Is my Android Infected ? - General Questions and Answers

So I have one of those Chinese smartphones (Very Nice Phone BTW and cheap as hell) which I have got some time ago. I know the Android itself is clean however I have lately installed few cracked games outside the Android Market just to test them if they work before I buy them, the Apps itself didn't had any suspicious permissions but how can I check in 100% that my smartphone didn't get infected ? I don't have Wi-Fi since I have dropped the phone from 3rd floor and it stopped working. Does Factory Reset + Cache cleaning via Recovery Menu should solve the problem if there are any viruses in the system ? I also was thinking about flashing Official Android ROM from Needrom but I don't trust this website that much and only this website has the Official ROM for my smartphone. Tho I'm still unsure if I'm infected and want to check it before I will get my Wi-Fi fixed. After that I also want to get my smartphone to get rooted, which I know how to do it but firstly I want to ensure that the device is clean itself before getting a Root access on it.
P.S I don't really want to throw away my smartphone since I like it soo much and first of all I paid for it the real money.

TheB4LkUvick said:
So I have one of those Chinese smartphones (Very Nice Phone BTW and cheap as hell) which I have got some time ago. I know the Android itself is clean however I have lately installed few cracked games outside the Android Market just to test them if they work before I buy them, the Apps itself didn't had any suspicious permissions but how can I check in 100% that my smartphone didn't get infected ? I don't have Wi-Fi since I have dropped the phone from 3rd floor and it stopped working. Does Factory Reset + Cache cleaning via Recovery Menu should solve the problem if there are any viruses in the system ? I also was thinking about flashing Official Android ROM from Needrom but I don't trust this website that much and only this website has the Official ROM for my smartphone. Tho I'm still unsure if I'm infected and want to check it before I will get my Wi-Fi fixed. After that I also want to get my smartphone to get rooted, which I know how to do it but firstly I want to ensure that the device is clean itself before getting a Root access on it.
P.S I don't really want to throw away my smartphone since I like it soo much and first of all I paid for it the real money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset + Cache should solve this as it removes any apps from the device, flashing the ROM and a reset will take this one step further and if they don't work something is very wrong. However I doubt you have been infected but as always in situations such as this prevention is better than the cure, aslong as you take reasonable precautions (Scan/look at the apk etc) you should be fine.
Also talk of those apps are not tolerated at XDA

Related

[Q] Rooting Question!

Hey so I have read a lot of the threads on rooting but I think (hope) mine is a bit original for you. I am one of those skittish goody-two-shoes type people who have a bad record of breaking their electronics. My family is updating their tmobile plan in August and I am planning on getting a lg g2x. It seems like a great phone that'll be able to keep up with the advancements of Android for a while. However I have heard the battery life is really bad (as it is for most androids) and that there are all of these great methods I could use (setCPU, Battery Calibration, etc.) and I can get rid of ads on my apps (adfree) and even use ROMs and Themes!! This sounds great EXCEPT all of the above requires rooting. So my question is, if I install Battery Calibration, setCPU, adfree, etc, while rooted and then just unroot, will they all still work??? Also, in the case that this is possible, if I have any problems with my phone and have to send it in for service, as long as it's unrooted I don't have to delete any of the apps to put it back under warranty do I? And (yes there's more) can I continuously root/unroot as I please in order to change themes and ROMs and even updating the android system once my phone is out of date (though I hope I'm not obsolete within 2 yrs) and no longer gets updates from my phone company? I know superoneclick is supposed to be really easy but as I don't have the phone yet I was wondering how fast it actually is as well.
Thanks for all of your help!!
Hmm....lots of questions young one, well 1st of all by rooting it technically voids the warranty, and yes for the programs to work properly you will need to keep it rooted because some off them actually need root access to tweak the device.
Sent from my mind
scarlet_fire said:
Hey so I have read a lot of the threads on rooting but I think (hope) mine is a bit original for you. I am one of those skittish goody-two-shoes type people who have a bad record of breaking their electronics. My family is updating their tmobile plan in August and I am planning on getting a lg g2x. It seems like a great phone that'll be able to keep up with the advancements of Android for a while. However I have heard the battery life is really bad (as it is for most androids) and that there are all of these great methods I could use (setCPU, Battery Calibration, etc.) and I can get rid of ads on my apps (adfree) and even use ROMs and Themes!! This sounds great EXCEPT all of the above requires rooting. So my question is, if I install Battery Calibration, setCPU, adfree, etc, while rooted and then just unroot, will they all still work??? Also, in the case that this is possible, if I have any problems with my phone and have to send it in for service, as long as it's unrooted I don't have to delete any of the apps to put it back under warranty do I? And (yes there's more) can I continuously root/unroot as I please in order to change themes and ROMs and even updating the android system once my phone is out of date (though I hope I'm not obsolete within 2 yrs) and no longer gets updates from my phone company? I know superoneclick is supposed to be really easy but as I don't have the phone yet I was wondering how fast it actually is as well.
Thanks for all of your help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If you install the root required apps, root, then unroot, they will stop working. Once an app requires root and your phone is not rooted, even if it was before but it's not now, they will not work.
