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I recently purchased a used droid 4 on ebay. Unfortunately it has been upgraded to the OTA release of ICS 4.04. Anyone working on lifting the simlock associated with the version of the bootlocker included with ICS (I'm assuming the bootloader is the origin of this simlock but technically I could be wrong)? Or is it a lost cause because it is signed? I know it's written to protected ram so any workaround would be nontrivial but does anyone have any possible exploit ideas? Motorola is unlocking a couple other models that they have out. Would petitioning them to include the droid 4 in their list of unlockable devices be a surefire path to getting the simlock lifted? Or should I consider this a lost cause and return my droid 4 to the ebay ether?
If anyone is considering working on this issue I would be more than glad to contribute. While I'm no Android expert I have a decent understanding of the OS and work in command line Linux for a living so I'd be glad to help. The selection of qwerty phones today is beyond attrocious.
One last thought. Is the idea of spoofing the carrier a possibility?
Sent from my SGH-T839 using Tapatalk
Hi blackstar,
So, I recently got a Droid 4 off of CraigsList that I wanted to use on StraightTalk, but found out that what I had perceived (that 2G/Edge was working on GSM North America) was incorrect.
They're not completely sure WHERE it's broken at the moment as far as SIM lock. Some have suggested it might be baked in the ROM -- but more than likely it is built into the modem.
Here have been some stabs at it -- and what to do in regards to getting the modem setup/altered.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1916869
A thought, though -- since we have SafeStrap and Root, doesn't that let us essentially bypass the bootloader in some ways? My understanding is that the bootloader was required to boot the device to a "correct" image and lock the load to Motorola's firmware, but SafeStrap/root gave us access to actually overwrite the RAM/memory and replace the existing kernel with a new one for the chance at custom ROMs. So, I'm not entirely sure it has to do with the bootloader.
To me, it seems like something that's potentially baked into their ROM or in the modem firmware. If it's in the modem firmware, it's a matter of figuring out what keys/values need to be adjusted and then run it. There have been talks about AT&T getting the Photon Q (Asanti) -- rumors that were back around April of this year... but we have yet to see it there and no news about it showing up anytime soon. Not sure if they scrapped the keyboard and then shipped it as a different device.
I would imagine that if we can have the lowest level debug logging enabled and plug in an American SIM, you might be able to figure out what is breaking. Not sure how low logcat can go...
That's my understanding of the current situation, from a programmer's point of view (though I don't code for Android). Spoofing might be interesting -- but if it's locked at the radio firmware, I don't think spoofing can adjust the frequencies. But more power to you if you can figure it out (and force me to find ANOTHER Droid 4, haha).
Good luck! Definitely talk with the OP of the Topic I sent you, since s/he has a pretty deep interest in this as well.
OH, and one more thought -- there was a thought to grab an AT&T version of the Bionic and Verizon version, wherein they had the same radios, but different firmware, and do a diff on them to figure out if some settings had changed, and then potentially patch that into the D4. That might be a good strategy, but that would require us to get dumps from a few different people -- something you might be able to facilitate if you guys all work together.
One final thought -- is there any way we could have a sticky'd topic for people to post their findings, so we don't have to keep scanning and finding this?
Much thanks terinfire.
Let me start off by saying I don't have any definitive information with regards to any of the good questions you posed but if I find out anything I'll be sure to update the thread.
I spent a good chunk of the weekend trying to educate myself on the situation. From what I understand (anyone feel free to correct me or point me to the appropriate thread if I'm completely reinventing the wheel), it seems like it comes down to two most likely scenarios. Either Verizon added an MCC/MCN lock in the baseband when pushing out the OTA ICS release or they placed a restriction in the radio interface layer (RIL) of the ICS ROM. My research hasn't quite enabled me to determine which scenario is more likely. My unscientific intuition (and wishful thinking) is that the restriction is in the ROM somewhere in the RIL (if that makes any sense, still learning the Android OS architecture).
I will post what I've mentioned above in the the forum you mentioned; hopefully I can garner an audience. I will also look into getting a sticky topic created.
Not too sure how to implement any of my intuitions noted above with regards to this problem but I will try and learn as it goes.
