[Q] Better Rooting Methods - Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Before anyone flames me for creating this thread and then closing it, I just want to let staff know that I did indeed read the sticky threads.
All the instructions for how to root a C6806 on this site seem a bit complex with many steps and quite risky if you are not a Linux and Android phone geek who knows exactly what they are doing. It seems way too easy to make a mistake and permanently brick a phone or lose Dram keys or simply not be able to completely unroot for warranty's sake.
I used to work in the IT field over a decade ago with some training in Network Technology before I got married and I find these instructions too risky for an expensive phone that is too vital for personal and business needs to take a moderate to strong risk of damaging the phone beyond warranty. I can only imagine how someone with little to no Linux or Android experience would fare trying to follow all these steps.
I was hoping that someone could develop a program or app that could do this a lot easier. Not necessarily one click root easy as ideal as that might be but at least simplifying enough so the less than geekworthy can root this phone. Not making rooting feasible for the general public does only encourages future phone makers to keep phones locked and unrooted.
I would really like to use the 64GB SD Card for apps and I would like to use Avast Security for rooted users but there is no way I can trust myself through all the steps of flash software download, system backup, boot unlock, system version rollback, pre-flash procedures, flash, post-flash inspection and probably a few other things I missed.

Unfortunately it's a bit more complex than that.. Unless you unlock your bootloader or have root you won't be able to run the app that you want to unlock the bootloader and/or root with.
Good news is you are wrong re "easy to hardbrick" - flashing stock firmware always an option to recover the device.
At the end of the day to get the benefits of what you call "risky" you will have to take a few "risks"
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

As buzzy said, there really is no risk in hard bricking the zu unless you really are inept. The steps are easy once you understand them:
1. Downgrade to 532 ftf (read my sticky)
2. Root with Bin4ry's or [NUT]'s tool (see my or lordmanhattan's threads)
3. Back up TA (see lord's thread)
4. Flash latest FTF
5. Unlock BL and flash a rootable kernel
The problem with a 'tool' is you never know what they have donr or not and how to recover.
Sent from CarbonROM on my Z-Ultra

It's already very easy to root the Ultra if you're either on .681 or .757 (latest firmware). All you have to do is to flash a kernel and then SuperSU. 2 minutes.
The real issue is what we have to do BEFORE rooting. The TA backup is a pain in the ass, and if Sony would've dropped the whole DRM thing, all we'd have to do would be to unlock the bootloader and flash a kernel.
It's not possible to make a "one click" solution that includes TA backup, so there really isn't any better way of doing it today. It's very easy once you've backed up the TA partition, and you'll only ever do it once per device.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

blueether said:
As buzzy said, there really is no risk in hard bricking the zu unless you really are inept. The steps are easy once you understand them:
1. Downgrade to 532 ftf (read my sticky)
2. Root with Bin4ry's or [NUT]'s tool (see my or lordmanhattan's threads)
3. Back up TA (see lord's thread)
4. Flash latest FTF
5. Unlock BL and flash a rootable kernel
The problem with a 'tool' is you never know what they have donr or not and how to recover.
Sent from CarbonROM on my Z-Ultra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that the order to do them in? Each step seems to be its own sticky thread.
LordManhattan said:
It's already very easy to root the Ultra if you're either on .681 or .757 (latest firmware). All you have to do is to flash a kernel and then SuperSU. 2 minutes.
The real issue is what we have to do BEFORE rooting. The TA backup is a pain in the ass, and if Sony would've dropped the whole DRM thing, all we'd have to do would be to unlock the bootloader and flash a kernel.
It's not possible to make a "one click" solution that includes TA backup, so there really isn't any better way of doing it today. It's very easy once you've backed up the TA partition, and you'll only ever do it once per device.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Impossible? Why? Unless I read the thread wrong awhile back, it appears that the TA backup thread had a link to a program just for TA backup. It just didn't have everything else that is relatively easy. Why can't a one click root program be built as an extension of that program?
Are the DRM keys the same or unique for every device of a specific model? My husband and I each bought a C6806 directly from Sony's Play Store the very first day they went on sale.
Do I need to flash a kernel or even unlock the bootloader if I'd like to keep the stock OS?

polargirl said:
Is that the order to do them in? Each step seems to be its own sticky thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would I post them out of order?
There is really only one sticky thread that is needed, Lordmanhattan's one. The one I wrote (for the first step) is also covered in LordManhattan's guide, just that if you read my thread you wont temporarily lose your imei no.
polargirl said:
Impossible? Why? Unless I read the thread wrong awhile back, it appears that the TA backup thread had a link to a program just for TA backup. It just didn't have everything else that is relatively easy. Why can't a one click root program be built as an extension of that program?
Are the DRM keys the same or unique for every device of a specific model? My husband and I each bought a C6806 directly from Sony's Play Store the very first day they went on sale.
Do I need to flash a kernel or even unlock the bootloader if I'd like to keep the stock OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it's not impossible, but remember that all the dev work is done for free, in our spare time, and more often than not to itch a scratch the "we" have.
Yes the DRM keys are unique to each device
No you dont need to unlock the bootloader if you only want root, but it will make life alot easier in the longrun as you will then be able to flash a kernel that has recovery and is simple to install root on. As our phones get more secure you will have to run a custom kernel and recovery to have root

blueether said:
Why would I post them out of order?
There is really only one sticky thread that is needed, Lordmanhattan's one. The one I wrote (for the first step) is also covered in LordManhattan's guide, just that if you read my thread you wont temporarily lose your imei no.
No it's not impossible, but remember that all the dev work is done for free, in our spare time, and more often than not to itch a scratch the "we" have.
Yes the DRM keys are unique to each device
No you dont need to unlock the bootloader if you only want root, but it will make life alot easier in the longrun as you will then be able to flash a kernel that has recovery and is simple to install root on. As our phones get more secure you will have to run a custom kernel and recovery to have root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please link me to that Lordmaahattan thread as he probably has quite a few.
I am quite happy and grateful that there are people like you guys who do this stuff even if it is just to "scratch the itch" and say "we have". I just wish some people would take the battle against the smartphone tyrants to a higher level as all. I have no right asking you guys to take it to a higher level but who else is more able and willing to do it? The need to render locking smartphones futile is a just and noble war.
Is there an Android equivalent to ghosting in Windows that copies everything on the phones' memory right down to the DRM keys or an other mirroring method? I'd feel a lot more comfortable making a clone image than just partial backups.
How can I tell if a TA backup is completely successful before I flash? I guess the Lordmanhattan thread should have info on how to relock and unroot?

polargirl said:
Please link me to that Lordmaahattan thread as he probably has quite a few.
I am quite happy and grateful that there are people like you guys who do this stuff even if it is just to "scratch the itch" and say "we have". I just wish some people would take the battle against the smartphone tyrants to a higher level as all. I have no right asking you guys to take it to a higher level but who else is more able and willing to do it? The need to render locking smartphones futile is a just and noble war.
Is there an Android equivalent to ghosting in Windows that copies everything on the phones' memory right down to the DRM keys or an other mirroring method? I'd feel a lot more comfortable making a clone image than just partial backups.
How can I tell if a TA backup is completely successful before I flash? I guess the Lordmanhattan thread should have info on how to relock and unroot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The definitive thread is this one http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2569904, quite complex to read, but simple when you understand it. The problem is that it caters for all, ie locked and unlocked, 4.2 to 4.4 etc
This thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2593918 is how to first downgrade and keep the imei number, not strictly needed but might stop you from panicking when it vanishes.
I quite like the way sony do it, allowing you to unlock the bootloader from their dev site, although it does mean the loss of DRM keys.
You can back up the whole phone with dd (often called disk destroyer for how dangerous it can be), but you may need root first - never done it and I would not recommend doing it.
The TA partition is the only one that is really important to back up, and going back to 'factory' is as easy as using the same app to write the backup back then flashing a FTF

blueether said:
I quite like the way sony do it, allowing you to unlock the bootloader from their dev site, although it does mean the loss of DRM keys.
You can back up the whole phone with dd (often called disk destroyer for how dangerous it can be), but you may need root first - never done it and I would not recommend doing it.
The TA partition is the only one that is really important to back up, and going back to 'factory' is as easy as using the same app to write the backup back then flashing a FTF
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't say I agree. Although Sony has been generous with the unlocking process, I find myself wondering why it was necessary to lock it in the first place. Polargirl isn't off mark, I spent half a day in frustration (and losing my DRM keys) before I managed to unlock and root. Once I did of course it was sweet, but the path there was a bit perplexing (a myriad of threads here) and quite scary (what if I brick it because I misread one of the 9 different threads?).
That being said, I came from Note II which was a cakewalk - I might be a bit spoiled :cyclops:
Edit: Not to mention, my very first post here was because a rooting thread was obsolete so I, on LordManhattan's advice got in touch with the mods to have said thread un-stickied. This forum is in fact a bit of a mess.

