Related
Right, I'm getting sick of waiting for the official JellyBean update for my S2, will it be worth it for me to root the fone myself? If so, how do I go about doing it?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Yes it is worth it. Check the international s2 forums and search it up.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Yes it's definately worth it to root. A little risky at first but if you get rooted, your home free and will be loading custom roms almost daily. Many apps will only run on rooted phone. Go for it!
mr
yes it`s worth it.so you can install custom roms.good luck.
It's only "worth it" if you have a reason to.
It's like... "is it worth buying a 30 gallon aquarium for $10" ? Sure, if you actually want a 30 gallon aquarium, it would be - but if you don't, it's just going to sit there unused and taking up space (and in the case of root access, opening up potential vulnerability).
Some people are flash-happy, but I only update mine maybe every few weeks because it's kind of a pain. And I only rooted and flashed a custom ROM on my tablet because it's no longer supported by the manufacturer - meaning a custom ROM was the ONLY way to get updates. I rooted my phone because I wanted to install Google Wallet and that required some work-arounds since my carrier is blocking it.
If you get into unofficial ROMs of updated Android versions, unless it's a leak, there are often problems - various things won't work, bugs, et cetera. It can still be fun, but don't expect it to be perfect.
Find something that you want to do with your device that requires root access and then worry about it.
Banksy1892 said:
Right, I'm getting sick of waiting for the official JellyBean update for my S2, will it be worth it for me to root the fone myself? If so, how do I go about doing it?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you own an Android device, chances are you’ve probably heard of the term “rooting” or “rooted.” If you have and are wondering if it’s for you, this post is perfect, as we break down the major pros and cons of rooting your Android smartphone.
Before we go any further though, what exactly is “rooting”? Rooting refers to gaining access to the "root" user or command prompt of your Android phone. Root access gives users full access to the device and allows for other low-level tasks to be run. Rooting an Android phone is similar to "jail breaking" an iPhone or the "unlocking" of a Windows Phone.
When you root your Android device, you gain access to the entire file system, with full admin rights. You can customize your own boot image, create a full backup of your phone, or install a full-blown Linux distro. Basically, you can do whatever you want.
So, should you root your phone? For me, the answer to that question is a resounding yes, but before you decide, read on to see our list of the major pros and cons of rooting.
Pros of Rooting
Some of the best reasons to root your Android phone include:
1. "Tethering" your 4G/3G internet connection to a laptop computer or tablet via USB cable, Hotspot or Bluetooth. While I don’t recommend this, you will essentially be able to tether for free without paying your carrier a fee.
2. Installing custom themes, mods, and ROMS. This is probably the reason most people root their phone. The ability to deeply customize your own device and upgrade software is very appealing to a lot of rooters.
3. Backing up all the data and apps on the device.
4. The ability to install any application or game, including those "blocked" or Tegra-only games.
5. The ability to underclock the processor to conserve power. This is huge for a lot of people as Android devices are real battery hogs. I have been able to squeeze out days of battery life on a medium-sized battery by underclocking, which is pretty significant.
6. The ability to remove bloatware from your carrier-branded Android device. We all know that carriers love putting quite a bit of crap on their phones and rooting is one way to get rid of it.
Cons of Rooting
Some of the major reasons not to root your Android device include:
1. If the rooting process fails you may permanently "brick" your phone, rendering it unusable for anything other than, well, a brick. Basically, your phone will be useless.
2. Rooting your phone typically voids any manufacturer and carrier warranties. This is pretty crappy, honestly, but some OEMs won't cover certain things. It is really up to the manufacturer. You could lose out big, though, if something major breaks and you have to pay the full repair price.
3. Other drawbacks are more specific to what is done after the device is rooted, such as burning out your smartphone CPU due to overclocking, wearing out the SD card prematurely and burning out pixels in the screen. Additionally, the potential monetary costs that your carrier might apply if they see you've downloaded several gigs of data to your laptop could be big.
4. Rooting usually causes general instability of your Android smartphone. This is a given, as you are basically beta testing modifications and ROMS before they become daily drivers. Expect great performance, but a lot of bugs.
So, is Rooting really for You?
If you're a hacker or tinkerer and don’t mind bugs, I’d say yes. If you’re not, I’d say hold off and make sure it’s really what you want. You must remember that with most phones, once you root, you can’t go back. It is very difficult, in most cases, to completely reset your device to factory conditions, which is definitely something to consider before you decide.
However, if you’re like me--happy with your device as is, but just love pushing the envelope--I'd say wait until your warranty expires. After your warranty runs up, which is usually a year after purchase, there is really nothing to lose.
If you have any additional pros or cons to rooting, leave them in the comment below.
If your warranty is over, definitely root.
Galaxy s2 is a pretty safe and easy device to flash. No need to mess with bootloaders and all. There are many guides in the forum, check them out. If something does go wrong, you will most probably find the solution in this forum itself.
You might might end up waiting indefinitely for the official update for your country from samsung. Flashing it yourself will keep you up to date.
But its time consuming if you are new to all this. There is a LOT to read. I know because I was there. It was after a lot of reading that I felt confident enough to root my phone. But now I flash a little bit to often!
Try a custom ROM based on the latest official samsung. I use NeatROM Lite 4.3, based on LSD. Stable, fast and bloatware free. There are a lot of them, pick the one that suits your need. Or if you're feeling adventurous, try most of them like I did!
