Develop Bugs

Do Official OTA Updates and Factory Resets Work After Rooting?

Maybe someone can throw a new guy a bone here? ....
One thing I had on my jailbroken iPhone was free tethering. My Xfinity went down the other day and I realized I couldn't tether my new Android without paying AT$T. So from what I understand, like the iPhone I need to root it and then download a third party tethering app?
If I root now, I'll probably be tempted to give Black Jelly or Frost ROMs a try. I know with this 'Odin' program or 'Nandroid' backup with CWP (still figuring all this out) I can switch between ROMS pretty easily. It takes me about an hour though to download all my apps and reconfig my phone after a reset though. I think Titanium backup or something solves this, but seems to me using something like that with custom ROM, as opposed to a 'clean' install and just start installing/configuring from scratch may pose higher risk of having issues?
So my question is, if I root and install custom ROM, how hard is it to get the official update installed, or any more official future updates installed if I decide I don't want to stay on a custom ROM?
Being an experimental person and my first time to Android, I'm sure I'm going to eventually cave (for sure root) and try a custom ROM. I see SO many posts though in these ROM forums with all sorts of little issues. I want to go back to stock and get official updates if I need to.

When the official jb drops there will most likely be some debloated version on here in a day or so. If you're rooted with a custom recovery it will take no time to install. I would also seriously consider titanium backup, it makes the process much easier.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

OTA after Rooting - Yes and No....
jazee said:
Maybe someone can throw a new guy a bone here? ....
So my question is, if I root and install custom ROM, how hard is it to get the official update installed, or any more official future updates installed if I decide I don't want to stay on a custom ROM?
Being an experimental person and my first time to Android, I'm sure I'm going to eventually cave (for sure root) and try a custom ROM. I see SO many posts though in these ROM forums with all sorts of little issues. I want to go back to stock and get official updates if I need to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two issues you mention: 1) Having a custom ROM and doing an Custom OTA, and 2) OTA with stock ROM and after you you have rooted your phone.
Stock ROM and OTA after Rooting
In times past, there have been vendors that look for rooting and refused to OTA the phone. Citing it violated warantee, contract, whatever. AT&T use to do it, but with current ROMs, especially with the S3, they simply turn off the SUID bit on /system/xbin/su during the update.(They turn off the Root modification, of sorts). The current OTA of 4.0.4 does this trick. Making near impossible to root afterwards.
Usually it is always best to flash back to stock to insure you get a clean OTA.
Some versions of rooting will allow you to keep root even after OTA, but I would not count on it.
The other issue that some forget is any modification to the ROM may trip a counter which may cause OTA's to fail. In the S3 there is a counter on how many times the ROM has been flashed by custom software. Once it is tripped, any warantee you have on the device is voided. You can see the information when you set your phone into flash mode.
There are programs to reset the counter, and other methods, but it gets pretty ugly and you can hard brick your phone in some cases. Just use them with care.
Custom ROM and OTA after Rooting
With custom ROM's rooting is the norm. OTA's will usually not affect them. In fact some OTA's will include updated 'su' programs. There are some custom ROM's that are not able to OTA.

So it sounds to me like if I plan on rooting to get the free tethering, I should always wait until there's a stock ROM available here and manually install it? That way, I don't lose my root and I don't increase the counter unnecessarily?
Thanks for your help.

Question about Rooting and OTA (N7105)

I just got myself a Note 2, but I have this question that I want to clarify about rooting. I've read about rooting the N7105 in the thread and I'm not looking at swapping custom roms or changing kernels of any sort. I just simply want root access to use Titanium, Cerberus and other root apps. However I'm also concerned about OTA. I want to receive these OTA updates.
The key question I want to know is, will rooting break OTA? This is asked in reference to using apps such as Titanium Backup, Adfree Android, Cerberus, Six Axis and other root apps. I'm not looking at changing any other system files. Can I simply unroot and will be allowed can OTA even though I have other root apps installed? Also how much do I need to be concerned with regarding the flash counter? Does triangle away work even with the updates? I definitely want to keep my flash counter down so that I can unroot and send my device back for servicing in the case of any hardware problems.
Its pretty obvious that OTA will break root although it doesn't seem too hard to root the device again after OTA.
TL;DR Summary of qns:
1) Does OTA break root?
2) If yes, can I unroot (while keeping root apps) and OTA?
3) If no, what extent can I go before I can't OTA? (e.g. are there root apps that modify the system files and prevent OTA?)
4) Does triangle away work with the new updates to reset the flash counter?
Thanks in advance, am hoping to clear up all my doubts before rooting my device.
EDIT: For background's sake, I have some basic experience with rooting my previous phone (HTC Desire HD) but wasn't concerned about OTA because it went EOL at Gingerbread.

