[Q] New MotoX just arrived - noob rooting question - Moto X Q&A

Hello,
Thanks in advance - I have read all the relevant guides and resources (slap/rock/pwnmymoto). Just got a new MotoX in the mail, 4.4, it's great.
I have an unlimited data Verizon plan - bought the non-contract phone (non-Dev) to keep it. I use tethering on my current device (rooted galaxy nexus) like crazy. My biggest goal is to get tethering on the new phone, which I guess means it has to be rooted.
I've been generally comfortable rooting with my previous devices, never really had a problem - but was able to use dedicated apps from the community here to do it/undo it.
I'm really not comfortable with adb (any good threads explain where/how to get this? something to do with the SDK, right?) I also have a mac, making some of these programs hard to use.
I guess my question is this - is there a simple way to get tethering on my device without rooting it?
Side question - if I manage to figure out how to root the phone (which seems really out of my league), would I be stuck on the stock 4.4? It seems unlocking the bootloader is really difficult if not totally out of the question (without an unlock code from Motorola), meaning no custom roms. Rooted 4.4 would not accept OTA updates, right? So in 6 months if a new Android version comes out, I'd be stuck on 4.4, right?

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[Q] OTA Updates

Hello everyone sorry if I am posting this when there is an answer somewhere already on the forums. I have searched multiple times with no straight forward answer but that doesn't mean there isn't an answer that I overlooked.
I am new to the forum as well as Android. I recently purchased a Samsung Captivate through AT&T. I have been reading up on rooting the device and majorly concidering it to get the AT&T Bloatware off. Of the many, many, sites I have read on up I found One Click Root for Samsung Captivate through this forum, which hopefully will work properly, I do not see why it wouldn't.
This brings me to my first question, if I root my device, install Titanium Backup and uninstall the bloatware, can I then uninstall Titanium Backup and unroot my device? Or must I leave Titanium Backup installed for the "Backup" purposes?
My second question is if I root my device and uninstall bloatware ONLY, will I receive and be able to download OTA updates that become avaliable? ( I am aware I will lose root if installed, just currious as to if it will even let me update. )
My only reason for rooting is to get rid of the bloatware, I am hoping I can remove the bloatware and then unroot because I do not have any use for being rooted once they are removed.
I do not plan on flashing any custom ROM, I am leaving the stock ROM just removing the applications and touching nothing else. I know I have read that if I change from the ROM I will not be able to receive OTAUs...
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance for the help. I am very good with computers and a certified ARES tech, know HTML. Just trying to grasp this whole Android thing comming from a iPhone (SO FAR SO GOOD) ... I don't think I'm too lost... yet.
If all you want to do is get rid of the bloatware, download LauncherPro and hide the icons. Much easier and the phone is much better with LP.
One Click Root works great. I've used it many times without issue.
I have used Titanium Backup to remove unwanted apps. Personally I leave it installed, and use to it to backup all of my apps, and save them to my External SD.
Personally I would leave the root in place, and also consider Sideloading it. It'll allow you to install "unapproved" apps.
I do not know how this might affect your ability to receive OTA. I think I remember hearing something around the time of the JH7 OTA release. I did some looking around and couldn't find it
Thanks for the help. I decided to put my worry aside as far as OTA updates go and go ahead and root the phone and remove bloatware.
I used one click root (which worked perfect) to root the device, downloaded Titanium Backup, and removed all the AT&T junk, and a couple things from Samsung I had no use for. Acually I kinda took my phones life in my own hands and uninstalled more than the lists I have found said to, but I figured if worst come to worst and it bricked I could just return it to Wal-Mart's AT&T kiosk since I was still on my thirty day guarantee. (No ma'am, I have NO IDEA what happened. )
Anyways the phone functioned fine so apparently I didn't do anything I shouldn't have. I only ran in to one problem and that was when I unrooted using the One Click (wanted to try it and see if it worked as good as the root) my phone came back on and was doing crazy stuff... locking out of nowhere, slow, didn't have the notification bar, nor any network connectivity after many reboots. Still in the same mindset that I could just make a trip to Wal-Mart, I did a factory reset. Phone came up and everything is perfect, bloatware is still gone and it took away my root apps which I was probubly going to end up doing anyways.
From what I finally found after a couple hours searching online is that theres a chance I won't be able to OTA update, however I shouldn't have a problem using Kies Mini to update instead of the OTA. Apparently AT&T's servers are getting overwelmed and people are having connection problems... even non rooted users.
We will see I guess when Froyo is (finally) released on AT&T.
Thanks again for the help!

No sim/network cappy update & use?

Problems: No sim card (I have a different network), unable to download or update anything, even over wifi. (Wifi does work for internet browsing.) Runs slowly.
First time Captivate owner and first time delving into tampering with electronics. Most of my "programming" experience is just learner's stuff: html in HS with a little JavaScript, then some intro to C++ a while back in my freshman year of college, so I'm not completely useless when it comes to files, codes and such.
My phone was stolen a few months back and a relative gave me a Captivate to use when they upgraded since the main function I was missing was the ability to take and send pictures instantly (for work and family). The phone has no SIM. I thought about trying to unlock it and using it as my primary phone but after a few days research it seems it wouldn't do me any good since it is an AT&T phone and I have Sprint, so not compatible networks (as far as I can tell).
Still, there are certain apps that I use on my tablet that would be easier to use on a smaller, more portable device. They are current Google Play apps. but the phone is on android 2.1 and still has the old market. I'm sure I'll need to update to a more current android version (which I'm not sure how to do). Without the SIM, it won't let me update through the phone itself. I thought I'd found a helpful response in another thread on how to update via USB, but it went to a mediafire file that was no longer available. It seems as though the lack of a SIM card is preventing any downloads, even over wifi. I can browse the internet, check email, log into facebook, etc... but at the same time even some of the current apps already on the phone won't work. I've tried looking to see if a sim is required for downloads to work, but so far I haven't found anything particularly useful.
Where/how do I update to the current version of Android? Do I need to update the ROMs & Kernels as well? What other files would need updated to "bring it up to speed"? What order? (I've read that is important.) I'm generally quick at picking up on things like this and looking forward to learning from you all.
Sumegitsune said:
Problems: No sim card (I have a different network), unable to download or update anything, even over wifi. (Wifi does work for internet browsing.) Runs slowly.
First time Captivate owner and first time delving into tampering with electronics. Most of my "programming" experience is just learner's stuff: html in HS with a little JavaScript, then some intro to C++ a while back in my freshman year of college, so I'm not completely useless when it comes to files, codes and such.
My phone was stolen a few months back and a relative gave me a Captivate to use when they upgraded since the main function I was missing was the ability to take and send pictures instantly (for work and family). The phone has no SIM. I thought about trying to unlock it and using it as my primary phone but after a few days research it seems it wouldn't do me any good since it is an AT&T phone and I have Sprint, so not compatible networks (as far as I can tell).
Still, there are certain apps that I use on my tablet that would be easier to use on a smaller, more portable device. They are current Google Play apps. but the phone is on android 2.1 and still has the old market. I'm sure I'll need to update to a more current android version (which I'm not sure how to do). Without the SIM, it won't let me update through the phone itself. I thought I'd found a helpful response in another thread on how to update via USB, but it went to a mediafire file that was no longer available. It seems as though the lack of a SIM card is preventing any downloads, even over wifi. I can browse the internet, check email, log into facebook, etc... but at the same time even some of the current apps already on the phone won't work. I've tried looking to see if a sim is required for downloads to work, but so far I haven't found anything particularly useful.
Where/how do I update to the current version of Android? Do I need to update the ROMs & Kernels as well? What other files would need updated to "bring it up to speed"? What order? (I've read that is important.) I'm generally quick at picking up on things like this and looking forward to learning from you all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a guide on here to unlock the Captivate. You should be able to use it on Sprint once it's done.
As for updating, the cappy lost Samsung support a while ago but you can flash a custom ROM from here which should give you much better results thant stock firmware. You can follow a guide to do so, it's fairly straight forward.
If you do go for a custom ROM, I suggest you stick with JellyBean. Kitkat is a bit heavy for the Captivate.
BWolf56 said:
There's a guide on here to unlock the Captivate. You should be able to use it on Sprint once it's done.
As for updating, the cappy lost Samsung support a while ago but you can flash a custom ROM from here which should give you much better results thant stock firmware. You can follow a guide to do so, it's fairly straight forward.
If you do go for a custom ROM, I suggest you stick with JellyBean. Kitkat is a bit heavy for the Captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been going over the Wiki as I've had time. I installed Kies Mini and have almost upgraded from Eclair to Gingerbread. I'll try looking again at the unlock guides. The only ones I had seen before required a sim card. I thought sprint wouldn't be compatible since it doesn't use a card though? And any ideas why I can't download from the market over wifi?
Sumegitsune said:
I've been going over the Wiki as I've had time. I installed Kies Mini and have almost upgraded from Eclair to Gingerbread. I'll try looking again at the unlock guides. The only ones I had seen before required a sim card. I thought sprint wouldn't be compatible since it doesn't use a card though? And any ideas why I can't download from the market over wifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so sure why you can't download over wifi, that should work w/o a sim card (as long as you're connected to your Google account).
And Sprint does use sim cards (just like any other carrier). You don't really need another card to unlock. But being with Sprint, don't you have a sim card? Otherwise, you can always get one from them for fairly cheap.
imersati from
BWolf56 said:
Not so sure why you can't download over wifi, that should work w/o a sim card (as long as you're connected to your Google account).
And Sprint does use sim cards (just like any other carrier). You don't really need another card to unlock. But being with Sprint, don't you have a sim card? Otherwise, you can always get one from them for fairly cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just finished the update to Gingerbread. Couldn't download with Eclair, but Gingerbread was letting me (albeit slowly). If I update to Jellybean would that fix the slowness?
I don't think my last phone had a sim, at least I do not remember seeing a card. It was a Galaxy S3..
---
Just looked it up:
Unlike the other carriers with Galaxy S3 phone availability, Sprint opted not to have a removable SIM card for their version. Instead, the SIM card is embedded into the S3 phone itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even so, my last phone was stolen, otherwise I wouldn't have needed this one. Thanks anyway though. I'll see if I can get a sim card. My current phone doesn't have one either (Samsung Seek) When you mentioned sprint had sims, I thought I'd lucked out, but nope! lol
----
Just got off the phone with sprint. I only told her it was a galaxy S, but she said that sprint doesn't use sim cards anymore, they're for international use. Not sure how accurate that is but I'm going to try unlocking it without a sim and see if it'll work. If not they said they could try to get one for me. ^_^ Either way, looks like my main project will be speeding it up (if possible). Thanks again!
Sumegitsune said:
Just finished the update to Gingerbread. Couldn't download with Eclair, but Gingerbread was letting me (albeit slowly). If I update to Jellybean would that fix the slowness?
I don't think my last phone had a sim, at least I do not remember seeing a card. It was a Galaxy S3..
---
Just looked it up:
Even so, my last phone was stolen, otherwise I wouldn't have needed this one. Thanks anyway though. I'll see if I can get a sim card. My current phone doesn't have one either (Samsung Seek) When you mentioned sprint had sims, I thought I'd lucked out, but nope! lol
----
Just got off the phone with sprint. I only told her it was a galaxy S, but she said that sprint doesn't use sim cards anymore, they're for international use. Not sure how accurate that is but I'm going to try unlocking it without a sim and see if it'll work. If not they said they could try to get one for me. ^_^ Either way, looks like my main project will be speeding it up (if possible). Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Getting a JB custom ROM on it will surely speed it up. As for the download speed though, not a whole lot can be done. It has some old hardware and it also depends on your router. That being said, a newer kernel could help.
I found finally a thread for rooting my phone. (All the other methods I'd found seemed to have issues with GB). Worked great! Found the Galaxy_S Unlock by helroz (after tons of searching), but it's "not available in your country". I'm searching for a way to get it downloaded anyway, but don't know if it'll work w/ GB. Tried Superoneclick and it said device was already rooted (true) but when I tried to get the unlock code, nothing happened. It apparently doesn't work with GB, only Eclair & maybe Froyo. So right now it's either get helroz's app downloaded or I have to go back to Froyo some how (since going back two builds is apparently not recommended), find a way to unlock it, and upgrade it again. I'm going to keep looking, but if anyone knows how a better way to unlock it, I'd appreciate it!
Phone: Samsung Galaxy Captivate
Firmware: 2.3.5
Baseband: I897UCKK4
Kernael: 2.6.35.7-I897UCKK4-CORNv70A
Build: GINGERBREAD.UCKK4
Sumegitsune said:
I found finally a thread for rooting my phone. (All the other methods I'd found seemed to have issues with GB). Worked great! Found the Galaxy_S Unlock by helroz (after tons of searching), but it's "not available in your country". I'm searching for a way to get it downloaded anyway, but don't know if it'll work w/ GB. Tried Superoneclick and it said device was already rooted (true) but when I tried to get the unlock code, nothing happened. It apparently doesn't work with GB, only Eclair & maybe Froyo. So right now it's either get helroz's app downloaded or I have to go back to Froyo some how (since going back two builds is apparently not recommended), find a way to unlock it, and upgrade it again. I'm going to keep looking, but if anyone knows how a better way to unlock it, I'd appreciate it!
Phone: Samsung Galaxy Captivate
Firmware: 2.3.5
Baseband: I897UCKK4
Kernael: 2.6.35.7-I897UCKK4-CORNv70A
Build: GINGERBREAD.UCKK4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need another root if it's already rooted. I'm not sure about the steps to unlock the Cappy but it's possible that it needs to be on a older version.

[Q] Root and Unroot...

I know it may seem counterproductive to ask about rooting my G2 just to turn around and unroot it, but hear me out first.
My initial G2 developed display issues and Verizon shipped me off a "new" one. After setting up the new device, everything was good except that some of the apps had to be setup again and one huge thing - my Wi-Fi information did not get transferred. Sadly, of the 40 to 50 networks I have saved on my old G2, many of them have passwords that are lost to me and I really want to try to save them.
I know I can root the G2 and get them but if after I send the old G2 back they find it "altered", they will charge me for a new phone. That said, is there a way to get my Wi-Fi information without rooting? I have used 3 different Google accounts and done the factory reset 4 or 5 times in hopes something would help but no dice. Assuming there is nothing that can be done without rooting, what is the least intrusive, just get me access to the system files and unroot so one might not be able to tell it was rooted, method?
Thanks very much in advance.

question: how to update android system on google g1 development phone

i have a google g1 development phone (NOT a T-Mobile google g1 but a phone from prior to that release) and I am not a developer. my phone is progressively losing functionality as i can't load new versions of applications presumably since it is a development phone and licensed applications won't download. i don't need the development capability but would like to restore functionality, like youtube access etc., and also other licensed, purchasable applications.
i am probably in the wrong forum (not being a developer) but it is hard to find anywhere to ask this question and get direction to 'where to go' ... so my apologies, if that is the case.
Nope, this is indeed the proper forum and place to ask
A couple of questions though, is there an android version you want? The newest official update would be 1.6 doughnut but there are custom ROMs that may be better for you and even 2.3 gingerbread runs fairly well on this phone (and has more app choices)
Also to know the best way to change the software we need to know current firmware, can you boot to bootloader and write down all on that screen? (Power on while holding camera button)
response to demkantor
thanks for responding!
if it is possible for me to update the android system, that is great and i don't know too much about the systems to specify my needs in terms of system capabilities. as a user, i am not sophisticated and my main mission was to stop my phone from its progressive decline due to, i think, its inability to update the applications that were initially installed on it [i bought it 'new and in the box', not knowing it was a developer's system].
the parameters that i can access directly from settings ('About Phone') are as follows;
Model number
Android Dev Phone 1
Firmware version
1.1
Baseband version
62.33.20.08H_1.22.12.29
Kernel version 2.6.25-01843-gfea26b0
[email protected] #6
Build number
dream_devphone-userdebug 1.1 UNLOCKED
121975 test-keys
IMEI
351676030141180
IMSI
00
OK, I would suggest a custom ROM which would allow you access to more apps and actually be more stable in many ways then current one
There are multiple methods to do so but in order to allow you to skip a lot of the steps (which I believe you can being a dev phone) I need you to tell me all on the bootloader screen
bootloader screen
demkantor said:
OK, I would suggest a custom ROM which would allow you access to more apps and actually be more stable in many ways then current one
There are multiple methods to do so but in order to allow you to skip a lot of the steps (which I believe you can being a dev phone) I need you to tell me all on the bootloader screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DREA100 PVT 32B
HBOOT-0.95.3000
CPLD-4
RADIO-1.22.12.29
Oct 20 2008
Serial0
Looks like tapatalk didn't let me respond.....
So basically you do have options to do oneclick root apps but in order to use the latest-stable custom ROMs you will need to update firmware anyway
So I would suggest going through the same steps as someone without dev phone
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1668524
See these old threads and we have walked people through this many times, but of course if you need a hand let me know where you get stuck
Best of luck!
demkantor said:
Looks like tapatalk didn't let me respond.....
So basically you do have options to do oneclick root apps but in order to use the latest-stable custom ROMs you will need to update firmware anyway
So I would suggest going through the same steps as someone without dev phone
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1668524
See these old threads and we have walked people through this many times, but of course if you need a hand let me know where you get stuck
Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
many thanks, ... have browsed those threads and see that i need to do some studying to get a view of the structure of these systems and understand the terminology. i guess the CyanogenMod website is the place to do that?
I notice the link that others used to for their pre-education is no longer viable;
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/HTC_Dream:_Rooting
and there is no HTC Dream listed on the cyanogenmod supported devices.
also, i do not have a dataplan on my service (Rogers), should i be looking for someone to loan me their sim? (i guess i should hold my questions until i have done some homework).
thanks for getting me launched into this!
No problem! It is possible to do things differently than what's laid out in those threads, but I would be most confident using the ol tried and true methods
I've played around with a countless number of these phones for many years and this method always works without hitch so its the way to go IMO
Even if it feels complicated it really isn't much but there can be a learning curve if you are new to this kind of stuff
But to answer your question it is easiest if you can use a sim (this is an unlocked dev phone so any gsm with data plan) but it is not needed as you can bypass the start screen
And I have all files needed on my server as well as other places so if you can't find the right ones let me know and I'll link you
Best of luck!
demkantor said:
No problem! It is possible to do things differently than what's laid out in those threads, but I would be most confident using the ol tried and true methods
I've played around with a countless number of these phones for many years and this method always works without hitch so its the way to go IMO
Even if it feels complicated it really isn't much but there can be a learning curve if you are new to this kind of stuff
But to answer your question it is easiest if you can use a sim (this is an unlocked dev phone so any gsm with data plan) but it is not needed as you can bypass the start screen
And I have all files needed on my server as well as other places so if you can't find the right ones let me know and I'll link you
Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rgr, thks! when i think i know what to do, i'll post my plan here for critique prior to implementing it.
emeeliano said:
rgr, thks! when i think i know what to do, i'll post my plan here for critique prior to implementing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read through this for a good idea on the whole process
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2189589

Newb questions about rooting, recovery, and ROMs

I know there are guides, but it's hard for me to follow how much applies to my specific case, and how much risk there is in applying those methods.
I have a Moto G6 with Stock software (build OPS27.104-15-10). Here are some things I would like to learn about.
1) Root: This would allow me to use tethering, among opening other doors, correct?
2) Install TWRP: This I just see as a useful step in playing with custom ROMS.
3) Install Custom ROM: I want to customize lock screen and various buttons, but my stock ROM doesn't support much.
I've always used my Android phones (HTC Hero, HTC EVO, HTC One M8) with root and custom ROMs. But I never knew much about the process other than to follow certain steps that would take me there. With TWRP, I could download ROMs, run them, and switch back whenever I wanted. Is there a simple recipe that gets me there with the G6? I don't need a zero risk solution, but I'd like to know if it's been reliable for most people.
I apologize if this has been spelled out already elsewhere. Feel free to point me there if that's the case. Thanks!
1. Which kind of tethering are you talking about? If you mean to share your data connection with other devices, root doesn't really help achieve this. It all depends on your carrier. There are workarounds such as PDANet on the Play Store.
2. There are (at least somewhat) functional builds of TWRP available in the ROMs section of this forum.
3. As of now, custom ROMs not available. Since there's a TWRP, development will hopefully take off soon.
Nowadays, rooting isn't so simple and should be taking seriously. Before you do anything, I highly recommend that you read everything carefully and research on how to recover if something goes wrong. We don't want you to have a bricked device.
Re 1: I was talking about sharing my data connection over Wifi. I'm on Sprint, and my old HTC One M8 running Cyanogen could tether. So there's certainly a way to do it, but my G6 with stock gives me permission issues. I tried PDANet, but it said it doesn't support my carrier.
I suppose I'll hold off on this for now until I can see a clear path or a clear benefit. I hadn't realized that this process might be more difficult on newer phones. Does this vary with brand and model? If I were picking a phone over again, how would I know if there was good custom ROM support? Just by reading the XDA forum for each phone I'm interested in?
Thanks!
Re 1: I was talking about sharing my data connection over Wifi. I'm on Sprint, and my old HTC One M8 running Cyanogen could tether. So there's certainly a way to do it, but my G6 with stock gives me permission issues. I tried PDANet, but it said it doesn't support my carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on Sprint with a bone stock G6. Data sharing works fine (Settings > Network & Internet > Hotspot & tethering). I think the previous poster is right: You have to have a plan that allows tethering for it to work.
My old phone worked, and it was on the same Sprint plan that I have now.

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