Help With Rooting My Verizon Galaxy S3
I Am New To Rooting And I Would Like To Know If It's At All Possible To Install Android 4.2 On My Verizon Galaxy S3, I Feel My Phone Is Very Sluggish And I Would Like To Uninstall All The Bloatware On The Phone. Any Positive Help Would Be Greatly Appreciated Thanks In Advance!
Root
I was feeling the same way on my Atrix HD. Now i am glad i did it, its worth doing, you have greater access to apps, programs, and other things. IT was also simple to me.
#newbie
Harley Malvado said:
I Am New To Rooting And I Would Like To Know If It's At All Possible To Install Android 4.2 On My Verizon Galaxy S3, I Feel My Phone Is Very Sluggish And I Would Like To Uninstall All The Bloatware On The Phone. Any Positive Help Would Be Greatly Appreciated Thanks In Advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google is your friend, try using it.
Root!!!! I rooted my s2 the first day of having it. Best thing ever. I only update every 2 months or so, make sure bugs are out. I am on ga10 right now which 4.1.2. Even did it to the wife's phone. Original software is not good and slow updates. I am planning on rooting whatever new I get.
definetely root, because with root you can use many hidden capabilities like reverse tethering, free wifi tethering and so on
I am accustomed to using and working within the generic android environment. I generally like it. I am pretty much exclusively a Samsung guy but I just recently got my wife a G3. I have read all the things about how I can make my phone lightning quick without all the bloatware and I can be entitled to all the event driven programming that stock android allows me but I have to say, I 90% like what I get out of the box. Sure, there are little annoyances that come up but mostly what I want to gain is the 10%. I don't want to reinvent the wheel and put in a new launcher and then have to get accustomed to a whole new way of doing things. Or worse, my camera might not work as well etc.
I am mostly sold. I don't care about voided warranties. I am going to drop $800 on a Note 4 in the coming weeks when it finally rolls out and frankly I would like to really access the power of that processor and ram (whether it is 3 or 4 gigs - only Samsung knows right now). A big part of my buying the phone is the compatibility with the SPen. I am a business man so it would negate me buying it, to root it and then see the SPen go bye bye. In short, this phone is to be a simple tool for my business but I am afraid of what I am about to get.
Let me go back a bit. Last week, I bought my wife a G3. Another top of the line phone. I bought it and am considering the note 4 for the same reason, they can do split screens. I thought I might be able to do limitedly with the phone on the go what I do with my laptop, drag and drop from email to email, files. The note 4 is going to be a powerful phone but who knows if we are there yet. Regardless, from these forums and around the net, it seem the technology is there. So what is there to do? I like the bulk of Samsung's programming but it really angered me when I started toying with the LG G3 and I discovered that I could not open all apps in their duel mode. I mean what the H E double hockeysticks! How does LG know what I would find valuable to have open at once?
So, I am committed to the Note 4 because I know I will get top of the line. I am assuming that I am going to be restricted from using the phone like I want, like the LG and will be faced with: to root or not to root. What I am saying is, can I root the phone and still keep all the stuff I like? yes I know one of you nifty busy-bodies have not even gotten your hands on the phone yet to discover how to mess with it and get by knoks etc but do you feel my pain and understand my quandary?
It is not that I am afraid to root. I am adventurous at heart but I need to make money. I am a business man. I don't make money by the hour but by the opportunity. When I see something that can help me be productive, I try to implement it into my way of doing things. I like tinkering like you guys. I appreciate you but I only have limit time to do these things, otherwise they become distractions. So I don't have hours to figure out why my main camera is now only taking selfies on the face of the phone instead or why the SPen doesn't work. I want what I want but the move needs to make sense to me.
So the basic question is: if I go down this path (with any phone) can I root and still have touchwiz experience, for instance just so I can mess with the phone ever so slightly? A side question would be - am I going to find many disadvantages for the right of having full control of my phone such as having to update the phone or having bugs? I guess, the simple short question is: Do the challenges outweigh the benefits?
I have currently an old S2 that is working. I am using a galaxy LTE awaiting, the note 4. But, I assume I am going to get pretty angry when I find that an $800+ phone won't what a hack can make it do. I just don't want to lose everything else for the sake of one entitlement. So, I can practice seeing what it is like doing these things with my S2 or even my recent LTE. I just have not seen anyone bring this up. People go on about the romance of blanking out a phone for total freedom but they don't tell me much about how close the new launchers are going to be to what I am used to.
Thanks, community for all that you develop. You are cool. I only wish I had countless hours to mess around with this stuff but money has to be made. Believe me, I am looking for any excuse to have a "lightning fast" phone or to do some funky things like you guys do, but give me the war stories. Tell me if I have to decide to compromise. Recommend a launcher maybe. Yes I know the Note can't even be developed yet but it will someday. Anyway, thanks.
I'm not sure you understand exactly what root does. Root gives you "root" level access, aka Superuser, aka Administrator access. Think of Android like a computer in a public library. Lots of things (settings, certain programs, certain directories mainly) are locked down and inaccessible by people who don't have the password or an admin account, because they don't want people messing around with them. Android is the same way. Many (most?) people think of smartphones as just that - phones. They don't think of it as a computer, even though that's exactly what it is, in every aspect of the word. Without restrictions, it would be very, very easy for the average user to completely screw up their phone.
And that is why Android comes with these restrictions (which carriers exploit to install unremovable apps). Rooting your phone removes many of these restrictions, which is also why rooting typically voids your warranty. You might want to root to get rid of useless bloatware like NFL Mobile or Verizon Navigation or Samsung's browser because you only use Chrome. But it's just as easy to (accidentally or stupidly) delete a core Android program, and now your phone is stuck in a crash loop and you've got a $700 battery powered paper weight.
