I have only rooted unlocked the bootloader on a acer a100 7" tab and kept the oringinal stock os but, it only cost $150.00. I have also rooted and nvflashed a Viewsonic G tab but, I did not have to unlock a bootloader. The reason I did not install a custom rom on the Acer a100 was because I did not see any great improvements over the original stock. The Viewsonic however was a different story. The custom roms all the way from froyo to JB has made this tabby 1000% better than it ever was but, with nvflash I could restore it to original condition and send it to Viewsonic for warranty repair or replacement. Will nvflashing the TF700 allow me to do that? Are the custom rom that are out that much better than the Asus JB update? .I can understand rooting because I can install SuperSU, and I think but not sure (i believe I read this will require unlocking the bootloader) a custom recovery so I can backup the boot.img and all apps and install apps that require root. Sorry if this question has be asked but did not get any results when inputting this question that related to the TF700. Thanks
ps: my TF700 is being delivered tomorrow.
lartomar2002 said:
I have only rooted unlocked the bootloader on a acer a100 7" tab and kept the oringinal stock os but, it only cost $150.00. I have also rooted and nvflashed a Viewsonic G tab but, I did not have to unlock a bootloader. The reason I did not install a custom rom on the Acer a100 was because I did not see any great improvements over the original stock. The Viewsonic however was a different story. The custom roms all the way from froyo to JB has made this tabby 1000% better than it ever was but, with nvflash I could restore it to original condition and send it to Viewsonic for warranty repair or replacement. Will nvflashing the TF700 allow me to do that? Are the custom rom that are out that much better than the Asus JB update? .I can understand rooting because I can install SuperSU, and I think but not sure (i believe I read this will require unlocking the bootloader) a custom recovery so I can backup the boot.img and all apps and install apps that require root. Sorry if this question has be asked but did not get any results when inputting this question that related to the TF700. Thanks
ps: my TF700 is being delivered tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, see if I can make this short and clear:
1. If you rooted, you can roll back to original factory state (send back for repair or exchange), with root you can installed rooted application like Titanium backup, setCPU, modify boot.prop, gps.conf etc...)
2. If you unlocked (you void warranty, there is NO WAY you could re lock your device), with unlock you could install NVflash, install custom recovery to do nanodroid backup (backup the OS and all the apps), flash custom rom/kernel etc..
3. If you compare a good device (a device without problem), that running stock JB and custom rom, the speed is about almost the same, the only benefit with custom rom is you could install custom apps, themes etc..but as far as performance and smoothness they about the same.
I found that strip down custom rom like "Cleanrom" does have an advantage with memory since all the bloats are removed, so I have more memory available to the OS. In my opinion, this thing should have 2gb of memory vs 1gb. There are many times, my memory went down below 150 and I do feel the sluggishness. To combat against this issue, I installed memory management app and it's been good since.
buhohitr said:
OK, see if I can make this short and clear:
1. If you rooted, you can roll back to original factory state (send back for repair or exchange), with root you can installed rooted application like Titanium backup, setCPU, modify boot.prop, gps.conf etc...)
2. If you unlocked (you void warranty, there is NO WAY you could re lock your device), with unlock you could install NVflash, install custom recovery to do nanodroid backup (backup the OS and all the apps), flash custom rom/kernel etc..
3. If you compare a good device (a device without problem), that running stock JB and custom rom, the speed is about almost the same, the only benefit with custom rom is you could install custom apps, themes etc..but as far as performance and smoothness they about the same.
I found that strip down custom rom like "Cleanrom" does have an advantage with memory since all the bloats are removed, so I have more memory available to the OS. In my opinion, this thing should have 2gb of memory vs 1gb. There are many times, my memory went down below 150 and I do feel the sluggishness. To combat against this issue, I installed memory management app and it's been good since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, you were clear and concise. About memory though, could I not use an app like System Tuner Pro or System Cleanup to uninstall the bloatware? I have done that with the Viewsonic G tab it only has 512mb of ram and the developers have squeezed JB into it with approx 100mb of ram left to allow for the different things it has to do. As long as you do not have to many things running at the same time and try to keep recent apps cleared out, JB runs very smoothly.
lartomar2002 said:
Thank you, you were clear and concise. About memory though, could I not use an app like System Tuner Pro or System Cleanup to uninstall the bloatware? I have done that with the Viewsonic G tab it only has 512mb of ram and the developers have squeezed JB into it with approx 100mb of ram left to allow for the different things it has to do. As long as you do not have to many things running at the same time and try to keep recent apps cleared out, JB runs very smoothly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your device is not rooted, you should not have access to the folders these apps' files reside in. In other words: no, you can't. To me, having root access provides a means of treating my device like I want to, instead of the way the manufacturer wants me to. Apps like Titanium Backup provide data backup and the possibility to side-load easily. And indeed you could kill off bloatware, although a custom ROM mostly takes care of that issue for you. Oh, and Total Commander needs root access to be able to transfer files to and from both the internal and external memory.
