[Q] New to android - should I root? - Galaxy S6 Edge Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys,
New to the forum - always been an iphone man, but in recent years I've been more and more unimpressed and annoyed by the apple offerings and so my S6 edge will be delivered in the morning.
My question is should I root it on arrival? Half the reason I made the jump is all the "you can do so much more with android" etc
What is that "so much more"??
I'm fairly tech savvy but obviously never used android so not sure what to expect, but something had to give.
Is adapting the OS easy to do? Things I'm looking to do would be change the themes from operator branded stuff etc at minimum and would like to get the most from my new phone
Also is rooting reversible? Should I want to sell on in the future I'm assuming it's a good idea to revert to original state
Thanks in advance

No need to root, s6 and edge is plenty smooth. "So much more" involves a 3rd party launcher. Personally, I use Nova.
Root is reversible.

FluffyR said:
No need to root, s6 and edge is plenty smooth. "So much more" involves a 3rd party launcher. Personally, I use Nova.
Root is reversible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, root is reversible, but tripping Knox by rooting a Samsung device isn't. Tripping Knox will permanently cause you to lose functionality of the Knox app and Samsung Pay. You could also potentially lose your warranty.

CafeKampuchia said:
Yes, root is reversible, but tripping Knox by rooting a Samsung device isn't. Tripping Knox will permanently cause you to lose functionality of the Knox app and Samsung Pay. You could also potentially lose your warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From want I understand... the whole Samsung Pay debacle is just speculation at this point. Everyone swore that you could never use Google Wallet with root but look what happened. They said we would probably never see root on certain carrier branded Samsung devices. Look what happened. It takes time but it's almost always figured out.
To the OP... I would, personally, wait a little bit and just play around with the phone to see what you like and what you would change. If you find that there's a long list of what you would want to tweak then check out as many threads/forums as possible to see if the tweak can be done, what the risks are, and go from there. The phone is great without root but it's so much better with it. Good luck and welcome!

shoresteve626 said:
From want I understand... the whole Samsung Pay debacle is just speculation at this point. Everyone swore that you could never use Google Wallet with root but look what happened. They said we would probably never see root on certain carrier branded Samsung devices. Look what happened. It takes time but it's almost always figured out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installable apps like Google Wallet that check for root are not the same as Samsung Pay which is integrated into the ROMs security framework secured by Knox. Both Chainfire and Sammobile (which have Samsung insiders) have warned about rooting breaking Samsung Pay. It's more than just a little speculation, and it will be extremely difficult to work around if its possible at all.
The bottom line is that if you care about Knox or Samsung Pay, don't root or accept the risk.

Welcome to XDA @Strongey01
Years ago I would have said rooting is a no brainer but now, not so much. The 2 main functions of rooting were deleting bloatware and customizing. This new iteration of touchwiz is much lighter in term of bloat and there is the option to disable apps. Hers's what I would recommend: Get familiar with the os, start off with Nova launcher, pay for prime and explore away. That alone should allow you to customize your launcher beyond your wildest apple dreams. Get familliar with XDA learn the jargon, flash, twrp, odin etc. Explore the general and Q&A threads. There are a few threads about the advantages of root in there. Get familiar, get comfortable then root. If need be.

mrnovanova said:
The 2 main functions of rooting were deleting bloatware and customizing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And ad blocking.

CafeKampuchia said:
And ad blocking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I stand corrected. Three main functions are deleting bloatware, customizing and ad blocking.
Btw what do you use for ad blocking? I mean without xposed.

Thanks for taking the time to respond guys it's appreciated.
Getting it to run quicker and ad blocking are the main reasons I considered rooting tbh
I definately need to look more in depth at roms etc to see what they really do as like I say I'm completely new to all this, it's like going back to when I built my first website, I just don't have a clue lol
Thanks again guys

mrnovanova said:
Ok I stand corrected. Three main functions are deleting bloatware, customizing and ad blocking.
Btw what do you use for ad blocking? I mean without xposed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adaway. Follow the link in the post of mine that you quoted.