That said, root gives you Superuser access. And that's it. Root doesn't change anything, for better or worse.
It's what you do with that access that matters. Freezing/deleting bloatware that would otherwise be constantly running in the background can improve your phone's performance. You can install the Xposed framework to clear up your notification panel and status bar, add functionality to your buttons, and port features from other brands to work on yours. Tasker is a very powerful (and very confusing) app that you can use to make your phone do things automatically depending on where you are, when it is, etc. You can block ads within games and browsers. You can do back-ups of your apps and data and share them between devices, or when moving from and old phone to a new one. With root sometimes you can bypass restrictions imposed by the carrier because they want to milk you for more money (like wifi hotspot).
I'm also not certain you understand what a launcher is. The launcher is merely the interface. Homescreens, app drawer, dock, icons, etc. I honestly don't know what a 3rd party launcher like Nova, Apex, or Go does to S-Pen functionality on the Note series. But it's merely a different interface, which can be disabled or uninstalled without issue.
What you might be thinking of is the ROM itself. ROM is a bit of a misnomer (meaning Read Only Memory, like a CD_ROM or DVD-ROM), but in the Android world, the ROM is what we have taken to call the operating system. For example, a TouchWiz ROM is heavily modified, and very different than the ROM of a Nexus, which is 100% "stock" Android. Then you have custom ROMs like Cyanogenmod. Installing a different ROM on your Note 4 will absolutely kill your S-Pen functionality, unless it's based on the stock N4 ROM (for example, stock, but debloated, streamlined, and tweaked a bit) and retains those features that Samsung built into it.
With a launcher you can make one phone's homescreen and app drawer look like another's. But when you go into the settings, they'll look different, because that's the ROM, not the launcher you're looking at.
One thing to nota bene is that Samsung has become increasingly restrictive about root and unlocked bootloaders. An unlocked bootloader is required to flash a different ROM (although running different ROMs in Safestrap is usually still possible). Samsung flagships from AT&T and Verizon are notoriously restricted. Google "towelroot" to find out just how restrictive they're getting. Of the "big 4" US carriers, T-Mobile is undoubtedly the least restrictive. With AT&T and T-Mo you also have the option to buy an "unlocked" device, but you won't get the pay-over-time benefits of a subsidy or payment plan. "Unlocked" refers to carrier compatibility, not the bootloader (although carrier unlocked phones are typically easier to unlock the bootloader). But if you subsidize a phone from VZW or AT&T, particularly one from the Samsung Note or Galaxy S line, it's entirely possible that root might never be achieved, or might take a long time. We're talking about rooting a phone that isn't even out yet, and we have no idea what kind of "security" measures are in store.
Root is a powerful tool, but the most powerful tool for your phone other than root is knowledge. Read, read, read, read, ask some questions, and read and read. Find some "for dummies" guides and read those. Watch some youtube videos. The problem with XDA, if there is one, is that stuff like this doesn't have a learning "curve" so much as a learning "sheer cliff made of buttered ice". Lots of acronyms, jargon, technical terms, and other gibberish. Grab some coffee or Red Bull, and start learning.
Hello, XDA Developers.
I joined this forum yesterday, and to be honest, I am a complete Android noob. I got my first Android phone around 6 months ago, and, as you know thanks to the title of this thread, it was a Google Pixel 2, a solid way to dip my toes into Android for the first time, especially after being an Apple sheep for many years in the past. Anyway, I found my interest in rooting coming from me wanting to install a custom icon pack to my Pixel Launcher. I found Pixel Launcher Mods, but discovered it required root. I learned what rooting was, and how to do it. That's not the problem, though.
I've heard tons on what rooting can do negatively to your phone, but using a Google-branded phone, I'm not worried in the least about getting my phone bricked nor am I worried about blowing my warranty (since Google doesn't take away warranty due to rooting). What I am worried about is security.
I use many apps on my phone which are very personal and important, like my AMEX app, Google Pay, and PayPal. Knowing that rooting is risky in the security department, I'm very nervous to make the jump due to exposing those very applications and all of that sensitive information.
I've heard that installing Magisk and TWRP somehow keeps me safe from this kind of risk, but I don't quite understand how. I really need to understand why and how Magisk keeps me safe before I root, since I know that if I don't, I'll have insane paranoia in the back of my head, which will completely ruin my experience rooting.
I've also heard that Netflix and apps similar to it simply do not function. I am a Netflix subscriber and sometimes watch on my phone, so this is kind of concerning for me. Apparently Magisk comes to the rescue again, but I still don't know why!
One other thing (second last one, I promise) I heard was that I can get purchases in the Google Play store for free. If someone can leave a link for me on how I can do that, it would be pretty awesome.
The fourth and final 'thing' as I've been calling them, is that I won't get OTA updates. With some of my own research, I found that I actually do get these updates, however, they break my root. I've heard of things like OTA RootKeeper, but when I looked it up, all I found were forum posts from 2012, which had me slightly worried. This coupled with the fact that Android P was coming out so soon had me bear the question: update or wait?
Thank you so much if you took the time to read this long and confusing thread. I tried to lay it out in the least confusing way as possible. As you can see, I'm really new to all of this, and it would be great if you guys could help me out and answer some of the questions above.
Take care! I look forward to your responses.
- Arrow008
First of all: Good choice and welcome to the community.
1. I can't exactly tell you how Magisk would keep you safe but I can tell you that it is always in your hands to keep your device and data safe. What I mean by that is that you should use your brain while using your phone. Don't download any "fancy apps" which promise to make your battery last longer or something like that. Don't click any shady links etc.
