Develop Bugs

OOS 3.2.2 and Safetynet

Hi developers!
Since the OOS 3.2.2 update, systemless root is now failing to pass googled safetynet checks, meaning Android pay no longer works :/ if I roll back to 3.2.1 then it works fine. I'm using the safetynet helped app from the play store to test this. I wondered if any developers or knowledgeable people would know if this is a change in the rom causing this, or just a SuperSU incompatibility?

OOS 3.2.2 validates with no root. I just flash SuperSU when needed and then unroot when finished. (TWRP as recovery) Some of my banking apps will not work with root installed.
Google made server side change that somehow now detects systemless root around 25th July.

spetrie said:
OOS 3.2.2 validates with no root. I just flash SuperSU when needed and then unroot when finished. (TWRP as recovery) Some of my banking apps will not work with root installed.
Google made server side change that somehow now detects systemless root around 25th July.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might have been why then. Worked momentarily before the 3.2.2 update. Cheers for the info

manor7777 said:
Hi developers!
Since the OOS 3.2.2 update, systemless root is now failing to pass googled safetynet checks, meaning Android pay no longer works :/ if I roll back to 3.2.1 then it works fine. I'm using the safetynet helped app from the play store to test this. I wondered if any developers or knowledgeable people would know if this is a change in the rom causing this, or just a SuperSU incompatibility?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's working for you on 3.2.1.? It stopped working for me on that version just prior to 3.2.2. coming out.

Google made changes sever side to prevent it from working. IT is getting to the point of having to pick. Root or android pay. We all knew this was coming.

Mit Hipster said:
It's working for you on 3.2.1.? It stopped working for me on that version just prior to 3.2.2. coming out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It did momentarily but not for long. might have been a glitch or a slow-rollout on googles part. It's not working now!

zelendel said:
Google made changes sever side to prevent it from working. IT is getting to the point of having to pick. Root or android pay. We all knew this was coming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah we were waiting. Someone on XDA will find a way round at some point i bet, but we all knew it was coming!

manor7777 said:
Yeah we were waiting. Someone on XDA will find a way round at some point i bet, but we all knew it was coming!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was done server side there will be no work around. Plus with the new security measures in the linux kernel (XDA portal post) Things like this will be even harder if not impossible.

zelendel said:
If it was done server side there will be no work around. Plus with the new security measures in the linux kernel (XDA portal post) Things like this will be even harder if not impossible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a fair point. Someone made a workaround before that worked for about 6 months through xposed, but to be honest I have twrp so I can flash what I need anyway, no biggie.

manor7777 said:
That's a fair point. Someone made a workaround before that worked for about 6 months through xposed, but to be honest I have twrp so I can flash what I need anyway, no biggie.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that will be the next thing they start looking for. Agreed doesnt really matter to me either. Mobile payments are banned everywhere I go and since I have to legally carry my ID around I also have my cards so even if it wasnt banned I still wouldnt use it.

zelendel said:
Yeah that will be the next thing they start looking for. Agreed doesnt really matter to me either. Mobile payments are banned everywhere I go and since I have to legally carry my ID around I also have my cards so even if it wasnt banned I still wouldnt use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a shame! Where are you based? Its EVERYWHERE in the UK!

manor7777 said:
That's a shame! Where are you based? Its EVERYWHERE in the UK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the US. It is available in most places just not in my town. After it was proven that it could be intercepted and the fact that stores are making their own alt to the pay apps, they decided to just block them.Even my Credit union has removed the chip from their cards due security concerns.
Like I said even if it was I still wouldnt use it. I am smarter then keeping things like my credit card info stored on a device that is always sending data everywhere. Mainly when you think about the fact that keyboards can record every keystroke.
Also I have to keep my ID on me at all times so it is just faster to take my card out and hand it to the cashier.

zelendel said:
I am in the US. It is available in most places just not in my town. After it was proven that it could be intercepted and the fact that stores are making their own alt to the pay apps, they decided to just block them.Even my Credit union has removed the chip from their cards due security concerns.
Like I said even if it was I still wouldnt use it. I am smarter then keeping things like my credit card info stored on a device that is always sending data everywhere. Mainly when you think about the fact that keyboards can record every keystroke.
Also I have to keep my ID on me at all times so it is just faster to take my card out and hand it to the cashier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only stealable (like with card skimming) whilst the screen is on, at least on a phone. I have a card that I transfer money too whenever I use it (its actually my PayPal card) so I don't have too much of a risk there. They have done a few things like that over here in the UK too but I'm still cautious about it. I have a few measures in place to prevent some of that

manor7777 said:
It's only stealable (like with card skimming) whilst the screen is on, at least on a phone. I have a card that I transfer money too whenever I use it (its actually my PayPal card) so I don't have too much of a risk there. They have done a few things like that over here in the UK too but I'm still cautious about it. I have a few measures in place to prevent some of that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats all it really takes. When checked they found that the majority of the card readers had some sort of extra device installed on it. Like I said it is not a big deal for me as I wouldn't use it if it was available.

I was using systemless root for a while, it passed system checks just fine. But the funs over now, they've patched it. :/

Package Disabler Pro for the Note 7.