polargirl said:
Is that the order to do them in? Each step seems to be its own sticky thread.
Impossible? Why? Unless I read the thread wrong awhile back, it appears that the TA backup thread had a link to a program just for TA backup. It just didn't have everything else that is relatively easy. Why can't a one click root program be built as an extension of that program?
Are the DRM keys the same or unique for every device of a specific model? My husband and I each bought a C6806 directly from Sony's Play Store the very first day they went on sale.
Do I need to flash a kernel or even unlock the bootloader if I'd like to keep the stock OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well okay then. Make a one-click solution that downgrades your device to a firmware that has the exploit that Bin4ry's root tool can root, then get a tool to backup the TA partition, while automatically granting it root access, and then unlock the bootloader without you having to enter your IMEI and unlock key, oh... and then update to the latest firmware and also automatically flash Jackie's kernel, boot into recovery, automatically flash SuperSU and reboot.
Not only would it potentially take several hours for the tool to finish, but it will never ever happen. Ever.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

Chima2 said:
I can't say I agree. Although Sony has been generous with the unlocking process, I find myself wondering why it was necessary to lock it in the first place. Polargirl isn't off mark, I spent half a day in frustration (and losing my DRM keys) before I managed to unlock and root. Once I did of course it was sweet, but the path there was a bit perplexing (a myriad of threads here) and quite scary (what if I brick it because I misread one of the 9 different threads?).
That being said, I came from Note II which was a cakewalk - I might be a bit spoiled :cyclops:
Edit: Not to mention, my very first post here was because a rooting thread was obsolete so I, on LordManhattan's advice got in touch with the mods to have said thread un-stickied. This forum is in fact a bit of a mess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for posting that you agree with me and for also seeing the problem: The instructions are indeed complex and chaotically spread out over nine different threads making it easy to miss a step.
LordManhattan said:
Well okay then. Make a one-click solution that downgrades your device to a firmware that has the exploit that Bin4ry's root tool can root, then get a tool to backup the TA partition, while automatically granting it root access, and then unlock the bootloader without you having to enter your IMEI and unlock key, oh... and then update to the latest firmware and also automatically flash Jackie's kernel, boot into recovery, automatically flash SuperSU and reboot.
Not only would it potentially take several hours for the tool to finish, but it will never ever happen. Ever.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't have to be all (one click root) or nothing. Even partial simplification would help. Anything better than the several different steps over nine different threads that Chima2 was referring to would help. 3 or even 4 steps in one thread is better than the "solution" currently available.

polargirl said:
Thank you for posting that you agree with me and for also seeing the problem: The instructions are indeed complex and chaotically spread out over nine different threads making it easy to miss a step.
It doesn't have to be all (one click root) or nothing. Even partial simplification would help. Anything better than the several different steps over nine different threads that Chima2 was referring to would help. 3 or even 4 steps in one thread is better than the "solution" currently available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy a ZTE if you want hard
Why should I or Lordmanhattan (or anyone) rewrite what has already been written. I, at least, have written the steps out more times than I care to remember. The process is not that hard, and the steps are well documented in well written english

blueether said:
Buy a ZTE if you want hard
Why should I or Lordmanhattan (or anyone) rewrite what has already been written. I, at least, have written the steps out more times than I care to remember. The process is not that hard, and the steps are well documented in well written english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? Because they aren't well written. They appear scattered and chaotic to everyone who isn't familiar with this site. Chima2 and I were just trying to give feedback is all. If more people just browsing for rooting solutions were to signup and post, they would probably agree as well. They just aren't here to give you even more feedback.

polargirl said:
Why? Because they aren't well written. They appear scattered and chaotic to everyone who isn't familiar with this site. Chima2 and I were just trying to give feedback is all. If more people just browsing for rooting solutions were to signup and post, they would probably agree as well. They just aren't here to give you even more feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It took me about a week of reading in my spare time to get my bearings and feel confident that I could start to modify my phone. That is a small amount of effort to put forth for a device that I plan to have for at least the next year. Yes it was a little confusing but I managed and am certainly not gifted when it comes to intelligence. I feel that any average person that sets their mind to it can succeed, and any specific questions will generally be answered if possible.

adfurgerson said:
It took me about a week of reading in my spare time to get my bearings and feel confident that I could start to modify my phone. That is a small amount of effort to put forth for a device that I plan to have for at least the next year. Yes it was a little confusing but I managed and am certainly not gifted when it comes to intelligence. I feel that any average person that sets their mind to it can succeed, and any specific questions will generally be answered if possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enough said! It might be worth it to you but probably not to most people.

polargirl said:
Enough said! It might be worth it to you but probably not to most people.
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Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2031989&postcount=45

polargirl said:
Enough said! It might be worth it to you but probably not to most people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a week of reading is to much for some then that is good, they shouldn't root their phones.
When people have really 'simple' ways of doing things they tend to skip steps and blame people for it. When something seems hard and daunting they read carefully and completely before starting, then read step by step as they go.
Could the 9 stickies be updated to 1 thread with all information? Why yes they could, and if it is important to you that it be done the best solution would be to write the new thread yourself. It would be a great way to give back to the community. If you notice something you find wrong, and its in your power to fix it, then do so.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk

_Dennis_ said:
If a week of reading is to much for some then that is good, they shouldn't root their phones.
When people have really 'simple' ways of doing things they tend to skip steps and blame people for it. When something seems hard and daunting they read carefully and completely before starting, then read step by step as they go.
Could the 9 stickies be updated to 1 thread with all information? Why yes they could, and if it is important to you that it be done the best solution would be to write the new thread yourself. It would be a great way to give back to the community. If you notice something you find wrong, and its in your power to fix it, then do so.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is quite the cynical statement you posted and apparently contrary to even the spirit of this site let alone development and hacking in general. A better good for society is rending the need to root futile should be the goal and easily within reach of this site's members.
Another newbie, zxc1251, has indeed did just that and I have been helping that member with instruction simplification.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2769782
The only problem with that is newbies tend to be quite limited in their tech knowledge thus limited in their usefulness when it comes to simplifying instructions for the tech ignorant and semi-ignorant public but I guess some relatively tech ignorant people need to start this if a revolution against unrooted, jailed or otherwise restricted access phones is to happen.
I am trying my best with the knowledge and tools that I have to get this going.

polargirl said:
That is quite the cynical statement you posted and apparently contrary to even the spirit of this site let alone development and hacking in general. A better good for society is rending the need to root futile should be the goal and easily within reach of this site's members.
Another newbie, zxc1251, has indeed did just that and I have been helping that member with instruction simplification.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2769782
The only problem with that is newbies tend to be quite limited in their tech knowledge thus limited in their usefulness when it comes to simplifying instructions for the tech ignorant and semi-ignorant public but I guess some relatively tech ignorant people need to start this if a revolution against unrooted, jailed or otherwise restricted access phones is to happen.
I am trying my best with the knowledge and tools that I have to get this going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I had the 'do it yourself' attitude is all the information to make a new thread is there, just needed presentation, something tech geeks aren't well known for.
There should always be a need to root. Average use case for a phone, having security is important since you store a lot of sensitive information. If phones came rooted or came so rooting was extremely easy imagine how many people would loose their bank account info or their contact info to the not so nice side of the Internet.
Edit:
Let me use this analogy. If you wanted to change the transmission in you car would you
A) search the internet for 15 minutes and the open your hood and start disconnecting things or
B) Spend at least a few hours looking at the specifics for your car (if you've change a few transmissions before) or as long as it takes for you to feel comfortable you won't destroy your car?
If you wanted Linux on your laptop would to research the drivers, installation procedures, and distros first or just download the first one and hope you know how to install it?
All I'm saying in researching is not a bad thing, if more people did it, less would brick their phones.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk

_Dennis_ said:
The reason I had the 'do it yourself' attitude is all the information to make a new thread is there, just needed presentation, something tech geeks aren't well known for.
There should always be a need to root. Average use case for a phone, having security is important since you store a lot of sensitive information. If phones came rooted or came so rooting was extremely easy imagine how many people would loose their bank account info or their contact info to the not so nice side of the Internet.
Edit:
Let me use this analogy. If you wanted to change the transmission in you car would you
A) search the internet for 15 minutes and the open your hood and start disconnecting things or
B) Spend at least a few hours looking at the specifics for your car (if you've change a few transmissions before) or as long as it takes for you to feel comfortable you won't destroy your car?
If you wanted Linux on your laptop would to research the drivers, installation procedures, and distros first or just download the first one and hope you know how to install it?
All I'm saying in researching is not a bad thing, if more people did it, less would brick their phones.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PCs that ship with Windows serve the tech ignorant public just fine without restricting access for a common user. Developers is a whole different story when it comes to Windows but that is going off-topic.
I realize most geeks aren't comfortable with marketing and presentation issues with people like Erica Griffen (aka: Angel of Tech) being a huge exception. I don't have anywhere near her level of tech knowledge or even most members on this site but I am willing to help or even take over if needed. I just can't be of much help shortening process or making it more comfortable for the public but at least I haven't been totally useless.
Any help in shortening process or partially automating things wherever and whenever geeks can feel comfortable enough is not only appreciated by me but will be by the public as well.

Related

[Read This First]

