Database Info

Rooting Phones When On Verizon Edge?

Hey folks,
Does anyone know for certain (not speculation) how Verizon treats phones that have been rooted when you go to trade them in on the Edge program? Will a phone that's been rooted in the past be denied for Edge trade-in?
Thanks

So I called Verizon. They said that I would need to remove root in order to trade it in or "Edge-Up". I've read recently though that even if you unroot your phone, carriers can now detect the fact that at one point time it was rooted. Is this true?

MSmithXDA said:
So I called Verizon. They said that I would need to remove root in order to trade it in or "Edge-Up". I've read recently though that even if you unroot your phone, carriers can now detect the fact that at one point time it was rooted. Is this true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most phones can be returned to stock without a trace of root as long as the stock files are available.
check your phones specific forum for return to stock guides and methods to remove root indicators if that applies.
calling verizon and asking about root really was not wise. they usually make notes on your account when you call for future reference.
you may not have an issue later from calling them, but you defiantly stirred the hornets nest, so it is possible you will.
---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 PM ----------
MSmithXDA said:
Hey folks,
Does anyone know for certain (not speculation) how Verizon treats phones that have been rooted when you go to trade them in on the Edge program? Will a phone that's been rooted in the past be denied for Edge trade-in?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
btw,
it doesnt matter what plan you are on, they dont allow rooting period.
as far as they are concerned, "when they find out it is rooted", your warranty is void, returns are not accepted, and trade ups are denied.

bweN diorD said:
calling verizon and asking about root really was not wise. they usually make notes on your account when you call for future reference.
you may not have an issue later from calling them, but you defiantly stirred the hornets nest, so it is possible you will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I didn't tell them it was me :silly: I pretended to be a new customer interested in service and just had these hypothetical questions. But they didn't have my account # or anything to trace it back to me. Thanks for the info though!

MSmithXDA said:
Well I didn't tell them it was me :silly: I pretended to be a new customer interested in service and just had these hypothetical questions. But they didn't have my account # or anything to trace it back to me. Thanks for the info though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you didn't call them from the phone that's on your account.
I really wouldn't worry about returning a phone that is/was rooted, unless perhaps it was a Samsung with Knox tripped and/or a yellow triangle. It's simply not cost effective for them to check every phone. The reps at the store aren't trained for that sort of thing, and when it goes back to wherever they get refurbished, it's only the hardware that gets tested, and they flash a new factory image. They have to flash a new image, because even after a factory reset, sensitive data can still exist in the memory on the phone (data isn't actually deleted when you delete it, until it gets overwritten, formatted, or you use a special app that does that sort of thing). Certain things can remain the same after doing a factory reset as well. I did a factory reset on a Nexus 4 rooted with Towelroot, and root remained.
Case in point: When I was with Verizon, I rooted my Razr Maxx. I was new to this whole "root" thing (I did it to bypass their hotspot crap). I was having a problem with the Play Store; it wouldn't let me purchase/download ROM Toolbox Pro, regardless of if I did it on my phone or off the website. So I got clever and deleted it (with a warezed Titanium - I'm not proud, I paid for the legit version later) and reinstalled it. And every time I tried, the Play Store would FC instantly.
So I did a factory reset, and WTF? The Play Store was GONE. Some bloatware was back, like the Madden NFL demo and some stupid cartoony golf game, but the Play Store was GONE. Not so clever, I guess. So I bit the bullet and took it to a Verizon store, told them I did a factory reset and Play Store was gone (I left out the other stuff). They googled it for like half an hour before giving up and ordering me a warranty replacement.
At one point, a rep did ask me if I hacked it - I played dumb (how do you hack a phone?). If they were trained or experienced in the sort of things we do, they would have known that the only way this could have happened was if the phone was rooted and I did something. And, if I wasn't such a n00b, I would have known to change Play Store to a system app and it probably would have worked fine (this occurred to me the day after). I got the replacement, and never heard anything about the old phone. I didn't feel too bad about "screwing" them in to giving me a new (refurb) phone, because when I got the replacement, I saw that the screen on the old one was dim, yellow, and sickly compared to the newer one, so apparently there was something actually wrong with it. Months later, the battery on the replacement expanded to the point that it popped the screen loose. The battery expanded on it's replacement too. But that's beside the point.
The point is, when you return a phone, it gets tossed into a pile, and that pile gets sent back to whatever it is they do with them. The sales reps aren't trained for that sort of thing - if you have a problem they don't know off the top of their head, they just google it on the iPads they carry around, and if they come across a site like XDA, they probably ignore it because the lingo and jargon here is gibberish to them (hell, most of it's still gibberish to me, and I've been learning all I can for 2 years). So it gets tossed in to a pile and sent wherever, and wherever it's sent gets hundreds of piles a day, and it's simply not cost effective to check every device. The parts get refurbed, the factory images get flashed (to eliminate any residual sensitive data and ensure the version is up to date), and that's that.
So I really, really, wouldn't worry about it. Unless it's a Samsung and you tripped Knox, have a yellow triangle, or it reads as "custom" or whatever. If you unlocked the bootloader, relock it. Beyond that, don't worry about it. I'm not saying it's impossible that something might happen and they "find out", but it's extremely unlikely. And unlikely to have repercussions. Remember, they want your money. Above all, they want your money. Are they going to keep getting your money if they piss you off by not honoring a phone exchange plan that you're already paying more for? Are they going to keep getting your money if you're dissatisfied and choose to switch providers? Unlikely. A new phone to them is a couple hundred bucks. One more year of service is a grand. Don't worry about it.

