KNOX, Rooting, changing kernel - Galaxy S6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
Came from a Nexus device and I have some questions about "unlocking" etc.
When i want to install a custom kernel, do I need to unlock KNOX? What is knox?
If I unlock my phone, can i go back?
Thanks

Knox is in general a security feature. It is used for example for BYOD but it also brings a malwarescanner/antivirussoftware.
You dont have to unlock the bootloader since samsung phones come unlocked by default.
But if you install any custom software (kernel, rom) you knox flag will be triggered and this is not reversible.

Furthermore, this will disable Samsung Pay. Once KNOX is tripped, Samsung Pay is disabled forever on that particular device.

Related

EE Galaxy S6

I have a few questions about this device, and although there may already be some answers out there, it's not immediately clear to me what they are. There are quite a lot of conflicting answers. My questions are:
Is the EE/International etc. Galaxy S6 bootloader locked?
If it is, can I unlock the bootloader in order to install TWRP and root the device?
What features do I lose if I trip Knox?
Will I still get OTA updates if I unlock bootloader and install TWRP?
Snake1616 said:
I have a few questions about this device, and although there may already be some answers out there, it's not immediately clear to me what they are. There are quite a lot of conflicting answers. My questions are:
Is the EE/International etc. Galaxy S6 bootloader locked?
If it is, can I unlock the bootloader in order to install TWRP and root the device?
What features do I lose if I trip Knox?
Will I still get OTA updates if I unlock bootloader and install TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Never heard of EE as a model indicator. If it's an international version, it will be carrier unlocked, bootloader unlocked, i don't believe so. Samsung doesn't seem to be very supportive in any way of custom fw/sw.
2. Root is dependent on the fw version, there are ways to root with and without tripping knox depending on your fw version
3. If you trip knox you lose your warranty and you lose Tap and pay or wireless pay or whatever you want to call it.
4. you'll still get OTA updates but flashing twrp will likely not allow you to install them as Stock recovery is needed to install the updates. You would likely lose root when installing updates aswell. the latest update 5.1.1 has a method for rooting without tripping knox however, by flashing a kernel. I believe if you flash twrp though, knox would be tripped.

Time to root... but a few questions first

Hello. I want to root my phone, and I know that if I do it, the knox counter will be tripped, so no Samsung Pay and no warranty anymore. I don't care about that. There is no Samsung pay in my country and the warranty is already lost.
But what about My Knox and FRP lock? Do I loose that forever too? or only while my phone is rooted?
Thanks in advance!
My Knox relies on an intact Knox counter so rooting and tripping it will cause issues with that. Frp should still work I think.
You'll lose My Knox forever, but you can use FRP lock while not rooted.

Magisk v14 - does it offer root without tripping Knox?