All In One Toolkit By hasoon2000:
Go here and Try this tookit first, its extremely simple and Hasoon has made a lot of effort making this. This will take care of a lot of your rooting needs outlined below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basic Knowledge:
I have been getting questions regarding unlocking and rooting a lot and I keep refering people to Binary's page he has made and spend a lot of time making. In Order to root you need to the the following in THIS order:
1. Unlock bootloader (For mac and linux go to this thread its for the rezound, but is exactly the same for the amaze. For pc go here)
2. Put Custom recovery on your phone (for mac, pc and linux look below on post #2)
3. Root your phone, Either with a custom rom (in the development section), or by flashing/installing su-2.3.6.3-efgh-signed.zip, via custom recovery that you just installed in step 2. In order to learn how to flash su-2.3.6.3-efgh-signed.zip go here. For extreme newbies look at the bottom of the post here to show you easy way to get into your recovery and flash/install su-2.3.6.3-efgh-signed.zip, via taking out back battery.
All this found in thread [HOW TO] ROOT HTC RUBY / AMAZE 4G in the first sticky post in General Section, in much more detail.
NOTE: ONE CLICK ROOT TOOL DOES NOT NOT UNLOCK YOUR PHONE NOR DOES IT PUT CUSTOM RECOVERY, IT ONLY ROOTS. YOU MUST FOLLOW BASIC KNOWLEDGE ABOVE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Troubleshooting:
1.Common Problems: You can find more common problem questions answered here
2.Custom Recovery Problems: If have problems with step 3 (Custom Recovery) in [HOW TO] ROOT HTC RUBY / AMAZE 4G, or from the post below, go to this page.
3.WiFi and Bluetooth Problems: This is due to your kernel. I have seen multiple threads about this. Here are the ways to resolve this:
Whenever you download a rom there's a boot.img file in there. always extract the boot.img file and use xobarders kernel flasher to flash your kernel before you install your custom rom. If you are running a stock rom, download All in One Toolkit by Hasoon. Alternatively you can use the one and only custom kernel we have right now Faux's Custom kernel.
4.Touchscreen and Multitouch issues (Gaming Etc): It seems like installing a third party lockscreen widget such as Widgetlocker, Go locker, or Flyscreen, tends to interfere with the multitouch of the HTC amaze. Disable these widgets and restart your phone. Then use this program from the market to get 4 solid points touch points, If you are not getting it, uninstall the lockscreen widget altogether, and restart until you are constantly getting four touchpoints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rules and General Knowledge:
Over time we get many many questions in the General Section about things that can easily be found. I assure you if you read these in this order, you will learn a lot, and have almost no questions left.
1. Read the FAQ section: Here
2. Please Read the Bible in the development section, This is very helpful: Here
3. Look in the development section for what you need before asking for roms, stock roms, how to root, or how to unlock. (The development section is only three pages, I urge you to go through it if you want to learn how to do things and are unfamiliar with things: Here
4. Use the search feature before asking a question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera Quality:
There have been many debates among people about camera quality, this is a guide that provides good information on camera and why the amaze has the best camera on the market
1. Aperture 101: http://inluminent.com/2005/12/14/digital-photography-101-aperture/
2. Lens size/focal length (wide viewing angle): http://www.paragon-press.com/lens/lenchart.htm
Some comparisons:
HTC Amaze: F/2.2, backside illuminated sensor, Excellent camera software, Close to zero shutterlag. 28 mm lens, very wide viewing angle (get more real estate in one picture)
Iphone 4S: F/2.4, backside illuminated sensor, Above Average camera software, Close to zero shutterlag 35 mm lens, wide viewing angle
Galaxy S II: F/2.65, NO backside illuminated sensor, Above Average camera software, Normal shutter lag, I think 28 mm lens (seems to be more like 30 or 35), very wide viwing angle.
Galaxy nexus: F/2.75, NO backside illuminated sensor, Basic ICS camera software, Zero shutterlag, 35 mm lens, wide viewing angle
The Amaze has the widest viewing angle, as it has a 28 mm lens, the lower the number the more real estate you get, look at number 2 (lens size) above. Look at how much wider of a field you get with galaxy s II and amaze 4g. Amaze has the lowest f/stop (aperture), f/2.2, meaning more light gets to the sensor. However lower f stop comes at a price, I prefer a f/2.4 on the iphone 4s but with a wide viewing angle of 28mm, no phone on the market has that right now. The higher your f-stop, the easier it will be to focus on larger subjects and objects and to keep more of the frame in focus, at the cost of a darker image. The lower f-stops will give you a blurrier background and possibly create some darkness around the corners of the frame, but a brighter overall image
compare images a when it shows you the distance: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/i...axy-S-II-vs-Amaze-4G-camera-comparison_id2883
For Those who want to really learn how to take Great pictures with any camera here's a really good complete guide: http://www.camera.canon.com.my/archive/photography/art.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made this thread to help you and I have spend time editing it and linking important threads that are all collections from this amaze forum. I am in no way responsible if you manage to mess up your phone computer etc. With that said these events are very unlikely to occur. I assure you by reading this thread, 99 percent of your questions will be answered and you will go from a noob to a semi pro! Unlocking and Rooting require knowledge that can be found by reading this thread; there are only a few people to answer hundreds of questions in this forum, so it will be faster for you to read this than to ask questions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I have helped you please don't forget to click thanks
If you Loved this Post you can always rate it up on top right where the stars are
EASY CUSTOM RECOVERY NOOB PROOF FOR MAC, PC AND LINUX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Go to Settings > Applications > Development > Make sure USB Debugging is checked
2A. For PC. Unzip and Run Flash.bat
2B. For Mac and Linux Unzip and Run Flash.sh
Thanks to Binary: this is a modified version of a script Binary made for windows. This one is a one i modified; will work on Mac, Linux and Windows.
Although There have been no problems, please use at your own risk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I have helped you please don't forget to click thanks
Haha. I know what you mean. It is pretty annoying, but people never read. When they say I think I bricked my phone, we should ask them "Did you read before you started". Some people just never listen or want to search.
seansk said:
I can't believe I just got this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426676 5 minutes after I posted this thread... binary something needs to be done...3 threads started in the past two hours...asking dev stuff...can you sticky this...and start closing threads if the next person asks how to get a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll sticky it under the condition that you keep this orderly and under control. As the OP you'll have to keep this thread on topic and friendly at all times.
I might suggest losing the CAPS in post #1. People want a friendly atmosphere to learn in and get their questions answered. By having all CAPS it loses that effect almost immediately. Lose the CAPS and I'll stick it.
hasoon2000 said:
Haha. I know what you mean. It is pretty annoying, but people never read. When they say I think I bricked my phone, we should ask them "Did you read before you started". Some people just never listen or want to search.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, there is nothing I can do about the members that don't want to use the search feature. I can't make them read either. That's what school is supposed to be for.
Binary100100 said:
Sadly, there is nothing I can do about the members that don't want to use the search feature. I can't make them read either. That's what school is supposed to be for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done. Edited. I hope you approve
seansk said:
Done. Edited. I hope you approve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Approved and stuck.
Thanks!
Binary100100 said:
Approved and stuck.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now Lets hope we don't have to put another read this "read this" thread lolol....
seansk said:
Now Lets hope we don't have to put another read this "read this" thread lolol....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say we have someone make a video since some people seem to be incapable of reading and following instructions. I'm sure if SassyBoB made a video it would attract a bit of attention.
Link my thread in. I made a FAQs page. Atleast it would help!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426959
hasoon2000 said:
Link my thread in. I made a FAQs page. Atleast it would help!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426959
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now make them read it.
seansk said:
I can't believe I just got this http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1426676 5 minutes after I posted this thread... binary something needs to be done...3 threads started in the past two hours...asking dev stuff...can you sticky this...and start closing threads if the next person asks how to get a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read somewhere there are 3.7 million Android devices activated on Christmas day alone. Assumed that 1% of those new device is the Amaze and that'll give us 37,000 new Amaze owner with assuming/estimately/approx. 10% wanted to root their phone ... that equal to 3,700 newbies and at least 1/2 of them will head to this forum
I wouldn't be suprise if my Mom log-in here and ask is rooting will allow her newly Amaze steamed her rices for her though.
So, get ready and be a little gentle if you could lads.
Binary said:
I say we have someone make a video since some people seem to be incapable of reading and following instructions. I'm sure if SassyBoB made a video it would attract a bit of attention.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL
antiquezip said:
I've read somewhere there are 3.7 million Android devices activated on Christmas day alone. Assumed that 1% of those new device is the Amaze and that'll give us 37,000 new Amaze owner with assuming/estimately/approx. 10% wanted to root their phone ... that equal to 3,700 newbies and at least 1/2 of them will head to this forum
I wouldn't be suprise if my Mom log-in here and ask is rooting will allow her newly Amaze steamed her rices for her though.
So, get ready and be a little gentle if you could lads.
LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe if you are unable to unlock and root your phone, you better not do (actually not be allowed to do) it in the first place and first spend some time learning before doing it...people just want to root for the heck of it without understanding anything and they probably will have 2000 more questions after rooting and trying to customize and flash roms.
Do you know how much I had to read before I decided to unlock and root my nexus one the first time!!! I wanted to know what it meant what I could do etc. I screwed my phone up 2 times and tried different things to fix it and was able to...that's how you learn. with all the guides provided here people should have no problem learning SO SO much... This way they can get better use of their phone...learn how to flash themes, learn what hboot, fastboot, kernel, etc all that stuff does.
Please folks I urge you to read read read...It's not like your reading a boring textbook, its cool stuff that'll make you be able to use your phone much more effectively and to your liking.
I say binary should take out the noobproof recovery zip file and let people learn how to do it in fastboot and adb, thats how i learned, but then that'll create a massive load of questions i guess. learning a little bit of dos in the process its always usefull.
seansk said:
I believe if you are unable to unlock and root your phone, you better not do (actually not be allowed to do) it in the first place and first spend some time learning before doing it...people just want to root for the heck of it without understanding anything and they probably will have 2000 more questions after rooting and trying to customize and flash roms.
Do you know how much I had to read before I decided to unlock and root my nexus one the first time!!! I wanted to know what it meant what I could do etc. I screwed my phone up 2 times and tried different things to fix it and was able to...that's how you learn. with all the guides provided here people should have no problem learning SO SO much... This way they can get better use of their phone...learn how to flash themes, learn what hboot, fastboot, kernel, etc all that stuff does.
Please folks I urge you to read read read...It's not like your reading a boring textbook, its cool stuff that'll make you be able to use your phone much more effectively and to your liking.
I say binary should take out the noobproof recovery zip file and let people learn how to do it in fastboot and adb, thats how i learned, but then that'll create a massive load of questions i guess. learning a little bit of dos in the process its always usefull.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're still getting the questions and I'm still getting the private messages but not as much now. I agree with you that the people that can't root the device because they can't follow the instructions should not be allowed to do so. Here's a simple reason why. When I used to develop ports and themes (couple roms back in the G1/MT3G days) I always had to include a disclaimer that WAS the link. In other words I would say download by clicking the disclaimer below which would waive their rights to blame me should something go wrong. Why did I do that? Because people couldn't read or follow instructions which caused a quite a bit of grief for me. Funny thing was that when I began using that method people were asking me "Where can I download?" and that would prove to me that they did not read the disclaimer or the instructions for that matter. I have also learned that you have to put words in color, different sizes, use underlines and even in bold to get their attention. In fact, I'll be willing to wager that that last sentence was the first to get your attention. Which proves my point. Developers need to make things stand out without making it look tacky.
Here's an example of one of my themes with what I was talking about:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8899943
You must add pictures, underlines, changelogs that are easy to find, read and understand. Then you need to add the disclaimer. That way you don't need to worry about getting people pissed off at you for messing up their device.
Binary100100 said:
We're still getting the questions and I'm still getting the private messages but not as much now. I agree with you that the people that can't root the device because they can't follow the instructions should not be allowed to do so. Here's a simple reason why. When I used to develop ports and themes (couple roms back in the G1/MT3G days) I always had to include a disclaimer that WAS the link. In other words I would say download by clicking the disclaimer below which would waive their rights to blame me should something go wrong. Why did I do that? Because people couldn't read or follow instructions which caused a quite a bit of grief for me. Funny thing was that when I began using that method people were asking me "Where can I download?" and that would prove to me that they did not read the disclaimer or the instructions for that matter. I have also learned that you have to put words in color, different sizes, use underlines and even in bold to get their attention. In fact, I'll be willing to wager that that last sentence was the first to get your attention. Which proves my point. Developers need to make things stand out without making it look tacky.
Here's an example of one of my themes with what I was talking about:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8899943
You must add pictures, underlines, changelogs that are easy to find, read and understand. Then you need to add the disclaimer. That way you don't need to worry about getting people pissed off at you for messing up their device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well I made some changes look much less tacky...It'll be a work in progress!!!
Binary I modified your script to work with linux and mac. I need someone to test it. I think it should work, I posted it in the second post of this thread.
seansk said:
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would have saved me a few minutes the other day if this was posted, but I just opened the .bat files in textedit and ran them in terminal(with whatever tweaks to the commands needed). Glad it is here for future osx/linux people though.
I never did figure out why, but a few different versions of fastboot didn't work for me- one of these had a version that worked for me, the others didn't, can't remember which worked.. RecoveryInstallerForNoobs, EasyKernelFlasher, Xboarder56-All-in-One-Tool. Or maybe it was fastboot-mac that I think I found on the htcdev site..
Either way, definitely cool to see more mac/linux friendliness in the forums I don't touch my pc if at all possible..
Silentbtdeadly said:
Would have saved me a few minutes the other day if this was posted, but I just opened the .bat files in textedit and ran them in terminal(with whatever tweaks to the commands needed). Glad it is here for future osx/linux people though.
I never did figure out why, but a few different versions of fastboot didn't work for me- one of these had a version that worked for me, the others didn't, can't remember which worked.. RecoveryInstallerForNoobs, EasyKernelFlasher, Xboarder56-All-in-One-Tool. Or maybe it was fastboot-mac that I think I found on the htcdev site..
Either way, definitely cool to see more mac/linux friendliness in the forums I don't touch my pc if at all possible..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you use RecoveryInstallerForNoobs version 2.0?? I just made it!
seansk said:
did you use RecoveryInstallerForNoobs version 2.0?? I just made it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know about 2.0, I downloaded it and some other files 2 nights ago when I got my amaze. Like I said, there were a few versions of fastboot that I tried that didn't work.. still the entire process of unlocking bootloader, flashing recovery, and flashing a rom took less than 30 minutes once I figured out that the fastboot file was the issue. It probably helps that I thought I'd have this phone a month ago, so already researched everything I would need to know.
Binary tell me if you need me to change anything, or how the posts look. Feel free to change them. After seeing what you have done before, you have a better design sense than I do I guess

[Q] Rooting the Bell Galaxy Note SGH-I717m? I'm scared... (Please read!)