After all you are not more vulnerable just due to rooting but apps could do more harm.
2. Netflix or other apps will work with "Magisk Hide" which is built in feature of Magisk.
3. You are talking about illegal warez which are not allowed on XDA. Anyways apps cost between 1 - 5 $ and are often on sale. So there should not be any need to tinker with warez.
4. There is a guide here to keep Root with Magisk even on OTA. But for this to work you don't have to have TWRP flashed to your device (at least that's what I think).
EDIT: I'm using different Android phones since 2011 and always rooted them and didn't ever have any problems with security.
Arrow008 said:
Hello, XDA Developers.
I joined this forum yesterday, and to be honest, I am a complete Android noob. I got my first Android phone around 6 months ago, and, as you know thanks to the title of this thread, it was a Google Pixel 2, a solid way to dip my toes into Android for the first time, especially after being an Apple sheep for many years in the past. Anyway, I found my interest in rooting coming from me wanting to install a custom icon pack to my Pixel Launcher. I found Pixel Launcher Mods, but discovered it required root. I learned what rooting was, and how to do it. That's not the problem, though.
I've heard tons on what rooting can do negatively to your phone, but using a Google-branded phone, I'm not worried in the least about getting my phone bricked nor am I worried about blowing my warranty (since Google doesn't take away warranty due to rooting). What I am worried about is security.
I use many apps on my phone which are very personal and important, like my AMEX app, Google Pay, and PayPal. Knowing that rooting is risky in the security department, I'm very nervous to make the jump due to exposing those very applications and all of that sensitive information.
I've heard that installing Magisk and TWRP somehow keeps me safe from this kind of risk, but I don't quite understand how. I really need to understand why and how Magisk keeps me safe before I root, since I know that if I don't, I'll have insane paranoia in the back of my head, which will completely ruin my experience rooting.
I've also heard that Netflix and apps similar to it simply do not function. I am a Netflix subscriber and sometimes watch on my phone, so this is kind of concerning for me. Apparently Magisk comes to the rescue again, but I still don't know why!
One other thing (second last one, I promise) I heard was that I can get purchases in the Google Play store for free. If someone can leave a link for me on how I can do that, it would be pretty awesome.
The fourth and final 'thing' as I've been calling them, is that I won't get OTA updates. With some of my own research, I found that I actually do get these updates, however, they break my root. I've heard of things like OTA RootKeeper, but when I looked it up, all I found were forum posts from 2012, which had me slightly worried. This coupled with the fact that Android P was coming out so soon had me bear the question: update or wait?
Thank you so much if you took the time to read this long and confusing thread. I tried to lay it out in the least confusing way as possible. As you can see, I'm really new to all of this, and it would be great if you guys could help me out and answer some of the questions above.
Take care! I look forward to your responses.
- Arrow008
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also like to welcome you to the community. Good choice crossing over from Apple and you made a great choice as far as phones go. Xda is a grea place to start and there are amazing people on here that can help you get to where you want to be.
Some background on myself, I have owned an android phone since 2010 and have rooted every android phone I've had since then. Root is the way to go and it opens so many doors for android devices.
1. Don't let a security risk scare you away from rooting, as long as you are smart with your device then you will be ok. You heard right in that Magisk keeps you safe when rooting. Magisk implements security protocols that allow our devices to pass safteynet checks. Safteynet is what android uses to tell apps that your device is secure and hasn't been tempered with. Things like Google Pay use safteynet checks in order to function. Some apps also won't function if it detects Magisk on your device. This is simply because the app knows your device is rooted and doesn't want to function as it knows it has been tampered with. Magisk has a feature called magiskhide that hides itself from certain apps being able to see it. So that, in a nutshell, is how Magisk tricks your device into thinking it hasn't been tampered with. Magisk also prevents apps from getting root acces to your phones that you don't want to authorize. Everytime an app initially requests root access, Magisk will prompt you with a popup asking if you would like to authorize said access.
2. As far as security goes. Google releases security patches once a month for our devices. if you run a custom ROM then most devs will incorporate these updates in to their ROMs and push them out to users. So when you root, your device will no longer update OTA, you must do it yourself. Even if you run stock Google firmware, you must still manually push updates to your phone (plenty of guides on how to do this). As long as you stay on the most recent Google security patch, then you have nothing to be afraid of.
3. Free apps. Yes, there are illegal markets out there that upload stolen apps but these come with a high security risk and are not allowed to be discussed on Xda. When you install apps from markets like these you run a high security risk. Some apps are made to look like other apps and have different permissions and can have access to parts of your phone that you don't know about. I would never recommend installing apps from markets like these. Stick to the Play Store and support the devs.
4. Like I said in #2, you will not get OTA updates anymore since you are rooted. Yes, in the past with other devices, some devs have come out with apps that allow OTA while maintaining root, as of right now there is not such thing for our phones. Manually pushing updates to our phones is not hard with TWRP. TWRP allows you to backup everything, wipe everything, and install new ROMs/updates. When you install a new ROM it will wipe everything as far as your os goes but will not wipe your storage (pics, music, files) So when you update a new ROM I highly recommend you get an app called Titanium Backup. TB will backup all your apps+data, that way when you install a new ROM/update, all you have to do is restore the apps with TB and its like nothing changed. It can even backup things like call history, texts, wallpaper selection, wifi passwords, etc. Definitely a must have for rooted devices.
Dive in, get involved, but please do your research before just spouting off questions in this q+a thread. People are here to help you but 9/10 times your question has probably already been answered. Read the rules of Xda and happy rooting.
