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Hi all
I am reasonably versed in computers, having read Electronic Engineering at uni, but haven't dabbled with unix (Andriod's base O/S?) since - a decade ago.
This is also my first smartphone, as my aging work BB is no good for personal email etc.
I therefore have a range of questions, that I could not find the answer to in the main thread that gregbradley runs or on the next 5 pages of threads. These questions range from the very basic, so please forgive me!
how do you stop free apps installing their advertising engines, or at least access the same information that you permit the app to access (I remember reading privacy issues related to this)
apart from allowing you to tinker with the phone what is the benefit of rooting (which I assme means gaining admin access df. unix)
what are the additional features on the xperia t of the popular customer ROMS and do they alway require rooting to apply?
If you have to apply an earlier firmware to be able to root the phone, what are you loosing (does Sony publish a changelog?) and sure firmware updates tend to be a good thing, so isn't this a problem?
So firstly, is there some documentation I should be reading:
a) about basic good practice on an andriod phone?
b) about the benefits of custom roms
c) about the benefits of rooting, apart from being about to install custom roms?
d) about what are the most common alternative settings ppl make to a stock Xperia T?
many thanks,
icstm
icstm said:
Hi all
I am reasonably versed in computers, having read Electronic Engineering at uni, but haven't dabbled with unix (Andriod's base O/S?) since - a decade ago.
This is also my first smartphone, as my aging work BB is no good for personal email etc.
I therefore have a range of questions, that I could not find the answer to in the main thread that gregbradley runs or on the next 5 pages of threads. These questions range from the very basic, so please forgive me!
how do you stop free apps installing their advertising engines, or at least access the same information that you permit the app to access (I remember reading privacy issues related to this)
apart from allowing you to tinker with the phone what is the benefit of rooting (which I assme means gaining admin access df. unix)
what are the additional features on the xperia t of the popular customer ROMS and do they alway require rooting to apply?
If you have to apply an earlier firmware to be able to root the phone, what are you loosing (does Sony publish a changelog?) and sure firmware updates tend to be a good thing, so isn't this a problem?
So firstly, is there some documentation I should be reading:
a) about basic good practice on an andriod phone?
b) about the benefits of custom roms
c) about the benefits of rooting, apart from being about to install custom roms?
d) about what are the most common alternative settings ppl make to a stock Xperia T?
many thanks,
icstm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You must root the phone and install an add blocker
2) A vast amount of extra access that allows you to uninstall unwanted bloatware and generally customise your phone as you want.
3) Custom roms need at least root privilage and a recovery installed. Some roms require an unlocked bootloader as they need a custom kernel to work.
4) After downgrading to root, you can upgrade and keep root, there are plenty of threads about it
The best place to start reading is the all in one thread, its the very first thread in the Q&A section. Posts 2 and 3 explain all you need to know. If you need any further questions answering please ask in that thread.
Greg
EDIT, Just read that you have already seen my thread. Please feel free to ask in that thread if anything is not clear, however, you can also use the search function in order to find answers. Its nice to see new users and people here will be happy to help, especially as you seem to know to ask questions in the Q&A thread, unlike many others
Mental (and virtual) note: post excessive answer tomorrow after a good nights sleep and clear things up which greg did not fully answer, as I think.
Piece of cake.
@schaggo
looking forward to it! :fingers-crossed:
icstm said:
...unix (Andriod's base O/S?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel (and some ported tools) only, but of course the philosophy behind the thing. Yes.
how do you stop free apps installing their advertising engines, or at least access the same information that you permit the app to access (I remember reading privacy issues related to this)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres a couple of ad providers which apps use to display in-app ads. If there's no free version as in freely free, that's the distribution model a dev choses. Either pay and give the dev a compensation, or use the free ad-supported version from where the dev gets compensation. If you're not ok with either of the latter two, then most common ad providers can be blocked by using a modified hosts file, redirecting server requests for known ad-providers servers to the local loop. You need root access to your device to do that though. More on that later.
apart from allowing you to tinker with the phone what is the benefit of rooting (which I assme means gaining admin access df. unix)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting your device is not strictly comparable in running your desktop box with root. Yes, it's running (certain) stuff with superuser rights, but that's not exactly the point. Rooting basically means - among other things - obtaining write access to the otherwise user-inaccessible system partitions (/system, /data et al.) and mess around with them. This is needed for certain things a user might wants to do, sneaking in a modified hosts file, for example. I don't know what you'd describe as "tinker" but I guess yes, tinker it is.
what are the additional features on the xperia t of the popular customer ROMS and do they alway require rooting to apply?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's usually the same as with every other device: basically theres modified stock ROMs or "real" custom ROMs. The first being for example slimmed down ROMs, with "useless" manufacturer or telco provider added junk-/crap-/adware and -services. Then theres "enhanced" stock based ROMs with added or modified stuff. Instead of 5 notification area toggles you can have up to 14, freely modifiable toggles. Or skin and theme the user interface, or use modified kernels with support for additional services or so. And then there's the "real" custom ROMs which you'll find under "Original Android Development". This is user generated code which you'll find in AOSP or Cyanogenmod ROMs. These kind of ROMs do not base on stock code at all, except for the parts which are highly device specific as closed-source device driver blobs etc, but the system as such is completely open source, comparable to how the Linux/Unix universe works. The benefit of such ROMs is usually that they are quite "barebones" and as such perform much better in terms of interface fluidity etc. But you may miss out on cool manufacturer added stuff specifically tailored for the device at hand, if theres no compatible open source alternative. A great example for this is the Samsung Galaxy Note: the S-Pen is supported in Cyanogenmod, but there's cool S-Pen features CM cant offer, you'll only find them in Samsungs stock ROM. You may find a comparable analogy for the Xperia T, or any other device.
If you have to apply an earlier firmware to be able to root the phone, what are you loosing (does Sony publish a changelog?) and sure firmware updates tend to be a good thing, so isn't this a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no detailed changelog for stock firmware updates. This is the case for most if not all manufacturers. Samsung doesn't release a changelog at all, for example. And updates can be a good thing, or a bad thing. A good thing is added functionality, a bad thing is closing an exploit to root the device, for example. You get the idea.