MartyHulskemper said:
If your device is not rooted, you should not have access to the folders these apps' files reside in. In other words: no, you can't. To me, having root access provides a means of treating my device like I want to, instead of the way the manufacturer wants me to. Apps like Titanium Backup provide data backup and the possibility to side-load easily. And indeed you could kill off bloatware, although a custom ROM mostly takes care of that issue for you. Oh, and Total Commander needs root access to be able to transfer files to and from both the internal and external memory.[/QUOTEto
Thank you. I had pretty much decided to root which is not a big problem for me. I have done it to 3 or 4 tablets already. I am how ever concerned about unlocking the bootloader and voiding the warranty. I had to return one tablet for warranty work but by nvflashing it I was able to get it back to factory condition. May in the future someone will figure a way around the Asus block, then I will unlock it. I have faith in the xda community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lartomar2002 said:
MartyHulskemper said:
If your device is not rooted, you should not have access to the folders these apps' files reside in. In other words: no, you can't. To me, having root access provides a means of treating my device like I want to, instead of the way the manufacturer wants me to. Apps like Titanium Backup provide data backup and the possibility to side-load easily. And indeed you could kill off bloatware, although a custom ROM mostly takes care of that issue for you. Oh, and Total Commander needs root access to be able to transfer files to and from both the internal and external memory.[/QUOTEto
Thank you. I had pretty much decided to root which is not a big problem for me. I have done it to 3 or 4 tablets already. I am how ever concerned about unlocking the bootloader and voiding the warranty. I had to return one tablet for warranty work but by nvflashing it I was able to get it back to factory condition. May in the future someone will figure a way around the Asus block, then I will unlock it. I have faith in the xda community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Due to the level of encryption, the unlock tool will not be available by third parties. The encryption will not be circumvened, unless ASUS posts the key due to end-of-life. There's a thread somewhere in which we already discussed this. It comes down to either unlock (and you might as well do it now and get the best performance -- the current CleanROM flies!) or not unlock (ever).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MartyHulskemper said:
lartomar2002 said:
Due to the level of encryption, the unlock tool will not be available by third parties. The encryption will not be circumvened, unless ASUS posts the key due to end-of-life. There's a thread somewhere in which we already discussed this. It comes down to either unlock (and you might as well do it now and get the best performance -- the current CleanROM flies!) or not unlock (ever).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. You have given me the push I needed to unlock and root but first I would like to install the nvflash. I did it once with a Viewsonic G tab but if I recall it was not this complicated. I have a Win7 64 bit pc and I am not sure which of the 3 drivers I am suppose to use. I have posted in their comment section so hopefully they will get back to me. I have never had to use ADB but I found a web site "ADB for Dummies" that has a guide and a link to download the ADB drivers, not sure how old they are or if they need to be updated. I have only read of "fastboot" in some post but it never pertained to me so I ignored it. As you can see I have some boning up to do. If you could point be to some threads or pages that might speed this along I would greatly appreciate it. Many of you have several months head start on me. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the best one is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1901479, although that is probaby the one you are referring to posting in. Their guides are pretty extensive and cover most issues nicely, but I had one issue I cannot find in the others' posts: I have to restart the adb server before any meaningful connection is made between my x64 W7 machine and the 700. Somehow, it hangs up when it should initialize. It's not ftal, but supremely annoying. Just browse to the platform-tools directory, (SHIFT+)right-click and choose " Open command window here", and input the following commands in there: "adb kill-server" and "adb start-server" whenever you get the message complaining about "too much links"
If you get stuck, you can PM me -- I am going on a vacation, but, knowing me, I'll be in here more than is good for me.
MartyHulskemper said:
I think the best one is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1901479, although that is probaby the one you are referring to posting in. Their guides are pretty extensive and cover most issues nicely, but I had one issue I cannot find in the others' posts: I have to restart the adb server before any meaningful connection is made between my x64 W7 machine and the 700. Somehow, it hangs up when it should initialize. It's not ftal, but supremely annoying. Just browse to the platform-tools directory, (SHIFT+)right-click and choose " Open command window here", and input the following commands in there: "adb kill-server" and "adb start-server" whenever you get the message complaining about "too much links"
If you get stuck, you can PM me -- I am going on a vacation, but, knowing me, I'll be in here more than is good for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that is the one. I am going to call it quits for today I have been at this for 8 hrs already.
Related
Dear friends,
as i have been hanging out in this forum, i have learnt a lot. But still, i cannot understand the attitude why people treat, reply or explain everything in a way that assumes all of us are android experts.
TF700 is my first android device(have been using Apple before) so I really need to improve-or create- fundamental knowledge. Just for your information, replying messages like; "ok now Unlock the Root system instead OTA .21 and blablablabla?" (btw. i am well aware of the fact that this sentence is totally meaningless)
Whatever, my point is it would be wonderful to have a fundamental knowledge thread, also keeping your great posts too at the same time.