Hey guys i need your advice.
Tomorrow my Pixel 7 pro arrives and i am living in an unsupported county. I have read a lot of guides about the root etc. i just want to verify that i will be able to use the full features of the device if i rooted....like call screening, 5g etc. and how risky is to be rooted nowdays because last time i root my phone was 10 years ago....if after the mandatory things i don't install any app outside of the store and don't grant access root will my device be safe ? thank you
try hentaios In the latest update it was activated 5g in unsupported countries
m3ath said:
try hentaios In the latest update it was activated 5g in unsupported countries
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HentaiOS for Pixel 7 Pro? Is it on Telegram or another third-party place?
ekin_strops said:
HentaiOS for Pixel 7 Pro? Is it on Telegram or another third-party place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes for 7 pro and 7
They have a channel in Telegram
I am certainly not an expert. I remember the days of flashing roms. I used to sometimes flash multiple roms a day.
Now most of the features I used to use custom roms for are already in Android.
Also if you have a Pixel you have a pretty clean version of Android.
So I don't really see the point. Maybe in your situation because you are using the phone in an unsupported country you might be able to enable some features but I would think the network bands are hardware based and either your carrier is compatible with the Pixel or not?
IMHO I would not root or install custom software on a brand new phone like a Pixel or other flagship. It generally voids your warranty and if you soft brick the device and can't revive it what do you do? Also with root you have huge security vulnerability. Pixel is supposed to be one of the most secure Android phones so why would you get rid of that benefit?
Also updates would be a pain.
If I had a free cheap phone from a carrier with a crappy version of Android that I would risk rooting and maybe installing a custom ROM but I just don't see the need on a Pixel??
robbbzilla said:
IMHO I would not root or install custom software on a brand new phone like a Pixel or other flagship. It generally voids your warranty and if you soft brick the device and can't revive it what do you do? Also with root you have huge security vulnerability. Pixel is supposed to be one of the most secure Android phones so why would you get rid of that benefit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) It doesn't void your warranty on the Pixel.
2) Root isn't a security vulnerability in and of itself but the unlocked bootloader can be if someone gets ahold of your phone. Seeing how the filesystem is encrypted though, it's not so much a risk to your data as it is to the person being able to steal the phone easier.
3) Most other phones have largely been locked down so a lot of us get the Pixel *because* it can be rooted.
robbbzilla said:
Also updates would be a pain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not too bad. Pixel Flasher makes the whole process easy. Plug into the computer, launch Pixel Flasher, download the update, click the patch image button so it makes a Magisk image, select that image, flash. It's all done with a user friendly GUI. While it's not as straightforward as updating directly on the phone, it also installs faster, so it's a worthwhile trade off.
EtherealRemnant said:
1) It doesn't void your warranty on the Pixel.
2) Root isn't a security vulnerability in and of itself but the unlocked bootloader can be if someone gets ahold of your phone. Seeing how the filesystem is encrypted though, it's not so much a risk to your data as it is to the person being able to steal the phone easier.
3) Most other phones have largely been locked down so a lot of us get the Pixel *because* it can be rooted.
Not too bad. Pixel Flasher makes the whole process easy. Plug into the computer, launch Pixel Flasher, download the update, click the patch image button so it makes a Magisk image, select that image, flash. It's all done with a user friendly GUI. While it's not as straightforward as updating directly on the phone, it also installs faster, so it's a worthwhile trade off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. I thought enabling root level privileges would cause system wide insecurity.
As I prefaced my comments I am no expert and it has been a long time since I rooted my phones.
That is why it is good to ask questions and learn about the state of things now.
I didn't know that you could root a Pixel device and not void the warranty. I am used to the Samsung lock down.
Also with Pixel or with previous Nexus device it was always fun to see what new features Google would add in a new update/feature drop so I never felt the need to root a Pixel phone.
However if you like rooting and can do so without much risk then why not? I can see the fun in trying different software and gaining better control over your device.
robbbzilla said:
Good to know. I thought enabling root level privileges would cause system wide insecurity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeing how you still have to authorize the use of root and Magisk even has added support for fingerprint verification to do so, it's not much more of a risk than having an unrooted device really.
robbbzilla said:
Also with Pixel or with previous Nexus device it was always fun to see what new features Google would add in a new update/feature drop so I never felt the need to root a Pixel phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still get this stuff when you're rooted and even on most custom ROMs for Pixel. The only downside comes from apps that don't want to play nice. As long as I can use Google Pay, which I'm able to do after using the SafetyNet fix mod, I don't mind having to use the web browser for a banking app here and there (and right now there's only one that flat out won't work, Security Service FCU, so I'm not too put out by it).
It's a pain in the ass to enable carrier features like VoLTE, VoNR, etc. Pixel features like call screening require phenotype edits, which are also a pain in the ass.
G_Vasi said:
Hey guys i need your advice.
Tomorrow my Pixel 7 pro arrives and i am living in an unsupported county. I have read a lot of guides about the root etc. i just want to verify that i will be able to use the full features of the device if i rooted....like call screening, 5g etc. and how risky is to be rooted nowdays because last time i root my phone was 10 years ago....if after the mandatory things i don't install any app outside of the store and don't grant access root will my device be safe ? thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One bit of warning/caution, I've seen/found a lot of users on this forum who are in other countries (maybe unsupported) biggest issue would be NFC pay & banking apps not working. I personally have only seen a few select apps stated on this forum that can't be launched due to root detection that SafetyNetFix and Zygisk DenyList/Shamiko wasn't able to successfully hide, but there are some -- I myself have Wallet, Gpay, 4 banking apps, Xfinity apps, working while I've discussed with some other users the same banking app not working for them -- that, no matter how much users tried, they were unable to get it working. Supposedly there are combinations of root hiding methods and modules that have blocked mostly all of the stubborn apps, but then there seems to be some apps that merely just having an unlocked bootloader is enough to restrict their use.
