ZTE Z830: As some of you (who have recently broke your high-end devices like me!) know this is a cheap "GoPhone" you might have purchased as a replacement. As some of us know: the phones Hardware isn't bad for a low-end device. All very capable. The problem however; THE DAMN RESTRICTIONS ZTE HAS PUT ON THE PHONE.
Here are the problems in case you don't own a Z830:
No Apps are allowed on the SD-card
The bloatware cannot be uninstalled
Almost no internal memory (ZTE claims "4 Gigs of internal storage" but there is only around 800MB when disabling all unnecessary apps)
Anyways if you are stuck like me and have been suckered into buying this prepackaged paperweight. You most likely have one goal: ROOT IT. Which is the main point of this thread; as all of the other forum posts about this phone seem to be with people who have even less knowledge than I have about rooting. I want to figure out how to root this phone so it can live up to its capabilities.
I'm posting here about the methods I've been trying to root this phone with; so someone who has more knowledge about general rooting and coding then they can chime in and add some info.
First Attempt (FAILED) to Root the Device
ALSO KNOWN AS UPDATE.ZIPThe BREAKTHROUGH Information: I've managed to find the stock recovery from the phone's firmware. By pressing Volume Up + Power I got into the phones menu with various options to "update the firmware" It looks like this:
Android system recovery <
Z830V1 . 0 . 0B14
Volume up/down to move
highlight;
Press power to select.
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
apply update from sdcard
apply update from cache
md5 cache
So I tried to the original rooting method and this is what happened
-- Install /sdcard ...
(Installs about 25%)
Package corrupt.
Installation aborted.
So anyways: I would love some help trying to discover how to root this damn thing. If you own one of these and find some more breakthrough info I would love to know; because I am as well messing with this thing to see if this will ever work.
Just Tried TowelRoot. Doesn't support the z830.
Bump
I didn't want to post a new thread, is there any new information on this front? It doesn't seem like this was a popular enough phone to warrant it's own set of instructions
**************************************
A few of us were successful in finding a perm root. I know the phone has aged a bit now, but it really is a nice cheap spare phone without the bloatware.
The following instructions for the ZMAX worked perfectly but TWRP does not support the touch screen for the z830 so you have to use an OTG mouse to use TWRP. Touch functionality works fine once the entire process is complete. Uninstalling bloatware seems to have to be done with a 3rd party app such as Purify.
https://boycracked.com/2016/04/16/how-to-root-installing-twrp-v3-0-1-recovery-on-zte-zmax-z970/
I have this phone and have been trying various automatic root programs for some time. No luck.
qaz1233 said:
I have this phone and have been trying various automatic root programs for some time. No luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it seems like the phone uses some sort of bizarre coding.
........
I try everthing... nothing works....
all apps and PC methods fail...
Does adb work on your device? What are the different modes for your devices? Can you get into the bootloader?
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app
TecheTag said:
Does adb work on your device? What are the different modes for your devices? Can you get into the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I decided to pitch in as I also have this unfortunate phone. adb does in fact work, but it is crippled. I cannot perform "adb reboot bootloader" as it will simply reboot the phone normally. I tried to boot into the bootloader by pressing volume down+power and was entered into field test mode, as I have come to understand (says FTM on a white rectangle). Volume UP + power does put me in recovery mode, which is cool. Most interestingly, hold UP+DOWN+POWER mounts on my windows machine as ZTE handset diagnostic interface DFU... which apparently is made for flashing firmware with zte's own utility. adb reboot fastboot also just rebooted it normally.
if anyone knows of a useful test i could perform or a could point me towards new strategies i would appreciate it.
Well that sounds promising. It seems like we're breaking new ground here though.
830ingarg said:
Most interestingly, hold UP+DOWN+POWER mounts on my windows machine as ZTE handset diagnostic interface DFU... which apparently is made for flashing firmware with zte's own utility. adb reboot fastboot also just rebooted it normally..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think there is something that can be used to flash our own custom firmware on it?
Please someone bump
I have the same phone and it's about worthless without root. Hopefully someone cam figure it out. I would even donate some cash for a solution.
Sort of temporary root achieved with KingRoot
So, I have this goofy phone and I did manage to get something that appears to be root using KingRoot. The PC version didn't work, and neither did TowelRoot or OneClickRoot. Downloading the apk for KingRoot and running it gave me root access, but only until I rebooted the phone. I managed to install SuperSU which allowed me to confirm that I had root. Unfortunately I was not able to uninstall any pre-loaded software while rooted via KingRoot or KingUser. KingRoot acted like it had successfully uninstalled the pre-installed software, but all it uninstalled were the updates. I didn't get a list of software when I tried to uninstall software via KingUser.
So we can boot into Recovery, and can get temporary root. Any ideas on how to get farther with this crippled phone?
pippinstrano said:
So, I have this goofy phone and I did manage to get something that appears to be root using KingRoot. The PC version didn't work, and neither did TowelRoot or OneClickRoot. Downloading the apk for KingRoot and running it gave me root access, but only until I rebooted the phone. I managed to install SuperSU which allowed me to confirm that I had root. Unfortunately I was not able to uninstall any pre-loaded software while rooted via KingRoot or KingUser. KingRoot acted like it had successfully uninstalled the pre-installed software, but all it uninstalled were the updates. I didn't get a list of software when I tried to uninstall software via KingUser.
So we can boot into Recovery, and can get temporary root. Any ideas on how to get farther with this crippled phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you actually gain any space when you uninstalled items with that temporary root? I am able to uninstall updates on default apps even without root. I had one time with KingoApp where it claimed to be rooted, but I lost it with reboot and haven't gotten it back. Very frustrating. Wish I had avoided the reboot.
nothing works
I too got temporary root with kingroot, got to ambitious with uninstalling system apps and got into a force close loop. A factory reset from the stock recovery got me back in business. I didn't think that a factory reset was supposed to recover apps deleted while in root access. Also kingroot didn't work the first time for me, had to try several times, that was with latest apk, 4.1 I think.