For the device at hand: there's no big differences between .3.195 and 3.223 or even the "old" .1.303 (or so) so in case you want root but not unlock your device, go ahead, you won't lose much especially if you don't know about it
d) about what are the most common alternative settings ppl make to a stock Xperia T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, modern mobile operating systems offer a ton of settings to play around with, you'll find [number of users]*[number of features]^(numbers of features) of recommendations regarding best settings. Basically it's always the same: the more you do, the more you try to get out of your device, the higher the energy consumption will be, the shorter your battery time will be. Apply some common sense and you'll find your own best settings. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but, well, that's the way it works
Here are some files I found if there is a specific directory you need to see I'll try to get access to it all you need to do is post the dir here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-k10MX8t9TXN0lsSGpteFRBQnc/view?usp=docslist_api
Best of luck! We T-Mobile S7 owners are crossing our fingers.
Adaway will make this phone perfect.
I've rooted every phone I've had, there's always been a reason I needed it. I got to say though, I can't find an everyday reason to really need it on my edge.
Kris
FatKris said:
I've rooted every phone I've had, there's always been a reason I needed it. I got to say though, I can't find an everyday reason to really need it on my edge.
Kris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you don't want freedom so you don't want Xposed via flashfire so you don't want Titanium Backup those are just some things I need root for idk about you but even if I didn't need those things I would still do it just because I can.....
Ghost Dragon said:
So you don't want freedom so you don't want Xposed via flashfire so you don't want Titanium Backup those are just some things I need root for idk about you but even if I didn't need those things I would still do it just because I can.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think there's pros and cons to everything...
I love rooting, always have but this is the first time in a long time that I can't root and it's actually not so bad.
Granted I'd love to be able to installing ROMs, remove ads and bloat and have all these tweaks and tricks but it's sort of like... been there, done that.
If you root your phone now, you can NEVER use Samsung Pay... EVER on your device. Even if you restore stock firmware. That's actually a big issue now with mobile payments being a common thing.
I kind of like having my phone much more secure and safe to do important financial transactions and access important accounts (just like I do on my iPhone) without fear of lax security while using rooted/custom software.
I think moving into the future, flagship phones like Samsung's Galaxy line(s) won't risk bad press or the potential for bad press by allowing the modding community to easily gain root access and customize their software.
They have more to lose than gain by doing that, especially with their rivalry with Apple being so neck and neck now.
I think people like us on XDA who love rooting will have to purchase devices from up and coming OEMs if we still want to root, either that or Nexus devices.
HNIC215 said:
I think there's pros and cons to everything...
I love rooting, always have but this is the first time in a long time that I can't root and it's actually not so bad.
Granted I'd love to be able to installing ROMs, remove ads and bloat and have all these tweaks and tricks but it's sort of like... been there, done that.
If you root your phone now, you can NEVER use Samsung Pay... EVER on your device. Even if you restore stock firmware. That's actually a big issue now with mobile payments being a common thing.
I kind of like having my phone much more secure and safe to do important financial transactions and access important accounts (just like I do on my iPhone) without fear of lax security while using rooted/custom software.
I think moving into the future, flagship phones like Samsung's Galaxy line(s) won't risk bad press or the potential for bad press by allowing the modding community to easily gain root access and customize their software.
They have more to lose than gain by doing that, especially with their rivalry with Apple being so neck and neck now.
I think people like us on XDA who love rooting will have to purchase devices from up and coming OEMs if we still want to root, either that or Nexus devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. So you would sacrifice freedom for convenience
2. Geohots court session with Apple made it legal to jailbreak aka root phones so why exactly would they get "bad press"
3. Android is open source so what Samsung is doing is kind of breaking the law of Android destroying the very foundation and purpose of it's creation
Ghost Dragon said:
1. So you would sacrifice freedom for convenience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean that's the thing with security in this day and age. No?
In order to have it, you must sacrifice the freedom (to an extent) to mod and install 3rd party software. While I personally love what XDA stands for, does and has to offer - I mean I love rooting and customizing my phones but I certainly can understand the other perspective in regards to security. XDA might be full of great individuals who are trying to improve the software experience for users, however, there are plenty of other 3rd parties who have ill intent.
It's the same reason why Apple is so strict with system access on iOS.
Samsung is trying to be their equal - in terms of quality, security and everything else.
In order to maintain that level of security in the midst of a global, albeit slow, roll out of Samsung Pay, they have to limit access to their system as well.
Which is why, like I said in my previous comment, if you EVER root a Samsung phone then you can NEVER use Samsung Pay on it.
To a lot of folks, especially those coming from the iPhone, Mobile Payments, Mobile Banking and security in general is a very important feature for them to have.
If not, it furthers the stereotype that Android is less secure than Apple. Which doesn't sit well with the plethora of users who don't care about rooting - we at XDA after all are really a niche group of users when looking at the grand scheme of consumers.
Ghost Dragon said:
2. Geohots court session with Apple made it legal to jailbreak aka root phones so why exactly would they get "bad press"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They would get "bad press" if something were to compromise the security of their devices - anywhere in the world. Especially if that compromise impacted the potential safety and security of their Mobile Payment system.
Which rooting or allowing access to certain parts of the system may or may not do. Which is a big deal to them, their investors and most of their consumers (who aren't aware or concerned about rooting).
Android already has an unfair stereotype/label that it is less secure compared to iPhone.
Ghost Dragon said:
3. Android is open source so what Samsung is doing is kind of breaking the law of Android destroying the very foundation and purpose of it's creation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung doesn't care about what people like us on XDA think. People like us, who love to root and have the freedom to do whatever it is they want to their phones or to the software on their phones. As much as I hate to say it, we are a niche group.
I would love a developer edition of the S7/S7 Edge, that enables us to do all the wonderful things that the amazing and talented developers at XDA create for us. I would also love to be able to continue to use Samsung Pay and access and carry out important financial transactions through my mobile device.
Alas, that's not the case. So we have to choose between a bootloader locked version of the S7/S7 Edge or no S7/S7 Edge at all.
I think this phone is amazing and after years of nonstop rooting and customizing ROMs I don't mind sacrificing that aspect of customization in order to have a secure phone that I can do all the same things I can do on my iPhone 6s Plus.
Do I miss it sometimes? Sure
However, it's not the end of the world for me and the S7 Edge is still the best Android phone I've ever owned or used (I've owned alot too).