So if this might be your situation where you have certain apps (most likely banking) that you can't really live without and/or use daily/frequently but they are known to not run on a rooted & unlocked bootloader device, that's the only real downside to rooting.
Other than that, I believe obtaining root on our device benefits so much far outweighing the risks. If certain things stop working, usually there are workarounds to get them to work or alternatives. If anything, particularly in your case, I don't believe you can get those features of 5G and call screening and camera sound and VPN and whatever other feature is restricted in an unsupported country without root....
So there are them pros & cons...
Thank you for your answers guys.....I also think that pros are more than cons....as far as I know and from the ways I found here my Bank apps will work normally.....and also I found a tutorial here that say it will enable all the Pixel features in unsupported countries so hopefully it will work...if by any case anyone tried it I would like to hear the feedback especially for google screening.
For starters I apologize for the lack of formatting Ill do my best but I'm not used to posting on forums, but I want to make a informed decision and over the years I have found this is the best place to find the answers I'm looking for.
The First Question
I'm debating with myself on two things. Should I root my Google Pixel 7 Pro (my new daily driver) or My Google Pixel 6 (my previous daily driver)?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The deciding factors would be
1. Do I lose tap pay functionality?
I consider this because I rooted Google Pixel 5a and I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to re-enable "secure apps" such as google wallet and banking apps.
In essence I don't want any functionality missing or disabled as a result of rooting and not setting something up properly. If this is avoidable please let me know and shoot me over available resources.
This goes for both phones regardless id like everything to work properly on either phone. I would rather not root the 7 Pro if it meant these types of apps work properly.
2. Are there any benefits or differences when it comes to rooting the 7 Pro vs the 6?
The answers to this question will help me weight the options, for instance if there is a decent enough benefit to rooting the 7 Pro then I might just forgo the "secure apps" mentioned in the last question.
I have been in and out of the rooting scheme for a while now and its hard to get updated with current app, edits, extensions, etc. I wouldn't even know what to look for.... depending on how this post goes Ill probaly make another post to ask what kind of stuff root has to offer these days, but for now if you guys can give me any general but impactful information on the differences/benefit/compatibility of rooting one device or the other, I would be grateful.
3. Which device would be easier to root and consistently update?
Right now I have a ATT carrier locked (I didn't buy it from ATT, I bought it from a used phone store and neither of them can or will unlock it...) Pixel 7 Pro and a T-Mobile (soft unlocked) Pixel 6. I have seen a guide for the Pixel 7 Pro and it seems simple enough, and I'm not to sure about the 6 because as I was looking around I was getting some people saying it is possible and others saying its not. I mainly just want to root either phone and have a simple-ish way to update it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Second QuestionIs it worth doing?
I know this is mainly a personal preference thing. I like being able to use things like titanium backup, or quick switch, or substrate themes, etc. I am heavily into customization and a lot of things can't be customized the way Id like to be able to. On top of that the ability to hyper configure the device to do exactly what you want when you want is exactly what I want.
This question is mainly to get a properly list of pro's and cons, so I can further weight my options.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Thats the end for this post
If you guys don't mind with your guy's answers if you could post some updated resources I can look at for root apps and tweaks that would be great.
Thank you for helping me figure this out, and if you didn't or don't want to that's fine too, I'm just glad somebody read this xD.
It seems like chatgpt is striking again. You asked it a question and it posted it? The links for rooting and what you can do are on page one. You see the awkward wording, ufff.
Kai2150 said:
1. Do I lose tap pay functionality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. P7P rooted here, tap-to-pay works. You will of course need USNF mod by Displax and Shamiko.
Kai2150 said:
2. Are there any benefits or differences when it comes to rooting the 7 Pro vs the 6?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't own the P6P so I can't compare, but P7P has a newer chip and I would be inclined to use it as my daily driver.
Kai2150 said:
3. Which device would be easier to root and consistently update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both should be equally easy using PixelFlasher. Keep in mind that P7P patches init_boot.img and not boot.img. You'll find that explained in details in the relevant PixelFlasher thread(s).
Kai2150 said:
Is it worth doing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AdAway / AdGuard
AOSP Mods (since you're into customisations)
Better Internet Tiles
Mixplorer
Repainter
SD Maid
SmartHertz
Substratum Lite
Swift Backup (best replacement for Titanium Backup)
Termux
Themer
Warden (to kill all app trackers in one go)
You decide.
wangdaning said:
It seems like chatgpt is striking again. You asked it a question and it posted it? The links for rooting and what you can do are on page one. You see the awkward wording, ufff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No i wrote that all my self lol
Fishawy said:
No. P7P rooted here, tap-to-pay works. You will of course need USNF mod by Displax and Shamiko.
I don't own the P6P so I can't compare, but P7P has a newer chip and I would be inclined to use it as my daily driver.
Both should be equally easy using PixelFlasher. Keep in mind that P7P patches init_boot.img and not boot.img. You'll find that explained in details in the relevant PixelFlasher thread(s).