One more note - so it is claimed that the Samsung Galaxy III for Verizon can be unlocked to use domestic GSM carriers. I've found no confirmation. (https://plus.google.com/103583939320326217147/posts/b7JbBKjJVSQ)
Pertinent links I came across in my research that may be useful:
MCC/MCN Codes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Network_Code
Radio Interface Layer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Interface_Layer, http://www.kandroid.org/online-pdk/guide/telephony.html
RIL Header: https://code.google.com/p/linux-on-android/source/browse/radio/headers/ril.h
Qualcomm MDM660Device Specification: http://www.scribd.com/doc/54154049/...odem-Device-Specification-Advance-Information
At present, we have topics every few weeks or so with someone new, coming to ask if GSM works in America. Then, someone wants to help and try to figure out why -- but there is no consistent thread for this. So let's use this.
Does the Droid 4 work in the US on GSM yet? NO
This is to be used as a master thread to post research/thoughts/findings. If anyone has any clever thoughts, please search the thread first to make sure it hasn't been found yet.
What we do know is that with OTA ICS from Verizon, the Droid 4 supports GSM for *OTHER* carriers outside of the US. There could be any number of reasons that it does NOT work. As a quick run-down of the problem, I'll identify where the primary issues could be and allow for anyone else to build upon it, ask questions, and discuss.
The Radio Firmware
-- The firmware for the radio itself could have a lock or a setting that needs to be adjusted and all data requests are blocked through this.
RIL
-- The interface between the radio and Android -- there could be a software lock here that restricts specific carrier ID's.
ROM
-- The ROM itself has a baked-in block for GSM in America.
The best thing we can do is to try and identify or step through the stack (if such is possible -- I'm a developer, but not for Android) and see WHERE the calls break at.
--If it is a software lock in the ROM, then aftermarket ROM's like CyanogenMod should allow data to work in the US. If we're not seeing this, then this is likely not the case.
--If it is a software lock in the RIL library, then we'd have to have a reverse-engineered library (which could be very difficult to do). We should be getting some kind of error somewhere in here. At this point, though, it's hard to tell if the Radio Firmware or RIL is the actual problem.
Anyone with any background on this, please feel free to contribute. correct, and update. I'll try to get back here and update this master page as I see responses further in the thread.
Can we try to load up a deodexed rom and replace the ril file with, let's say one from XT910 in canada?
Sent from my XT894 running ICS
I assume this is just a GSM radio, without HSPA+, but does anyone know the frequencies it uses?
I just finished comparing a Droid RAZR XT912 to a Rogers RAZR XT910, I checked the /system/lib folder and build.prop files.
I found some really interesting differences, and also found that most of the important build.prop differences between the Rogers XT910 and Verizon XT912 were also consistent with the D4.
lines like:
persist.ril.modem.mode = (1 = CDMA, 2= UMTS)
persist.ril.mux.noofchannels = (10 on Rogers, 8 on VZW)
persist.radio.ap.phonetype = (1 = GSM, 2= CDMA)
and my favourite line
persist.ril.features = (0x182 = Rogers, 0x90A = Verizon)
I also found something only in Rogers build.prop:
ro.tether.denied=false
What's also interesting, is that most of the files in the /lib folder is consistent between the D4 and the RAZR, I have also included this report in the attached ZIP file.
Maybe this in combination with some files from the /lib folder might help. Either way, I've included my comparisons in the attached ZIP.
Does anybody want to just try changing the persist.ril.features in the US and see what happens??
Let's get US bands unlocked soon!!!
In my comparissions,
D:\ = XT894
G:\ = XT912
H:\ = XT910
I saw these and a couple other changes comparing the D4 file to the bionic GSM-working ICS leak build.prop. Unfortnately I'm studying for a GRE exam I have tomorrow but will try to give these changes a try when I take a break and if not, definitely by the end of tomorrow. I'm starting to have faith we'll find something. I don't think Verzion did anything that low-level to implement this US carrier block.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using Tapatalk
blackstar1744 said:
I saw these and a couple other changes comparing the D4 file to the bionic GSM-working ICS leak build.prop. Unfortnately I'm studying for a GRE exam I have tomorrow but will try to give these changes a try when I take a break and if not, definitely by the end of tomorrow. I'm starting to have faith we'll find something. I don't think Verzion did anything that low-level to implement this US carrier block.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
School first, xda second. Good luck on your GRE!