Has anyone contacted zte about a bootloader unlock code? I know most phones it is necessary to unlock the bootloader to gain permanent root access. Plus then maybe we could get a custom recovery. I tried contacting them with no luck.
Talked to zte today, won't give unlock code since it will void warranty. Told them I didn't care about warranty since phone is worthless as is, no luck.
It could work the method used in the ZTE Z970? http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/help/zte-zmax-rooted-kingroot-t3110178
I was able to get temp root with Kingroot but doesn't stick after reboot. Today I got root to stick by using Flashify to flash superuser zip (http://download.chainfire.eu/supersu). I then deleted Kingroot apps. I was able to uninstall some ATT apps but not google apps. I tried SD Card Fix but didn't work and still can't change/mount r/w in root explorer.
I found a solution for rooting my D801 running Android 5.0.2. I used KingRoot to gain root access and then Super-Sume Pro to remove KingRoot and install SuperSU. I have not installed TWRP because I am going to stay on stock. It was difficult to find a one-click solution so I hope this helps someone else.
Kingroot has worked for me, too. Nothing else worked, no matter what I did. But Kingroot works great! Thanks for posting.
I have tried Purple Drake, ioroot, StumpRoot, and LGOneClickRoot. None of these worked. I'm particularly chagrined over the ioroot failure because ioroot is listed in the Cyanomodgen installation instructions.
I have not tried Kingroot and am hopeful it's the answer to my prayers.
Could you please confirm your T-Mobile Lollipop software info with mine to make sure we're on the same page? Many thanks.
Android version: 5.0.2
Build number: LRX22G
Software version: D80130c
Woohoo, Kingroot does indeed root the phone. That's the good news.
Now for the bad news. Super-Sume Pro does NOT remove KingRoot v4.8.0 (latest version). I like having a rooted phone, but I don't like having Spyware running on it that chews up bandwidth. How do I get rid of this thing? Brute force delete of binaries?
UPDATE: I got rid of KingRoot via method 2 at https://www.droidmen.com/remove-replace-kingroot-kinguser-with-supersu/. Unfortunately although RootChecker claims the phone is rooted none of the apps that need root can find the su binary because the SuperSU installation failed. Effectively the phone is un-rooted since apps requiring root are inoperable. So back to square 1. It's a big steaming pile of you-know-what.
UPDATE: I retraced my steps and re-ran the shell script of method 2 above. This time it worked. Kingroot is gone, SuperSU 2.49 is installed, and the phone is rooted according to root checker. The phone seemed strangely unstable for a while, but seems to have settled into normal behavior. Don't know if that was a consequence of this procedure or is possibly a hardware problem (battery?). Will keep a close eye on it, but for now all the apps that need root have it. Contemplating the installation of TWRP via GooManager, but that's not a high priority right now.
If anyone reading this is a bloatware removal expert (especially with regard to LG & T-Mobile) I'd like to hear from you. Tools that I've seen mentioned in this regard are Titanium Backup, System App Remover, and Clean Master.
Guys, just followed nbi1's method and finally got this working! Thanks!
Bageland2000 said:
Guys, just followed nbi1's method and finally got this working! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you by any chance install TWRP? If so, how did you unlock the bootloader? I'm looking for a pain free unlock. Held out hope for FreeGee, but despite claims to the contrary this app doesn't support many G2 variants such as mine, the D801 30c (T-Mobile).
nbi1 said:
Did you by any chance install TWRP? If so, how did you unlock the bootloader? I'm looking for a pain free unlock. Held out hope for FreeGee, but despite claims to the contrary this app doesn't support many G2 variants such as mine, the D801 30c (T-Mobile).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never installed TWRP, sorry...
Bageland2000 said:
Never installed TWRP, sorry...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't try it with Flashify. It'll destroy your recovery. Before trying any custom recovery make sure you have the stock kdz on hand so you can flash the stock recovery if need be.
UPDATE: I was able to flash the stock recovery.img. Of course that doesn't help as far as TWRP is concerned, but at least you wouldn't have a totally munged recovery on the phone.
UPDATE: Was able to successfully install TWRP using Autorec after figuring out that the SuperSU "Mount Namespace Separation" setting needs to be cleared/unchecked.
nbi1 said:
I have tried Purple Drake, ioroot, StumpRoot, and LGOneClickRoot. None of these worked. I'm particularly chagrined over the ioroot failure because ioroot is listed in the Cyanomodgen installation instructions.
I have not tried Kingroot and am hopeful it's the answer to my prayers.
Could you please confirm your T-Mobile Lollipop software info with mine to make sure we're on the same page? Many thanks.
Android version: 5.0.2
Build number: LRX22G
Software version: D80130c
Woohoo, Kingroot does indeed root the phone. That's the good news.
Now for the bad news. Super-Sume Pro does NOT remove KingRoot v4.8.0 (latest version). I like having a rooted phone, but I don't like having Spyware running on it that chews up bandwidth. How do I get rid of this thing? Brute force delete of binaries?
UPDATE: I got rid of KingRoot via method 2 at https://www.droidmen.com/remove-replace-kingroot-kinguser-with-supersu/. Unfortunately although RootChecker claims the phone is rooted none of the apps that need root can find the su binary because the SuperSU installation failed. Effectively the phone is un-rooted since apps requiring root are inoperable. So back to square 1. It's a big steaming pile of you-know-what.
UPDATE: I retraced my steps and re-ran the shell script of method 2 above. This time it worked. Kingroot is gone, SuperSU 2.49 is installed, and the phone is rooted according to root checker. The phone seemed strangely unstable for a while, but seems to have settled into normal behavior. Don't know if that was a consequence of this procedure or is possibly a hardware problem (battery?). Will keep a close eye on it, but for now all the apps that need root have it. Contemplating the installation of TWRP via GooManager, but that's not a high priority right now.
