[Q] Rooting question - software version - Desire HD Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My DHD is brand new - just a week. It was supplied by Orange in France - who by the way are the most incompetent company I have ever dealt with - and the software number is 1.40.61.2
Now I'm thinking of rooting the phone. Partly because I understand that it will help me improve battery life (True/false??)
That I will be able to run some apps which I wouldn't otherwise be able to do
And also because I love gadgetery and fiddling around with things.
On the other hand I rely hugely on the phone. I don't want to lose it and I'm not hugely techie.
Looking around, I read that if a phone is 1.72 then it must be downgraded to 1.32
So my phone is 1.40. Where does that leave me? I have never seen any mention of this version number anywhere. I have to ask myslef also, why have I been supplied a new phone with an old version of the software.
Anyway, that's just my first question. I expect that there will be others to follow.

have a look to the Desire DHD Forum
good luck

Thanks, in fact I have temprooted with Viionary and it works OK.
I haven't done a perm-root bevause I'm very anxious.
What I don't understand is how I would then be able to return it to its original state.

lejars1 said:
Thanks, in fact I have temprooted with Viionary and it works OK.
I haven't done a perm-root bevause I'm very anxious.
What I don't understand is how I would then be able to return it to its original state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Visionary+ can unroot your device with just one click

Yes, I saw that - but I'm still worrried. Terrible eh? Is there some way to back up my phone completely and then restore it completely if it all goes to worms?
I'm expect that it would unroot quite satisfactorily - but I found it a bit disconcerting simply to see that it says that Visionary will try to unroot.
I don't know if it is my age - over 60 but I'm really feeling my way on all of this and I look to be very sure before I do things.
Although there are lots of guides on this forum as to what to do, there aren't any guides which tell you why you have to do each step.
I'd like to know what I am achieving at each step of the rooting, flashing, s-off eng-off blah blah. Then I'll feel that I'm in control and that will give me a comfort factor.
My main objective is to improve battery life - and after that, to see if I can have some fun. (Actually, that's my objective in life too!!)

lejars1 said:
Yes, I saw that - but I'm still worrried. Terrible eh? Is there some way to back up my phone completely and then restore it completely if it all goes to worms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to completely revert your phone to stock, you can simply do a factory restore (In Settings->SD-Card & phone storage)
A Backup of your contacts, settings etc. can be done with MyBackup (I believe you can't backup everything, but almost everything). The apps can be restored from the Android Market.
lejars1 said:
I'm expect that it would unroot quite satisfactorily - but I found it a bit disconcerting simply to see that it says that Visionary will try to unroot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To say the truth, there have been little to none problems with Visionary+ I know of. The "try" is there to indicate that it might, under unknown circumstances, not work. The same can be said about some stock functions though and they don't bother to mention it.
lejars1 said:
I'd like to know what I am achieving at each step of the rooting, flashing, s-off eng-off blah blah. Then I'll feel that I'm in control and that will give me a comfort factor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay let's see:
Rooting:
Root superuser in UNIX-based systems. The equivalent of the "administrator" in Windows. He can do basically everything in the system. The account is disabled in Android though.
When you root your phone, you activate this account and thus gain (almost) complete access to your system.
A TempRoot will not survive a reboot and needs to be applied every time you reboot your phone, while a Permanent Root will not be lost.
S-OFF:
S-OFF stands for Security Off. It means that you (or rather the programs you choose to use) will be able to replace the bootloader, write persistent changes to the system (like removing stock apps).
You will also be able to flash a custom Recovery (most likely ClockworkMod Recovery). Recoveries are independent of the regular operating system and allow you to flash custom ROMs, make (and more importantly restore) backups of your system, etc.
There are two types of S-OFF: Eng S-OFF and Radio S-OFF
Eng S-OFF stands for Engineered S-OFF and modifies the bootloader so it will allow you to access all the functions. It is needed if you want to flash a new radio.
Radio S-OFF on the other hand really sets the Security flag to OFF. It can easily be reversed and is the "cleaner" option.
Flashing:
Flashing is the process of overwriting some part of the system (or the whole system) with a custom replacement. It is done while in Recovery by selecting a zip file from the SD-Card and telling ClockworkMod Recovery to flash it. Really it is quite simple if you follow the developer's instructions.

