Database Info

SM-J337A: Need to Access Certain Permissions and/or Root

Hello. I have been an Android user since 2012, and am new to the XDA-Developers forum.
I am technically inclined to a point, but I am by no means in the Developer category. I have successfully rooted one phone, but that was running Android 5.0 and the process seemed to be A LOT simpler than that which is required for today's more sophisticated operating systems.
I come here tonight seeking assistance with an unlocked Samsung SM-J337A running Android 8.0. I purchased this phone online and not from a carrier. Specifically, I am seeking to gain write permission access to the SD card for all third-party apps. None of the automatic call recording apps available in the Play Store function properly without this permission, and in my work I require a phone running Android 7.0 at minimum. Additionally, I am seeking to install a system-wide ad blocker which doesn't necessitate using a battery-draining VPN.
Here are the stats from this phone:
Baseband: J337AUCU3ARJ1
Kernel: 3.18.14-13465503-QB20325568
Build: R16NW.J337AUCU3ARJ1
Knox: 3.1, API level 25, TIMA 4.0.0
Security: ASKS v1.4 Release 180123; FIPS BoringSSL v1.2; SMR Sep-2018 Release 1
I need to know if what I am seeking to do with this phone is possible. Otherwise, I will have to obtain an Android 7.0 or 8.0 phone with which I can successfully gain these permissions or outright root to accomplish same.
So far, all I have been able to do is access Developer Options. From there, I cannot even determine if this device has an unlocked bootloader as there is no "OEM Unlock" option or anything remotely similar under that menu option.
Please assist me with suggestions on how best to proceed. Thank you.

IPaidIOwn said:
Hello. I have been an Android user since 2012, and am new to the XDA-Developers forum.
I am technically inclined to a point, but I am by no means in the Developer category. I have successfully rooted one phone, but that was running Android 5.0 and the process seemed to be A LOT simpler than that which is required for today's more sophisticated operating systems.
I come here tonight seeking assistance with an unlocked Samsung SM-J337A running Android 8.0. I purchased this phone online and not from a carrier. Specifically, I am seeking to gain write permission access to the SD card for all third-party apps. None of the automatic call recording apps available in the Play Store function properly without this permission, and in my work I require a phone running Android 7.0 at minimum. Additionally, I am seeking to install a system-wide ad blocker which doesn't necessitate using a battery-draining VPN.
Here are the stats from this phone:
Baseband: J337AUCU3ARJ1
Kernel: 3.18.14-13465503-QB20325568
Build: R16NW.J337AUCU3ARJ1
Knox: 3.1, API level 25, TIMA 4.0.0
Security: ASKS v1.4 Release 180123; FIPS BoringSSL v1.2; SMR Sep-2018 Release 1
I need to know if what I am seeking to do with this phone is possible. Otherwise, I will have to obtain an Android 7.0 or 8.0 phone with which I can successfully gain these permissions or outright root to accomplish same.
So far, all I have been able to do is access Developer Options. From there, I cannot even determine if this device has an unlocked bootloader as there is no "OEM Unlock" option or anything remotely similar under that menu option.
Please assist me with suggestions on how best to proceed. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you are looking for a way to root, so I'd like to share some things with you. I have looked at this phone too, and found it has some very odd booting. There is no fastboot. Instead you have to make due with Download Mode. Power + Home + Volume up (or down) on boot will bring you to download mode. If it brings you to recovery, try the other volume button. Choosing download mode from recovery is only for recovering the current installation. (I think) Once in download mode, you will see some info in the top left corner. In order to unlock the flashing of ROMS (This is required for rooting with Magisk) you need to disable FRP. AKA, sign out of your google account on your phone. You should thus be able to install custom ROMs. In order for Magisk to work, you need a copy of your current firmware. I found some sights with downloads, but they were either untrustworthy, paid for, or the ROM was nonexistent. After searching online, I found another, official, and free way that you can get the official firmware for Samsung devices through Samsung's Smart Switch application. The only problem is that the program will only download the ROM if you have an available update on your sm-j337a. I'm up to date with the first android pie update on my sm-j337a. If you've held off patching, I would:
Install smart switch both mobile and PC.
Set preferences to preload ROMs in PC version (download first, then choose install)
Copy the ROM from user 》 documents》 Samsung
If this works, please share the ROM. My phone is too updated to test it.
You can then use the Magisk guide for rooting.