Cheers!!
archonur said:
Dear friends,
as i have been hanging out in this forum, i have learnt a lot. But still, i cannot understand the attitude why people treat, reply or explain everything in a way that assumes all of us are android experts.
TF700 is my first android device(have been using Apple before) so I really need to improve-or create- fundamental knowledge. Just for your information, replying messages like; "ok now Unlock the Root system instead OTA .21 and blablablabla?" (btw. i am well aware of the fact that this sentence is totally meaningless)
Whatever, my point is it would be wonderful to have a fundamental knowledge thread, also keeping your great posts too at the same time.
Cheers!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a newbie too -- bought the tf101 a couple of months ago - loved it -- told my husband he could have it - I was buying the 700 ! and was lucky enough to be able to order one (we live in Canada..... Tiger Direct.ca had them)
I have learned a lot from this forum -- glad I found it --- but I won't be "unlocking" anything ! the only thing I know how to "root" are my house plants !!! lol !! we don't even own smart phones yet -- we still have dumb phones !!! but I have my TF700 !!!
You mean sth like this?
seems hard, but it's not.
It seems tough in the beginning for noob, but actually you're going to get it. You should read the "Index" pointing out by d14b0ll0s to gain some basic knowledge and familiar with the terminology then you should be fine. Couple key words I want to point out that you should know. Currently TF700 came with a locked boot loader, meaning you not able to flash (install) custom firmware from our developers. This is a biggest issue at the moment. Sure there're workaround but it's a pain in the as...and unstable(could brick your pad if you not doing it right). When you see numbers like 21,22,26, they are firmware version number. The latest should be 26. OTA stands for "over the air" and we referred to firmware push to our pad by Asus, not manually download and install ourselves. Rooted is a process that you gain access as a administrator on your pad (you have full access to your phone), with rooted privilege you can almost do anything with your pad, like uninstall Asus embed software, do a full backup of your entire OS (operating system), modified system files etc... CWM is a tool you installed on your pad in order to flash (install) custom firmware. So at the minimum you should have root, and in the future when new custom firmware arrived, you can install cwm and used this tool to flash them. Keep in mind that with locked boot loader, you can't flash custom firmware. Finally, once you're rooted or have custom firmware installed, your pad will no longer can accepted OTA firmware (firmware push to your pad by Asus). In this case you need to roll back to stock (re installed factory firmware and no root), before you can do OTA update. Currently, I suggest you should stay on the side line and waiting for the OTA 4.1.1 JB (new Operating System called Jelly Bean, version 4.1.1 will be push to your pad by Asus). After reading this post you should be ready to play... good luck!
Sorry, but I don't get it, what is it about Verizon? Is it because you bought yours from Verizon? Mine comes from ASUS and I believe the OTA updates are from ASUS servers. Is it the US-specific thing that you mentioned?
Yeah... Everything is pretty easy even for people that have no clue what they are doing. My suggestion right now is to root but not unlock. Rooting is as simple as running the .bat file and following on screen directions (assuming you are using Windows). The only thing you need to do after the program is finished is to open up the Superuser app (might be SuperSU) and restart after that for safe measure.
Unlocking does VOID YOUR MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY (and possibly all others you may have purchased). Make sure you know what you want to do with an unlocked device before you do it. Personally, I am waiting for a stable JB build before I unlock. But the choice is ultimately up to you.
d14b0ll0s said:
Sorry, but I don't get it, what is it about Verizon? Is it because you bought yours from Verizon? Mine comes from ASUS and I believe the OTA updates are from ASUS servers. Is it the US-specific thing that you mentioned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry you're right, must not awake yet. ASUS that is. Thanks bro.
Your going to be fine try learning how to build aosp from source in a time limit
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Skullmonkey said:
Yeah... Everything is pretty easy even for people that have no clue what they are doing. My suggestion right now is to root but not unlock. Rooting is as simple as running the .bat file and following on screen directions (assuming you are using Windows). The only thing you need to do after the program is finished is to open up the Superuser app (might be SuperSU) and restart after that for safe measure.
Unlocking does VOID YOUR MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY (and possibly all others you may have purchased). Make sure you know what you want to do with an unlocked device before you do it. Personally, I am waiting for a stable JB build before I unlock. But the choice is ultimately up to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Skullmonkey on this. Until you are ready for really hacking the system, all you really need is to root the system (run the DebugFS) to get "administrator access to your device".
You might want to read what buhohitr wrote several times as there is much to be gleaned from it. If it helps, copy/paste the contents of buhohitr's repsonse to a notepad text document and go through it word-for-word, isolate those that you find questionable or troublesome, then research what those words are. Anything that is "super difficult" you can just post back here in the Q&A section and I'm sure someone will help you in no time.
another noob question: does rooting the device void manufacturing warranty?
It does not. Only unlocking the device does.
Sent from my Transformer Infinity!
So if I root my Infinity...