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2
Trying to get Radiocomm to recognize my phone but my phone keeps switching to mass storage mode even with Android debugging and mock location enabled. Was in Hashcode's AOKP and went back to the stock ROM and now I can stay in Media Device (MTP) but still don't have the appropriate Windows x64 driver. I'm currently running the attached file which I came across at some point in the Android Development forum in my earlier research into this whole domestic GSM issue. Does anyone else have another x64 driver?
The motivation for my question: Yesterday ariethekid claimed to get T-Mobile working on his Droid Bionic running Verizon's official ICS 246 release so the steps on this page *should* work - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1297714&page=13 along with the appropriate build.prop modifications. The bionic build.prop I attached includes the necessary changes. They would have to be included migrated to the D4 build.prop and I would/will eventually do it but I'm just not that far along yet given my Radiocomm issues.
Update: The OTA ICS updates already includes this 8 byte revision. I believe the only thing that needs to be done is the update of the build.prop.
blackstar1744 said:
Trying to get Radiocomm to recognize my phone but my phone keeps switching to mass storage mode even with Android debugging and mock location enabled. Was in Hashcode's AOKP and went back to the stock ROM and now I can stay in Media Device (MTP) but still don't have the appropriate Windows x64 driver. I'm currently running the attached file which I came across at some point in the Android Development forum in my earlier research into this whole domestic GSM issue. Does anyone else have another x64 driver?
The motivation for my question: Yesterday ariethekid claimed to get T-Mobile working on his Droid Bionic running Verizon's official ICS 246 release so the steps on this page *should* work - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1297714&page=13 along with the appropriate build.prop modifications. The bionic build.prop I attached includes the necessary changes. They would have to be included migrated to the D4 build.prop and I would/will eventually do it but I'm just not that far along yet given my Radiocomm issues.
Update: The OTA ICS updates already includes this 8 byte revision. I believe the only thing that needs to be done is the update of the build.prop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to get the RadioComm interface, make sure you're using the latest Motorola Mobile Phone Drivers (these are different than the android drivers), they are version 5.9 as of right now. Please download them from here :
https://developer.motorola.com/tools/usb_drivers/
Looks like the Motorola site is down though, so you can download them from here :
http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Drivers/Motorola-Handset-USB-Driver-for-Windows-64-bit-38124.shtml
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33230579
this was just posted, has all NV lines together, maybe we can figure it out in here!
dewhashish said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33230579
this was just posted, has all NV lines together, maybe we can figure it out in here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a thought. Perhaps these values could be checked against a Bionic?
4869^"GSM Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
4870^"GSM 850 Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
4871^"GSM DCS Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
4872^"GSM 1900 Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
blackstar1744 said:
Just a thought. Perhaps these values could be checked against a Bionic?
4869^"GSM Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
4870^"GSM 850 Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
4871^"GSM DCS Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
4872^"GSM 1900 Carrier Suppression"^"GSM*"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would have better luck posting this question in that forum.
By the way, Bionic GSM is a go. They have it fully up and running in that thread. Confirmed working by quite a few users
danifunker tried that already and folks have posted results in this topic (and it didn't work, apparently):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1916869
Apparently, it does not apply to GSM in the US:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32478552&postcount=21
They, however, did not try to toggle 4869. They did 4870 - 4872. Apparently the Bionic ignores those keys and does not worry about it.
Has anyone actually tried, for sure, to toggle these settings and verify whether they work or not?
D4 for US GSM Bump
Hello out there?
Has anyone come up or been experimenting on how to get the domestic U.S. carriers unblocked on the Droid 4? I've been searching high and low and apparently the Bionic fixes do not work on the D4.
daqueenzkid said:
Hello out there?
Has anyone come up or been experimenting on how to get the domestic U.S. carriers unblocked on the Droid 4? I've been searching high and low and apparently the Bionic fixes do not work on the D4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite a few poked around, but there hasn't been any progress in the past few months. If this phone had more support, I'm sure it could be figured out, but not like this. It does take brilliant minds at work to figure this stuff out.