2. There are many one click root apps. e.g. z4root and universal androot.
3. You will have to unroot and remove the root required apps to put it back under warranty. I say this because if you leave them, then your provider will know that you must have rooted your phone to put them on it in the first place. (It would be like sending an Iphone for servicing to AT&T with Cydia installed. They will know that you jailbroke it.
4 Superoneclick does work fast. It may take up to five minutes (depends on your phone model), but remember what I said in #2. Good luck.

[Q] Kingpad k70 4.4 kitkat root help

Hi all,
Just bought a tablet off amazon not too long ago, Kingpad K70 (tabletexpress is the company), and I have been trying to find a way to root it. I have tried the various methods like Chainfire, Towelroot, and others, but still unable to. It is running kitkat 4.4.4, says model number is as KINGPAD K70. Any insight or assistance would be great! I also have stock .img file from company, as version on website did not work.
Thanks all,
angrynapkinz said:
Hi all,
Just bought a tablet off amazon not too long ago, Kingpad K70 (tabletexpress is the company), and I have been trying to find a way to root it. I have tried the various methods like Chainfire, Towelroot, and others, but still unable to. It is running kitkat 4.4.4, says model number is as KINGPAD K70. Any insight or assistance would be great! I also have stock .img file from company, as version on website did not work.
Thanks all,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try rooting with the following android apps.
Root Master
z4root
Universal Androot
Easy rooting toolkit
Framaroot
Thanks for your quick reply!
I tried all of the .apk files with no success so far but soon I will try the last one and update!
Well tried last one (root toolkit) on two different computers, both just waiting for device, Windows 8 had some compatibility issues, and my desktop, windows 7 automatically reinstalls the driver, and won't allow me to update to ADB device oddly.
Any insights?
Thanks
Same problem
I got the k70 with the rk3128 and NEED TO ROOT as well. I asked the customer service people at tabletexpress, and they weren't much help. I bought it off of amazon, and the title said it was compatible with 3d games... and the lie detector test determined, THAT WAS A LIE !!! no real racing, no dead trigger, no fast and furious, no temple run of any kind. I was lied to. The tablet is a POS to me, but could be better if I could root it. I googled til my brain was all googled out and found NOTHING. So now my only option it to complain and bother people here, amazon, and the customer service at TabletExpress for selling me such a POS tablet:good:
Forgot to update! Use kingo root, took a while but worked, and then I just installed rom toolbox and deleted kingos bs. Still don't like their Android edit, so if you find a workaround for cfw let me know!
angrynapkinz said:
Forgot to update! Use kingo root, took a while but worked, and then I just installed rom toolbox and deleted kingos bs. Still don't like their Android edit, so if you find a workaround for cfw let me know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
updated: okay, I downloaded kingoroot on my computer. I hooked it up. Had the usb debugging on. wifi is on. I had it recognize the tablet once and it gave me the options to unroot and reroot. I chose reroot. it failed. So im trying to go again, but this time to unroot, then root, however i cannot get it to connect anymore, it keeps saying the tablet is offline! So im pretty sure im missin somethin here.... its sayin its offline, and i read that im supposed to "tick always allow from this computer" to avoid this problem. where would i find this prompt? how do i get to it? also, its not rooted[i checked with root checker] i dunno why it gave me the options unroot/reroot
SUCCESS!!
harlowneedstoroot said:
updated: okay, I downloaded kingoroot on my computer. I hooked it up. Had the usb debugging on. wifi is on. I had it recognize the tablet once and it gave me the options to unroot and reroot. I chose reroot. it failed. So im trying to go again, but this time to unroot, then root, however i cannot get it to connect anymore, it keeps saying the tablet is offline! So im pretty sure im missin somethin here.... its sayin its offline, and i read that im supposed to "tick always allow from this computer" to avoid this problem. where would i find this prompt? how do i get to it? also, its not rooted[i checked with root checker] i dunno why it gave me the options unroot/reroot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good::good: for you. I got around the "offline" thing by deleting the kingoroot app off the tablet, then proceeding normally. I did the unroot, but it failed, however it did remove some stuff that made my first reroot fail. So after I unrooted and failed. I rebooted the tablet, deleted the kingoroot app again, and proceeded to reroot. This time the reroot worked!! thank you angrynapkinz:good::good: hey, one more question, what apps to you recommend for this tablet. maybe something for the battery and the overheating. I also couldnt figure out how to play 3d games on it without it crashing
Try China Devices
is cwf custom firmware? Im not that experienced with flashing new ROMs, and it seems that most people here are about the brand name stuff. I was googling cfw's and found nothing except for this forum website that "specializes" in chinese tablets like the kingpad/dragontouch (pretty sure theyre all the same) i think the webmaster makes cfw's or if he doesn't, he'll find out. Thanks again for the root help:good:
Hey harlow, yea I meant custom firmware, the KitKat that they have loaded is obviously rooted previously, you'll notice the more you use it. I installed xposed installer and root browser's etc on it for battery monitoring and all, malwarebytes keeps picking up malware loaded into the tablet and every time I delete. It's reinstalled upon reboot so that's why I'm trying to figure out rom reflashing/cfw options. Still trying to figure out what to add and what not though so take your pick and let me know also what seems to work. I went search and found its been mix and match from forums.
