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Should I, shouldn't I

Hi folks,
I'm thinking of picking up the galaxy s, the samsung vibrant from t-mobile to use on my carrier.
i had a few questions and hope you fellas can help me out.
1st, what would be involved in unlocking it? Would I have any problems getting it unlocked?
Also i'm a total noob to android but i've been reading up. What exactly is "rooting"? will rooting allow me to put a stock 2.2 on it? is that even possible and is it recomended on this phone?
and lastly from people who have been using this phone, do you recommend getting it?
thanks

oh snap! i posted this in the wrong board. it should have been in the "Galaxy S I9000 General"
sorry mods.

Rooting allows you to get access to parts of the phone you otherwise wouldn't have access to. Compare it to having administrator rights on windows, you can access more files, do more stuff. Programs can perform more actions when your phone is rooted.
Putting 2.2 on it is completely seperate from that and at this moment is not possible. However, Samsung already stated that the first 2.2 update will be somewhere in august (not for euro/usa regions though) so perhaps withing the month after that it will also be available for other regions. Samsung has officially announced that it WILL be updated though, so no need to worry about that.
Without the 2.2 update it's already pretty damn fast though (with some tweaks its faster then the Nexus one WITH 2.2) so I would certainly already recommend it.
This is my first android phone (after symbian, windows mobile and more) and it's really easy to get used to and works just great. The screen is beautiful (good colors, vibrant although reading text on it is a less great experience) and it's very fast. Also feels light, in a good way, great screen, etc. I can totally recommend it.
ps. No idea what the status on unlocking is, mine was unlocked already so never looked into it.

you might want to make sure the frequency bands of the one you acquire will work on the carrier you want to use it on
if not, it may not work at all, or may not give you 3G data svc

personally i didnt think any phones are locked down anymore, at least not in the UK?
you should buy the phone, its the best ive owned, not saying its the best on the market but id like to hear of an arguement for why it isnt.
rooting was done on this device even before release, and with already 300k sales in south korea alone it looks like its going to have some great support and updates in the future

[Q] Root for ZTE Valet (Z655c) from Straight Talk?

I am looking for some help getting root access on the ZTE Valet from Straight Talk.
Android Version: 4.1.1
Kernel Version: 3.4.0-perf [email protected]
Please let me know if you need more info, or if there is a root method already confirmed working for this device.
Thanks!

I am still looking
I am still looking for a root solution for this phone. I have tried several solutions (made for other devices) that I found searching the forums and google, but nont have worked.
If anyone knows of one, please PM me.

I really don't think this phone can be rooted because of the "proprietary" nature of Tracfone's service. Although the phone is ZTE by manufacture and Tracfone is tied in with Straight Talk as well, the way Tracfone service is metered probably means if you rooted it it may not work through them anymore.. but that's just my supposition. Having said that.. I bought one today myself. Although I've rooted all the Android devices I have.. I don't intend to even try with this one.

I know it's a little late to be chiming in on this, but I thought you'd appreciate an answer.
The ZTE tracfone/straightalk devices cannot be rooted. period. The reason behind this is that the airtime tank info (minutes, service date, etc) is actually stored on the phone itself instead of the network. They had to develop an un-rootable phone so that people couldn't go in and edit their own airtime tanks. It's not an issue on normal tracfones, but android wasn't secure enough on it's own. Perma-locked bootloader, locked kernel.
The only way to root your device is to get a new device. It sucks, but it's the sacrifice of being on a prepaid plan with this company.
Source: My own Tracfone ZTE Valet and a boatload of research and experimentation.
Good luck.