It is the "iPhone" of the Android world in terms of premium look/feel and quality and I think that is exactly the correlation that Samsung wants more consumers to have and think.
I was using Samsung Pay on my S6 Edge, and I decided to root it, unlock the bootloader, and flash a new ROM on it. 2 days later, someone had all of my personal info, all the info for a credit card I had on file and was using on my phone, and ran up $6000. I got a text from the bank to verify a purchase which I didn't make, and I responded that I did not make the transaction, but someone had enough information about me to call the bank, verify all of my information along with the purchase. I'm not saying the unlocking and flashing allowed someone to access this information, but it's a fairly large coincidence. Moving forward, any device that I use for financial transactions and such will remain stock, and if I root a device and flash it, it will be a separate device that doesn't contain any confidential information.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using XDA-Developers mobile app
Rolldog said:
I was using Samsung Pay on my S6 Edge, and I decided to root it, unlock the bootloader, and flash a new ROM on it. 2 days later, someone had all of my personal info, all the info for a credit card I had on file and was using on my phone, and ran up $6000. I got a text from the bank to verify a purchase which I didn't make, and I responded that I did not make the transaction, but someone had enough information about me to call the bank, verify all of my information along with the purchase. I'm not saying the unlocking and flashing allowed someone to access this information, but it's a fairly large coincidence. Moving forward, any device that I use for financial transactions and such will remain stock, and if I root a device and flash it, it will be a separate device that doesn't contain any confidential information.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly my point...
This is what makes so many consumers out there trust Apple because, whether true or not, they feel safe with Apple.
Samsung - being Apple's equivalent in the Android world - wants that same recognition and consumer trust.
I can't blame them either.
In this day and age, it is simply the world we live in, security is paramount for businesses and consumers alike.
I been rooting all my phones and my wife's phones for about 5-6 years and can say this phone is perfect jus the way it is. Since launch I had the gs7 edge and not once have I got the urge to root this beautiful device. And I'm sure I speak for most of us here that we can't go 2 days with a new phone without gaining root, flashing roms or xpose etc. For me it's more than jus keeping security. Samsung jus made a phone worth keeping stock, finally.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using XDA-Developers mobile app
I've rooted every single android phone I've owned. I was one of the first people to run CyanogenMod on my Droid when some crazy no-named guy named Koush appeared out of nowhere and said SPRecovery that we had ALL had wasn't "real" recovery and created his own recovery in order to flash the real CyanogenMod ROM. Later this recovery would be called Clockwork Mod. I remember flashing .sbf files that replaced everything on the phone just for a silly custom boot logo. I used to kang features and themes from N1 threads on here, back when that was really the only phone on XDA. I used to build ROMs and custom themes and all that craziness. I remember when changing the clock color was unbelievably complicated. Google integrated many features first pioneered by devs into their main product that these phones all run on now. Taking away our ability to do that may very well slow the development of Android. It defeats the purpose of open-source. If you wish to forgo the freedom of root for the security of KNOX, or Samsung Pay, or whatever feature that conflicts with root, you're free to do so, even if rooting is possible. And manufacturers have always warned against rooting because it takes away from the security features they worked hard to include, and none have ever been held accountable for someone rooting a device before. It wouldn't be any different now. I guess, in summary, they really have nothing to lose by allowing root. Even if I have no real reason to root, I still would like the option to do on a device that I shelled out $700+ for. Rooting never was for everybody. But because some developers were nice enough to simplify the process to the point a chimp could do it. Literally. People that probably shouldn't root, did it anyways, but then felt that they shouldn't be responsible for their own actions. But for those of us that don't need our hand held throughout the entire process of owning a device, having the freedom to treat our property as we like doesn't seem like it's asking all that much. Especially for a device that runs on open-source software...
(Good God, I rambled a lot longer than intended. Sorry about the novel)
52brandon said:
I've rooted every single android phone I've owned. I was one of the first people to run CyanogenMod on my Droid when some crazy no-named guy named Koush appeared out of nowhere and said SPRecovery that we had ALL had wasn't "real" recovery and created his own recovery in order to flash the real CyanogenMod ROM. Later this recovery would be called Clockwork Mod. I remember flashing .sbf files that replaced everything on the phone just for a silly custom boot logo. I used to kang features and themes from N1 threads on here, back when that was really the only phone on XDA. I used to build ROMs and custom themes and all that craziness. I remember when changing the clock color was unbelievably complicated. Google integrated many features first pioneered by devs into their main product that these phones all run on now. Taking away our ability to do that may very well slow the development of Android. It defeats the purpose of open-source. If you wish to forgo the freedom of root for the security of KNOX, or Samsung Pay, or whatever feature that conflicts with root, you're free to do so, even if rooting is possible. And manufacturers have always warned against rooting because it takes away from the security features they worked hard to include, and none have ever been held accountable for someone rooting a device before. It wouldn't be any different now. I guess, in summary, they really have nothing to lose by allowing root. Even if I have no real reason to root, I still would like the option to do on a device that I shelled out $700+ for. Rooting never was for everybody. But because some developers were nice enough to simplify the process to the point a chimp could do it. Literally. People that probably shouldn't root, did it anyways, but then felt that they shouldn't be responsible for their own actions. But for those of us that don't need our hand held throughout the entire process of owning a device, having the freedom to treat our property as we like doesn't seem like it's asking all that much. Especially for a device that runs on open-source software...
(Good God, I rambled a lot longer than intended. Sorry about the novel)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Preach on brotha!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
Loving this phone so far. Great battery life! Don't really care about root atm.
I'm looking into getting a new phone and I really want to get a Note 9. However, everything that I see online points to the fact that apple is far better at security & privacy than android platforms are right now (especially with software updates addressing vulnerabilities). My question is, is it possible to root a Note 9 and choose a custom ROM that will offer a level of security & privacy that is on par with, or very close to, security on iOS?
TheloniousDrunk said:
I'm looking into getting a new phone and I really want to get a Note 9. However, everything that I see online points to the fact that apple is far better at security & privacy than android platforms are right now (especially with software updates addressing vulnerabilities). My question is, is it possible to root a Note 9 and choose a custom ROM that will offer a level of security & privacy that is on par with, or very close to, security on iOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, rooting your device does not provide more security. Rooting your device is in essence, circumventing the built in security of your device.