Strongey01 said:
Hey guys,
New to the forum - always been an iphone man, but in recent years I've been more and more unimpressed and annoyed by the apple offerings and so my S6 edge will be delivered in the morning.
My question is should I root it on arrival? Half the reason I made the jump is all the "you can do so much more with android" etc
What is that "so much more"??
I'm fairly tech savvy but obviously never used android so not sure what to expect, but something had to give.
Is adapting the OS easy to do? Things I'm looking to do would be change the themes from operator branded stuff etc at minimum and would like to get the most from my new phone
Also is rooting reversible? Should I want to sell on in the future I'm assuming it's a good idea to revert to original state
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you say you're tech savy, I think adapting to Android will be smooth and easy for you.
You don't have to root the phone to enjoy most of the customization options of Android. Google Play Store offers many choices for you to play with: custom launchers, dialers, text apps, phonebooks, notification apps, wallpapers, galleries, ringtone and notification apps, etc.
Rooting then installing a custom recovery will open more customization options. With a custom recovery, such as TWRP, you can install custom ROM's, which can alter your phone completely.
Specifically for the galaxy S6E, you can root in 2 ways - via CF-AUTOROOT or Pingpong Root. I recommend you root with pingpong b/c the Samsung Knox counter will not be tripped and you can try Samsung Pay later.
If you decide to root via pingpong, be sure not to later install a custom kernel or recovery b/c Knox will be tripped.
Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

Thanks for taking the time to write that. Very informative and helpful
Cheers

Related

[Q] roms/flash/root...?

ive read the thread in the general forum for noobs.
but i still dont quite understand all these things and what purpose they serve.
im SUPER new with all this stuff. so my apologies.
could someone help a brother out?
what is your question specifically?
just curious about what they are and do basically.
kevinallen4325 said:
ive read the thread in the general forum for noobs.
but i still dont quite understand all these things and what purpose they serve.
im SUPER new with all this stuff. so my apologies.
could someone help a brother out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try and help.
First you must ROOT your phone. This basically grants you access/permission to FIDDLE with a lot of things you can't normally. I use the word *fiddle* loosley, meaning you can install root tools (like overclock) custom Roms, change system settings, flash themes... the list goes on. It's kind of like the equivalent to "jailbreaking"
Rooting is the "first and foremost"... basically do this first. and all other things follow.
kevinallen4325 said:
just curious about what they are and do basically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the sticky in the main forum really is a good place to start, as all these terms are defined there:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1483113
As well as step-by-step instructions how to root. That should get you started!
ok so root first. got it. would any of this benefit my phone in anyway? or is it mainly just to put custom themes and such on?
kevinallen4325 said:
ok so root first. got it. would any of this benefit my phone in anyway? or is it mainly just to put custom themes and such on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is much more than that. I wrote this out before, so I will copy it again:
People have problems when rooted because they are not careful or do not know what they are doing. Rooting gives you (to put in Windows terms) full Administrator rights to your phone. With this right comes responsibility, so you must be careful and do research. This is why rooting also voids the warranty. The phone is now open for the user to do whatever they want, and circumvent any restrictions put on the phone by the manufacturer (including those in place to prevent harm to the device). But like a computer with Admin rights, rooting allows you to install any application, any "OS theme", and tweak the hardware to do what YOU want with it, not what the manufacturer wants.
So please be sure to READ READ READ all you can before you start!!! You don't want a $600 phone coaster. Just browse the forums for a couple weeks and learn from the posts.
kevinallen4325 said:
ok so root first. got it. would any of this benefit my phone in anyway? or is it mainly just to put custom themes and such on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends what you consider a benefit. Sure..theming can be a benefit, but rooting provides the gateway to address any negative or less than ideal aspects of a device. For instance, The Note has been perceived as being somewhat laggy. So rooting allows you to free up system resources by eliminating unneeded bloatware that you can't remove if you remain stock. Also the lagginess has been addressed by overclocking, modding and building kernels that do specific things and of course making custom roms. The Note is still very early in the developmental process, so many things to improve the user experience of the device will become available over the course of time....but it all starts with being rooted.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note LTE™
kevinallen4325 said:
ok so root first. got it. would any of this benefit my phone in anyway? or is it mainly just to put custom themes and such on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android isn't like iOS. I had an iPhone for four years before my Note and I know where you coming from. What the other guy was saying is that rooting can be viewed similar to jailbreaking, but it is kind of completely different. You don't need to be rooted to use themes (or most of the stuff on Cydia). Rooting allows you to back up apps, flash custom ROMs, etc. Otherwise, you most likely don't need root.
tbran said:
It depends what you consider a benefit. Sure..theming can be a benefit, but rooting provides the gateway to address any negative or less than ideal aspects of a device. For instance, The Note has been perceived as being somewhat laggy. So rooting allows you to free up system resources by eliminating unneeded bloatware that you can't remove if you remain stock. Also the lagginess has been addressed by overclocking, modding and building kernels that do specific things and of course making custom roms. The Note is still very early in the developmental process, so many things to improve the user experience of the device will become available over the course of time....but it all starts with being rooted.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note LTE™
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i were to root it and do whatever else would that affect the notes ability to update itself when the time comes?
like if i were to put some custom rom or whatever on it and lets say ics came out (lulz) would it still be able to update to it, and would it basically remove everything i did to it
kevinallen4325 said:
if i were to root it and do whatever else would that affect the notes ability to update itself when the time comes?
like if i were to put some custom rom or whatever on it and lets say ics came out (lulz) would it still be able to update to it, and would it basically remove everything i did to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me, if you go the root and custom rom way, you will never install an official update. not because you can't, but because it will be leaked and debloated months before it is official.
i installed saurom. with and ics theme. i like it alot. but i cant get into setcpu or any program that requires root access. which is kind of an issue. no one else seems to be having that as an issue.
I rooted my Note a couple days ago and am still trying to figure out the benefits of doing so. I guess just spend time reading through this forum for the answers. That's what I am doing, but so far I see no benefit at all. The phone does all I want it to do so far. Maybe I am missing something.
Also, When i run quadrant, the scores are consistently lower after rooting the device then they were before. Not sure why though.
You are correct that the Note and newer phones may need no help. Not like two years ago. But, the big advantage to rooting even if you don't want to flash roms is Titanium Backup for app mgt and nandroids or full image backups--imho. The other like mentioned is earlier os releases. I have had ICS on my N1 for quite awhile and is still not on most new phones.
Ken
kevinallen4325 said:
i installed saurom. with and ics theme. i like it alot. but i cant get into setcpu or any program that requires root access. which is kind of an issue. no one else seems to be having that as an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are sure you are rooted, a dialog box with a little Android head wearing an eyepatch will pop up asking if you want to allow the application to have root access. You must allow it here.