...which pre-included apps can I get rid of?
Also which preloaded apps are best to bump off if I dare a root?
I have never dabbled with android down in the file system much for fear of doing something irreparable.
Well, to the OP: we already have quite a few 'basic' threads going on here, and no one forces you to embark on the more advanced stuff, do we? Just read up on it, and when you feel like you can make the jump, pick it up little by little. We're not all experts in here, but most of us can follow directions of the gurus really good, and we have the advantage of knowing how to save our butts when the excrement impacts the ventilator. (And most of us learnt it the hard way, by bricking and breaking...)
You should be fine in the regular forums, and as the others have said, stay out of the development sections until you feel secure enough to dabble around with unlocking and so on.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
buhohitr said:
Currently, I suggest you should stay on the side line and waiting for the OTA 4.1.1 JB (new Operating System called Jelly Bean, version 4.1.1 will be push to your pad by Asus). After reading this post you should be ready to play... good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the method for unrooting/reflashing to stock at the moment? I rooted because I wanted to use Titanium Backup right after I got back up to .26. If we haven't figured out how to custom flash roms by the time jellybean comes out, I'll need to go back to stock. I would *hate* to have to lose all my apps, and its possible that titanium backup from 4.0.3 to 4.1.1 might royally screw up the system in doing a restore. So, if that's the case, I guess I'll reflash someway and lose everything? Doh.
spinaldex said:
What's the method for unrooting/reflashing to stock at the moment? I rooted because I wanted to use Titanium Backup right after I got back up to .26. If we haven't figured out how to custom flash roms by the time jellybean comes out, I'll need to go back to stock. I would *hate* to have to lose all my apps, and its possible that titanium backup from 4.0.3 to 4.1.1 might royally screw up the system in doing a restore. So, if that's the case, I guess I'll reflash someway and lose everything? Doh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone figure out a way to go back from root back to stock yet so that when Jelly Bean comes out we can upgrade?
spinaldex said:
Anyone figure out a way to go back from root back to stock yet so that when Jelly Bean comes out we can upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One method to get rid of root would be factory reset (power on while holding both the power and volume down while booting and running a factory reset.) But you could probably temporarily unroot with voodoo ota root keeper and then reroot once you install the upgrade to jelly bean with its root keeper.
Sent from my DROIDX using xda app-developers app
ekalb10 said:
One method to get rid of root would be factory reset (power on while holding both the power and volume down while booting and running a factory reset.) But you could probably temporarily unroot with voodoo ota root keeper and then reroot once you install the upgrade to jelly bean with its root keeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not true. Funny I've been responding to the same kind of "advice" a few minutes ago in another thread.
Temporarily unrooting through Root Keeper should work, but rooting has prevented updating firmware only for some users. I was rooted and installed updates both manually and through OTA without experiencing any issues. Getting to stock /system partition basically means restoring stock configuration files (like build.prop etc.), removing /system/xbin/su and any copies made by RootKeeper, as well as things that install to /system like BusyBox.
Even if you're rooted you should be able to update firmware manually through stock recovery (power down, power up, hold power and volume down, release, press volume up, etc., with microSD formatted FAT32 and with EP201_768_SDUPDATE on it, it's already in the how-to threads in the general section).
d14b0ll0s said:
That's not true. Funny I've been responding to the same kind of "advice" a few minutes ago in another thread.
Temporarily unrooting through Root Keeper should work, but rooting has prevented updating firmware only for some users. I was rooted and installed updates both manually and through OTA without experiencing any issues. Getting to stock /system partition basically means restoring stock configuration files (like build.prop etc.), removing /system/xbin/su and any copies made by RootKeeper, as well as things that install to /system like BusyBox.
Even if you're rooted you should be able to update firmware manually through stock recovery (power down, power up, hold power and volume down, release, press volume up, etc., with microSD formatted FAT32 and with EP201_768_SDUPDATE on it, it's already in the how-to threads in the general section).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I was just misinformed on the factory reset, sorry if I confused anyone.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
d14b0ll0s said:
That's not true. Funny I've been responding to the same kind of "advice" a few minutes ago in another thread.
Temporarily unrooting through Root Keeper should work, but rooting has prevented updating firmware only for some users. I was rooted and installed updates both manually and through OTA without experiencing any issues. Getting to stock /system partition basically means restoring stock configuration files (like build.prop etc.), removing /system/xbin/su and any copies made by RootKeeper, as well as things that install to /system like BusyBox.
Even if you're rooted you should be able to update firmware manually through stock recovery (power down, power up, hold power and volume down, release, press volume up, etc., with microSD formatted FAT32 and with EP201_768_SDUPDATE on it, it's already in the how-to threads in the general section).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1 I have rooted several tablets/phone over the last two years and backed it up using voodoo rootkeeper with ZERO issues updating firmware/OTAS. The only thing that happens after updating is that I loose root, but that's where voodoo OTA rootkeeper comes to play. Only a handful of people have had problems. Some are legit while others have messed/modded their device prior to updates. (like removeing system apps or modding build. Props)
"60% of the time, it works everytime. "
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
Unroot it again ??