Planterz said:
I hope you didn't call them from the phone that's on your account.
I really wouldn't worry about returning a phone that is/was rooted, unless perhaps it was a Samsung with Knox tripped and/or a yellow triangle. It's simply not cost effective for them to check every phone. The reps at the store aren't trained for that sort of thing, and when it goes back to wherever they get refurbished, it's only the hardware that gets tested, and they flash a new factory image. They have to flash a new image, because even after a factory reset, sensitive data can still exist in the memory on the phone (data isn't actually deleted when you delete it, until it gets overwritten, formatted, or you use a special app that does that sort of thing). Certain things can remain the same after doing a factory reset as well. I did a factory reset on a Nexus 4 rooted with Towelroot, and root remained.
Case in point: When I was with Verizon, I rooted my Razr Maxx. I was new to this whole "root" thing (I did it to bypass their hotspot crap). I was having a problem with the Play Store; it wouldn't let me purchase/download ROM Toolbox Pro, regardless of if I did it on my phone or off the website. So I got clever and deleted it (with a warezed Titanium - I'm not proud, I paid for the legit version later) and reinstalled it. And every time I tried, the Play Store would FC instantly.
So I did a factory reset, and WTF? The Play Store was GONE. Some bloatware was back, like the Madden NFL demo and some stupid cartoony golf game, but the Play Store was GONE. Not so clever, I guess. So I bit the bullet and took it to a Verizon store, told them I did a factory reset and Play Store was gone (I left out the other stuff). They googled it for like half an hour before giving up and ordering me a warranty replacement.
At one point, a rep did ask me if I hacked it - I played dumb (how do you hack a phone?). If they were trained or experienced in the sort of things we do, they would have known that the only way this could have happened was if the phone was rooted and I did something. And, if I wasn't such a n00b, I would have known to change Play Store to a system app and it probably would have worked fine (this occurred to me the day after). I got the replacement, and never heard anything about the old phone. I didn't feel too bad about "screwing" them in to giving me a new (refurb) phone, because when I got the replacement, I saw that the screen on the old one was dim, yellow, and sickly compared to the newer one, so apparently there was something actually wrong with it. Months later, the battery on the replacement expanded to the point that it popped the screen loose. The battery expanded on it's replacement too. But that's beside the point.
The point is, when you return a phone, it gets tossed into a pile, and that pile gets sent back to whatever it is they do with them. The sales reps aren't trained for that sort of thing - if you have a problem they don't know off the top of their head, they just google it on the iPads they carry around, and if they come across a site like XDA, they probably ignore it because the lingo and jargon here is gibberish to them (hell, most of it's still gibberish to me, and I've been learning all I can for 2 years). So it gets tossed in to a pile and sent wherever, and wherever it's sent gets hundreds of piles a day, and it's simply not cost effective to check every device. The parts get refurbed, the factory images get flashed (to eliminate any residual sensitive data and ensure the version is up to date), and that's that.
So I really, really, wouldn't worry about it. Unless it's a Samsung and you tripped Knox, have a yellow triangle, or it reads as "custom" or whatever. If you unlocked the bootloader, relock it. Beyond that, don't worry about it. I'm not saying it's impossible that something might happen and they "find out", but it's extremely unlikely. And unlikely to have repercussions. Remember, they want your money. Above all, they want your money. Are they going to keep getting your money if they piss you off by not honoring a phone exchange plan that you're already paying more for? Are they going to keep getting your money if you're dissatisfied and choose to switch providers? Unlikely. A new phone to them is a couple hundred bucks. One more year of service is a grand. Don't worry about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the reason root remained after you did a factory reset is, factory reset does nothing more than wipe the data partition. root code is not inserted there, so it will remain in tact with the exception of the su app unless it is installed in system/apps..
the fact that you had bloatware return after a reset is odd, i have never heard this happen before. resetting does not modify, restore, or change the system partition in any way.
as for them finding the root, i agree it is unlikely, but it can and has happened. also, it doesn't have to happen right away. there have been several reports of charges for replacement phones applied to your bill, from modifications found after the return.
as for them caring if you leave for another carrier, they don't, plain and simple. this has been shown countless times over the years. many people leave them every day, and they don't do the slightest thing to try and stop them.
i seriously doubt they will let you strong arm them by threatening to leave after they find out you returned a modified phone.

