Database Develop

I just bought the Nexus 6, should I root it immediately?

Hi, long time lurker here. I want to start by saying how great and informative this site is. Anyway, my nexus 6 came in from the mail like 5 hours ago, did all the updates from 5.0 to 6.0 and it's now running Marshmallow mra58n. Question is should I root it immediately and if so, are there any guides I can follow? Much love to you all, I'm not exactly pro at this kind of things but I can follow instructions since I have competently rooted my past phones which were an HTC M7, M8 and a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.
Thank you.
Edit: Phone is also unlocked, I currently have no SIM card

start here..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/how-to-nexus-6-one-beginners-guide-t2948481

At the least unlock the bootloader right away. Doing so will completely wipe the phone so it's the first thing I do.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

razortaz18 said:
At the least unlock the bootloader right away. Doing so will completely wipe the phone so it's the first thing I do.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been looking at the Nexus Root Toolkit since I am kind of confused on how to proceed with anything at all, is that ill advised since I've read that there are problems with the USB cable disconnecting during reboot?
Also, thank you for the reply.

I used the NRT without issue. Just follow the guide step by step.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

and, dont touch the usb cable while the phone is processing your commands!
j/k, never even heard of the USB cable "problem"

I just used the toolkit today to unlock and root my N6.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I rooted last night initially using manual method described in the first link provided, however after some driver issues ultimately used the 2.1.0 rootkit to uninstall and reinstall all drivers. That too alone saved me tons of time and either method is simple if you can follow instructions.
Totally recommend rooting and then experimenting with custom roms, its like getting a new phone everyone you install a new rom.
Have fun!

Kristine,
In answer specifically to your question "Should I...?" my answer is "No". It really depends on what you think you'll get from it - why do you want to do it? What specific benefits do you want?
The reason that I say "no" is that I've been rooted on all my several phones for years, and I've decided that for me the annoyance of having to manually flash ROMs outweighs the benefits - particularly now that Google are releasing frequent security updates. The moment you root your device the OTA (over the air) updates no longer work.
For me the major reason for rooting was to have a firewall. The other things (wakelock detection, double tap to wake, auto-hibernation...) were great but not showstoppers. Now that there is a non-root firewall (Netguard) I'm happy to leave my phone unrooted. I haven't had an OTA to apply yet, so if I have any problems then I might change my mind, but my advice would be to think hard about why you want root before you buy yourself into a world of tinkering...

razortaz18 said:
At the least unlock the bootloader right away. Doing so will completely wipe the phone so it's the first thing I do.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dammit, are you kidding me? I just downloaded and setup everything, figured I'd do all everything else tomorrow... Oh, well I can do it again I suppose.

Kristine-N said:
Question is should I root it immediately....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I don't want a white interface, rooting is necessary. Google forces to many things, like forced encryption, useless apps and a white interface (battery drain). When rooting was impossible I would not have bought a Nexus.

Short answer: No!
Long answer: Well, it's sill no, but you can or even should do a couple of things.
First if all, allow OEM Unlocking in development settings. There are gazillion how-tos to switch developer mode on, and tick that switch. Google has borked OTAs already, and if your phone doesn't boot, and the switch is off, then you're boned, you can send it for repair. But if you can unlock you bootloader, then you can flash a custom recovery and make your phone working again.
Second, if you do plan to root your phone in the near future, you should unlock the bootloader now, while it's still new, because it will erase everything (IMHO this would be sufficient as a security measure, the Enable OEM Unlocking is overkill).
As for the main question if you don't have any specific ideas what you want the root for, then don't root your phone. It's a clear and present security risk, and you're just one too many "Allow" taps from letting someone acquire your passwords, clone your IMEI, and download your personal stuff. My motto is, if you don't know what exactly root is, what it does, then you don't know how to prevent exploits that need it to run.
Also if you modify your phone in any way, and that includes rooting, you won't receive the monthly OTAs, and will have to flash it manually.
And finally, don't use toolkits on a Nexus. Spend another hour reading about the matter and you will find out typing adb and fastboot commands is a easy as clicking buttons on toolkits. There is nothing extra in them, they just download the images to flash, and "type" these commands for you.

Unlock bootloader and don't root it for now. After some time, if you feel like you're missing some features that you can obtain only with root, then go ahead. But for now I would strongly recommend to stay stock and see how it goes...