iamthedonut said:
I know it's a little late to be chiming in on this, but I thought you'd appreciate an answer.
The ZTE tracfone/straightalk devices cannot be rooted. period. The reason behind this is that the airtime tank info (minutes, service date, etc) is actually stored on the phone itself instead of the network. They had to develop an un-rootable phone so that people couldn't go in and edit their own airtime tanks. It's not an issue on normal tracfones, but android wasn't secure enough on it's own. Perma-locked bootloader, locked kernel.
The only way to root your device is to get a new device. It sucks, but it's the sacrifice of being on a prepaid plan with this company.
Source: My own Tracfone ZTE Valet and a boatload of research and experimentation.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I don't have the phone, my understanding is you can check the tracfone website for how many minutes/data you have left and not just the app on the phone. If true then the minute tank is not just on the phone but "in the cloud" which to be honest makes perfect sense. Andriod is hard to 100% lock down, sooner or later a hack will happen. It is just the nature of the OS. One reason it is open source, but then again iOS is not and people found ways to jail break/root that. So I am not going to say it is "impossible", and I really think the minutes/data information is stored on tracfone's servers not on the phone. It would cost them too much if they got hacked and were able to add minutes for free.
Now if I am wrong, ok but I doubt I am based on my experience with computers and I don't think Tracfone would take the risk. Also I have found instructions on rooting some Android tracfones by Samsung. So again I think it is possible, just no one has figured out how with this one (yet).
Update: I recently watched a review of this phone on youtube and the person was demonstrating how to see the minutes you have left and mentioned that often it is not instant when you add time/data. And even after using minutes you need to click the refesh to see the latest information regarding your minutes/data. If it was on the phone itself, no update would be needed. It would just be "there". So it is server based, not on the phone itself.

[Q] Can I root my device if I have the latest OTA update?

HTC One M8 on Verizon. Android version 5.0.1. I did a lot of research yesterday, and could not find any working solution to root the phone. It's hard to find anything on Google because generally the information will be outdated (from last year or the year before). So can someone fill me in on what exactly I'd need to do? This is my first smartphone and I've never rooted an Android device before.

ziddy5 said:
HTC One M8 on Verizon. Android version 5.0.1. I did a lot of research yesterday, and could not find any working solution to root the phone. It's hard to find anything on Google because generally the information will be outdated (from last year or the year before). So can someone fill me in on what exactly I'd need to do? This is my first smartphone and I've never rooted an Android device before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you are still S-On and locked then you are stuck without root for now.

BladeRunner said:
Assuming you are still S-On and locked then you are stuck without root for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I was afraid of. How can I keep track of when there is an update to the situation?

ziddy5 said:
This is what I was afraid of. How can I keep track of when there is an update to the situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep checking these forums and/or follow @teamandIRC on twitter

Rooting the already updated HTC One M8
It's going to be difficult. I've been scouring the webs for weeks looking for the answer to that one. The Sunshine S-off didn't work for me. The only way I can find right now to do this requires finding somone that has purchaced the elusive "HTC java card" sometimes called the HTC S-off card. They can s-off your phone in a heartbeat. Wish I had one, I just can't see forking over 375.00 to get one.

So if your S-off there is a root method available ? I haven't found it if there is.
I'm running 5.0.1 Verizon S-off
Thanks in advance

jjmstang said:
So if your S-off there is a root method available ? I haven't found it if there is.
I'm running 5.0.1 Verizon S-off
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're already s-off then just install twrp and flash, reboot recovery and it should ask you if you want to install root

BladeRunner said:
If you're already s-off then just install twrp and flash, reboot recovery and it should ask you if you want to install root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems you have to be rooted to install TWRP........at least what found

You only have to be rooted to install it with their app. If you are s-off you can download it from their site and flash it with fastboot.

mpappas87 said:
You only have to be rooted to install it with their app. If you are s-off you can download it from their site and flash it with fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed this method and I have re-gained root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...ow-to-root-ota-pc-s-off-t3048604#post59750567
Now I'm going to try and flash the Dragon ROM with Sense 7
Thanks again for the help

same boat ; old filmware?
just received this HTC One M8 thru verizon, lollipop 5.0.1 after day 2 OTA update. I've been rooting every device i've owned since 08. Busy with daily tasks I haven't had a chance to sit and try unlocking bootloader until this weekend. I hit a wall when HTCdev returned an error after entering the identifier token \(^~^)/ . I did some reading, couldn't find anything.
I'm coming from a xt912 I've pretty much squeezed all I can get out of it since I got that brand new. I put CM12 on that just recently this HTC makes that the moto seem primitive. After bricking that (moto)spyder a few times flashing bad zips or doing things out of sequence I've put it thru the ringer and used RSDlite to just start from scratch. I have also found these device can put up with a lot and still bounce back. Geeze, I have three years of continuous text and data backed up on SD, lol . Something I haven't tried and wonder, does anyone know, is there any old VZW filmware for this M8 maybe 4.4.2 and try un locking from that point or Does the token id stay the same no matter what filmware?