Sent from my SGH-I927 using Tapatalk 2
gtmaster303 said:
Quite a few poked around, but there hasn't been any progress in the past few months. If this phone had more support, I'm sure it could be figured out, but not like this. It does take brilliant minds at work to figure this stuff out.
Sent from my SGH-I927 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some people looking into it but it is absurdly complicated. Granted they keep moving closer to a solution, this is the most complicated phone workaround I've ever seen. Motorola/Verizon is straight evil.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2144335
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
blackstar1744 said:
There are some people looking into it but it is absurdly complicated. Granted they keep moving closer to a solution, this is the most complicated phone workaround I've ever seen. Motorola/Verizon is straight evil.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2144335
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea that's definitely apparent. That's a brand new thread. Haven't seen it before. Those guys are doing alright
Sent from my SGH-I927 using Tapatalk 2
You can try my Rom.
I edited all settings about CDMA to GSM not only build.prop but I'm not in USA so I can not try.
droid bionic gsm unlock
Hey guys. Ive been on XDA for so long and never reslly mentioned that the gsm on my droid bionic on ICS is unlocked. Ive tried alot of methods but one method i used finally worked. i just pop a non verizon sim card in and it works 100%. txt etc.
What is this method?
It's been known and well established that the MDM6600 radio on Bionic, in particular the hardware revision A first production devices, do not have the block on US GSM carriers that the subsequent RAZR/D4 models have and can be made to work with a few simple modifications.
This does not apply to the RAZR/D4 and after a great deal of examination it has been determined that the block is in the signed BP radio image and cannot be disabled via NV editing nor any other means.
Just curious who saw these posts on Google+ the other day. Lets discuss.
Steve Kondik - 22 hours ago
The Death of Root
Android 4.3 introduces some new and much needed security features which not only restrict setuid binaries on the system partition (su), but also limit the capabilities of processes. In the current architecture, even if you could get elevated privileges, you can't do anything out of the ordinary. Root in the shell via ADB is all I use, and it still works just fine.
This isn't a problem for me, since I use CM. When there is a situation that I'd need root, I just modify the system to accomodate what I'm trying to accomplish in a secure way. I can understand the desire to have full root on stock ROMs, since you're severely limited in what you can do and there is no provision for making any sort of real changes or improving the architecture.
+Koushik Dutta and +Chainfire are working hard to permit root in some way on 4.3, but I feel that anything done at this point might severely compromise the security of the system and we should start considering better options. Going forward, I'm interested in building framework extensions and APIs into CM to continue to abolish the root requirement.
A few good use cases for root are:
* Firewalls and network software, potentially requiring raw sockets.
* Managing the DNS resolver
* Tweaking various sysfs nodes to control the kernel
All of these can be done without exposing root, and they can be done in a very secure way.
If you're using CM or another custom ROM, what do you actually use root for?
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Steve Kondik - 21 hours ago
An example to go with my previous post on root..
Let's say that I wanted to write an application that would let me block or rate limit network access for other applications. Seems easy, just run "iptables" as root and add some firewall rules. Calling "su iptables ...." and managing the list is easy. The harder, but much better way would be to extend the framework. This also has the side effect of opening this up for other developers to use.
To do this, you need two things:
1. A way to add the rules (which requires root)
2. An API to add the rules
3. Access control to this API
All Android systems run a daemon, "netd", which runs as root and manages various aspects of the network such as tethering and traffic shaping. The framework has a service, appropriately named "NetworkManagementService" which communicates with netd using a simple protocol over a socket. Applications with the right permissions can get a handle to this service using Binder, and control the network without actually needing root.
So to build a firewall API, it's really easy. You put the pieces that require elevated privileges into netd, then add a few methods to the NMS such as "addRule", "deleteRule", and "listRules". You can create and enforce a new permission, "android.permission.MODIFY_FIREWALL_STATE" that applications would require. You can even pop up a "scary" dialog similar to the newish VPNService when something needs it.
Then of course you upload your patches to the CM Gerrit, we iterate a bit, and ship it. If it turns out to be insanely useful, maybe it will go to Android proper.
