Ok, I have never rooted an Android phone. This is my first. I'm an avid Linux user, and wonder if anyone would have a method to root the phone with Linux? I read one guide, but it wasn't for my phone, and I would prefer to know what files to use, and how to go about from people with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Shane
Edit: I mostly want root access, I'm not as concerned with all the extra ROM's and stuff. Just want to be able to remove some stock apps that are eating space. My phone is unlocked and I would like to remove the T-Mobile stuff, since I can't even use it.
even with root you cant remove any bloatware unless you have s-off, the /system partition cant be altered without it. your best bet is to get root and flash a stock rom that has already had the bloatware removed. i have noticed that with ubuntu, when you plug your phone in via usb, since linux can read ext type file systems, your internal memory will mount to the pc, however even with root access on ubuntu, the /system files are still write protected.
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using xda premium
I do believe you can remove those bloatware if you use Titanium backup's force remove feature, as long as your phone is rooted.
Related
Hey Guys.
I "rooted" my HTC Desire by T-Mobile using Unrevoked3.
Then i flashed a Pre-Rooted Froyo:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=773997
Now i wanted to use the "Root Explorer" to remove Apps like "FriendStream" and stuff.
I was able to delete them, but the still keep running.
Then i rebooted and they are still there although deleted with Root Explorer and Super-User permit.
Is it possible that unrevoked is just a "*****-root" i can just use to flash Images but not for mounting /system (R/W) and removing Apps?
What can i do now? Hope u can help me
erichbitch said:
Hey Guys.
I "rooted" my HTC Desire by T-Mobile using Unrevoked3.
Then i flashed a Pre-Rooted Froyo:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=773997
Now i wanted to use the "Root Explorer" to remove Apps like "FriendStream" and stuff.
I was able to delete them, but the still keep running.
Then i rebooted and they are still there although deleted with Root Explorer and Super-User permit.
Is it possible that unrevoked is just a "*****-root" i can just use to flash Images but not for mounting /system (R/W) and removing Apps?
What can i do now? Hope u can help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the desire dosent have an unlocked spl yet so even a rooted desire dosent have r/w access to /system/ when booted, there are two ways around it, either delete the apps using adb in recovery mode or flash a rom that utilises the new file overlay system that will give you r/w access to /system/
It more or less sounds like you don't understand the meaning of being root. On a system like android, running something with root or superuser permissions will normally allow the app or command to have full access and rights. This is gained by adding a binary called su and the superuser app, which is for controlling which apps gets root access. So actually unrevoked or any other root methods is not about gaining root, but about being able to put these files on the system partition, which it also does.
Now this is not the case on newer HTC handsets, because they have nand protection, which prevent write access to /system even though an app is run with root access. this is controlled by hboot, and in order to allow rw to /system, we will need an s-off hboot. This is not yet available, but the unrevoked team is working on it.
So the socalled "*****" root just shows me that you don't know, what you are talking about
edit: for now if you want to remove apps, you will need to flash a new rom, where you have removed the apk files yourself, or you will have to learn some adb commands, which you can use to edit system partition while in recovery with rw access.
Using adb in Recovery to backup/remove them is very simple (for removal i.e adb shell rm dir/name.apk) however many default apps break other workings and/or cause confusing unexpected errors if removed. I learnt first hand when removing many pre-installed apps. So be careful and always backup.
-----------------------------------
- Sent via my HTC Desire -
AndroHero said:
there are two ways around it, either delete the apps using adb in recovery mode or flash a rom that utilises the new file overlay system that will give you r/w access to /system/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I tell which roms utilize the new file overlay system? Im also having the same problem especially with programs starting up after I've disabled them.
shaliru said:
How can I tell which roms utilize the new file overlay system? Im also having the same problem especially with programs starting up after I've disabled them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have s-off now. Look for that, or use adb.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I just got my new Desire a few days before. It works like a charm. The only 2 things I feel unsatisfied are: battery life and ROM capacity.
There is not much I can do on the battery side. I can put it aside and get used to that. But the ROM is really painful for me -- When I get the device, it had around 150MB free memory. But it is only 22MB left now!
I noticed that the Android 2.2 supported to install application on SD card. I used adb shell to setup the default installation to SD, and moved most of the programs to the SD card. However, it seems that internal memory was not free up as much as I was expected. Indeed, I did not have many software installed. And I am very suspicious if the cache of software (like mail, google maps, etc.) might always stay on internal memory.
I think one solution to solve the problem is to root my device and partition the SD card to increase the program storage. But I am worrying if it might bring security risk from malwares, or make the phone run slower and have bigger power consumption when use SD card more frequently.
Do you root your device for the app2sd? What's the pros and cons? I want to take your opinion before make the decision. Any suggestion will be very appreciated!
w162 said:
I just got my new Desire a few days before. It works like a charm. The only 2 things I feel unsatisfied are: battery life and ROM capacity.
There is not much I can do on the battery side. I can put it aside and get used to that. But the ROM is really painful for me -- When I get the device, it had around 150MB free memory. But it is only 22MB left now!
I noticed that the Android 2.2 supported to install application on SD card. I used adb shell to setup the default installation to SD, and moved most of the programs to the SD card. However, it seems that internal memory was not free up as much as I was expected. Indeed, I did not have many software installed. And I am very suspicious if the cache of software (like mail, google maps, etc.) might always stay on internal memory.
I think one solution to solve the problem is to root my device and partition the SD card to increase the program storage. But I am worrying if it might bring security risk from malwares, or make the phone run slower and have bigger power consumption when use SD card more frequently.
Do you root your device for the app2sd? What's the pros and cons? I want to take your opinion before make the decision. Any suggestion will be very appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting , followed by alpha rev s-off n1 partitioning, is by far the best thing, so much fun.
I use defrost based on cyanogen mod, great support, and ota feature, with kernels galore, and the all important a2sd built in. As long as you have an ext partition on your sd card, all apps go straight into the ext partition with out you having to do anything.
Also remember is not jail breaking
Desire is the source of all suffering.
nitrox1 said:
Rooting , followed by alpha rev s-off n1 partitioning, is by far the best thing, so much fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does alpha rev s-off allow you to do?
It basically provides full root access for your desire as opposed to soft root, where you could only r/w to the to the /system partition while in recovery mode.
What is S-OFF ? (Quotes from original AlphaRev website)
HTC implemented security on their new generation phones. This flag, called @secuflag, controls whether your phone has it's NAND or flash unlocked. Most noticibly S-ON (security on) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partition, to name a few. Also, controls whether zip files being flashed recovery or fastboot, are signed by HTC The now notorious S-OFF (security off) disable this NAND security. Since we are unable to access the Radio itself (where secuflag is stored), we turn attention to HBOOT.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
MasDroid said:
It basically provides full root access for your desire as opposed to soft root, where you could only r/w to the to the /system partition while in recovery mode.
What is S-OFF ? (Quotes from original AlphaRev website)
HTC implemented security on their new generation phones. This flag, called @secuflag, controls whether your phone has it's NAND or flash unlocked. Most noticibly S-ON (security on) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partition, to name a few. Also, controls whether zip files being flashed recovery or fastboot, are signed by HTC The now notorious S-OFF (security off) disable this NAND security. Since we are unable to access the Radio itself (where secuflag is stored), we turn attention to HBOOT.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does it allow you to do that you can't do without it?
stats101 said:
What does it allow you to do that you can't do without it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It unlocks NAND so that you can write into /system partition. You can also flash radio, custom kernel, custom recovery, any unsigned ROM directly via fastboot without ClockWorks Rom Manager.
When you can write to /system, MetaMorph, AdFree and other apps that require access to this partition will just work. You don't need to reboot into recovery in order to delete/change/add files. Superuser will be able to update su binary automatically, Busybox Installer from Market will have no problems installing the most recent version directly into /system/bin or /system/xbin, etc.
While most users probably don't need it, it's very useful for developers. You can change system configs on the fly, add and load custom kernel modules without reboot and so on.
Basically, it will make your phone fully unlocked, just like the Nexus One developer phone.
nitrox1 said:
Desire is the source of all suffering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't agree with that any more now
Hi everyone
I know this thread might look like a dublicated thread, but its not
I searched the forum for similar threads but I couldnt find similar, so I posted it.
I've rooted my HTC desire and tried removing the original apps(like stock,footprint,...etc ) but I couldnt.
After rooting I tried the following apps and got those messages :
File Manager : No suffessient permission
Root Explorer : can't be deleted because the file system is read-ony.
Uninstaller for root : Root access is granted,Can't uninstall app, an unknown error occured.
Any Ideas or apps that could help me in getting rid of such apps
You need to be s-off to remove apps from the system partition while booted, you can however remove the apps in recovery with ADB. Also know that you won't gain any extra space in data because that are different partitions.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
TheGhost1233 said:
You need to be s-off to remove apps from the system partition while booted, you can however remove the apps in recovery with ADB. Also know that you won't gain any extra space in data because that are different partitions.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks alot
To be frank with you, I'm a newbie to android
I'm not that much aware of system commands or programming
so my question is : is it that much complicated using the ADB method or any biggner can do it
Follow this tutorial.
You can also modify the zip before flashing it no ?
Yes, which is also the better way but if you don't want to flash a custom rom that's not a option.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I have flashed a custom Sense ROM that includes certain original apps, but now if I want to remove them can I just reflash the ROM but just removing the apk files before flashing?
Will I lose any data, settings, etc?
[EDIT: Nvm, found the answer]
TheGhost1233 said:
Follow this tutorial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the help
I'll give it a try and get back to you for the final result
Same problem here.
Seems like for HTC Desire, you need to have S-OFF and NAND unlocked.
Google it and let me know if you made any progress, I'm trying too.
Hi there. You do not need to be S-Off-ed to remove system apps. You need to have write permissions for the system partition. A lot of apps can do that for you as long as you have superuser installed and you have granted access to the application. Personally when I was removing my sys apps i used Sysapp remover. I have even done it with titanium backup but I am not sure if it had the option to give you write permission for the system partition. Just check a some sysremoving apps and at least a couple will have that option.
COOLBGT said:
Hi there. You do not need to be S-Off-ed to remove system apps. You need to have write permissions for the system partition. A lot of apps can do that for you as long as you have superuser installed and you have granted access to the application. Personally when I was removing my sys apps i used Sysapp remover. I have even done it with titanium backup but I am not sure if it had the option to give you write permission for the system partition. Just check a some sysremoving apps and at least a couple will have that option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK, not for the Desire. I was checking some sys app remover programs - all of them stated you need to be S-OFF if you have a Desire.
But It is true, you can remove apps even if you are S-ON. Using ADB.
davebugyi said:
AFAIK, not for the Desire. I was checking some sys app remover programs - all of them stated you need to be S-OFF if you have a Desire.
But It is true, you can remove apps even if you are S-ON. Using ADB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never S-Offed my Desire and also I do not know how to use ADB but still as I said some apps offer you to gain write permissions on the system partition and they will do the trick. I can guarantee you that because this is how I did it
What program was it?
RootUninstaller
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.danesh.system.app.remover
These did not work, when I was S-ON.
personally i've used 3 methods:
adb: works but is such a faff to type in all the apk names exactly!
delete from .zip: easiest way so they're never flashed in the first place. remember not to unzip the ROM, just delete them directly in winzip or similar program before flashing.
if you're S-OFF: i recently took the plunge, was scared of bricking but turned out to be much easier than i thought. then used root explorer to directly delete fancy widget after flashing Leedroid no-sense patch.
Do the s-off procedure at alpharev.nl - this takes less time than rooting (or it did for me) and then you can just delete the apps using Ti Backup or root explorer.
You might also want to flash one of the custom partition tables at this site to give yourself more room for apps. I have about 250mb free (internal) and nothing on SD - this means apps run faster and is apparently better for the battery!
Hello fellow XDAers,
My wife replaced her Samsung Gravity Smart with the T-Mobile MyTouch Q, AKA the Huawei U8730 (not the older LG C800 model w/ the same name). She gave me the task of cleaning the junk APKs off of it to de-clutter it.
Rooting the phone was the first task. This method worked perfectly for me without any fuss (the app will return error 64, but after installing Superuser and rebooting, I had root access). I was able to use Titanium to remove much of the crap ware, but the most annoying bits gave the error "cannot find APK." Weird.
After digging around, I took an inventory of the apps in /data and /system.
The T-Mobile junk wasn't there.
I threw busybox on the phone and used the 'find' command, and I found where the apps were hiding: /cust/t-mobile/us/apps, which is a loopback-mounted ext3 partition. I tried to remount it read/write, but got 'permission denied' error. I figured something had the filesystem locked, so I ended all the apps that were running and tried again, but no luck.
However, I was able to remount the volume that held the ext3 image file read/write. It mounts to the /.cust_backup directory.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For those who will be following these steps themselves, at this point you will want to make sure to go into the Applications manager and uninstall any updates downloaded for the crapware you are going to remove. I will explain why below. It's not absolutely critical, but it will save you some head-scratching.
I remounted the partition read/write, grabbed the image file (located in /.cust_backup/image/cust.img), and uploaded the image file to a linux server.
On the linux server, I mounted the image, nuked the unwanted APKs, and unmounted the filesystem.
I created a backup of the original cust.img file, then overwrote the one in /.cust_backup/image
Last step was to reboot the phone, and most of the junkware was gone.
Here's where the head-scratching came in. A couple of the apps were still there, and I didn't know why. I double-checked the phone, and the APKs were in fact deleted. Then I realized: the app had received an update and I was seeing the update. When I uninstalled the update, the uninstall "failed" but the icon still disappeared. However, I had to reboot the phone again to fully remove it.
So, here's the process in a nutshell:
1. Uninstall all app updates for the crapware you plan to remove
2. Root the phone using This method .
3. copy down /.cust_backup/images/cust.img
4. Using a linux system, mount cust.img as a loopback device, then delete the unwanted APKs (they will be in t-mobile/us/apps)
5. Unmount the image (this writes your changes back into the cust.img you mounted in step #3)
6. On the phone, remount /.cust_backup r/w
7. overwrite /.cust_backup/images/cust.img with the modified version
8. Reboot the phone
That's it! Enjoy your uncluttered phone!
I know it's been a while since the original post, but I was wondering if OP has had any problems with the phone since then, or if anyone else has tried this with the Huawei u8730 and had success. My wife also wants all this crap removed from her phone, but she would probably murder me if I bricked it in the process.
Thanks!
Just on a side note here as I'm still using this device. How did you get around the non-working tethering on this device? Both the USB and Wifi hotspot won't work unless you've subscribed to the T-Mobile Smartphone Mobile HotSpot app option on your account? Mine is unlocked and being used with another carrier, but only recently wanted to tether to it so I can't figure out how to correct this one. Also still looking around for any working custom ROM for this. Thx.
My device is rooted.
I've read a few other topics regarding this issue, but I'm still confused. As I understand it, using typical uninstall apps such as Titanium or Root Uninstaller do not remove the manufacturer apps from the phone still because of an S feature? I'm new to this process, so please forgive my naive rhetoric. I tried those programs, and as previously stated in other posts, the bloatware comes back.
I installed AROMA file manager to try and manually find the bloatware and delete the physical files, but I can't find the files that I'm looking to delete. I don't mind taking the time and manually deleting these unnecessary files, but, I need some guidance on where to look (or any other viable solutions.)
Thanks for your time!
Download this patch and edit update-binary file what application need remove then flash via recovery mode .
espmma said:
My device is rooted.
I've read a few other topics regarding this issue, but I'm still confused. As I understand it, using typical uninstall apps such as Titanium or Root Uninstaller do not remove the manufacturer apps from the phone still because of an S feature? I'm new to this process, so please forgive my naive rhetoric. I tried those programs, and as previously stated in other posts, the bloatware comes back.
I installed AROMA file manager to try and manually find the bloatware and delete the physical files, but I can't find the files that I'm looking to delete. I don't mind taking the time and manually deleting these unnecessary files, but, I need some guidance on where to look (or any other viable solutions.)
HTC devices are set "S on" from the manufacture. That means there are certain partitions in the nand storage that you can't access without S off ( boot partition, radio partition). The write permissions to the system partition are also not accessible unless you either obtain S off through the Sunshine app which costs $25 or a another option that is not true S off is a write permission mod called WP.MOD_ko that you flash to your phone and it installs a script and changes your phone's SElinux permissions and enables the system partition write permissions to be able to uninstall system apps or fully use certain root apps like Link2SD that also need the system write permissions at bootup.
1st option " fully" unlocks your phone and all partitions. 2nd option just installs scripts to kind of trick your system partition to allow apps to write to it and you to be able to uninstall system apps. It also changes your SElinux permissions from enforcing to permissive so be aware that's disabling the phone's security system. Not a problem unless you get malware but you should be aware of what any mod does to your phone. They have to do that because the mod can't get the phone to be true S off so this is a workaround for that one partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay cool, thank you for breaking that down for me. So, if I use what pham posted, then that would be a script change? But, even if it were a script change I could still fully uninstall the bloatware, with the risk of a potential virus. Is that correct?
espmma said:
Okay cool, thank you for breaking that down for me. So, if I use what pham posted, then that would be a script change? But, even if it were a script change I could still fully uninstall the bloatware, with the risk of a potential virus. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. I'm not familiar with what Pham linked you but I'm sure it's similar to the 2nd option I mentioned. The one I was referring to was written for lollipop versions by CaptainTitti I believe is his handle but if you search XDA for our phone WP_MOD.ko that forum should be for kit Kat and a few pages forward is the link to the lollipop version with instructions from CaptainTitti on how to install it. The malware risk is minimal i just wanted to mention it. You have that as well with just rooting and also full S off it's just those 2 leave your SElinux permissions set to enforcing not permissive. Just giving you the info so your informed because no one but us pays for our devices so we should have as much info as possible I believe but good info .
The only one of these I've actually tried is the full S off one with Sunshine so understand and read the whole forum for the other before flashing so you know all the feedback but it does work. Also be aware that the WP_MOD.ko would have to be fully removed and SElinux reenabled to be able to do stock updates and there's not just an " uninstall" box with them. You have to use a root file explorer and remove what was changed and replace with the stock files I believe. Good idea to do a stock Android backup using your custom recovery before flashing any of these, S off excepted as it doesn't mess with doing stock updates. Not knocking the others but these are the things you don't find out about till after you flash them. Now you know before.
Below is the link to the forum page for the kitkat mod and if you scroll down a bit CaptainTiiti had a link to the one for lollipop.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2707378&page=7
Can't you just use Root Browser, then go to system/app & system/priv-app to remove the bloat? That's what I do on my phone everytime I install a new ROM [emoji1]
Stachura5 said:
Can't you just use Root Browser, then go to system/app & system/priv-app to remove the bloat? That's what I do on my phone everytime I install a new ROM [emoji1]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know my friend I've never tried that. Maybe he can try it first and see if it works. To be honest I never tried to just remove system apps before i was S off I just read of all the people here on XDA saying they couldn't without S off so I did it. Turns out I switched to debloated CM roms soon after and never even debloated my stock rom, which definitely needed it ! I used Titanium backup to debloat my Samsung tablet after root to get rid of Knox and Samsung junk but it wasn't nand locked like the HTC's are. Can't hurt for him to try it because S off costs and the other mods have their down sides also.
i have completely deleted their bloatware folder, but bloatware will appear if the device boots without root and there is no app folder in user app or system folder but they can run and update normally, maybe it specially designed. Will the above patch zip help me clear the problem completely? i want to clean up the crap, and my device uses system as root so i need to flash modified binary in boot.img separately after signing.