AdAway / AdGuard
AOSP Mods (since you're into customisations)
Better Internet Tiles
Mixplorer
Repainter
SD Maid
SmartHertz
Substratum Lite
Swift Backup (best replacement for Titanium Backup)
Termux
Themer
Warden (to kill all app trackers in one go)
You decide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright you make a good case, could you link me to the various pages with the information for both the PixelFlasher and the above apps/modules
Fishawy said:
No. P7P rooted here, tap-to-pay works. You will of course need USNF mod by Displax and Shamiko.
I don't own the P6P so I can't compare, but P7P has a newer chip and I would be inclined to use it as my daily driver.
Both should be equally easy using PixelFlasher. Keep in mind that P7P patches init_boot.img and not boot.img. You'll find that explained in details in the relevant PixelFlasher thread(s).
AdAway / AdGuard
AOSP Mods (since you're into customisations)
Better Internet Tiles
Mixplorer
Repainter
SD Maid
SmartHertz
Substratum Lite
Swift Backup (best replacement for Titanium Backup)
Termux
Themer
Warden (to kill all app trackers in one go)
You decide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if I can unroot? Like say i cant get the banking apps to work and want to go back could I unroot and get access to those apps back?
Kai2150 said:
Do you know if I can unroot? Like say i cant get the banking apps to work and want to go back could I unroot and get access to those apps back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root
Pixel Flasher
Universal SafetyNet Fix
AdAway
AOSP Mods
The rest can be found here on XDA or on Play Store.
Not sure about unroot since I don't need it, perhaps a bit of a read in P7P forum here can help.
Reflash stock init_boot.img and you will be unrooted. Depending, you might have to do a factory reset and bootloader relock. It really depends on the apps and such.
Kai2150 said:
For starters I apologize for the lack of formatting Ill do my best but I'm not used to posting on forums, but I want to make a informed decision and over the years I have found this is the best place to find the answers I'm looking for.
The First Question
I'm debating with myself on two things. Should I root my Google Pixel 7 Pro (my new daily driver) or My Google Pixel 6 (my previous daily driver)?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The deciding factors would be
1. Do I lose tap pay functionality?
I consider this because I rooted Google Pixel 5a and I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to re-enable "secure apps" such as google wallet and banking apps.
In essence I don't want any functionality missing or disabled as a result of rooting and not setting something up properly. If this is avoidable please let me know and shoot me over available resources.
This goes for both phones regardless id like everything to work properly on either phone. I would rather not root the 7 Pro if it meant these types of apps work properly.
2. Are there any benefits or differences when it comes to rooting the 7 Pro vs the 6?
The answers to this question will help me weight the options, for instance if there is a decent enough benefit to rooting the 7 Pro then I might just forgo the "secure apps" mentioned in the last question.
I have been in and out of the rooting scheme for a while now and its hard to get updated with current app, edits, extensions, etc. I wouldn't even know what to look for.... depending on how this post goes Ill probaly make another post to ask what kind of stuff root has to offer these days, but for now if you guys can give me any general but impactful information on the differences/benefit/compatibility of rooting one device or the other, I would be grateful.
3. Which device would be easier to root and consistently update?
Right now I have a ATT carrier locked (I didn't buy it from ATT, I bought it from a used phone store and neither of them can or will unlock it...) Pixel 7 Pro and a T-Mobile (soft unlocked) Pixel 6. I have seen a guide for the Pixel 7 Pro and it seems simple enough, and I'm not to sure about the 6 because as I was looking around I was getting some people saying it is possible and others saying its not. I mainly just want to root either phone and have a simple-ish way to update it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Second QuestionIs it worth doing?
I know this is mainly a personal preference thing. I like being able to use things like titanium backup, or quick switch, or substrate themes, etc. I am heavily into customization and a lot of things can't be customized the way Id like to be able to. On top of that the ability to hyper configure the device to do exactly what you want when you want is exactly what I want.
This question is mainly to get a properly list of pro's and cons, so I can further weight my options.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Thats the end for this post
If you guys don't mind with your guy's answers if you could post some updated resources I can look at for root apps and tweaks that would be great.
Thank you for helping me figure this out, and if you didn't or don't want to that's fine too, I'm just glad somebody read this xD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a note/thought...
I'm not entirely sure you'll be able to root either device (Pixel 6 or P7P)...carrier variant Pixel's are notoriously inconsistent (& sometimes just as difficult) to get the bootloader unlocked -- which is necessary to root. Apparently, carriers vary -- Verizon is a nonstarter and is for the most part impossible -- and, from what I've seen around the forum here, a lot of the times you'll need to pay off the device fully to get the carrier to send the signal to SIM unlock your device which will get the OEM unlock tick enabled (another necessity to root). You've stated that AT&T already has given you a hard time and has yet to unlock it, and from what I recall AT&T is similar in T-Mo that you must get it SIM unlocked -- so if they won't get that far, your options might be limited in terms of the Pixel 7 Pro that is an AT&T variant. In a lot of cases for T-Mobile, speaking them through Twitter support and/or regular customer service support can get them to send that signal that will SIM unlock (depending on what you tell them; i.e. you are a developer and require for it to be unlocked, you are traveling internationally and need to input another SIM temporarily, etc.); I'm unsure if you can do the same for AT&T.
Another note/thought is that, after rooting, updating isn't too difficult, BUT it is not as easy as using the built-in System Update process. Using the tool PixelFlasher makes it very straightforward and basically is almost the closest way to have a one-click update method, but it isn't as easy. BUT it is DEFINITELY faster than updating via OTA using the built-in System Update process (3-5 minutes vs. 20+ minutes)!