Now you can write your app and a whole new class of applications that you couldn't do without using the root sledgehammer before. Yeah, it's harder, and you need to learn the system architecture a bit, but the result is much better and more importantly it's not a gaping security hole.
Of course it's possible to write malware that mirrors all of your packets to a remote site without your knowledge using this API, but Android's VPNService is actually more suited to this and it's already part of the framework
I might be exploiting this as an opportunity to sell the ideas behind CM, but I think it's a powerful concept. If your app needs to do something that normally can't be done, you can easily bend the system to your will and do it right.
If it not more root on 4,3 we keep what we got and add
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2376881
I have a nexus 7 and the 4.3 update has already been rooted
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Did you guys read the article or just the title.
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Why? Are the two not related? Or is the title misleading?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Probably because the title says AFTER 4.3
I'm no dev, but I have very little attachment to root. I am required to have it if I want to be able to flash ROM's or custom recoveries or mods or what-have-you, but if all of those things could be accomplished without root, I would do it. The reason its so exploited in the dev community is that there is no other framework to do the things they want to do.
If however they were to work with major devs (like Kondik mentions CM) on expanding frameworks to make ROM's and whatnot take without needing root, I would have no problem with it. Hell, I'd welcome losing the step on every new phone of having to master a new rooting technique. It would also make me contemplate trying an HTC phone, as rooting the EVO 3D put an inordinately bad taste in my mouth.
mattkane21 said:
would also make me contemplate trying an HTC phone, as rooting the EVO 3D put an inordinately bad taste in my mouth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. That phone was such an unbelievable pain in the a$$. The whole process took forever, with the HTC dev unlock and ridiculous "wire trick" to achieve s-off in order to flash custom kernels. Then, once that crap was all done, always having to think about what hboot you're using with what rom. Especially for someone like me who's constantly switching between stock and AOSP, having to flash another hboot all the time is such a freaking hassle. The ironic part is that there are tons of great roms for that phone.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
So jn essence what this is saying is after 4.3 there will be no need for root yet we will still have all the benefits of root?
Am I reading this correctly?
shawn1224 said:
So jn essence what this is saying is after 4.3 there will be no need for root yet we will still have all the benefits of root?
Am I reading this correctly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes in a way. It is kind of looking at a different integration of what is possible without needing root, or why would we really need root when running something like CM. And with the new security features rooting might make your device unsecured.
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Ok cool but would this also pertain to standalone mods/extension or are you talkin code baked into CM only
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
shawn1224 said:
Ok cool but would this also pertain to standalone mods/extension or are you talkin code baked into CM only
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it would work for pretty much any ROM,or could. He is the founder of CM so he talks about it. Many ROMs use CM as a base and build off it though, almost all AOSP ROMs do.
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Question 1: Seems like Focus S is never getting as much love as HTC Titan for some reason, why is that?
OK, I just got two extra WP phones I got back in 2012 SIM unlocked, sammy focus S and HTC Titan. I plan to give one to my parents in China to use, who are not tech savvy nor heavy cellular data user at all. I have a few questions based on what I skimmed through several WP forums (XDA etc) that I need you experienced users' help.
1. Which one is more idiot-proof for old users, focus S or Titan?
2. Once I SIM unlocked it, I assume they can just pop a local SIM to talk and txt, right? Anything else that needs to be manually set up?
3. I noticed a few threads talking about tricks of setting APN with Straight Talk. How about TMobile? And I assume that's only used for data usage right? If my parents just use it to talk and txt plus WIFI, it should be fine just leave the settings unchanged?
4. Also a lot of threads were debating whether to upgrade to WP7.8 or not and how to do it. Now it's 2014, is WP7.8 upgrade pushed automatically by MS already or I still need to follow the instruction and use 3rd party tools to do it?
5. Is there any custom ROMs for this phone at all? And what are the immediate updates/mods you guys suggest if I boot up the phone for the first time.
Thanks so much.
5.
The focus s was unfortunately an ATT exclusive , meaning one of the best designed windows phone 7 devices ever made was also only available to a tiny number of users, hence the lack of love!
As for setting it up,network unlock it, interop unlock, setup apn , update to 7.8 an your done
Sent from my arc 10HD using xda app-developers app
Focus S to android Os
So noone can get the Focus S to run any android Os ?
