BREAKING
OUT OF THE ANDROID JAIL!
If you've researched
anything about Android on the internet, you've probably seen and read about
"rooting" one. There was a time when many of the Android phones
available didn't live up to their potential, and root was the answer. Horrible software was the norm, applications that you would
never use ran in the background and wasted data and battery life, and the
experience was bad all around.
Rooting is how you get
complete access to everything in the operating system, and those permissions
allow you to change it all. Modern Androids are quite a bit better than they
used to be. Even the cheapest phone or tablet you can buy in 2016 will do
more and perform better that the best Android phone available just a few years
ago. But many of us still want to root our phones and are looking for more
information
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Samsung
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LG
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HTC
When you root your Android, you're simply adding a standard
Linux function that was removed.
Your Android phone uses Linux permissions and file-system ownership. You are a user
when you sign in, and you are allowed to do certain things based on your user
permissions. Apps you install are also given a type of user ID, and they all
have permissions to do certain things — you see those when you install them on
older versions of Android, or you are prompted to allow them on Marshmallow or higher — in certain folders with
certain files. Root is also a user. The difference is the root user (superuser)
has permissions to do anything to any file any place in the system. This
includes things we want to do, like uninstall application forced on us by the
people who built them or the people who sells them to us as well as things we
don't want to do that can put your Android in an unusable state. When you're
doing things with superuser permissions, you have the power to do anything.
When you root your Android, you're simply adding a standard Linux
function that was removed. A small file called su is placed in the system and given
permissions so that another user can run it. It stands for Switch User, and if
you run the file without any other parameters it switches your credentials and
permissions from a normal user to that of the superuser. You are then in
complete control, and can add anything, remove anything and access functions on
your phone or tablet that you couldn't reach before. This is pretty important,
and something you should think about before you begin.
Yes. No. Maybe. All three answers are perfectly valid. People have
different reasons to want to root their devices. Some do it just because they
can — they paid for the hardware and think they should be able to do anything
they like. Others want to be able to add things that aren't there, like
internet servers or be able to "fix" services that are there but
don't work the way they would like them to work. People might buy a phone
because they like the hardware, but hate the software and want to change it.
Mostly, people root their phones because they simply want to get rid of
the extra things on it that they
don't want. Every one of these
reasons — as well as any reason you might have that aren't mentioned here — are
the right reasons.
Most people want root to get rid of the bloat.
Before you do any preparation to root your phone, you need to
remember that it changes everything about the inherent security from Google and
the people who built it. Plenty of us don't like it, but being able to access
an account with admin permissions was not included in release versions of
Android on purpose. As soon as you add this capability, you are responsible for
the security and integrity of the operating system and every application on it.
For some, this is more responsibility than they want or need. Rooting isn't the
answer for everyone. If you're not sure about the ways you can break things by
doing them as root, you should learn more about it before you start. It's OK to not know things and
to try and learn, but not knowing and doing them anyway can turn a very
expensive Android into a paperweight. You also need to know that for many Android
models, rooting means your warranty is null and void. Services (including apps
as well as network access from your carrier) can be denied to you because of
the security risk when you're rooted. The risk is real, because so many users
go into it all blind and let security lapse. Not doing that is your
responsibility — take it seriously!
Finally, there are plenty of users who simply don't care about
this stuff. Any Android phone, no matter how restricted root access is, can do
just about everything we want or need from a pocket computer. You can change
the appearance, choose from over a million apps in Google Play and have complete access to the internet
and most any services that live there. You can even make phone calls. It's
great if you're happy with what you have and what it can do, and aren't worried
about trying to fix what isn't (in your eyes) broken.
You'll need to do a few
things to prepare your phone for rooting, depending on which method you use.
Many of the ways require you install the Android SDK or unlock your bootloader.
This sounds like a lot of scary work, but it's not difficult and knowing how to
use these tools will help if things go wrong.
Depending on which phone you have, unlocking the bootloader is
slightly different. The "standard" way is by using the OEM unlock
command, which is outlined here. If you're using a Motorola, HTC or LG phone
(as well as other brands like Huawei or Sony) you'll likely need to get a token
you enter during the process. You'll find how to do that and who to get it from
at each vendors developer pages. Remember that unlocking the bootloader on your
Android may affect the warranty status.
Using commercial rooting
apps like KINGO ROOT or KINGROOT is straightforward, and can be done with or
without a computer. While these apps can't root every phone, the people who
make them are doing as best they can to keep the applications current.
While we can't validate
the theories that these applications could potentially contain malware or send
your data off to a server in some unfriendly nation, plenty of folks around the
web have expressed concerns and doubts. You shouldn't ignore them. We recommend
that you factory reset your Android before you download, install or run these
applications to be safe. Your phone will remain rooted afterwards, and you can
factory reset once again then sign in normally. Better safe than sorry.
Using Kingo Root
You can use Kingo Root with or without a computer. You'll find the
download for both methods at theKingo Root page — just select the one you want to use.
If you're using a
windows computer with Kingo Root, you'll need to have the correct USB drivers
installed on the computer you're using. If you don't have these, the Kingo Root
program will try to locate and install the correct ones during the process.
Simply plug your phone into the computer and start the application. It's as
simple as letting the software set things up, then you click the button labeled
"root" in the software. As long as your phone is supported, the rest
is automatic. You'll see a list of recommended root application to install
after the procedure is finished, but if the program say it was successful your
phone should have the superuser unlocked .