Htcdev won't work on our phone because it's blocked by Verizon. Also, it's not possible to downgrade firmware or the OS without having s-off. At this time there's no way to get s-off on lollipop so you're pretty much stuck where you're at until an exploit is found by someone. Sunshine works for anything up to 4.4.4 but it won't work on a Verizon phone that's running 5.0.1. About all you can do right now is wait to see if Jcase and Beaups come up with a way to make it work on a Verizon phone too. I know that's not what you want to hear but that's how it is at the moment.

benjdevel said:
I've been rooting every device i've owned since 08. weekend. I hit a wall
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, glad I didn't spend too much time trying to figure this out, never rooted a device before

Gotcha . ...Stupid vzw ? I glanced at a procedure to unlock SIM. Have no idea if that would help anything. Havent tried it. Ill have to keep a watch out for something. Really compaired to that spider this thing is like a ferrari. Not too much bloatware. Lollipop rocks and knowing Im up to date for the most part calms me a little. I still dont like the idea of not having complete control of my device. I've already received a few notification marketing related from verizon that i could not close unless i looked at it. I did notice control over saving things to my ext sd i do like. I am a student just getting into the ist world.wish there was something i could help with. 5 classes is killing me at the moment though. I did also try to install an imsi catcher apk updates version and it seemed like it ran fine. I could of swore that app needed root access. I could be wrong with the newest version though.

Joint Java Card?
Same boat (Verizon, htc one m8) . . . For some reason I was thinking Lollipop was the update which was still able to be handled by Weaksauce 2. So I accepted the OTA, without thinking. -hadn't gotten around to s-off, etc., before this time around.
So, in some 2013 posts, I saw that some people had tried to pool resources and share a Java Card, etc. But sending phones to a "card keeper", is expensive, and unsafe (besides having to live without your phone for a few days.). jcase, on their company's IRC support channel, indicates that the card is more than just a simple microSD card, which one might be able to dd a filesystem image from (i.e. copy it for distribution). That's entirely possible, since all SD cards have micro-controllers for dealing with failed sectors, etc (check out "Bunnie's Blog"). Basically, the controller could make it tough/impossible to access part of the card, and can take care of decrimenting credits, encryption, signing, etc. Even if it were a basic SD card, the use of signed binaries, and external license/resource server, etc. could still make it tough . . . -although the card I found states it needs no internet connection. It would be much cheaper to send the card, rather than phones. But how to coordinate and pool the cost seems like it could be a pain?
So here's what I'm thinking about:
Someone (me?) could purchase a legit, new htc Java Card. After I use my 2 or 3 credits to s-off/unlock my phone, I could put the card on, say, ebay for maybe $5 less than what I bought it for. Then, another person could use some credits, then sell it again, for a little cheaper, etc. If we want to keep it "in-house", we could just send to each other and pay with PayPal or Google Wallet. But, with e-bay, one could just copy/build on the ad the first person started. Take a picture of your phone's screen, when the remaining credits are shown, and put it on the ad. With 2000 credits, my conservative estimate is that it could cost less than 72 cents, for each unlock. The $5 incremental discount might be close enough to cover re-shipping costs.
The Sunshine guys have, for free, helped many of us over the years. So I was planning to purchase their solution, if it worked for this situation. But their download page states that "Verizon 5.0.x users will have to wait until we update.". They indicate they could get us supported soon, but they also indicate that Lollipop is much more secure, with SELinux updated and better enforced., etc. So I am a little concerned about when that will actually happen. I see they've been posting updates for Motorola, and making sure people are able to pay them via PayPal, etc. But nothing yet for Verizon 5.0.x.
Does anyone know/recall how long after the last android update, someone came up with a root exploit? I'm just trying to get a rough guesstimate about the minimum time people will have to wait this time. -then add time because Lollipop is apparently significantly more secure. I guess I don't completely mind that my phone might be secure enough to not make it tougher for someone to get into the deepest parts of it, without specialized hardware (Java Card), if I were to lose it.
But, really, what Verizon and htc and others have done to these devices . . . They are, essentially, specialized computers. It would be like if Dell or another computer manufacturer sold you a computer, without allowing you access to your administrator account (and no clear/easy way to boot from another drive, to recover/fix things, etc.). That's crap.
I dunno. What do people think? I suppose I could just try it, and see.