How to unlock PIN-locked S4 with USB-debugging off?

Hello everyone. New to the forum, figured this would be the best place to ask since every guide I've ever looked up has inevitably brought me here at some point or another. Thanks to everyone that takes the time to post all of those guides/answers out there for people like me. Much appreciated.
Now, my current predicament- I told an older friend from work that I would help him get into his phone, and it's proving to be a more complicated process than I originally thought. His very young granddaughter managed to changed the PIN and he can't get in the phone. He has a Verizon Galaxy S4 SCH-i545, with a PIN lock-screen after booting. Verizon told him they would have to wipe/reset the phone to unlock it, which he's trying to avoid, so he held on to it and asked me about it. Knowing anything's possible, I accepted the mission.
After a bit of browsing, I came across a YouTube video of 2 simple ADB commands that reset the passkey file, thought I'd be done in 5 seconds. But the thing is- to do that, as well as to follow pretty much every guide I come across, USB debugging must be enabled, which I can't get to obviously. I'm pretty good with computers but the mobile-realm is somewhat new to me, so I began setup + research. So far I've installed the Java and Android SDKs, as well as the mobile drivers, started reading a bit about ADB, searched and read through numerous guides about alternate methods of enabling USB-debugging. But I keep finding guides that either aren't quite exactly what I'm looking for, or they assume a level of experience that I just don't have yet.
I'm in school full-time and work full-time, and as much as all of this interests me and I'd love to spend a week or two figuring everything out, I really don't have the time unfortunately. If someone could maybe list some clear steps from the beginning on how to enable USB debugging on a locked phone, or the easiest way to go about unlocking the phone without resetting it and deleting everything, I'd be forever grateful.