angrynapkinz said:
Hey harlow, yea I meant custom firmware, the KitKat that they have loaded is obviously rooted previously, you'll notice the more you use it. I installed xposed installer and root browser's etc on it for battery monitoring and all, malwarebytes keeps picking up malware loaded into the tablet and every time I delete. It's reinstalled upon reboot so that's why I'm trying to figure out rom reflashing/cfw options. Still trying to figure out what to add and what not though so take your pick and let me know also what seems to work. I went search and found its been mix and match from forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the kitKat they got on there is no comparison to the OG one on my cheap ass LG L70. I did malwarebytes and avast and found nothing on it so i guess im lucky. Im using Nova Launcher because it looks nicer and functions better. And theres this thing in the Google Play store called Root Booster. idk if you heard of it but you can set your tablet onto one of three modes: Speed, Battery, and Stock. Im on Speed right now, and it boosted the RAM about 50mbs. (I still cant play real racing on it tho) Have you taken the back off yet??? I cant figure it out!! I wanna replace the battery with something with bigger nuts... The stock one is garbage. I can squeeze about 5 hours out of it. Maybe ill glue on some heat sinks onto the chips, it gets really hot when im netflixin. So ill keep an eye out for the cfws. Have you tried reflashing with the stock one they got on tabletexpress? i havnt tried that, but maybe it wont have malware on it?
Yea it sucks, haven't found an alternative yet and still trying to figure this thing out. I had to flash one they emailed me cause the site one didn't work previously. The malware is like coudw.a or cloudsservice.apk every reboot, and also having a constant 115b up and download. No I haven't tried any games yet, or tried to open it up but I might do that, as I'm getting about the same battery wise.
angrynapkinz said:
Yea it sucks, haven't found an alternative yet and still trying to figure this thing out. I had to flash one they emailed me cause the site one didn't work previously. The malware is like coudw.a or cloudsservice.apk every reboot, and also having a constant 115b up and download. No I haven't tried any games yet, or tried to open it up but I might do that, as I'm getting about the same battery wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the tablet would work good as a playstation or rom player. I have yet to put my playstation games on it and also connect a ps3 controller to it. busy with differential equations and maplestory... I found a battery on aliexpress with about double the capacity. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/The-...ery-For-7-8-9-inch-tablet-PC/32213974542.html ...idk if itll fit tho. its a little thicker and longer on one side.... if it dont fit... ill make it fit > also, another app to boost the RAM is SmartBooster. I got a little over 200mb ram. yeah, ill update you when i find out other tips and shjt
Need PC/windoze to root.
"Root Android without PC," an info app on GP, indicates that phones/tablets with a kernel newer than 1/3/2014 can't be rooted w/o a PC. Framaroot doesn't work, it also fingers Kingo as possible solution. Kingo itself indicates that it's best for phones. I hate Windoze, but here goes.....
(Weeks ago, I saw something about invoking Linux instead--maybe it was a dream: Perhaps some of my brain cells exploded--no doubt due to "sprinting" cups at keg parties and then passing out long ago!)
I'm rating this thread a 3--still somewhat murky, without clear procedure to solution.
Thread is dead.
From rbrband57. This endeavor seems dead.
I still believe that replacing software/firmware is the key to getting the K70 to run better--the hardware likely is pretty good. I've been able to disable PRC bloatware, via some helpful cleanup software from GP. I'd like to uninstall. The loader at cold boot takes forever--I'd like to crucify that.
I'll reinstall kingoroot yet again, but I still don't know how to proceed further. Root confirm software says then rooted, but can't get SuperSu on--which might indicate true root, after all. Still not much info online.
My experience with rooting in the past was with a cheapo Icecream Polaroid 4.3" screen device from Big Lots: Full step-by-step procedure in one site, etc. Put a valid, new, upgraded .apk ROM on. Nothing can help the underpowered much, though--single core, 1GHz, perhaps, and 512MB sys mem.. GP worked sporadically afterwards--not really very well. Sold it to a guy in CA for his kid's Xmas last year.
Thanks for trying--Amazon no longer offers--K77, instead. Probably pretty much identical--hated, as well.

4.2.2 made the device impossible to use

I'm not even kidding, everything takes a good 10 seconds to open. I can't scroll through settings because it takes 3 seconds to register my swipe.
It's a family members tablet and it has never been rooted, or flashed any custom ROMs. The 4.2.2 update came from Samsung and ever since then they've been complaining to me about how slow it is.
I'm having the same problem when trying to clear the cache through recovery - the dead android and 'error'!
I do NOT want to flash a new ROM because it involves resetting all apps and settings back to how they used to be. The owner hardly has any idea how to use it, so any changes will just freak them out.
Is there anything I can do to fix this thing?
eKulzz said:
I'm not even kidding, everything takes a good 10 seconds to open. I can't scroll through settings because it takes 3 seconds to register my swipe.
It's a family members tablet and it has never been rooted, or flashed any custom ROMs. The 4.2.2 update came from Samsung and ever since then they've been complaining to me about how slow it is.
