[Q] Will root wipe my phone? - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

If I choose to root my S2, will I loose all of my programs and settings so I have to reconfigure my phone?

Short answer: no
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

svortevik said:
If I choose to root my S2, will I loose all of my programs and settings so I have to reconfigure my phone?
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Click to collapse
10 chars, no.

I assume this is the best way to root S2?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056334
And no data will be lost from my phone during this process?

If you thought that rooting could wipe all data then I really really strongly urge you not to root.
Rootng isn't for everyone (certainly not for me... yet).
If you really have your heart set on rooting, please wait for it to be easier and with less risk.
My first Android was the DHD, and I rooted it pretty much the same week I got it, back when it was hard and complicated and took many steps.
I didn't even know *why* to root. Then I got mixed up in flashing and radios and this and that and CID and now I'm kinda glad someone stole it.
Please rethink why you want to root, and what you will gain from it, and assess that against the risks. At least wait until there is an app on the market that does it simply safely and quickly.

Related

What are the risks of rooting?

Hey Guys, I'm new to Android. Had my G2 Touch on T-mobile for less than 7 days, not had time to play with it as such but so far so good.
I've read post after post in regard to 'rooting' It's clear that the advantages far out weighs the disadvantages but I would like to know what the risks are.
Apart from the odd 'lag' my phone seems to be fine. My main disappointment is not being able to store apps on the SD card and the other obvious one is the lack of Bluetooth capabilities. I believe rooting would correct this?
So far I have a perfect running phone. My concern is if I decide to root the phone, are there any risks and can I unroot afterwards
Thanks in advance and any feedback would be appreciated.
As far as I've read. (Havent rooted mine yet)
That if you don't do it correctly, you risk bricking your phone.
Ofc. you lose your warrenty.
But I think there is some good things out there for rooted phones. Market hack for people like me, unable to access pay-apps. And Apps2SD....
Siggaard said:
As far as I've read. (Havent rooted mine yet)
That if you don't do it correctly, you risk bricking your phone.
Ofc. you lose your warrenty.
But I think there is some good things out there for rooted phones. Market hack for people like me, unable to access pay-apps. And Apps2SD....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Siggaard,
I'll hold out for now and wait for the next software update.

In doubt if I should or not root my Nexus S... What could break down after I root it?

I bought it about 3 weeks ago, and everything has been working fine on it.
However, since root voids the warranty, I'm worried if something goes wrong hardware wise after the sucessful root.
So what could break down on it?
Rooting will not break your phone, unlocking the bootloader on the Nexus S is easy. And it you need to have it serviced/repaired, just unroot. Warranty unvoided.
The only way you'll break your phone is by not reading and researching what you're doing. Before modifying or flashing anything, always make a backup and know what you're doing (and why). Read thoroughly, and if there's something in the directions that you don't understand, research until you do.
It's highly unlikely that you'll experience hardware failure and not be able to unroot before taking it in.
On the other hand, don't root just because. Know why you're doing it and what you hope to achieve. Rooting because it seems like the "cool" thing to do is dumb. I'm not suggesting that you're doing that, just making a statement.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
Here we go again (sorry ). Nothing can go wrong... if you follow all instructions carefully and correctly. Also not purposefully or foolishly flashing or installing something which you are not supposed to. Rooting... or Android in general is not for the weak hearted. Android was made to be customized and maxed out in performance (at least to me ). If you are going to use it, make good use of it. If you are still worried, just settle with how your device is or be brave and take control of your device.
Nexus s, unbrickable phone... what are you worrying on?
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
Thanks, I might root it then... Not sure if I will though, since I don't know what to expect after rooting in terms of what I'll be able to do.
KaiZ51 said:
Thanks, I might root it then... Not sure if I will though, since I don't know what to expect after rooting in terms of what I'll be able to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will be able to do anything you want . This may help a bit: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/top-10-reasons-to-root-your-android-phone-2/ .
melvinchng said:
Nexus s, unbrickable phone... what are you worrying on?
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
and amazing
you shouldnt worry about rooting since its very easy on nexus and also its kinda unbrickable and also by rooting u aint gonna damage any hardware.but jus keep in mind the bootloader hav it unloked frst and also aftr rooting u can try custom roms...

