New owner needs advice regarding root or not - Xperia Z5 Compact Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys. I purchased this device a couple of weeks ago. I am not a power user of mobile devices. To give you an example what I mean, right now I have the device unplugged for 122 hours and still have 51% of battery left.
I had rooted all my previous devices for 2 main reasons: a) For changing font type and b) Installing Lucky Patcher (just to get rid of annoying ads). I noticed that rooting Z5c is quite a mess. And in my case (MM, 32.1.A.1.185) needs downgrading also which adds more to the messy puzzle.
So, all I want to do for now is to use Travel font from my previous LG G2 device as my system font, and a hint maybe on how to (safely-successfully) get rid of these ads that they are everywhere.
Is rooting the way to go or there is still a chance without rooting?
Thanks guys.
P.S. Here is the zip file with the font, in case someone has the knowledge to try and mess around a little bit with the system settings and tell me if I can do it without rooting.

To get rid of the ads you could try Adguard, which worked pretty well for me without root.

You cannot change system font without root. Current issue is when you root, you might lose DRM keys (unless you back up first) and unusual battery drain even in deep sleep. There's a thread in Z5C General discussing about this issue.
I recommend Adguard too for blocking ads on phone without root.

Thanks guys. The only application that appears to do a good job is Webguard. Let's see how it behaves.

Related

[Q] Rooting the Galaxy S4 on 4.3 with VROOT - Is it safe yet?

I'm very sad to admit that I updated from 4.2.2 to 4.3 on my Verizon Galaxy S4 and lost root. I made the terrible assumption that someone would root 4.3 quickly after release, but didn't want to wait to see the updates. So far, the only two solutions are:
1. Root on 4.2.2 and upgrade through this method
2. Use VROOT to root stock 4.3
This thread and this article both make me VERY wary of using VROOT, but this seems to be the only option once you do the OTA update.
Has there been any additional investigation into VROOT? Is it safe to use again, or is it a lost cause?
As of right now, that is the only option that I am aware of. I am no dev, but I have been tinkering with my phones for quite some time. I personally have not encountered a single ill effect from using vroot. There is a script which completely wipes it off your phone and installs the supersu app. Ultimately, it is up to you...I did it and I'd do it again. No ill effects what so ever and it's been a few weeks-nothing wonky to report.
bjoostema said:
As of right now, that is the only option that I am aware of. I am no dev, but I have been tinkering with my phones for quite some time. I personally have not encountered a single ill effect from using vroot. There is a script which completely wipes it off your phone and installs the supersu app. Ultimately, it is up to you...I did it and I'd do it again. No ill effects what so ever and it's been a few weeks-nothing wonky to report.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really on the fence... My fear is that I don't want to compromise my Google Account, since my whole life goes through that thing. Did you find that hidden app was installed after using VROOT?
Why is there yet another thread asking the SAME question about rooting MJ7??????
Read the other threads...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47566483
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2535416
thethotbot said:
I'm really on the fence... My fear is that I don't want to compromise my Google Account, since my whole life goes through that thing. Did you find that hidden app was installed after using VROOT?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a single thing was different on my phone. There were even some folks who ran an md5 checksum on all apps and reported that nothing was altered what so ever on any system level. I understand your concern, it took me a couple weeks before finally doing it. I really weighed it out and decided that root was important to me. Also, a good dev on the forums did it with no ill effects. I have faith in him and thus far, nothing has happened. I don't want to push you into it though. I don't even worry about it anymore since the script wipes all traces of the chinese superuser app off the phone.
bjoostema said:
Not a single thing was different on my phone. There were even some folks who ran an md5 checksum on all apps and reported that nothing was altered what so ever on any system level. I understand your concern, it took me a couple weeks before finally doing it. I really weighed it out and decided that root was important to me. Also, a good dev on the forums did it with no ill effects. I have faith in him and thus far, nothing has happened. I don't want to push you into it though. I don't even worry about it anymore since the script wipes all traces of the chinese superuser app off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same thing. My life runs through my google account and I was very weary. I dont see anything strange occurring and ran malware scans on both the PC and phone and didnt find any trojans. I am assuming it is safe with the removal script posted on Rootjunky.com
I'm going for it.
