates back to Unix, I am an Android novice and do not know how to perform these operations which to most people here seem elementary.
Could someone please point me to an easy to understand primer on either temporary root or permanent root.
I would be very appreciative and I am sure that there are other readers of this post who would benefit as well.
Thank you.
AndroidNewbie9000 said:
Could someone please point me to an easy to understand primer on either temporary root or permanent root.
I would be very appreciative and I am sure that there are other readers of this post who would benefit as well.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, that the "official" way to root a device nowadays usually includes a wipe of all user data. You basically have to decide that you want to do full backups before you use an app. This is a security measure so that an attacker cannot use the official way to e.g. access app-internal data on a stolen phone, like secret tokens of 2FA-apps. In order to backup existing app-internal data you either need to use the per-app-backup that the creators of that app did hopefully include or hope that the allowed to do adb backup. That can be used without root, but depending on your Android, apps either need to allow this explicitly or at least not explicitly disallow that in their manifest file.
In principle you can use exploits for non-official rooting to backup existing data that is blocked from adb backup - but this is only an option if you do not have the latest security updates in place and an exploit is publicly available.