(SPH-L600) 4.4.2 Bloatware Safe to Remove List

Hi, does anyone have a list of safe to remove bloatware for the Galaxy Mega (SPH-L600)? Thanks.
Do you know what's the meaning of bloatware in the first place? Then, you sir just answered your own question.
cglegion said:
Do you know what's the meaning of bloatware in the first place? Then, you sir just answered your own question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're having a bad day, don't take it out on me. Post something useful next time. I'm looking to clear as much sprint/samsung apps as I can & trying to find a safe remove list.
No, I didn't have a bad day but I was trying to be honest. You see, you asked a list of safe to remove bloatware in Samsung phone, to tell you the truth the TouchWiz itself is a bloatware and that vary for different people. For me even the stock browser is a bloatware, why would you remove any bloatware at the first place. Do you mean you prefer to use a stock Google app instead such as Notes over S-Note or Chrome over stock browser. Running a pure Android is your best bet to describe a bloatware-free ROM/firmware. Now, why would you take it our on me instead? You wish to remove bloatware but don't have the slightess idea what system apps are bloating your phone then you sir better don't do any god-damn modifications on your phone. Have a nice day!
Knowledge
I'd like to learn how to do goddamn phone modification. I own this device with great potential that, if I'm correct, has been choked off by the service providers etc. for their financial benefit. That's bull.... At the risk of getting an intellectual ass kicking for ignorance, what is a good method for learning about these subjects, what resources are available for study. Please share your wisdom. I'm sure I'm mistaken but it seems your superior knowledge over another gave you the right to be a ****, a **** void of useful information. If the questions are beneath you and waste your time ignore them. I'm wanting to gain knowledge, ignorance, contrary to the "is bliss" school of thought, sucks.
Actually what I was aiming for was to remove as many apps as possible without bricking/softbricking the phone thereby meeting the following goals.
1. Get it as close to barebones as possible. Only needing the "must have" apps that let it function.
2. I really only use this phone for reading pdf's, 3-4 games and watching some youtube help videos while I play, for when I get stuck with a part and to use this phone as a camera.
3. Getting rid of a good portion of over 300 apps that are currently on the phone. Sorry if you may not get it or understand it but it's kindof an OCD thing, if I don't need it at all, it needs to go!
4. I don't have a service plan nor do I want one on this phone, I have another phone for that.
Rob, two wrongs don't make a right. He can post & thinks what he wants. If you don't like what he has to post, don't cuss him out, add him to your ignore list or take it to PM's. I've already tried the cyanogen 12.1 rom from http://www.ionmm.com/ but it has a bit too much battery drain atm and makes my battery heat up way too much, leaving it on and idle sitting on the home screen with a stock install and no other apps installed on it.