Alright.... I just did it. I used Sandboxie on my computer to temporarily install the Chinese program (just to be safe), and everything on my phone now looks like it's fine. I'll keep a close eye on my accounts, and have enabled Two Step Authorization on my Google Account. I'll still be super bummed out if it ends up VROOT is collecting personal data, but I just couldn't bring myself to wait for root any longer.
I'm curious to know if the developers of vroot have removed the data mining features from the more recent versions?

[Q] storage problems acer e2 liquid

hey i am new to android and got myself a acer liquid e2 as was told it was a good phone for the price etc, i do find this phone very surprising and i am totally happy with it apart from 1 problem i come across about 20 times a day, "storage space" i have plenty of space on my sd card it is the phone that is the problem, and every day i need to keep clearing my data and cache as it shuts all my emails etc down when the space has run out which is annoying when it is servral times a day, i have apps on my phone which i dont use and dont need but cant delete these, ive been reasearching this now for a few weeks and everything that i have came across says root and delete, its not that simple is it? i would say that i can be quite good at this sort of stuff as ive made quite alot of my stuff to operate the way i want it, but every time i see anything about rooting it always say your phone can be bricked and i cant afford it to be bricked, i need it beleive it or not, anyway this site seems to have alot of very brainy and smart people on it, hence why i joined :good: can anyone help me with this problem, easy and safest way, will be most appreciated, i was just about to go down the kingo app way but decided to do more reasearch on it before hand and that has put me off it as people are saying there is stuff about spy cams and malware etc iplease help thanks. oh i ment to say i manage to turn my developer options on by total mistake and playing around with my phone so i have that on , if that helpsnetwork 3 in uk cheers guys.:cyclops: p.s. i have jelly bean 4.2.2
bazzaboy1 said:
hey i am new to android and got myself a acer liquid e2 as was told it was a good phone for the price etc, i do find this phone very surprising and i am totally happy with it apart from 1 problem i come across about 20 times a day, "storage space" i have plenty of space on my sd card it is the phone that is the problem, and every day i need to keep clearing my data and cache as it shuts all my emails etc down when the space has run out which is annoying when it is servral times a day, i have apps on my phone which i dont use and dont need but cant delete these, ive been reasearching this now for a few weeks and everything that i have came across says root and delete, its not that simple is it? i would say that i can be quite good at this sort of stuff as ive made quite alot of my stuff to operate the way i want it, but every time i see anything about rooting it always say your phone can be bricked and i cant afford it to be bricked, i need it beleive it or not, anyway this site seems to have alot of very brainy and smart people on it, hence why i joined :good: can anyone help me with this problem, easy and safest way, will be most appreciated, i was just about to go down the kingo app way but decided to do more reasearch on it before hand and that has put me off it as people are saying there is stuff about spy cams and malware etc iplease help thanks. oh i ment to say i manage to turn my developer options on by total mistake and playing around with my phone so i have that on , if that helpsnetwork 3 in uk cheers guys.:cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately removing the preloaded apps won't help your storage issues at all. Those apps are located in a different part of the system (/system/app) than the apps and data (/data/app + /data/data) that you add. You can (if rooted) move apps to the /system/app partition, but they don't always work or update correctly from there as it requires special permissions to run from there. But there really isn't much to do besides rooting it and doing some modifications to your set up. They don't call em budget phones for nothing.
Options include swapping the internal and external mount points so it reads your external as your main internal storage, creating a partition on your external and using a script to link your /data/app and/or /data/data folders to that partition so it reads as one big space (however big you make that partition), or using an app like Folder Mount to create a link between big folders on the internal to the external (mostly helpful for big game data). All of these require a bit of knowledge, but nothing that some time and reading can't help you with. It is not exactly rocket science. Knowing what update you are on though is important, both so you pick the right rooting method (there are multiple options if not on 4.2.2 yet) as well as, if, worst case happens, you know what version of the software you need to reload. You can find this info under Settings / About Phone. Make note of not just the android version, but the build or system version as well as there can be mini updates to software that changes things but not the actual android version.