[Q] So I'm finally about to root my phone, a few questions!

I'm finally rooting my phone after months of messing about waiting for an unlock
My phone is international model i9300 and I've been reading this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Looks really good, well detailed should be very easy with the help of chainfire!
But I've still got a few questions
1) I think I can't back up my phone until it's rooted to get access to the system files, am I right in thinking when I'm rooted I can use CWM to make a full back up of the phone?
2) Once it's rooted what is a thing that you must not do? The phone was expensive and as these threads may be annoying to all of you I just need to know before I do anything silly so apologies for all the topics
3) I'm going to wait until JB is released for official ROMs, when it comes to flashing a new ROM do I need to unroot the device?
4) Can I remove bloatware with just the standard root? The amount is ridiculous, it fills up 2 whole pages of apps and 95% of them I haven't used and don't plan on using, ever. I'm sure if I ever needed to there will be an app for it
5) any other advice on keeping my phone safe would be great, I am just really really cautious with this kind of stuff lol. Technology is really fussy I don't want to brick my phone
Thanks to everybody who posts, you guys have helped me so much since I joined and I really appreciate it
UrbanDesigns said:
I'm finally rooting my phone after months of messing about waiting for an unlock
My phone is international model i9300 and I've been reading this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Looks really good, well detailed should be very easy with the help of chainfire!
But I've still got a few questions
1) I think I can't back up my phone until it's rooted to get access to the system files, am I right in thinking when I'm rooted I can use CWM to make a full back up of the phone?
2) Once it's rooted what is a thing that you must not do? The phone was expensive and as these threads may be annoying to all of you I just need to know before I do anything silly so apologies for all the topics
3) I'm going to wait until JB is released for official ROMs, when it comes to flashing a new ROM do I need to unroot the device?
4) any other advice on keeping my phone safe would be great, I am just really really cautious with this kind of stuff lol. Technology is really fussy I don't want to brick my phone
Thanks to everybody who posts, you guys have helped me so much since I joined and I really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer 1: Check the link in my description (Win 8 -help) and download the adb executables. Then (Using Windows 7/8) Press and hold shift + Right mouse button in the folder and open cmd.
Once in cmd type:
Code:
adb start-server
adb devices (To check if your phone is connected properly)
adb backup -f %Userprofile%\Desktop\ADBackup\backup.ab -apk -nosystem -noshared -all
That will backup your user apps, incase you do do something wrong
Answer 2: Yes, there are a few things you shouldn't do;
Flash a ROM without making a backup
Deleting partitons in the phones' root.
Deleting system apps (APKs), when you don't know what they do, or even what they are.
Flashing a ROM/kernel, that wasn't made for your phone.
Overclocking/undervolting your phone too much.
And there are a couple more, but I don't want to waist your time ^^
Answer 3: JB is already released. No, you don't have to unroot your phone, before flashing. In fact, you probably can't, because you need the recovery program, to flash the ROM.
Answer 4: Don't flash bad stuff, don't install apps, that are reported (i.e. viruses) don't flash ROMs and kernels, that aren't for your device. And last but not least: Only use Odin, if you really have to!
Hope I could help!
UrbanDesigns said:
I'm finally rooting my phone after months of messing about waiting for an unlock
My phone is international model i9300 and I've been reading this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238
Looks really good, well detailed should be very easy with the help of chainfire!
But I've still got a few questions
1) I think I can't back up my phone until it's rooted to get access to the system files, am I right in thinking when I'm rooted I can use CWM to make a full back up of the phone?
2) Once it's rooted what is a thing that you must not do? The phone was expensive and as these threads may be annoying to all of you I just need to know before I do anything silly so apologies for all the topics
3) I'm going to wait until JB is released for official ROMs, when it comes to flashing a new ROM do I need to unroot the device?
4) any other advice on keeping my phone safe would be great, I am just really really cautious with this kind of stuff lol. Technology is really fussy I don't want to brick my phone
Thanks to everybody who posts, you guys have helped me so much since I joined and I really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You are right