Locked and Unrooted - Marshmallow 6.0.1 - Encrypted - How to Root or Unlock Phone?

I downloaded the wugfresh tool to try and unlock and root my Nexus 6 used on Verizon but obtained from the Google Play store.
Wugfresh recognizes the device. I have enabled debugging and developer options and have the phone properly set up with the original cable.
When I open wugfresh and after I download the appropriate files, I click on unlock phone and a pop up just says ENCRYPTED.
I tried googling as well as searching this forum and I cannot figure out how to remove encryption without the phone already having been unlocked and reverted back to Lollipop.
Can someone give me a hand? I'm unsure of what to do next.
Thanks!

ghostofdavid said:
I downloaded the wugfresh tool to try and unlock and root my Nexus 6 used on Verizon but obtained from the Google Play store.
Wugfresh recognizes the device. I have enabled debugging and developer options and have the phone properly set up with the original cable.
When I open wugfresh and after I download the appropriate files, I click on unlock phone and a pop up just says ENCRYPTED.
I tried googling as well as searching this forum and I cannot figure out how to remove encryption without the phone already having been unlocked and reverted back to Lollipop.
Can someone give me a hand? I'm unsure of what to do next.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the info you need is in the stickies. Many will tell you not to bother with tool kits. This is due to that you wont know how to fix any issues that may come up. It is always best to learn what you are doing. All you re.ally have to do to un-encrypt is to completely wipe the device. Then you need a kernel that doesnt force the encryption

I checked this sticky - http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/nexus-6-frequently-questions-t3106029
Q17: What is encryption and should I disable it?
"First off, to best answer the "what is" question, look HERE. Now, whether or not to disable it, is entirely up to you. For the most part, the benefits are dependent on your usage. HERE is a thread discussing encryption on 5.1 so please check it out."
I clicked that link and ended up at http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...-fed-patcher-v8-forceencrypt-disable-t3234422
It appears that this would work if my phone was unlocked, but it isn't. I don't yet understand how I can flash anything if my phone is still locked and I don't know how to unlock the phone if the device is still encrypted.
I'm still stuck!

ghostofdavid said:
I checked this sticky - http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/nexus-6-frequently-questions-t3106029
Q17: What is encryption and should I disable it?
"First off, to best answer the "what is" question, look HERE. Now, whether or not to disable it, is entirely up to you. For the most part, the benefits are dependent on your usage. HERE is a thread discussing encryption on 5.1 so please check it out."
I clicked that link and ended up at http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...-fed-patcher-v8-forceencrypt-disable-t3234422
It appears that this would work if my phone was unlocked, but it isn't. I don't yet understand how I can flash anything if my phone is still locked and I don't know how to unlock the phone if the device is still encrypted.
I'm still stuck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the stickies on unlocking your phone manually first.
Be careful that some of the stickies and or threads on rooting ect are old. Before you blindly follow instructions check the date and the version its meant for. If its more then a month or so old, or states a different version of android proceed with causion. Also, make sure you read the last maybe 4 or so pages of the threads if not more, as if the instructions ARE out of date you will see people note it there, and either suggest what changes are necessary or point to newer guides.
You really will help yourself out A LOT to learn the little bit it takes to do it manually. Multiple threads every day from people who have one little thing go wrong with the toolkits, that would be REALLY easy to fix if they knew what they were doing.
First read up on how to unlock, its really really easy... Once your unlocked STAY UNLOCKED, and make sure you keep "allow OEM unlock" on... Do those two things and you can almost definitely fix your phone no matter what you mess up.

Alcatel Pop 4 ROOTABLE?

Hello guys,
as the title says I would like to know if my Alcatel Pop 4 (5.0) is rootable or not. Unfortunately, there are a lot of system Google Apps I can only deactivate, but not fully uninstall as I don't have root access/root permissions.
Now I've been looking for threads the past few days, and I've read that 2 or 3 people were able to root it with KingoRoot. However, I'm very unsure as they reported their phone automatically rebooted after a few minutes and the root access was gone (they seemed to have an issue with the bootloader, but I don't know if they had found the OEM-Unlock and enabled it or not). Furthermore, that rooting tool doesn't seem to have good reviews, at all.
Gladly, I already enabled the OEM-unlock, the bootloader to be exact. I think it's easier to root with an unlocked bootloader.
I also asked OneClickRoot if my device was rootable, and they said no, but I just can't believe it.
IMPORTANT INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE PHONE:
Manufacturer: Alcatel
Model number: 5051D
OS-version: 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Build number: 01002
Kernel: 3.10.49-g832a88f [email protected] #1
Bootloader unlocked: YES
I'm looking forward to responses, thank you in advance!