I'm having the same problem when trying to clear the cache through recovery - the dead android and 'error'!
I do NOT want to flash a new ROM because it involves resetting all apps and settings back to how they used to be. The owner hardly has any idea how to use it, so any changes will just freak them out.
Is there anything I can do to fix this thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root it and then try installing agni kennel from recovery
Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk
eKulzz said:
I'm not even kidding, everything takes a good 10 seconds to open. I can't scroll through settings because it takes 3 seconds to register my swipe.
It's a family members tablet and it has never been rooted, or flashed any custom ROMs. The 4.2.2 update came from Samsung and ever since then they've been complaining to me about how slow it is.
I'm having the same problem when trying to clear the cache through recovery - the dead android and 'error'!
I do NOT want to flash a new ROM because it involves resetting all apps and settings back to how they used to be. The owner hardly has any idea how to use it, so any changes will just freak them out.
Is there anything I can do to fix this thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root it and install an app called seeder .
It makes 4.2.2 super fast ..
Greetings;
Either it was a terrible custom Rom, or you didn't flash it properly.
If you wan't it to work properly consider that you will have to Backup your Applications; their Data and your Contacts as well if they are not syncronized with your Gmail Account.
Perform a "Clean Flash" whenever you Flash a Rom to prevent Issues, and use Odin (for PC - Never Odin Mobile) for such "Clean Flash).
Also Consider Researching Before Doing any Operation you are not familiar with.
What you should try:
0) Backup your Apps & Data;
1) Boot your Device under Recovery;
2) Under Recovery:
- Perform Factory Reset
- Clean Cache
- Reboot into Download Mode
3) Open Odin, under PDA Load you Stock Rom [MD5 file] (to revert your Device Settings to Stock).
4) Under Odin: Considering your Device is Recognized, Press Start.
Do NOT Disconnect USB Cable until Odin Displays "PASS" Message.
5) Reboot into " Download Mode " to Flash ClockWorkMod Recovery or CF-Root (or your Fav. Recovery).
6) Once Completed, Boot your Device into Recovery and Perform " Factory Reset ".
7) Test your System.
Let me know how it went.
Best Regards,
Richard
Any Joy
eKulzz: Did you have any success with the above suggestions? I am in exactly the same boat. I inherited the device (Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 5113 16gig) from a family member. I am not really sure precisely when it started to suck so bad....I am assuming, based on the internet posts, that it happened as a result of the 4.2.2 upgrade. It is taking literally minutes in some cases to load a web page. Flipboard is particularly bad. I have cleared cache, uninstalled or disabled every app the tablet will allow, done a full revert to factory, and nothing works. My wifi throughput goes down to miniscule rates (5, 10 , 15 kbps), although once in a while, for larger objects it will jump up to 5 or 10 mbps....so I know it can do it!). I have done IP traces, thinking it might be my internet provider, but the delays are after the TCP/IP response is returned. It seems to peg the CPU and wander off for 10 or so seconds, and then proceed to do the next TCP/IP request.......so if a page has lots of content, it can take minutes to load.
I am at the point that I either throw it away, try to revert to the original android version the tab was delivered with, or possibly go the other way and instally cyanogenmod, in which case it would be interesting to know the best version of android to install on this device, based on other people's experiences.
It is so amazing that this can happen....and it doesn't seem like an isolated case....the vendor just seems to have effectively bricked a major part of their customer base, and won't admit or do anything about it. You can be sure my next purchase will not be Samsung!
However, in Samsung's defence, almost the same thing happened with my Nexus 7 2012 WIFI tablet. The android 5.1 upgrade has made it almost as bad as the Samsung. I wasted days following threads and screwing around, but only achieved minor gains...it is still not really usable. Again, no mea culpa from Google.... I find it amusing that there is such furore when a new release of android comes out and there is such outrage if peoples devices are not supported, or not upgraded fast enough. My point of view now is that I don't want to see an upgrade on any device I have that is working acceptably.....I think there is such pressure from users for upgrades that the vendors are not testing enough and not asking themselves if the upgrade is actually improving usability for the device....
Rick
Have you tried downgrading?
Go sammobile website, Download the Rom version for your device, and follow the procedures i wrote previously.
(Dont forget to erase cache(s)).
Also check for flash counter. You may need to reset it.
Let me know how it went - with detailed info.
Best regards;
Richard
Tried Downgrade
rgxHost said:
Have you tried downgrading?
Go sammobile website, Download the Rom version for your device, and follow the procedures i wrote previously.
(Dont forget to erase cache(s)).
Also check for flash counter. You may need to reset it.
Let me know how it went - with detailed info.
Best regards;
Richard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave it a try. Got stymied with the USB drivers. I installed them, but the PC (windows 10) will not recognize the USB device, so Odin does not see the tablet.
I got the drivers from the Samsung web site, and also tried another set, but no luck. I am pretty sure they are the correct drivers...., and were installed successfully, so I am not sure whether it is a Windows 10 thing or a driver problem. The PC sees the device when you plug it in and remove it, but reports it as an unrecognized device. I tried re-booting the PC, just in case.