2) Do not unroot
3) Official JB is already available. Flashing using odin doesn't required unroot. Update via OTA or kies required unroot.
4) Read, read and read is the best way to prevent bricking your device.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Thank you guys!
I did not know JB was released, I saw it come out for Poland but I received no notification on my S3.
Now I'm not quite sure in which order I should do things, shall I update to JB and then root?
Can anyone link me to a guide to update for the official JB, al my search results come up with old results with leaked firmware
so I use odin for the first flash and then use CWM from there on out
UrbanDesigns said:
Thank you guys!
I did not know JB was released, I saw it come out for Poland but I received no notification on my S3.
Its only the Poland release so far .
All the rest are the old leaks .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UrbanDesigns said:
Thank you guys!
I did not know JB was released, I saw it come out for Poland but I received no notification on my S3.
Now I'm not quite sure in which order I should do things, shall I update to JB and then root?
Can anyone link me to a guide to update for the official JB, al my search results come up with old results with leaked firmware
so I use odin for the first flash and then use CWM from there on out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want a Jellybean rom with bloat removed, then download Checkrom http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1738527 . It's a stock samsung rom, bloat taken out, rooted, and is ready for if you wanted themeing etc..
In his kitchen app (that comes with the rom) you can find a package with ALL the removed bloat for you to download and install (ota) but he's also separated them so you can download just the ones you want. Also in the kitchen you will find tweaks for changing the notification drawer toggles, changing the theme, different modems, kernels etc... And check in the kitchen now and again for any updates to the rom (as and when samsung release them)
It's all there and very noob friendly. It's the smoothest most stable stock rom I've tried.
So root your phone using odin (easiest method by far), pay for titanium backup and back up your apps, boot into recovery and make a nandroid, move them onto you exSd or computer, wipe your phone, install checkrom, download titanium again and restore your apps from it.
That's a good start for you, EVERYTHING you need to know has been asked and answered before, so just google or search XDA, it's all still relevant, and you won't go wrong.
I'm going to root it now, seems pretty straight-forward but I'll let you know!
Now I will be shortly rooted what's the best anti-theft to use?
edit: wow... that was possible the easiest thing I have ever done lol, i was expecting it to be hard but it's literally selecting a file and pressing start. it's so much easier then jailbreaking (easy as hell but this tops it for sure)
Just done a CWM back up I didnt expect it to take so long haha
In my opinion, Cerberus is the best anti-theft app out there. You can use for a week as a free trial, I'll bet you're gonna buy it after 15 minutes.
Note that no anti-theft protection will prevent a thief from actually using your phone. Within like 2 minutes of Googling, the thief knows that he can use Download mode to overwrite the firmware (including the "anti theft" app) and 5 minutes later he has done it.
I use one such app (Watchdroid) to find my phone when I have misplaced it and for family members to be able to locate my position through an sms in case of personal distress.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
d4fseeker said:
Note that no anti-theft protection will prevent a thief from actually using your phone. Within like 2 minutes of Googling, the thief knows that he can use Download mode to overwrite the firmware (including the "anti theft" app) and 5 minutes later he has done it.
I use one such app (Watchdroid) to find my phone when I have misplaced it and for family members to be able to locate my position through an sms in case of personal distress.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it just depends on who finds it, there should be a password for download mode that can't be overwritten
I'm going to have it on either way, it can't hurt
d4fseeker said:
Note that no anti-theft protection will prevent a thief from actually using your phone. Within like 2 minutes of Googling, the thief knows that he can use Download mode to overwrite the firmware (including the "anti theft" app) and 5 minutes later he has done it.
I use one such app (Watchdroid) to find my phone when I have misplaced it and for family members to be able to locate my position through an sms in case of personal distress.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only a thief, who knows what he's doing will use Google. Idiots are more likely to throw the phone away, or give it back..