I'm damn confused about how 5051D is named
- Alcatel One Touch Pop 4
- Alcatel One Touch Pop 4S?
- Alcatel One Touch Pixi 3?
I'm aware you got bored waiting for the update. Mine has Android 5.1.1, not Android 6.0.
This for fastboot. It seems the way is to unlock the bootloader and put a "recovery" ROM.
https://hardreset24.com/instruction/how-to-put-alcatel-pop-4-in-fastboot-mode
Here's a 6.0 firmware for it:
https://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=758814
Here's another using Kingoroot. I don't trust it as it adds adware, the tutorial seems somewhat not so trusty too...
http://www.gogorapid.com/root-alcatel-one-touch-pixi-3-5015d/
Here's another forum thread, but I'm not sure what one is 5051D:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/root-alcatel-one-touch-pixi-34-official-t3193624
I found another procedure about back up the ROM. It seems you may need to save IMEI and other stuff or those will be lost:
https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-526.html
I found other forum threads:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/alcatel-pop-4-cmw-twrp-recovery-img-t3446970
https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/help/how-to-alcatel-pop-4-fastboot-t3586623
It's a mess and it seems I need a SD card for the procedures, I'll wait to be able to buy one.
I use Linux, so I would prefer to use methods able to be done on it.
Thanks in advance!

Bought used. Security concerns?

I had been looking for a new phone for awhile. Settled on a Note 9 because I wanted to try using the S Pen for work and dislike the Note 10 design. However, they are still sold at full price where I live, so I bought one secondhand. Everything seems generally fine with it, minus some freezing or weird reactions when it charges for awhile or restarts. But I have been skeptical of throwing passwords (personal and for work) on it to this point. Thats because I read an article about potential root level or firmware level spyware that remains after a reset.
I did a reset AND even took it to an official service center to flash new firmware (but they said they cannot do it there, but they did some kind of more advanced reset?). I checked my Knox counter in the Download menu and it reads 0x00000, maybe more or less zeros. Samsung pass, pay, health, and secure folder all seem to work (I can register for them, use the bio sensor). That all sounds like it has not been tampered with in any way, correct?
Thanks for the help.

IqD said:
I had been looking for a new phone for awhile. Settled on a Note 9 because I wanted to try using the S Pen for work and dislike the Note 10 design. However, they are still sold at full price where I live, so I bought one secondhand. Everything seems generally fine with it, minus some freezing or weird reactions when it charges for awhile or restarts. But I have been skeptical of throwing passwords (personal and for work) on it to this point. Thats because I read an article about potential root level or firmware level spyware that remains after a reset.
I did a reset AND even took it to an official service center to flash new firmware (but they said they cannot do it there, but they did some kind of more advanced reset?). I checked my Knox counter in the Download menu and it reads 0x00000, maybe more or less zeros. Samsung pass, pay, health, and secure folder all seem to work (I can register for them, use the bio sensor). That all sounds like it has not been tampered with in any way, correct?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the model number?

Sm-n960n. Korean exynos model, 512gb.

IqD said:
Sm-n960n. Korean exynos model, 512gb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are worried about remaining spyware of files, download the latest rom from sammobile and then flash with odin.
Just simply search how to use sammobile or how to use odin if you need help. Hundreds of years have posted how good and answered those questions already