Anyway....it has pretty well stopped me in my tracks.
Rick
Update
Rickster22 said:
I gave it a try. Got stymied with the USB drivers. I installed them, but the PC (windows 10) will not recognize the USB device, so Odin does not see the tablet.
I got the drivers from the Samsung web site, and also tried another set, but no luck. I am pretty sure they are the correct drivers...., and were installed successfully, so I am not sure whether it is a Windows 10 thing or a driver problem. The PC sees the device when you plug it in and remove it, but reports it as an unrecognized device. I tried re-booting the PC, just in case.
Anyway....it has pretty well stopped me in my tracks.
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: Tried installing the USB drivers from Samsung on a 32 bit windows XP netbook I had lying about. Same result. The tablet is reported by the OS as an "unrecognized device" when I plug it in, and Odin does not see it.
I guess it could be my cable....but it is the only one I have, and since Samsung uses a non standard cable, I would have to buy a new one to find out. I definitely am not going to do that....talk about good money after bad. I have spent about 10 hours on this.
Interestingly, I ran into a guy at a party last night that is experiencing the same slowness on a galaxy tab 2 7" . Seems too coincidental! We were wondering if it could be related to slow SD ram with bad memory locations degrading over time, and possibly a change in android 4.2.2 garbage collection or memory management.
I think the outcome of this is that Samsung is an undependable vendor, that I don't want to invest any more time or money in. No future product I purchase will be from them.
Rickster22 said:
Update: Tried installing the USB drivers from Samsung on a 32 bit windows XP netbook I had lying about. Same result. The tablet is reported by the OS as an "unrecognized device" when I plug it in, and Odin does not see it.
I guess it could be my cable....but it is the only one I have, and since Samsung uses a non standard cable, I would have to buy a new one to find out. I definitely am not going to do that....talk about good money after bad. I have spent about 10 hours on this.
Interestingly, I ran into a guy at a party last night that is experiencing the same slowness on a galaxy tab 2 7" . Seems too coincidental! We were wondering if it could be related to slow SD ram with bad memory locations degrading over time, and possibly a change in android 4.2.2 garbage collection or memory management.
I think the outcome of this is that Samsung is an undependable vendor, that I don't want to invest any more time or money in. No future product I purchase will be from them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your guess is right, that's the cable issue, I have changed 3 cables already for my tab 2. I bought a cheap USB cable, and that worked same like the original one.(not suggesting you do the same)
Now, about the slowness, it's an every user issue who are on stock rom, yes, Samsung messed up things with ics/jb and a cheap emmc, but you can stop it before the bug hits the stock user and make the tab a hard bricked tab. few users have reported this already. they were on stock, never went custom, still their devices started slowing and eventually bricked or worse, rendered a read only device.
it's that time already, when I would want to see every tab user who are running on stock to take their tabs in their hands and start flashing the custom rom before the tab hits the brick. Good Luck
billysam said:
Your guess is right, that's the cable issue, I have changed 3 cables already for my tab 2. I bought a cheap USB cable, and that worked same like the original one.(not suggesting you do the same)
Now, about the slowness, it's an every user issue who are on stock rom, yes, Samsung messed up things with ics/jb and a cheap emmc, but you can stop it before the bug hits the stock user and make the tab a hard bricked tab. few users have reported this already. they were on stock, never went custom, still their devices started slowing and eventually bricked or worse, rendered a read only device.
it's that time already, when I would want to see every tab user who are running on stock to take their tabs in their hands and start flashing the custom rom before the tab hits the brick. Good Luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for your feedback....nice to know I am not alone, and not losing it! If it is happening to all Samsung Tab 2 users, and the product is basically destined to become useless after a few years of use, and Samsung did not warn users of this limitation when they purchased.....seems like the kind of thing class actions are made of!
As a newbie, I would like to clarify your comments a bit to make sure I end up doing the appropriate thing. When you say that every Tab user should start flashing the custom ROM, I assume you are not talking about the Samsung provided ROMS for 4.1.1 (P5113UECLK7_P5113XACCLK7_XAC) or an updated Samsung 4.2.2. It sounds like doing that will not resolve the issue. Are you talking about Cyanogenmod? and if so, what version of Cyanogenmod and Android OS would be appropriate? .........I wouldn't mind giving it one more kick at the cat, if someone knowledgeable says there is a little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!
Thanks for your assist!
Rick
Rickster22 said:
Thanks very much for your feedback....nice to know I am not alone, and not losing it! If it is happening to all Samsung Tab 2 users, and the product is basically destined to become useless after a few years of use, and Samsung did not warn users of this limitation when they purchased.....seems like the kind of thing class actions are made of!
As a newbie, I would like to clarify your comments a bit to make sure I end up doing the appropriate thing. When you say that every Tab user should start flashing the custom ROM, I assume you are not talking about the Samsung provided ROMS for 4.1.1 (P5113UECLK7_P5113XACCLK7_XAC) or an updated Samsung 4.2.2. It sounds like doing that will not resolve the issue. Are you talking about Cyanogenmod? and if so, what version of Cyanogenmod and Android OS would be appropriate? .........I wouldn't mind giving it one more kick at the cat, if someone knowledgeable says there is a little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!