Bennyscrewz said:
So noone can get the Focus S to run any android Os ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude,
With the exception of ONE device, the immortal HTC HD2, there has never been any (current) device that has had cross platform support, and lets be clear about the HD2, it was a WM device, that was opened up, and rather handily was also used as a test platform for WP. its android life started out as a hack that ran (initially) from within windows, later moved to its own ROM via MAGLDR. There was a lot of very cleaver people using a single device thus it had a lot of support to do these wonderful things.
OEMs shipping android then went nuts and made so many new devices it diluted the support available to specific phones and effectively killed off any further "HD2 Moments"
So no, the focus S doesn't have Android support. No one is working on it, no one tried to and to my knowledge no one will ever work on it, the same can probably be said about most phones.
Besides that, I cant remember which one because there was so many different versions it is but its essentially the same as the Samsung Galaxy 2(s?) so why not buy that if you want android on it?
and Finally
This has been asked So many times about so many devices, even googling it brings up an answer within the first few posts. Just take this as a wee helping hint, try search for your questions, this site has so many users over so many devices that statistically, its likely any question you may have has probably been answered somewhere by someone else
Howdy folks! I'd like to ask all of you SGS6 Edge users for your opinions regarding the "worthiness" of retaining root vs updating. For the TLDR please go to the bottom! :good:
I used to be super active on here, making small tweaks/apps for people all starting around the Droid Bionic ... so lets just say I'm not stranger to the world of root/customization.
With that being said, since the peak of my crack-flashing habit during the days of the Galaxy S3 I have slowed down quite a bit. Part of that is my own life (I'm older, have way more responsibility at home)...but I believe a much larger factor has been locked phones and a quieter development scene (at least with Samsung devices).
I've had my Edge rooted since the root became available - and I suppose I mostly use it to access the file system, remove bloat, and run the occasional "root only" app.
In the time that I've been rooted on OE2 (running CleanROM 1.5) there have been a few rather large updates to the phone's software both aimed at fixing issues and adding features. As I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone, root hasn't been attained for these new releases .. and I'm somewhat skeptical that it ever will as this device becomes "older".
SO the TLDR here is:
How many of you who HAD their Edge rooted decided to give up root to update their device? Was it worth it to you? Would you do it again if you had the chance, or would you have just kept root?
I updated and I wouldn't go back. Sure I miss the ad blocking and some other fun stuff, but the phone is so much more stable and usable after the updates. If you don't use root for much (which I didn't considering we never got Xposed anyway) I'd recommend doing the update, personally. I followed basically the same path as you. I flashed a new ROM or kernel basically daily on my S3, and have slowly felt more of a need for a more usable phone than being able to tweak it beyond recognition. If you're anything like I am now, you'll appreciate the stability that upgrading brings.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
32BitWhore said:
I updated and I wouldn't go back. Sure I miss the ad blocking and some other fun stuff, but the phone is so much more stable and usable after the updates. If you don't use root for much (which I didn't considering we never got Xposed anyway) I'd recommend doing the update, personally. I followed basically the same path as you. I flashed a new ROM or kernel basically daily on my S3, and have slowly felt more of a need for a more usable phone than being able to tweak it beyond recognition. If you're anything like I am now, you'll appreciate the stability that upgrading brings.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm definitely leaning in that direction. I think a big part of it is literally mental/mind over matter ... just knowing my phone is more my phone and less Verizon's certainly makes an impact.
I updated as well, the phone is running better I think. I do miss ad blocking and tb. Being able to disable apps is helpful. Sometimes I wish I wouldn't have but for the most part I'm happy with it. I hate that Verizon is making us make this decision. The struggle is real!
theresin said:
Howdy folks! I'd like to ask all of you SGS6 Edge users for your opinions regarding the "worthiness" of retaining root vs updating. For the TLDR please go to the bottom! :good:
I used to be super active on here, making small tweaks/apps for people all starting around the Droid Bionic ... so lets just say I'm not stranger to the world of root/customization.
With that being said, since the peak of my crack-flashing habit during the days of the Galaxy S3 I have slowed down quite a bit. Part of that is my own life (I'm older, have way more responsibility at home)...but I believe a much larger factor has been locked phones and a quieter development scene (at least with Samsung devices).