It is so decent of you to take the time to do this. It is very helpful indeed.
I hope that you know now, that I am going to keep on asking you more questions. Is that OK?
I didn't realise that a factory reset will undo the permanent rotting. That is very reassuring to know. So that's a worry out of the way.
So, you do a permanent root.
When you have the superadmin rights, you can then make fundamental changes to the system.
The next thing is to turn off the security which I suppose is a bit like a firewall and allows certain programs to install at a system level. Right?
You can either do this using Eng or Radio - and what I gather from you is that it is better to use Radio. - Right? but Eng and radio are alternatives. I had gathered that you had to do both. - wrong.
Then if you are going further, you have to flash various radios - but now I'm lost. What is a radio?
(I hope that you don't regret getting into this.)
Also, at what point does it become risky - and what point can you no longer restore merely by doing a factory reset?

One small correction
2 Types of S-Off are S-Off & ENG S-Off.
Radio S-Off is a different beast.

andyharney said:
One small correction
2 Types of S-Off are S-Off & ENG S-Off.
Radio S-Off is a different beast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - but arrgh!
A bit more confused now!

lejars1 said:
Thanks - but arrgh!
A bit more confused now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC phones come nand locked. Its an extra form of security against root, so even a rooted phone cannot write to the protected parts of the nand chip (/system, /recovery /radio /misc ect) thats what s-off is for. It removes the write protection on thoes partitions
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

Related

[Q] Bravo Unkown Ship S-Off...

... found this setting while resetting my Desire. I was trying to work out why it won't update to Froyo. A lot of you seemed interested in learning something from a Desire like this on these forums in August...
- Is this still of interest/use to anyone?
- Does security off mean that it can be rooted more easily... or is it already rooted?
- What is my best bet for updating/improving it (either by root or OTA)?
Any help would be gratefully received
danlepub said:
... found this setting while resetting my Desire. I was trying to work out why it won't update to Froyo. A lot of you seemed interested in learning something from a Desire like this on these forums in August...
- Is this still of interest/use to anyone?
- Does security off mean that it can be rooted more easily... or is it already rooted?
- What is my best bet for updating/improving it (either by root or OTA)?
Any help would be gratefully received
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think if it is S-Off you are pretty much rooted anyway as you should have full access to the system anyway and can replace what you want?
Regarding if it would be useful to anyone, I will let the devs answer that one, a good place to ask would be the #alpharev channel on irc.freenode.net. Since IEF was the "father of S-Off" it might be of interest to him?
Thank you for the response... I will have a look at #alpharev
Been reading more, and I'm not sure it is rooted... there is no Super User icon.
It is also HBoot 0.75... I thought S-Off changes it to 0.93. Also been in touch with HTC who say it is unbranded, yet it is branded... network provider splash and everything!
Being S-OFF and being rooted are actually 2 completely different things which alot of people get confused thinking they are somewhat the same.
S-OFF basically means you have an unlocked bootloader (like a computers BIOS), which allows you to flash custom recoveries from fastboot, aswell as ROMs, have full r/w access to NAND and so-forth without the need to mess about with lengthy hacks or bodge methods to also flash a custom / updated ROM.
Being Rooted gives you elevated permissions within the android OS itself, so you can do things you can't normally do, such as access bits of the filesystem which are usually hidden via a permission mask, run applications which require elevated permissions to work, such as SETCPU and Titanium Backup. Think of the rooting process as using your computer with an admin account (rooted) allowing you full control over everything, and a Limited Account, where access to key systems isn't allowed and you can only do certain things.
Now combine the two, S-OFF and Rooting, and you basically get a rather large slice of awesome pie. Being rooted while S-OFF will now allow you to have full R/W access to the system partitions while android is running, so you can run even more apps such as AdFree (allowing you to update hosts list without flashing a whole new ROM) amongst other things.
Brilliant! Think I understand... thank you very much.