I used to flip phones up until a couple years ago. I've bought and sold hundreds, maybe thousands of used phones, most of which had my accounts on them at one point and time. I think as long as the phone is running official firmware, isn't bootloader unlocked/rooted, and you've reset it, it should be fine. Of course you run the risk that someone has hacked it, installed spyware at the system level, and somehow overwritten the status to show as official such that the spyware persists even after a reset, but that's highly unlikely.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Bober_is_a_troll said:
If you are worried about remaining spyware of files, download the latest rom from sammobile and then flash with odin.
Just simply search how to use sammobile or how to use odin if you need help. Hundreds of years have posted how good and answered those questions already
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the idea. I considered this but would like to avoid just because sammobile is unofficial, so it would still leave me slightly apprehensive even if everyone is using it.
Everything I read seems to suggest that the phone was never rooted if all of the Samsung apps work and the Download KNOX counter is 0x0. Just wanting to confirm by someone more knowledgeable about this.
joshw0000 said:
I used to flip phones up until a couple years ago. I've bought and sold hundreds, maybe thousands of used phones, most of which had my accounts on them at one point and time. I think as long as the phone is running official firmware, isn't bootloader unlocked/rooted, and you've reset it, it should be fine. Of course you run the risk that someone has hacked it, installed spyware at the system level, and somehow overwritten the status to show as official such that the spyware persists even after a reset, but that's highly unlikely.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I don't think it has ever been unlocked or rooted, but is there a guaranteed way to know?

IqD said:
Thanks for the idea. I considered this but would like to avoid just because sammobile is unofficial, so it would still leave me slightly apprehensive even if everyone is using it.
Everything I read seems to suggest that the phone was never rooted if all of the Samsung apps work and the Download KNOX counter is 0x0. Just wanting to confirm by someone more knowledgeable about this.
Thanks. I don't think it has ever been unlocked or rooted, but is there a guaranteed way to know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to settings > about phone > status and it should say "official". That would tell you if the phones operating system has been modified (rooted). As far as checking for bootloader unlock, I'm not sure on Samsung's but on a Google Pixel once the bootloader is unlocked it'll show an unlocked lock on the bootscreen every time that you reboot the phone. North American snapdragon variants of Note 9's do not have an unlockable bootloader so if your phone is a carrier branded phone, the bootloader can't be unlocked. You can Google your model # to figure out which one you have.
You can also check that all functions work properly. Typically apps like Samsung Pay won't work if the phone is rooted. There are ways around that where you can trick the phone into thinking it's not rooted to get those apps to work so, again, that's not a full proof way to check. For example, I'm using an AT&T variant that's been sim unlocked and flashed with Verizon firmware and it works 100% like a Verizon phone.
I'd say, reboot the phone. If you don't see an unlocked icon it's probably not unlocked. Go into settings and take note of your model #
Then go online and research about Odin and flashing official firmware via your computer. Download the latest official firmware for your phone, flash it using Odin, and then you'll know that there's no spyware on your phone. That would essentially be the equivalent of wiping a computer and reinstalling Windows.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

joshw0000 said:
Go to settings > about phone > status and it should say "official". That would tell you if the phones operating system has been modified (rooted). As far as checking for bootloader unlock, I'm not sure on Samsung's but on a Google Pixel once the bootloader is unlocked it'll show an unlocked lock on the bootscreen every time that you reboot the phone. North American snapdragon variants of Note 9's do not have an unlockable bootloader so if your phone is a carrier branded phone, the bootloader can't be unlocked. You can Google your model # to figure out which one you have.
You can also check that all functions work properly. Typically apps like Samsung Pay won't work if the phone is rooted. There are ways around that where you can trick the phone into thinking it's not rooted to get those apps to work so, again, that's not a full proof way to check. For example, I'm using an AT&T variant that's been sim unlocked and flashed with Verizon firmware and it works 100% like a Verizon phone.
I'd say, reboot the phone. If you don't see an unlocked icon it's probably not unlocked. Go into settings and take note of your model #
Then go online and research about Odin and flashing official firmware via your computer. Download the latest official firmware for your phone, flash it using Odin, and then you'll know that there's no spyware on your phone. That would essentially be the equivalent of wiping a computer and reinstalling Windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah.. i whouldint fall for that system/status official crap. as you can see in the screenshot i posted from my rooted n960n.
the only real way is to check if knox is tripped is in DL mode( turn phone off. hold bixby and vol down button while inserting a usb cable hooked to a computer.).
also flashing a stock firmware on an FRP locked phone wont do **** if someone has had their accounts logged in/registered on it and have not reset it correctly.
surprised you dont know this.

