Root or Update? Both or Neither? - Samsung Galaxy S7 Questions and Answers

I have a Galaxy S7 that was originally bought on the Cricket network (SM-G930AZ), but is now on the MetroPCS network. I was wondering if it was worth it to update my phone to Nougat? Also, is it possible yet to root this version? Which should I do first? Can someone give me links to tutorials if this is possible. I do know that I don't want to lose the fingerprint capability or the ability to use Samsung Pay, which I saw on a few forums was a downside to rooting. Has a workaround been found for this yet? I mostly want to root in order to delete bloatware and install Xposed to customize my phone. Also, being able to use Titanium Backup again would be amazing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I was asking myself this exact same question.. so I tried both to see what each had to offer. Originally I rooted my phone running on Marshmallow and although it was really cool being able to run Xposed modules, change emjojis to iPhone style, and get rid of ads, the overall conclusion I came to was to not root and here's why:
- Phone was overheating while charging my phone and even running the simplest apps. Tried downloading some cooling apps to help and none were able to truly fix the problem.
- Battery was draining extremely fast. Tried downloading the top battery saving apps with root access, Greenify specifically, and none were able to really fix the issue completely.
- Major lag issues. Scrolling through the phone, opening apps, and specifically running snapchat, everything was pretty much in slow motion. Once again tried downloading apps to help with RAM management and other lag issues. None helped.
I finally came to the conclusion to just update to Nougat, which in itself was a pain since I had to manually update due to losing my OTA access. Overall I like stock Nougat more than Marshmallow but am still in the process of potentially finding a root that will run better on Nougat than it did on MM.
Best of luck mate!

I have the same problem with my S6. A cricket phone on metroPBS. With a base and number that I've never seen anywhere else in the internet unless I read my own threads.
Sm-g920aztus6cqb3
Now there are **********cqb2'So but no cqb3'so , anywhere. I can't belive it. 1q months I've looked and I want root but to afraid to try there's nothing out there
If anyone finds a solution please lmk

Can't you Odin att firmware¿ Then root?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

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.

Keep root or go marshmallow?