As far as Apple being more secure than Android, that is very debatable. And I am not just saying that because this is mostly an Android forum. In my humble opinion, the differences really are that Android tells you what apps are using your information, whereas iOS does not in full detail. Everyone keeps saying Apple is all about Privacy which is fine, but apps can still collect your information from within iOS even if you don't grant certain permission, and developers can still use your "app history" to sell you products. Huh?
Android literally collects all your sh...stuff. There's no sugar coating it. Google is a company that uses your data in return for you using their products(not physical items), for free. You can control permissions but unfortunately apps are now seeding information from other apps that have permission to that information already. So you can download an app that says it doesn't need to access anything about you or your device, because it's getting all that information from the other apps on the the device that do already.
Here's a few good reads:
Privacy Ish: https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/mobile-privacy-apps
Security Ish: https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-mobile-android-vs-ios-which-is-more-secure.html
If you want less of a chance of getting your stuff stolen hack wise, go with iOS.
Privacy wise though, you're out of luck. But I guess iOS is a little more "ethical" since Apple does not utilize an open source setup with iOS. :good:
(Turns out I can't quote you because I don't have enough posts to post links, and your post had links in it)
I appreciate the response. What makes you say both that you wouldn't consider that Apple is more secure than Android while also recommending if I want to be less likely to be hacked I should go iOS? Wouldn't that recommendation imply that iOS is more secure than even a rooted Android?
There's a helpful video I found on YouTube called "Android vs iOS: Which spies on you more?" (I can't use a hyperlink because I don't have enough posts, sorry) and suggests that iOS is far better. However if I were to root my phone, wipe all google apps, I should be able to avoid the pings to Google's servers right?
TheloniousDrunk said:
(Turns out I can't quote you because I don't have enough posts to post links, and your post had links in it)
I appreciate the response. What makes you say both that you wouldn't consider that Apple is more secure than Android while also recommending if I want to be less likely to be hacked I should go iOS? Wouldn't that recommendation imply that iOS is more secure than even a rooted Android?
There's a helpful video I found on YouTube called "Android vs iOS: Which spies on you more?" (I can't use a hyperlink because I don't have enough posts, sorry) and suggests that iOS is far better. However if I were to root my phone, wipe all google apps, I should be able to avoid the pings to Google's servers right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't get your message to load on the app so sorry for not responding.
I said both things because they are both "true." iOS has less vulnerabilities that we know of. Android has more vulnerabilities that we DO know of but is often classified as being less secure. It's kind of like how everyone says Mac is more secure than Windows. It's not 100% accurate because Mac is less popular, so there is a lower amount of usages in the market, so less likelyhood a Mac would get hacked or targeted.
As for the which one spies on you more, the argument could be made that Android offers more spying due to being mostly Open Source. I use that term lightly of course. iOS spies on you but as far as we know, ONLY to Apple and the apps in their App store since iOS is closed source.
Rooting the device will help you get rid of everything Google if you want, but you'll have to get your apps from other sources which WILL increase your risk of getting malware/spyware/adware/silverware...all the wares.
If you are really that concerned with privacy and security, iOS is the way to go as you only have to deal with one main evil, Apple's Appstore.
If you do decide to get the Note 9, get the international model as it has root and can be unlocked.
So is it possible to get get the unlock code to a CLT-L29 in 2020?
I was backing up pictures with USB, and cable was loose and fell off, and for some reason that made my P20 remove all media on my phone.
Due to limitations in EMUI 9 i cant use any deepscan, but might work on EMUI 8, but my phone wont show the allow PC remote hisuite app window to appear, so its a bust.
Next i wanna try ROOT, but need unlock code to root.
Has anyone any way of getting this code? that know it works? dont feel like spending 50$ on a fake page/service.
// Fredrik
frodrick79 said:
So is it possible to get get the unlock code to a CLT-L29 in 2020?
I was backing up pictures with USB, and cable was loose and fell off, and for some reason that made my P20 remove all media on my phone.
Due to limitations in EMUI 9 i cant use any deepscan, but might work on EMUI 8, but my phone wont show the allow PC remote hisuite app window to appear, so its a bust.
Next i wanna try ROOT, but need unlock code to root.
Has anyone any way of getting this code? that know it works? dont feel like spending 50$ on a fake page/service.
// Fredrik
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Officially or unofficially, no.
However there is one method which involves opening the phone, this is going to remain the only method unless a team tries to work it out which I highly doubt.
Crap I know, not a lot you can do pal. Most people have jumped ship. Can't see anyone who mods their phone buying Huawei ever again. I certainly won't.
dladz said:
Officially or unofficially, no.
However there is one method which involves opening the phone, this is going to remain the only method unless a team tries to work it out which I highly doubt.
Crap I know, not a lot you can do pal. Most people have jumped ship. Can't see anyone who mods their phone buying Huawei ever again. I certainly won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll never walk alone!
dladz said:
Officially or unofficially, no.
However there is one method which involves opening the phone, this is going to remain the only method unless a team tries to work it out which I highly doubt.
Crap I know, not a lot you can do pal. Most people have jumped ship. Can't see anyone who mods their phone buying Huawei ever again. I certainly won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither would i too. Tired of all the waiting and issues that i had with huawei, to the point where i will be switching to Iphone.
I will say it again for huawei : Great hardware, **** software.
The Restless Soul said:
Neither would i too. Tired of all the waiting and issues that i had with huawei, to the point where i will be switching to Iphone.
I will say it again for huawei : Great hardware, **** software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPU is crap too, but I agree for the most part.
Never again
OnePlus mate, get the 8, I wouldn't buy apple personally.
dladz said:
GPU is crap too, but I agree for the most part.
Never again
OnePlus mate, get the 8, I wouldn't buy apple personally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, i am done with Android in general. Google's been removing features each update and honestly, the **** optimization that Android has regarding multitasking is so bad....how could Apple use 4gb of ram to keep so many apps easily?
Oneplus, yeah, they have their opimizations here and there, but i don't want to go set up the app background limit or some other stuff just to get it fictional (according to dontkillmyapp.com)
Either way, i will see what will happen in the future. If oneplus 8 comes with true water resistance and wireless charging, then sure as hell i might switch to it. If not, then i am going for Apple (i'd rather pay a kidney and know i got a functional device that will have 5+ years of updates)
Still it's sad that Huawei doesn't co-op with the xda community by letting us test harmony OS, develop apps and report bugs, but oh well...