If anyone reading this is a bloatware removal expert (especially with regard to LG & T-Mobile) I'd like to hear from you. Tools that I've seen mentioned in this regard are Titanium Backup, System App Remover, and Clean Master.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Did method 1 not work for you though?
So I finally tried to root my phone. Tried the LG One Click Root first and as posted here it did not work right. I have now SuperSU on the phone but I can't grant root to anything. Rootchecker shows no root. Now I tried Kingoroot and SuperSU asks to grant access but I can't confirm it. Looks like I have to first get rid of SuperSU? Stuck here not sure what I need to do the get rid of the butchered SuperSU install. Any tips?
Can someone point me to where I can get the AutoRec version that works on D801 Lollipop?
dant3ch said:
I found a solution for rooting my D801 running Android 5.0.2. I used KingRoot to gain root access and then Super-Sume Pro to remove KingRoot and install SuperSU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to do the same using KingRoot-4.1.0.249-release-nolog-201505211812_105241.apk and Super-Sume-v9.1.9.apk
If KingRoot tells you "Unable to get root strategy" or "Failed to acquire cloud issued Root strategy", try to reboot once or twice before trying anything else!
I've made this thread to teach T337A owners how to root their device with SuperSU. Please note that this is a system-less root, meaning it's temporary, but can be re-applied. Rooting only takes about 5-7 minutes and brings numerous tweaks and advantages to your device. Just remember that every time you reboot or shut the device down, you will need to repeat the rooting process. This tutorial was designed for Lollipop 5.1.1, but it should work on KitKat as well.
Before beginning, you will need to download the following file, unzip it on your pc, then transfer it to your device's internal storage/external sd card.
T337AUCU2BOH4 (Lollipop) firmware can be found here
Root Files can be found here
Lets start!
1) Install both the APK files in the file on your device, If prompted, allow installation from unknown sources.
2) Make sure your device is connected to WiFi, then open Kingroot.
3) Once Kingroot is "Done searching for the best root strategy", click the "Try Now" button and wait about 3 minutes for KingRoot to give you a "Root Successfully" message.
4) This is where it gets kinda tricky, immediately after receiving the root success message, go into SuperSU-me, and grant root permissions when prompted.
5) Click on the big blue button in the middle of the frame and wait about 1 minute for the process to complete. DO NOT UPDATE THE SUPERSU BINARY, IT WILL CAUSE YOUR DEVICE TO BOOTLOOP.
6) IMMEDIATELY after the process has completed, go into Settings and make sure KingRoot or Purify is not installed! This is an important step because Kingroot and Kingroot adware tends to install itself in the system partition which can cause problems and frustration.
7 - Recommended) Download a root file explorer (such as ES File Explorer) and search "King" under /data and /system to ensure that the KingRoot app and its bloatware has been wiped from the system. This is to ensure that Kingroot still works properly after a reboot.
8) Enjoy root access!
If this tutorial helped you please be sure to hit the :good: button. If you had any issues or troubles during this process please feel free to let me know down below.
Cheers!
@KingOfTheNet
will flashfire work? bc it wont with kingroot
also, could itit.d be enabled and run these off of a script for example on startup so we don't have to do this after each reboot/shutdown
but i believe you would have to capture kingroots data somehow in the process of rooting
toolhas4degrees said:
@KingOfTheNet
will flashfire work? bc it wont with kingroot
also, could itit.d be enabled and run these off of a script for example on startup so we don't have to do this after each reboot/shutdown
but i believe you would have to capture kingroots data somehow in the process of rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FlashFire does work on SuperSU, I've tested that for myself. It does not work with KingRoot.
For the second question, I'm not sure. I haven't looked through that file myself and I might look through it later but right now, I would just avoid rebooting the tablet if you wanna keep root without repeating the process over and over again. It's what I do, repeating the process over and over again can get very tedious and annoying.
Cheers!
I assume you're talking about 5.1.1? It won't work with kingroot versions higher than 4.8. Also, flashfire will load, but if you try to flash a zip you're screwed. You can actually use replace kingroot with supersu zip in terminal emulator on any version kingroot. Same deal with su binary, don't update it. Wish I could figure out how I had permanent for with kingroot. I had to go messing with things and lost it. Nothing really special about this method, unless there's a dev out there that can do something with it.
xjimmy said:
I assume you're talking about 5.1.1? It won't work with kingroot versions higher than 4.8. Also, flashfire will load, but if you try to flash a zip you're screwed. You can actually use replace kingroot with supersu zip in terminal emulator on any version kingroot. Same deal with su binary, don't update it. Wish I could figure out how I had permanent for with kingroot. I had to go messing with things and lost it. Nothing really special about this method, unless there's a dev out there that can do something with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late response. Yes, somethings I forgot to mention in the original post:
1)Updating the SU Binary will put your device in a bootloop
2)Flashing anything with flashfire (based on what I've seen) results in a soft brick
3) I know you can replace kingroot with SuperSU in terminal, but when you reboot, you're unrooted again.
4) I'm trying to figure out how I could altar the boot.img so we can get permanent SuperSU on this thing the same way Chainfire did it with the US and Qualcomm Samsung Galaxy S7's.
Cheers!
Hi, @KingOfTheNet, thanks for helping out with this device, i rooted my device on KK nk2 build and now updated to 5.1.1, thanks to you! now i would like to root 5.1.1 (am aware it is a temp. root)
i have superSu Pro, do i need Super Sume for this to work?
KingOfTheNet said:
Sorry for the late response. Yes, somethings I forgot to mention in the original post:
1)Updating the SU Binary will put your device in a bootloop
2)Flashing anything with flashfire (based on what I've seen) results in a soft brick
3) I know you can replace kingroot with SuperSU in terminal, but when you reboot, you're unrooted again.
