[Q] Rooting 4.4 and above - Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking

I'm a recent graduate in computer forensics, and would like to help cyber bullied kids by obtaining the deleted text messages from their phones to show as proof. It seems the programs I'm using require anything higher than 4.2 to already be rooted before I can scan them. Is there a program that will root any phone? I see ODIN only works on Samsung phones, and Kingo Root advertises that it works on all makes but when I tried it on my HTC Desire it turned out to be "locked". What am I doing wrong?
Is there an easy to understand guide to rooting any phone?

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[Q] rooting my htc incredible

I own an HTC INCREDIBLE and I've been told to "root" my phone to get rid of all the bloatware. What is rooting and how do I do it? A lot of my apps and all of my music and all photos are saved to my mem card. There are some HTC apps I would actually like to keep. Also, is there anyway I could get swipe on my phone?
Yep - you can root your phone to get rid of bloatware and allow you to do all sorts of other things, basically, rooting the phone allows you to be the administrator of your phone, whereas now you just have a user account on it ... As for how to root, that's been done a lot of different ways and is explained in a number of places - you should read several how-tos so you'll have an idea of what you're getting yourself into (and whether you want to bother)... The contents of your memory card should be safe, but you should back them up anyway, since memory cards do fail during normal use. Simply rooting won't automatically remove any of your apps, so your good there, but it will give you the ability to remove apps, or even break (or even "brick") your phone, so take it easy and don't take any steps 'till you understand what you're about to do.
Here are some resources you can check out :
Ok, actually I'm not allowed to be helpful by posting links since I'm a new member, but google these terms: root droid incredible Jonamerica - that'll get you started...
As for swype the legit way to get it is to sign up for their beta (it's available on their website which I can't link you to) and go from there.
Thanks so much. I'll check it out!
Just a few newbie tips for you.
I'm new to all of this also.....rooting and flashing.
1. Read a lot before you do anything. Its not hard but readup first!
2. Be patient......2 or 3 times while I have rooted or flashed I have thought that maybe my phone is dead. Sometimes there is no visible indication that the phone is actually doing what you want it to do. Let it sit there and do its thing. DO NOT PANIC and pull the battery!
3. Backup backup backup backup BACKUP!
Have fun.....I am
wildland said:
Yep - you can root your phone to get rid of bloatware and allow you to do all sorts of other things, basically, rooting the phone allows you to be the administrator of your phone, whereas now you just have a user account on it ... As for how to root, that's been done a lot of different ways and is explained in a number of places - you should read several how-tos so you'll have an idea of what you're getting yourself into (and whether you want to bother)... The contents of your memory card should be safe, but you should back them up anyway, since memory cards do fail during normal use. Simply rooting won't automatically remove any of your apps, so your good there, but it will give you the ability to remove apps, or even break (or even "brick") your phone, so take it easy and don't take any steps 'till you understand what you're about to do.
Here are some resources you can check out :
Ok, actually I'm not allowed to be helpful by posting links since I'm a new member, but google these terms: root droid incredible Jonamerica - that'll get you started...
As for swype the legit way to get it is to sign up for their beta (it's available on their website which I can't link you to) and go from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for this search link. Guide is very helpful, fills in alot of the blanks I've been having.
You're welcome.
There are numerous other guides and threads out there, so googling and reading is a good idea... I just researched it again since I rooted my wife's Inc. last night and since it has an SLCD screen I wanted to make sure that unrevoked had been updated to work with these screens - turns out it has and it worked fine. I actually had a scary moment when the phone wouldn't boot into recovery (five vibrations and a blank screen) but a google search and a battery pull saved me and so far so good since then - and I was able to uninstall verizon's backup assistant which was killing her battery every day.
Is that the only reason you rooted your wife's phone, was to remove some of the bloat? I might end up doing the same.
ramma2 said:
Is that the only reason you rooted your wife's phone, was to remove some of the bloat? I might end up doing the same.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, that was the main reason - when she upgraded from her dumbphone, we used Backup Assistant to transfer her numbers over, but lately it's been hanging during sync and killing her battery (and/or it may be syncing over the poor 1x data connection rather than available wifi - not sure about that but it sounds like something Verizon would do (it would both be a bit more secure, and use more data they could bill us for)). Since Verizon in all their wisdom made it so you can't uninstall that app or disassociate it from your account, I figured the I'd use force and just root the phone - worked too, now her battery's lasting all day, no problem.
I also would recommend rooting to anyone concerned about certain apps wanting internet permissions - DroidWall is a great app allowing you to prevent apps from accessing the internet (or you can block just wifi or just 3g for a specific app, potentially allowing you to better manage your data usage).
make sure to read alot about what ur getting into.. And remember to always backup before you do anything (incase of errors/problems) you can always boot back to stock...happy rootin!
Check this out: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Barebones.
That guide is specific to Cyanogenmod, and it's a little outdated, but it's a good starting point to learn what applications are required for the phone to run, and which applications are simply "extra."