Looking for best option with my S7

Hey guys, So I purchased a S7 on ebay after clearing the IMEI through Verizon's Fraud Department. I then made sure the Imei matched the Original Phone Box, Receipt and back glass. All was well so I was happy with the purchase. It had a broken front screen and I went through the repair and fixed it!
Was really happy to save money by repairing an S7.
Only issue is what I have no learned to be FRP. She reset the phone before sending it to me which is completely understandable.
I've emailed her in ebay about it and she said she would get back to me with the gmail account but hasn't responded regarding giving me the password.
I fully understand and don't expect her to give me their password. That's a bit ridiculous of me to expect that. All I want is the clean clear phone I bought from her and be able to use it.
So A few things, Im not just here for this. I also want to get into rooting which is why I registered, I hope to be of help in the future as I learn more and more about getting those
terrible factory apps and stuff that comes from verizon.
1. Which is the best method about doing an FRP Bypass. I see people on ebay that will do it for like 20 bucks remotely over team view. Others send a usb drive.
2. I absolutely can provide proof of purchase through screen shots on ebay, as well as the item number to show you who bought it. (Same Username of course)
I totally understand frp is to prevent theft, which is great. It just sucks that the owner didn't know she was selling me her locked phone. Shes the original owner. She didn't have insurance so when she broke the screen she had to buy a new one and thats why she sold this one on ebay. She's been super helpful and nice
as we exchange emails on ebay. But short of driving 5 hrs each way to meet in person frp bypass is my only option. I gave her the option of me driving there, I would spend the time/gas to meet at her local verizon store so i dont have to do this mess.
I did attemp a frp bypass on albviral but I must have done it wrong, and it seemed a bit complicated. Again, I can provide proof that I did not steal this phone. Whatever I need to do to
not lose even more money from the purchase and repair.
If any help, I'd be super appreciated.
thanks

Well they changed their password because she couldn't remember it so I can only assume theres a 24hr lock out period or something. It wont log in. And even using a recovery email and her sending me the verify code it wont let us into the phone.

Update:
Lady changed their google password and it still wont log in. I tried clicking forgot and it sent a code to the recovery email which she logged in, got and sent me.
After I tried that it just kept kicking me back to the start of frp by saying "Log in using an account that was synced to this device" and taking me to a screen to put in the gmail.
When I try random passwords it says wrong password. But when I try the one she made today it just kicks back. 24hr period? I really hope that's all it is.
I even put in their names to confirm account and it kicks me back saying that isnt correct. She said he can't remember anything and has to get new passwords all the time much less knowing what was used when they orginally go the phone. So I guess i'll try in 24hrs and if not then I'll try someone on ebay? idk.

Flash an older firmware with ODIN that has an FRP bypass tutorial on YT

It's been done. Now I get a security notice that unauthorized changes have been detected, restart phone to undo.
Obviously im not going to do that but will it ever go away.
I'll shortly install sim card and activate phone. I appreciate the help.
Now for me to research rooting!

Wow this is terrible. The prev. owner called verizon tech support and had the phone cleared off her account but it still won't let us activate it. They said wait 24hrs and see if that takes care of
it and if not then the phone is useless. Doesnt even make sense that the original owner contacted them, cleared her and the phone and still may not be usable.

Alrighty, all is fixed and new sim card and im activated and everything. It wants to update to 7.0 but im hesitant to do it.

Updated to 7.0 nagout. All is well. There's an additional
System update that includes some security measures.
Since updating to 7.0 went smoothly I guess I'll go ahead with the additional system update.

Glad you got it working!

Thanks! This newest security system update has me a little worried but I guess I'd the 7.0 update went fine I shouldn't be worried about it. Having done the rep bypass just has me on edge even tho the original owner is great and told tech support it was hers to clear it and let me have it and all.
I still want to look into rooting, there's just a bunch of junk on here. Even games! I don't use it for games.