4) I'm trying to figure out how I could altar the boot.img so we can get permanent SuperSU on this thing the same way Chainfire did it with the US and Qualcomm Samsung Galaxy S7's.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somehow I had it permanently rooted with kingroot a while back. I had the 4.9.6 apk on my tab at the time, is all I know. I could've updated from an earlier version, and maybe that was the cause. I've tried so many different versions of kingroot with no luck, but one peculiar occurrence; if I open kingroot, get into the settings and uninstall kingroot without saving a backup of root, then delete all the files in the tablet's main directory, and reinstall kingroot version 4.8.0, it somehow retains a partial permanent root. At least on my T337A running 5.1.1 BOH4 it will, as long as I get a fresh install of 4.8.0, let it root, then hit the optimize button right after. Then wait until it finally tells me that kingroot has been deployed as a system app. After that, when I try to open any root apps, the screen will darken as it does when the root permission tab pops up, but it never pops up. The app just freezes. I can kill it in the task manager screen to just go back to using my tablet. After I restart the tab, sometimes it'll tell me an app has been granted superuser permissions. If I open up terminal emulator, type in the 'su' command and hit enter, the screen will turn dark again like it's going to ask me to allow or deny superuser permission, but it just freezes like that again. I've tried all kinds of stuff with 4.8.0, but I still can't get it to stick. If you don't hit the optimize button in kingroot right after rooting, and just wait for kingroot to install as a system app, the allow/deny prompt comes up without freezing, but the partial permanent root glitch doesn't remain. ugh, tired of messing with it though. lol
Edit: I may be wrong. It might need to be rooted with 4.8.0, optimized, then rebooted right away for the partial root. I'll try to do it again and let you know what I find.
bklyndiaz said:
Hi, @KingOfTheNet, thanks for helping out with this device, i rooted my device on KK nk2 build and now updated to 5.1.1, thanks to you! now i would like to root 5.1.1 (am aware it is a temp. root)
i have superSu Pro, do i need Super Sume for this to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy to help out! You'd need king root installed, root the tab with king root, then use SuperSU me to replace the kingroot binaries with the SuperSU ones. It is an automatic process and should only take about 30 seconds or less. Pro version of SUPERSUme is not required, free version should work just fine.
Cheers!
xjimmy said:
Somehow I had it permanently rooted with kingroot a while back. I had the 4.9.6 apk on my tab at the time, is all I know. I could've updated from an earlier version, and maybe that was the cause. I've tried so many different versions of kingroot with no luck, but one peculiar occurrence; if I open kingroot, get into the settings and uninstall kingroot without saving a backup of root, then delete all the files in the tablet's main directory, and reinstall kingroot version 4.8.0, it somehow retains a partial permanent root. At least on my T337A running 5.1.1 BOH4 it will, as long as I get a fresh install of 4.8.0, let it root, then hit the optimize button right after. Then wait until it finally tells me that kingroot has been deployed as a system app. After that, when I try to open any root apps, the screen will darken as it does when the root permission tab pops up, but it never pops up. The app just freezes. I can kill it in the task manager screen to just go back to using my tablet. After I restart the tab, sometimes it'll tell me an app has been granted superuser permissions. If I open up terminal emulator, type in the 'su' command and hit enter, the screen will turn dark again like it's going to ask me to allow or deny superuser permission, but it just freezes like that again. I've tried all kinds of stuff with 4.8.0, but I still can't get it to stick. If you don't hit the optimize button in kingroot right after rooting, and just wait for kingroot to install as a system app, the allow/deny prompt comes up without freezing, but the partial permanent root glitch doesn't remain. ugh, tired of messing with it though. lol
Edit: I may be wrong. It might need to be rooted with 4.8.0, optimized, then rebooted right away for the partial root. I'll try to do it again and let you know what I find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kingroot does allow your device to retain permanent root after a certain time. However, Kingroot is not as powerful as SuperSU, is very limited in terms of what It can do, and has it's own 'bloatware' titled Purify. I'd honestly stick with SuperSU because it's (probably) the most powerful and efficient way to root your phone. I'd also suggest avoiding having to reboot the tablet at all with temp root because you would have to take 5 minutes to install it again, which was a pain in the butt for me.
As for the kingroot app freezing, that's usually the result of a bad download or a bad root. Plus kingroot is very limited in terms of what you can do on your kingrooted device. SUPERSU is the equivalent of an IOS jailbreak. SUPERSU gives you full control of your device, with no bloatware and limits, unlike kingroot.
Kingroot does sometimes delete the su binaries upon rebooting, which is another reason I don't like it all that much.
Another theory I thought of is that it's not Kingroot that's deleting the binaries, it's actually something that's set to happen when the device boots up. Either the actual Android os or the bootloader searches for and deletes the su binaries to prevent root.
I don't know for sure, I've kinda slowed down work on this device mainly because of a project I've been working on with the Samsung Galaxy S7 AT&T (SM-G930A). I'll look into these things when I get the chance.
Cheers!
I understand the limitations of Kingroot, and certainly supersu by all means is better. In the case of flashfire with supersu in this scenario, it's merely the difference of being able to open and run it just enough to work improperly and brick your device vs. Kingroot not being able to open it at all. I posted in a thread long before this one, how to replace kingroot with supersu, only I use the zip file in terminal emulator. Pretty sure I went over flashfire as well. The terminal emulator method works with new versions of kingroot, unlike supersu me. Are you suggesting that the T337A running 5.1.1 BOH4 can achieve permanent root via kingroot after "a certain amount of time"? Because I'm the only one I've seen on xda who's ever posted that they had permanent root from kingroot, but I didn't know how I did it. After I messed with things, i softbricked and had to flash back to stock, which, no offense, the stock file was available way before you posted it. Anyway, it's not the kingroot app freezing per se, i was talking about after rebooting, and without re-rooting, when trying to use rooted apps, they actually start to engage in the kingroot request superuser permissions pop-up. So, no, it's not a bad download, etc. I believe an older version of kingroot somehow permanently rooted my tab, perhaps with the help of something I was messing with at the time, perhaps not. I've intentionally rebooted my tab an unimaginable amount of times, testing to see if I possibly regained permanent root to no avail, so I know how that works. And it's not about having a hard time deciding on kingroot or supersu for a temproot, it's the interest in permanent root, the possibility off something like safestrap, and/or flashing custom roms, etc. When people say temproot is better or safer, i say boo. How many custom roms include a root toggle in the settings? Anyway I wish I could've gotten hold of a developer while I had permanent root. Maybe I could've done a system dump, or even try replacing the permanent kingroot with supers and drying out that could've stuck. You say you slowed down on this device, do you mean you were pursuing permanent root for it? Are you a developer? I have the AT&T S7 Edge (G935A). What's your project on the 930? Is it something for rooted S7's? I still have my edge running the engboot with the echoRom. Anyway, thanks for your reply.