Are new devices updated already? If I were to get a phone from verizon today will it already have the Lollipop update or would I get a still root-able device that I can deny the update?

libredroid said:
But, really, what Verizon and htc and others have done to these devices . . . They are, essentially, specialized computers. It would be like if Dell or another computer manufacturer sold you a computer, without allowing you access to your administrator account (and no clear/easy way to boot from another drive, to recover/fix things, etc.). That's crap.
I dunno. What do people think? I suppose I could just try it, and see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the idea of that Java card:good: and I completely agree with you on how wrong it is restricting administrative rights, especially considering these things are comparable to a new computer.

dimsumx said:
Are new devices updated already? If I were to get a phone from verizon today will it already have the Lollipop update or would I get a still root-able device that I can deny the update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No guarantees either way.

What is the status on SunShine for our device?

I got the Java Card.
@vazersecurity: still "Verizon 5.0.x users will have to wait until we update.", as of today.
I got the card, as previously proposed, and was able to get S-Off on my USA-Verizon HTC One M8 with the Lollipop OTA.
I needed to download and place two files in the root of the card (now done).
I then (CID changed) was able to use htcdev.com to unlock my bootloader, and ultimately gain root. I'm now happily running a current Cyanogenmod ROM. To regain some functionality from my camera, etc., I installed the htc camera, HTC Gallery, and Zoe apps from the Play store.
So I've already created a listing for the card on eBay. I assume the forum rules won't allow me to post the link. But I, honestly, always intended to use that as a way to make it more convenient to share with a community of people who wish to join in. -not to try and make any money off the card. Again, rather than have people ship phones to one person (with the shipping cost, and being without their phone), if figured it would be cheaper, and less disruptive, to ship the actual card. So, you'd purchase the card from the previous user, then re-list it for a bit less than what you paid for it. With the starting cost and credits, S-Off is about 30 cents, each. As the card credits get used up, it gets cheaper. Maybe each person would end up paying a few dollars for S-Off, when you factor in the shipping.
Maybe a moderator could chime in about whether it might be OK to post a link to this "community-intended" listing. -or suggest a better contribution/distribution method.
Also, since many users in our situations have been out of luck regarding S-Off, for a few months now, might a moderator or someone suggest/implement a way to post/place this information more prominently, in the forums?
Thanks.

[Completed] Finally got my SM-T217a running 4.4.2 rooted

But because for so long the bootloader seemed unlockable, and because when they finally did get it unlocked, it was with a device that was almost 200$, there was a complete lack of development on this particular device once it was given the 4.4.2 upgrade. Over the course of a year, I have found many things about the tablet that I have been unable to find out on my own to get into.
I found that the tab 3 lte was actually designed as a really big phone, but the dialer, phone and dialer storage were blocked by AT&T, so even with a sim chip, the tablet just will not function as a phone without getting a VOIP app, and I really shouldnt have to considering that I have a perfectly good phablet capable of actual phone calls. I dont know how to use terminal emulator very well, or if the language changes drastically between versions of Android.
I was also wondering if it was actually possible to unlock the bootloader from Terminal emulator now that I have full root.
Is there a way of finding out if my current stock rom is one of those that have the SO- attached to the system folders so that I cant write anything to the system folders without reverting to out of the box system restore. And lastly, I was wondering if there was ever any custom recovery that was made for this device that would be usable now, considering that when the device came out it was on Jellybean, not kitkat. If anyone could help me I would be greatly appreciative. I know it sounds like a lot of work for a tablet , but I am not exactly overflowing with money to go and buy a new one. This was a gift and I just want to try to avoid bricking it when I just now finally got the damned things rooted.