I am also very interested in what op 8 brings but i would be slightly more skeptical. Well sure, if dev support and performance are the only factors go get it. Keep in mind that Oneplus (7 serie) is also known for terrible ram management. Another thing worth to consider is camera. Compared to huawei, samsung, pixel or iPhone it is just ok. If you have time please read op 7t pro review on xda. It's long but worth to read.
Btw. You're totally right about root and development today. It's not that fun anymore, unlocking bl often breaks functionality of crucial apps (like paying with phone) and magisk hide doesn't help it all.
(besides even op 7t pro doesn't have fully working twrp yet).
As for the iPhone. Price is still scary and storage/battery capacity is a joke. Only iphone 11 pro max gets decent size battery... and beats android handsets on this field About ios it's all about t personal preferences.
There is method called BLK, it costs about 30 dollars to get BLK key and two guys who know how to do it will help you with getting bootloader code for free. You can contact them at huaweihax on telegram
forever_lol said:
I am also very interested in what op 8 brings but i would be slightly more skeptical. Well sure, if dev support and performance are the only factors go get it. Keep in mind that Oneplus (7 serie) is also known for terrible ram management. Another thing worth to consider is camera. Compared to huawei, samsung, pixel or iPhone it is just ok. If you have time please read op 7t pro review on xda. It's long but worth to read.
Btw. You're totally right about root and development today. It's not that fun anymore, unlocking bl often breaks functionality of crucial apps (like paying with phone) and magisk hide doesn't help it all.
(besides even op 7t pro doesn't have fully working twrp yet).
As for the iPhone. Price is still scary and storage/battery capacity is a joke. Only iphone 11 pro max gets decent size battery... and beats android handsets on this field About ios it's all about t personal preferences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean, you get what you pay for. I am not an apple fanboy since i never got a chance to fully test an iphone or any apple product, but honestly, after testing an iphone 11 pro in a store (as well as iphone 11 which, for an hd screen, it looks pretty good), i'd take the risk with the prices just for a phone that will hold me very well for more than 5 years. Storage wise, i always do cleanup on my phone and, on my p20 pro, i barely used the 128gb storage (sits somewhere under 32gb). About battery, for a 3000mah battery, it holds longer than my p20 pro, which is amazing! Yeah, the max pro is better but it is too big and large to even fit in my pocket. But either way, i will see what iphone i should get.
I wish ANDROID OEM's would keep up with apple and bring up at least 5 years of OS updates, especially when they have their own services.
And thank you for agreeing with me regarding my opinion about bootloader unlocking. It is pretty much useless and Google may just disable the adb command in the near future. Why sacrifice 80% of the phone's features for a custom rom?
puszekkk said:
There is method called BLK, it costs about 30 dollars to get BLK key and two guys who know how to do it will help you with getting bootloader code for free. You can contact them at huaweihax on telegram
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..... Interesting, has anyone on these forums had any success with this method?
(other than the thread by @XTutorials https://forum.xda-developers.com/huawei-p20-pro/how-to/finnaly-t3972825 - which i noted with interest but nothing much seemed to come of it)
Could really do with hearing some success stories - I don't mind sabotaging the phone by getting the cover off and losing water-resistance.... but I'd want to be reasonably sure it was going to work :laugh:
What is the features that everyone wants from unlocking bootloade on this phoner? I've had an unlocked bootloader since i bought this phone, however never seen any great benefit apart from ad blocking. Been running stock for 6 months now though. I came from a long list of HTC devices where modding was fun and actual features added. I just don't see any major benefit of doing this on this phone. Basically no Devs development. If you wanted closer stock Android, not sure why anyone would have bought Huawei in the first place. Maybe im missing some super feature, if so, please tell me.
purple patch said:
What is the features that everyone wants from unlocking bootloade on this phoner? I've had an unlocked bootloader since i bought this phone, however never seen any great benefit apart from ad blocking. Been running stock for 6 months now though. I came from a long list of HTC devices where modding was fun and actual features added. I just don't see any major benefit of doing this on this phone. Basically no Devs development. If you wanted closer stock Android, not sure why anyone would have bought Huawei in the first place. Maybe im missing some super feature, if so, please tell me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much "xdatards" complaining at every huawei post that they no longer provide bootloader unlocking. I mean, samsung and other big oem still don't allow it or it does but breaks the entire software and they barely have any custom roms (not talking about xiaomi or oneplus)
Either way, i won't be surprised if Google removes the bootloader unlock command from adb in the next big android update.
purple patch said:
What is the features that everyone wants from unlocking ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I'm not interested in any phone restricted to EMUI - whilst it's not a terrible iteration of Android it's still too restrictive by half (e.g. the low maximum headphone volume really pee'd me off!)
I don't understand all the excitement of EMUI updates on these forums - whatever Huawei churn out next it will probably be more restrictive rubbish. IMO the only hope is Lineage 16.0 - I'm running that on a View 10 and it's a good daily driver (although a little tricky to install and maintain)
But you're right: Q: Why buy a Huawei if you're interested in stock Android experience?
A: It was a mistake with hindsight....!
JJ2017 said:
Personally, I'm not interested in any phone restricted to EMUI - whilst it's not a terrible iteration of Android it's still too restrictive by half (e.g. the low maximum headphone volume really pee'd me off!)
I don't understand all the excitement of EMUI updates on these forums - whatever Huawei churn out next it will probably be more restrictive rubbish. IMO the only hope is Lineage 16.0 - I'm running that on a View 10 and it's a good daily driver (although a little tricky to install and maintain)
But you're right: Q: Why buy a Huawei if you're interested in stock Android experience?
A: It was a mistake with hindsight....!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They already blocked the bootloader unlocking thing in emui 10, just like how every android oem will do in their next major update.
I start to think that Apple is no longer the **** company now when it comes to mobile market, it's the android oem. Let's be fair : you pay 1k for a phone that becomes irrelevant in 2 years, becomes slowers because of those so called "security updates", no custom rom support (even though custom roms are pretty much dead at this point, barely any builds coming up), and other software related issues.
What the hell is innovation if software is the main point of a product? Those so called "Isheeps" are so right with android's terrible update platform and optimization. 12gb of ram for what? Just for specs to flex with.