---------- Post added at 01:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 AM ----------
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-4/help/t337a-temp-root-bootlp-fix-tar-official-t3473737
*https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-4/general/permanent-root-t337a-5-1-1-kingroot-t3518334
A couple of threads I started a long time ago that may be of interest to you.
xjimmy said:
I understand the limitations of Kingroot, and certainly supersu by all means is better. In the case of flashfire with supersu in this scenario, it's merely the difference of being able to open and run it just enough to work improperly and brick your device vs. Kingroot not being able to open it at all. I posted in a thread long before this one, how to replace kingroot with supersu, only I use the zip file in terminal emulator. Pretty sure I went over flashfire as well. The terminal emulator method works with new versions of kingroot, unlike supersu me. Are you suggesting that the T337A running 5.1.1 BOH4 can achieve permanent root via kingroot after "a certain amount of time"? Because I'm the only one I've seen on xda who's ever posted that they had permanent root from kingroot, but I didn't know how I did it. After I messed with things, i softbricked and had to flash back to stock, which, no offense, the stock file was available way before you posted it. Anyway, it's not the kingroot app freezing per se, i was talking about after rebooting, and without re-rooting, when trying to use rooted apps, they actually start to engage in the kingroot request superuser permissions pop-up. So, no, it's not a bad download, etc. I believe an older version of kingroot somehow permanently rooted my tab, perhaps with the help of something I was messing with at the time, perhaps not. I've intentionally rebooted my tab an unimaginable amount of times, testing to see if I possibly regained permanent root to no avail, so I know how that works. And it's not about having a hard time deciding on kingroot or supersu for a temproot, it's the interest in permanent root, the possibility off something like safestrap, and/or flashing custom roms, etc. When people say temproot is better or safer, i say boo. How many custom roms include a root toggle in the settings? Anyway I wish I could've gotten hold of a developer while I had permanent root. Maybe I could've done a system dump, or even try replacing the permanent kingroot with supers and drying out that could've stuck. You say you slowed down on this device, do you mean you were pursuing permanent root for it? Are you a developer? I have the AT&T S7 Edge (G935A). What's your project on the 930? Is it something for rooted S7's? I still have my edge running the engboot with the echoRom. Anyway, thanks for your reply.
---------- Post added at 01:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 AM ----------
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-4/help/t337a-temp-root-bootlp-fix-tar-official-t3473737
*https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-4/general/permanent-root-t337a-5-1-1-kingroot-t3518334
A couple of threads I started a long time ago that may be of interest to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offence taken on the firmware post, I was simply trying to spread the fact that the firmware for the device does exist but is very hard to find and is often posted on shady websites for money, unless you're looking in the right places. It only took me 5 minutes on Google to find one of those sites.
You asked if I was saying that the Tab 4 BOH4 firmware allows you to retain permanent root after some time, and yes, that's exactly what I was saying. I rooted my tablet with Kingroot 4.8.0 a while back and after about 4 - 5 reboots (I counted how many times I rebooted it, but the numbers could vary), It retained root. All I do today is avoid rebooting the tablet at all costs. I prefer SuperSU because, like we've said, there are almost no limitations of what you can do in terms of being rooted. I'm trying to find out how I can make root permanent on the tab with SuperSU by using the eng-boot method used to root all Qualcomm variants of the Galaxy S7, but that may take a while. Since my S7 has the eng-boot root method, I can reboot it all I want and it stays rooted with SuperSU. But at this point, It's just an Idea. I mainly need to find out whether or not the bootloader or the os is wiping the binaries on boot. Some older and newer versions of kingroot can retain root after reboot, but I have yet to find a version of the app that can do so.
Actually, some versions of Cyanogenmod and other custom roms had root pre-installed (not like SuperSU, but close enough), and like CM specifically, there was a section in the settings app for this pre-baked root. Even if I still used CM today, I still would've flashed SuperSU. But on a small number of devices, temp root really is better. However, most of those devices that would be on that list have very little to no development on them. Thus, they are not yet (and may never be) supported for permanent root.
I am partially on the road to becoming a developer, but I don't know how far that's gonna go (my prediction is not that far at all). I was doing research on how I could make an eng-boot for the Tab 4, but I became interested in my Galaxy S7 (AT&T). By that, I mean I wanted to make my own custom version of the stock Marshmallow rom ("Custom but stock OS"). To shorten it up, I wanted to create a .zip flashable "super package" which included SuperSU v2.79, Viper4Android, Overclock tools, and other stuff. I've kinda been on and off in terms of motivation to make this idea a reality, primarily because most of the things I wanted to include in this "package", can easily be installed by you in like 3 minutes, or maybe less. The original motive behind the idea was to lessen the work for power users who wanted to free their device "from the shackles". I've been on and off on work between both devices, but It's hard for me to continue the work without proper motivation. These projects are merely just an Idea at this point, but some drafts and copies do exist on my computer.
Creating a custom Android rom straight from my own head is basically an impossible task for me, considering most of the devices I work with have locked bootloaders. I am still learning Java and other Android programming languages in some of my free time but, again, the motivation to continue is something I struggle to find.
Cheers!
