1. #1
    Bravo Six, Going Dark
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    Android Rooting Guide And Misc.

    Introduction and Basics

    Welcome to the thread, here is a little lesson that should help you a bit with understanding what is about to go down . You are here because you have an Android phone (if not then what are you doing here, go browse other threads or talk to the shoutbox or discord, this is for Android users only POGGERS ). What is Android however? Well Android is a linux-based OS made by Google (yes that Google) but it's also Open Source meaning that anyone (that has the required knowledge) can create a version out of it (Remember that, it'll be useful later) or make applications. Most phones other than Apple's and some other brand's have the Android OS, so if you are unsure what OS you have, it's most likely Android. You can find more about Android at android.com. Now that we got this out of the way let's continue to the guide.

    Disclaimer

    I, PlayerSquared and anyone else mentioned in this thread are not responsible for anything that may happen to your phone or even if it causes thermonuclear war
    and ends the world as we know it. As soon as you root your device or install/flash modified system files your warranty will be void.
    You have been warned.


    What is Root

    Before actually starting with this, you should be informed about what root and rooting is. Root is the Android equivalent to SuperUser access or more commonly knows Admin access, rooting is the procedure with which you achieve Admin access. But does it benefit rooting your device and voiding the warranty? For just the average user who does not care much about the phone and just use it for texting and calling then no it is not worth the hassle nor losing the warranty. But for those of us who want something more from their devices than what it already comes with then it is up to you and your judgement. For those of you who are still hesitant about whether it's worth it or not, here are some Pros and Cons about rooting:

    Pros:
    • You are the master of your phone by having root you can do whatever you want.
    • You can block any and all kinds of ads directly via editing the hosts file or via another way.
    • You can mod or hack almost any kind of game being it free currency or something else.
    • You can modify the phone to your heart's contents.
    • You can install custom firmwares that upgrade your phone, saving battery or making it faster than ever.


    Cons:
    • Given that amount of access you have and messing with things you don't know, may end up bricking your phone.
    • Immediate loss of any and all kinds of warranty.
    • Your phone may become unstable or even brick depending on what you install or flash.
    • Must be cautious about what things you are using all the time. Nothing is supported from your phone's manufacturer.


    I suggest you really consider whether it's worth it or not, the moment you void your warranty it's final.

    Rooting

    Still here? Awesome let's get started. Depending on your device's manufacturer and how old it is you may or may not have the OEM unlocking dev option. Most phones should from late 2015 and after should have it, but you can actually check if you do by enabling developer options (go to your phone's software information from settings and tap 7 times the build number option to enable them). If you have the OEM unlocking option on your developer options then enable it. (IMPORTANT STEP). If you don't have them then you should be fine. Now to actually rooting your device, there are 2 ways to do this.

    First way and the one I mostly encourage you to use is flashing a custom recovery like TWRP and then flashing Magisk:
    First of all depending on your device you need to download a flasher program and TWRP. Best way to do that is by either googling something like "How to flash custom recovery and install magisk on (device's name)" or by visiting XDA Forums and finding a device specific guide, also don't forget to download magisk. after that is done and reboot your device with magisk flashed you are good to go. You can find some helpful apps about helping you expand your newly rooted phone below.

    The second way is to use one of the one-click-root apps like kingoroot or framaroot or CF-Auto-Root etc.
    Essentially as soon as you root using any of the programs above you can are ready to go but if you plan on doing some more heavy stuff like installing a Custom ROM (Custom Firmware) or a custom kernel you will have to install a custom recovery like TWRP.

    That's all, if you rooted your device, congratulations, welcome to the other side.

    Useful Apps

    Time to shine that little newly-born beasty with some nice apps that will elevate it to an entire new level.

    First and foremost get yourself lucky patcher from here.
    Lucky Patcher in a nutshell is a multi-tool, from removing ads to getting free in-app purchase etc. You also need it to make 3 very simple and useful patches to the Android's core, giving you some very useful features regarding installing apps and packages.

    Another useful rooting app is Game Guardian. Essentially it's Cheat Engine but on Android and more actively developed. You can download it from here.


    One last app you you should have is xposed framework, which adds a lot of functionality and tweaks. here is a link that should explain a bit more about it and also give you the necessary information to install it. Xposed Framework Hub


    I would suggest using SuperSU instead of magisk but the fact that magisk is systemless(explanation at the end of the thread) and SuperSU's developer Chainfire gave up on the project for his own reasons, I won't it's still available however.

    Busybox is also another app that you will found useful since some root apps like lucky patcher depend on it for certain features. You can find it in the Play Store.

    One last app I am going to suggest is Titanium Backup, and it's critical to remember than unlike other backup apps this one has the ability to backup EVERY SINGLE file you have, app files, system files, photos etc. and also has a lot of customisation options for your backups.

    Custom ROMs section

    First of all remember when I said Android is Open Source and anyone with knowledge can make his own flavor of it. Yeah that is exactly what I was talking about. Custom ROMs are the epitome of everything that's great about Android. There is a plethora of ROMs to choose from all with their own tweaks and whatnot. I forgot to mention what is actually is a custom ROM... that's easy, it's the firmware, what build of Android your phone runs. the most known ROMs are the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs Lineage (formerly CyanogenMod) and Resurrection Remix. AOSP are called all ROMs that use the default UI of Android (what Google phones and Oneplus have), Samsung has its own builds called Touchwiz. I don't know about any others so sorry about that FeelsBadMan .

    You can find ROMs about your device at XDA Forums.


    Extra Information (Will probably get expanded more in the future)

    What do I mean about Magisk being systemless. Well the easy way to answer this is that when Magisk gets flashed it does not modify any system files which could end up triggering safetynet and in turn certain apps to stop working like some samsung apps, play store etc. you get the idea. That's an advantage which makes Magisk undetectable against safetynet, unlike some other root option like SuperSU or one-click-root apps. Your warranty will still get void either way.

  2. #2
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    RE: Android Rooting Guide And Misc.

    Sweet thread, man! I've got a few older Android phones laying around that I'll probably end up rooting and seeing what I can do with them.

  3. #3

    Re: Android Rooting Guide And Misc.

    Of course, the root mode can be very useful to resuscitate the phone and resume its work. But I think you should use it only in critical situations. There is a great risk to spoil the firmware of the phone.

  4. #4

    Re: Android Rooting Guide And Misc.

    Before working with the device in root mode, it is important to make sure that you know the procedure to solve your problem. Otherwise you can disable your device.

  5. #5

    Re: Android Rooting Guide And Misc.

    In general, it seems to me that the need to use this mode arises very rarely!

  6. #6
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    Re: Android Rooting Guide And Misc.

    Originally Posted by ben_john7
    Of course, the root mode can be very useful to resuscitate the phone and resume its work. But I think you should use it only in critical situations. There is a great risk to spoil the firmware of the phone.
    Originally Posted by SeanGrey
    Before working with the device in root mode, it is important to make sure that you know the procedure to solve your problem. Otherwise you can disable your device.
    I have already covered both of these concerns in the Cons list on my thread. There is no need to repeat them.

    Originally Posted by SeanGrey
    In general, it seems to me that the need to use this mode arises very rarely!
    The point of this guide is not about when or if, it's about what rooting is and how to do it "safely". Whether the need for rooting a device is needed or not, is not up to me, you or anyone else to say, except the device owner.


    Also, the guide is over a year old (soon to be 2), despite not many things having changed, I would still like to remaster it at some point.