Database Develop

Is rooting G900A officially dead?

My original GS5 had a broken gyroscope and I had it replaced a few weeks ago. I didn't expect or realize that Asurian, the company that does At&t's insurance, would send me one running Lollipop, still in original packaging no less. After trying and failing to downgrade to 4.4.2 for hours, I found out that it's not possible.
So, with no exploits to work with, a locked and encrypted bootloader, and some Xposed Modules no longer working from the looks of some forum posts, is GS5 rooting officially dead? Is there some other option that hasn't been considered to acquire root? Since I'm out of warranty, I don't care about tripping KNOX.
Is it possible to completely remove all the software on the phone and replace it with rooted software? I know it may sound idiotic, but I'm no developer, just a guy who likes tinkering with tech, so go easy on me please. I only ask this because I was thinking of getting some outside help to possibly decrypt the bootloader. I've read on other forums that trying to decrypt a phone bootloader is a worthless endeavour but it didn't stop me from looking. As it turns out, even with an extensive Google search, there is no explaination of the subject of bootloader decryption, no software to use, no experts in the field explaining their experience or anything at all helpful.
I'm very much pissed that my first dive into the Android (customizable) experience with the GS5 was first stilted by At&t and now killed. I have not seen any updates indicating any progress on rooting and I'm hoping it's only because I missed it. Considering the time elapsed and the bounty for decrypting the software never being claimed, shall I lose hope and wait out this crappy device until I can buy a new one? Or, is root still of some concern?

Hey, I'm sorry to hear about your loss of root. As far as I know it's dead for now unless someone comes up with something. Not sure if anyone has tried flashing a boot loader from another carrier or not but, that might work. Only thing is, if it doesn't you lost your phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Yeah, that will brick the phone. Can't flash bootloaders from other carriers to a locked bootloader.

chadderbox said:
Yeah, that will brick the phone. Can't flash bootloaders from other carriers to a locked bootloader.
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Good to know.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Guess we may need to raise another $18,000 for developing a root. Is there no other geobot out there talented enough?

fleece said:
Guess we may need to raise another $18,000 for developing a root. Is there no other geobot out there talented enough?
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Or just not buy phones from carriers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

If I could find a SM-G800M at a decent price, I would! It's the only mini model with all four of the same LTE and LTE-A bands that AT&T operates.

unixasaurusrex said:
Or just not buy phones from carriers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
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I will be following that advice in the future!
Furious over the forced 5.0 FOTA upgrade with ATT's bootloader and no way to flash 4.4.2. or a custom rom...
---------- Post added at 21:53 ---------- Previous post was at 21:49 ----------
fleece said:
Guess we may need to raise another $18,000 for developing a root. Is there no other geobot out there talented enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll donate large sums to this cause just on principle.
ATT hasn't completely locked down their Galaxy Notes (it can be flashed back to their 4.4.2 stock rom from 5.0.1)... Just primarily their S5...

Maybe a dev can look into this for a possible root...
http://www.networkworld.com/article...-a-simple-mms-message-or-multimedia-file.html
There is a part of the article that mentions root access is possible, now if it could be a permanent root is the real question.

johnkirchner said:
Maybe a dev can look into this for a possible root...
http://www.networkworld.com/article...-a-simple-mms-message-or-multimedia-file.html
There is a part of the article that mentions root access is possible, now if it could be a permanent root is the real question.
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Click to collapse
I posed the same question, whether the devs thought stagefright could be used to facilitate rooting the ATT Note 4 and @graydiggy was awesome at explaining the exploit may only work on phones without write protection (the Nexus line).
Wonder if Joshua Drake (who discovered the flaw) would be willing to assist xdaers with this ATT S5 root issue should a proper bounty be offered. Seems Google paid him only about $1500 for reporting the problem and for the patches he created and sent (to Google)...
Currently, @Kingxteam gets mad respect for developing a tool to root otherwise unrootable phones. They have yet to add ATT's galaxy S5 (SM-900A) to their list of supported phones but I suspect they're working on it. Maybe PM them?