Upgrading OS and rooting
I am currently running my t337a on 4.4.2 with build NK2. I was able to root with towel root awhile ago. I want to upgrade my os to 5.1.1 and root after but would like to make sure I go about it the right way.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
loc626 said:
I am currently running my t337a on 4.4.2 with build NK2. I was able to root with towel root awhile ago. I want to upgrade my os to 5.1.1 and root after but would like to make sure I go about it the right way.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root on the latest Lollipop firmware, but it's systemless supersu/temporary, meaning it will go away if you shutdown or reboot the device (you can re-root it, of course, but It can be annoying). The option to upgrade is up to you, and once you do upgrade, you can't downgrade (Locked bootloader & different bootloader versions. Lollipop has the new bootloader.) If you are going to upgrade, you can flash the Lollipop firmware via Odin or upgrade via OTA. If upgrading, I recommend taking it over the air, mainly because I'm still working up Odin packages for them. The Odin packages that I do have available are the BOH4 (the previous and the initial Lollipop update) ones, so if you upgrade OTA, it'll take away one step in the upgrade process, making your life a tad bit easier. Reply back if you need further help or have any more questions.
Cheers!
KingOfTheNet said:
You can root on the latest Lollipop firmware, but it's systemless supersu/temporary, meaning it will go away if you shutdown or reboot the device (you can re-root it, of course, but It can be annoying). The option to upgrade is up to you, and once you do upgrade, you can't downgrade (Locked bootloader & different bootloader versions. Lollipop has the new bootloader.) If you are going to upgrade, you can flash the Lollipop firmware via Odin or upgrade via OTA. If upgrading, I recommend taking it over the air, mainly because I'm still working up Odin packages for them. The Odin packages that I do have available are the BOH4 (the previous and the initial Lollipop update) ones, so if you upgrade OTA, it'll take away one step in the upgrade process, making your life a tad bit easier. Reply back if you need further help or have any more questions.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm highly considering an upgrade for the feel and hopefully a better performance. Also, a few apps I have need updates but only compatible on Android 5 and up. I have the OTA ready to go. Would I need to unroot before upgrading the OS?
loc626 said:
I'm highly considering an upgrade for the feel and hopefully a better performance. Also, a few apps I have need updates but only compatible on Android 5 and up. I have the OTA ready to go. Would I need to unroot before upgrading the OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be best to unroot before installing to avoid any issues during the installation. Other then that, you're in the clear! Just remember, you cannot downgrade after the install!
Cheers!
KingOfTheNet said:
4) I'm trying to figure out how I could altar the boot.img so we can get permanent SuperSU on this thing the same way Chainfire did it with the US and Qualcomm Samsung Galaxy S7's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have always been under the assumption that the boot.img for the locked BL on the s7 was literally an engineering kernel from Samsung, and not something Chainfire created. The reason Im saying this is because if Chainfire created a boot image that can get around a locked bootloader, then logic should state that he cracked Sprint/ATT's signature for the BL. So my way of thinking is the success of even one locked boot loader ... it should apply across the board for all, correct? Or am I waaaaay off? lol
leeboski44 said:
I have always been under the assumption that the boot.img for the locked BL on the s7 was literally an engineering kernel from Samsung, and not something Chainfire created. The reason Im saying this is because if Chainfire created a boot image that can get around a locked bootloader, then logic should state that he cracked Sprint/ATT's signature for the BL. So my way of thinking is the success of even one locked boot loader ... it should apply across the board for all, correct? Or am I waaaaay off? lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(1st question) Actually yeah, lol. It was an engineering kernel, he didn't make it . I'm assuming that was used during the development of the phone so Samsung and AT&T could construct the OS without running into any issues with the phones locked bootloader. At the time, I thought that Chainfire thought of some "mad science" to altar the boot.img so that it wont check the signatures of any of the files on boot.
Now I'm thinking:
1) He found a way to obtain all the phones signatures so that way he knows what signature the desired files (like a build of TWRP, or instance) would have to have so it can flash and boot properly.
--OR--
2) He somehow obtained or reproduced the engineering kernel that, like I said, was most likely used during software development for the phone (constructing the OS and the rest of the software).
I've done a little research on what engineering kernels actually do and why they are so useful now (to most people, the name is enough, lol). Apparently, they completely skip some of the signature checks on boot, primarily for /SYSTEM (The OS), which is why we were able to achieve permanent root the Qualcomm Galaxy S7 & S7 edge models. I do not think they skip signature checks for /RECOVERY or /BOOT, but we know that if we either reproduce or obtain the engineering kernel for this tablet, we can achieve permanent root the exact same way. I could be wrong, as I do not know for certain the Ins and outs of engineering kernels and how to get them, but It is very possible.
(2nd question) Now, I do not have much knowledge of bootloaders and signature checks, but I would go to the best assumption that since Sprint & AT&T, for example, are 2 completely different companies and are not affiliated (as of writing this), their bootloaders and updates would not have the same signatures. If they did, then Sprint would have to go to AT&T to sign their updates and such, and AT&T would have to do the same thing for Sprint. It just wouldn't really make sense. Lets think of it this way, If Target wants to sell a product in their stores that's already sold at Walmart, then should Target have to go to Walmart to get that approved? Or if Walmart wanted to sell something that's already sold at Target, then should Walmart have to go to Target for approval? Absolutely not, that wouldn't make any sense. Once again, I could be wrong, but it would make the most sense.
Please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers!
KingOfTheNet said:
(1st question) Actually yeah, lol. It was an engineering kernel, he didn't make it . I'm assuming that was used during the development of the phone so Samsung and AT&T could construct the OS without running into any issues with the phones locked bootloader. At the time, I thought that Chainfire thought of some "mad science" to altar the boot.img so that it wont check the signatures of any of the files on boot.
Now I'm thinking:
1) He found a way to obtain all the phones signatures so that way he knows what signature the desired files (like a build of TWRP, or instance) would have to have so it can flash and boot properly.
--OR--
2) He somehow obtained or reproduced the engineering kernel that, like I said, was most likely used during software development for the phone (constructing the OS and the rest of the software).