As far as Kingo, I've never read anything other than hearsay about any potential malicious activity on their part. The reason you see most people freaking out about it is because when it first was introduced, it was known to send IMEI info back to their servers in China. Kingo never tried to hide the fact, explained their position about why they were doing it (diagnostics), and promptly changed how that was done. Now, by nature of what it is doing (root = gaining admin access to the operating system), it needs to download closed sourced scripts and files to gain this access . They don't want to disclose their sources for 2 reasons: 1) if the manufacturers of the phones that don't want it rooted see how it is done, then it's much easier to patch that on the next update and 2) so other people don't steal their work. Makes sense to me, but some people are concerned about closed sources (even though many apps already installed or that you download are closed source as well). I've used it on quite a few devices and have never had problems. You can uninstall the companion app it installs (it does this for some devices to help gain access through a backdoor) and update the SuperSU app and binary it installs via the Play Store, so don't really see it as an issue.
bazzaboy1 said:
hey i am new to android and got myself a acer liquid e2 as was told it was a good phone for the price etc, i do find this phone very surprising and i am totally happy with it apart from 1 problem i come across about 20 times a day, "storage space" i have plenty of space on my sd card it is the phone that is the problem, and every day i need to keep clearing my data and cache as it shuts all my emails etc down when the space has run out which is annoying when it is servral times a day, i have apps on my phone which i dont use and dont need but cant delete these, ive been reasearching this now for a few weeks and everything that i have came across says root and delete, its not that simple is it? i would say that i can be quite good at this sort of stuff as ive made quite alot of my stuff to operate the way i want it, but every time i see anything about rooting it always say your phone can be bricked and i cant afford it to be bricked, i need it beleive it or not, anyway this site seems to have alot of very brainy and smart people on it, hence why i joined :good: can anyone help me with this problem, easy and safest way, will be most appreciated, i was just about to go down the kingo app way but decided to do more reasearch on it before hand and that has put me off it as people are saying there is stuff about spy cams and malware etc iplease help thanks. oh i ment to say i manage to turn my developer options on by total mistake and playing around with my phone so i have that on , if that helpsnetwork 3 in uk cheers guys.:cyclops: p.s. i have jelly bean 4.2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
es0tericcha0s said:
Unfortunately removing the preloaded apps won't help your storage issues at all. Those apps are located in a different part of the system (/system/app) than the apps and data (/data/app + /data/data) that you add. You can (if rooted) move apps to the /system/app partition, but they don't always work or update correctly from there as it requires special permissions to run from there. But there really isn't much to do besides rooting it and doing some modifications to your set up. They don't call em budget phones for nothing.
Options include swapping the internal and external mount points so it reads your external as your main internal storage, creating a partition on your external and using a script to link your /data/app and/or /data/data folders to that partition so it reads as one big space (however big you make that partition), or using an app like Folder Mount to create a link between big folders on the internal to the external (mostly helpful for big game data). All of these require a bit of knowledge, but nothing that some time and reading can't help you with. It is not exactly rocket science. Knowing what update you are on though is important, both so you pick the right rooting method (there are multiple options if not on 4.2.2 yet) as well as, if, worst case happens, you know what version of the software you need to reload. You can find this info under Settings / About Phone. Make note of not just the android version, but the build or system version as well as there can be mini updates to software that changes things but not the actual android version.