Thanks for your assist!
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I meant Custom ROM(cynogenmod) and not stock official builds as they have fixed the trim related problem present with the old stock official ROMs, that's causing the slow downs and eventually causing the tab emmc card to die.
Check here for this emmc bug
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/EMMC_Bugs
that's one reason, cheap emmc is second (although both users have been hit with the emmc bug but c'mon a person who had never rooted or flashed a custom ROM on his tab ever got hit with this was very disappointing for stock users)
If you check other threads in help and troubleshoot you will see numerous users on stock having more brick issues than the custom ROM users. I have been here from long and have been watching over on all the issues. both have equal share of risks.
See this case here too
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-2/help/gt-p3100-boot-loop-recovery-information-t3307456
So, if you're planning to choose custom ROMs, take a tour of the General sections for guides and Android development section for ROMS.
Most of the ROMs of our TAB 2 developer Android-Andi, CCD and tuxafgmur are fine and near stable(with updates) (don't go below KK versions)

ANY way to keep root when updating to 23.4.A.0.546?

So my phone is now prompting me to update (and I can't even tell it to got to hell like I could on my S4 Mini ) but I refuse to do so until I know I can keep my root intact (or until Kingroot becomes capable of rooting that version).
Is there ANY way of keeping my root intact? Maybe by using the PC companion to update (this used to work before ICS didn't it?)? Or doing something to the phone (besides flashing firmware) to preserve the root ahead of the update?
I don't want to be installing a custom rom (and yes, I still count generic stock as a custom rom because it would get onto my phone just like any other custom rom) just to update and I absolutely need root for Link2SD so if I can't keep root in some way and Kingroot doesn't catch up then I'm going to stay on my current version forever, security be damned.
SCHUMI_4EVER said:
So my phone is now prompting me to update (and I can't even tell it to got to hell like I could on my S4 Mini ) but I refuse to do so until I know I can keep my root intact (or until Kingroot becomes capable of rooting that version).
Is there ANY way of keeping my root intact? Maybe by using the PC companion to update (this used to work before ICS didn't it?)? Or doing something to the phone (besides flashing firmware) to preserve the root ahead of the update?
I don't want to be installing a custom rom (and yes, I still count generic stock as a custom rom because it would get onto my phone just like any other custom rom) just to update and I absolutely need root for Link2SD so if I can't keep root in some way and Kingroot doesn't catch up then I'm going to stay on my current version forever, security be damned.
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Click to collapse
No. You can make prerooted 546 and flash it in recovery and it's only way how to retain root. As soon as you update using OTA you will loose root as system will be overwritten.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Thanks, guess I'm waiting then.
Any way to temporarily disable the update message/get it out of my notification bar?
SCHUMI_4EVER said:
Thanks, guess I'm waiting then.
Any way to temporarily disable the update message/get it out of my notification bar?
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Click to collapse
Maybe you can disable the Software Update app in settings...
By the way, however it`s your decision, I don`t understand reasons behind why not flashing latest software with Flashtool. There are sometimes nasty issues with upgrades, like people loosing LTE with OTA upgrades to 5.1.1 and so on. I would just backup everything and flash latest .570/.580 firmware (yes, even .546 is now getting outdated as upgrade to .580 becomes available to address MMS based vulnerabilities). Flashing software in flashmode is the same like flashing it through PC Companion and provides for clean way how to do system updates. You can even download version intended directly for your market/provider instead of generic one.
Flash the pre-rooted .546 zip. It has been posted weeks ago.
ondrejvaroscak said:
Maybe you can disable the Software Update app in settings...
By the way, however it`s your decision, I don`t understand reasons behind why not flashing latest software with Flashtool. There are sometimes nasty issues with upgrades, like people loosing LTE with OTA upgrades to 5.1.1 and so on. I would just backup everything and flash latest .570/.580 firmware (yes, even .546 is now getting outdated as upgrade to .580 becomes available to address MMS based vulnerabilities). Flashing software in flashmode is the same like flashing it through PC Companion and provides for clean way how to do system updates. You can even download version intended directly for your market/provider instead of generic one.
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Click to collapse
Because the phone isn't even two weeks old. Nowhere near time yet to risk bricking it doing non-standard things, I've already tested my luck enough by rooting it. And my region doesn't have 580 yet anyways. The inability to remove the battery makes me even more nervous about this sort of stuff, and yes I know there is a simulated battery pull, but that's still software and software gets fudged up which is the whole reason to actually physically remove the battery from your phone.
Not gonna happen thank you very much. Besides I'm never in a hurry with updating Android, it's always 2 steps forward one step back, never an all-round improvement. Some monkey of a programmer inevitably always rips out some base function every device should have, just look at ICS and the mess it's caused by choosing to ignore SD cards. Even Lollipop lacks things prior Android versions had for utterly no reason. Stagefright can kiss my you know what. Not gonna update till I can root with the click of a button avoiding almost all risk (in my mind anyways).