If there are problems with the tablet and it must be repaired on warranty, then I need to unroot it again.
How do I unroot it again ??
Regards Peder
Looks like ASUS needs to update the unlock tool to work on JB?
Clearly states on their site that the unlock is for ICS only.
I of course had to try it for fun (I like punishment?) and surely it failed and luckily didn't leave my tablet any worse for wear.
Are a lot of you guys unlocked? What are the greatest benefits you've found from doing so?
Thanks!
Follow this link, or search others, and downgrade to ICS to unlock: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1915598 . If you unlock, you will void your warranty, and can only manually update or use a custom Rom.
amenic said:
Looks like ASUS needs to update the unlock tool to work on JB?
Clearly states on their site that the unlock is for ICS only.
I of course had to try it for fun (I like punishment?) and surely it failed and luckily didn't leave my tablet any worse for wear.
Are a lot of you guys unlocked? What are the greatest benefits you've found from doing so?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say the majority of general community users are locked, but they probably just buy a device and would never tinker with it. That's not the inclination of the average XDA gadgeteer so I'd wager that most of us in here are either unlocked, or have tried to unlock but failed.
The main goals of unlocking are threefold:
1) installing a custom recovery (thus enabling Nandroid backups)
2) installing Nvflash (making you have to work very hard at being able to brick your device at all)
3) installing custom ROMs
In fact, the general drive to unlock is in point 3, for if you do not plan on installing a custom ROM on your device, there's far less rational incentive to make a Nandroid backup, and you probably would not need the added security of Nvflash -- ASUS will take care of a brick in that case, I guess. So..... the main question is: to customize or not customize?
MartyHulskemper said:
I'd say the majority of general community users are locked, but they probably just buy a device and would never tinker with it. That's not the inclination of the average XDA gadgeteer so I'd wager that most of us in here are either unlocked, or have tried to unlock but failed.
The main goals of unlocking are threefold:
1) installing a custom recovery (thus enabling Nandroid backups)
2) installing Nvflash (making you have to work very hard at being able to brick your device at all)
3) installing custom ROMs
In fact, the general drive to unlock is in point 3, for if you do not plan on installing a custom ROM on your device, there's far less rational incentive to make a Nandroid backup, and you probably would not need the added security of Nvflash -- ASUS will take care of a brick in that case, I guess. So..... the main question is: to customize or not customize?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just extremely unimpressed and often times frustrated by the stock performance so I'm looking to try anything to make it better. I've purchased a 32 GB micro SD card and I'm going to move /cache and /data over to it to see if that helps. I'd like to get in on CM10 but from what I've read it's not ready on the TFI yet but definitely will do that once it is.
I unlocked my TF700 on Jelly Bean using the unlock tool without any issue.
MartyHulskemper said:
2) installing Nvflash (making you have to work very hard at being able to brick your device at all)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly I updated to the update right before JB about 10 minutes before the announcement of the Nvflash.
And since you cannot go back down, I am stuck without Nvflash and as such I am staying stock until we get it for JB, then I will unlock and work this old girl.
Didn't work on the 10.4.4.16 firmware 10.4.4.18 seems to work fine - sweet! unlocked!
Sorry if this is a request for a lot of other threads out there but I can't find anything definitive, specifically since the release dates for JB are scattered by region and there's not always a clear answer to my situation because of that.
I have an XT925, the international RAZR HD. I got it recently her in Australia on the Telstra network with ICS preinstalled and with JB already released as an upgrade. I did save my root from ICS and still have root currently on Jelly Bean. It does, however, annoy me that I have to pull apart CWM packages, move all the files, and set permissions. In addition to that I've seen some talk about lag and people doing a factory reset to fix that. I have tremendous lag in folders in the default launcher and occasional noticeable lag in Nova launcer (which I prefer to use) window animations. My experience with Android has been with the Galaxy S II, which is still a great phone, however it is a phone that's easy as pie to root and deal with.
I have a lot of questions, some answered elsewhere but not necessarily in a context that applies to the situation I'm thinking of (and all the ins and outs would be too much to list), nor specifically for JB. Things get obscure given the
Please don't ask questions about why I'd want to unlock the bootloader, be rooted, etc. These are things I can decide for myself. Also, I'm aware I need to backup all my apps and app data to the SD card and pull the entire SD card contents. Please don't answer any of the questions unless you have first hand experience; I really would rather not get well intentioned misinformation that leads to a problem.
1. Can root survive a factory reset of JB. I presume it formats everything needed but still have to ask.
2. If the bootloader is unlocked, and I'm on JB, can I flash SuperSU by sideloading? If not, has anyone done it on a bootloader unlocked XT925 with CWM?; I've read some posts that involve a lot of confusion about the ease of installing CWM and using it on this phone. I should mention that I'm not familiar with TWRP and would like to stick to what's more familiar for the time being, assuming I go down this route.