Has anyone tried to see what works with some bloatware disabled & what doesn't work? Personally I would like the iris scanner and samsung pay to be enabled and everything else disabled.

Yeah, it's working for me quite well

XavierAD said:
Yeah, it's working for me quite well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear it,arguably the best feature available for any Samsung device,short of root/ROMs.
Hopefully it'll still work once Android 7.0 rolls out.

KOLIOSIS said:
Glad to hear it,arguably the best feature available for any Samsung device,short of root/ROMs.
Hopefully it'll still work once Android 7.0 rolls out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will. They use Knox which is a product of Samsung.
Sent from my XT1528 using XDA Labs

I'm rather confused by this thread. Is the poster asking what will 'break' if you disabled all the bloatware? Or asking something else entirely? Cause you can disable everything that comes on any phone and it'll always work just fine.
And I have no idea what Android 7.0 would have to do with bloatware, or what KNOX would have to do with bloatware...

HikariNoKitsune said:
I'm rather confused by this thread. Is the poster asking what will 'break' if you disabled all the bloatware? Or asking something else entirely? Cause you can disable everything that comes on any phone and it'll always work just fine.
And I have no idea what Android 7.0 would have to do with bloatware, or what KNOX would have to do with bloatware...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't speak for the O.P.,but,my guess is, as with me, just making sure that it works before purchasing the Note 7,especially for those of us with the Snapdragon powered versions that may have no other way to disable bloat.
JMHO, but, the Q&A regarding functionality of PDP, whatever they may be, are of merit & might as well have a thread addressing the subject.
Most realize you can disable the bloat, but,not everyone, including yours truly, understand exactly how it works & why only on Samsung devices.
The Knox tie-in makes sense to me, even without a full understanding of how it works.

KOLIOSIS said:
I can't speak for the O.P.,but,my guess is, as with me, just making sure that it works before purchasing the Note 7,especially for those of us with the Snapdragon powered versions that may have no other way to disable bloat.
JMHO, but, the Q&A regarding functionality of PDP, whatever they may be, are of merit & might as well have a thread addressing the subject.
Most realize you can disable the bloat, but,not everyone, including yours truly, understand exactly how it works & why only on Samsung devices.
The Knox tie-in makes sense to me, even without a full understanding of how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KNOX doesn't make much sense to me, because that's just a security platform. It just makes sure you protected from being 'hacked' per say. As in like, it adds an extra layer of security over your phone so someone can't just pick it up and plug it into a computer to gain access to all of your stuff. Though thats only the very loosest of analogies.
But I have to ask what you exactly mean by the "not everyone understands exactly how it works and why only on Samsung devices". Do you mean as in why disabling works? or something else. Because you can disable the bloatware on any android phone so long as the carrier and manufacturer didn't lock the option out. Which most devices will let you do it now because of the whole 'you'll get sued for forcing users to use a specific thing without giving them a way out' (an example would be microsoft getting sued over the bundling of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office with the earlier Windows OS's).
What I'm wondering is, based on the title of the thread after thinking about it some, does the OP mean an app that disables/uninstalls bloat? Because I'm sure there are plenty of apps out there that do it. But most I think require Root in order to do it properly and reliably. I use Sprint for my service, and its Sprint ID and such are a pain in the ass, and they can't just be 'disabled' easily even though there is the option to (every time you disable it, Sprint just re-installs it the next time you reboot the phone because it thinks it got uninstalled somehow). But to get it to disable properly on my Note 5, I had to install some random app that I think was called App Quarantine. It looked like a bio-hazard symbol for the icon. I haven't re-installed it since this last wipe I was forced to do, so I can't remember exactly lol. But it was the only one that would let me actually disable the Sprint ID stuff and not have it re-install all the time.

HikariNoKitsune said:
What I'm wondering is, based on the title of the thread after thinking about it some, does the OP mean an app that disables/uninstalls bloat? Because I'm sure there are plenty of apps out there that do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's an app in the Google Play Store that has the ability to disable literally anything on Samsung devices,WITHOUT ROOT, so, care must be taken to not get carried away & I recommend only disabling, not deleting, in the event of not being able to take an update otherwise.
Not everything can be disabled natively, so, that explains the appeal of the app.
If you used it, you'd see the tie-in with Knox........

KOLIOSIS said:
Yes it's an app in the Google Play Store that has the ability to disable literally anything on Samsung devices,WITHOUT ROOT, so, care must be taken to not get carried away & I recommend only disabling, not deleting, in the event of not being able to take an update otherwise.
Not everything can be disabled natively, so, that explains the appeal of the app.
If you used it, you'd see the tie-in with Knox........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then that makes alot more sense. I originally just thought they were basically asking if there was an app to disable everything instead of having to do it manually. I've always just manually disabled everything cause its not that hard to do. Just find the troublesome things and hit that disable button lol. But if this can do it all in one quick swoop, then I'm all in =O I'll definitely be looking into it later today when my phone finally arrives...
Sprint screwed up my pre-order, and is sending me the wrong device, so I have to take it into a store to get it exchanged because they refused to cancel my pre-order or change the order at all even though I legitimately ordered the dang thing 2 minutes past midnight on the 3rd. So ontop of that, they also didn't ship the phone when they said they would, AND the put restrictions on my package. I normally have to physically go to a UPS location to pick up my packages cause the dumb driver will never deliver to my house... always states that they can't find my house even though its the ONLY house down the ONLY long driveway... heck you can SEE my house above the trees! But nope, the guy wont deliver. But because of the restrictions, UPS wont let me flag the package as 'hold for pickup' like usual, so I gotta stand at the end of my drive way for hours upon hours just to catch the UPS driver. Then I gotta drive all the way into town to HOPEFULLY exchange the phone for the Black Onyx variant that I was supposed to get...
Anyway, sorry for the ramble o-o; didn't realize it was that long XD