Bump!

[Q] Is it safe to OTA update to 4.3 on my rooted phone?

So I rooted my phone using the method outlined in this thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771687
I used odin to flash the 4.1.2 T-Mobile image and I stopped at the part that said "If you just want a stock, rooted phone with no custom recovery, no plans to flash custom roms, etc. then you can stop HERE" because I only wanted root so I could fix the keyboard bug (keyboard would revert to stock one after resets).
So my question is, can I update to 4.3 via the OTA update that is in the About Device > Software Update section in the phone? Looking elsewhere the official instructions say that the phone should not be rooted before updating. If so, can I get rid of the root in order to update? (As far as I know, the keyboard bug doesn't exist in 4.3 anyway so I don't think I need the root anymore). If not, how can I update to 4.3?
Lastly, and somewhat unrelated, can I use the factory data reset in the Back up and reset section of the settings? Previously in my experience with roms, this would lead to a boot loop but I'm not sure if that is the case with this so-called rooted stock rom.
Thanks in advance.

You can use OTA RootKeeper to temporarily disable Root so that you will receive the update. Or you could also visit the Root66 thread you have linked. There you will see Rooted version of the 4.3 update.
Having said that, You will want to Research the consequences of the 4.3 Stock update. In particular you wish to research the consequences of CIQ, KNOX and the new EFuse Bootloader.

I am by no means an expert but I figure I just did this so it may help you out. I updated my phone to 4.3 accidentally on purpose and then I decided to root my phone like the next day. I used Mr Robinson's method and then used his third method to download the ROM manager and install CWM Recovery and then I put Cyanogen on it. I have not had any issues except the app Trailer Addict doesn't work with it but that is not a big issue. I have everything else that I wanted and more. I don't care about the flash counter since I am not under warranty. Oh and you can use Titanium Backup to back up your apps. I didn't do this the first time so I had to back up from Kies 3 by dragging files onto my SD card and not all worked. I hope I helped a little.

Upgrade from 4.1.2 to 4.3?

Hello,
I haven't been here in so long. After reading through the forum I am a little confused.
I am on stock 4.1.2, rooted, and using CW recovery.
I see all the discussion about not updating to 4.3, but I'm not sure if what I have read is up to date or not.
Is there still a problem updating to 4.3? KNOX?
How should I update to 4.3? Do it need to undo root and go back to stock recovery? I'm not sure how to do this. I have used custom ROMS in the past but it's been too long.
Also, it seems that rooting 4.3 is no problem. Is this true?
Thanks,
rblancrt

rblancrt said:
Hello,
I haven't been here in so long. After reading through the forum I am a little confused.
I am on stock 4.1.2, rooted, and using CW recovery.
I see all the discussion about not updating to 4.3, but I'm not sure if what I have read is up to date or not.
Is there still a problem updating to 4.3? KNOX?
How should I update to 4.3? Do it need to undo root and go back to stock recovery? I'm not sure how to do this. I have used custom ROMS in the past but it's been too long.
Also, it seems that rooting 4.3 is no problem. Is this true?
Thanks,
rblancrt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, you can upgrade to 4.3 if you want to
the reason why people said not to upgrade to 4.3 is because a lot of people DO NOT READ and come asking for help this or that after they upgrade
and the main reason why people mention not to upgrade is because you can unlock for free as long as you can downgrade your phone to 4.1.1, mainly the bootloader since 4.3 bootloader comes with KNOX
since you're still on 4.1.2, you can downgrade and unlock your phone for free while you still can before upgrading it to 4.3
so this is what you should do, check, if your phone is fully unlocked, if not, unlock it then upgrade
or if you're rich and you don't care, just upgrade and then if you wish to unlock later, pay for unlock code =D
and rooting shouldn't be any problem regardless of which version of android you're on.
to upgrade, you can just download the stock img and flash it through recovery or just use odin flash it
or if you're prefer the old fashion way, the long way in fact, is to unroot, upgrade through system update