To Root or Not To Root

i am buying a new phone, the S8+ to be exact, and there have been a lot of new developments (problems) when it comes to rooting your device. i've been rooting my smartphone devices for over 10 years because i love the freedom it brings (er, brought). Now i read things like Netflix, Snapchat, and AndroidPay not working on rooted devices. So i am wondering what people's experiences have been like. Any regrets? Are the trade-offs worth it to you? Is it worth being able to uninstall bloatware and install custom ROMs if a lot of other features and apps will stop working? i know most of this is personal preference but would like to know more about what other people have experienced.
billybag said:
i am buying a new phone, the S8+ to be exact, and there have been a lot of new developments (problems) when it comes to rooting your device. i've been rooting my smartphone devices for over 10 years because i love the freedom it brings (er, brought). Now i read things like Netflix, Snapchat, and AndroidPay not working on rooted devices. So i am wondering what people's experiences have been like. Any regrets? Are the trade-offs worth it to you? Is it worth being able to uninstall bloatware and install custom ROMs if a lot of other features and apps will stop working? i know most of this is personal preference but would like to know more about what other people have experienced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First and foremost, if you plan on getting a US variant, meaning it will have a SD835 in it, Root is unlikely to come soon for it, This doesn't mean it won't happen, just not soon. Now if we're talking international, the ones that ship with an Exynos in it, they're rootable now.
Now, with that out the way let's get into the questions you've asked. There will indeed be a selection of apps that will not work when rooted these days because of "SafetyNet" check failure. Some of the biggest would be Snapchat and Android pay, However they will work with the assistance of Magisk which will allow SafetyNet to pass it's check, Same goes for most apps that fail to work because of root presence.
Heading back to what I first mentioned now, Rooting a Samsung device of recent years comes with some pretty notable cons to it, These would include loss of KNOX, I'm not sure what your stance on security is but if security is a concern to you, losing KNOX is not good. Another big and notable con is you will lose all Samsung pay support permanently, Actually to be honest both of the latter are permanently lost once rooted. If these things aren't a concern for you then by all means root away.
On to other things now, Rooting these days doesn't present as many attractive things as it use to, especially on a Samsung device. Most OEMS have given alternatives to many of the things a user couldn't do without root before. Currently there is no Xposed on Nougat and above, it's being worked on but there is no foreseeable date that can be given on when it will be completed.
So all in all, Until root is achieved for the Snapdragon variants, I'd hold off on a purchase of an S8. If we're talking Exynos variants then by all means get one, as I've said they're rootable right now. But don't let that be the ray of sunshine, though they're rootable, They're in infact an Exynos and Samsung is unwilling to provide source code to their Exynos chipsets. Which basically means to you that custom ROMs will be limited to rehashes of the stock ROMs with a couple mods if possible, AOSP such as Lineage and others like it are next to impossible to happen on Exynos without​ a source code to work from. It has been done before but the resulting roms took a long time to develop and either were extremely buggy or were just simply not usable for daily use.
I'm pretty sure I've hopefully covered every aspect I could but if you've got any more questions I'll surely answer them.
I apologise for this being so long lol.
Perfect. Thank you, this helped a lot.
billybag said:
Perfect. Thank you, this helped a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I could help, Again sorry it was a lengthy response but it was necessary to cover all of it.

Just curious...