I am debating now if I shouldkeep the root or move to mmarshmallow. How smooth is marshmallow? Battery life? Does Hotspot still work?
I'd keep root.
My usb port started acting really wonky and after attempting everything I could think of, I decided to try the verizon repair assistant hoping that the 1% chance it would be a software issue. Unrooted, ran the repair assistant and next thing I know, my phone is on marshmallow, the software doesn't repair sh*t, just wipes everything, installs latest rom and then puts files back. Does not return your app data.
Anyway, long story short, my battery seems to drain quicker now, I can't deal with all the ads and I lost years of app data. Stick with root, nothing special with marshmallow.
brdsng said:
I'd keep root.
My usb port started acting really wonky and after attempting everything I could think of, I decided to try the verizon repair assistant hoping that the 1% chance it would be a software issue. Unrooted, ran the repair assistant and next thing I know, my phone is on marshmallow, the software doesn't repair sh*t, just wipes everything, installs latest rom and then puts files back. Does not return your app data.
Anyway, long story short, my battery seems to drain quicker now, I can't deal with all the ads and I lost years of app data. Stick with root, nothing special with marshmallow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shoot, wish that would have been a software issue for you. Still tempted to see how marshmallow runs. My phone seems to be running slow.
I've had root on my phone's since the original Motorola droid days. Now that we haven't been able to unlock bootloader root is almost pointless that we can't install custom kernels, or true Roms. I've had more options being on marshmallow than 0C3 or 0E2. I don't use hotspot so I'm not sure if it still works but I was reading that people have been able to get it going without root. Android and Samsung pay works now that I'm not rooted. Samsung's themes work very well and canake the whole touch whiz experience bearable. All the addware that comes along with not being rooted is easily hidden. People complain about that it's still installed and using space on our phones but for me I haven't noticed them.
titos1997 said:
I've had root on my phone's since the original Motorola droid days. Now that we haven't been able to unlock bootloader root is almost pointless that we can't install custom kernels, or true Roms. I've had more options being on marshmallow than 0C3 or 0E2. I don't use hotspot so I'm not sure if it still works but I was reading that people have been able to get it going without root. Android and Samsung pay works now that I'm not rooted. Samsung's themes work very well and canake the whole touch whiz experience bearable. All the addware that comes along with not being rooted is easily hidden. People complain about that it's still installed and using space on our phones but for me I haven't noticed them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know the best way to go back to stock? I've been on 5.0.2 OE2 rooted since the beginning but I'm wanting to move over to Marshmallow stock and get some of those apps back that don't support rooted phones.
So my big question is foxfi working on marshmallow foe the unlimited plan?
So my big question is foxfi working on marshmallow foe the unlimited plan?
serotoninzero said:
Do you know the best way to go back to stock? I've been on 5.0.2 OE2 rooted since the beginning but I'm wanting to move over to Marshmallow stock and get some of those apps back that don't support rooted phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I did was uninstall the apps which required root, then I unrooted through SU and then connected to the verizon upgrade assistant. You can also use the Samsung smart switch. Before I connected to the upgrade assistant and smart switch, but after I unrooted through SU, I rebooted my phone a few times and the custom unlock boot screen also changed to normal.
---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 AM ----------
titos1997 said:
I've had root on my phone's since the original Motorola droid days. Now that we haven't been able to unlock bootloader root is almost pointless that we can't install custom kernels, or true Roms. I've had more options being on marshmallow than 0C3 or 0E2. I don't use hotspot so I'm not sure if it still works but I was reading that people have been able to get it going without root. Android and Samsung pay works now that I'm not rooted. Samsung's themes work very well and canake the whole touch whiz experience bearable. All the addware that comes along with not being rooted is easily hidden. People complain about that it's still installed and using space on our phones but for me I haven't noticed them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been rooting since the HTC Hero days and I disagree. Although we have lost a lot with the locked bootloader, it's not pointless, root still lets you keep all of your old app data with titanium backup which I personally had stored for years. It's also great for blocking ads, being on day 4 of no root, all these ads are really annoying.
I'd love to be back on OE2!
Matlab$Brah said:
So my big question is foxfi working on marshmallow foe the unlimited plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works perfectly. I switched from OE2 to MM with no regrets. Get package disabler pro and get rid of all the bloat and it's super smooth with great battery life. The only thing I miss about not having root is I can't use better battery stats anymore. The locked bootloader and complete lack of updated ROMs was a much bigger deal to me.
serotoninzero said:
Do you know the best way to go back to stock? I've been on 5.0.2 OE2 rooted since the beginning but I'm wanting to move over to Marshmallow stock and get some of those apps back that don't support rooted phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download stock firmware from Sammobile and flash with Odin.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA-Developers mobile app
serotoninzero said:
Do you know the best way to go back to stock? I've been on 5.0.2 OE2 rooted since the beginning but I'm wanting to move over to Marshmallow stock and get some of those apps back that don't support rooted phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Marshmallow Odin Tar was linked in another thread. You should be able to just flash this and factory reset through the stock recovery and be set. I haven't done this but that's the route I'll be taking when I do decide to upgrade
Matlab$Brah said:
Shoot, wish that would have been a software issue for you. Still tempted to see how marshmallow runs. My phone seems to be running slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So did you ever make the move?
Yes, best decision I have made marshmallow is faster and smoother, foxfi works, and you can you samsung pay.
marshmallow good, lock screen bad
Yea, marshmallow works very good on the S6.. smooth, good battery life, looks good...but that freaking swipe screen! Having to swipe the screen just to get to your lock screen is useless and irritating and people have been asking Google to change it since lollipop. I was hoping marshmallow would be different but no
Looks like no ability to root now either
I made the jump. Best decision ever. Very polished and no more force close like 5.0.2. Can still tether with foxfi which is what I pretty much only used root for.
How is the latest update? I'm still rooted and thinking about going back to stock.

What are your uses of Root on S7?