It's easier to try and use the Kingo Root app on your phone to
root. After you've downloaded it (andallowed sideloading of apps) you charge your phone to at least 50% and run
the app. There's only one button to press, and after you tap it the rest is
automatic. If the stand-alone version isn't successful, the computer version
might be.
Full instructions and tutorials for supported phones can be found
at the Kingo Root support page.
How you root your Android is going to depend on which one you
have. There are over 12,000 different Android models (and that's only counting
ones that can access Google Play) from hundreds of different manufacturers.
Some of those are easy to root, while some of them aren't. There are even
models that will probably never be able to be rooted because the people who
make or sell them just don't want you to be able to do it. And that's OK!
Android means choice, and every person who wants a security-focused device that
won't likely ever be rooted like the BlackBerry should be able to buy one. And people who want a
device that's easy to root (with all the tools and files needed to
unlock it provided by the manufacturer) can buy one. This is something to keep
in mind when you're buying your next phone and you should support the
manufacturer who shares your thoughts as regards permissions.
With over 12,000
different models, we can't cover every single method to root every single
device. We can point you in the right direction and help you get there, though.
Samsung used to offer
"developer editions" of their popular models, but weak sales (they
usually needed to be paid for in full with no type of subsidy or financing)
they seem to have stopped production. We have only ourselves to blame — it's
just not worth making something that nobody is buying.
Samsung also makes very
lucrative deals with carriers, and most of the time those carriers want to
prevent you from rooting your phone. Recent models from AT&T or Verizon are
notoriously difficult to exploit, and all the U.S. versions of the Galaxy S7
are locked up and encrypted. There might not ever be a way to root them. This
isn't true for unlocked models sold outside of North America though.
LG phones have several
different methods to install the files needed for rooting. Some are completely
bootloader unlockable and it's trivial to push the files through a custom
recovery, while some are locked up tighter and require some special tricks. As
we see with Samsung phones, carriers have a lot of influence here, so many
AT&T and LG models take longer to find a method to root.
The LG G5 is simple to root, and you can do it without a computer
with both commercially available rooting apps as well as apps from Android
enthusiasts like yourself. There are security questions any time you use
software built by someone else that could potentially have full access to all
the data on your phone or your computer, and you'll need to read everything you
can and decide if you want to go this route. Apps like OneClickRoot or AndroidRootPro are a few examples. There are plenty of
satisfied users as well as users who question the methods. Listen to both sides
and decide what you think here. An alternative is unlocking your bootloader and
installing an open-source custom recovery that you can use to flash the needed
files or even pre-rooted firmware. This requires a little bit of computer
knowledge, but it's not that difficult
Much like LG phones, many HTC models can be bootloader unlocked
through the HTC Developer program. You'll find complete
instructions for doing it here, as well as warranty information you need to know if you give it
a try.
The HTC 10 is easy to root, and using the HTC Developer tools to
unlock the bootloader allow for sending images to the phone to enable rooting
and even more. There are also commercial services like Sunshine that can root your phone through an app or
provide mail-in services where they do it for you. Again, it's up to you to
decide if you feel comfortable with these services or if you would rather use
the Android SDK and do things the manual way. Both methods are known to get you
rooted and ready to do the things you wanted root to do.
Other phones
As mentioned previously,
there are over 12,000 current Android models from hundreds of manufacturers.
There's no way to include each and every one on a single page.
Some of these phones come with a method (either apporved by the
manufacturer or found by a third-party) to unlock the bootloader and use the
custom recovery method to root them. Many of these other phones can be rooted
with applications like Kingo Root, with or without access to a computer. Phones
from names you know, like Sony or Hauwei, are supported as well as phones from
companies you might not have heard of like Vivo or Phicomm. You'll find a partial list of supported
phones here.
Commercial root apps work, but check out the pros and cons
before you use them.
Apps like Kingo Root
work because they take advantage of an exploit (a bug or glitch) in the
software. This means that many security applications will identify them as a
virus, and that software updates can (and do) break compatibility with them.
Not every phone can be rooted through an app that leverage an exploit, but many
can. It's certainly worth a look to see if your particular phone is supported.
These services are profitable, and profitability means time and money is spent
to keep them current and working on as many models as possible.
Here's where we will
discuss the ethics of companies like Kingo Root or OneClickRoot. It's good to
question the methods and motives behind any company that wants access to
potentially sensitive information, and a healthy dose of skepticism is a good
thing. A lot of folks feel that these kinds of apps are unsafe or follow unsafe
practices, and they may be correct. On the other hand, plenty of people have
used the apps and services and are completely happy with the results. We can't
speak on it either way, as we're not involved in the creation or testing of any
of these apps. Our job is to inform you that they exist, and let you know that
there is always a bit of inevitable controversy surrounding them.
Now that you're armed
with a bit of information about what root is, why you might want to do it and
where to go to find the methods, you're able to do some legwork.
The most important part of the entire process is to read. Find
every bit of information about rooting your particular phone or tablet, read up
on the intricacies of the Android SDK and flashing a custom recovery for your
phone, and find out how to go back before you connect any cables or install any
software. Even the easiest phones to root require some general computer
knowledge — your Android is a computer — so you should make sure
you're able to understand things like working with zip files or using a file
manager. Remember — it's always OK to have questions and ask for help.
. Never overlook information that's readily available when it
comes to hacking at your expensive phone. Rooting offers a long list of
possibilities for responsible and safe users, so make sure you're informed and
careful and have fun!
Reference; androidcentral.com
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