TrustInSin said:
But because for so long the bootloader seemed unlockable, and because when they finally did get it unlocked, it was with a device that was almost 200$, there was a complete lack of development on this particular device once it was given the 4.4.2 upgrade. Over the course of a year, I have found many things about the tablet that I have been unable to find out on my own to get into.
I found that the tab 3 lte was actually designed as a really big phone, but the dialer, phone and dialer storage were blocked by AT&T, so even with a sim chip, the tablet just will not function as a phone without getting a VOIP app, and I really shouldnt have to considering that I have a perfectly good phablet capable of actual phone calls. I dont know how to use terminal emulator very well, or if the language changes drastically between versions of Android.
I was also wondering if it was actually possible to unlock the bootloader from Terminal emulator now that I have full root.
Is there a way of finding out if my current stock rom is one of those that have the SO- attached to the system folders so that I cant write anything to the system folders without reverting to out of the box system restore. And lastly, I was wondering if there was ever any custom recovery that was made for this device that would be usable now, considering that when the device came out it was on Jellybean, not kitkat. If anyone could help me I would be greatly appreciative. I know it sounds like a lot of work for a tablet , but I am not exactly overflowing with money to go and buy a new one. This was a gift and I just want to try to avoid bricking it when I just now finally got the damned things rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for using XDA Assist!
Please post here for further assistance:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-3/help
Your device experts are located there.
Good luck!
Thread closed.

Root for the ZTE Avid Trio (Z833) (MetroPCS)?

Okay, I know I don't post much in XDA, but I do read a LOT of threads!
The reason I am posting this is because I am wondering if anybody achieved root on this phone.
I have tried KingRoot, KingoRoot, OneClickRoot, none of those work.
It is running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
I am about to screw around with ADB, see what I can do. I'll post back when I have got something.
Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section, I don't post much on XDA.

any luck?

I've tried every root method available without the PC and nothing. But, there maybe good news. In developers options there's a switch to unlock the bootloader. Now I'm no dev but I hope this makes cwm or tarp easy for devs to port and root.

I found https://mobile.twitter.com/srsroot/status/810325782417592325?lang=en srsroot claims it supports ZTE Z833. I've used srsroot once before but on another phone I have no PC so I can't test it but someone should test Cydia impactor see if it works.

RE: comments
kotarou1 said:
I found https://mobile.twitter.com/srsroot/status/810325782417592325?lang=en srsroot claims it supports ZTE Z833. I've used srsroot once before but on another phone I have no PC so I can't test it but someone should test Cydia impactor see if it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I too saw that twitter SRSRoot business and tried it thinking, "Oh joy!" no, not working. Tried it every way you could (yes Kingo, KingRoot, vRoot, iRoot, FramaRoot, uRoot, & we-all_Root (the last two were jokes don't be so serious, nor was it a complete list of what I did actually try, ha!) too). I even wrote the people at SRSRoot telling them that it didn't work and have gone back to download their latest versions, still nada, zip, zero. FML on toast!
2. Cydia Impactor is not for Android devices, it is only for iOS. I went and double-checked just to make sure I wasn't trippin' thinking that maybe they have gone cross-platform. No, they have not.
3. I have the phone in question, I submitted a formal request on here in the best way I could find to get it added to the XDA devices list and I have been eagerly monitoring awaiting the day it happens. I was even considering trying to compile TWRP myself, but I just bought a different phone because I was tired of the headache. I couldn't figure out how to extract the zImage from it in order to give it a go (I think that's what it was). Anyways, I'm writing this before finishing reading the rest of the posts and may be rambling, but I had to respond. I have spent much time doing this. I ended up buying a different MetroPCS phone called the Samsung Galaxy On5 and was able to successfully root it and after much waiting finally got ahold of the Superstarz ROM that finally went out for that one. Just an FYI in case someone happens to see this before making the purchase. I will say that I feel like the ZTE Avid Trio Z833 has pretty good response time for such a cheap phone, then again they had a deal on it in the store, it looked to be more expensive at retail pricing. Anyhow, I digress, but felt the need to contribute rather than just lurk.
Oh, and another thing... The development option to OEM Unlock is "checkable", but as for actually booting to the bootloader it WILL NOT DO IT. The only way this is gonna happen to be rootable is if you use a custom recovery (which none exist yet) in a tar format and ODIN the friggin thing from download mode. So, there's your catch 22. If anyone knows how to extract the zImage and whatnot (without root obviously) I'd be more apt to give it a go and boot my happy bunghole into Linux and give compiling TWRP another go. I finally have had a lot of life stresses temporarily die down since I decided not to leave my current living situation and just stay with these irritating bastards another month at a higher rate. FML & Cheers!: good:
I should mention, however, that SRSRoot attempted to use it's "Exploit 8." So, I went digging into it's directories to see what the script was, but it was binary (and I didn't have reverse-engineering **** handy like PE-ID, and whatever else the kids are using in this newer age). So, I was like "wah-wah", but if any experienced ppl know more about the specific exploits that aren't ancient and actually working with Marshmallow that would be interesting to hear feedback about as well. Thanks. I really would like to use this second phone still, but right now I'm just using it as a Kodi/Megabox HD + AllCast Projector to watch streaming things without having to interrupt my working phone in the middle of it. It would also be cool to use as a straight VOIP phone with no cell service connected, but I've yet to find the free Google Voice VOIP loophole that is currently working. PM me if you know of these
P.P.S. I wrote another spicy post on hardr3set dot info about what crap I felt about their B.S. (weaksauce compared to anything legit which we all know you come to XDA for the meat-and-potatoes) because I was so tired of searching the Goog for root ZTE Avid Trio Z833 and having it be the top result over and over. Finally this has risen up. Thank you for starting this. Oh, and also, please... If you would kindly also request for this device to be added formally, maybe it would encourage development. Not sure how all that works, but yeah... power in numbers right?
Sincerely,
~Ye of little faith