I know the Snapdragon variant has a locked bootloader; but, what are the chances of unlocking it at all by the talented devs in the community? Or, will this device end up dead and forgotten just like the S7 I upgraded from?
noxarcana said:
but, what are the chances of unlocking it at all by the talented devs in the community?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloader unlock: 0.00033%
Root: 6.22%
kcodya said:
Bootloader unlock: 0.00033%
Root: 6.22%
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Figured as much. Probably should have gone with a different phone then, I suppose. I'm just tired of expensive products being locked down so tightly.
noxarcana said:
I know the Snapdragon variant has a locked bootloader; but, what are the chances of unlocking it at all by the talented devs in the community? Or, will this device end up dead and forgotten just like the S7 I upgraded from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocked, prolly not. Samsung is serious about security.
Root? Yeah, I am sure it can be done. There are some recent exploits in 8.0 and 8.1 that were not patched until the March security patch. We don't have that security patch yet so this is a chance there.
Scott said:
Unlocked, prolly not. Samsung is serious about security.
Root? Yeah, I am sure it can be done. There are some recent exploits in 8.0 and 8.1 that were not patched until the March security patch. We don't have that security patch yet so this is a chance there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good, clean root? One that doesn't bring the device to a crawl and needs a ton of workarounds like the S7? Probably sounds like I'm being unappreciative of the work done with such exploits, but I assure you I'm not. I've had plenty of devices with great communities in the past, but I just feel that root is pointless if it isn't 100% stable.
Maybe I'll just start setting aside some cash for the next Google Pixel; or whatever they call it if they don't change the name again.
Inusee to be all about rooting my phones but I haven't rooted my last 2 phones. With the advances made with Android I really can't think of what I would do with root that I can't already do.
vintagerock said:
Inusee to be all about rooting my phones but I haven't rooted my last 2 phones. With the advances made with Android I really can't think of what I would do with root that I can't already do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take out all the Samsung logging and tracking. That's all I want to do.
vintagerock said:
Inusee to be all about rooting my phones but I haven't rooted my last 2 phones. With the advances made with Android I really can't think of what I would do with root that I can't already do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remove bloatware, install Viper4Android, make true backups of my device, along with an unlocked bootloader we can have faster updates through the use of custom roms, better customization options. These are a few things I'd like but can't because some company has decided that it isn't in my, the customer, best interest.
noxarcana said:
Remove bloatware, install Viper4Android, make true backups of my device, along with an unlocked bootloader we can have faster updates through the use of custom roms, better customization options. These are a few things I'd like but can't because some company has decided that it isn't in my, the customer, best interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh. I thought voper4android was always a little too heavy. All of the settings the phone natively has plus 3rd party launchers gives a heck of a lot of customization options.
I'm not trying to down anybody who likes to root. If I could I probably would. I just think those days are slowly fading.
965U Root?
http://androidbiits.com/root-samsung-galaxy-s9-plus-sm-g965u-star2qlte-easily/
vintagerock said:
Eh. I thought voper4android was always a little too heavy. All of the settings the phone natively has plus 3rd party launchers gives a heck of a lot of customization options.
I'm not trying to down anybody who likes to root. If I could I probably would. I just think those days are slowly fading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Nova Launcher and have been using it for several years now; however, it doesn't affect the entire system. I have to use Samsung's themes to take care of settings and the built-in stock apps. I'd much rather have just one method of theming that handles everything; hence my desire to use custom roms.
As far as Viper goes, I can understand why it wouldn't be for everyone, but the built-in Dolby Atmos option sounds like garbage to me no matter what source I'm playing audio through. This is one reason why I miss my Galaxy Tab S 8.4".
xoneatom said:
965U Root?
http://androidbiits.com/root-samsung-galaxy-s9-plus-sm-g965u-star2qlte-easily/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That has to be for the Exynos variant as they're talking about installing TWRP. Snapdragon variant can't install a custom recovery without an unlocked bootloader; which is unlikely for us. However, I think there has been some progress toward a root method (don't quote me on that), but no actual root yet.
noxarcana said:
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Nova Launcher and have been using it for several years now; however, it doesn't affect the entire system. I have to use Samsung's themes to take care of settings and the built-in stock apps. I'd much rather have just one method of theming that handles everything; hence my desire to use custom roms.
As far as Viper goes, I can understand why it wouldn't be for everyone, but the built-in Dolby Atmos option sounds like garbage to me no matter what source I'm playing audio through. This is one reason why I miss my Galaxy Tab S 8.4".
That has to be for the Exynos variant as they're talking about installing TWRP. Snapdragon variant can't install a custom recovery without an unlocked bootloader; which is unlikely for us. However, I think there has been some progress toward a root method (don't quote me on that), but no actual root yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it clearly states that it's for the 965U. I'm just reporting what I read, but I'm no developer or any expert so who knows.
xoneatom said:
Well, it clearly states that it's for the 965U. I'm just reporting what I read, but I'm no developer or any expert so who knows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That it does! I didn't see the 5 at the end of 965U.
Perhaps it's due to a lack of sleep, but I seem to be missing something with these model numbers. 965U shows to be the Snapdragon variant, but all other sources say there's no root method. I'm just going to stop worrying about it all at this point and quietly wait in the corner while the experts take care of business. Lol

Is rooting worth it??

I'm considering rooting my phone but I can't see very many custom ROMs for the s9+, I'd love to get stock android onto it or something a little faster. Is it worth doing?
yes. head over to treble forum here at xda so you could try some more aosp/los based roms aside from the los, rr and crdroid here
Connor1744 said:
I'm considering rooting my phone but I can't see very many custom ROMs for the s9+, I'd love to get stock android onto it or something a little faster. Is it worth doing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not for me, we can use themes and disable many samsung services and apps with a package disabler so me personaly i`am fine. Samsung update frequency has improved so that isn`t an issue for many users also, though some regions may not get as many updates as others.
It's not worth it unless you like the idea of ending with a $900 paperweight.
Not worth it. Disable apps and enjoy your good camera
Not worth it I think. Install adhell 3 which blocks ads and you can remove unnecessary bloatware. And you keep your warranty!
Not worth it, at least for me.
With a rooted device I can't use samsung pay, for example.

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