IqD said:
Sm-n960n. Korean exynos model, 512gb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI - This phone does have an unlockable bootloader.
I'd recommend using Bobby's advice and flash the latest firmware with Odin. If the phone is not already on the latest update, you could flash one firmware less than current and then let the phone download and install an OTA to the current version. You'll know that its official if the phone successfully downloads and installs the OTA.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 07:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 PM ----------
bober10113 said:
yeah.. i whouldint fall for that system/status official crap. as you can see in the screenshot i posted from my rooted n960n.
the only real way is to check if knox is tripped is in DL mode( turn phone off. hold bixby and vol down button while inserting a usb cable hooked to a computer.).
also flashing a stock firmware on an FRP locked phone wont do **** if someone has had their accounts logged in/registered on it and have not reset it correctly.
surprised you dont know this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure why you're trying to call me out when I clearly said there are ways for it show official if it's rooted. Also, no one said anything about FRP. If the phone was FRP locked they wouldn't be able to use it at all... Unless you know how to remove an FRP lock, which I do. At that point the phone would work/be a normal phone.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

joshw0000 said:
FYI - This phone does have an unlockable bootloader.
I'd recommend using Bobby's advice and flash the latest firmware with Odin. If the phone is not already on the latest update, you could flash one firmware less than current and then let the phone download and install an OTA to the current version. You'll know that its official if the phone successfully downloads and installs the OTA.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 07:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 PM ----------
Not sure why you're trying to call me out when I clearly said there are ways for it show official if it's rooted. Also, no one said anything about FRP. If the phone was FRP locked they wouldn't be able to use it at all... Unless you know how to remove an FRP lock, which I do. At that point the phone would work/be a normal phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
point taken on the FRP lock but the real point I was making is that the system status is bogus:
joshw0000 said:
Go to settings > about phone > status and it should say "official". That would tell you if the phones operating system has been modified (rooted).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

bober10113 said:
point taken on the FRP lock but the real point I was making is that the system status is bogus:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You obviously didn't read the entire comment:
"There are ways around that where you can trick the phone into thinking it's not rooted to get those apps to work so, again, that's not a full proof way to check."
Or this comment:
" I used to flip phones up until a couple years ago. I've bought and sold hundreds, maybe thousands of used phones, most of which had my accounts on them at one point and time. I think as long as the phone is running official firmware, isn't bootloader unlocked/rooted, and you've reset it, it should be fine. Of course you run the risk that someone has hacked it, installed spyware at the system level, and somehow overwritten the status to show as official such that the spyware persists even after a reset, but that's highly unlikely."
There are a lot of ways to check. I pointed out some of the simpler ways. None of which are truly bullet proof. Hell, back in the day we could reset knox counters so if someone is going to the extreme to install some spyware and they're smart enough to install anything that would persist a factory reset, even checking knox isn't a full proof method.
And your screenshot really doesn't tell me anything. It's possible to have an unlocked bootloader AND official firmware at the same time. The operating system and bootloader are two different things. It's only when you modify the system that you have to hack the status to make it say official.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

joshw0000 said:
You obviously didn't read the entire comment:
"There are ways around that where you can trick the phone into thinking it's not rooted to get those apps to work so, again, that's not a full proof way to check."
There are a lot of ways to check. I pointed out some of the simpler ways. None of which are truly bullet proof. Hell, back in the day we could reset knox counters so if someone is going to the extreme to install some spyware and they're smart enough to install anything that would persist a factory reset, even checking knox isn't a full proof method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fine but i mean, why ask a user to validate the state of their device via the worst possible method of them all?
he even already posted in OP that he went to DL mode to check the knox fuse status so would supersede by far the need to check via software/status.
edit
and the photo of my device status was just a way to show how i know device actual status and bootlaoder state aren't linked. especialy when rooted devices can spoof software status but none cane spoof fuse state in DL mode. so not sure why you are trying to convince me of something i just proved. u can say u agree next time.