0-day for Mi A1 and more

Hi, a couple of days ago ArsTechnica reported a 0-day vulnerability with a fully disclosed PoC for root privilege escalation on MiA1 devices and more... I was wondering if it could be used to create a gcam activator without all the hassles of temporary rooting and rebooting with the volume key and never booting into recovery again unless you want a data wipe. Is there anyone with the required skills to try this out?

Found this today:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/attackers-exploit-0day-vulnerability-that-gives-full-control-of-android-phones/
Should A1 owners be worried?

I think it can be patched in a custom kernel, if it isn't already.

Niyix said:
I think it can be patched in a custom kernel, if it isn't already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not worried about the vulnerability (it will get patched, eventually) - quite the opposite! I think that it could be extremely handy to enable the Camera2 API without having to root with TWRP/tools and risking a device wipe. I can't post the actual exploit proof of concept because I'm a new user here, but the code is reachable from the project zero bug report. Running a process with root privileges would make writing the extra props in the build.properties file way easier. Of course I'm not an Android dev and I could be wrong in many ways... that's why I was asking here.

If you are on Pie, you are safe.
The original bug entry states that it affect Oreo:
...
Other devices which appear to be vulnerable based on source code review are (referring to 8.x releases unless otherwise stated):
1) Pixel 2 with Android 9 and Android 10 preview (https://android.googlesource.com/kernel/msm/+/refs/heads/android-msm-wahoo-4.4-q-preview-6/)
2) Huawei P20
3) Xiaomi Redmi 5A
4) Xiaomi Redmi Note 5
5) Xiaomi A1
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

MediaTek T906 Tablet(Made in China!!)

Good Evening All(or whatever time it may be there),
I'm new to XDA and Rooting, etc. etc. I purchased a MediaTek T906 Tablet(Made in China!!). After I received it and charged it, the first thing noticed it wasn't allowing some apps to download and install. Keep in mind this is suppose to be Android 9 and 512Gig 8Gig ram device.
Below is what MTK Droid Tool v2.5.3 says about it(and yes I Root it, am fully aware that it voids warranty):
Hardware : MT6582 (MT6797 is Fake!)
Model : T906
Build number : T906_vEN52S2_TB_20191205
Build date UTC : 20191205-085910
Android v : 9.0
Baseband v: MOLY.WR8.W1315.MD.WG.MP.V54, 2018/01/02 15:01
Kernel v : 3.4.67 ([email protected]) (gcc version 4.7 (GCC) ) #1 SMP Thu Dec 5 16:56:01 CST 2019
Too root(successfully)it I used KingoRoot and Got SuperUser Status/Privileges. I did a lot of reading on root and other root apps(to be used in conjunction with). Long story short, I'm trying to get a specific app to download to this tablet and am not sure how to go about it. I did the dump data/cache thing in Play Store and Google Play Services and reboot. Didn't work. Did all the steps before I root the device. I even used Root Essentials Editor to mod the device name and manufacturer, that didn't work. And the time zone is set to right time zone. So, I'm making this post asking for some guidance and/or help on what I can do? Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!

I am in the same situation as the previous poster with the same Version, Kernel, Baseband, Build and my experience with this should be considered at a beginner's level. In researching this and came across a post that indicated that the tablet is not actually Android 9.0 but suspected to be KitKat. Please, if anyone knows how I could get this setup with Android Oreo, I would be grateful.

Hi guys,
just got the tablet too, it also seems to me it has this config:
- MT6582
- 1GB RAM
- 16GB Storage
- 1280 * 800, 7.19" display
- Android 4.4
Not sure what options there are, but I hope there are some newer Android builds that would work on this?
I'm following

So far....
I have been successful in rooting my device and hope to find a ROM that will move it up to a level that will allow KODI -Leia to be installed. I will let you know what my findings are. I'm just afraid as I don't want to brick the device.

