n960f-to root or not - Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers

Hi All,
I have a n960f ds. I am seeing a few custom roms come in like lineage os. Have been a heavy custom rom users in my previous phones. Is it a good time to root n960f ds now? Are there good enough roms for pur device to do this? Pls advise.

IMHO, if you are not worried about unlocking the bootloader (which trips Knox permanently, and perhaps losing the warranty - not the case in my country), then go ahead.
If you want an as near as stock experience, I recommend DevBase rom from ALEXNDR
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga.../test-s2arh6-devbase-v5-9-encryption-t3847061
It has amazing options for installation (took me some time to go through all of the explanations), but still a plain installation and update is a piece of cake. TBH I haven't tried any other ROM in the Note 9 apart from a rooting I did myself initially via Magisk directly (not through TWRP). I have android pay etc working thanks to Magisk Hide. Even Samsung pay is working but only via my Gear S3 watch (through the phone app of course).
I have used the LOS on other phones previously and I also like it, but for the time being on the Note 9 I am sticking with as close to stock as possible. When Samsung stops supports and updates on it, I will consider the LOS as my first choice.

Related

Is there a method to root a Verizon Note 8 that doesn't block MAGISK from working?

Hoping this is an easy question for someone to answer - I'll do my own research this weekend when I have time and delete the question then if no one has replied. Thanks...
Probably not. The reason I bought the international version was because the snapdragon US variants have locked bootloader's..
That's why you can't flash TWRP and such.
=·\
I got really sick, really fast, of rooting my T-Mobile S7. The only way to do it was with the special unlocked kernel, and SuperSU.
And let's be honest, SuperSU is nowhere near as useful as Magisk. At least if you're like me, and you prefer your phone to be capable of the features that root, and other various mods, available.
The US devices are cursed with the slow, and limited possibilities, that their hardware manufacturer's allow.
=·[
I tried forever to switch my S7 over to Magisk.
Even tried things like recompiling the the special "development kernel", as I think it's called, into an Odin file, by Magisk manager.
And all my attempts always either resulted in the device refusing to even start the boot process, or Odin refusing to allow me to flash the Magisk compiled version of the kernel.. [I was using the special Odin to flash the files, too.]
=·[
Not to say it cannot be done, but I have a feeling it's highly unlikely, unfortunately.
But if you do find a way to make it work on your Note 8, I would love to hear the process, so maybe I could revive my S7 from the sad, slow, state it's in, now.
=·]

Unroot after custom rom install?

This is probably a stupid question with an obvious answer, but I have a question.
I want to update my phone to Android Nougat, Oreo (If there's a good ROM. All the ROMs I saw in my quick scan of the ROM forum were Nougat) and eventually P. But I have banking apps that will break if my phone is rooted. So here's what I want to do:
1) Root phone
2) Install new ROM
3) Unroot phone
4) Enjoy a better Android
Is this possible? This feels like a dumb question and I feel like the answer ought to be yes. But I don't want to waste an evening or two rooting if there's zero chance of it actually working.
Of course you can. If you root your phone with magisk, there is also an uninstaller script. There should be something also for superSU. The main problem is that there are no custom roms for p9+, so eventually you'll just get official oreo.
"Eventually"
My phone is carrier-branded to Uplus in Korea. They haven't update the phone in the 1 1/2 years I've had it. I've got little expectation that they're going to start now.

Question Question regarding root and updates?