HikariNoKitsune said:
Then that makes alot more sense. I originally just thought they were basically asking if there was an app to disable everything instead of having to do it manually. I've always just manually disabled everything cause its not that hard to do. Just find the troublesome things and hit that disable button lol. But if this can do it all in one quick swoop, then I'm all in =O I'll definitely be looking into it later today when my phone finally arrives...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a nice tool to have, a powerful one.
Just a friendly piece of advice :
Read up on it before using, check the FAQs on the developers site if need be & go conservative at 1st if you're not familiar with what is safe to disable.
The app gives color-coded guidelines per each app on what is known to be safe to disable. You can go above and beyond that, but, mainly, just disable, do not delete anything & leave the stock keyboard alone.
You might be able to disable the stock launcher, provided you have another one installed, but, I'd leave it alone until you're certain one way or the other........

KOLIOSIS said:
It's a nice tool to have, a powerful one.
Just a friendly piece of advice :
Read up on it before using, check the FAQs on the developers site if need be & go conservative at 1st if you're not familiar with what is safe to disable.
The app gives color-coded guidelines per each app on what is known to be safe to disable. You can go above and beyond that, but, mainly, just disable, do not delete anything & leave the stock keyboard alone.
You might be able to disable the stock launcher, provided you have another one installed, but, I'd leave it alone until you're certain one way or the other........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I'd only disable the things I already know I need to disable. Like all the Sprint stuff. I leave the Samsung stuff alone cause I actually use alot of Samsung's things. But as for Sprint's stuff? All of that goes bye bye lol. Now that is assuming it doesn't somehow show things that you normally can't see from the applications manager. In which case then I wouldn't bother, cause I don't see much of a point lol.

there are a few package disabler for Samsung out there, which one the best?

amenlo9 said:
there are a few package disabler for Samsung out there, which one the best?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go with either one,the Pro+ has a hardware lockdown feature,otherwise,there two are identical:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpremium&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro&hl=en

I'm guessing Samsung still has a partnership w/Cheetah Mobile,which is one of the main reasons I like having this app,Package Disabler Pro,on-board to ward off the data mining/crapware/etc...
However,I'm not seeing anything in the apps,system or otherwise,that's jumping out & identifying itself as CheetahMobile/CleanMaster/etc.......
I'm guessing it's some/all of the apps identified w/the "Smart" moniker,but,I'm not 100% certain on that.
Anyone have an idea on which,if any,of the apps are actual CheetahMobile bloatware?
Thanks In Advance!

Using EZ Disabler here. Works well, but you gotta be careful using "disable bloat" part as it will turn off many useful things. I just went through and picked what i wanted. Very Easy to use though

Thanks for recommending Package Disabler Pro. I was worried Since not rooted. In past had always used TB . This worked Great!!
Sent from my SM-N930P using Tapatalk

Why would you guys use an app for disabling stuff.
Since we're on xda, enable USB debugging and use pm (package manager) cmd from adb shell.
For instance: adb shell pm hide 'package'
There are other interesting options: list, install, uninstall.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

millicent said:
Why would you guys use an app for disabling stuff.
Since we're on xda, enable USB debugging and use pm (package manager) cmd from adb shell.
For instance: adb shell pm hide 'package'
There are other interesting options: list, install, uninstall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see your point, but i would also say there is a ease to the app though. Whatever works best for people. Im just glad there are options.

Anyone go back to stock from rooted?

I have been finding myself only using Magisk for EmojiOne, but noticing I don't use Emoji like I used to anymore and am thinking since I only use Substratum with a Center Clock mod and have stopped using it for Dark theming, maybe going back to a stock based setup would be fine. I can use the Andromeda thing with Substratum which is an extra step but can do my center clock and possibly emoji one via substratum... not sure what else I would want root for... Updating is a touch of a pain for me. What do yo guys think, and have any of you gone back to stock?