Hi guys
Magisk v14 has been released and it now offers installation without using custom recovery and still avaialble to use OTA's - does this mean I can root with Magisk (which it says is done by ADB) without tripping Knox? Description is below
"New Installation Method
Nearly a month ago, I introduced a way to install Magisk through ADB. This is nice for devices with no custom recovery support, or for people like me who wants to preserve stock recovery to apply OTAs. To make things even easier, I have added this feature natively into Magisk Manager. In Magisk Manager you can provide your stock boot image (in both raw image format or tar-ed up ODIN flashable format), the app will then patch the provided image. Other required files and scripts are extracted within the app's data, and will be picked up automatically while booting up once with a magisk patched boot image. Check the new instructions in the OP for more info.
Once your device has Magisk installed, you can install Magisk modules through Magisk Manager without custom recoveries. The powerful systemless interface means that you can literally do anything to your device - of course systemless-ly!"
I'm also interested in this. Hope someone knows if we can finally get root without tripping Knox.
Exactly.... if so then it really is the best of all worlds in my eyes
No, absolutely not. It still mods the boot.img which requires an unlocked bootloader. As soon as you unlocked the bootloader and it detects anything custom (Does not matter how it got there, if it's there, it's there) it will trip the fuse.
But doesn't the g955f already have an unlocked bootloader.. hence why it was easier to root before the g955u?
Knox is secure. It is only secure because the phone is not modified.
If you could root the phone and still use Knox then you (or someone else) could hack Knox. Do you want that?
RR-99 said:
Knox is secure. It is only secure because the phone is not modified.
If you could root the phone and still use Knox then you (or someone else) could hack Knox. Do you want that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[upvote]
meddylad said:
But doesn't the g955f already have an unlocked bootloader.. hence why it was easier to root before the g955u?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's bootloader doesn't work the same way a normal bootloader does. It still detects anything custom and will trip Knox if it does.
If you don't check the OEM Unlock option in settings, your phone will brick because the bootloader is locked. If you do check it, it's unlocked but still checks for custom firmware which then trips Knox.
Interceptor777 said:
It's bootloader doesn't work the same way a normal bootloader does. It still detects anything custom and will trip Knox if it does.
If you don't check the OEM Unlock option in settings, your phone will brick because the bootloader is locked. If you do check it, it's unlocked but still checks for custom firmware which then trips Knox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
through "embedded flash"
can be ignored Knox
And I got my hopes up for being able to root this phone I'll be getting in my post this week... Well, two years without root on that one it'll be unless some genius finds a way.
Interceptor777 said:
It's bootloader doesn't work the same way a normal bootloader does. It still detects anything custom and will trip Knox if it does.
If you don't check the OEM Unlock option in settings, your phone will brick because the bootloader is locked. If you do check it, it's unlocked but still checks for custom firmware which then trips Knox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G955u doesn't trip Knox with root, but it's system level because of the locked bootloader. What it does break though is SafetyNet which kills Samsung Pay and such.
I really need the auto recording feature which is blocked in my country. So need to root this without tripping.

Real Clarification on Samsung KNOX

I have read a lot about Samsung KNOX and how it is supposed to work, but the more I read the less I know how KNOX is tripped.
I understand what KNOX is, I know how it works and I know the supposed "reasons" it exists.
I also do know, that KNOX has changed a couple of times in the past years, which is perhaps the reason I find to much conflicting information on this topic.
So, since the A51 is quite a new phone, I want to know, how KNOX is tripped on the Galaxy A51.
Is unlocking the bootloader already enough?
Can you unlock the bootloader but flashing anything will make it trip?
What exactly is allowed with the newest KNOX and at which point does it exactly trip?
Can you not modify anything anymore, without tripping KNOX?
since Knox requires a separate login even after phone boots up i would guess it is not accessible with just a booted up and unlocked phone. last i read it created an additional "encrypted sandbox" on the already unlocked phone where data did not cross the sandbox barriers.
Aki-to said:
I have read a lot about Samsung KNOX and how it is supposed to work, but the more I read the less I know how KNOX is tripped.
I understand what KNOX is, I know how it works and I know the supposed "reasons" it exists.
I also do know, that KNOX has changed a couple of times in the past years, which is perhaps the reason I find to much conflicting information on this topic.
So, since the A51 is quite a new phone, I want to know, how KNOX is tripped on the Galaxy A51.
Is unlocking the bootloader already enough?
Can you unlock the bootloader but flashing anything will make it trip?
What exactly is allowed with the newest KNOX and at which point does it exactly trip?
Can you not modify anything anymore, without tripping KNOX?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unolocking the bootloader isn't enough to trip Knox, it trips once you flash a modified file.
Like TWRP, a ROM, etc that doesn't have Samsung's signature of official software.

Does unlocking bootloader trip knox?

Hello Everyone!
Okay, here's the thing, i wanted to root my Samsung Galaxy A51 (SM-A515F) Firmware: EUH1(KSA). I've unlocked my bootloader, then thought that i didn't want to risk bricking my phone rooting it so i stopped. But i noticed that just unlocking bootloader trips Safetynet apparently(which sucks) and it trips knox too, which i believed since I can't use security folder and Samsung pass anymore and it kept insisting that my phone is 'rooted' (which it isn't, just the bootloader unlocked). I then went into ODIN mode to verify it, and found it that my knox counter is still 0 (000000).
TL;DR, so does unlocking bootloader trip knox? cause most of the sites, threads, guides I've went to generally says it does. Thnx for answering.

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