Everybody should switch to Iphones at this point.
Huawei tried to kill apple but honestly, with their broken promises, i start to think that maybe the android ban is a good reason for Huawei to start respecting customers and coop with them. After all, they want to be on top...
The Restless Soul said:
Well, i am done with Android in general. Google's been removing features each update and honestly, the **** optimization that Android has regarding multitasking is so bad....how could Apple use 4gb of ram to keep so many apps easily?
Oneplus, yeah, they have their opimizations here and there, but i don't want to go set up the app background limit or some other stuff just to get it fictional (according to dontkillmyapp.com)
Either way, i will see what will happen in the future. If oneplus 8 comes with true water resistance and wireless charging, then sure as hell i might switch to it. If not, then i am going for Apple (i'd rather pay a kidney and know i got a functional device that will have 5+ years of updates)
Still it's sad that Huawei doesn't co-op with the xda community by letting us test harmony OS, develop apps and report bugs, but oh well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screw Huawei, they deserve it.
As for Apple, it's exactly the same with Mac OS Vs windows, windows has to work on a plethora of hardware combinations, as does android, osx and iOS have very very very limited hardware combinations, bare in mind how much android has caught up, it's not noticeable any longer, in fact a lot of phones have surpassed apple in so many ways. Oneplus and Pixels namely.
I've lived with Apple once, that was enough
---------- Post added at 02:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:32 AM ----------
The Restless Soul said:
They already blocked the bootloader unlocking thing in emui 10, just like how every android oem will do in their next major update.
I start to think that Apple is no longer the **** company now when it comes to mobile market, it's the android oem. Let's be fair : you pay 1k for a phone that becomes irrelevant in 2 years, becomes slowers because of those so called "security updates", no custom rom support (even though custom roms are pretty much dead at this point, barely any builds coming up), and other software related issues.
What the hell is innovation if software is the main point of a product? Those so called "Isheeps" are so right with android's terrible update platform and optimization. 12gb of ram for what? Just for specs to flex with.
Everybody should switch to Iphones at this point.
Huawei tried to kill apple but honestly, with their broken promises, i start to think that maybe the android ban is a good reason for Huawei to start respecting customers and coop with them. After all, they want to be on top...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are you getting this from?? Samsung, OnePlus, Google, lg, have all kept the door open for bootloader unlocking or did I miss something?
---------- Post added at 02:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 AM ----------
JJ2017 said:
I don't understand all the excitement of EMUI updates on these forums - whatever Huawei churn out next it will probably be more restrictive rubbish. IMO the only hope is Lineage 16.0 - I'm running that on a View 10 and it's a good daily driver (although a little tricky to install and maintain)
But you're right: Q: Why buy a Huawei if you're interested in stock Android experience?
A: It was a mistake with hindsight....!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol about the updates, for many it's the potential prospect of having anything other than EMUI and or any limitations being lifted and or the poor optimizations becoming better than the trash that we've had to get used to.
---------- Post added at 02:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 AM ----------
purple patch said:
What is the features that everyone wants from unlocking bootloade on this phoner? I've had an unlocked bootloader since i bought this phone, however never seen any great benefit apart from ad blocking. Been running stock for 6 months now though. I came from a long list of HTC devices where modding was fun and actual features added. I just don't see any major benefit of doing this on this phone. Basically no Devs development. If you wanted closer stock Android, not sure why anyone would have bought Huawei in the first place. Maybe im missing some super feature, if so, please tell me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium.
AOSIP ROM
True ad blocking
Xposed
Magisk mods
Snapchat mods
Ability to remove zram (massive boost in gaming and device speed)
Root optimizations
Root apps
Kernels
TWRP mods
True dark mode (something I've been using for several years not this awful crap they're calling a feature nowadays)
I could be here all day long.
Removing the shackles, gives you freedom, it's your choice what you do with it.
This is the essence of android, which is why people are annoyed at Huawei primarily amongst other awful decisions.
dladz said:
Where are you getting this from?? Samsung, OnePlus, Google, lg, have all kept the door open for bootloader unlocking or did I miss something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibility to unlock bl is limited to regional releases in case of LG or Samsung. Lastly i check there was no way to unlock bl on lg g8 (flagship 2019). LG update policy is the most stupid ive ever experienced. Regarding galaxy s serie - there are still regional variants (eg american carrier branded) where unlocking bl is not available.
As for the perks you mentioned... I am afraid not of them are available / fully working today. I am not a gamer so only adblock is sth really useful to me, but it's not a deal breaker.
Couple of years ago root meant sth. Gave you freedom and didn't bring any negative consequences. It's no longer the case. I think root scene will be dead within couple of years.
It's a shame that htc is dead. Their flagships were equipped with top notch hw and devs support was among the best on xda.
Unlock bootloader on samsung : Knox ****s the entire phone up
Unlock bootloader on lg : impossible on some phone variants
What i was talking about is that all companies like to copy eachother, no matter how small or big it is. Take a note with the disappearance of the headphone jack : Apple did it first and then everybody did it too. Huawei got the in display fingerprint scanner and reverse wireless charging : Samsung copies it.
Now with emui 10, Google can as well block the unlock command because then companies will copy this "feature".
Actually, since the iphone 11 pro release, Apple caught up with the competition of flagship devices.
I understand you regarding oneplus being a good comapany that allows bootloader unlocking. But the thing is : you unlock it you loose some important daily driver features like banking apps (which i use). Oneplus, by the looks of it, did it so well with the speed and optimization, however i'm not sure how well they did it with ram management. Either way, when it comes to overall support and less headaches, Apple does it better. "it just works!"
Still, let's see what 2020 brings up. Huawei might redeem themselves this time. If not, then say goodbye because i don't give more chances.
---------- Post added at 09:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:52 AM ----------
forever_lol said:
Possibility to unlock bl is limited to regional releases in case of LG or Samsung. Lastly i check there was no way to unlock bl on lg g8 (flagship 2019). LG update policy is the most stupid ive ever experienced.
As for the perks you mentioned... I am afraid not of them are available / fully working today. I am not a gamer so only adblock is sth really useful to me, but it's not a deal breaker.