I went back to stock just because I didn't want to have the uncertainty of being rooted.
Nothing wrong with rooting but I love this phone the way it is.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

For myself Rooting was a necessity. The devices sold in the past had so much Crapware.
It was nice to get the latest and greatest ROM and tweak the device to run faster because at that time they were just plain old slow.
Today, depending on where you bought a device devices are very fast. It seems to me that every ROM has an issue that influences the character of the device.
If your device comes from a carrier such as Verizon you should Root it to get rid of their crapware.
It seems their attitude is you only have the right to buy their device not the ability to control, I mean really you think you own it or something? ( yes I'm a VZW hater)
What was the question?

kdkinc said:
For myself Rooting was a necessity. The devices sold in the past had so much Crapware.
It was nice to get the latest and greatest ROM and tweak the device to run faster because at that time they were just plain old slow.
Today, depending on where you bought a device devices are very fast. It seems to me that every ROM has an issue that influences the character of the device.
If your device comes from a carrier such as Verizon you should Root it to get rid of their crapware.
It seems their attitude is you only have the right to buy their device not the ability to control, I mean really you think you own it or something? ( yes I'm a VZW hater)
What was the question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I agree 100%. I can simply disable gMail and Calculator, the only 2 APPs pre-installed on my Pixel 2 XL that I don't need. I use Inbox by Google for eMails and a Calculator Widget for that. Aside from the EmojiOne and CenterClock, I don't even dark-theme anymore, especially not on this device with the "black crush" all the OLEDs have an issue with. I was rooted fro KCal, but am finding the Boosted setting works just fine and oddly my Blue Tint has weakened since my first few days where it was really bad. Almost like the display is wearing in and getting better? It's still there, but just not as much as that first fresh opening, so warming up the display isn't needed much for me now either.
I like to see where people's heads are at with each device, and this is one the extra input is nice to read.

I'm actually on the fence about rooting. Just received my phone this weekend and I can't decide. Going to unlock bootloader before fully setting up, but I have been playing with it a little. I've always rooted and ran custom ROMs as well as adaway. With PureNexus on my N6 I stopped flashing for over a year except the occasional ROM update. I simply like Android in it's simplest form.

I will always root, no matter what. The only downside is like you said, having to mess with getting OTAs in an unnatural way. However, seeing as how I flash all factory images, I get them sooner than those waiting on an OTA to hit their phone. Plus once you have all the tools ready to go, it literally only takes a few minutes to flash an update.
I always root because I usually run stock. And while stock on a Pixel 2 XL is damn near close to perfection, it will never be what "I" consider perfect. Which means I have to mess with the /system files to get things "perfect." I've modded the stock launcher, which I couldn't do if I was rooted. I've switched out fonts. I've changed the navbar, status bar, and quick settings. And of course, there's always AdAway which requires root. Granted some of those things can be achieved with third party apps, but I'd rather get it done "internally" whenever possible.

I used to have it for years, then more and more companies (Google and banks) made their apps check for root, and I tired of the cat and mouse game with SuperSU and Magisk. So I unrooted over a year ago. Didn't miss it at all until yesterday, when I wanted to do something with Tasker that requires root. But what I wanted to do falls into the category of "it would be nice" as opposed to "I have/need to do this", so I remain unrooted. I haven't really missed it much.

I am stuck without root since I have the Verizon model which was given to me free from work so I cannot complain too much. I have always rooted and messed with ROMs. The only thing I would need root for with the 2 XL is ad blocking with Chrome. I am trying the Samsung browser and ABP which work pretty well together.
If I didn't have the noise cancellation mic issue on my 6P I think I would have given up root a long time ago...

I rotate between stock and rooted daily lol
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I am sort of glad I found this thread. I'm not a XDA regular but I've been following root guides from here since my Razr Mazz HD. I chose the Pixel in part for the ease of getting root and for Project Fi. Now that I have the phone, I'm not sure I want to root. I've never had a phone with quick updates before. I LOVE AdAway, but is it really worth the tradeoff? AdGuard is just as good if you don't use your VPN slot but if you DO use a VPN and need it.... not rooting forces me to choose between PIA and AdGuard. But do I even need a VPN anymore with Project Fi? Probably... Firefox with uBlock works pretty well too but doesn't work on apps. Oh the decisions.

Ruraltech said:
I am sort of glad I found this thread. I'm not a XDA regular but I've been following root guides from here since my Razr Mazz HD. I chose the Pixel in part for the ease of getting root and for Project Fi. Now that I have the phone, I'm not sure I want to root. I've never had a phone with quick updates before. I LOVE AdAway, but is it really worth the tradeoff? AdGuard is just as good if you don't use your VPN slot but if you DO use a VPN and need it.... not rooting forces me to choose between PIA and AdGuard. But do I even need a VPN anymore with Project Fi? Probably... Firefox with uBlock works pretty well too but doesn't work on apps. Oh the decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you like it the way it is, then I'd just leave it. It's a great device on stock. However, having root, AdAway, TiBu, kernels, and mods, is a lot of fun as well. As long as you know adb and fastboot fairly well, rooting and flashing monthly updates is pretty easy :good:

I was rooted from the get go!!