SCHUMI_4EVER said:
Because the phone isn't even two weeks old. Nowhere near time yet to risk bricking it doing non-standard things, I've already tested my luck enough by rooting it. And my region doesn't have 580 yet anyways. The inability to remove the battery makes me even more nervous about this sort of stuff, and yes I know there is a simulated battery pull, but that's still software and software gets fudged up which is the whole reason to actually physically remove the battery from your phone.
Not gonna happen thank you very much. Besides I'm never in a hurry with updating Android, it's always 2 steps forward one step back, never an all-round improvement. Some monkey of a programmer inevitably always rips out some base function every device should have, just look at ICS and the mess it's caused by choosing to ignore SD cards. Even Lollipop lacks things prior Android versions had for utterly no reason. Stagefright can kiss my you know what. Not gonna update till I can root with the click of a button avoiding almost all risk (in my mind anyways).
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Click to collapse
Well, seems you are new to XPERIA`s because there is hardly any way you can brick it. Battery pull is not a problem, because in addition to Power+VolUp reste, there is a push button hidden on the side of SIM card that triggers hard reset and switches the phone off.
But I aknowledge that you have your rights for your fears. However I wonder that with all your fears you would allow to install and run undocumented chinese app, that although roots your phone, may do other things and you will never know. Everyone is responsible for his own luck.
ondrejvaroscak said:
Well, seems you are new to XPERIA`s because there is hardly any way you can brick it. Battery pull is not a problem, because in addition to Power+VolUp reste, there is a push button hidden on the side of SIM card that triggers hard reset and switches the phone off.
But I aknowledge that you have your rights for your fears. However I wonder that with all your fears you would allow to install and run undocumented chinese app, that although roots your phone, may do other things and you will never know. Everyone is responsible for his own luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no. I had a neo but that was a very different device and I never felt the need to do anything custom to it (although I did check XDA for it) so it remains stock even today. Then I went to Samsung cuz everything Sony sucked at the time, at least in my price range. And now I'm back with Sony cuz there's something wrong with Samsung, dunno what, but I just don't like them so unless they're far ahead on paper I won't touch them again. (unless Sony tanks).
I didn't know about that button but I'd still rather not.
And I don't have anything sensitive on my phone so Kingroot can spy all it wants to. Of course I'd prefer it didn't, but if they absolutely have to then they're welcome to any and all info. Simply running an APK on my phone (that thousands have run before me) just seemed like the least brickable way of getting root (since I didn't have to do anything special like stuff up in the recovery or mess up an ADB command or anything like that). When I'd read about there being no root methods for 5.1.1 yet I erroneously took that to be all of Lollipop so I thought my phone was unrootable anyways when I turned it on and found it had lollipop (it was sealed so I thought it would still be on KitKat and easily rootable) so Kingroot was basically just a hail mary at the time. And since it worked so well I see no reason to ever do anything else.

Back To Stock On VS995 After A Couple Of Years Post-Dirty Santa - Couldn't Be Happier

I originally used the Dirty Santa routine on my Verizon VS995, so it remained on VS99513A for a couple of years. Had all manner of issues over time - apps "failing to respond", YouTube not displaying video but rather black screens, green-screen crashes, etc. Finally had enough and used the LGUP process to return to stock and unroot, of course. I probably (assuming, anyway) could have gone right to the latest Oreo firmware with LGUP, but decided to go to the stock version of VS99513A and then just do the many system updates to get current.
It's now happily sitting on Oreo, and knock on wood it's like having a new phone! It's so much smoother, YouTube is working, lol, battery life is an order of magnitude better and it's working like a phone should work. No one knows the future, of course, but today, I'm happy.
Just passing this along, but I've gone from being ready to trash this thing to being able to enjoy it again without worrying about having to dump some $$$ into something else.
I had originally rooted to get around the Verizon mobile-hotspot check, but I have an unlimited plan that includes it anyway, now, so that's no longer an issue.
Possible placebo effect...
A clean stock unrooted firmware may run smoother than a few custom roms, but not smoother than a rooted version of the exact same rom.
I wouldn't give up on root, even if the best ever unrootable phone was given to me for free (Ad-blocking being the primary reason)
Prowler_gr said:
Possible placebo effect...
A clean stock unrooted firmware may run smoother than a few custom roms, but not smoother than a rooted version of the exact same rom.
I wouldn't give up on root, even if the best ever unrootable phone was given to me for free (Ad-blocking being the primary reason)
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Click to collapse
Blokada DNS changer. Also working without root. All problems gone. :good: for me the main reason for root is to prevent screen retention. The sucked soooo hart. If there would be an option without root I would also go with an unrooted stock fw.
Prowler_gr said:
Possible placebo effect...
A clean stock unrooted firmware may run smoother than a few custom roms, but not smoother than a rooted version of the exact same rom.
I wouldn't give up on root, even if the best ever unrootable phone was given to me for free (Ad-blocking being the primary reason)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not even a close comparison in my case. Admittedly I'm on Oreo now and not the original Nougat the phone came with (and was rooted with), but it's literally a night and day difference. It wasn't just performance - it was extreme instability, apps that wouldn't work or would constantly go into "not responding" mode, green screens, battery life that was awful to the point where it nearly always needed to be connected to a charger, etc. I'd tap on an app or a function in an app before, and I'd literally have to wait and wait for something to happen at times.
