Database Develop

[Q] General rooting questions.

Hello, i just got my first smartphone, i have AT&T and i didnt want an iphone and was more drawn toward andriod, so i got a captivate. I would really like to do alot of the things in the "Pimp my captivate" guide but i have some questions first.
1.) If i root the phone, and take off the bloatware, will i still get updates if i go to the check for updates in settings? (ex. like the gps fix and froyo update someday).
2.) Its not going to subtract any features from the phone is it ? (ex. the google syncing and everything will still work? Basically is the rooting process and or bloatware removal going to change the way the phone works besides the programs those being gone?
Ill admit i'm an andriod phone hacking noob, but i do know computers well and programming and have altered other devices in the past.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I would like to know this as well.

stihl29 said:
1.) If i root the phone, and take off the bloatware, will i still get updates if i go to the check for updates in settings? (ex. like the gps fix and froyo update someday).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since no updates have come down yet, I don't think anyone is sure of the answer to this. Keep in mind that it's a good idea to make backups of the app APKs on your sdcard before you remove them (just in case you want to reinstall them).
stihl29 said:
2.) Its not going to subtract any features from the phone is it ? (ex. the google syncing and everything will still work? Basically is the rooting process and or bloatware removal going to change the way the phone works besides the programs those being gone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing AT&T's crappy apps won't affect the phone negatively at all. They simply won't be there, so you can't use them (if you find them useful). The only app that I can think of you may want to keep is the AT&T Hot Spots app so you phone can use free AT&T wifi at locations such as Starbucks.

Yes, you will still get updates as long as you do not install a custom ROM. (Rooting is ok).
The only functionality that will be removed will be that of the apps you delete

Thank you so much this clears up alot of the things I've been wondering.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Rooting issues
I have tried everything I have found online. The superuser icon is there. I have downloaded several apps that require the device to be rooted. I turned on usb debugging, and turned it off. I've downloaded update.zip several times.
I'm not entirely a noob when it comes to tweaking phones. I flashed roms on windows mobile and performed all sorts of modifications I got off this site.
I have the superuser icon. I downloaded titanium. Titanium says it installed busybox. I downloaded the separate busybox app from the market. That app has a popup saying that a nand unlock is necessary for the app to work. When I run it in spite of the popup, it says the device is rooted, but can't find busybox. A whoami command in adb will indicate that I'm not. I went though adb to reinstall busybox. But whenever I try to run any significant commands (eg su) it gives me a permission denied error. Googling permission denied gives me a myraid of possible causes, but it seems I'm getting far afield. I just want to get rid of the bloatware for now.
Is there another program to root this thing? Did I just miss something incredibly obvious?

hello, I recently just rooted this beast, and was wondering when, why, and how often i should clear out the dalvic cache

kamots said:
hello, I recently just rooted this beast, and was wondering when, why, and how often i should clear out the dalvic cache
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Click to collapse
You shouldn't ever need to unless you are installing a ROM that requires it. the Dalvik Cache is the Java VM that Android Runs on and it does a very good job of keeping itself cleared. It does lots of Garbage collection on its own.

gotcha! thank you

Trying to get my phone ready for Android L

I've decided to get my phone ready to accept the (hopefully soon) OTA update for my 2013 X. Right now it's on 4.4.4, bootloader unlocked (thanks Sunshine!), and rooted. I had it rooted to take advantage of Xposed and Secure Settings with Tasker integration. I also used TitaniumBackup to freeze the Verizon and some Moto apps I never used.
Currently, I have uninstalled every Xposed module I downloaded, then unistalled Xposed itself and finally the Xposed installer app. After that I went into Titanium and defrosted everything that was frozen. Now I have a fair amount of updates coming in from the Play store for all those apps that were frozen. Should I go ahead and update them?
From what I've read, there's been talk on whether or not I have to un-root my phone. I thought I just had to use the toolkit to flash back the stock recovery? That should be the only thing left to do? What about some apps that are device administrators like Cerberus? Do I need to remove them from that list?
Thank you for any advice. I plan on flashing stock recovery when I get home this evening.