Lastly, be aware that in order to root, you must unlock your bootloader, and when you unlock your bootloader, it is required that your device is wiped -- since you speak as if you've used both devices at least a fair amount (moreso your Pixel 6 as it's been your daily driver for a while now), I'm sure there is also a fair amount of data and customizations on there that you will now have to re-enter, re-setup, re-transfer, re-download, and the like...
Just some thoughts that you might want to keep in mind...good luck to you!
simplepinoi177 said:
Just a note/thought...
I'm not entirely sure you'll be able to root either device (Pixel 6 or P7P)...carrier variant Pixel's are notoriously inconsistent (& sometimes just as difficult) to get the bootloader unlocked -- which is necessary to root. Apparently, carriers vary -- Verizon is a nonstarter and is for the most part impossible -- and, from what I've seen around the forum here, a lot of the times you'll need to pay off the device fully to get the carrier to send the signal to SIM unlock your device which will get the OEM unlock tick enabled (another necessity to root). You've stated that AT&T already has given you a hard time and has yet to unlock it, and from what I recall AT&T is similar in T-Mo that you must get it SIM unlocked -- so if they won't get that far, your options might be limited in terms of the Pixel 7 Pro that is an AT&T variant. In a lot of cases for T-Mobile, speaking them through Twitter support and/or regular customer service support can get them to send that signal that will SIM unlock (depending on what you tell them; i.e. you are a developer and require for it to be unlocked, you are traveling internationally and need to input another SIM temporarily, etc.); I'm unsure if you can do the same for AT&T.
Another note/thought is that, after rooting, updating isn't too difficult, BUT it is not as easy as using the built-in System Update process. Using the tool PixelFlasher makes it very straightforward and basically is almost the closest way to have a one-click update method, but it isn't as easy. BUT it is DEFINITELY faster than updating via OTA using the built-in System Update process (3-5 minutes vs. 20+ minutes)!
Lastly, be aware that in order to root, you must unlock your bootloader, and when you unlock your bootloader, it is required that your device is wiped -- since you speak as if you've used both devices at least a fair amount (moreso your Pixel 6 as it's been your daily driver for a while now), I'm sure there is also a fair amount of data and customizations on there that you will now have to re-enter, re-setup, re-transfer, re-download, and the like...
Just some thoughts that you might want to keep in mind...good luck to you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I spent the entire night I made this post trying to bypass the OEM lock and that morning called the providers and neither of them can unlock it, which is BS cause I'm not the person who didn't pay their bill. I'm just going to wait until someone finds a work around, if y'all figure something out lemme know.
I do not even need a smartphone without root rights !!
We should push legislation so that Google will must include root access by default in the settings for any Android device !!
Kai2150 said:
Yeah I spent the entire night I made this post trying to bypass the OEM lock and that morning called the providers and neither of them can unlock it, which is BS cause I'm not the person who didn't pay their bill. I'm just going to wait until someone finds a work around, if y'all figure something out lemme know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear that...but it is as I feared...
Unfortunately you shouldn't hold your breath. Locked down Pixels are fairly notorious about not being able to bypass; Verizon has locked down every Pixel since the original, with bounties $4k+ offering to bypass/unlock, all without success -- I'm unsure if there was ever one with other carriers. The only time there was a "work around" was with the original Pixel seven years ago, which was patched within a month or two. There hasn't been one since...
simplepinoi177 said:
Sorry to hear that...but it is as I feared...
Unfortunately you shouldn't hold your breath. Locked down Pixels are fairly notorious about not being able to bypass; Verizon has locked down every Pixel since the original, with bounties $4k+ offering to bypass/unlock, all without success -- I'm unsure if there was ever one with other carriers. The only time there was a "work around" was with the original Pixel seven years ago, which was patched within a month or two. There hasn't been one since...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah outta the 4 Pixels I own, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a, and the Pixel 4, the only one that i can root is the pixel 5a which is annoying because it has lower specs and Refresh rate. The Pixel 7 Pro is locked to ATT bought through a third party and they said since i dont know the person who bought it and because there is a balance owed on the device there is no way to unlock it. The Pixel 6 is locked to Sprint/T-Mobile same situation as the P7P, and the 4 is Verizon locked and they said they dont even have it in their system, so yet again no way for me to get it unlocked.
I'm going out on a limb and gonna say there is likely no way to get these unlocked right now but if anyone see's this and knows of a way to convice these people at these companies to unlock the phones let me know cause as of right now i think it is impossible to get the phones unlocked via an unlock service or a program
Kai2150 said:
Yeah outta the 4 Pixels I own, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a, and the Pixel 4, the only one that i can root is the pixel 5a which is annoying because it has lower specs and Refresh rate. The Pixel 7 Pro is locked to ATT bought through a third party and they said since i dont know the person who bought it and because there is a balance owed on the device there is no way to unlock it. The Pixel 6 is locked to Sprint/T-Mobile same situation as the P7P, and the 4 is Verizon locked and they said they dont even have it in their system, so yet again no way for me to get it unlocked.
I'm going out on a limb and gonna say there is likely no way to get these unlocked right now but if anyone see's this and knows of a way to convice these people at these companies to unlock the phones let me know cause as of right now i think it is impossible to get the phones unlocked via an unlock service or a program
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that if you are interested & fine with getting 3rd party second-hand devices, places like Swappa.com is a great place to purchase that you can be sure is global unlocked/no-carrier-variant and has checks/redundancies/ways-of-confirming that the device being sold is legit; if anything you should be able to message the seller and ask for the IMEI so you can check with all the carriers to see if the device is free and clear in their systems...
If this is where you bought your devices and/or you know of this place, you can please disregard the suggestion