Couple of years ago root meant sth. Gave you freedom and didn't bring any negative consequences. It's no longer the case. I think root scene will be dead within couple of years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the root community is pretty much dying since summer 2019 (imo). Most rooting apps can be used with adb (like appops and shizuku). Either way, like i said, i won't be surprised if Google blocks unlocking in the adb command.
Also, Huawei can root their phones using service mode, but nobody has access to their service software, yet.
I think we will disagree on this. I cannot remember everything I use root for, but things do pop up from time to time.
It's just easier with root.
Android will always have root and if not then it's the end of android, i really wouldn't bother anymore.
What I mentioned still works btw, and yes you do trust the efuse chip on some devices, but so what, it's worth it.
Losing a banking app? You use it yes but that's you lol, I would trade that off for root.
Apple is still a closed eco system and always will be I honestly cannot see android ever being that way, if it is then bye bye android.
This is my opinion and it's staying that way lads, sorry but that's me.
dladz said:
I think we will disagree on this. I cannot remember everything I use root for, but things do pop up from time to time.
It's just easier with root.
Android will always have root and if not then it's the end of android, i really wouldn't bother anymore.
What I mentioned still works btw, and yes you do trust the efuse chip on some devices, but so what, it's worth it.
Losing a banking app? You use it yes but that's you lol, I would trade that off for root.
Apple is still a closed eco system and always will be I honestly cannot see android ever being that way, if it is then bye bye android.
This is my opinion and it's staying that way lads, sorry but that's me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Google completely killed rooting, ppl will still buy them. XDA rooting is a niche market now days. Rooting, custom ROMs etc was fun while it lasted. I still love android eco system, way superior to iDevices. iPhones can be jailbroken too, not as closed as you might think.
purple patch said:
If Google completely killed rooting, ppl will still buy them. XDA rooting is a niche market now days. Rooting, custom ROMs etc was fun while it lasted. I still love android eco system, way superior to iDevices. iPhones can be jailbroken too, not as closed as you might think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite a defeatist attitude of you. ask me, jailbreak didn't work on the latest OS, it's cat and mouse, not the same thing as root, not the same OS, your comparing oranges and apples.
Google won't do that, not being naive either, time will tell. I didn't think unlocked multipliers on CPUs would still be around today, yet here we are with a dedicated line for both AMD and Intel, GPU had now followed suit as had RAM.
Google isn't dead, they're just getting started, closing off a massive part of what made them famous in the first place isn't something they're going to embrace, that's the likes of Huaweis job.
Time will tell, right now it's open and there's nothing to suggest otherwise, besides the backlash should it happen.
If it did happen I would have no hesitation to buy apple, at that point android would have lost their ace up their sleeve, because I'm a small minority who thinks that doesnt mean I'm wrong, not wanting to follow the masses is a good thing, and going by Google's hiring techniques they'd agree.
First off, yes i have searched thru the forums for an answer but none of those that I found are direct to my questions...
I just placed an order for S21 Ultra Exynos. Should be arriving within the next 2 days or so..
My questions are: (this will be my first Samsung phone)
1) Is one UI good enough? or is it worth it to flash a custom from (previously I used to flash custom from for better battery life and also advance customization.
2) If I unlock the bootloader, will I still receive firmware updates?
I'm basically buying this particular phone for its excellent battery life, camera, and performance.
And also because Samsung promised 3-4 years for firmware updates. I believe this phone will last for at least 3 years.
And I'm thinking of unlocking the bootloader on day 1 itself before even setting up anything. That way I would save my time from losing stuff by resetting after unlocking BL.
3) and also, did anyone get the Samsung care+ extended warranty? Is it worth it?
I have never broken a phone before in my life thus far. But since this is gonna be the most expensive phone I have ever bought, I would prefer to secure my investment. (another reason why I'm considering not to unlock bootloader/root as of yet).
Thank you soo much.
Have not done rooting for a long time. Lost touch will all this stuff.
Hence the noobie questions.
1. One UI is quite good. There aren't a ton of custom ROMs out there for this phone. Even the most popular ones that exist are still based on one UI.
2. and 3. contradict each other. If you're bothered about warranty AT ALL, don't unlock your bootloader. You can never return to 100% stock on Samsung. Knox will remain tripped so bye bye warranty. Unless of course your country has laws allowing this and you can fight Samsung. They tend to deny warranty if you've modified your phone software. YMMV. I don't have Samsung Care so I don't know about that.
Since you asked for suggestions, mine would be not to be hasty and play around with the device to see if you need to unlock/root/flash etc.
Rooting on day 1 just so you can avoid having to set up phone again is pretty lazy and dangerous. Especially since you've been out of the game for a while.
Baby steps buddy. Better safe than sorry.
enigmaamit said:
1. One UI is quite good. There aren't a ton of custom ROMs out there for this phone. Even the most popular ones that exist are still based on one UI.
2. and 3. contradict each other. If you're bothered about warranty AT ALL, don't unlock your bootloader. You can never return to 100% stock on Samsung. Knox will remain tripped so bye bye warranty. Unless of course your country has laws allowing this and you can fight Samsung. They tend to deny warranty if you've modified your phone software. YMMV. I don't have Samsung Care so I don't know about that.
Since you asked for suggestions, mine would be not to be hasty and play around with the device to see if you need to unlock/root/flash etc.
Rooting on day 1 just so you can avoid having to set up phone again is pretty lazy and dangerous. Especially since you've been out of the game for a while.
Baby steps buddy. Better safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn´t it sad, that we spent more than 1000 bucks on a device, that in the end, we will never truly own?
I´ve been thinking about this issue since i got my Note 9 (3 years ago)...
The balance between, what we want the device to do for, and what we are allowed to do in the device, without losing support in case of hardware failure...
I, mainly, used to root for 3 reasons: 1 - Ads removal from software; 2 - Control/modification of the system files and 3 - Easy backup and restore with TWRP
And as we all are aware, a few changes in a system file, can avoid the installation of a third party software (e.g. Call Recording) so it seems to be more efficient to root... but then come the brands claming that we can´t do it because that would ruin the user experience that they planned for the device...
The Knox feature as been buffed up to a point that is increasingly harder to install a custom recovery. Something that a few years ago was a solution for a big number of users, now its just a work for those "geeks" that live for the challenge... The risks of brincking a VERY EXPENSIVE device are becaming bigger than the advantages that we would get with root... I guess we are playing into brands plans...