I'm going to try to live without root for a bit but already hating not having AdAway. I just know I won't keep up with updates if I have to do them. I sure wish AdAway didn't need root

Ruraltech said:
I am sort of glad I found this thread. I'm not a XDA regular but I've been following root guides from here since my Razr Mazz HD. I chose the Pixel in part for the ease of getting root and for Project Fi. Now that I have the phone, I'm not sure I want to root. I've never had a phone with quick updates before. I LOVE AdAway, but is it really worth the tradeoff? AdGuard is just as good if you don't use your VPN slot but if you DO use a VPN and need it.... not rooting forces me to choose between PIA and AdGuard. But do I even need a VPN anymore with Project Fi? Probably... Firefox with uBlock works pretty well too but doesn't work on apps. Oh the decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not regretting going back to stock from rooted as the only things I no longer have is center clock and emojione, which I 'could' get using Andromeda / Substratum but heard you have to reconnect to the computer anytime you reboot the phone and decided that's just not worth it for me. I am interested in ad blocking if possible without Root for Chrome. Only Ads that get in my way are via "News" and articles I touch from the Google Feed. Sadly many lately are blatant click-bait, page-hopping crap and slideshows that I refuse to go past the first page on.
Edit: Well, just ran across something known as DNS66 and have that up and running without Root and sure enough, it's blocking Ads on everything, even in Chrome without issue.

sharkie405 said:
I will always root, no matter what. The only downside is like you said, having to mess with getting OTAs in an unnatural way. However, seeing as how I flash all factory images, I get them sooner than those waiting on an OTA to hit their phone. Plus once you have all the tools ready to go, it literally only takes a few minutes to flash an update.
I always root because I usually run stock. And while stock on a Pixel 2 XL is damn near close to perfection, it will never be what "I" consider perfect. Which means I have to mess with the /system files to get things "perfect." I've modded the stock launcher, which I couldn't do if I was rooted. I've switched out fonts. I've changed the navbar, status bar, and quick settings. And of course, there's always AdAway which requires root. Granted some of those things can be achieved with third party apps, but I'd rather get it done "internally" whenever possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats your few minute process? Do you only have a few apps to restore with data?

plisskenn said:
Whats your few minute process? Do you only have a few apps to restore with data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash without wiping data.

plisskenn said:
Whats your few minute process? Do you only have a few apps to restore with data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See below. ?
jrbxx7 said:
Flash without wiping data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

First thing I did with my unlocked XL 2 was to unlock the bootloader. I then rooted once Magisk was available. I root so I can do pain-free full TiBu of my apps and for AdAway. Even though I have corporate email on my phone, the Magisk Hide bypasses their restrictions in the email app.
I'm actually kind of shocked we don't have more ROMs for this phone, though I'm not a Dev and don't know how complex it may be. If more Devs release custom ROMs, I'll be trying some out for sure.

I never buy android phone unless it's bootloader-unlockable and root-able
Too many handicap applied without root.
I hate dns/vpn based adblock, it cluttering my status bar and notification. So, yes, i need root for adaway,
Google limit Tethering frequency option for my country (No 5Ghz) so, yes, i need root to enable it,
I like the ability to background play youtube, and see youtube without ads, so yes, i root my phone for that. Sure, no root option is available, but lot of problem with google account cant sign in, and this and that.
I like the ability to use Brevent, Edge Sense Plus, Greenify etc without the need of plugging my phone to PC and do adb command. So, yes, i rooted my phone for that.
The phone will never be 100% yours, unless you have total control over anything inside it
So,
There's no way am back to stock. Especially with xposed working so well right now.

otonieru said:
I like the ability to background play youtube, and see youtube without ads, so yes, i root my phone for that. Sure, no root option is available, but lot of problem with google account cant sign in, and this and that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you are using Magisk, how did you get YouTube Red without subscribing? (You can PM me if you don't want to hijack this thread...)

To root or not to root

I've had my Pixel 2 XL for 2 weeks now and am very impressed with all of the customizations. Quick question: is it worth it to root it? My bootloader is unlocked, BTW. What are some additional benefits it I choose to root it?

t4duzan said:
I've had my Pixel 2 XL for 2 weeks now and am very impressed with all of the customizations. Quick question: is it worth it to root it? My bootloader is unlocked, BTW. What are some additional benefits it I choose to root it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "worth it" part is up to you. What is it you want to achieve? If you want to....
Flash custom roms and kernels..
Use add blocking and themes..
Install sound mods...
Or just customize the crap outa it.....then yes.
However, a word of caution, do your research into flashing procedures, and become very familiar with fastboot just in case something goes wrong, and you need to recover your device.
Also, if you use certain banking apps, they may not work if your rooted. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. There are bunches of helpful people on XDA that are happy to help you. :good:

Badger50 said:
The "worth it" part is up to you. What is it you want to achieve? If you want to....
Flash custom roms and kernels..
Use add blocking and themes..
Install sound mods...
Or just customize the crap outa it.....then yes.
However, a word of caution, do your research into flashing procedures, and become very familiar with fastboot just in case something goes wrong, and you need to recover your device.
Also, if you use certain banking apps, they may not work if your rooted. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. There are bunches of helpful people on XDA that are happy to help you. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice and info Badger50. I think I'll do as you recommend and research it for awhile.