3. Is there some advantage of TWRP over CWM? Honestly I don't even know what TWRP is; is this something I should learn since I have a Motorola phone? Also, is CWM well written for the device so far? Has anyone done a Nandroid backup and restore with it? Does it perserve time stamps (for OTA updates later given that system files have a 2010 timestamp on my device, for example)?
4. Has anyone had any of the more seemingly unlikely problems stated on the unlocking page of the Motorola site that you "may" have and for example, phone calls not working, apps not working anymore etc? Also, it specifically says "You will not be able to watch any movies you downloaded". Does this apply to videos purchased from google or does it mean that videos I've put on my phone will be unplayable? (I'm not even sure we can purchase Google movies from Australia).
5. There's a thread about disabling the unlocked bootloader warning, at boot, by replacing the file that provides the warning with one that does not, however I recall that the thread discussion was before the JB update (in my locale). Is this something that can still be disabled using the same tools in JB (assuming the original discussion was indeed for ICS)?
6. Does a factory reset wipe the system partition?.. specifically asking this because I've been keeping track of all files put to my system partition so that if there's another OTA at some point, it hopefully won't fail because I can remove everything added but if resetting wipes everything it would be easier to just do that.
7. Did anyone with an unlocked bootloader on ICS have a problem with the JB update, or more specifically if you had an unlocked bootloader on ICS, did it interefere with the OTA update to JB?
8. You know when you wake up to an alarm and have responsibilities but you'd rather just go back to sleep, but you get up anyway and it takes time before you accept the day ahead; doesn't that suck?
Any help here is appreciated.
It would be great if we had a master sticky FAQ thread for all the noob questions that one could conceive of. I hope that someone is able to write one.
I bought a used XT925 today. While the previous owner did go to some trouble to clean it, it still has a bunch of apps and some settings that I really don't want. Also, as a privacy paranoiac, I'm worried that there may be something malicious (however slight the possibility).
The device is rooted and running JB 4.1.2. I would love to factory reset it but having read a few reports of people losing root or worse (here, here, here and here, to list just a few) that plan seems ill-advised.
I've been toying with trying to script some kind of fs compare against a fs from a rom, but I'm not sure if this is even feasible. So far the only other thing I can think of to do is uninstall all the apps and manually sift through and delete all the other junk in the filesystem.
Does anyone have any suggestions on returning my device to the most "virgin" state possible while retaining root?
triplexdoubledadevelopers said:
I bought a used XT925 today. While the previous owner did go to some trouble to clean it, it still has a bunch of apps and some settings that I really don't want. Also, as a privacy paranoiac, I'm worried that there may be something malicious (however slight the possibility).
The device is rooted and running JB 4.1.2. I would love to factory reset it but having read a few reports of people losing root or worse (here, here, here and here, to list just a few) that plan seems ill-advised.
I've been toying with trying to script some kind of fs compare against a fs from a rom, but I'm not sure if this is even feasible. So far the only other thing I can think of to do is uninstall all the apps and manually sift through and delete all the other junk in the filesystem.
Does anyone have any suggestions on returning my device to the most "virgin" state possible while retaining root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simplest way is to use RSD Lite to send your device back to stock 4.1.2 -- then you can use the recently posted root method to gain root back. It should take < 15 minutes to do, most of that spent flashing with RSDLite. It'll actually take longer to download all the ADB drivers, Moto drivers, etc -- if you don't have them already.
triplexdoubledadevelopers said:
I bought a used XT925 today. While the previous owner did go to some trouble to clean it, it still has a bunch of apps and some settings that I really don't want. Also, as a privacy paranoiac, I'm worried that there may be something malicious (however slight the possibility).
The device is rooted and running JB 4.1.2. I would love to factory reset it but having read a few reports of people losing root or worse (here, here, here and here, to list just a few) that plan seems ill-advised.
I've been toying with trying to script some kind of fs compare against a fs from a rom, but I'm not sure if this is even feasible. So far the only other thing I can think of to do is uninstall all the apps and manually sift through and delete all the other junk in the filesystem.
Does anyone have any suggestions on returning my device to the most "virgin" state possible while retaining root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats up,
Cpudan80 is right, your best bet is to flash stock 4.1.2, and to reroot. And it does take about 15 minutes if you don't already have drivers and stuff, but I can help you out, by linking you to my utility, which essentially does the heavy lifting of finding all of the programs and stuff, and puts it together into one convenient package.