To be fair, brands also understood that they would have to give what users wanted if they wanted to avoid software alterations (except maybe Apple, who just gives what Apple consideres users should have)...
Customizations and bigger control of the software are trends that are growing up in Android skins (like OneUi).
I got my S21 Ultra a few weeks ago, and normally it would rooted and with a custom recovery by now, but the problems i faced with that in my Note 9, are still present in my mind... and i don´t want to face them again...
I manage to get my basic needs with some non-root software, and with GoodLock and Bixby Routines and can do almost everything i would do with the root... Still can´t avoid to have to install a third party software to record calls, something that could be done better with the native system, but that´s it...
In the end, you do you...
Just keep in mind the risks, and be ready to take responsability when something goes wrong... and the possibility of that happen is getting bigger every time they launch a new device...
RSGI
RSGI said:
Isn´t it sad, that we spent more than 1000 bucks on a device, that in the end, we will never truly own?
I´ve been thinking about this issue since i got my Note 9 (3 years ago)...
The balance between, what we want the device to do for, and what we are allowed to do in the device, without losing support in case of hardware failure...
I, mainly, used to root for 3 reasons: 1 - Ads removal from software; 2 - Control/modification of the system files and 3 - Easy backup and restore with TWRP
And as we all are aware, a few changes in a system file, can avoid the installation of a third party software (e.g. Call Recording) so it seems to be more efficient to root... but then come the brands claming that we can´t do it because that would ruin the user experience that they planned for the device...
The Knox feature as been buffed up to a point that is increasingly harder to install a custom recovery. Something that a few years ago was a solution for a big number of users, now its just a work for those "geeks" that live for the challenge... The risks of brincking a VERY EXPENSIVE device are becaming bigger than the advantages that we would get with root... I guess we are playing into brands plans...
To be fair, brands also understood that they would have to give what users wanted if they wanted to avoid software alterations (except maybe Apple, who just gives what Apple consideres users should have)...
Customizations and bigger control of the software are trends that are growing up in Android skins (like OneUi).
I got my S21 Ultra a few weeks ago, and normally it would rooted and with a custom recovery by now, but the problems i faced with that in my Note 9, are still present in my mind... and i don´t want to face them again...
I manage to get my basic needs with some non-root software, and with GoodLock and Bixby Routines and can do almost everything i would do with the root... Still can´t avoid to have to install a third party software to record calls, something that could be done better with the native system, but that´s it...
In the end, you do you...
Just keep in mind the risks, and be ready to take responsability when something goes wrong... and the possibility of that happen is getting bigger every time they launch a new device...
RSGI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree. The trend for Android devices aping the Apple philosophy is disturbing. But for lack of good alternatives, we are left without too many choices. OnePlus seemed to be doing well on this front but lately they've also gone rogue. So we have to live with what we have, whether we like it or not...
guyderam said:
I'm basically buying this particular phone for its excellent battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so who's gonna tell him?
To be perfectly honest, the battery life is the only gripe I have with this phone. It's quite mediocre for a 5000mAh battery. Of course everyone's usage is different, but I expected better battery life. If you're not a "heavy" user you should be fine though!!
As for bootloader unlocking: I've had 2 S21 Ultras. I had the first one unlocked for a dumb reason, wanted to flash some magisk module to enable all lenses in Google Camera ports basically. Which is kinda funny because now with OneUI 4.0 all the lenses are available in GCam
back to the actual topic, now that I have my second S21U, I don't see a reason to unlock the bootloader. From what I've seen there's only one or two Exynos custom ROMs that are regularly updated. That's the first thing. The 2nd thing is, I just don't wanna trip Knox again and void my warranty.
For me unlocking the BL is not worth it (at the moment). You should consider the pros and the cons of unlocking and hopefully it'll be easier to decide then.
With that being said, enjoy your S21 Ultra, man.
jericho246 said:
Okay so who's gonna tell him?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the feedback guys.... got my questions answered. Doubt ill be doing anything for now. Gonna use it as it is and see how it goes.
Sadly yes, androids used to be fully customizable and this was the main reason people used to buy them. Unfortunately, phone companies seem to be making it harder and harder for us to do anything to our phones anymore these days.
Oh well....
guyderam said:
Thank you so much for the feedback guys.... got my questions answered. Doubt ill be doing anything for now. Gonna use it as it is and see how it goes.
Sadly yes, androids used to be fully customizable and this was the main reason people used to buy them. Unfortunately, phone companies seem to be making it harder and harder for us to do anything to our phones anymore these days.
Oh well....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But really, what do you want to do with your phone that's not already in-built. I was thinking the same but over the years Android (and it's custom OEMs) have gotten a lot better with companies baking a lot of the magisk modules (their versions) into their ROMs...I didn't root my OnePlus 7Pro, neither the S21U..don't see the need to (at least for the time being)...
A few things, updates are forfeited after root and also be aware Android 12, One UI 4.0 is far from stable. If it hasn't been preinstalled you should consider ignoring the update until the numerous bugs are addressed. I've had a number of S Series devices, only the S8+ was a Exynos variant, all others had the Snapdragon SoC's and never had a warranty issue. I wouldn't buy the Samsung Care+ but it's like any other insurance, you hate paying for it but happy you did if you ever need it. Unless you're a power user battery life shouldn't be an issue but if it is you can review numerous posts for corrective solutions. Based on what you've shared it's probably best you hold off on unlocking the bootloader, to me there aren't many compelling reasons when one considers all the consequences. I think you'll be OK with the stock device.
I consider myself as a relatively advanced user and was always playing rooted with all of the S devices I had. There were always workarounds for root detection by apps and samsung itself BUT now things have changed and I regret having rooted my S21.
As samsung is enforcing its restrictions against root, I find myself (while being rooted) unable to connect my GW4, unable to use latest Samsung Health app, unable to use Samsung Pay and lately even the samsung account keeps disconnecting for "security reasons" several times a day... What a mess !
As previously said, returning to stock with locked bootloader won't give a 100% functional device as the tripped Knox will still be there preventing you from using some samsung apps and features !
If it gets more complicated, I only have 2 choices : get a "virgin" S21 or say goodbye to Samsung.
With that said, you now know where you're going if you choose to go that way