Hey there! I have a question, I just got myself a Galaxy Note SGH I717m running 2.3.6 from Bell a week ago and I'm thinking about rooting it. I've read that a few users rendered their device laggy and choppy after doing it and I'm really new to all of this so I wanna know exactly what I need (softwares/firmwares/files) in order to root it without ****ing it up.. I'm addicted to the phone and I don't wanna make it slow!
I've found a tutorial already but the phone used for it was the international version of the galaxy note so I decided not to try it unless someone who knows what hes doing tells me that it will work and not mess anything up!
Any help/tutorial would be *GREATLY* appreciated! Thanks in advance
Haven't you read any of the android development ?...read,read,read......if your scared to root you shouldn't ....we all read and do research to learn what we would like do or not to do...no one hear is gonna hold your hand and dobit for you...not to sound like a d**k.....but your not apparently ready for any of this..If you wont spend the time to research
NINESIXTYFOUR said:
Hey there! I have a question, I just got myself a Galaxy Note SGH I717m running 2.3.6 from Bell a week ago and I'm thinking about rooting it. I've read that a few users rendered their device laggy and choppy after doing it and I'm really new to all of this so I wanna know exactly what I need (softwares/firmwares/files) in order to root it without ****ing it up.. I'm addicted to the phone and I don't wanna make it slow!
I've found a tutorial already but the phone used for it was the international version of the galaxy note so I decided not to try it unless someone who knows what hes doing tells me that it will work and not mess anything up!
Any help/tutorial would be *GREATLY* appreciated! Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted mine using mashi's method (a rooted AT&T rom) and it made my phone incredibly laggy with respect to the capacitive buttons. However, a friend of mine also rooted his using a different method and I haven't heard him complain at all. The method he used to root is a little more complex than some of the others available.
In either case, if you do decide to take the plunge, I've made stocks files of the Bell Galaxy Note that you can flash and get back to normal. You can find them at this thread.
And what wish777 said is good advice. Read up on it before you do. Be sure you're comfortable with it.
Hopefully this helps. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.
wish777 said:
not to sound like a d**k.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense but you failed at it. I never asked for someone to do it for me!
MrJoran said:
I rooted mine using mashi's method (a rooted AT&T rom) and it made my phone incredibly laggy with respect to the capacitive buttons. However, a friend of mine also rooted his using a different method and I haven't heard him complain at all. The method he used to root is a little more complex than some of the others available.
In either case, if you do decide to take the plunge, I've made stocks files of the Bell Galaxy Note that you can flash and get back to normal. You can find them at this thread.
And what wish777 said is good advice. Read up on it before you do. Be sure you're comfortable with it.
Hopefully this helps. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's definitely going to be useful, thanks a lot mate! And sorry 'bout that, next time I'm gonna read before posting on this forums.
For what it's worth, there is a LOT of information on these forums, some of it conflicting, a lot of it vague, and sometimes it's not easy to tell how it all ties together. I found that to an extent, the more I read, the more confused I got. But you gotta start somewhere. Merely reading and practical experience are two very different things. You can use Mashi's method. Personally, I used Da_G's method and found it fairly easy and "idiot-proof" but it will trip your flash counter. And I can personally vouch for MrJoran's method for returning to Bell stock (including a flash counter reset as provided by Braway). See? So many different ways of going about it! Good luck!
NaughtyBot said:
For what it's worth, there is a LOT of information on these forums, some of it conflicting, a lot of it vague, and sometimes it's not easy to tell how it all ties together. I found that to an extent, the more I read, the more confused I got. But you gotta start somewhere. Merely reading and practical experience are two very different things. You can use Mashi's method. Personally, I used Da_G's method and found it fairly easy and "idiot-proof" but it will trip your flash counter. And I can personally vouch for MrJoran's method for returning to Bell stock (including a flash counter reset as provided by Braway). See? So many different ways of going about it! Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree. Best to sift through it and find out what the general consensus is. Lot's of trial and error though. I would advise against using mashi's rooted ROM though because of the lag it caused. It's based of the AT&T ROM and does not play nice with the Bell kernel is my guess. There is a good root method here that I know has been used successfully and doesn't change the ROM you're using. And from what I understand, Da_G's method shouldn't change your ROM either but it does load an AT&T kernel I believe. Pros and cons to all the methods of course. Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask. That's how we learn.
I'm still waiting for a pure mac osx root method...
NINESIXTYFOUR said:
No offense but you failed at it. I never asked for someone to do it for me!
That's definitely going to be useful, thanks a lot mate! And sorry 'bout that, next time I'm gonna read before posting on this forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well after you edited your post i guess your right..lmao
NaughtyBot said:
For what it's worth, there is a LOT of information on these forums, some of it conflicting, a lot of it vague, and sometimes it's not easy to tell how it all ties together. I found that to an extent, the more I read, the more confused I got. But you gotta start somewhere. Merely reading and practical experience are two very different things. You can use Mashi's method. Personally, I used Da_G's method and found it fairly easy and "idiot-proof" but it will trip your flash counter. And I can personally vouch for MrJoran's method for returning to Bell stock (including a flash counter reset as provided by Braway). See? So many different ways of going about it! Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, thank you very much for your advices!
MrJoran said:
I have to agree. Best to sift through it and find out what the general consensus is. Lot's of trial and error though. I would advise against using mashi's rooted ROM though because of the lag it caused. It's based of the AT&T ROM and does not play nice with the Bell kernel is my guess. There is a good root method here that I know has been used successfully and doesn't change the ROM you're using. And from what I understand, Da_G's method shouldn't change your ROM either but it does load an AT&T kernel I believe. Pros and cons to all the methods of course. Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask. That's how we learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge!! That's definitely gonna help me... I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable with rooting my Note
wish777 said:
well after you edited your post i guess your right..lmao
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What the f, the only think I edited was the topic name.
MrJoran said:
I have to agree. Best to sift through it and find out what the general consensus is. Lot's of trial and error though. I would advise against using mashi's rooted ROM though because of the lag it caused. It's based of the AT&T ROM and does not play nice with the Bell kernel is my guess. There is a good root method here that I know has been used successfully and doesn't change the ROM you're using. And from what I understand, Da_G's method shouldn't change your ROM either but it does load an AT&T kernel I believe. Pros and cons to all the methods of course. Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask. That's how we learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree that the sheer volume of information in this particular forum is overwhelming and, in many cases, unclear and not (necessarily) relevant to the Canadian Note handhelds (Rogers, Bell or Telus).
I'm looking for information specific to rooting and unrooting my Rogers Note I717R with my Bell service and it's been a frustrating couple of days, with a handful of fruitless attempts to unroot, resulting in a re-flash to stock.
Oh well...I'll keep digging and doing this research. It seems that it was so much easier on my Moto Atrix, but I digress
Thanks all!
aus
I rooted my Rogers Note (I717R) and haven't noticed any change in performance compared to unrooted. So I wouldn't be concerned with the device becoming laggy due to rooting. However, it seems like every device has it's own quirks so I can't guarantee that rooting won't affect anything on your specific device.
In any event here's a great video tutorial on rooting - it is really easy:
http://rootgalaxynote.com/galaxy-no...y-note-sgh-i717-icsgingerbreadeasiest-method/
There are other methods listed in the development section also, I just found this method the easiest. Hope this helps!
tmcquake said:
I rooted my Rogers Note (I717R) and haven't noticed any change in performance compared to unrooted. So I wouldn't be concerned with the device becoming laggy due to rooting. However, it seems like every device has it's own quirks so I can't guarantee that rooting won't affect anything on your specific device.
In any event here's a great video tutorial on rooting - it is really easy:
http://rootgalaxynote.com/galaxy-no...y-note-sgh-i717-icsgingerbreadeasiest-method/
There are other methods listed in the development section also, I just found this method the easiest. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method is easy and very similar to the one I used. But I'm fairly certain it will trip the flash counter. Just be sure to reset it if you need any warranty work.
tmcquake said:
I rooted my Rogers Note (I717R) and haven't noticed any change in performance compared to unrooted. So I wouldn't be concerned with the device becoming laggy due to rooting. However, it seems like every device has it's own quirks so I can't guarantee that rooting won't affect anything on your specific device.
In any event here's a great video tutorial on rooting - it is really easy:
http://rootgalaxynote.com/galaxy-no...y-note-sgh-i717-icsgingerbreadeasiest-method/
There are other methods listed in the development section also, I just found this method the easiest. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same one I linked in my previous post. Haven't used it personally but I know people who have and it worked for them. Added bonus of not replacing your stock ROM, which is a big plus for us Canadian users who don't want AT&T crap.
tmcquake said:
I rooted my Rogers Note (I717R) and haven't noticed any change in performance compared to unrooted. So I wouldn't be concerned with the device becoming laggy due to rooting. However, it seems like every device has it's own quirks so I can't guarantee that rooting won't affect anything on your specific device.
In any event here's a great video tutorial on rooting - it is really easy:
There are other methods listed in the development section also, I just found this method the easiest. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is a I717M, are you sure it'll work without causing lag?! Thank you very much for the help!! I might try to root it tonight (if I ever find a tutorial on how to backup my Note), I'll report back after here
NaughtyBot said:
This method is easy and very similar to the one I used. But I'm fairly certain it will trip the flash counter. Just be sure to reset it if you need any warranty work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash counter? Is tripping it a really bad thing?
MrJoran said:
Same one I linked in my previous post. Haven't used it personally but I know people who have and it worked for them. Added bonus of not replacing your stock ROM, which is a big plus for us Canadian users who don't want AT&T crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally, a tutorial that seems to be trustable, great! Oh and, what do you mean by ROM? Firmware/OS? If yes, then this method will simply like "inject" the "hack" in the phone? So is it going to be easier to return to stock in case my device gets slow?
Sorry for all those questions!
I rooted using Da_G method. Easy to follow install guide. Haven't had any problems whatsoever. But I do agree with previous posters, the info can be very overwhelming. Some devs provide good step by step info while others are vague or don't consider others level of experience when writing instructions. Read, read, read and only venture into the unknown when you are reasonably comfortable.
NINESIXTYFOUR said:
Mine is a I717M, are you sure it'll work without causing lag?! Thank you very much for the help!! I might try to root it tonight (if I ever find a tutorial on how to backup my Note), I'll report back after here
Flash counter? Is tripping it a really bad thing?
Finally, a tutorial that seems to be trustable, great! Oh and, what do you mean by ROM? Firmware/OS? If yes, then this method will simply like "inject" the "hack" in the phone? So is it going to be easier to return to stock in case my device gets slow?
Sorry for all those questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to make backup unless you what to make a NANDROID using CWM. Otherwise, you can use the stock stuff I made for the Bell Note already.
Flash counter tripping is no big deal. Don't worry about it.
ROM is the operating system of the phone. And yes, this method does seem to just add what is needed to your stock ROM. But again, easy to return to stock using the files I've posted.
greezythumb said:
I rooted using Da_G method. Easy to follow install guide. Haven't had any problems whatsoever. But I do agree with previous posters, the info can be very overwhelming. Some devs provide good step by step info while others are vague or don't consider others level of experience when writing instructions. Read, read, read and only venture into the unknown when you are reasonably comfortable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it is indeed really overwhelming, I'm kinda lost! I'll keep on reading, thanks for the precious advice!
MrJoran said:
No need to make backup unless you what to make a NANDROID using CWM. Otherwise, you can use the stock stuff I made for the Bell Note already.
Flash counter tripping is no big deal. Don't worry about it.
ROM is the operating system of the phone. And yes, this method does seem to just add what is needed to your stock ROM. But again, easy to return to stock using the files I've posted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so if I'm right, a nandroid backup is a backup of the ROM with all the user settings/data that you can use to go back to the previous settings in case you don't like the new ROM you've flashed onto your device?
One last question, is it 100% sure that the files you uploaded are going to work my I717M? I bought it in montreal, if that can help you determining if it will work or not... And once again, thank you very much for the information!
NINESIXTYFOUR said:
Ok so if I'm right, a nandroid backup is a backup of the ROM with all the user settings/data that you can use to go back to the previous settings in case you don't like the new ROM you've flashed onto your device?
One last question, is it 100% sure that the files you uploaded are going to work my I717M? I bought it in montreal, if that can help you determining if it will work or not... And once again, thank you very much for the information!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct on the NANDROID. And as I understand it, all the i717M are the same. I have the same i717M as you and that's where the files are from. And Naughty Bot also has an i717M and has used the files to go back to stock. The only thing that may be different on yours (and I doubt this) is there may be some French specific stuff because you bought it in Quebec but you can confirm that for us. Even if there is a long as you don't mind losing that stuff then you're good to go.
NINESIXTYFOUR said:
Mine is a I717M, are you sure it'll work without causing lag?! Thank you very much for the help!! I might try to root it tonight (if I ever find a tutorial on how to backup my Note), I'll report back after here
Flash counter? Is tripping it a really bad thing?
Finally, a tutorial that seems to be trustable, great! Oh and, what do you mean by ROM? Firmware/OS? If yes, then this method will simply like "inject" the "hack" in the phone? So is it going to be easier to return to stock in case my device gets slow?
Sorry for all those questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've learned so far, there's no way to back up ALL your data and user settings until AFTER you've rooted the phone (using NANDROID or something like Titanium Backup). If you have a Google account and store your contacts and email in Gmail, that should be all be stored on Google's servers. You can use something like MyBackup Pro to back up some of your stuff but in most cases, you can't back up app data (like game saves and stuff) until after the phone is rooted. Android just won't let you get at it. However, most rooting methods don't usually touch your data, just make sure to follow the instructions closely and also make sure that the root method has been tested on your particular version of the phone. Take note that, if you unroot the phone, all your NANDROID/Titanium restore data becomes useless (phone needs to be rooted to restore it, pretty sure).
As for the flash counter, it used to be a big deal but not so much anymore. The phone has a counter that records how many times the phone has been flashed with a custom (non-stock) ROM. If you ever had to return your phone for warranty work and the counter was greater than one, Sammy had grounds to refuse to honour the warranty. You could unroot the phone but that didn't reset the flash counter. Braway came up with a method a few weeks ago but the problem was that it wasn't specifically for Canadian phones. Then MrJoran managed to obtain the stock Android components (with some help from willing friends) for the Bell Note and assembled a method of unrooting the Bell Note with provisions for resetting the flash counter. Now the only thing you have to worry about is if you brick the phone in such a way that you can't flash stock ROMs back to it. Of course, in that case Samsung probably wouldn't be able to see what you've done anyway (most likely). But once the warranty is expired, flash away. Go nuts, no warranty, doesn't matter.
I stand to be corrected on any/all of this. And what MrJoran said about the French stuff.
MrJoran said:
You're correct on the NANDROID. And as I understand it, all the i717M are the same. I have the same i717M as you and that's where the files are from. And Naughty Bot also has an i717M and has used the files to go back to stock. The only thing that may be different on yours (and I doubt this) is there may be some French specific stuff because you bought it in Quebec but you can confirm that for us. Even if there is a long as you don't mind losing that stuff then you're good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! That's all I needed to know by the way, these are the only apps that might not be included in your files, I'm not sure though and I don't care if I loose them I think I can easily get them back on Bell's site, I will confirm that in a day or two, once I convinced myself to root the Note!
NaughtyBot said:
From what I've learned so far, there's no way to back up ALL your data and user settings until AFTER you've rooted the phone (using NANDROID or something like Titanium Backup). If you have a Google account and store your contacts and email in Gmail, that should be all be stored on Google's servers. You can use something like MyBackup Pro to back up some of your stuff but in most cases, you can't back up app data (like game saves and stuff) until after the phone is rooted. Android just won't let you get at it. However, most rooting methods don't usually touch your data, just make sure to follow the instructions closely and also make sure that the root method has been tested on your particular version of the phone. Take note that, if you unroot the phone, all your NANDROID/Titanium restore data becomes useless (phone needs to be rooted to restore it, pretty sure).
As for the flash counter, it used to be a big deal but not so much anymore. The phone has a counter that records how many times the phone has been flashed with a custom (non-stock) ROM. If you ever had to return your phone for warranty work and the counter was greater than one, Sammy had grounds to refuse to honour the warranty. You could unroot the phone but that didn't reset the flash counter. Braway came up with a method a few weeks ago but the problem was that it wasn't specifically for Canadian phones. Then MrJoran managed to obtain the stock Android components (with some help from willing friends) for the Bell Note and assembled a method of unrooting the Bell Note with provisions for resetting the flash counter. Now the only thing you have to worry about is if you brick the phone in such a way that you can't flash stock ROMs back to it. Of course, in that case Samsung probably wouldn't be able to see what you've done anyway (most likely). But once the warranty is expired, flash away. Go nuts, no warranty, doesn't matter.
I stand to be corrected on any/all of this. And what MrJoran said about the French stuff.
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Yeah you're right, the phone has to be rooted to be restored and thanks for explaining the flash counter thing in dept, it's much more clear now! I was just a bit afraid to root it since I've been experiencing a weird bug on the phone and I might have to bring it to Bell to have it checked up or something but now, it's all good!