I've done a little research on what engineering kernels actually do and why they are so useful now (to most people, the name is enough, lol). Apparently, they completely skip some of the signature checks on boot, primarily for /SYSTEM (The OS), which is why we were able to achieve permanent root the Qualcomm Galaxy S7 & S7 edge models. I do not think they skip signature checks for /RECOVERY or /BOOT, but we know that if we either reproduce or obtain the engineering kernel for this tablet, we can achieve permanent root the exact same way. I could be wrong, as I do not know for certain the Ins and outs of engineering kernels and how to get them, but It is very possible.
(2nd question) Now, I do not have much knowledge of bootloaders and signature checks, but I would go to the best assumption that since Sprint & AT&T, for example, are 2 completely different companies and are not affiliated (as of writing this), their bootloaders and updates would not have the same signatures. If they did, then Sprint would have to go to AT&T to sign their updates and such, and AT&T would have to do the same thing for Sprint. It just wouldn't really make sense. Lets think of it this way, If Target wants to sell a product in their stores that's already sold at Walmart, then should Target have to go to Walmart to get that approved? Or if Walmart wanted to sell something that's already sold at Target, then should Walmart have to go to Target for approval? Absolutely not, that wouldn't make any sense. Once again, I could be wrong, but it would make the most sense.
Please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No that makes perfect sense and thanks for clearing it up.
The whole thing about the signature being the means by which the bootloader is locked is important. Atleast to me it is, so thank you for clearing that up. :good: And so, it makes sense that the System partitions Signature check being skipped IS what allows access to root. But where my opinion differs on this is the Boot and Recovery implementation of the Signatures. I believe that it IS the carriers implementation that does not allow the Recovery and Boot partitions to be modified. If it were Samsungs then how is Samsung going to incorporate a Universal bootloader that knows how to load all carriers data, policy, etc?
And possibly this is what you were saying above and I am misreading it...
***EDIT*** I see you said that the signatures would NOT be the same between carriers, so I am in line with your theory there as well.
leeboski44 said:
No that makes perfect sense and thanks for clearing it up.
The whole thing about the signature being the means by which the bootloader is locked is important. Atleast to me it is, so thank you for clearing that up. :good: And so, it makes sense that the System partitions Signature check being skipped IS what allows access to root. But where my opinion differs on this is the Boot and Recovery implementation of the Signatures. I believe that it IS the carriers implementation that does not allow the Recovery and Boot partitions to be modified. If it were Samsungs then how is Samsung going to incorporate a Universal bootloader that knows how to load all carriers data, policy, etc?
And possibly this is what you were saying above and I am misreading it...
***EDIT*** I see you said that the signatures would NOT be the same between carriers, so I am in line with your theory there as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I could be of help, however I don't see where I stated that the signature implementations on the BOOT and RECOVERY partitions was Samsung's idea not the carriers, if you could point that out for me that would be great.:good:
The engineering kernels skip SOME signature checks, both when flashing and booting into partitions, but I do not know exactly which ones they skip. We know it skips some of the signatures for /SYSTEM, but it does not do the same for the 2 other main ones, those being /BOOT & /RECOVERY. We know because "one of our own" attempted to flash their own build of TWRP recovery to the device (SM-G930A to be specific) only to get a signature check fail when booting the phone, which of course means that the phone has a locked bootloader and that the signatures for the /RECOVERY partition are still checked, but I do not know for certain about /BOOT. If I had to assume I'd say that /BOOT isn't checked, given the fact that if your phone is rooted then you would have had to flash the engineering kernel, which, like I said, skips some signature checks.
I hope I've cleared most things up for you.
Cheers!
KingOfTheNet said:
I've made this thread to teach T337A owners how to root their device with SuperSU. Please note that this is a system-less root, meaning it's temporary, but can be re-applied. Rooting only takes about 5-7 minutes and brings numerous tweaks and advantages to your device. Just remember that every time you reboot or shut the device down, you will need to repeat the rooting process. This tutorial was designed for Lollipop 5.1.1, but it should work on KitKat as well.
Before beginning, you will need to download the following file, unzip it on your pc, then transfer it to your device's internal storage/external sd card.
Root File: https://mega.nz/#!74Jl0ZqY!knlHuexbYGFkk1f4wHxq16u3L38EtfR9scQ0H7hISTA
Lets start!
1) Install both the APK files in the file on your device, If prompted, allow installation from unknown sources.
2) Make sure your device is connected to WiFi, then open Kingroot.
3) Once Kingroot is "Done searching for the best root strategy", click the "Try Now" button and wait about 3 minutes for KingRoot to give you a "Root Successfully" message.
4) This is where it gets kinda tricky, immediately after receiving the root success message, go into SuperSU-me, and grant root permissions when prompted.
5) Click on the big blue button in the middle of the frame and wait about 1 minute for the process to complete. DO NOT UPDATE THE SUPERSU BINARY, IT WILL BOOTLOOP.
6) IMMEDIATELY after the process has completed, go into Settings and make sure KingRoot or Purify is not installed! This is an important step because Kingroot and Kingroot adware tends to install itself in the system partition which can cause problems and frustration.
7 - Recommended) Download a root file explorer and search "King" under /data and /system to ensure that the KingRoot app and its bloatware has been wiped from the system.
8) Enjoy root access!
If this tutorial helped you please be sure to hit the :good: button. If you had any issues or troubles during this process please feel free to let me know down below.
Need T337A firmware? Check out my thread here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-4/general/download-sm-t337a-lollipop-firmware-t3536509
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The firmware you provided saved my sm-t337A tablet from being soft bricked. Although I was able to gain temp root from this method, king root tried to disable the SELinux on my device and after trying to temp root again caused the app to implant itself as bloatware into the /systems folder and was non functional when using the app. Do you happen to know of a custom recovery (TWRP or CWM) which would work for this device?