And Avast! Anti Virus has a lockdown feature, which forces GPS, WiFi/Data and number forwarding (Root), so my phone is pretty safe
I've just installed avast - cheers!
What happens if the SIM is replaced?
and how do I track the phone if it gets lost/stolen?
also in my notification bar it says "avast mobile security is protecting you" i renamed the app for obvious reasons like it suggested. it's pretty stupid if the app renames its self if only reported lost/stolen
UrbanDesigns said:
I've just installed avast - cheers!
What happens if the SIM is replaced?
and how do I track the phone if it gets lost/stolen?
also in my notification bar it says "avast mobile security is protecting you" i renamed the app for obvious reasons like it suggested. it's pretty stupid if the app renames its self if only reported lost/stolen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the anti-theft settings in the app. It lets you set up trusted numbers, so you can control your phone remotely, and you can set things up, like force GPS and Data on, that way the phone can tell you it's position..
familyguy59 said:
Check the anti-theft settings in the app. It lets you set up trusted numbers, so you can control your phone remotely, and you can set things up, like force GPS and Data on, that way the phone can tell you it's position..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done all that, I've enabled anti-theft stealth mode where it states it will remain hidden after my next reboot.
I rebooted the phone but to no avail. It keeps showing in the notification bar and anti-theft seems useless, I've set up a pin but anybody who saw my phone would see the app straight away and would just use google on "how to remove avast samsung galaxy s3"
i don't think a thief could do it themselves but any idiot can search keywords into google to find a solid result
UrbanDesigns said:
I've done all that, I've enabled anti-theft stealth mode where it states it will remain hidden after my next reboot.
I rebooted the phone but to no avail. It keeps showing in the notification bar and anti-theft seems useless, I've set up a pin but anybody who saw my phone would see the app straight away and would just use google on "how to remove avast samsung galaxy s3"
i don't think a thief could do it themselves but any idiot can search keywords into google to find a solid result
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but not everyone knows what the avast! symbol look like, do they? I doubt you're going to find an XDA-Member would have stolen your phone, it will probably be an Asi, or someone really retarded.
And anyways, they'll get frightened enough, when the phone rights junk to the SD, locks itself up and sounds the siren, with a personal "greeting"..
Give it a go, if your phone gets stolen, there's always the police, they'll (hopefully) help you But that's worst-case-scenario..
familyguy59 said:
Yes, but not everyone knows what the avast! symbol look like, do they? I doubt you're going to find an XDA-Member would have stolen your phone, it will probably be an Asi, or someone really retarded.
And anyways, they'll get frightened enough, when the phone rights junk to the SD, locks itself up and sounds the siren, with a personal "greeting"..
Give it a go, if your phone gets stolen, there's always the police, they'll (hopefully) help you But that's worst-case-scenario..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but I'd still like it hidden
Anyone with google and the least bit of experience or interest will just reflash the stock Samsungrom anyway, rendering all and any (including Samsung's own) anti-theft utterly useless.
(In many cases thiefs steal to buy drugs, the dealer will certainly know someone to "freshen" up the phone.
It's very useful for finding the phone though if you have misplaced it =)
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
UrbanDesigns said:
No but I'd still like it hidden
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could remove the icon by going into avast > Settings > Notification Icon > None
Hope this helps
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
d4fseeker said:
Anyone with google and the least bit of experience or interest will just reflash the stock Samsungrom anyway, rendering all and any (including Samsung's own) anti-theft utterly useless.
(In many cases thiefs steal to buy drugs, the dealer will certainly know someone to "freshen" up the phone.
It's very useful for finding the phone though if you have misplaced it =)
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're saying if I left my phone on the bus or something and somebody picked it up and decided to be a thief they automatically are casual drug users who know dodgy people, all because they found my phone?
I don't see how it could be useful for finding a "misplaced" phone, what would you class as misplaced? If I left the phone under my bed or something and "misplaced" it surely avast! isn't going to show a picture of inside my house?