Generally speaking an OTA will probably fail if apps it expects to be present are missing or modified in the /system partition. I don't know if having additional items (like Cerberus) will halt the OTA or not. Custom recovery may also interfere with the OTA.
It sounds like you already did all the work, but I personally wouldn't have done any of that until the OTA was actually rolling out. I know they said it will be soon, but it could still be weeks away. I wouldn't give up my phone that was setup how I like it, but that's just my preference.
When the OTA drops, if you try and install it will do all of the validation before it installs anything. If the validation fails, it will tell you it has an error and it won't work. Then you'll have to fix whatever was modified, or reflash the stock firmware to be compatible with the OTA.
I don't believe updating the apps is necessary. I don't even think they need to be active (you can use the Disable function in the App Info screen to hide them), they just need to be present in your /system folder with the correct signature, is how I understand it.

[Q] Can a non-firmware update patch root?

I was wondering if an update from say, google play services or Moto voice could patch the current root, and if i should be cautious about updating these system apps. In additoin to this question, has anybody just suddenly lost root in the middle of using their device? This has happened to me several times, and a simple reboot brings root back, but I am not sure what could be causing it since i am doing so much with my phone now it is hard to reproduce on purpose.

Losing root after 2 or 3 reboots

Has anyone else had a problem where you no longer have root after about 3 reboots after using the sprint userdebug package to gain root?
After investigation, it seems that something changes permissions to /system/etc/init.sec.boot.sh
Or perhaps because nothing sets permissions on this file itself after setting up /system/etc/launch_daemonsu.sh the contents of this file and not the context or permissions are transferred to /system/etc/init.sec.boot.sh
I performed the operations that are done to launch_daemonsu.sh prior to its duplication to init.sec.boot.sh and executed it, I was then able to get a supersu prompt to grant root priveleges. I have to re-run this script every boot to get a prompt otherwise all root requests immediately fail.
I used adb root shell to make changes since it does not require supersu to manage its root privileges.
I am not sure if I needed to change permissions, but I doubt I'll be re-flashing the userdebug firmware to find out. (I was preparing to odin back to stock anyway.)
I do not know how to make this script execute during boot. I specialize in more desktop flavors of linux and Android is not quite that.

same thing happened to me just now.
not sure what to do, not sure if i have to reinstall everything again

fmkilo said:
Has anyone else had a problem where you no longer have root after about 3 reboots after using the sprint userdebug package to gain root?
After investigation, it seems that something changes permissions to /system/etc/init.sec.boot.sh
Or perhaps because nothing sets permissions on this file itself after setting up /system/etc/launch_daemonsu.sh the contents of this file and not the context or permissions are transferred to /system/etc/init.sec.boot.sh
I performed the operations that are done to launch_daemonsu.sh prior to its duplication to init.sec.boot.sh and executed it, I was then able to get a supersu prompt to grant root priveleges. I have to re-run this script every boot to get a prompt otherwise all root requests immediately fail.
I used adb root shell to make changes since it does not require supersu to manage its root privileges.
I am not sure if I needed to change permissions, but I doubt I'll be re-flashing the userdebug firmware to find out. (I was preparing to odin back to stock anyway.)
I do not know how to make this script execute during boot. I specialize in more desktop flavors of linux and Android is not quite that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 7 v2 Root Sticking
I exchanged my v1 for the v2 yesterday and did not insert my sim card. I brought it home and went through the OP steps. I inserted the sim after step 5. I was able to successfully root my Note 7 and ran Titanium to uninstall some apps but then I lost root after Samsung + updated. I don't know if it was a coincidence but I decided to retry all the steps and I immediately froze the Samsung + update then proceeded to uninstall the bloat I didn't want(including Samsung+) and my phone has maintained root since then. I have rebooted several times to test it and it has been successful every time. ROM is performing well and I have added Adaway and it too is working great.

JokersWild0075 said:
Note 7 v2 Root Sticking
I exchanged my v1 for the v2 yesterday and did not insert my sim card. I brought it home and went through the OP steps. I inserted the sim after step 5. I was able to successfully root my Note 7 and ran Titanium to uninstall some apps but then I lost root after Samsung + updated. I don't know if it was a coincidence but I decided to retry all the steps and I immediately froze the Samsung + update then proceeded to uninstall the bloat I didn't want(including Samsung+) and my phone has maintained root since then. I have rebooted several times to test it and it has been successful every time. ROM is performing well and I have added Adaway and it too is working great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Listen up folks. Do not and i repeat do not update any of samsungs apks. Until we can find out whats going on. It seems that samsung is now pushing updates thru their apks to check and get rid of SU. They are getting sneaky. So for now do not update any samsungs apk, not even thru google. Also do not update SU, this is another way to lose root. We are working on it. Please do not ask if we found anything, if a fix is found we will post our findings.
If you need shealth, iris scanner, samsung pay, android pay, or any other samsung apk, then you need to stay on stock firmware and not use root.
Also if anyone is having issue with files or odin not flashing, make sure you are not on the new PI4 stock ROM, if you are then odin will fail everytime and at this moment there is no way to root or down grade to the older firmware.
Otherwise Try to redownload all files as it seem that afh is/was having alot of issues with uploads and downloads. This not something that we can fix as we dont host or own that site.