As far as Kingo, I've never read anything other than hearsay about any potential malicious activity on their part. The reason you see most people freaking out about it is because when it first was introduced, it was known to send IMEI info back to their servers in China. Kingo never tried to hide the fact, explained their position about why they were doing it (diagnostics), and promptly changed how that was done. Now, by nature of what it is doing (root = gaining admin access to the operating system), it needs to download closed sourced scripts and files to gain this access . They don't want to disclose their sources for 2 reasons: 1) if the manufacturers of the phones that don't want it rooted see how it is done, then it's much easier to patch that on the next update and 2) so other people don't steal their work. Makes sense to me, but some people are concerned about closed sources (even though many apps already installed or that you download are closed source as well). I've used it on quite a few devices and have never had problems. You can uninstall the companion app it installs (it does this for some devices to help gain access through a backdoor) and update the SuperSU app and binary it installs via the Play Store, so don't really see it as an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow thanks very much, a was not exspecting that reply and so quickly, so thanks , well as i said i am new to the android, and the whole rooting thing makes me nervous as i havent done it before, and i dont want to break my phone, i do know there is always a risk in anything really, but would like to know if possible the best for my phone, i am on jelly bean 4.2.2 and kernel 3.4.5 and is it the build number you need or the custom build version? also i dont know if this is important but i actually dont have wifi and use the usb tethering for my pc to get online, is it still possible to do it this way? cheers
bazzaboy1 said:
Wow thanks very much, a was not exspecting that reply and so quickly, so thanks , well as i said i am new to the android, and the whole rooting thing makes me nervous as i havent done it before, and i dont want to break my phone, i do know there is always a risk in anything really, but would like to know if possible the best for my phone, i am on jelly bean 4.2.2 and kernel 3.4.5 and is it the build number you need or the custom build version? also i dont know if this is important but i actually dont have wifi and use the usb tethering for my pc to get online, is it still possible to do it this way? cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2518094
That's a guide with everything you should need to fix the phone if anything were to happen or to just return it to it's original state if wanted / needed. Read through the thread a bit and see where other members were having trouble and the solutions to those. If you get comfortable with that and how it works, then modding your phone becomes much less scary. And once you are rooted, tethering is even better because you can typically hide your activity much more. I don't know if it is a big deal with carriers around where you live, but here, most people have to pay for tethering or make sure to have special plans that typically cost more than ones that don't include it.
es0tericcha0s said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2518094
That's a guide with everything you should need to fix the phone if anything were to happen or to just return it to it's original state if wanted / needed. Read through the thread a bit and see where other members were having trouble and the solutions to those. If you get comfortable with that and how it works, then modding your phone becomes much less scary. And once you are rooted, tethering is even better because you can typically hide your activity much more. I don't know if it is a big deal with carriers around where you live, but here, most people have to pay for tethering or make sure to have special plans that typically cost more than ones that don't include it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much!! a will go have a look at the thread just now, really appreciate your help and time, thanks

How to root Sony Xperia Z2 5.1.1 23.4.A.1.232

I own a Xperia Z2 D6502 with android 5.1.1 and build number 23.4.A.1.232 which I would like to root. I have never rooted any of my phones before so I dont know anything about it. After spending much time on this forum I found this link but I am not sure if these are the right instructions for my xperia Z2 5.1.1 23.4.A.1.232.
What I understood after reading this article was that after following these instructions I would have a rooted lollipop 5.1.1 version on my phone. However I dont want this. I want any suitable(which makes my phone faster and doesnt affect camera quality) rom(I dont know much about them either) with KitKat on my xperia device.
Can anyone please help me to achieve the above with all the detailed steps as I am totally new to this?
Any help will be highly appreciated.
Follow that guide but in step 3 (Then flash the latest*23.4.A.0.546*zip file, which is pre rooted) flash your kitkat rom or whatever you want. Look in the dev section.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
o0 Matt 0o said:
Follow that guide but in step 3 (Then flash the latest*23.4.A.0.546*zip file, which is pre rooted) flash your kitkat rom or whatever you want. Look in the dev section.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank You so much. Can you please suggest me a ROM? And provide a download link?
berbatov93 said:
Thank You so much. Can you please suggest me a ROM? And provide a download link?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM you'll prefer is a personal thing, so read about the different ones, look at any pictures and try one. While looking and researching them you'll find the download links.
Having said that I'm just running a rooted version of the Sony 5.1.1 ROM, version 23.4.A.1.232 and quite like it. Sure it has a heap of apps I don't use but I'm not out of space and everything works.
I've got a few different devices with different builds of AOSP based ROMs on them, it varies as the developers for different devices vary so you end up using what's available for your device.
Given you've never rooted your phone before I'm not sure all of the advanced options of some of the ROMs will do much for you, you can spend hours and hours setting things up how you want and then another update turns up and they don't all handle dirty flashes well.
Why do you want root access and what are you expecting it to do for you?