[Q] Q: Detection of Rooted Devices by Security Appliances

My question is an academic one, of sorts.
My workplace has recently permitted the use of personal devices at the workplace, and they are using a Mobile Iron appliance to "secure" and manage these devices.
A recent change to these appliances resulted in my rooted Incredible being blocked access to the system. The one answer I cannot seem to get a clear response on is how this was detected, as my device had been working in this capacity before a recent change to both the back-end appliance and the client on the device. Clearly, though, this is not the case for all devices, as I know of someone who is still successfully using a rooted Samsung Galaxy S.
I tried a couple of iterations to determine how it detected my rooted device, and, at this point I have returned it to stock with S-OFF. I am pretty confident that the latter is what triggered my device being detected and blocked.
So, anyone have any insight as to how these appliances/devices detect root? Are they inspecting at the hardware level as opposed to a scan of applications?
Looking forward to the discussion.
Assuming superuser no longer on the device?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
Correct. I returned the device to stock FroYo (2.2), with no SuperUser.
On the sd card there is a log file that says s-off maybe it see that
That must not be the case, as I did not format my SD card when I returned to stock. The soff.log file is still there.
So, perhaps it is not looking at that low a level. Given what I am seeing, though, it is certainly not looking at the applications either.
jasonjthomas said:
That must not be the case, as I did not format my SD card when I returned to stock. The soff.log file is still there.
So, perhaps it is not looking at that low a level. Given what I am seeing, though, it is certainly not looking at the applications either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no expert by any means but I would think that its some type of script that runs asking for access permission to the phone that only a superuser would have. I have an authenticator for a blizzard account that always pops up with a message that running it on a rooted phone is dangerous, so I'm asuming there is some type of script imbedded in the app that lets it know its on a rooted phone by querrying for su access. Why your buddies phone is not being blocked has me stumped.

[Q] Any chance a one-click-root solution will come soon that doesn't wipe memory?