Hoping for suggestions on cracking a T-Mobile lock off my S8+

I swore-off androids (ADHD makes smartphones a very bad distraction for some, especially me) but my friend got a "buy one, get one" deal on the S8+ and, after putting a small edge-crack in the first one, just put it aside - she ended up giving it to me.
With her pins I removed the samsung/google accounts and did a hard-reset, then updated the system- my understanding was that, after doing this, that the phone would be 'open' for switching providers, so expect this is a different level of 'lock' (after hard-resetting, there was an App called 'device unlock', I had to connect to my wifi to get an answer and it said 'no', to contact customer service)
Am unsure if she can get them to unlock it, but even that is a major PITA (we don't see each other often nor do we live nearby), and I half-expect they're going to say 'no' to her anyways if she's trying to get them to let a 3rd party use it on a different carrier. So, I want/may-have-to crack it to get around this and while I'm guessing that a custom ROM will bypass this, I've read enough about there being something on the chip that'll be irrevocably 'tripped' when rooting the phone before flashing ROM's, and that once tripped it can't be undone and causes issues....so am wary!
There's also the idea of just flashing the regular G955U1 firmware but even w/ that I'm unsure if it'll 'trip' whatever the chip's protection from rooting is, I'd really like to get my service (Tracfone) onto it before doing more aggressive 'minimalization' of the system as I'd like to mess-around w/ a new android OS for a bit just to check it out (last time I used android, towelroot was the premiere go-to...that should give an idea how long it's been!)
Any/all ideas or tips or just keywords to get me pointed in the right direction would be incredibly appreciated, have spent many hours this week trying to get this thing working w/ my service, am awaiting my 2nd SIM card (my old phone, via Tracfone, was using verizon towers- so if I want to keep my #, I have to use the Verizon SIM they've mailed me that should be here any day) and, after that re-set, I'm expecting that even the new SIM will not be enough to get it working properly :/
(Something I think is important to point out, though it could be a fluke- during one of my tech-support sessions w/ the people at my carrier(Tracfone), the first one actually, we ended the call *thinking* it was fixed - the tech had finished on his end, asked me to make a call w/ the S8+, I called my landline and sure enough my phone# was calling my landline (via the S8+), however the tech said there were still issues and that he'd work on them, to call back in 24hrs. After hanging-up, I started testing and the first thing I did was to *call* my cell# from the landline and, sure enough, the old phone started ringing (the old phone is CDMA so it wasn't like I'd pulled its SIM), am unsure if I should take this to mean that it just let me dial-out as a fluke (I hadn't hard-reset the handset yet) or if it went wrong another way, but I *was* able to make a single outgoing call from the S8+ with my # so am getting the impression the lock isn't *that* unbeatable!)

Do a google search for UnlockUnit(.)com and check if your S8 qualifies to be unlocked.

Thank you!!
RossTeagan said:
Do a google search for UnlockUnit(.)com and check if your S8 qualifies to be unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH that seems sketchy to me but it's a fail-safe/last-ditch effort I'll do if/when the time comes....
I just got a 30d temp-unlock from t-mobile (after a conference call w/ them & my friend the prior owner & myself), so right now am thinking *maybe* I can do things as far as cracking that lock that i couldn't have before....I don't care if I hobble the phone, I only care if the cracked unit can do talk/text, if it loses data I'm fine with that (honestly I'd be looking for the most minimalist ROM if/when I get my non-t-mobile service onto this thing, am a linux person and hoping they've got linux-esque rom's at this point!)((yes, I know android is based off linux I just mean putting a super-minimalist 'basic mode' *nix setup, that'd be my ideal!!))
I know there's a 'trip' on the logic-board on the CPU but my understanding is that tripping it only ruins the ability to get samsung updates and things of that nature, but that it *does not* ruin the ability of the handset to call/text, or use wifi....am still just thinking there *has* to be a way to crack this thing if I'm willing to lose-out on every feature besides talk/text, honestly I've been considering going to this t-mobile location that I suspect is a franchise in a 'ghetto' area near me and trying to just slip their tech $50 or something to unlock it! Though I'd much rather just crack it at-home so I can have higher assurance it's not merely this 'temporary unlock' feature and that I actually get it truly carrier-unlocked....hate that they went so far to lock it out but am having trouble thinking it's unbeatable!
(regarding the pay-for-unlock-code types of operations like you linked, do you know of others' experiences like how reliable a service it is, something more like 50/50 or 95% reliable? Have read an anecdote of someone unlocking one that way, only for the handset to be locked again a month later.....presumably they paid for a temp-unlock, thinking it was a permanent one- but permanent is all that these services seem to imply they do!)