How to root on .21 guide, could be usefull & stop the questions...

Hey guys, I was one of the ones who was refraining from rooting my prime because of the defects I wanted to keep it stock in case of RMA. However, after dealing w/ Asus I decided the repair center are not competent enough to repair my software issues.
I am on .21 so I tried searching for any methods to obtain root if I unlocked my boot loader. The only method I came across required rolling the firmware back to .15 & even though I've rooted, unlocked, flashed & modded a dozen or so devices, it was a process that appeared to carry some heavy risks, and required quite a bit of work & knowledge I might add.
I decided to unlock the boot loader, and attempt to install CWM via command prompts, in hopes of flashing a rooted rom. This was a much easier & much shorter process and it also consists of much simpler methods. After I was all setup, I did some searches on anyone else who may have taken the same approach & after quite a bit of thread surfing I found a couple very short discussions in the Q&A forums, that were pretty vague.
I've never written a thread or guide in the Dev section, but if someone more experienced did, and the mods would stickie it, then it would probably help some of the lesser experienced users. It would also prevent a few bricks I'm sure, that then lead to a panicked noob posting HELP threads in the Dev section.
Just a thought on something that could be beneficial to some ppl. Oh, and after I installed Virtuous, I have completely resolved the random reboots & freezes that were happening 4-6 times a day. I just can't believe the terrible software Asus has given us for such a beautiful piece of hardware....
There is a lot more risk unlocking and flashing a custom rom than downgrading and rooting. Not to mention downgrading will preserve all settings and apps,as wee as keep you on Ota updates that won't brick your device. Oh and the biggest reason not to do what you did is unlocking voids warranty whereas rooting does not. So if you just need root I highly suggest you don't do what the op did.
Let me say this. I knew NOTHING and still know NOTHING about ADB. ADB is what you use to downgrade your firmware. How did I learn to use ADB when I knew nothing about it? There is a thread here on the forums for ADB SDK usage.
The only thing you have to do to downgrade your firmware is being able to perfectly replicate less than a SENTENCE of code ALREADY written out for you in the PROPER order. If you can't do that, you probably can't even follow the directions of installing batteries in a small childs toy.
I successfully downgraded my Transformer Prime from .21 to .15 after just 5 minutes of reading and REREADING the directions. Just make sure you understand what happens during each step and that you know what step comes after it. Make sure you do NOT skip a step.
I have never once bricked a device... NEVER! Also, rooting alone will not fix Asus' terrible software! Unlocking the boot loader is not a great risk, its a one click method done with an Asus distributed tool! Lol... Unlocking does void an already worthless warranty, since there are so many documented cases of Primes coming back from the tech centers w/ prominent physical damage, still present issues, & owners losing their device for up to 3 months! All of these circumstances are actual reported incidents I've read right here on the xda threads! So... before anyone jumps in, always ready & willing to condescend as ALOT of ppl here on Xda do, please consider your options if your one of the many dealing w/ being SCREWED by Asus! This is a viable method to make the best of a piece of hardware you've spent what you may consider a lot of money on!
If your interested in getting a custom Rom & you don't know how on the .21 update, then pm me. I will no longer publicly post any comments on xda. As even developers are leaving this community due to the nature of its members. There are quite a lot of rude, condescending youngsters here.
I'm a polite, well educated, respectful, and self made member of society, who is conscious of how to address others on or offline. Somehow, every time I've made a post, community suggestion, or even a comment to thank or encourage others, I seem to get the two cents of the "I know better than you" crowd. Funny..... that doesn't happen on the other development sites?

[Q] Comment about terminology and process

I am a new Xperia Ultra owner and whilst not planning to do any flashing just yet I thought tonight I'd take a quick look at threads discussing steps that would be involved in doing this.
Let me qualify what I'm about to say by stating that I appreciate people on this site who develop tools which allow us to hack our devices so we can make better use of our phones. They are incredibly skilled, gifted and generous with their time. I would love to be able to spend the time learning how to do this but I simply don't have the time. So please don't take what I am about to say as a criticism but more as an observation, considering the effort contributors put into this it would indeed be incredibly foolish of me to criticise anyone here.
I can probably safely say that none of the contributors are also trained technical writers and a fair number do not have English as their first language. Its my first and only language and I often have difficulty getting the meaning across succinctly not to mind getting the spelling right . And I know even for large software houses support documentation is not a priority.
I want to approach hacking my phone with confidence this time round. In the past I've reflashed several phones for myself and friends and simply followed steps and not really understanding completely what the hell I was doing. Lordmanhattan I know I sent you an email regarding a contradiction on your thread. And you very kindly got back to me very quickly.....amazing, thank you. And then there is the "TA partition", WTH is that? I did very briefly google this to find a quick answer but no joy....grrrr (also looked in the XDA Wiki acronyms) I'm sure if I looked hard enough I'd find it. It's mentioned everywhere but nobody seems to be offering an explanation what it is or what it does or why it's important or what it stands for !!!!
Very often I find threads on here describing how to do something hard to follow and this is often for the following reasons:
It could be that there is more than one way to achieve something so its a case of different people offering varied procedures, this can be confusing
A process may be described but then to the newbie the author seems to miss out on a step that to the experienced is obvious
The level of English used leads the reader to scratching their head wondering ...did he/she mean this or that
Threads not being updated or corrected even after feedback
Okay I won't go on.
So I have decided my time might be well spent doing some background research before delving into messing about with my Xperia Z Ultra and saving you guys from having to deal with daft questions from me.
Now does this mean I have to spend time reading through threads and trying to piece it all together to find the best way through and possibly getting the wrong end of the stick or reading superseded posts?
OR
Are there a couple of sites that will get me up to speed understanding the terminology, hardware, memory management, etc for my phone?
I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of both......your suggestions please
Oh, I stumbled across XDA University but got the impression it wasn't being maintained???
Some of the pages I visited....
A New User’s Guide to Android.......unfortunately none of the images for this page loaded
Video guides .................................had flash presentations which didn't load
Ferg8080 said:
I am a new Xperia Ultra owner...
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A good and detailed post, and it's not just the dev's and support that could take note. Some of the people that ask questions really need to read your post and think about what they are trying to say, get help with -- we aren't mind readers either.
I always try and help anew user by using as few TLA as possible in a reply to them. I also try to do the steps as #'d lists with as many steps as possible.
I do think LordManhattan's guide needs a little love as a few things are a little out of date - but it is as comprehensive guide as you could get, and most vagaries are covered in the thread.
TA = trim area, where your unique DRM keys are stored, and god only knows what else.
Thanks for your well written post! First I want to say - like Blueether just did, that we are not mind readers, so we can't possible know people's skill level or what they want to do. That's why I've started to ask them straight up what they want to do and where in the process they are. That way it'll be easier for me to help the other person, and hopefully write a short but complete step by step guide. It won't happen that often, but if I got some time to spare, why not.
My guide is a little out of date now, and I have planned to update it for quite some time, but things are moving so god damn quick around here that even I will get outdated if I take a short break. I recently sent my Ultra in for repairs, and 12 days later when I got it back and ready to get back in the game, a new firmware had been released with a new rooting method. I knew everything one day, and nothing on the other. It's really hard to balance real life and being kept updated at all times. Don't forget that you must be sure about what you know and write when you make a guide, because you don't want to brick people's devices. One slipup and the consequences might be ugly.
There are (of course) one or four ways of doing things around here, and you'll probably get different ways of doing things if you ask me or blueether about rooting or flashing custom ROMs. I guess it's just the way it is. New methods also pop up once in awhile, so some people will adopt these new methods while some other people will stick with the old school method, thus making things a little more complicated for new people who are looking for reliable information.
The TA partition is, like blueether already said, your device's unique DRM keys which makes X-Reality (and other minor things, I guess) work. It's important to make a backup of this partition since you'll lose it when you unlock the bootloader. Why would you unlock the bootloader? You have to unlock it if you want to flash custom ROMs, or if you want to make rooting easier. The problem is that you need to be rooted to back it up, so you'll have to spend some time reading and researching before you start.
Just keep your Ultra stock for now, and just casually read and soak up stuff from different threads around here. Walk around like you do in a new city and check out the locals and see what they do and say. You'll pick up a few things here and there and things will start rolling from there.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
blueether said:
A good and detailed post, and it's not just the dev's and support that could take note. Some of the people that ask questions really need to read your post and think about what they are trying to say, get help with -- we aren't mind readers either.
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LordManhattan said:
a new firmware had been released with a new rooting method. I knew everything one day, and nothing on the other. It's really hard to balance real life and being kept updated at all times. Don't forget that you must be sure about what you know and write when you make a guide, because you don't want to brick people's devices. One slipup and the consequences might be ugly.
some other people will stick with the old school method, thus making things a little more complicated for new people who are looking for reliable information.
Just keep your Ultra stock for now, and just casually read and soak up stuff from different threads around here.
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Yes you can see some people just rush in with questions without giving serious thought to what they want to achieve. I think its people who don't often understand the process properly, haven't thought it through and are following what seems like a straightforward step by step process. Understanding what you are doing requires patience and TIME.
XDA I think is an unrivalled repository of amazing contributions from amazing people on a technology that is constantly evolving. Its also a jungle. One doesn't go into the jungle unprepared
Thanks for the fantastic advice guys and I will heed but I can't promise I might come out with some corkers
One last thing, how on earth do you find the time to lead a normal life? You obviously love what you are doing. It might be easy to assume everyone who contributes here is in IT. I imagine there are plumbers, electricians, mechanics, office workers, retired folk.....