bober10113 said:
fine but i mean, why ask a user to validate the state of their device via the worst possible method of them all?
he even already posted in OP that he went to DL mode to check the knox fuse status so would supersede by far the need to check via software/status.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No actually he didn't. He never said he went to DL mode, he just said the knox counter says 0x0. That can be checked via apps from the phone. If the phone was rooted, it could be manipulated to show 0x0 when it's really not.
You're focusing on one sentence dude. Get your panties out of a wod and read the whole comment.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

joshw0000 said:
No actually he didn't. He never said he went to DL mode, he just said the knox counter says 0x0. That can be checked via apps from the phone. If the phone was rooted, it could be manipulated to show 0x0 when it's really not.
You're focusing on one sentence dude. Get your panties out of a wod and read the whole comment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. but i did read he went to download menu which i think we can interpret it as download mode. but hey i might wrong. can you show me anywhere in the OS where download menu is?
IqD said:
I checked my Knox counter in the Download menu and it reads 0x00000, maybe more or less zeros.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

bober10113 said:
lol. but i did read he went to download menu which i think we can interpret it as download mode. but hey i might wrong. can you show me anywhere in the OS where download menu is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a troll.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

joshw0000 said:
What a troll.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's the spirit!

bober10113 said:
lol. but i did read he went to download menu which i think we can interpret it as download mode. but hey i might wrong. can you show me anywhere in the OS where download menu is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
joshw0000 said:
No actually he didn't. He never said he went to DL mode, he just said the knox counter says 0x0. That can be checked via apps from the phone. If the phone was rooted, it could be manipulated to show 0x0 when it's really not.
You're focusing on one sentence dude. Get your panties out of a wod and read the whole comment.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to the Download mode by hitting the mentioned buttons on restart. The KNOX reads 0x0000. Also, it says OEM Lock: On. Then you are both saying the phone is safe?
Also, when I first got it, it did find an update OTA and installed it.

IqD said:
Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to the Download mode by hitting the mentioned buttons on restart. The KNOX reads 0x0000. Also, it says OEM Lock: On. Then you are both saying the phone is safe?
Also, when I first got it, it did find an update OTA and installed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no confusion on my part. i read and understood you correctly the 1st time around.
at first glance your device looks ok but...
additionally, there are ways to check if the device is off a lease with a ESN check. meaning if someone sold you a device still on contract. some sell contractual phones and after a period of time they will get blacklisted since the contract is never payed off fully. so device would appear to work fine and one day they just stop getting a signal and esn/imei get blacklisted.
side note:
surprised that this was not brought up earlier in the conversation as a factor to watch out for by some "experianced in the field flipping devices" user instead of stating the obvious like device status and the unreliable means to check it. especialy since, said user stated buying and selling hundred and even thousands of phones...!? ESN state would be no. 1 in the check list if things to watch out for.
anyways back to the current case, there are ESN/IMEI check services in the web to see status of device: stolen, still on contract...etc. i cannot provide any suggestion to these services unfortunately. this is something you need to check yourself or ask around.
good luck

IqD said:
I had been looking for a new phone for awhile. Settled on a Note 9 because I wanted to try using the S Pen for work and dislike the Note 10 design. However, they are still sold at full price where I live, so I bought one secondhand. Everything seems generally fine with it, minus some freezing or weird reactions when it charges for awhile or restarts. But I have been skeptical of throwing passwords (personal and for work) on it to this point. Thats because I read an article about potential root level or firmware level spyware that remains after a reset.
I did a reset AND even took it to an official service center to flash new firmware (but they said they cannot do it there, but they did some kind of more advanced reset?). I checked my Knox counter in the Download menu and it reads 0x00000, maybe more or less zeros. Samsung pass, pay, health, and secure folder all seem to work (I can register for them, use the bio sensor). That all sounds like it has not been tampered with in any way, correct?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reading this thread I've come to the conclusion that you should sell your rootable and boot unlockable device and buy a locked down USA model.
Thank me later. Least you'll be able to sleep well now.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

IqD said:
Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to the Download mode by hitting the mentioned buttons on restart. The KNOX reads 0x0000. Also, it says OEM Lock: On. Then you are both saying the phone is safe?
Also, when I first got it, it did find an update OTA and installed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's about as safe, in terms of spyware, as you'll ever get from a used phone. I would assume you checked the ESN before buying it but if not, run a check with swappa.com/esn and checkesnfree.com to make sure it's clean. Screenshot the results and save them. Depending on your carrier you can likely run a check on their website and/or call support and ask them as well. As with any unlocked phone, know that you may not get all of the features that a carrier branded phone would have (i.e. I couldn't get WiFi calling working on a Korean S10 on Verizon).
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

root/unlock bootloader Galazy s10

Hey there,
So I need to know all the necessary steps to properly install Andronix and Termux (F-Droid) by unlocking the bootloader. Do you know where I can find all the information about that for Galaxy s10?