[Q] Unlock Bootloader

I have done my research on this topic, but I am still not confident I will be going about this the correct way.
I am new to the android hacking scene but feel with a little more guidance I will be able to do what I want to do.
I got my EVO on day 1 of release and have not accepted any OTA's. I had the phone rooted right after the first root method was released. I had wanted to flash custom ROM, but was not willing to go the HTCDev route as I was concerned with the warranty.
The Lazypanda S-OFF solution seemed good until I read it was bricking a lot of phones. Now I know there is an unbricking tool, but how effective is this? Simply put, if I follow directions, how likely is it that I would brick my phone with this method? And how likely am I to be able to fix it?
And lastly, I had activated Google Wallet before it stopped working on the phone. I know the OTA will fix this, but for obvious reasons I do not want to do this. Will I have to do the build.prop edit to a Nexus phone to gain access and wipe GW settings before I do lazy panda or is there another way?
Thank you in advance for the help.
All your answers are in the forum.
I'm not sure of the % of bricks from using lazypanda, I think its low if you follow the directions and the unbricker is successful 100% of the time for that brick AFAIK.
forget about clearing wallet. I have my phone since release day and have never reset/cleared wallet and I usually flash new a new ROM every few days. GWallet still works fine.
I would hang around the lazypanda thread for a while and ask the questions you asked here. There are some real helpful ppl there
Good luck with S-OFF
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Thank you for the reply.
I believe some of my answers probably have been answered, but I have already spent a considerable amount of time reading and do not feel confident. I just do not want to risk bricking my phone. I realize that there will always be some risk, but I would like to have a good idea what that is.
I am not concerned with a soft brick, if the tool will really fix any brick that could have occurred while using the lazy panda method.
Apologies if I should have continued reading more, I just thought I was at the point to request some more personal guidance.
Yup
No worries. I'm almost positive the unbricker works 100 % of the time IF you need it. You should probably have it setup and ready to go just in case. I personally didn't have any problems
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
me either.. just follow the directions and u should be fine.. it went perfect for me.. it was over in 5 mins!!!! s-off is the way to go!!!!!!
evo401 said:
me either.. just follow the directions and u should be fine.. it went perfect for me.. it was over in 5 mins!!!! s-off is the way to go!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone bricked, used the unbricke,r made sure everything was working in the reccomendations from post 2 in LP thread, ran LP no problems
u will be fine
Hey man, s-off is definitely worth it. There are plenty of us here on xda that can help u out if it does manage to brick.
And if for some reason u have a problem and brick run the un brick tool.
Practice makes perfect. And anything worth anythings ng takes a little risk.
Was concerned myself about the gwallet thing. I bricked 2 EVO LTE's w secure element errors just rooting and flashing roms. This was back before the fix though. And it is still unclear whether the fix is in the actual updated app or in the ota, or both. Google won't be clear with that.
If u want to be extra safe then do the build.prop edit to reset. Make sure to re-install old build.prop after resetting gwallet and before the s-off process. Not sure if it matters or not but better safe with stock and s-off then edited build.prop running unbricker.
I wouldn't upgrade now. The devas from lazypanda just hot a phone with hboot 1.15 to work on
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Man I hope they crack it soon, now that they got a device.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app

[Q] Rooting and security issues:

As a phone noob who is interested in rooting my GT-i9305T, it came to my attention that i trade stocks frequently from my phone and also bank online from my phone.
Does rooting present any security risk to these activities?
I have both read and heard that rooting a phone takes away security measures (whatever that means?). If this is true, how much do i need to know in order to make my phone secure while performing these activities?
Is it a serious risk to root the phone, download after-market apps and at the same time access private financial information??
I have heard the saying that an operating system is as safe as the person using it. I guess this goes for android phones as well, but how much do i need to know exactly?
Root gives apps access to the system file structure, what they do to the system depends on the app. It doesn't do anything more than that.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
..
hi900 said:
In short if you don't know what root is, it's likely you don't need it.
If you give Apps root they got full access to your system, which means they could harm other apps or your whole system as well.
Take a look at this one: [REF] Understanding the basics before rooting your S3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much appreciated, i'll do more reading.
I just never thought of any implications rooting may have when i trade stocks or bank on my phone, until recently.
So, if i don't install any root apps, my phone is no less secure when using it for personal finance? Does rooting make the phone more 'hackable' ?
You still don't get it, if you root then apps can access your system files -if you don't then they can't.
Rooting will increase the risk of hacking.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

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