Hi all,
I am having problems with my phone and its starting to drive me crazy. I have a ZTE N817 (Obama phone) which I rooted and flashed TWRP to about 8 months ago. The rom is stock because I've never been able to find any custom roms. I used the kingoroot PC application to root the device (the app I've found that was able to root it), and replaced kinguser with supersu. Everything worked great, or at least as good as one can expect from a device with such lown spec hardware.
About a week ago I opened my busybox installer (Busybox Pro (Stericson) and I noticed the app said either I didn't have root or I needed to update the supersu binary. I had the most recent supersu binary but I reinstalled it and updated the binary anyway. The binary updated fine. Busybox still said I didnt have root. I then down loaded a root checker app from the store, it said I had root and my busybox installation was fine. I opened a few more apps that require root (titanium backup, root explorer, etc) all said the device was not rooted. I installed a couple more root checkers, both said the device was not rooted but one said busybox was installed and the other said it wasnt. The first root checker app still said the phone was rooted and busybox installed.
Whenever I run an app that requires root, I get the popup from supersu asking me to grant root access. I grant it but then the apps just tell me that they are unable to get root access and my device is not rooted. I reinstalled kingoroot on my PC and ran it to root the phone again. It said it ran successfully, supersu installed fine and updated the binary. Still no change in anything. I tried to use kingoroot to unroot the device (just so I could root it again) but kingoroot was unsuccessful, but it says it has no problems rooting it.
At this point I have no idea what is going on or how I can get root access back. Any help or ideas anyone may have will be greatly appreciated.:highfive: Like I said, its seriously starting to drive me nuts. :crying::crying:
Happy Memorial Day to everyone!
jritt said:
Hi all,
I am having problems with my phone and its starting to drive me crazy. I have a ZTE N817 (Obama phone) which I rooted and flashed TWRP to about 8 months ago. The rom is stock because I've never been able to find any custom roms. I used the kingoroot PC application to root the device (the app I've found that was able to root it), and replaced kinguser with supersu. Everything worked great, or at least as good as one can expect from a device with such lown spec hardware.
About a week ago I opened my busybox installer (Busybox Pro (Stericson) and I noticed the app said either I didn't have root or I needed to update the supersu binary. I had the most recent supersu binary but I reinstalled it and updated the binary anyway. The binary updated fine. Busybox still said I didnt have root. I then down loaded a root checker app from the store, it said I had root and my busybox installation was fine. I opened a few more apps that require root (titanium backup, root explorer, etc) all said the device was not rooted. I installed a couple more root checkers, both said the device was not rooted but one said busybox was installed and the other said it wasnt. The first root checker app still said the phone was rooted and busybox installed.
Whenever I run an app that requires root, I get the popup from supersu asking me to grant root access. I grant it but then the apps just tell me that they are unable to get root access and my device is not rooted. I reinstalled kingoroot on my PC and ran it to root the phone again. It said it ran successfully, supersu installed fine and updated the binary. Still no change in anything. I tried to use kingoroot to unroot the device (just so I could root it again) but kingoroot was unsuccessful, but it says it has no problems rooting it.
At this point I have no idea what is going on or how I can get root access back. Any help or ideas anyone may have will be greatly appreciated.:highfive: Like I said, its seriously starting to drive me nuts. :crying::crying:
Happy Memorial Day to everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you have twrp still?
install latest supersu.zip
Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk
sd_shadow said:
you have twrp still?
install latest supersu.zip
Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I still have TWRP. If I install supersu from the play store without the binary installed the app will tell me immediately after opening that my device is not rooted and it won't work. If I flash the binary through TWRP first, then supersu installs from the play store no different than if the device was still rooted, but I still don't have root. I get the toast notifications whenever an app requests access, but of course it is unable to grant it. I am still on the exact same version of Android as when I got the phone, nothing other than apps themselves have been updated. I have zero idea how I lost root, and even more confusing to me is why I cannot reacquire it. Again just last night, I tried Kingoroot (what I originally rooted the device with), Dr Fone, iRoot, eRoot and Framaroot. Every one failed.:crying: It's a real pain in the rear because the phone's hardware is so lacking that root access is needed just to make the device somewhat usable. I have not ever been able to find a custom rom despite searching all over many times. But last night I was thinking, since I stil have TWRP if I can find someone else with the same handset with root....could I flash a backup of their stock rom? Would that work?:fingers-crossed: I'm becoming extremely frustrated
jritt said:
Yes, I still have TWRP. If I install supersu from the play store without the binary installed the app will tell me immediately after opening that my device is not rooted and it won't work. If I flash the binary through TWRP first, then supersu installs from the play store no different than if the device was still rooted, but I still don't have root. I get the toast notifications whenever an app requests access, but of course it is unable to grant it. I am still on the exact same version of Android as when I got the phone, nothing other than apps themselves have been updated. I have zero idea how I lost root, and even more confusing to me is why I cannot reacquire it. Again just last night, I tried Kingoroot (what I originally rooted the device with), Dr Fone, iRoot, eRoot and Framaroot. Every one failed.:crying: It's a real pain in the rear because the phone's hardware is so lacking that root access is needed just to make the device somewhat usable. I have not ever been able to find a custom rom despite searching all over many times. But last night I was thinking, since I stil have TWRP if I can find someone else with the same handset with root....could I flash a backup of their stock rom? Would that work?:fingers-crossed: I'm becoming extremely frustrated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which Supersu.zip zip are you using?
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
sd_shadow said:
which Supersu.zip zip are you using?
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one I used last night was SR3-SuperSU-v2.79-SR3-20170114223742.zip.
jritt said:
The one I used last night was SR3-SuperSU-v2.79-SR3-20170114223742.zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are some things to check.
Maybe you need to make sure you have root access in developer options set to "apps and adb".
Make sure you have a root explorer and that it is enabled.
Check SELinux to see if it's set to "enforcing" or "permissive", set it to permissive if you can.
You might need to use SuperSU in "systemless mode"
Yes, in theory, a rooted backup from someone else should work.
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk