[Q] Is possible to backup EFS unrooted? How? - Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

EFS corruption claimed my previous phone, an unrooted samsung proclaim. Lesson learned - Contrary to popular opinion, EFS backups are critical for all (rooted and unrooted) phones.
Now that I have a new GN2 I want to backup my EFS. There are several tools and methods that work for rooted phones, but none that apply to unrooted phones. It doesn't make much sense to me that the only way to ensure my phones continued functionality involves an act that will void its warranty. I will do what I have to do to prevent problems with my phone - but before I root it I figured I ought to double check here.
[Q] Is it possible to back up the GN2 without rooting it? If so, would you kindly explain how to do so, or point me in the right direction?
Thanks

I agree entirely and would also like to know the answer to this.
Is it possible to run a script/zip that executes the dd command in stock recovery to make an efs.img? This is one way that I could think might work and I have seen done with other phones.

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[Q] Newb questions about rooting/roms

So i have an HTC Evo with the latest OTA update 3.70.651.1. Completely stock, non rooted. I know very little about both rooting and roms other then what i quickly went over in a few Q&A's here.
Im not sure what to do, if anything, so i thought id ask here. Primarily id like to be able to delete unwanted stock apps/bloatware and backup the entire phone (like making a recovery image). Itd be nice to be able to wirelessly tether but this isnt necessary. Other then that id like to keep it the same.
Is it possible to root but use the stock rom? if so what does this accomplish?
Is there a risk free way to accomplish my goals?
Thanks
Im not sure what to do, if anything, so i thought id ask here. Primarily id like to be able to delete unwanted stock apps/bloatware and backup the entire phone (like making a recovery image). Itd be nice to be able to wirelessly tether but this isnt necessary. Other then that id like to keep it the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would need to root to do this.
Is it possible to root but use the stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. Thats what I do. The only reason I rooted was for wireless tether, and titanium backup. Other than that, I didnt want another rom, I love the stock one.
if so what does this accomplish?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what you just asked for in the previous paragraph.
Is there a risk free way to accomplish my goals?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. There is ALWAYS a risk when doing anything in life, and rooting your phone in no different. However, it is actually quite difficult to completely brick your phone. Most of the time, if you follow the directions, you will be fine. But if you do screw up, you can usually just flash a stock ruu and redo it.
Thanks for the information. Is there anything the free version of titanium backup doesnt backup? What does a nandroid backup save?
Also will rooting alone allow me to delete any app on the phone?
Lastly what would be the recommended way for someone new like me to root my phone (or resources i can use to pick a method)? Is there a way to restore my phone back to stock if i need to?
Thanks again. As i ask these questions im also digging into the forums looking for specific answers
Hey welcome to XDA.
I don't know when you received your phone, but it seems very brand new to me, I would say your best luck is to try to look for the details of your main specs in your phone, when you start to root your phone, you look for instructions here to setup properly on How to do the root process with the same exact phone detail specs of it.
I was rooted with an older OTA at first, but I see these new OTAs are up on new EVOs but It's kinda fishy to think of how to root it with the latest OTA on the old leet legit methods that toastcfh had...you know...The Manual Professional way, without the risk of bricking your phone completely, if you had the chance to root successfully with idiot proof instructions, I say that was quite a day for me then.
Actually ive had my Evo since release, ive just been too scared to risk bricking it til now lol.
i currently have:
hboot 2.10
software 3.70.651.1
hardware 0002
i took down some other info but idk if it matters for rooting directions.
So far from my searches it appears the only option for hboot 2.10 + 3.70.651.1 is a pretty lengthy/difficult for beginners method. Is that accurate?
Also my primary concern is deleting bloatware/included apps, does rooting alone allow me to delete these?
Also none of the guides ive seen detail how to backup your phone before the root, is there an easy way to make like a backup image of the stock stuff + data,sms,phone log, etc?
Thanks again everyone, still digging but your help will make it go much more smoothly
So ive pretty much discovered that my 2 options are do it the "hard" way or wait for unrevoked to update their stuff for the newest evo software/hboot. Im probably going to wait.
In the meantime i want to make sure of a few things, deleteing apps, backup, wireless tether. How would i approach each of these; can i use the built in app manager to delete apps? the built in wireless tether to tether? what exactly does nandroid backup compared to titanium backup?
Does the stock rom support netfilter?
Is there any scenario in which ota updates wont break root?
Thanks again
ctbenk said:
In the meantime i want to make sure of a few things, deleteing apps, backup, wireless tether. How would i approach each of these; can i use the built in app manager to delete apps? the built in wireless tether to tether? what exactly does nandroid backup compared to titanium backup?
Is there any scenario in which ota updates wont break root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To delete apps, you will want to use Titanium Backup. After removing stock apps, some of them still stay indexed, so you will need to boot to recovery and wipe your cache and dalvik to clear them from the apps list.
You won't be able to use the built-in wireless tether to tether unless you flash a new rom that unlocked that feature. Once rooted, there is a an app on the market called Wireless Tether for Root Users that will accomplish what you are looking for.
Titanium Backup will also allow you to backup your apps and data so that in the event you do flash a new rom, you can restore them without losing anything.
Titanium Backup is designed to backup your apps and data, Nandroid(recovery) will backup your entire ROM, so if you do flash a new rom, you can always revert back to your stock setup exactly how you left it.
OTA updates will always break your root, but at the same time don't offer much in the terms of upgrading. Plus 90% of the time the dev's here release a rooted version of the OTA update very shortly after it goes live.

[Q] Warranty question.

Apologies if this has been covered before- searched a couple of times with no joy...
Waiting for delivery of my Defy and still not sure what mods to do...Having read about a lot of UK models having the dreaded ear-piece fault, I'm just wondering:
1. what I can do that can be undone if my phone develops this fault?
i.e. Is it possible to root the phone, remove some of the Motoblur bloatware, overclock and scale, and still be able to return it to it's original state if the earpiece goes? (or at least make any mods undetectable!)
2. From what I've read it is possible to skip the Motoblur registration. Would I still be able to use the phone portal- what apps require the Motoblur registration?
Basically I'd love to tweak the phone but am paranoid about voiding the waranty!
Thanks in advance!
Once you are rooted and have recovery installed backup your system before doing anything else. If something happens restore the backup and unroot. Only problem might be if you have some type of hardware issue and can no longer boot the phone.
There is always risk, but that will help.
rbeier1221 said:
Once you are rooted and have recovery installed backup your system before doing anything else. If something happens restore the backup and unroot. Only problem might be if you have some type of hardware issue and can no longer boot the phone.
There is always risk, but that will help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Is it the case that you can mod the phone any way you like as long as you backup, restore and unroot before returning the phone for any possible warranty claim? Would a Mototola tech be able to tell that the phone had been modded and then reset to it's original state? Just wondering if I'd be better to wait a couple of months for any possible fault to appear...Thanks again.
cwhiggs said:
...am paranoid about voiding the waranty!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that's your primary concern, tweaking isn't really an option.
As soon as you start fiddling with the software, you technically void your warranty.
That said, most fiddling can be undone and if the phone were to end up in a state that you couldn't boot it to fix your fiddling, there's a fairly good chance that the engineers wouldn't be able to boot it to discover what you've done.
Not to mention, from past personal experience, a lot of front-line engineers that actually deal with faulty handsets that are sent away for repair don't really care or may not be bright enough to be able to tell that you've messed with your phone.
Thanks. Think I'll go ahead and mod it. Been reading the relevent posts/stickies and from what I can see as long as I'm carefull and follow the various steps closely and in order, I'll be unlucky to brick it. Think I'd get pissed off waiting several months for any fault to show- just wary of the earpiece going and then being told I'm screwed coz I've played with the software! Thanks again.

[Q] Rooting help neaded for note2

hey guys im new 2 android community... ive a galaxy note 2 GT-N7100 International version bought in India. Recently ive been thinkin 2 root my device for various mods like copyin/ installing games on memory card etc... so i wanna know wat software should i use 2 mod my device?? Also i wanna know if its safe??? Ive heard that rooted devices leads to void of warranty... is that true???
thanks in advance....
You should use the wonderful Note2 ToolKit, found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1923956
Yes, rooting it voids your warranty. But you can flash back a stock ROM and unroot if you need to take your phone in for service.
All modifications have risks. Though rooting probably won't break your phone, an user error on your part just might, or malicious code might. You can never know that! You have to be careful and use your best judgment. Rooting is basically like logging in to a computer with an administrator account, you can change all the system settings and as a result you can really screw up your system if you are not careful.
I'm just saying all that to clarify that if you do root your device and mod it, have an accident and screw something up, it's your own fault. You need to always keep that in mind.
When you download the toolkit, the first thing you need to do is:
1) EFS backup
2) Full Nandroid backup
Do those two things first, then do whatever you want. If you have EFS and Nandroid backups you have a safety net in case something goes wrong later on.
Also: read, read, read. Read every single Note II guide and FAQ you can find here on XDA.
Read post #2 and 3 of this thread (though 1-9 all posts are informative for newbies)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1896696

Backup without root? SM-T211

I wish to see if I can get the annoying glitches on this tab to go away because everything else is awesome. I am thinking of playing with a few custom ROMs, maybe some config tweaks, but I don't know if I will keep this device yet so I don't want to do anything to become unrecoverable.
I want to do a full backup of this device before I root, but I am not finding any definitive guide here that explains what I must do to get the backup. Maybe the more experienced folks here will inform me that backup requires root, in which case I guess I at least know the answer.
Can anyone list the basic steps to get a true device backup for the T211?
mustangzrule said:
I wish to see if I can get the annoying glitches on this tab to go away because everything else is awesome. I am thinking of playing with a few custom ROMs, maybe some config tweaks, but I don't know if I will keep this device yet so I don't want to do anything to become unrecoverable.
I want to do a full backup of this device before I root, but I am not finding any definitive guide here that explains what I must do to get the backup. Maybe the more experienced folks here will inform me that backup requires root, in which case I guess I at least know the answer.
Can anyone list the basic steps to get a true device backup for the T211?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Root your device, and backup via custom recovery
2. Use kies
Sent from my SM-T311 using XDA Free mobile app

Rooting - What backlashes to expect?

I have a Samsung Tab S 10.5 (T805) that I'm about to root, and I've been reading through this forum and other places a few hours a day for almost 2 weeks, and still am unsure about a couple of things....
1.) Is there any good source to read about tripping Knox. Perhaps tripping Knox wont matter, but all I see everywhere is that tripping Knox will only void warranty and disable some samsung apps... But thats where it ends... No information about if it will wipe data or perhaps put the device in a boot loop, or something worse...
Can anyone point me to a good source that will perhaps make it more clear why I will care (or wont care) about tripping Knox? If its really only about some samsung apps and warranty I wont care at all, but bootloops, lockdowns, wiped data partitions is on a whole other level..
2.) Is there any good way to make a backup without root? .....This seems to be a Catch-22, since many guides I read about rooting recommend making a backup with Titanium Backup before Rooting because of the risk of getting the data partition wiped. However Titanium requires root to make a proper backup, so it really points to directions in circles.... The most important data to keep on this device is the kids progress/high scores (several years) in different games, and their chatlogs in different social apps (which dont have cloud backup).
3.) Is there any good source to read about if Rooting will wipe the data partition. I've read that if the boot loader is changed, most likely the data partition will be wiped. How would I know if this will happen?.... I have a [email protected] 6.0.1 (Exynos) thats newer been rooted or tweaked before, and have no idea if this "wiping of partitions" is to be expected for all first time rooters.
I really wish there were some topics called "Tripping Knox - What will happen", and "Will Rooting wipe my data? - case by case" and "How to properly backup without a rooted device", but I cant seem to find anything reliable.
I''m new here, but I've been reading this forum from time to time, ever since I tried NITdroid on my old Nokia N900.
DNA.hashfail said:
I have a Samsung Tab S 10.5 (T805) that I'm about to root, and I've been reading through this forum and other places a few hours a day for almost 2 weeks, and still am unsure about a couple of things....
1.) Is there any good source to read about tripping Knox. Perhaps tripping Knox wont matter, but all I see everywhere is that tripping Knox will only void warranty and disable some samsung apps... But thats where it ends... No information about if it will wipe data or perhaps put the device in a boot loop, or something worse...
Can anyone point me to a good source that will perhaps make it more clear why I will care (or wont care) about tripping Knox? If its really only about some samsung apps and warranty I wont care at all, but bootloops, lockdowns, wiped data partitions is on a whole other level..
2.) Is there any good way to make a backup without root? .....This seems to be a Catch-22, since many guides I read about rooting recommend making a backup with Titanium Backup before Rooting because of the risk of getting the data partition wiped. However Titanium requires root to make a proper backup, so it really points to directions in circles.... The most important data to keep on this device is the kids progress/high scores (several years) in different games, and their chatlogs in different social apps (which dont have cloud backup).
3.) Is there any good source to read about if Rooting will wipe the data partition. I've read that if the boot loader is changed, most likely the data partition will be wiped. How would I know if this will happen?.... I have a [email protected] 6.0.1 (Exynos) thats newer been rooted or tweaked before, and have no idea if this "wiping of partitions" is to be expected for all first time rooters.
I really wish there were some topics called "Tripping Knox - What will happen", and "Will Rooting wipe my data? - case by case" and "How to properly backup without a rooted device", but I cant seem to find anything reliable.
I''m new here, but I've been reading this forum from time to time, ever since I tried NITdroid on my old Nokia N900.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't fret. You can always flash stock if anything goes wrong and reset the knox counter
zombolt said:
Don't fret. You can always flash stock if anything goes wrong and reset the knox counter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, thats good to know.
But how about point number 2.. Making a sufficient backup without root?
Is that possible, or will I lose chatlogs, game progress, and other app related data, if things go wrong?
Sorry about freting, but all these tons of guides and posts ive read these weeks regarding rooting leave out how to making a solid backup.. Call-logs and SMS is non existent on this device, but all the other apps data is important.
You could use titanium to make a nandroid backup. but I'm not sure if that works going between touchwiz to aosp roms.
I'm not a developer. I just follow the directions in the threads and have never had any problems
zombolt said:
You could use titanium to make a nandroid backup. but I'm not sure if that works going between touchwiz to aosp roms.
I'm not a developer. I just follow the directions in the threads and have never had any problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I think nandroid backup is impossible before rooting though. Catch 22...
I will not change ROM, The only reason for rooting this particular device is to get the "Screen shift" app to lower resolution in games to 720p. Samsung Exynos 5 Octa (5420) GPU is too old for full resolution in games.

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