Need Help Getting Back to Stock Sense

Sooo, Ill start off by saying that I've unlocked, hacked, rooted, jailbroke pretty much every phone since it became available over the years. Im a careless tinkerer and have always stumbled across well written how to's to do everything I've need in forums like this and have great luck.
Well awhile ago, shortly after I got my AT&T M8, I decided to try and turn it into Google Play Edition. Somewhere along the way while in the process of doing S-OFF, something went wrong. I kept getting errors and couldn't get anything to flash. So I gave up and got the LG G3 and put the M8 aside for a bit. Well now I want to use it again, and along the way of "tinkering", I've managed to wipe TWRP, relocked the bootloader, have no OS and still S-OFF. I can boot into recovery or boot to the HTC screen so its not completely gone yet from what Ive researched.
Would anyone be willing to help me out in getting this thing back to stock Sense or point me in the right direction? I want it completely stock, without root or custom recovery. I'd rather a good step by step, if someone would be willing. I can't seem to piece together all of the information i need to do this myself. Thanks!
Have you tried this. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=55094112
StupidN00b said:
Im a careless tinkerer and have always stumbled across well written how to's to do everything I've need in forums like this and have great luck.
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Just RUU as suggested in the previous response.
I suggest leaving your phones stock, unless you are willing to put in the time to read, research, and obtain some real knowledge.
Step-by-step guides and toolkits are dangerous things. As you see, they just get you into trouble without giving you the knowledge or tools to get out of that jam.
I'm surprised you've modded as many phones as you say, and haven't gotten any real knowledge to this point. Either you are very humble; or your story is a testament to the fact that such step-by-step guides shouldn't be posted in the first place.
redpoint73 said:
Just RUU as suggested in the previous response.
I suggest leaving your phones stock, unless you are willing to put in the time to read, research, and obtain some real knowledge.
Step-by-step guides and toolkits are dangerous things. As you see, they just get you into trouble without giving you the knowledge or tools to get out of that jam.
I'm surprised you've modded as many phones as you say, and haven't gotten any real knowledge to this point. Either you are very humble; or your story is a testament to the fact that such step-by-step guides shouldn't be posted in the first place.
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Thank you for your response but unfortunately I find it extremely arrogant and asinine. The fact is that I have put in a lot of time and knowledge to understand what I am doing. I may not have a conventional degree in coding as you might but I am able to successfully mod my phones by browsing forums like this where you can find an abundance of knowledge, especially step-by-step guides, as you are so against. If you are so against step by step guides then maybe you can be the voice about banning them from this forum. Do you see how I am a new member? I am one of the few that actually search the forums instead of posting another thread asking the same questions. Ive used tools and information from this site for a very long time without having to post one single thing until a few days ago. And this is the response I get? I was even humble enough in my screen name to call myself stupid because, with this specific issue, I knew it had to be something stupid that i was missing. You shouldn't tell people that step by step guides are dangerous things. All it takes is some balls and some command lines and you can accomplish many things. Have I messed up my phones and others before? Yes, but i had never run into a situation I haven't been able to get myself out of. To me, tinkering around, as a hobby, is fun. Like now, as I watch Sunday NFL Countdown, I am about to dust off my Nexus 5 and flash Lollipop on it. Guess what I am going to use? A STEP BY STEP GUIDE!!!! If I mess it up, then Im sure I wouldn't be the first to do so and Im sure Ill find a solution on great forums like this. Besides, my rooted/unlocked OnePlus One is my main phone. I wanted to play around with the M8 again to see if I would miss the smaller screen but I don't. So, thank you for just repeating the first response then proceeding to insult me because you think i don't have the skills needed to mod my devices. I will continue to do so however I please, just as many others will. Either contribute to threads or ignore them. No need for the insults. You've also insulted many other members who have posted tools and step by step guides on this specific site.
nuwayman said:
Have you tried this. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=55094112
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I actually did RUU but it ended up that I had a corrupt RUU file. I redownloaded it and put it on the MicroSD card and it worked like a charm. Thank you for your quick response.
StupidN00b said:
Thank you for your response but unfortunately I find it extremely arrogant and asinine.
So, thank you for just repeating the first response then proceeding to insult me
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Quite frankly, incorrect on both points. You don't understand what an insult is, and there is nothing insulting in my post. If you read my post carefully, you will see there is no actual personal attack or insults.
redpoint73 said:
Just RUU as suggested in the previous response.
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Contrary to what you suggest, backing up the previous suggestion is added value; as it adds credibility and consensus to the previous solution.
redpoint73 said:
I suggest leaving your phones stock, unless you are willing to put in the time to read, research, and obtain some real knowledge.
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Its just a suggestion, and note that its conditional. Therefore, if you meet the latter part of the statement, the first part doesn't apply to you.
redpoint73 said:
Step-by-step guides and toolkits are dangerous things. As you see, they just get you into trouble without giving you the knowledge or tools to get out of that jam.
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I stand by this statement. I've seen dozens dozens of instances where such tools just arm people with enough "knowledge" to get them into trouble, and don't equip them with any tools to get them out. Its then left to folks like me to even start to get these folks on the right track.
I'll step back a bit from my statement that these tools "shouldn't be posted in the first place". I'll agree that step-by-step guides and toolkits might be useful if combined with the proper research, learning and understanding. But in and of themselves, they can easily lead newcomers astray.
redpoint73 said:
I'm surprised you've modded as many phones as you say, and haven't gotten any real knowledge to this point. Either you are very humble; or your story is a testament to the fact that such step-by-step guides shouldn't be posted in the first place.
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I already gave you the benefit of the doubt here, but you chose to react defensively and in my opinion, unreasonably.
In any case, as far as your knowledge and background, we can only go by what you've stated; and you clearly stated yourself as a "careless tinkerer" and "stumbled" upon solutions. Now in your later post you say "I have put in a lot of time and knowledge to understand what I am doing". So if you provide conflicting information as to your background, nobody can be blamed for making an incorrect assumption regarding your knowledge.

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