How do I get S-Off

I have permerooted my DZ but now I seem to be having trouble understanding How to get S-Off and I can't do a nandroid backup unless I get S-off right.
Manarch101 said:
I have permerooted my DZ but now I seem to be having trouble understanding How to get S-Off and I can't do a nandroid backup unless I get S-off right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you following the guide in the wiki?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Manarch101 said:
I have permerooted my DZ but now I seem to be having trouble understanding How to get S-Off and I can't do a nandroid backup unless I get S-off right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, yes you need S-Off to do a nandriod back up.
Second, you do not have permroot if you do not have S-Off. To get S-off there are several ways but I recommend using Rage+gfree found Here: in sub section "Rooting the Vision (G2/DZ) and DHD" This by far is the safest way to root.
But to let you make an informed decision there is also Visionary, now people in properly using this method, has produced a lot of soft bricks, I my self rooted this way, but again I still recommend using Rage+Gfree. But if you wish to still give Visionary a shot, Heres a link on how to properly use Visionary, make sure you follow everything to the "T". Read everything I have written in the post, do everything I have written in the post, then follow the videos exactly. But just to be clear, I am still recommending using the Rage+Gfree method. Happy Rooting.
ok joemm I tried the rage directions that you told me and I am not sure if it worked is there a way of knowing if it worked or not
Edit: nvm I can now get into CWM area which I could not get into before thanxs for the help and info.
What!!?? I know for a fact that you don't need s-off to do a nandroid. In fact, the ONLY thing s-off does that's of any significance is allow you to write to the system while it's booted - that's it. It's not some magic thing you absolutely need, just like having an ENG hboot isn't necessary to do 99% of the modifying you'll ever do.
This is a technical forum not some fire and brimstone 'do it or you'll die' sermon. Let's not construe fact and fiction/personal opinion on here. Just dish the facts unless otherwise rerquested.
As for gaining s-off, follow the wiki, push the files and you can literally copy and paste the commands if you need to (I suggest that so you don't screw up and brick your phone).
KCRic said:
What!!?? I know for a fact that you don't need s-off to do a nandroid. In fact, the ONLY thing s-off does that's of any significance is allow you to write to the system while it's booted - that's it. It's not some magic thing you absolutely need, just like having an ENG hboot isn't necessary to do 99% of the modifying you'll ever do.
This is a technical forum not some fire and brimstone 'do it or you'll die' sermon. Let's not construe fact and fiction/personal opinion on here. Just dish the facts unless otherwise rerquested.
As for gaining s-off, follow the wiki, push the files and you can literally copy and paste the commands if you need to (I suggest that so you don't screw up and brick your phone).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL..........how does he flash a custom CWM recovery with out having a rooted phone? Remember he is using ClockWorkMod to do a back up?
KCRic said:
What!!?? I know for a fact that you don't need s-off to do a nandroid. In fact, the ONLY thing s-off does that's of any significance is allow you to write to the system while it's booted - that's it. It's not some magic thing you absolutely need, just like having an ENG hboot isn't necessary to do 99% of the modifying you'll ever do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-OFF lets you flash unsigned images and overrides version checking ,it isn't just about writing to the system while booted. I think you may be confusing defeating the NAND write protection with the actual S-OFF.
As far as I know you need S-OFF to flash a custom recovery, and you need CWM recovery to do a nandroid backup. I have never tried flash_image but I would be suprised if that let you flash a custom recovery while S-ON, because flash_image is just a regular binary.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
steviewevie said:
S-OFF lets you flash unsigned images and overrides version checking ,it isn't just about writing to the system while booted. I think you may be confusing defeating the NAND write protection with the actual S-OFF.
As far as I know you need S-OFF to flash a custom recovery, and you need CWM recovery to do a nandroid backup. I have never tried flash_image but I would be suprised if that let you flash a custom recovery while S-ON, because flash_image is just a regular binary.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True you can't flash a custom recovery and have it stick after a reboot but you can package it into an update.zip and flash it when you get into recovery. Aside from that you're phone performs the same. That's how we did everything on the MT slide before some one found a method to gain s-off. Of course there were no custom MTD partitions and we couldn't change the splash but that falls into the 1% of things the average 'rooter' will not attempt. The only reason we needed the ENG hboot was so that adb would catch our phone in recovery every time without running a loop.bat and praying to god. As far as NAND write protection, normally when a dev manages to break s-on they also break the write protection. At least that's what I've seen in phones with s-off. Are there any not like that?
Hopefully I didn't come off as an ass earlier, didn't mean it. I got 3 hours of sleep and I'm pulling a 13 hour day with a foot of fresh snow outside
I think you might be drawing too much comparison with earlier phones. The DZ and DHD have much stronger security than earlier phones. People familiar with experience of older HTC Android phones have often made incorrect assumptions about how things work on the DZ, some things are quite different (and typically much more complicated to unlock)
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
steviewevie said:
People familiar with experience of older HTC Android phones have often made incorrect assumptions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hell yes! And I'm one of them!
Last night I put some Cyanogen 6.1 flavoured ROM on my Magic/Sapphire. It was so easy: like 2 years ago or so I flashed some S-OFF ENG hboot, put some nice custom recovery on the phone and there I went, peacefully since ever. Reason for flashing the 6.1 CM was me giving the fone to my GF so that I can pick up a brand new Desire Z.
I came here, wanted to quickly crack that thing to play around with it and I find some gFree, Visionary, adb push stuff blah blah blah (I know my way around adb, that's not the point), it seems to have become alot more difficult than back in the days, as pointed out by steviewevie.
So, anyone willing to *quickly* summarize what has changed in the last 12 months regarding "rooting", "cracking" and ROM-customizing HTC devices for me...? I'm still, uhm... well, I'm shocked and overwhelmed. In the store I thought: cool, 7pm, device mine, home by 7:30, rooted by 8, Gingerbread-flavour on it by 8:30-9pm, ROM customization (settings and such) from 9-10, sleepy time by 10:30pm. Nah, it's past 10:30 and I'm still trying to figure out what's what with the new devices...
schaggo said:
Hell yes! And I'm one of them!
Last night I put some Cyanogen 6.1 flavoured ROM on my Magic/Sapphire. It was so easy: like 2 years ago or so I flashed some S-OFF ENG hboot, put some nice custom recovery on the phone and there I went, peacefully since ever. Reason for flashing the 6.1 CM was me giving the fone to my GF so that I can pick up a brand new Desire Z.
I came here, wanted to quickly crack that thing to play around with it and I find some gFree, Visionary, adb push stuff blah blah blah (I know my way around adb, that's not the point), it seems to have become alot more difficult than back in the days, as pointed out by steviewevie.
So, anyone willing to *quickly* summarize what has changed in the last 12 months regarding "rooting", "cracking" and ROM-customizing HTC devices for me...? I'm still, uhm... well, I'm shocked and overwhelmed. In the store I thought: cool, 7pm, device mine, home by 7:30, rooted by 8, Gingerbread-flavour on it by 8:30-9pm, ROM customization (settings and such) from 9-10, sleepy time by 10:30pm. Nah, it's past 10:30 and I'm still trying to figure out what's what with the new devices...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its become more difficult because device manufacturers have made it more difficult. The "official" means to root the Vision is posted on the Vision wiki page here at XDA.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Thanks for the answer. I got the thing cracked in the meantime. The device feels so much smoother without Sense... and Gingerbread is good for one's soul

[Q] Help for noob - riskfree root / S-OFF / flashing

Although I rooted my own Desire back in May of last year, I have since moved on to a different phone and hence stopped following development etc for the Desire.
I have a work colleague who would like the benefits of a rooted, custom ROM but he has no experience in phone-modifying. He basically wants better battery life (so SetCPU would do the job for that) and more space for apps (Apps2SD the original, not Google's implementation). On top of that I'm sure he would probably enjoy the enhancements of the new Sense ROMs as well.
When I rooted my own Desire it was back in the days of fake-flash and I don't think my Desire was ever S-OFFed - I only had a moderate understanding of what I was doing, and there were a few brown trouser moments as I recall!
What I'm looking for is a complete guide start to finish of the easiest, least risky way to currently root a Desire and install custom recovery (presumably ClockworkMod & Rom Manager are standard for the Desire still?).
I've looked around the forums and found guides which explain some of it, however these threads run into 30, 40, 50+ pages which I think is a bit much reading if you don't really understand what you're reading about. Luckily I have an interest in it, but to my colleague it's just a means to an end, to get his phone working in a decent manner! Unsurprisingly, he is not interested in learning how a combustion engine works in order to drive his car either.
So, can someone write me a FOOLPROOF guide from start to finish:
1. Rooting and S-OFF (with a basic explanation of what this is),
2. Installing a custom recovery (again with an explanation of what this is, and how to use it, Nandroid backups etc)
3. Installing ROMs
I know I'm asking a bit much - I'm just trying to make it as easy as possible for my colleague without actually doing it myself, as I'm not really a good enough friend that if I did take his phone away for a couple of days, that he wouldn't mind if it came back bricked! It needs to be his decision to do it, and him doing it.
I am willing to donate if someone can put all this together for him.
This should have most of the things needed.
Don't worry about S-off since it is not needed and one of the only procedures that can really brick a phone.
Edit: Before starting with rooting, boot in to hboot and check the pvt version. If it's pvt4, the best thing to do is to use Amon_RA as a alternative recovery image. To do this just follow the guide but befoer clicking on root in Unrevoked go to "file" and select the alternative recovery.
You can use the unrevoked way which is too easy to do and if you want to S-Off, although not needed, you can visit AlphaRev
I would say for definite, forget about s-off. Not exactly sure what it is myself, but as it's completely unnecessary for the whole rooting/flashing procedure, why bother?
I rooted from a linux boot cd which sounds complicated but I think is actually easier as there's no faffing about with installing sync and then uninstalling it again.
S-Off disables NAND security on GSM phones. When you use unrevoked, it only disables it for CDMA. Also disabling the phones NAND security enables you to do further things like change the splash screen, install another Hboot, delete system apps and so on. If you think rooting gives you more freedom, S-Off gives you even more. It's there for those that need it though. It's not difficult if you do your research. But to be honest, it's an automated process with it working 99.9% of the time.
I did s off without hitch 100% safe.
Also new hboot new recovery with android flasher.
GoogleJelly said:
S-Off disables NAND security on GSM phones. When you use unrevoked, it only disables it for CDMA. Also disabling the phones NAND security enables you to do further things like change the splash screen, install another Hboot, delete system apps and so on. If you think rooting gives you more freedom, S-Off gives you even more. It's there for those that need it though. It's not difficult if you do your research. But to be honest, it's an automated process with it working 99.9% of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
S-OFF does nothing though bar mean you can delete apps without having to be in recovery. for someone who has no idea about modding it's just not worth doing. Rooting and using a custom Senes-based ROM will do the job just fine
It does way more than mean you can just delete apps. The methods for installing stuff these days are more or less 100% bug free and won't bugger up your device. Why not give it a go? Just make sure you read info and research it a little first before you start. Just don't do what I did and almost brick it
But if the OP doesn't know how to root then they're not going to need to S-OFF are they? Seems pointless
I did S-OFF for two reasons:
1) To install custom HBOOT so that I get more space in /data
2) For the hell of it.....
EDIT: I think some of the ROMs need S-OFF enabled (I'm not sure....) but, at the same time, I don't think S-OFF is absolutely necessary.
S-Off isn't necessary to have. No rom requires you to have it. It is just something that you may as well have if you root because it gives you way more freedom.
Totally disagree, it's not needed at all if you just want the phone to work. Custom ROM with A2SD+ is MORE than enough for a complete n00b
EddyOS said:
Totally disagree, it's not needed at all if you just want the phone to work. Custom ROM with A2SD+ is MORE than enough for a complete n00b
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree completely. If you want to explore custom ROM's, get A2SD etc then root. Once you're happy with the whole root/recovery/flashing thing THEN look at s-off if it is necessary to do what you want. For a lot of people it really isn't required at all, and it definitely shouldn't be the first thing you think of doing.

Terms explanation

Hello, im a newby to smartphones and i wanted to ask what a couple of terms mean.
1. What does Rooted mean because i hear it all the time here in this forum.
2. Why is a phone needed to be Rooted?
3. What does S-OFF mean?
zoranb said:
Hello, im a newby to smartphones and i wanted to ask what a couple of terms mean.
1. What does Rooted mean because i hear it all the time here in this forum.
2. Why is a phone needed to be Rooted?
3. What does S-OFF mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1: Rooted means you have full access permissions to the device. Think of it like the administrator account on Windows- a regular user can do some things, but only an administrator can make major modifcations to the device.
2: With a rooted device, one can run apps that make deep changes to the way Android functions, like adblockers or backup tools. Also, one can even put a different version of Android on the phone. These custom versions of Android are called "custom ROMs".
3. On HTC devices, even a rooted phone does not allow access to certain very deep system areas if the phone is in S-On mode. Setting the phone to S-Off removes these restrictions. It is not typically necessary to do this, but if you frequently "flash" (install) custom ROMs it may make your life easier. You also must be S-Off if you want to change the cell radio firmware (which is not reccomended unless you have a good reason to do so).
Are there any downsides to S-Off the phone?
zoranb said:
Are there any downsides to S-Off the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No not at all.
Sent from my Desire HD
zoranb said:
Are there any downsides to S-Off the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes there are since now you can falsh a radio and if you flash the incorrect one, you'll end up with a bricked phone... It just gives you more permissions and by doing so, more way to screw up your system...
Personally, I was S-OFF and everything has been very easy for me because with the extra premisions you get from S-OFF you can flash anything directly from the phone without the need of your PC and ADB making flashing new ROMs and kernels a breze

The rooting of the M8

Hello all,
I have some questions about rooting my phone, the HTC One M8. If someone gets a new phone like this one, backs it up after initial setup, roots and does s-off, and then does a second backup (optional).......... is there any reason why that person should need to worry about anything going wrong? I'm replacing my phone and want to know that as long as I back it up before rooting and s-off, I should never have to worry, right?
Also, once you root a phone, you can still get new OTAs right? The rooting doesn't stop that, right? Just a simple yes or no is fine.
Kindly please answer both. I appreciate all those who can shed some light! It seems that rooting is ok as long as you do it (and S-OFF) BEFORE receiving any OTAs, or that's what I think.
Thank You,
RockStar2005
RockStar2005 said:
Hello all,
I have some questions about rooting my phone, the HTC One M8. If someone gets a new phone like this one, backs it up after initial setup, roots and does s-off, and then does a second backup (optional).......... is there any reason why that person should need to worry about anything going wrong? I'm replacing my phone and want to know that as long as I back it up before rooting and s-off, I should never have to worry, right?
Also, once you root a phone, you can still get new OTAs right? The rooting doesn't stop that, right? Just a simple yes or no is fine.
Kindly please answer both. I appreciate all those who can shed some light! It seems that rooting is ok as long as you do it (and S-OFF) BEFORE receiving any OTAs, or that's what I think.
Thank You,
RockStar2005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
part of rooting is a custom recovery which can block ota's from installing. sometimes the updates can manually be flashed or you can just revert to a stock recovery temporarily but changes to your system can also block the install. as far as the backups it's what ever your comfortable with - I never bother with backups of the stock software and I've never needed one.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
lampel said:
part of rooting is a custom recovery which can block ota's from installing. sometimes the updates can manually be flashed or you can just revert to a stock recovery temporarily but changes to your system can also block the install. as far as the backups it's what ever your comfortable with - I never bother with backups of the stock software and I've never needed one.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thank Lampel!
RockStar2005
I have questions pertaining to Rooting the HTC One M8 aswell.
I moved from Samsung's Galaxy line of phones and have always Rooted without hesitation. Reasons being, I have become comfortable with the way they work and am confident I can return it to Stock (no modded counters on it or whatever), if I need to bring it back to my carrier for some reason.
Now I just got my M8, and definitely want to Root it, but all the new terms for HTC phones confuse me a little. Things I need to know before going forward with Rooting are:
1) What is "S-Off"/'S-On"? And what does it mean?
2) If I Root, can I bring it back to Stock where it will look like I did nothing to it so I can return to the store if I need to?
3) I know there are risks when Rooting, but are there things that become "broken" or don't work because of Rooting? Examples would be like Sony's Xperia devices, the Bravia Engine stops working, and so does the Camera (for some models). Those things become "broken" as a security feature for Sony. Did HTC do anything similar?
4) Anything else you might think I need to know before Rooting?
Thanks in advance!
leo9891 said:
1) What is "S-Off"/'S-On"? And what does it mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not 100% certain on the other questions but maybe I can help with your first question.
Security-ON / Security-OFF. These settings seem specific to HTC. When you purchase a new phone, it will be S-On. This basically means that there are specific areas of your phone that you won't be able to touch, even with root access. However, you can alter the system, boot, and recovery partitions with root access and S-On. S-Off will allow access to the radio and other partitions that you won't be able to access with S-On. S-Off also allows you to change the splash screen. You can check your S-on/S-off status by booting into fastboot (power off phone, press volume down and power until you see the white fastboot screen).
It is my understanding that in order to get S-Off on newer HTC One M8's, Sunshine (http://theroot.ninja/) can be used but it does cost $25. The htcdev.com site has more information on S-On/S-Off along with warnings of why you may not want to go with S-Off here: http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/about_unlock_process.
janderia said:
I'm not 100% certain on the other questions but maybe I can help with your first question.
Security-ON / Security-OFF. These settings seem specific to HTC. When you purchase a new phone, it will be S-On. This basically means that there are specific areas of your phone that you won't be able to touch, even with root access. However, you can alter the system, boot, and recovery partitions with root access and S-On. S-Off will allow access to the radio and other partitions that you won't be able to access with S-On. S-Off also allows you to change the splash screen. You can check your S-on/S-off status by booting into fastboot (power off phone, press volume down and power until you see the white fastboot screen).
It is my understanding that in order to get S-Off on newer HTC One M8's, Sunshine (http://theroot.ninja/) can be used but it does cost $25. The htcdev.com site has more information on S-On/S-Off along with warnings of why you may not want to go with S-Off here: http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/about_unlock_process.
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thanks for your reply, took a day or two after i posted to grab the concept of S-Off/S-On. I'm used to Samsung devices where all you needed was root, and you can do anything.

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