Hi guys . Same problem. But. Works to me. Go in accounts remove account. then try loggin again.
uncheck all boxes. Unynchronize the two options in the account. Agenda and contacts. Deselect the check options. If it doesn't work restart and turn off the wifi. then rewire. Do it again. good luck

A brother in distress
I've got the exact same issue with my T906 Mediatek. I downloaded the Root app (Thanks!) and kept trying to get the things to load and run. I'm specifically having the issue with Alexa app. I can find it but I get that the app isn't compatible. It runs on my Samsung phone that's running A9.0. It keeps saying the app is already installed, yet it isn't . I went into the Play Store and Play Services apps and deleted the updates and caches as suggested on YouTube. No difference. I'm sort of at a "What Now!?" POINT.
Any help would be appreciated.
Be safe out there and for goodness sake, wear your masks until this crap is beat.
The REAL OldGeezer

you can't upgrade generic android devices until version 9. Android 9 seperates the drivers with the treble abstraction layer allowing you keep the drivers and upgrade the rest. The T906 has android 5.11. If you run CM lite scan you will see a huge Opera beta file that is always 3 times your storage. This is how they fake the RAM and ROM sizes. If you take off the back and look at the board you will ussually see printed on the board 1GB ram 16GB rom. They have also faked the CPU by using the ROM for the upspec version with better camera, screen resolution and CPU which uses the same drivers. Thus these are also falsely reported. Sadly Google no longer supports android 5 for things like Google sheets so your apps will soon stop upgrading. I love this machine because the screen size makes it cheap for 50 USD

Help to get ROM image to restore same model
I have the same model but when trying to get root access managed to brick it. I have got SP Flash working and managed to get some T906 firmware on it so I get the Mediatek logo and battery charging symbol on screen however the boot options i.e. Fastboot etc just gives an error message when selecting any of them.
I've got a development background but new to Android and scatter files but is it possible for anyone on this thread with the exact same model to help get back to a working system? I assume there is a way to back it all up using SP Flash ?

hi everyone are in the same problem boot error !!!
how to solve it I have tried in all ways but I find myself as soon as I turn it on boot error !!!! you can not even go into recovery?
Help!!!

These manufacturers need to be found and dealt with cause they are robbing customers. They are giving fake specifications. They need to be sued asap.

I got a Mediatek tablet and try put it in recovery mode and now I got black screen with blue bar with SIM and Chinese Characters. Any way to fix it

Hali! Mi lehet a probléma, hogy nem lehet rá filmet másolni számítógépről? Össze van kötve a géppel, megjelenik a fájlátvitel, és a gépen is egy belső tárhely, és az sd kártya, de amikor át akarom húzni a filmet, nem tud semmit se csinálni.
A Fordító így fordította,
Hali! Mi lehet a probléma, hogy nem lehet filmet másolni a számítógépről arra?

Hello guys.
I have a different problem with my T906. It works fine and it is fast and reliable but I had problems downloading apps from the Google Play Store. When I checked it said that the Device is not certified under the Play Protect Certification. I remembered that it came without the Google Play app and I installed from another APK store (apkmirror.com) and it installed without issues. I've tried to download another Google Play app but can't find the correct match for my version and OS (64-bit - Android 8.1).
Any help will be truly appreciated.

I've just created a dump of this tablet with flash tool, maybe you can try to revive yours
T906_191205_ForFlashtoolFromReadBack_221023-012402
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
www.mediafire.com
Btw I'd welcome any kind of rom that would make this device more usable

HELP ME ROOT !!!!

sorry if you felt I'm shouting in the title. I want to root my Lenovo K33a42, Android 7.0 (yes an old phone). I tried to root using KingRoot, KingoRoot, FramaRoot, Root Master (including PC versions) and none of them were able to root my phone. I seriously want to root my phone and I don't wanna risk bricking it as it's my primary. I know the method of Flashing TWRP and then flashing Magisk or SuperSU, but I'm scared of bricking. is there any better method to root my phone?