Now? Lightning fast and smooth operation, stability where there was none before, etc. And, as stated, for what I really needed root before (bypassing vendor check for mobile hotspot), it's no longer an issue due to the phone plan I'm on.
I'm not knocking rooting, so don't misunderstand. But for my experience with this phone, going back to stock where I could actually update the version of the OS, as well, has made all the difference in the world for my user experience. YMMV.
Interesting... I haven't tried stock Oreo yet but in every time I flash a new stock rom the phone runs great for 6 months then starts lagging.
oooh meee TOOO! me! meeeee!
Heyitsrick said:
I originally used the Dirty Santa routine on my Verizon VS995, so it remained on VS99513A for a couple of years. Had all manner of issues over time - apps "failing to respond", YouTube not displaying video but rather black screens, green-screen crashes, etc. Finally had enough and used the LGUP process to return to stock and unroot, of course. I probably (assuming, anyway) could have gone right to the latest Oreo firmware with LGUP, but decided to go to the stock version of VS99513A and then just do the many system updates to get current.
It's now happily sitting on Oreo, and knock on wood it's like having a new phone! It's so much smoother, YouTube is working, lol, battery life is an order of magnitude better and it's working like a phone should work. No one knows the future, of course, but today, I'm happy.
Just passing this along, but I've gone from being ready to trash this thing to being able to enjoy it again without worrying about having to dump some $$$ into something else.
I had originally rooted to get around the Verizon mobile-hotspot check, but I have an unlimited plan that includes it anyway, now, so that's no longer an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Between the GIGANTIC pain in the ass that it was to root this phone (I have a VS995 rooted and on 13a ever since) and all the problems that rooting has caused I'd be ready to undo it all anyway. But due to some problem with internal storage* that started a couple weeks ago, I was fed-up and factory reset the phone. When it boots normally, a check in "about" shows the software status as "modified" but root checker says its not rooted, superSU can't find root (I installed it from play store).. Tried to update via the "system updates" in settings (could not get it to show developer options either).
* The storage issue: I have 50 gigs internal (or something similar) and I get a message that the storage is full and some apps may not work. Not possible, but I humored it and uninstalled everything, cleared cache, downloads cleared, etc ... still showing +/-1 gb free space avail. Factory reset, appears stock, but free space STILL less than 1 GB.
Regretted rooting this phone almost immediately since I still couldn't get rid of certain apps, I had to deal with the camera issues, etc... The only thing positive about it was that my work was unable to install their MDM crap (Mobile Iron shielding Gsuite etc). But anyway, it doesn't look like I'll be able to update the system - I tried it and now it boots to twrp, or boots regularly and then loops around to twrp again. I'm looking for the easiest way to get the phone working (with the persistent problem of internalstorage being full for no reason fixed) and at least reasonably updated. Don't care if it's rooted or not really.
Do you or does anyone have a link to a "play by play" for whatever might work? Its been too long since I rooted it for me to remember the nuances of the procedure so its safe to say that I don't really understand how Android works all that well, so instructions like, "flash xxx 3.2 then flash back to 2 then fastboot and load yer ROM but don't forget the dalvik blah blah" won't work... I'm looking for the idiot's version with hand-holding and everything.
Interesting analysis................ I mainly rooted my older phones due to the need for the mobile hotspot without paying VZ extra charges. However, now that I have the VS995, I was able to download and use the Foxfi app (I paid for the Pro upgrade license) so this left me thinking, do I really need to root my V20 at all? In the past, you couldn't run apps that ran many WIFI tools and other tech'y things, but it seems much of that has changed. I don't run custom ROMs so maybe I don't need to root. Would be glad to hear rebuttals on the subject
I received a new VS995 last week and I flash h910 to get FM radio. I could not be happier as I'm on OREO and the device is working perfectly without any issue whatsoever and with latest mk2000 kernel (2.2 beta) general interface performance is working very well - as it should. Hotspot needed a little workaround bit it wasn't too difficult. I wouldn't dream of going back to stock!
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79939652&postcount=269
I know it's not straight to bootloader unlock and root this phone but it's worth the trouble. I hope my new fone will last and last untill manufactures change mind about removable batter and horrible new aspect ratio! No thanks V30 !
You're right.
There's no good reason to root the v20. Even rooted you can't do things that other phones can do, like enabling monitor mode on the Wi-Fi. Nor have I been able to get an external Wi-Fi adapter to work on it.
0per said:
There's no good reason to root the v20. Even rooted you can't do things that other phones can do, like enabling monitor mode on the Wi-Fi. Nor have I been able to get an external Wi-Fi adapter to work on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YOU ARE WRONG.
AD BLOCK Yeah they have rootless ad block but they work like ****
screen burn fixes. hows the ghosting?
titanium backup still best option for absolutely all apps getting backed up.
Sorry i have run root too long i cant live without it anymore.
is this happening to just verizon version of LG V20? anyone?
is this happening to just verizon version of LG V20? anyone?

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