Hope is good thing... maybe the best of things.
Cave Canem said:
...Currently, @Kingxteam gets mad respect for developing a tool to root otherwise unrootable phones. They have yet to add ATT's galaxy S5 (SM-900A) to their list of supported phones but I suspect they're working on it. ...
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Go Kingxteam !!! All glory and honor and praise to you all -- especially if you can "tame this wild horse" with a root. :victory:

I'm new to all this rooting and don't understand any of the language yet but would like to start rooting. Unfortunately the phone I have seems to be unrootable. Anyone know if I can root my memo pad 7 on AT&T don't know model number but I do know it's running kk4.4

Just got this phone a week ago and returning/exchanging isn't an option for me. I really hope there are still some ambitious devs out there looking for a solution to rooting the lollipop OC4 version, although I fear the majority have moved on. :crying:

Hoping to help get root at least

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
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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.....
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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.
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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
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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"
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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
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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)
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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.

Will there be any development for this phone?

I remember there was some rom development for the moto z play when I had it. There seems to be no interest for this 3rd generation model. Is there something like an uncrackable, locked bootloader that's stopping developers in their tracks or just no interest in kernels and tweaked roms?

Perhaps some, but from what I've seen, (and I've owned Moto X, Z, Z2play and now this one) there's not a whole lot of development. Some, but not much. Probably because the OS is very vanilla and smooth, for one. And two, unfortunately, they are just not very popular devices.
On the Moto X, most seemed to want to just root and use xposed, and stay stock. Otherwise cool proprietary Moto apps and functions were lost. Not available on custom roms.
The fact that downgrading is near impossible without bricking doesn't help either.
Warranty is void when you unlock bootloader on Moto's site and that probably deters many from messing with the device too.
But this phone is very new still, hopefully some development starts up. Just may take more time, cause it's not that popular and not as many own it. Developers may not be buying it cause it's the 3rd generation now and they've seen that it's not that popular in the past. Time will tell.
Oh, and if mod use is affected by custom roms, that would be a huge roadblock too. For many folks anyways.

When do you think root will be available for this phone? That is what I am waiting for before I buy it.

G.I. Jew said:
When do you think root will be available for this phone? That is what I am waiting for before I buy it.
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Click to collapse
Probably not until a developer or two get this device and work on it.
Problem is, it's 3rd generation, and developers know that development is quiet on the Z's. Many Moto's really. So they choose a more popular device in many cases.
Hopefully we see some action soon though! Or learn to do for ourselves.

...delete me

Just bought this phone and will see about development, I want to get back into it, the only thing I built before was a kernel for Surnia , development is very different nowadays so if it's not to hard count me in.

Hopefully we can get twrp/root. Viper would be awesome on this phone! Thinking about this phone but I AM NOT GOING TO THROW AWAY HARDWARE WARRENTY TO UNLOCK BOOTLOADER. Oneplus 6 looks better but sucks with no fm radio/duel stereo speakers/sd card.
input?? opionion??

vq8acsxht said:
Hopefully we can get twrp/root. Viper would be awesome on this phone! Thinking about this phone but I AM NOT GOING TO THROW AWAY HARDWARE WARRENTY TO UNLOCK BOOTLOADER. Oneplus 6 looks better but sucks with no fm radio/duel stereo speakers/sd card.
input?? opionion??
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Click to collapse
You won't have root then on this device, if it becomes an option. Have to unlock bootloader, which kills your warranty.

Darth said:
You won't have root then on this device, if it becomes an option. Have to unlock bootloader, which kills your warranty.
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Click to collapse
I wonder about this, has there been a case where a manufacturer refused to repair a phone because of warranty root wise?

That is what I am wondering, also. I do not mind them killing the software support. Besides, sounds fony bolony that a person rooting can mess up software that factory reset can't fix. On the other hand, TWRP can brick a phone by flashing things. But if GPS/screen dies, that is not because of TWRP/flashing things, that is because chips have failed aka. hardware failure. What can cause hardware/cpu's failure is bring cpu's up to 100% and leaving there or overclocking them but who would do that? I think a custom ROM is easier on the processors because of all the stock crapware that continues digging for hours on hours for private information making the phone hot. The facebook app is the one that made my phone warm and when I killed it with a root uninstaller, the phone cooled back down.

vq8acsxht said:
That is what I am wondering, also. I do not mind them killing the software support. Besides, sounds fony bolony that a person rooting can mess up software that factory reset can't fix. On the other hand, TWRP can brick a phone by flashing things. But if GPS/screen dies, that is not because of TWRP/flashing things, that is because chips have failed aka. hardware failure. What can cause hardware/cpu's failure is bring cpu's up to 100% and leaving there or overclocking them but who would do that? I think a custom ROM is easier on the processors because of all the stock crapware that continues digging for hours on hours for private information making the phone hot. The facebook app is the one that made my phone warm and when I killed it with a root uninstaller, the phone cooled back down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually recent Motos are easy to brick if you do things wrong. Particularly trying to downgrade firmware. Check Out other moto sections, lots of "help I bricked my phone" threads. Many can be fixed by us, but how many don't even try and send it in under warranty?
So that's one definite reason to deny warranty. Though its not directly related to rooting.

I agree. I think they panic and need the phone to work. I like Samsung or Alcatel way of restore the phone to stock. Samsung especially. Turn phone off and plug it into the computer and send firmware to phone. I just wonder why newbies do not read and understand how to restore phone to stock BEFORE touching the phone. They do not ask themselves, "Do I have ALL OF THE TOOLS" to restore phone to factory settings/firmware and "Do I have the firmware". They just want to know how to do mods to phone to see what other tricks the phone can do. Roll over, but DO NOT PLAY DEAD! Crap, "My phone just died". Warranty, where's the warranty card and phone number, now?

vq8acsxht said:
Hopefully we can get twrp/root. Viper would be awesome on this phone! Thinking about this phone but I AM NOT GOING TO THROW AWAY HARDWARE WARRENTY TO UNLOCK BOOTLOADER. Oneplus 6 looks better but sucks with no fm radio/duel stereo speakers/sd card.
input?? opionion??
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Click to collapse
Are you a time-traveler who just appeared here naked in the streets, behind a dumpster, with only memories of 2010 in your head?
(Just checking...)
"Viper would be AWESOME on this phone!"
Lolololol-plop.
+ And "TWRP"??
What year *did* the EVO 3D come out anyway?

yourbrotherrex said:
Are you a time-traveler who just appeared here naked in the streets, behind a dumpster, with only memories of 2010 in your head?
(Just checking...)
"Viper would be AWESOME on this phone!"
Lolololol-plop.
+ And "TWRP"??
What year *did* the EVO 3D come out anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Darth. If you can translate what the crack pot is saying, thank you. I do not speak pot head, sorry. Not unless he/she/it is infering that he/she/it has just rooted/twrp with viperfx installed?

Root? Why?

I've been a rootoholic since the first HTC Desire (2010) and I've been lovin to improve every smartphone throughout those years. I believe that the reason for root have literally died. Since 2010, the interest in rooting and developing roms for phones that really needed it, vanished more and more for every year. The latest 4 - 5 years, developers have mostly only been interested in rooting flagships? People root for different reasons, privacy, debloating, theming, speed or all. In my opinion, the whole developing community have forgotten the real mission!
"Develope, root and improve phones that really needs it!" (mid range and low budget phones)
And look now!? To unlock a bootloader (on a phone that's perfect without it) we're suppose to pay for it? Not even an option to donate, like back in the days? No offense to you, the devs, this is probably just part of Xda evolution, and I need to catch up with reality. Just wondering what this community will look like in 2 - 5 years?
This phone (in my opinion) is perfect without unlocked bootloader or root!
V40 has it all!
And with the option to "uninstall" bloatware via adb, what's the point?

Well, some user's love to flash custom kernel while using the stock rom. Just like me

cheeze.keyk said:
Well, some user's love to flash custom kernel while using the stock rom. Just like me
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Click to collapse
I did too But to improve!?
Not much to improve anymore...

I understand what you mean. But with a custom kernel everything that's good about this phone would only get better. Also, having stock Android on this hardware would be awesome.

nyttliv7 said:
I did too But to improve!?
Not much to improve anymore...
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Click to collapse
For me yes, specially when it comes to speed and you can tweak also the display settings to get rid of the screen burn.

V4A and kernel tweeks

Wondering
how much better can a phone like this get?
I mean, cpu speed is already fantastic, and sound is extremely high quality (Neutron)!
Is there anywhere I can read about this? Progress and experience so far. How big was the difference? And so on...
I could imagine to underclock and disable some features I never use, to save battery...

nyttliv7 said:
how much better can a phone like this get?
I mean, cpu speed is already fantastic, and sound is extremely high quality (Neutron)!
Is there anywhere I can read about this? Progress and experience so far. How big was the difference? And so on...
I could imagine to underclock and disable some features I never use, to save battery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We disabled a few of the throttling stuff that LG put in the software and it's way faster now and along with FDE.AI Magisk Module the battery is also lasting a bit longer.

Nice!
I'm on Sprint!
Will they detect my root?
Fully functional modem/signal?
Will I miss out on any functions after debloating all sprint stuff?
Can I reverse, go back to the original rom?

nyttliv7 said:
I'm on Sprint!
Will they detect my root?
Fully functional modem/signal?
Will I miss out on any functions after debloating all sprint stuff?
Can I reverse, go back to the original rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your original rom would be on Slot B....but you would still have the original rom on Slot A unless you update to US unlocked Pie....

Tempted!
Root
Being an old rootoholic, I've kind of convinced myself it's not really necessary anymore, especially on a phone like this. But after digging into the threads about it, I've reconsidered...
So, after some resistance, I'm tempted to unlock bootloader and root
Just a few questions:
Slot A and B? Is it possible/complicated to activate "the other" slot (dual boot), or is it just there for backup and update?
Is com.lge.rctprovider and other spy and spam apps still there?
How exactly is the remote screen thing done? Do I need to install something, and how do you pay the fee?
Will it be possible to remap the assistant button?
If I'm not wrong, Qualcomm just block specific bands on carrier's requests, meaning that all bands exist in the chip. So I wonder, can this be unlocked?
How is the signal/reception on Sprint? Will all necessary bands still be there and fully functional?
Thanks!

nyttliv7 said:
I've been a rootoholic since the first HTC Desire (2010) and I've been lovin to improve every smartphone throughout those years. I believe that the reason for root have literally died. Since 2010, the interest in rooting and developing roms for phones that really needed it, vanished more and more for every year. The latest 4 - 5 years, developers have mostly only been interested in rooting flagships? People root for different reasons, privacy, debloating, theming, speed or all. In my opinion, the whole developing community have forgotten the real mission!
"Develope, root and improve phones that really needs it!" (mid range and low budget phones)
And look now!? To unlock a bootloader (on a phone that's perfect without it) we're suppose to pay for it? Not even an option to donate, like back in the days? No offense to you, the devs, this is probably just part of Xda evolution, and I need to catch up with reality. Just wondering what this community will look like in 2 - 5 years?
This phone (in my opinion) is perfect without unlocked bootloader or root!
V40 has it all!
And with the option to "uninstall" bloatware via adb, what's the point?
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After so many years with these phones, I've learnt that we would rather buy an old flagship but not a new mid-low range
Even u arent rooting it, flagship is usually much better as that's what your manufacture could do best at that time. Mid-low range was intended to be half-assed

Root is useful to install AdAway and Titanium Backup, even if staying with stock ROM.
Blockada without root sounds like it is not as effective as AdAway.
Ti Backup enables reverting to prior saved version of app when a newer version is faulty or inferior (happens a lot). Also debloating by freezing or uninstalling, not sure an ADB method offers all the options of Ti to debloat.
If V40 still has no way to unlock bootloader and root, without the Octoplus thing, I guess I'm stuck with V30+, which apparently means the dwindling stock of aging V30+ from dicey sellers on eBay etc., including lots of 1+ year old LS998 crossflashed to US998 and sold as "new". Li-Ion phone batteries have only a 2-3 year life....
...

There's currently no way to bootloader unlock the V40 (I have the US non carrier "unlocked" version). Guy on Telegram is ignoring my message. Therefore, root does not appear to be an option.

midwhiteflava said:
There's currently no way to bootloader unlock the V40 (I have the US non carrier "unlocked" version). Guy on Telegram is ignoring my message. Therefore, root does not appear to be an option.
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Well Vlad is in the Ukraine so you have to deal with their schedule....

Ainz_Ooal_Gown said:
Well Vlad is in the Ukraine so you have to deal with their schedule....
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That would be him and I'm awaiting his reply on Telegram from last week.

midwhiteflava said:
That would be him and I'm awaiting his reply on Telegram from last week.
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This guy has done two for me less than half a day after paying ten dollars.
@octoplus
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v40/development/unlock-lg-v40-via-9008-root-t-mobile-t4042207

Well people root so they can remove throttle from manufacturer nd to tweak the phone so it can be at its best for the current cpu/gpu along with custom roms. Root is not needed nowadays except for those because better processors that you wont really need root for normal to performance usage. Well thts my oppinion for the op

The question should be why not to root. The answers to that are far less. Than why to root. Because of the endless possibilities

Question Should I Unlock the bootloader?

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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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....
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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