DamnBro304 said:
sorry if you felt I'm shouting in the title. I want to root my Lenovo K33a42, Android 7.0 (yes an old phone). I tried to root using KingRoot, KingoRoot, FramaRoot, Root Master (including PC versions) and none of them were able to root my phone. I seriously want to root my phone and I don't wanna risk bricking it as it's my primary. I know the method of Flashing TWRP and then flashing Magisk or SuperSU, but I'm scared of bricking. is there any better method to root my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well always do everything with extra care. I cound not assure that you will not brick your device.
Your phone is Lenovo K6 power.
Also, I recommend updating to a newer android version as android 7 is already too outdated and not safe to use. An example is this, which you can also flash in TWRP (wipe before installing)
[ROM][11.0.0_r19]LineageOS 18.1 for Lenovo K6 Power
LineageOS is a free, community-built, aftermarket firmware distribution of Android 6, which is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android for your device. LineageOS is based on the Android Open Source Project with extra...
forum.xda-developers.com
If you want to know why one click root apps doesn't work, those apps highly depends on a bug occuring on android 4.0 to android 6.0. Android 7 have this 'issue' , or exploit, patched, so one click root apps died instantly.

@DamnBro304
No Magisk, TWRP, SuperSu, etc.pp is needed to root a phone what has Android 5 and higher running.
Because your device's Android is version 7 to get the superuser access to be able to control various aspects of Android OS means you need to perform a certain modification that will root your phone's Android.
Here is what you have to do to root your device's Android: Replace Android's Toybox binary - what is a restricted version by default - by unrestricted Toybox v0.8.5. This can get achieved by means of ADB.
Toybox v0.8.5 is available here:
Index of /toybox/bin

jwoegerbauer said:
@DamnBro304
No Magisk, TWRP, SuperSu, etc.pp is needed to root a phone what has Android 5 and higher running.
Because your device's Android is version 7 to get the superuser access to be able to control various aspects of Android OS means you need to perform a certain modification that will root your phone's Android.
Here is what you have to do to root your device's Android: Replace Android's Toybox binary - what is a restricted version by default - by unrestricted Toybox v0.8.5. This can get achieved by means of ADB.
Toybox v0.8.5 is available here:
Index of /toybox/bin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your quick reply but I'm still kinda new to this flashing and stuff so can you give me the exact commands to root my phone? and I see there are many options of downloading toybox in the link you gave me I don't know which one I need so can u help me out in that too?

LR7875 said:
Well always do everything with extra care. I cound not assure that you will not brick your device.
Your phone is Lenovo K6 power.
Also, I recommend updating to a newer android version as android 7 is already too outdated and not safe to use. An example is this, which you can also flash in TWRP (wipe before installing)
[ROM][11.0.0_r19]LineageOS 18.1 for Lenovo K6 Power
LineageOS is a free, community-built, aftermarket firmware distribution of Android 6, which is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android for your device. LineageOS is based on the Android Open Source Project with extra...
forum.xda-developers.com
If you want to know why one click root apps doesn't work, those apps highly depends on a bug occuring on android 4.0 to android 6.0. Android 7 have this 'issue' , or exploit, patched, so one click root apps died instantly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as I said in my previous reply I am new to these stuff and I see that the lineageos is of Android 6 and had a doubt. will flashing that ROM give me root access without doing anything else?

DamnBro304 said:
as I said in my previous reply I am new to these stuff and I see that the lineageos is of Android 6 and had a doubt. will flashing that ROM give me root access without doing anything else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah **** posted wrong link, this is the right one:
[UNOFFICIAL][9.0.0_r46] Pixel Experience - Plus [karate]
PixelExperience Plus for Lenovo K6 Power(karate) What is this? Pixel Experience is an AOSP based ROM, with Google apps included and all Pixel goodies (launcher, wallpapers, icons, fonts, bootanimation) Our mission is to offer the maximum...
forum.xda-developers.com
You need to flash magisk.
jwoegerbauer said:
@DamnBro304
No Magisk, TWRP, SuperSu, etc.pp is needed to root a phone what has Android 5 and higher running.
Because your device's Android is version 7 to get the superuser access to be able to control various aspects of Android OS means you need to perform a certain modification that will root your phone's Android.
Here is what you have to do to root your device's Android: Replace Android's Toybox binary - what is a restricted version by default - by unrestricted Toybox v0.8.5. This can get achieved by means of ADB.
Toybox v0.8.5 is available here:
Index of /toybox/bin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well how? Not heard about that, can you please elaborate? Thanks.