How to flash to the 'carrier-unlocked' ROM?

T-Mobile will only do a 'temporary unlock' on an S8+ my friend gave me, so I've got 30 days til they lock it again (oddly enough they say we can do this 5 times....can't make sense of that but ok!)
I want to carrier-unlock/crack this handset and it doesn't matter to me if I 'trip' the CPU by rooting to do this (I don't care about not getting updates, am not even intending to use data on this handset just talk/text), though I'm not sure rooting is even required as I've read on Reddit about newer firmwares that you can flash to that, once flashed, will make the handset carrier-free - I'm hoping against hope that that's true and that there's a simple/straight-forward way to just update it and crack the lock but am doubting that, *but* if I'm OK with 'breaking' the functionality of data-usage/updates to android/etc, is there *any* possible avenue for flashing/anything to crack that lock? So long as I can still call/text I'd be happy, am more than fine 'taking it off the network' so far as data is concerned and hoping that would make *some* approach worthwhile, so far my best bet is taking a chance with sites that sell codes to unlock but I've read of people doing this only for the phone to be re-locked (presumably the carrier catches-on, this is part of why I think just disabling data completely would be a smart move for me to get&keep the handset unlocked, and losing data capabilities isn't a real issue for me in the first place as there's wifi everywhere anyways!)
Thanks for any suggestions of what I could look into, I know the 'lock' is on the cpu (snapdragon/US-based/t-mobile) so harder to get around but just can't imagine it's un-crackable w/o a tech on their side helping me (ie those 'unlock unit' sites, which I'm imagining are run by people who work within the telecom infrastructure if they're able to do what they claim- still is hard to believe they'd be able to do that very long w/o being shut-down, it's not like they're working via bitcoin-only or something!)

New1Phone said:
T-Mobile will only do a 'temporary unlock' on an S8+ my friend gave me, so I've got 30 days til they lock it again (oddly enough they say we can do this 5 times....can't make sense of that but ok!)
I want to carrier-unlock/crack this handset and it doesn't matter to me if I 'trip' the CPU by rooting to do this (I don't care about not getting updates, am not even intending to use data on this handset just talk/text), though I'm not sure rooting is even required as I've read on Reddit about newer firmwares that you can flash to that, once flashed, will make the handset carrier-free - I'm hoping against hope that that's true and that there's a simple/straight-forward way to just update it and crack the lock but am doubting that, *but* if I'm OK with 'breaking' the functionality of data-usage/updates to android/etc, is there *any* possible avenue for flashing/anything to crack that lock? So long as I can still call/text I'd be happy, am more than fine 'taking it off the network' so far as data is concerned and hoping that would make *some* approach worthwhile, so far my best bet is taking a chance with sites that sell codes to unlock but I've read of people doing this only for the phone to be re-locked (presumably the carrier catches-on, this is part of why I think just disabling data completely would be a smart move for me to get&keep the handset unlocked, and losing data capabilities isn't a real issue for me in the first place as there's wifi everywhere anyways!)
Thanks for any suggestions of what I could look into, I know the 'lock' is on the cpu (snapdragon/US-based/t-mobile) so harder to get around but just can't imagine it's un-crackable w/o a tech on their side helping me (ie those 'unlock unit' sites, which I'm imagining are run by people who work within the telecom infrastructure if they're able to do what they claim- still is hard to believe they'd be able to do that very long w/o being shut-down, it's not like they're working via bitcoin-only or something!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't (really) root US phones. You should be able to put a U(niversal) rom on it, though.
You can have it unlocked via some service, leaving out the U rom.