Cluey said:
Which ROM you'll prefer is a personal thing, so read about the different ones, look at any pictures and try one. While looking and researching them you'll find the download links.
Having said that I'm just running a rooted version of the Sony 5.1.1 ROM, version 23.4.A.1.232 and quite like it. Sure it has a heap of apps I don't use but I'm not out of space and everything works.
I've got a few different devices with different builds of AOSP based ROMs on them, it varies as the developers for different devices vary so you end up using what's available for your device.
Given you've never rooted your phone before I'm not sure all of the advanced options of some of the ROMs will do much for you, you can spend hours and hours setting things up how you want and then another update turns up and they don't all handle dirty flashes well.
Why do you want root access and what are you expecting it to do for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just want to explore and learn things. Some problems I face with xperia Z2 are wifi connectivity, my voice isnt clear to other side while on call, low battery life and runs slow given its hardware specifications.
Cant you unistall the apps which occupy your memory given your device is rooted?
And what if I dont update my device?
I also read about losing my drm keys after flashing, though I didnt understand completely what it meant.
I want to install rooted version of Sony 4.4.4 rom but after searching the forum I cant decide which one I should download. Please help.
Cluey said:
Which ROM you'll prefer is a personal thing, so read about the different ones, look at any pictures and try one. While looking and researching them you'll find the download links.
Having said that I'm just running a rooted version of the Sony 5.1.1 ROM, version 23.4.A.1.232 and quite like it. Sure it has a heap of apps I don't use but I'm not out of space and everything works.
I've got a few different devices with different builds of AOSP based ROMs on them, it varies as the developers for different devices vary so you end up using what's available for your device.
Given you've never rooted your phone before I'm not sure all of the advanced options of some of the ROMs will do much for you, you can spend hours and hours setting things up how you want and then another update turns up and they don't all handle dirty flashes well.
Why do you want root access and what are you expecting it to do for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hijack the tread.... Did you have "full root"?
I think i'm having issues on SELinux or mounting permissions.
I can't remove system apps( w/ root uninstaller ), or change system files.
I manually changed selinux (su -c "setenforce 0"), solve it but was not persistent. Installed SELinuxmodechanger, but i think it's not fully working after reboot...
clawpt said:
Sorry to hijack the tread.... Did you have "full root"?
I think i'm having issues on SELinux or mounting permissions.
I can't remove system apps( w/ root uninstaller ), or change system files.
I manually changed selinux (su -c "setenforce 0"), solve it but was not persistent. Installed SELinuxmodechanger, but i think it's not fully working after reboot...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have nuts deul recovery installed? Thats meant to disable RIC during boot to make /system rw, allowing you to remove system apps.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
berbatov93 said:
I just want to explore and learn things. Some problems I face with xperia Z2 are wifi connectivity, my voice isnt clear to other side while on call, low battery life and runs slow given its hardware specifications.
Cant you unistall the apps which occupy your memory given your device is rooted?
And what if I dont update my device?
I also read about losing my drm keys after flashing, though I didnt understand completely what it meant.
I want to install rooted version of Sony 4.4.4 rom but after searching the forum I cant decide which one I should download. Please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep reading mate. If you lose the DRM keys you can't get them back without a backup, you can't use ones someone else backed up either.
I can uninstall some of the preinstalled apps if I want but as I haven't run out of space I haven't yet. I'm also interested in seeing what Sony does with them, some I'll not use and others I glance at.
Battery life is pretty impressive for me but it varies with how you use your device. I play Ingress and if I'm out playing I get five hours, that's with the screen on, GPS and data going. Not many phones can do that.
Calls are normally clear although I've noticed that if I'm lying on my bed talking it doesn't cope very well, I have to twist my head so the ear I'm using is away from the pillow. I assume it's because the noise cancelling microphone is on the top and gets confused/muffled as when I move my head it's great. I've had people comment on how clear I sound on this phone.
I've not had any trouble with WiFi and haven't felt the phone is slow. So how are you determining that your device is slow? What is it doing which makes you feel it is slow?