I've had my Edge rooted since the root became available - and I suppose I mostly use it to access the file system, remove bloat, and run the occasional "root only" app.
In the time that I've been rooted on OE2 (running CleanROM 1.5) there have been a few rather large updates to the phone's software both aimed at fixing issues and adding features. As I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone, root hasn't been attained for these new releases .. and I'm somewhat skeptical that it ever will as this device becomes "older".
SO the TLDR here is:
How many of you who HAD their Edge rooted decided to give up root to update their device? Was it worth it to you? Would you do it again if you had the chance, or would you have just kept root?
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Click to collapse
I was a hardcore Samsung user until the Note 3/S4 when root became more difficult to obtain and keep (updating). I even bought a Developer S5 so I could crack flash. As of late, the Galaxy line and development (for Verizon at least) is dead. If you want root/development on Verizon ditch the S6E and get a MXP. You can sell your used phone for about what a brand new unlocked Moto X Pure will cost you....unlockable bootloader, development, and a sd card.
I wouldn't buy a computer without administrative rights and I won't buy (and keep) a phone that I can't obtain root on.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Went through the same dilemma. The final straw for me was finding Package Disabler Pro (costs like 2.99) and that allowed me to at least disable the bloatware and remove it to a degree. I was really worried about losing Viper4android, greenify, and adaway. So far using the built in sound equalizer, the ram management improvements, theme store and the adblocker browser have been more then sufficient in maintaining the experience I was used to. Overall 10/10 experience would un-root again.
I was rooted and gave it up to get up to date. Without Xposed there really was not that much important stuff I wanted from root.
Benew0 said:
Went through the same dilemma. The final straw for me was finding Package Disabler Pro (costs like 2.99) and that allowed me to at least disable the bloatware and remove it to a degree. I was really worried about losing Viper4android, greenify, and adaway. So far using the built in sound equalizer, the ram management improvements, theme store and the adblocker browser have been more then sufficient in maintaining the experience I was used to. Overall 10/10 experience would un-root again.
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Click to collapse
Same here. Once I found package disabler I was very happy losing root for the update.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
Please I use package disabler, and I ask it to disable bloat ware but I realised most of useful stuffs were also disabled. Can I kindly get a list of stuffs you safely disabled without affecting phone functionality
---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 PM ----------
Can you upload your xml file
Here is my XML. I didn't do an extremely thorough debloat but it gets rid of most of my useless icons and speeds things up a bit. No negative effects from it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6jz8Bcr3sVVemw0MzYwa3Z5eTg/view?usp=docslist_api
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
If,,,,with the delays from Samsung, my S6 Edge gets MM I have serious doubts that I will update my phone. I will most likely wait until MM has been proven to be something better enough for me to lose root. However, I am still very shocked that this phone does not have any dev support? I know carriers like Verizon make it hard, if not impossible, to root but c'mon now I know there are devs out there that could crack this but they have either stopped or moved on to paid positions helping find exploits for carriers and manufacturers.
Thanks
I am currently running a rooted edge, which I did right after the phone's release. I will be updating to a non-rooted marshmellow as it has the permissions control, which is what I originally wanted root for.
However I will really miss not having the csv editor as I have been able to tweak the phone a lot due to some stupid samsung decisions.
Archangel said:
If,,,,with the delays from Samsung, my S6 Edge gets MM I have serious doubts that I will update my phone. I will most likely wait until MM has been proven to be something better enough for me to lose root. However, I am still very shocked that this phone does not have any dev support? I know carriers like Verizon make it hard, if not impossible, to root but c'mon now I know there are devs out there that could crack this but they have either stopped or moved on to paid positions helping find exploits for carriers and manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did end up giving up root. While there's plenty of things I miss, I have to admit the update has been a very good experience.
I think a lot of devs have moved on to paid positions as network security becomes one of the most lucrative industries out there. I also think carriers put a lot more emphasis on locking down their devices now than they did previously (call me captain obvious on that one..)
If only the bootloader unlock would be leaked like it was for the GS3
How does Tasker work with the unroot MM update? I have so many profiles I do not want to lose in Tasker.