IMO out of scope of this thread, it would require a separate thread everyone on XDA can make use of,
May be I'll create one, stay tuned ...

LR7875 said:
Ah **** posted wrong link, this is the right one:
[UNOFFICIAL][9.0.0_r46] Pixel Experience - Plus [karate]
PixelExperience Plus for Lenovo K6 Power(karate) What is this? Pixel Experience is an AOSP based ROM, with Google apps included and all Pixel goodies (launcher, wallpapers, icons, fonts, bootanimation) Our mission is to offer the maximum...
forum.xda-developers.com
You need to flash magisk.
Well how? Not heard about that, can you please elaborate? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you very very very much. Now what I have to do is just extract the boot.img from this OS and then patch it with Magisk and then flash this OS right? correct me if I'm wrong bcoz I don't at all wanna brick this phone and please mention the FULL method if I'm wrong and I'm new too new to these stuff. I will forever be indebted to you

DamnBro304 said:
thank you very very very much. Now what I have to do is just extract the boot.img from this os and then patch it with Magisk and then flash this right? correct me if I'm wrong bcoz I don't at all wanna brick this phone and please mention the FULL method if I'm wrong and I'm new too new to these stuff. I will forever be indebted to you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes.

LR7875 said:
yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool so this will get 3 advantages. I will get root + android 9 + Pixel Experience very noice thanks man ily

How to apply Android Security Patches to a Custom Rom?

Hi everyone,
I've used Android-based custom roms for years on many of my devices. Now, I am only able to find one old Lineage OS 14 build for a rare, old tablet that I have.
The Android version is not a huge issue, as many Apps still support 7 and lower and the system itself runs reasonably well. However, the latest security patches are still from 2018.
The way I understand it, Google/AOSP publishes some sort of security update packages in regular intervals.
Is there an easy way to appy those patches to the rom that I have? Reinstalling the system is no problem and I can do some simple troubleshooting, but I'm probably not able to recompile the entire build, if that is necessary.
Unfortunately, since every custom rom has some "Security update" info, it's extremely hard to find any explanations of how to actually apply those patches, at least I couldn't find any.
Fell free to just send me a link if there is any sort of guide on how to accomplish this.
Thanks a lot!

NovusDeus said:
Hi everyone,
I've used Android-based custom roms for years on many of my devices. Now, I am only able to find one old Lineage OS 14 build for a rare, old tablet that I have.
The Android version is not a huge issue, as many Apps still support 7 and lower and the system itself runs reasonably well. However, the latest security patches are still from 2018.
The way I understand it, Google/AOSP publishes some sort of security update packages in regular intervals.
Is there an easy way to appy those patches to the rom that I have? Reinstalling the system is no problem and I can do some simple troubleshooting, but I'm probably not able to recompile the entire build, if that is necessary.
Unfortunately, since every custom rom has some "Security update" info, it's extremely hard to find any explanations of how to actually apply those patches, at least I couldn't find any.
Fell free to just send me a link if there is any sort of guide on how to accomplish this.
Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have two problems here.
First: Google does NOT publish security patches for every Android version forever. After some time (3 years i think) is that Version deprecated and does not become patches from Google.
Second: those patches are not in form of a "ready-to-install" software. They are source code patches. You can see them as something like _r67 after the Android Version. So you or someone else must build them.
For a recent, supported ROM like LineageOS 18.1 the ROM developer does this for you. You get it when you update Lineage.
For Android 7, which deprecated long ago, someone has to port this patch. It's not possible for every patch and if it is possible, nobody does it because it's a lot of work.
Short version: if there is no ROM based on Android 10 or 11 for your device you have to live without patches :-(
Hope that helps.

Well, yes and no.
But thanks for clarifying. I hoped there was a way to install those easily.
Do you happen to know if, hypothetically, I even had any chance to patch my rom with just the flashable zip or am I missing some crucial source files?

You can download the sources of Lineage OS 14, patch them, compile them, install them and you have all the security fixes.
As said. This is a lot of work and requires good amount of knowledge. With that time and energy you could port Lineage OS 17 for your tablet instead.