Good evening all!
Question I have is simply when does everyone suspect a single-click Root might come along that doesn't wipe the phone's memory? I've already had to reset my phone once (because of Verizon) and hoping to not have to do it again for awhile (restoring 12k SMS takes awhile). I know many phones in the past have eventually gotten a one-click method that doesn't wipe the phone and wondering how feasible it is that we'll see one here in a short amount of time.
Thanks in advance, all! Keep up the good work.
Rooting doesn't wipe the device, the problem is that you have to unlock the device first, which will.
champers said:
Rooting doesn't wipe the device, the problem is that you have to unlock the device first, which will.
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Click to collapse
Can I ask why? Many devices have had single-click roots that retained locked bootloaders. A reference would be my Atrix 4G. Motorola locked the bootloader fairly hard and I never unlocked mine, but I still managed to root the device using Z4Root, without a whipe. I downloaded the app, opened it, and clicked the "Root" button. I restarted the phone and the phone was rooted with SuperUser and BusyBox installed.
hotleadsingerguy said:
Can I ask why? Many devices have had single-click roots that retained locked bootloaders. A reference would be my Atrix 4G. Motorola locked the bootloader fairly hard and I never unlocked mine, but I still managed to root the device using Z4Root, without a whipe. I downloaded the app, opened it, and clicked the "Root" button. I restarted the phone and the phone was rooted with SuperUser and BusyBox installed.
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Click to collapse
Those are usually hacks that take advantage of security flaws found in the OS or other software... the same way that malware authors find holes in Windows and write software to take advantage of it to exploit your computer. The bugs that allow you to root without unlocking are the same kind of bugs that has given Microsoft a bad reputation for security over the years, and naturally Google doesn't want security flaws in Android so they try to minimize them and fix any that are found.
A hole might be found in ICS eventually.
phazerorg said:
Those are usually hacks that take advantage of security flaws found in the OS or other software... the same way that malware authors find holes in Windows and write software to take advantage of it to exploit your computer. The bugs that allow you to root without unlocking are the same kind of bugs that has given Microsoft a bad reputation for security over the years, and naturally Google doesn't want security flaws in Android so they try to minimize them and fix any that are found.
A hole might be found in ICS eventually.
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I wasn't really asking about the ethical use of such things...just whether anyone could see it being feasibly possible in the near future. Then again, if anyone knows of a way to restore 12k SMS in 5 minutes I'm open to unlocking/rooting the old-fashioned way.
By the way, even the way unlocking/rooting is accomplished now is considered a "hack". Using ADB to unlock/root the phone isn't the way it's meant to be used. ADB stands for Android Debugging Bridge...it's meant to debug, not crack open the bootloader.
hotleadsingerguy said:
I wasn't really asking about the ethical use of such things...just whether anyone could see it being feasibly possible in the near future. Then again, if anyone knows of a way to restore 12k SMS in 5 minutes I'm open to unlocking/rooting the old-fashioned way.
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Sorry about that, I didn't mean to imply any ethics here. I was just trying to answer the question about why there isn't a one-click root. I may have misinterpreted your "why?" question.
I don't see that happening any time soon. It's so effortless to unlock the bootloader that why would anyone waste their time trying to find a workaround.
jhuynh said:
I don't see that happening any time soon. It's so effortless to unlock the bootloader that why would anyone waste their time trying to find a workaround.
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't call re-configuring everything effortless lol I'd rather spend 45 minutes unlocking and rooting than spend 5 minutes doing it and another hour getting it set up...again. Restoring all of your stuff can be a pain if you don't have it empty. It downloads the apps but it doesn't set them up.
Have you tried restoring a massive number of text messages? I had to delete half of mine simply because it took well over an hour and a half to restore the first time and I had to reset the phone anyway. It's extremely time-consuming to have to clear out the phone. I'd say it was a strong 2 1/2 or 3 hours from start to finish yesterday to do it (and yes, there was a reason I couldn't unlock+root at the same time).