Also insurance apps detect root also and some games
Magisk is a great app for hiding root from these apps most of the time.
If you want to keep up to date on the monthly Google updates it can be a bit of a pain as you have to replace your boot image and kernel and even then can have issues with the way pixel handles the rom.
But with that said it's good to at least do it learn a bit about what goes into it see if it is good for you.
Good to have a backup phone and or know your restore procedures.
Pretty hard to brick a phone with the pixel phones.
Just have to follow some steps exactly the way they tell you.
I stay stock now because of the updates some times it takes me a day to get time to fix the phone to accept the update and work properly and I like having accu battery have history from start of the phone
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Taimen_#1
Without a doubt, hands down, currently I need Root. If the device has no solution then it's the last one I would pick. Currently I'm running Havoc with Magisk 18. I have the viper/Dolby sound benefits with my favorite Sony features & apps. Also I'm running lawnchair w/ quickswitch module. All in all I guess you could say I have a problem. Every since I learned I could update to KitKat instead of being stuck on stock gingerbread I've been rooting. Thanks:good:

If you have a warranty (sounds like you bought it used) or you have have insurance they will be void if you are unable to restore to stock.
That's why I don't root.
Just something to be aware of.

One of the best and ultimate reasons to root is to be able to take a nandroid backup that's better than any non-rooted backup method! It will literally backup and remember everything (due to all of this residing in the /data partition)! Your homescreen, settings, app and its data,down to every little thing!
Being able to move the clock back to the right, modify so it's better on battery life and cpu quickness, enjoy extra features in apps, and many other "tweaks" are secondary but very enjoyable and satisfactory...

it's an interesting question to me, because this is the first phone that I have decided not to bother rooting. It is also my first pixel/Nexus which I think is part of the reason. In the past getting rid of bloat and many of the controlling aspects from carriers was important to me. With the pixel, there is very little of that. Plus it just works, I'm not working around issues.
maybe I'm getting old, but to me the phone is now something I want to use not something I want to play with. When I root the phone, I have to keep up with security updates and I'm usually also fixing and patching things from trying different mods. So far the pure Android experience from Google has proven reasonably reliable and stable, and it just doesn't seem worth the hassle anymore. I will continue to buy phones I can root, how's that may change at some point.
Right now, my opinion is, for me, there is no need to root

I haven't unlocked my bootloader or rooted since the first pixel. I use adguard premium and YouTube vanced. Currently, absolutely no need for root anymore. Just my two cents.

simplepinoi177 said:
One of the best and ultimate reasons to root is to be able to take a nandroid backup that's better than any non-rooted backup method! It will literally backup and remember everything (due to all of this residing in the /data partition)! Your homescreen, settings, app and its data,down to every little thing!
Being able to move the clock back to the right, modify so it's better on battery life and cpu quickness, enjoy extra features in apps, and many other "tweaks" are secondary but very enjoyable and satisfactory...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything related to apps and app data. Anything on the internal sdcard, not so much.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Question Rooting has become a pain

I have never had so many issues with updating a phone with Magisk before. Today is the 2nd time I lost all my data trying to update. I feel like Magisk isn't worth the hassle anymore. It is frustrating how anti-root google is becoming.
Anyone else share the same opinion?

mkhcb said:
I have never had so many issues with updating a phone with Magisk before. Today is the 2nd time I lost all my data trying to update. I feel like Magisk isn't worth the hassle anymore. It is frustrating how anti-root google is becoming.
Anyone else share the same opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you running a custom kernel and you tried to update to March? Did you get the phone is corrupt and it wouldn't boot screen? If that ever happens again, you don't have to wipe, Just go on the Android flashing tool uncheck everything flash and you'll be good to go again. At least it's worked for me every time so far.

mac796 said:
Were you running a custom kernel and you tried to update to March? Did you get the phone is corrupt and it wouldn't boot screen? If that ever happens again, you don't have to wipe, Just go on the Android flashing tool uncheck everything flash and you'll be good to go again. At least it's worked for me every time so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No custom Kernel, it came to a point where the only screen I was given was Android Recovery screen.

mkhcb said:
No custom Kernel, it came to a point where the only screen I was given was Android Recovery screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up going to stable magisk

mkhcb said:
I have never had so many issues with updating a phone with Magisk before. Today is the 2nd time I lost all my data trying to update. I feel like Magisk isn't worth the hassle anymore. It is frustrating how anti-root google is becoming.
Anyone else share the same opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree with you...
Coming from the OnePlus 6T, and previous phones you can't really beat just pulling the boot.img from the factory image, patching it with magisk, then fastboot boot that img then install directly in the magisk app. It's actually that simple. Really is that black and white to be up front about it.
That's how I have been doing it for a while now...and...no problems for me! But this IS JUST ME.

mkhcb said:
I have never had so many issues with updating a phone with Magisk before. Today is the 2nd time I lost all my data trying to update. I feel like Magisk isn't worth the hassle anymore. It is frustrating how anti-root google is becoming.
Anyone else share the same opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It really comes down to reading instructions and knowing what you're supposed to do when it comes to rooting. I can't tell you how many times I read folks spewing instructions that are out of date or they're patching the wrong files for their device that inevitably cause a problem.
I have not had any issues with root since the P6 came out. I have followed directions exactly as they've been written and I've been fine.

mkhcb said:
I have never had so many issues with updating a phone with Magisk before. Today is the 2nd time I lost all my data trying to update. I feel like Magisk isn't worth the hassle anymore. It is frustrating how anti-root google is becoming.
Anyone else share the same opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you update magisk and then faced a bootloop?
That was a bug/is a bug introduced with the latest magisk update (monday), Magisk kind of "lost" the ability to handle a certain amount of modules/certain modules. We are all waiting for a fix. The temporary solution was/is to press down Lower Volume rocker when the Google logo appeared when booting, that way you activate safe mode and all Magisk modules get deactivated. Discord says 4 modules are max right now, some say it's "just" certain audio modules that are incompatible.