Find it here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2241788
Cpudan80 said:
Simplest way is to use RSD Lite to send your device back to stock 4.1.2 -- then you can use the recently posted root method to gain root back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mr.Parkinson said:
Cpudan80 is right, your best bet is to flash stock 4.1.2, and to reroot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the replies! Would you link me to that root method, Cpudan80? All of the root methods I've been able to find say that you must flash 4.0 or CWM first in order to root, then protect root and upgrade to JB again. Is there a new better way which doesn't require downgrading?
triplexdoubledadevelopers said:
Thanks for the replies! Would you link me to that root method, Cpudan80? All of the root methods I've been able to find say that you must flash 4.0 or CWM first in order to root, then protect root and upgrade to JB again. Is there a new better way which doesn't require downgrading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a thread on here somewhere -- but here's the thread I followed (after using RSDLite to go back to clean 4.1.2). No hard steps at all, just run a bat file - press enter and viola - you're rooted.
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/15208-root-motochopper-yet-another-android-root-exploit/
Cpudan80 said:
There's a thread on here somewhere -- but here's the thread I followed (after using RSDLite to go back to clean 4.1.2). No hard steps at all, just run a bat file - press enter and viola - you're rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing, thanks! I had seen that exploit at one point when I was considering getting an earlier RAZR version and was looking into how easy it was to root it. I thought that exploit didn't work with the XT925 since there was no link to it in the forum (and searches only revealed many tales of failed root attempts and downgrades). Thanks again!
Hello everyone,
This is the first time I am going to own an Android Device so am new to Android devices (Coming from the Apple ecosystem)
I'm going to get my hands on the LTE version of the nVidia Shield Tablet over this weekend.
I read through Pichu's Rooting guide and a lot of it went over my head. Wish there was TowelRoot for Lollipop since most of the iDevices get a 'one click' Jailbreak option like TowelRoot.
The rooting and unlocking bootloader process seems to be quite cumbersome or probably I just need to do it a few times to get the hang of it.
So my questions are...
1. Could anyone explain to me what are the Pros and Cons of Rooting and unlocking the bootloader specifically for the Shield Tablet. (Will it cause any loss of nVidia stock Apps etc?)
2. Also a step-by-step guide for newbies of unlocking the bootloader and rooting the Shield Tablet would be of great help.
3. Can unlocking bootloader or rooting cause irreversible damage to the device (bricking it maybe)?
And just FYI,
I think that the Tablet will be on Kit Kat out of the box and will have a locked bootloader and won't have root access (from what I have googled so far).
Also, I will not have warranty coverage on the device since it is being shipped from the States to India where it hasn't yet launched.
I've heard about various touch screen, battery and 'cracked edges' issues and not having warranty coverage might be a big concern but I just couldn't wait to buy this since I am a heavy gamer.
Hopefully most of these manufacturing defects are fixed on the LTE version. *fingers crossed*
jigar7 said:
Hello everyone,
This is the first time I am going to own an Android Device so am new to Android devices (Coming from the Apple ecosystem)
I'm going to get my hands on the LTE version of the nVidia Shield Tablet over this weekend.
I read through Pichu's Rooting guide and a lot of it went over my head. Wish there was TowelRoot for Lollipop since most of the iDevices get a 'one click' Jailbreak option like TowelRoot.
The rooting and unlocking bootloader process seems to be quite cumbersome or probably I just need to do it a few times to get the hang of it.
So my questions are...
1. Could anyone explain to me what are the Pros and Cons of Rooting and unlocking the bootloader specifically for the Shield Tablet. (Will it cause any loss of nVidia stock Apps etc?)
2. Also a step-by-step guide for newbies of unlocking the bootloader and rooting the Shield Tablet would be of great help.
3. Can unlocking bootloader or rooting cause irreversible damage to the device (bricking it maybe)?
And just FYI,
I think that the Tablet will be on Kit Kat out of the box and will have a locked bootloader and won't have root access (from what I have googled so far).
Also, I will not have warranty coverage on the device since it is being shipped from the States to India where it hasn't yet launched.
I've heard about various touch screen, battery and 'cracked edges' issues and not having warranty coverage might be a big concern but I just couldn't wait to buy this since I am a heavy gamer.
Hopefully most of these manufacturing defects are fixed on the LTE version. *fingers crossed*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am familiar with android but I just purchased this tablet for my son for Christmas. he is 7 and I would not let him mess around with rooting or anything like that but I wanted the tablet to be ready to roll when he opened it on Christmas. I just received it on Sunday. This is what I did
I have a 64gb Samsung Class 10 sd that I formatted to NTFS and placed in tablet
Tablet came with Kit Kat. I used Towel Root to root and Flashify to flash Phil's Recovery. I chose this recovery because I have read that CWM has issues sticking with Lolipop.
Once I had recovery I went into recovery and did a backup to my external sd of my current setup just in case anything went wrong I could restore as long as I could still get into recovery
The tablet had 2 OTA updates to install so I let them both. I intended on unlocking my bootloader although I could of opted to not do so because I was rooted on Kit Kat. Having an unlocked bootloader gives you a better chance to recover in the case that something goes wrong. Yes it "voids" warranty although there has been some debate on if Nvidia will hold that against you as long as it is a hardware problem or if the bootloader is flagged once unlocked because you can always re lock it. It wipes your device but does not remove NVidia apps
I had ADB on my PC but it was not a version that liked my tablet. I had to download the minimal ADB package in order to communicate with my shield. I got the drivers from Nvidia and followed their instructions on making sure the tablet found it. Once connected I ran some simple commands to make sure the 2 devices communicated.