Little Help Please

Okay so very new obviously. Just rooted my gs3 sgh-t999 with help to an amazing guide by chainfire seen here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1963806 extremely easy and as stated did it in about 30 seconds. now that this is done I may just be very new but i don't see a difference in admin access or to my phone.. i did see the red android and know i did it correctly but maybe i dont know what I should do now that it is rooted. can someone help me with what i should do now that its rooted, certain apps i need to get or things i need to do. Im sure you all hate these newbie posts but i really appreciate the help. thanks.
just curious, why did you root if you have no clue what to do with it?
look in the app drawer for SuperUser or SuperSU, you can go in the play store and search Root or SuperUser and look for apps that you might want, you can get apps to freeze or remove completely from your /system you can flash a custom recovery granting you permission to flash custom roms which can lead to severe Crack Flashing, or help find a rom that is completely perfect for you and the best thing you can ever imagine (phone wise)... read some more is what I'm saying.
Get root explorer, delete bloat. Or titanium backup to delete/freeze/backup.
mt3g said:
just curious, why did you root if you have no clue what to do with it?
look in the app drawer for SuperUser or SuperSU, you can go in the play store and search Root or SuperUser and look for apps that you might want, you can get apps to freeze or remove completely from your /system you can flash a custom recovery granting you permission to flash custom roms which can lead to severe Crack Flashing, or help find a rom that is completely perfect for you and the best thing you can ever imagine (phone wise)... read some more is what I'm saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i got it because i want to bypass the stupid tmobile hotspot block on my unlimited 4g plan. also saw posts about being able to extend battery life. .. just wanted to know if there were some other really cool things i should be doing? also now that i am rooted should i never do a system update?
also i like being able to delete the stupid apps that tmobile forces you to have on your phone... tmobile tv and stuff like that
you know how easy is to re-root, I'm not even positive how that all works cause I've only been on a stock rom for a few months with the the G1 lol. I'm pretty sure you can still update it'll just wipe your root, SU. Honestly flash a custom stock Touchwiz rom that is debloated and has some tweaks, like tethering option.
Or if you don't want to get into flashing which may destroy your phone just use titanium backup to freeze or delete bloat. Then maybe you can get a battery voltage control app for your battery.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
well not sure if you exactly know what "rooting" really means.
think of rooting as "unlocking". when you buy a phone from anywhere (let's just take the SGH-T999 for example), the phone isn't actually yours yet. not entirely. sure you paid the money for it, sure it's in your possession, so to most, the phone is yours. but the phone is still locked to, for example, T-Mobile, you can't use it on any other carrier. and the phone is also locked to Samsung, like say, the bootloader. think of it this way: on computers, YOU, or someone else is the administrator of it: you choose what happens to the computer. in this case, Samsung/T-Mobile is the administrator of your device, you are just the user. i guess the iPhone would be a better example. we all know how locked down that is. think of your Android phone that way, locked down by both the Carrier and the Company. now when you root the device, you are doing much more than just "jailbreaking" like on the iPhone. by rooting, you are allowing yourself full administrator access to everything on your device. the Carrier and the Company now have no way to stop you from doing what you want to do with your device (well...there's the warranty stuff i guess...). but point is, with root, you have full power and full access to yours, it is now your phone. completely.
but with such power, also comes responsibility and danger. you need to realize that everything you do after obtaining root, has the possibility of you ending up with a bricked (dead) device. that is why i don't suggest "noobies" play around with root. it is very dangerous and very serious. you must know what you are doing.
i suggest you read as much as you can about rooting and such, rooting and hacking can be fun (trust me), but it can also lead to great consequences as well.
good luck.
saranhai said:
well not sure if you exactly know what "rooting" really means.
think of rooting as "unlocking". when you buy a phone from anywhere (let's just take the SGH-T999 for example), the phone isn't actually yours yet. not entirely. sure you paid the money for it, sure it's in your possession, so to most, the phone is yours. but the phone is still locked to, for example, T-Mobile, you can't use it on any other carrier. and the phone is also locked to Samsung, like say, the bootloader. think of it this way: on computers, YOU, or someone else is the administrator of it: you choose what happens to the computer. in this case, Samsung/T-Mobile is the administrator of your device, you are just the user. i guess the iPhone would be a better example. we all know how locked down that is. think of your Android phone that way, locked down by both the Carrier and the Company. now when you root the device, you are doing much more than just "jailbreaking" like on the iPhone. by rooting, you are allowing yourself full administrator access to everything on your device. the Carrier and the Company now have no way to stop you from doing what you want to do with your device (well...there's the warranty stuff i guess...). but point is, with root, you have full power and full access to yours, it is now your phone. completely.
but with such power, also comes responsibility and danger. you need to realize that everything you do after obtaining root, has the possibility of you ending up with a bricked (dead) device. that is why i don't suggest "noobies" play around with root. it is very dangerous and very serious. you must know what you are doing.
i suggest you read as much as you can about rooting and such, rooting and hacking can be fun (trust me), but it can also lead to great consequences as well.
good luck.
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Click to collapse
thanks... i guess its too late for me to go back now lol i dont plan on doing anything too crazy, just delete some bloat , back up and hopefully try and bypass this wifi hotspot block tmobile has put on my unlimited 4g. which i still havent been able to figure out... UA spoofers dont seem to work but for some reason when i connect USB the tether does work fine as or now, just not the wifi hotspot which i need for PS3 and Ipad

Rooting Android without it diplaying on the phone.

Hello,
I was wondering if there is any way to root a phone without it being displayed to the user? I plan on using mspy to monitor a few phones at work. This program will only work for extra functions like facebook, snapchat, and others. So is there anyway to root the phone without it displaying it too the users so they do not suspect that it is being spied on? They are Zte Majesty. Android Op 4.10.0. Thanks in advance. I would like to be able to root the phones, and the app not appear on the app list or under any program files that are easily visible.
Theanimalkar-

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