I would say don't upgrade. The new bootloader has a warranty bit (aka the Knox counter) that, once tripped, can't be reset. Ever. By anyone. The ONLY way I would even consider upgrading is if you need Knox security for work (the majority of us don't). I wouldn't even upgrade if I were selling the device. Let the new owner make that decision for themself. But, I would unlock it. Even if you never need it, it may add a few bucks to the selling price of the phone later on.

mrhaley30705 said:
I would say don't upgrade. The new bootloader has a warranty bit (aka the Knox counter) that, once tripped, can't be reset. Ever. By anyone. The ONLY way I would even consider upgrading is if you need Knox security for work (the majority of us don't). I wouldn't even upgrade if I were selling the device. Let the new owner make that decision for themself. But, I would unlock it. Even if you never need it, it may add a few bucks to the selling price of the phone later on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what exactly is the effect of this Knox counter. If it's only that I can't reflash a stock ROM and send it back to Samsung that time has long passed.
I guess I'm getting bored with my phone, had it almost two years, and thought updating to the latest firmware might help.
What are the repercussions of going to 4.3 or higher?
Thanks again for the great info.

If you are out of warranty, the only drawback, imo, to updating is you cannot downgrade the firmware or modem. You could still flash older roms and kernels, just not the full firmware and not the modem.
Personally, I wouldn't let knox deter me from updating, or recommending it. This is for each person to decide, but I feel the benefits outweigh any drawbacks. knox is easily removed or disabled, and I find the latest builds to be some of the best in terms of performance and battery. (of course there are always some who disagree with that on every update!) of course there are no guarantees, but most seem to be quite happy with both 4.3 and 4.4.2.
As for downgrading.....I have never found a real need for doing so. Some have though, so thats something you need to decide for yourself.
You can try some of the available roms w/o updating the firmware btw. But if you decide you like them, I do suggest going back and fully updating for stability and performance, but thats something for you to decide if you want to go that route.
There will be some who agree and some who do not, so in the end its up to you make an educated decision whether or not you want to.

[Q] Does Rooting LG G3 Disables OTA Updates?

Hello guys,
I'm sorry I created a new thread to ask some questions but nobody responded when I asked on an existing thread. Also, I think you should keep this thread for new users who what to know everything about rooting their LG G3.
So, my questions are the following:
I just bought the LG G3 (D855, runs Lollipop out of the box) and I want to root to it (I've rooted many devices before) but will I be able to receive OTA updates? Does LG has any security feature like Samsung's Knox that is triggered by the rooting process and marks my device? Is there any danger in general?
If later on I decide to flash TWRP and custom ROMs will I have to unlock the bootloader?
Thank you for your time, and again, sorry for the new tread.

I am not sure about the Lollipop version but when I was running KitKat I was notified of OTA updates but when I've tried to run it I got a pop up that update couldn't be applied because my phone was rooted. had to get rid of root than I could update it.

SpectralMeat said:
I am not sure about the Lollipop version but when I was running KitKat I was notified of OTA updates but when I've tried to run it I got a pop up that update couldn't be applied because my phone was rooted. had to get rid of root than I could update it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I heard a simple unroot from SuperSu app was not even enough, because the stock fw has a counter that is incremented in case you root, and therefore even if you remove root the counter will still prevent you from applying the OTA.

tylerdurden83 said:
From what I heard a simple unroot from SuperSu app was not even enough, because the stock fw has a counter that is incremented in case you root, and therefore even if you remove root the counter will still prevent you from applying the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've flashed a stock firmware and updated. There may have been a simpler way, but I am not an expert.
Again I am not sure if things got easier or harder with Lollipop but to be very honest in the last few firmware updates I did not see anything life changing from LG that would worth the hassle. I think being rooted is much more valuable than the latest firmware updates were.
For me personally anyways

tylerdurden83 said:
From what I heard a simple unroot from SuperSu app was not even enough, because the stock fw has a counter that is incremented in case you root, and therefore even if you remove root the counter will still prevent you from applying the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you guys for the answers! :good:
So, LG indeed has a "security" feature that messes with your device. Can someone confirm it?
If the counter is software can't we alter/erase it? Or is it hw-based like Samsung's Knox Warranty Void? If it is hw-based we cannot do something.