I followed unlock procedure then I flashed Phil's recovery following the instructions to flash CMW form the thread in development. Then selected recovery from bootloader menu. Once in recovery I did another backup to my external sd.
I could of downloaded the flashable supersu zip and push to my device via adb but instead I decided to just boot my tablet at that point. I downloaded the latest version of the flashable supersu zip and then put my tablet into recovery
I realized that my tablet no longer had phils recovery, possibly because I did not root so I had to go back to bootloader to flash recovery again then I flashed supersu and rebooted
I went to app store and downloaded foldermount and opened the app to make sure my device can write correctly to my external sd
all is well and I am rooted with full access to my external sd. Side note you need to go to app store to download the new Nvidia Hub. The one that was on my tablet did not have Grid on it and I was scratching my head a bit
not everything I did was needed it was just the steps I took to make myself comfortable. Unlocking or rooting your tablet alone will not kill your device. I opted to unlock because the version of supersu for lolipop is relatively new and although no real issues have been reported what if I flash it and I get boot loops? No I am panicking trying to get ADB/Fastboot to see my device so that I can unlock my bootloader. I wanted to make sure I could establish a connection between the devices prior so I knew I could make corrections if needed
I did not take the time to link anything and it is all there to be found but if you can not find something ask away
Alright, have successfully updated KitKat to 1.2.1 via OTA and even have root now. I even got a 64GB Sandisk Ultra SD card and moved some huge game files via the 'Apps' tab under settings
The battery life, however, is so bad on this while playing games like TWD/Trine 2/Half Life 2... doesn't charge while playing... I read reviews that Lollipop does improve the battery so I'm going to try to upgrade to L and hopefully have a root without bricking the device.
Thank you for the info, appreciate the help.
Now comes the confusing part... I am going to try and unlock the bootloader but before that, is there a tool to backup my entire device? Currently I have nothing important on the device except a few nVidia Hub games... but I'd like to learn the back up process since unlocking the bootloader will completely wipe the device. It is really a pain and a waste of bandwidth to re-download entire 1+ GB games again from the Play store/nVidia Hub.
Also, nVidia hasn't yet uploaded Lollipop recovery images officially that I could use for a clean install... or flashing the device with it (I need to get acquainted to the android terminology now... lol). Flashing recoveries is the same as restoring ipsw firmware files on Apple devices right? Which in turn gives you a clean/fresh install.
What exactly is CWM and Philz recoveries? Should I wait for nVidia to upload Lollipop factory images officially?
The battery life, however, is so bad on this while playing games like TWD/Trine 2/Half Life 2... doesn't charge while playing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a 2A charger (such as the one included with the tablet) seems to be enough to keep my tablet alive while gaming
Now comes the confusing part... I am going to try and unlock the bootloader but before that, is there a tool to backup my entire device? Currently I have nothing important on the device except a few nVidia Hub games... but I'd like to learn the back up process since unlocking the bootloader will completely wipe the device. It is really a pain and a waste of bandwidth to re-download entire 1+ GB games again from the Play store/nVidia Hub.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Titanium Backup
Also, nVidia hasn't yet uploaded Lollipop recovery images officially that I could use for a clean install... or flashing the device with it (I need to get acquainted to the android terminology now... lol). Flashing recoveries is the same as restoring ipsw firmware files on Apple devices right? Which in turn gives you a clean/fresh install.
What exactly is CWM and Philz recoveries? Should I wait for nVidia to upload Lollipop factory images officially?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a good explanation, and you can just flash KitKat and upgrade to Lollipop through the OTA update (and factory reset afterwards if you want a clean install, maybe even backup your system partition to use that instead until they release the factory image).
CWM or Philz Recovery?
Wow! Thank you for those links Bogdacutu. That was a good read. Will try out Titanium Backup over the weekend. I wish droid manufacturers come up with a backup/restore software of their own. Coming from the Apple ecosystem, this was the only time I missed iTunes... for backup/restore. Otherwise iTunes is crap!
Does Titanium Backup also take backups the huge OBB application files? I need to back those up because I have purchased games like The Walking Dead Season 1/Wolf Among Us etc and the episode downloads are humongous... wouldn't want to waste time (on a slow connection) and bandwidth downloading them again.
Is there any other reliable backup software on the play store that does not require a rooted device?
Heading back to rooting the Shield Tablet on Android Lollipop, I don't think there is a way to root it without installing a custom recovery/ROM... currently I'm rooted on 1.2.1 KK (LTE US Version)
Which custom recovery would you suggest... Philz or CWM? So that the OTAs from Lollipop don't cause any future issues and I can go ahead and root the tablet.