I wouldn't say it's become a pain but you really need to "do your homework" and make sure to read before attempting stuff. Same old, same old I'd say.
If you're unsure, just ask. There's plenty of people here who are willing to help out.

I was on regular A12 and tried to update from the app. The device rebooted and didn't appear to be rooted (I know that ryhmed) tried to direct install but got an error, can not remember the error.
Then I decided to update to the A13 DP2 beta and used canary magisk , updating via flashtool and fastboot flashing the patched image and voila! Couldn't be happier.

Seems like people have had some issues lately

I don't know about harder, but maybe more haphazard. February update I did the uninstall magisk method and it worked as described. Did it again for March and this time it took me three tries to get the phone to boot and at that point I lost root. Had to download the image from Google, extract boot, patch it and flash it. Not the end of the world but still no idea what happened.

There was some glitchyness at the beginning with the vbmeta nonsense, but that's all sorted out now. The tools available are so simple to use now that its hard to imagine that anyone could have any trouble with it.
FWIW: for privacy/security reasons, I run GrapheneOS. It would normally do its own update procedures, but when you need root (I need for conducting proper backups since the built-in misses a lot), it freaks out with the unmatched boot.img. The update solution then is to download the full "factory" update package, extract the boot.img, patch it with magisk, edit the "flash-all.sh" script to remove the "-w", run the flash-all.sh, then finally fastboot flash the magisk-patched boot.img.

Ghisy said:
I wouldn't say it's become a pain but you really need to "do your homework" and make sure to read before attempting stuff. Same old, same old I'd say.
If you're unsure, just ask. There's plenty of people here who are willing to help out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^This 100%
mkhcb said:
I have never had so many issues with updating a phone with Magisk before. Today is the 2nd time I lost all my data trying to update. I feel like Magisk isn't worth the hassle anymore. It is frustrating how anti-root google is becoming.
Anyone else share the same opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While there are many ways to skin this cat, I follow the step by step instructions in my sig every update, and haven't had an issue yet.
I will admit that rooting is loosing it's allure for me as it seems cust Rom development on the phones I prefer is waning (remember the day when every device had a dozen cust Roms to choose from). That coupled with I'm no longer the guy who tries to squeeze an extra 30 min of battery life, who over/underclocked cpu's and gpu's to get a 100 pt higher benchmark score.
Root is something I still do because I like having the OPTION of customizing beyond a cust kernel and some "root required" apps, and jumping through a few hoops to make magisk work is worth it IMHO.

Az Biker said:
Root is something I still do because I like having the OPTION of customizing beyond a cust kernel and some "root required" apps, and jumping through a few hoops to make magisk work is worth it IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This 100% as well!!
The stock Google ROM is perfectly fine with some tweaks!

96carboard said:
There was some glitchyness at the beginning with the vbmeta nonsense, but that's all sorted out now. The tools available are so simple to use now that its hard to imagine that anyone could have any trouble with it.
FWIW: for privacy/security reasons, I run GrapheneOS. It would normally do its own update procedures, but when you need root (I need for conducting proper backups since the built-in misses a lot), it freaks out with the unmatched boot.img. The update solution then is to download the full "factory" update package, extract the boot.img, patch it with magisk, edit the "flash-all.sh" script to remove the "-w", run the flash-all.sh, then finally fastboot flash the magisk-patched boot.img.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root renders half of the purpose of grapheneos moot though... It's "security hardened". Hand a rooted "security hardened" android phone to anyone who can watch a YouTube video and has a computer that has a USB port or wifi and they could be dumping your system files in in a matter of minutes.
What sort of privacy do you imagine you gain? Are you under the assumption that Googleplayservices is the only method by which your traffic can be singled out of the background internet swarms? Hopefully you're not replying on it to not be physically tracked. Or worse, trust it to go dark and do dirt with.
I'm asking because because I generally don't understand the motivations of users such as yourself. Using a flagship device, attempting to de-google/brand it, and then openly say it's for X privacy or X security usecase. It's simply not true. To me it's like someone buying a Porsche, throwing Ford stickers on it's and saying it's because they get better traction.