Hey there guys,
I just received my s21 ultra (G998B) and planning to root it. I had a few questions since I’m new to this and wanted some clarifications:
1) If I root the phone can I update it OTA through the settings or do I have to update it by another method? Will I lose root/data/apps if I do that?
2) If I lose root when updating it, can I just root again and be all set? Or do I have to follow another procedure for that?
3) I am planning to debloat a few apps and services that I won’t be using, if I update the system/software will the stuff that I debloated come back and will I have to do the debloat again?
Thank you for all the help.
paul_cherma said:
Hey there guys,
I just received my s21 ultra (G998B) and planning to root it. I had a few questions since I’m new to this and wanted some clarifications:
1) If I root the phone can I update it OTA through the settings or do I have to update it by another method? Will I lose root/data/apps if I do that?
2) If I lose root when updating it, can I just root again and be all set? Or do I have to follow another procedure for that?
3) I am planning to debloat a few apps and services that I won’t be using, if I update the system/software will the stuff that I debloated come back and will I have to do the debloat again?
Thank you for all the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1- Probably not usually the root or recovery will block OTA updates from installing, even if they download.
2- If you lose root, you can USUALLY re-root assuming the same root method wasnt patched. If it was patched, a new root method (though probably still through magisk) will be needed. If this is the case, its up to the dev to find that method, you might be without root for a while.
3-if you debloat, and receive an OTA, your will probably need to de-bloat again, thought I havent personally had experience with this.
Why are you rooting? Just to de-bloat? If so, root isn't really necessary...
As someone who's been in the rooting stage for many years, i can answer your questions.
1. You can not update your phone through OTA updates after rooting the device, as the device was modified in an unauthorized way. And since you own a galaxy phone, the e-fuse within the motherboard will blow and knox will be permanently blown. You can no longer use samsung pay, google pay, and any other app that uses the safetynet api, even after you unroot the device.
2. You will lose root every time you update. You will need ODIN on your PC in order to properly update your firmware and to re-root your device by following the procedure again that you used to root your device, unless samsung patched the method you used to root your device. You can always check what bootloader version you're on within the firmware. For example, on the galaxy S8, the firmware version is N950U1UES5CRG9. The 5th to last number of the firmware will tell you. In this case, N950U1UES5CRG9 is the 5th bootloader version. Keep this in mind once samsung starts to update your phone often.
3. You will have to debloat again from scratch. In order to fully update your device through ODIN, you need to download the full firmware file containing an AP (Firmware), BL (Bootloader) , CP (Modem), and CSC (Carrier File) and manually flash them.
Do keep in mind, it is possible to soft brick or even hard brick your device, so back up your data frequently if you decide to tinker with your device.
Thank you for the detailed answer. I just updated my software to the latest official one by Samsung (April 1st security patch) but I am not rooted yet. I guess I could live with the fact that I can root the phone now and stay on this software version/security patch until I upgrade, since I would have to go through a lot of hassle to set-up the phone the way I wanted. But the main reason why I want to get the official updates is because of the camera improvements that Samsung does, since the main reason of me getting this phone is the camera. And there are some root-required tweaks that I absolutely need such as Viper, and some xposed tweaks also. I like the Stock ROM of Samsung, it really has come a long way at least imo throughout the years, as I have been a Samsung user since day 1 but:
Would it be a good idea to install a custom ROM then? I am reading the description of a few custom ROMs and it seems like I can “retain everything” by simply dirty flashing the ROM and following the dev’s instructions on how to retain root whenever the developer updates it. Is that a better route to take you think? I can keep my device rooted, and still get the updates through a custom ROM.
paul_cherma said:
Thank you for the detailed answer. I just updated my software to the latest official one by Samsung (April 1st security patch) but I am not rooted yet. I guess I could live with the fact that I can root the phone now and stay on this software version/security patch until I upgrade, since I would have to go through a lot of hassle to set-up the phone the way I wanted. But the main reason why I want to get the official updates is because of the camera improvements that Samsung does, since the main reason of me getting this phone is the camera. And there are some root-required tweaks that I absolutely need such as Viper, and some xposed tweaks also. I like the Stock ROM of Samsung, it really has come a long way at least imo throughout the years, as I have been a Samsung user since day 1 but:
Would it be a good idea to install a custom ROM then? I am reading the description of a few custom ROMs and it seems like I can “retain everything” by simply dirty flashing the ROM and following the dev’s instructions on how to retain root whenever the developer updates it. Is that a better route to take you think? I can keep my device rooted, and still get the updates through a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That really varies depending on the custom rom you go for. Usually when you dirty flash a rom, you would need to re root your device, but some (not all) roms are persistent with root after system updates. Do keep in mind if you switch to a custom rom, your system might be more buggy and crash more often. One thing i will say though is that xposed is outdated. The last android version xposed officially supported was either 8 or 9. When it has to come down to certain mods you'd wish to have with root, take that into consideration too, as it might make your device really unstable if it's too outdated or if there's a buggy port available. I've dealt with that issue too many times on my phones.
HighOnLinux said:
That really varies depending on the custom rom you go for. Usually when you dirty flash a rom, you would need to re root your device, but some (not all) roms are persistent with root after system updates. Do keep in mind if you switch to a custom rom, your system might be more buggy and crash more often. One thing i will say though is that xposed is outdated. The last android version xposed officially supported was either 8 or 9. When it has to come down to certain mods you'd wish to have with root, take that into consideration too, as it might make your device really unstable if it's too outdated or if there's a buggy port available. I've dealt with that issue too many times on my phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if xposed is outdated, what is the new thing the comunity is migrating to? All the privacy, security, and customizability tools available through xposed must go somewhere, right?
Twodordan said:
if xposed is outdated, what is the new thing the comunity is migrating to? All the privacy, security, and customizability tools available through xposed must go somewhere, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's buggy ports thats flashable on magisk. While you still can get xposed, it'll be an unofficial version, and more likely to run into issues within your rom and daily use into your device.
HighOnLinux said:
There's buggy ports thats flashable on magisk. While you still can get xposed, it'll be an unofficial version, and more likely to run into issues within your rom and daily use into your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean xprivacy on xposed was the must have killer feature for any android device to turn your device into anything other than a privacy nightmare. If we can't do that any more we are f'd.
[EDIT] Looks like the new version of xprivacy, xprivacyLua is still supported for android 11, with magisk and EdXposed or LSPosed:
[CLOSED][APP][XPOSED][6.0+] XPrivacyLua - Android privacy manager [UNSUPPORTED]
XPrivacyLua Really simple to use privacy manager for Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later (successor of XPrivacy). Revoking Android permissions from apps often let apps crash or malfunction. XPrivacyLua solves this by feeding apps fake data...
forum.xda-developers.com
XPrivacyLua/README.md at master · M66B/XPrivacyLua
Really simple to use privacy manager for Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later - XPrivacyLua/README.md at master · M66B/XPrivacyLua
github.com

GO Back To Basics

Hi there, I will keep this as short as possible and jump straight to the topic.
I have been using various custom ROMs for the past two years- some were excellent and others not so good. Despite the awesome Exynos 7870 community and devs that provide many superior ROMs, I decided to go back to the Stock ROM since I am planning to resell my device. With this glorious purpose, I installed the stock firmware from Sammobile with the help of Odin 3.14.1. I experienced nostalgia going back to android 8 from 10 (was using A7 Port from Astrako before).
It worked and everything seemed fine until I opened Samsung Pass and to my surprise it said that my device was rooted and I could not use Samsung Pass. Not that I care using it anyway but it is the root that bothers me more. I thought I had completely gone back to stock after installing the stock firmware then why does the root still persist.
I need help un-rooting my device and get a 'completely stock' experience.
Please help!
Your device is as stock as it gets when Samsung pass says your device is rooted it is not actually rooted it is just that Knox was tripped the first time you rooted your phone and so the app thinks your phone is rooted unfortunately there is no way to undo this since know is an e-fuse.

Question US Unlocked but using T-Mobile SIM - How to Root safely, many ??s

Long story, but after travails with an Amazon-purchased Oneplus 9 Pro due to it being locked (T-Mobile!) and them refusing to unlock it....
I went to OnePlus and got myself a OnePlus 10 Pro Unlocked. Still have the T-Mobile sim, though.
My question....
I have been out of the rooted phone scene for some time. I had a Oneplus 2 rooted and a Samsung Note 4 and 5 rooted. But things are different now, I'm gathering. Plus this is a new phone and I don't want to toss away hundreds of dollars by bricking it.
I used TWRP back in the day. Flashed many a custom rom back then. But with this OnePlus, I already unlocked it which... is that the same as rooting it? And what are the benefits of rooting / flashing roms vs just going with what is currently on this US phone (Oxygen 13 but not 13.1 yet)? I kinda want to see TWRP on here, and back up my whole set up into files I can then copy to my computer(s) for safety's sake. At least I liked that feature when I had it w/ the OP 2 and others.
Trying to get back up to speed in the world of rooting as it stands now.
Thanks.
TWRP on this device is really, "make of it what you will." It doesn't fully support this phone officially, and the leaked versions don't support device decryption, so you'll be forced to not use a passcode on your phone.
You don't need TWRP anymore, you just need to be careful and know what you're doing. There's guides for every model here, although they're all basically the same. Try to avoid flashing anything from your PC to the phone, just flash inside Magisk and BOOT images.
From my knowledge the reason for this is there's hidden partitions from OPPO all over the filesystem and normal flashers don't take this into account, anyone just trying to flash a full zip has bricked.
Which leads me to, there's no full recovery for this device that's free. If you brick a file and end up boot looping both slots, you're gonna have to pay for a restore. Even with TWRP, from what I hear, full backups sometimes fail to restore properly on this device.
TL;DR Be careful, read guides, you'll be fine. Rooting (on this device, with a lack of full recovery, hence no custom ROMs or Kernels) is really just used for audio mods, photo mods like free google photos, extensive app mods, etc. If you're not actively looking into any of these, stock Android is pretty solid.
Prant said:
TWRP on this device is really, "make of it what you will." It doesn't fully support this phone officially, and the leaked versions don't support device decryption, so you'll be forced to not use a passcode on your phone.
You don't need TWRP anymore, you just need to be careful and know what you're doing. There's guides for every model here, although they're all basically the same. Try to avoid flashing anything from your PC to the phone, just flash inside Magisk and BOOT images.
From my knowledge the reason for this is there's hidden partitions from OPPO all over the filesystem and normal flashers don't take this into account, anyone just trying to flash a full zip has bricked.
Which leads me to, there's no full recovery for this device that's free. If you brick a file and end up boot looping both slots, you're gonna have to pay for a restore. Even with TWRP, from what I hear, full backups sometimes fail to restore properly on this device.
TL;DR Be careful, read guides, you'll be fine. Rooting (on this device, with a lack of full recovery, hence no custom ROMs or Kernels) is really just used for audio mods, photo mods like free google photos, extensive app mods, etc. If you're not actively looking into any of these, stock Android is pretty solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this.
I got as far as unlocking the phone and installing Magisk. But haven't gone further until I understand what the next step is.
Can I root non-destructively? Or is the phone wiped?
If you're unlocked and have Magisk installed, rooting is as easy as booting a patched boot image, then using Magisk to install it to your boot image. You have the choice of finding a matching one in one of the guides or pulling your own from a full zip.
It must match the firmware revision, I know for a fact personally that region matters little in case of NE2215/3, as you're only doing a one time boot.
I recommend @g96818 's guide here, you can find almost every firmware's boot image posted there if you prefer patch it yourself using Magisk or just boot an already patched one.
I have a 10 Pro (NE2215) rooted as a daily driver using TMO US.
Unlocked means 2 things in the android phone scene. Either it's carrier unlocked and can take any sim from any phone company or it bootloader unlocked which is needed to root and load custom roms.
There aren't any custom roms for the 10pro because of the lack of a full recovery system. Basically the ability to force full flash a stock rom in case the custom ROM soft bricks the phone. So that leaves rooting as the reason to unlock your bootloader.
I suggest reading the guide for rooting this phone, it's relatively easy. TWRP is unnecessary as it doesn't offer much without custom ROMs. Also you should back up everything on the phone that you don't want to lose because during the rooting process a factory reset will occur (android safety feature).

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