Hey all!
So I see a variety of guides on rooting suggest removing encryption and keeping the bootloader unlocked. Is it possible to keep all the security measures in place while allowing temp root (aka sudo) through the OS? Essentially is it possible to do the equivalent of dropping the sudo binary onto the system while keeping everything else intact?
What is the minimal set of security compromises possible to attain root?
You don't have to remove encryption if you use the official TWRP recovery.
https://twrp.me/motorola/motorolamotox4.html
But you will have to unlock the bootloader to root your device (Magisk seems to be very popular at the moment).
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i really need help trying to figure how to root my AT&T Motorola Moto x. i tried to downgrade but couldnt succeed and i tried unlocking bootloader as well and couldnt succeed either. if anyone can help me please reply! thank you.
Sorry for the long answer, but I think you're going to need this info....
The Moto Maker and Retail Moto X from ATT and Verizon have locked bootloaders and can't have their bootloaders unlocked. Moto doesn't give out the bootloader unlock codes for them. There was a Chinese site selling the codes but it got shut down.
Since you couldn't downgrade successfully, I'm going to guess that you have 4.4.2 on your phone?
Due to changes in the bootloader, GPT.BIN and other parts included with 4.4.2, under certain circumstances when trying to downgrade from 4.4.2 to 4.4 or lower, you could either brick your phone, or set it up to brick in the future when you take an upgrade. So it is suggested you just stick with what is on your phone once you get on 4.4.2!! i.e. do NOT attempt to downgrade from 4.4.2 to anything lower.
I don't know what state your phone is in now, but if you had 4.4.2 on your phone, and you tried to downgrade, but didn't brick, do NOT take any OTA's!!! That will definitely brick your phone. For now, you'll likely get HAB Check errors, and other things if you try to reboot into bootloader or recovery. If you try to go under Settings -> Security you likely be "kicked back" to the settings screen instead. If you are experiencing these or similar issues, when the ATT 4.4.2 SBF gets leaked and posted to -> http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=0 you'll want to download it and flash your phone with it to get back to a stable/consistent foundation.
As for rooting the X with a locked bootloader... (like the ATT Moto X, or non-Developer Verizon X)
If you want usable root on the X you need two parts 1. Root Exploit, and 2. An Exploit that allows for disabling Write Protection.
When Write Protection is enabled (the phone's default state with locked bootloader, or the state you are in after you take the 4.4.2 OTA), any changes made to /system, or the like, (including, but not limited to, App installs, file modifications, deletions, renames, etc) are not permanent and are lost at power off/on.
Even if you have root, but lost Write Protection, any apps you've installed that need to write to system can't permanently save their changes (you have to re-do every time your phone powers off/on), and any Root type app, or app that gets installed to /system after WP is enabled will be lost at power off/on.
MotoWpNoMo was used on 4.4. and below to Disable Write Protection. Part of the 4.4.2 update patches the exploit that MotoWpNoMo used, so it wont work on 4.4.2.
SlapMyMoto/RockMyMoto/etc, used on 4.4 and lower to Root, involved downgrading the rom to use an exploit in 4.2.2 to gain root. But with 4.4.2 you can't downgrade the rom safely, without risk of bricking your phone, so you can't use these anymore.
JCASE has already posted he has an exploit to use to gain root on 4.4.2, but due to job and family, wont release it or a process making use of it until the fall. Who knows what ROM Moto will push out by then, and if they will have patched the exploit already. BUT before you get mad at JCASE for waiting so long, that doesn't address a Write Protection dis-abler. I've not seen any talk about work on that for locked bootloaders (when you unlock the bootloader, like on Dev Editions, the write protection is disabled). So JCASE could release his Root exploit, he or someone could develop that process, but it would be kind of useless without the ability to disable write protection since all your changes would be lost as soon as you power off/on.
Trust me, *IF* or when a Root and Write Protection bypass is out for 4.4.2, you will see threads on it. Until then, you have to sit tight.
Now, if you have 4.4 on your phone, you can root and disable write protection by using SlapMyMoto and MotoWpNoMo, but then you must NOT take the 4.4.2 OTA update, as you will keep root, but write protection will become enabled again. You can use a root capable file explorer (like Root Explorer) to navigate to /system/priv-app and rename the 3C_OTA.APK to 3C_OTA.APK.BAK to prevent the OTA update prompts.
If you are on 4.4 rooted with write protection disabled, you might want to check out the SafeStrap discussions over at Rootzwiki.com. That might at least afford you a way to run 4.4.2.
Dear all,
As far as my understanding goes, unlocking the bootloader will disable data encryption making the device less secure; will it then be possible to relock the bootloader after gaining root access, i.e. use a device with full root functionality with a locked bootloader??
Thank you!!
Cheers!
No, it won't disable data encryption unless you intentionally do it by doing "format data" in TWRP (or any other means with similar purpose).
Is it possible to install Magisk and then relock the bootloader?
This is on OPWS27.1.3 (March update, Android 8.0)
Aka:
1) unlock bootloader
2) flash Magisk boot
3) install Magisk
4) relock bootloader
The general advice is to not lock the bootloader with custom or modded ROMs. If you want to throw caution to the wind, you probably want to have a stable, custom recovery first.
The dangers of locking it is that you will probably get stuck with a soft bricked device.
gee one said:
The general advice is to not lock the bootloader with custom or modded ROMs. If you want to throw caution to the wind, you probably want to have a stable, custom recovery first.
The dangers of locking it is that you will probably get stuck with a soft bricked device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, that's unfortunate. I was hoping to be able to essentially add sudo usable via adb when debugging is enabled leaving everything else intact. Is it possible to gain root privileges without unlocking the bootloader or using a modded ROM?
Hi, I would like to know the answers to these questions that I asked to Xiaomi, and they didn't keep to respond.
1.When I unlock the bootloader, i will still getting MIUI Updates?
2.Installing like a custom recovery (like TWRP) will affect on any functionality of the device? And the custom recovery is gonna stay if I get a system update?
3.If I want to root my device (with Magisk), I heard that some devices, lost their Fingerprint scanner functionality. I'll loose it to? And at the moment of a system update, the root can be deleted while a system update?
4. Wich functionalities I'll lose when I unlock and/or root mi device?(other than loosing the device finder functionality and some more)
For one, Widevine security level will "downgrade" from L1 to L3. I know it's a magisk module that allows you, presumably, to unlock L1 level again but I don't know if it works.
*Read the title*
Why was this "feature" added?
Why do newer samsung phones progressively get harder to root?
I didnt root the phone and only unlocked OEM and flashed Recovery and I got "Only offiicialy released binaries are allowed to be flashed" -> how does this correlate with the rooting part
Because the recovery and flashing process require super user privileges and an unlocked bootloader at least. Normally it's possible to do this without rooting first, but it requires technical expertise, such as using CMD, fastboot and adb.
The reasons are the same as always, so they can control you and make you pay more for receiving less, the same as when the western countries were flunking in poverty, because they could never take enough from the poor.