erktheerk said:
Root renders half of the purpose of grapheneos moot though... It's "security hardened". Hand a rooted "security hardened" android phone to anyone who can watch a YouTube video and has a computer that has a USB port or wifi and they could be dumping your system files in in a matter of minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe in the hands of an incompetent, but no, you can't just "walk in". Said compromising individual would have to somehow unlock the device in order to authorize the USB debugging session or whatever type of compromise they're attempting.
erktheerk said:
What sort of privacy do you imagine you gain? Are you under the assumption that Googleplayservices is the only method by which your traffic can be singled out of the background internet swarms? Hopefully you're not replying on it to not be physically tracked. Or worse, trust it to go dark and do dirt with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are mistaking absolute security for mitigating known and easy to close holes. Bad mistake, which will always make you look like a fool.
erktheerk said:
I'm asking because because I generally don't understand the motivations of users such as yourself. Using a flagship device, attempting to de-google/brand it, and then openly say it's for X privacy or X security usecase. It's simply not true. To me it's like someone buying a Porsche, throwing Ford stickers on it's and saying it's because they get better traction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While root control of a device can provide a high degree of access to a system, it only does so in the hands of an incompetent. Every single server running connected with the public internet has a root account. If it was so terrifyingly and absolutely dangerous, it would be pretty obvious. But the reality is that those systems are administered, in large part, by competent system administrators, who know how to safely make use of the increased access without guaranteeing that some hostile entity will walk in and take control.
Conversely, consumer electronics are assumed to be placed in the hands of nitwits who will install applications that promise to deliver jiggling lady parts that are published in hostile countries, and even worse, will hit the "ok" button when a root authorization prompt pops up. Yes, consumers, by and large, are a security DISASTER waiting to happen.
So don't you dare make the claim that root access is a violation of sane security measures. There is nothing wrong with root, as long as it is used responsibly by someone competent to make use of it.

No, you misunderstand me. I've been rooting android since day one. Literally. Rooted by Dream/G1 running Cupcake with telnet on release day in 2008. I have 3 Pixel in front of me right now. One with CalyxOS, and one with Graphene. Those are for a paying customer who values their privacy, and not walking around with a crippled 'hardened device". So no root. The other is by test device I really want to Kali running on at some point.
I'll just let the lead dev/owner of GrapheneOS say the rest, I'm not debating what you want/like, I only elaborated on you want it sounds like to others.

96carboard said:
Maybe in the hands of an incompetent, but no, you can't just "walk in". Said compromising individual would have to somehow unlock the device in order to authorize the USB debugging session or whatever type of compromise they're attempting.
You are mistaking absolute security for mitigating known and easy to close holes. Bad mistake, which will always make you look like a fool.
While root control of a device can provide a high degree of access to a system, it only does so in the hands of an incompetent. Every single server running connected with the public internet has a root account. If it was so terrifyingly and absolutely dangerous, it would be pretty obvious. But the reality is that those systems are administered, in large part, by competent system administrators, who know how to safely make use of the increased access without guaranteeing that some hostile entity will walk in and take control.
Conversely, consumer electronics are assumed to be placed in the hands of nitwits who will install applications that promise to deliver jiggling lady parts that are published in hostile countries, and even worse, will hit the "ok" button when a root authorization prompt pops up. Yes, consumers, by and large, are a security DISASTER waiting to happen.
So don't you dare make the claim that root access is a violation of sane security measures. There is nothing wrong with root, as long as it is used responsibly by someone competent to make use of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you misunderstand me. I've been rooting android since day one. Literally. Rooted by Dream/G1 running Cupcake with telnet on release day in 2008. I have 3 Pixel in front of me right now. One with CalyxOS, and one with Graphene. Those are for a paying customer who values their privacy, and not walking around with a crippled 'hardened device". So no root. The other is by test device I really want to Kali running on at some point.
I'll just let the lead dev/owner of GrapheneOS say the rest, I'm not debating what you want/like, I only elaborated on you want it sounds like to others.

erktheerk said:
No, you misunderstand me. I've been rooting android since day one. Literally. Rooted by Dream/G1 running Cupcake with telnet on release day in 2008. I have 3 Pixel in front of me right now. One with CalyxOS, and one with Graphene. Those are for a paying customer who values their privacy, and not walking around with a crippled 'hardened device". So no root. The other is by test device I really want to Kali running on at some point.
I'll just let the lead dev/owner of GrapheneOS say the rest, I'm not debating what you want/like, I only elaborated on you want it sounds like to others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's nothing "crippled" about it. Its just AOSP with some hardening.
Yeah briefly looking at that link, their explanations are irrelevant. The bottom line is that they don't want morons who don't know what they're doing modifying the crap out of it, and either (a) having to be supported, or failing that (b) making the project look bad.
Nothing about it makes it "less customizable" than any other AOSP. Magisk/root or anything else installs on it and works just like it does on any other AOSP distribution. It just doesn't have all the broken junk thrown in willy nilly without taking a careful look at the implementation first, i.e., is it actually a *useful* feature, and can it be implemented in a secure manner? As a clear example, take a look at the call recording feature request; https://github.com/GrapheneOS/os-issue-tracker/issues/868 -- clearly a useful feature. The "lineageos" implementation has been brought forward, not as something to pull straight in, but as a point of study and/or somewhere to start building a good implementation -- their implementation is unsatisfactory in terms of security and maintainability.

Rooting this device is so easy compared to attempting to root a z fold 3 or any other recent Samsung flagship