Hi,
just wondering, since im on stock for 2 months already and it all works fine except the adds blocking, for me.
I know the root is not perfect, it needs to be tuned up after with some special workarounds to avoide lags, battery drain etc..
So, is it really worth it to root?
What YOU need root? for what purpose, except Adaway?
hope you could elaborate a little.
best,
Chopinko
G930T
PG1
I've been stock for about a month, I haven't rooted yet mostly due to being lazy and not wanting to go through the fixes. I really just want to be able to use titanium backup again.
Chopinko said:
Hi,
just wondering, since im on stock for 2 months already and it all works fine except the adds blocking, for me.
I know the root is not perfect, it needs to be tuned up after with some special workarounds to avoide lags, battery drain etc..
So, is it really worth it to root?
What YOU need root? for what purpose, except Adaway?
hope you could elaborate a little.
best,
Chopinko
G930T
PG1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AdGuard works really well and doesn't require root. It's a subscription service but there is always another way that I will not discuss.
I've been rooted now for 2 months more or less and I've decided root at this time just isn't worth it. There are other adblockers out there that don't require root and most everything else I did with root are just for looks. Next to my wife's unrooted S7 my rooted phone just doesn't feel as powerful.. I've done the L-speed scripts and other scripts to save battery but if I take my phone to work and do anything on it then it's dead before I get off work unless I charge it. I have a rooted S4 at work hooked to a 40 watt radio for streaming music. That said the battery life and the other little quirks I see with normal use just make rooting not worth it.

SM-G930A Disable System Update w/o Rooting

I've just gotten myself onto a Galaxy S7 for my carrier with Nougat installed. I happen to like the looks of this version and have no consideration to update to Android Oreo (8.0). But this looks to be a forced update. I have merely avoided this by just not connecting to wifi, however this makes me unable to use the samsung cloud without using mobile data to backup pictures and content. The only way I could perform disabling the update was through rooting the device, which I did not like having to do at all. It only brought complications to the devices run patterns etc.
As well I have also searched everywhere to find a way to disable the update service without rooting, even as far as Package Disabler Pro however it seems the developer was forced by samsung to disable this capability during the Note 7 Era. Even trying to use an Older Version of PDP failed because of the License Verification.
So I have come here to ask, Has anyone at all ever found a way to stop the update service from forcibly downloading the update when connected to wifi and forcing the device to update whatsoever, without Rooting the Device. Your knowledge and advice would be highly appreciated
ben70190 said:
I've just gotten myself onto a Galaxy S7 for my carrier with Nougat installed. I happen to like the looks of this version and have no consideration to update to Android Oreo (8.0). But this looks to be a forced update. I have merely avoided this by just not connecting to wifi, however this makes me unable to use the samsung cloud without using mobile data to backup pictures and content. The only way I could perform disabling the update was through rooting the device, which I did not like having to do at all. It only brought complications to the devices run patterns etc.
As well I have also searched everywhere to find a way to disable the update service without rooting, even as far as Package Disabler Pro however it seems the developer was forced by samsung to disable this capability during the Note 7 Era. Even trying to use an Older Version of PDP failed because of the License Verification.
So I have come here to ask, Has anyone at all ever found a way to stop the update service from forcibly downloading the update when connected to wifi and forcing the device to update whatsoever, without Rooting the Device. Your knowledge and advice would be highly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow this is disappointing. I'm in the same position. I unintentionally tapped update vs, wait and now it asks me several times a day.
I didn't have any of these issues with my S5. Since when does samsung force their customers to update? Seems to me samsung still owns my phone after I paid for it. If I wanted this crap, I would have bought an apple. i can't believe everyone is ok with this? Not even a data toggle switch anymore. I had to use ADB to put this back. My S5 was able to multi-task and my S7 can't. Further my 5 can get on wifi faster. None of this should be possible.
Forced to Root
ADB my S7 said:
Wow this is disappointing. I'm in the same position. I unintentionally tapped update vs, wait and now it asks me several times a day.
I didn't have any of these issues with my S5. Since when does samsung force their customers to update? Seems to me samsung still owns my phone after I paid for it. If I wanted this crap, I would have bought an apple. i can't believe everyone is ok with this? Not even a data toggle switch anymore. I had to use ADB to put this back. My S5 was able to multi-task and my S7 can't. Further my 5 can get on wifi faster. None of this should be possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess theres no solution to this then other than rooting the device sadly. I was forced to root it and I used the root method that requires no having to tweak the kernel so its been going pretty good for now. But yes indeed even my Galaxy S4 is faster than my s7 now in some cases. But the only thing I can see the issue with is now I hate having to restart my S7 when im using it because it takes like a minute or two to fully load up everything. Feels like im using a PC and not a phone
any luck ?

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)
Click to expand...
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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