Bump

are you telling me that faults advertising runs ramped all over the internet even Google play store and this is the nondoing phone ever made and it can't be jailbroke nor rooted

Rooting your zte device
Can not be done. This phone is an unfortunate accident by ZTE with numerous problems and they are not small issues but ones that affect the performance of the device. Replace that phone or your only adding to your daily stress.

That kingroot and oneclickroot don't work
For this phone
a

Guessing this is a dead issue? It's an okay phone but lags horribly when it comes to multi tasking

Hey I don't want the root thing to die on this topic. So would it be possible to root via ADB update in recovery mode? Or to somehow update via SD card and applying root? I refuse to give up hope on this device lol

Anyone made progress on this? I just got this phone and it definitely has some issues, but I feel like root would resolve most of them.

Has anyone figured out a way to root this device?

I've searched for a long time without success. I hope something comes up.

Any progress on this? Thanks

following, bought one this morning hoping to have a cheap rootable phone.

I got mine from MetroPCS for $29. lol Yes, it's frustrating and has got problems (I've already put two of them through my dashboard and had to replace them, within the first 2 months, but it only cost 30buck so WTH. Anyways, I decided after I destroyed #2 that I was only going to use it for work and add no apps to it, except maybe GasBuddy and Winamp. Other than that, it's stock and I haven't had any real problems with it to speak of (problems aggravating enough to make me want to destroy it yet again).
So my suggestion to anyone who owns this phone, or is thinking about owning one: Don't install any more than a couple small apps, add a 32GB uSD card for music and other stuff, and use the thing as a phone and a media player only. The camera is pretty much worthless for quality photos, so there's really no other use for it. But it makes a great txting, voice calling, and music playing phone!
Of course, if you end up paying more than $30 for it, you probably paid too much. But it sure is a pretty nice phone for 30 buck!

Yes. root it please

I have a Z833. The phone only lags apps that are over 100mb I'll have test this out agin

I have ordered one of these phones for $20 should be here by Monday. When it arrives I'll be able to confirm if its bootloader is unlocked or not. In the meantime here is the firehose and support files (rawprogram0.xml and patch0.xml) as well as the MetroPCS B16 firmware to be flashed with QFIL or MiFlash. This will allow people to recover their device and hopefully if the bootloader isn't locked flash custom images.
Support files
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397898033
V1.0.0 B16 Firmware
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397898034