Depends on WHICH S10 you have. Snapdragon CPU versions cannot really be unlocked. Exynos can. This forum is full of threads on how to do the Exynos, of course... I have a Snapdragon so I haven't spent much time learning it...

Ok thanks I have a snapdragon also so I guess I will do something else

I hear you - I have Snapdragon too, so I gave up ROM and rooting on this phone. Honestly, I don't miss it. I used to ROM and root all my previous phones, but I don't see the need to do that anymore.

I want to ssh my network from my phone using a vpn to access my router so I can wake on lan my server

You should be able to do that without root from the phone - ssh doesn't require root to run, and it's just a secure terminal. You can get an app to do that (I see plenty on the play store). As for VPN, again, you don't need root on the phone to do that - I have used OVPN many times from my phone without issue (and without root).

schwinn8 said:
You should be able to do that without root from the phone - ssh doesn't require root to run, and it's just a secure terminal. You can get an app to do that (I see plenty on the play store). As for VPN, again, you don't need root on the phone to do that - I have used OVPN many times from my phone without issue (and without root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks

Why is everybody so convinced that rooting will only be possible with an unlocked bootloader? if there were to be a kernel exploit which would gain us access to the block devices i would say it's possible to downgrade the bootloader or anything which is accessible by block devices like the recovery partition. Am i missing something here?

DaanNL said:
Why is everybody so convinced that rooting will only be possible with an unlocked bootloader? if there were to be a kernel exploit which would gain us access to the block devices i would say it's possible to downgrade the bootloader or anything which is accessible by block devices like the recovery partition. Am i missing something here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a solution to root a galaxy s10 snapdragon cpu I will read your comments on it. But I think I believe that is because of the articles in the internet are only mentioning that I need to unlock the bootloader.

Indirectelex said:
If you have a solution to root a galaxy s10 snapdragon cpu I will read your comments on it. But I think I believe that is because of the articles in the internet are only mentioning that I need to unlock the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, everybody is so convinced that you need to unlock the bootloader and i wonder why.... we don't need odin to flash, afaik as we can find a kernel exploit which would gain us root access we could set properties to enable the oem unlock option.... making it available and usable could be a different case..... some requirements need to be met. If we could access block devices we should be able to install magisk and root the device.

Indirectelex said:
If you have a solution to root a galaxy s10 snapdragon cpu I will read your comments on it. But I think I believe that is because of the articles in the internet are only mentioning that I need to unlock the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think i'm getting somewhere, don't know for sure... at first i was only able to flash CSC and now i'm able to flash every slot.... do you have the same results in odin?

DaanNL said:
I think i'm getting somewhere, don't know for sure... at first i was only able to flash CSC and now i'm able to flash every slot.... do you have the same results in odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant do tests on my galaxy s10 but I will on a Moto z2

we are so ****ed with the cellphones

Yeah, I need one too! I got a Galaxy S10 Plus Snapdragon. It's it's been 2 years since I have it and I can't find nobody that can teach me how to root it!!!

Because it cannot be rooted. US carriers have made that happen, and the manufacturers have had to keep doing it.
Many have tried, and on older BLs it can be done, but once you update you are stuck on a newer BL and cannot downgrade. If you root with the older BL, you cannot upgrade the BL either, because that will relock it.
If someone comes up with a way to do it, I'm all ears, as are many others... but with higher level crypto being implemented for this protection (ie, you need to know the crypto key!), it likely won't happen.

I have an idea but i don't know if it's possible, i tried but it seems corepatch isn't working.
I see a lot of topics about what's needed to unlock the bootloader, but if i look in the source code what is required to unlock the bootloader there's a lot of ro. properties which we can't set because we are not root.
As LSPatch can now communicate with Shizuku and gain system level access we might be able to disable system app verification (platform certificate, by extending CorePatch or maybe someone can write a signature verification disabler for lsposed). Then create an app which doesn't check for all these properties and initiates an OEM unlock and install it as system user./