Can you guys break down the steps to regain root without reinstalling the OS? Mine also lost root on v2.
It looks like my S-Health was automatically updated to the latest version, which has been reported to be a root of the cause.

Make sure that once you do all tje steps to get root. Make sure you turn wifi off. Once you turn wifi on, it will start auto updating apps in the play store which includes s health and other saamsung apps. Install package disabler and disable all samsung apps. Samsung pay, samsung+, s health, and any others. Also make sire you go back to the play store and into settings and disable auto updating of apps, jist to be on the safe side.
What i would like to know is: am i able to still use samsung cloud? Themes? Etc... because i have been avoiding them since i had to reroot yesterday....please advise.

elite-fusion said:
Make sure that once you do all tje steps to get root. Make sure you turn wifi off. Once you turn wifi on, it will start auto updating apps in the play store which includes s health and other saamsung apps. Install package disabler and disable all samsung apps. Samsung pay, samsung+, s health, and any others. Also make sire you go back to the play store and into settings and disable auto updating of apps, jist to be on the safe side.
What i would like to know is: am i able to still use samsung cloud? Themes? Etc... because i have been avoiding them since i had to reroot yesterday....please advise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try them and see if you can use those services. If you lose root then you have your answer. Some of us dont use those stuff, so it is hard to answer. This is why you folks are here. Test things out. Try different things to see what works for you. Trying those things will not void your warranty. The only thing that might happen is that you might lose root.

galaxyuser88 said:
Try them and see if you can use those services. If you lose root then you have your answer. Some of us dont use those stuff, so it is hard to answer. This is why you folks are here. Test things out. Try different things to see what works for you. Trying those things will not void your warranty. The only thing that might happen is that you might lose root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently logged into the Samsung account and have been for about 2 days now with no ill affects so far, downloaded a couple themes is all...that is with all the Sammy stuff froze and functional root.

Push notification issues ZUI 3.5.344ST

I don't get notifications working. Tried just about everything. Different stock roms, unlocked or locked bootloader, with or without twrp, with or without SuperSU/Magisk root...
In SafeCenter, and in later 3.5 Roms 'Security' app I disable all auto accelerate, anti spam, antivirus, auto cleanup. I white listed all apps/associated apps in autostart.
Enabled/disabled USB debugging.
Disabled all apps in Battery optimization
Sync on in account settings
In notifications settings everything enabled.
And still I don't get no freaking notifications! Only if open the app the notification appears..
Anything else I could try, and please don't tell me to use custom ROM! I want to get this fixed, it should be possible right?!
Edit;
Currently running 3.5.344ST/unlocked/twrp/supersu root

did u use a backup to restore apps or did u fresh install from store?

move app for /system/priv-app

Was it solved by moving into system/priv-app?

Did you get to the bottom of this ?

It makes a difference if you upgrade from very old ROM versions, or newer versions.
E.g. I started with ZUI 1.9xx (QFIL) and then OTA all the way up to the newest version (3.4xx)
Everything basically worked, but I had battery issues and some notification issues which I couldn't fix.
Then I tried to encrypt my device and it critically failed, so I had to switch to a new ROM anyway.
Then I took the newest possible full ROM for QFIL, I think it was ZUI 3.1xx and then OTA the short way up to the newest version.
Now Everything works, also encryption and with good battery life and notifications. But I feel the ROM is a little less snappy then before, maybe because of encryption.
Besides it still has 2 turn-downs:
- Some apps like Amazon Prime Video complain about an "uncompatible device ID" thus won't start
- Language is english and I can't manage to change the language permanently (not even with morelocale and ADB commands)
So our ZUK2 Pro's always have some funny behaviour... But I really feel the device is at its best now after ~1 Year in my pocket.
€dit: All with locked bootloader and without root