Not sure what you mean by not updating your device. If you mean not updating the ROM nothing really happens but as time passes there is a greater chance that apps will stop working, it depends on what you use and if the makers of them what a minimum Android version for them. Also if there are security flaws the longer you used an unpatched device the greater the chance that you'll get compromised. It is quite irritating that we're not fully patched for Stagefright yet.
As for the original question about how to root this ROM version, the short answer is, you can't. Well not yet that I've seen.
To root the phone you have to downgrade, gain root and then upgrade to what you want to run while keeping root. You found the guide already, follow it. If you don't understand or aren't confident about doing it I'd suggest not doing it. If it's your only device and primary phone is it worth breaking it and being without a phone?
If you want to learn about Android devices in general pick up a cheap device to play with and learn on, the Z2 is still quite expensive. You could probably pick up one with a broken screen pretty cheaply online, as long as you can read the screen you can play around and learn on it. Just plug a mouse in if the digitiser doesn't work.
I used a stock Samsung GS2 for years while reading about things, then I got a tablet and started playing with that as it was just inconvenient to me if I broke it, I still had a working phone.
@clawpt I'm not sure what you mean by "full root". I can uninstall things if I want though, perhaps Matt's reply will help you.
o0 Matt 0o said:
Do you have nuts deul recovery installed? Thats meant to disable RIC during boot to make /system rw, allowing you to remove system apps.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I'm using "Z2-lockeddualrecovery2.8.x-RELEASE.flashable.zip". I'm on unlocked bootloader, maybe i need to use the other variant (i'm on stock kernel, should not be a problem)?
Cluey said:
@clawpt I'm not sure what you mean by "full root". I can uninstall things if I want though, perhaps Matt's reply will help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meaning that you also have rw permissions.
I can't delete system apps, i can't modify/create a file at "/".
Cluey said:
Keep reading mate. If you lose the DRM keys you can't get them back without a backup, you can't use ones someone else backed up either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try to back them up given they are still there because I already rooted my phone to pre rooted stock rom 5.1.1 as mentioned in the guide I found.
Calls are normally clear although I've noticed that if I'm lying on my bed talking it doesn't cope very well, I have to twist my head so the ear I'm using is away from the pillow. I assume it's because the noise cancelling microphone is on the top and gets confused/muffled as when I move my head it's great. I've had people comment on how clear I sound on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I have hardware issues or network problems as people usually complain about my voice being not clear.
I've not had any trouble with WiFi and haven't felt the phone is slow. So how are you determining that your device is slow? What is it doing which makes you feel it is slow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes my device doesnt connect to saved wifi networks automatically, I have to connect it manually.
If I open too many tabs in my chrome browser, chrome crashes. Sometimes dialer also takes too much time to open.
Not sure what you mean by not updating your device. If you mean not updating the ROM nothing really happens but as time passes there is a greater chance that apps will stop working, it depends on what you use and if the makers of them what a minimum Android version for them. Also if there are security flaws the longer you used an unpatched device the greater the chance that you'll get compromised. It is quite irritating that we're not fully patched for Stagefright yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant update that sony provides. After rooting my phone I am still getting updates from sony(I didnt expect them), so if I update using sony updates will my phone lose its root status(I mean will it still be rooted)?
As for the original question about how to root this ROM version, the short answer is, you can't. Well not yet that I've seen.
To root the phone you have to downgrade, gain root and then upgrade to what you want to run while keeping root. You found the guide already, follow it. If you don't understand or aren't confident about doing it I'd suggest not doing it. If it's your only device and primary phone is it worth breaking it and being without a phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasnt much confident but still I proceeded with the steps mentioned in the guide and with a little help from google, I was fortunately able to root my device. Yes, its the only phone I have but I couldnt afford a new one and I waited too long for its warranty to expire.
Can you please provide me with a source to learn about general concepts involved in rooting like flashing, busybox, unlocking boot loader, etc. I am trying to google each thing individually, but i cant seem to find a place where I could learn things in a proper order, moving from basics to more advanced concepts.
Thank you so much for your help.
I would like you to clear one more thing for me, when I followed the guide, I first flashed my device with 17.1.2.A.0.314 ftf file and then installed flashable_D6502_23.4.A.0.546.zip from the recovery menu. So what is a ftf file and what is the difference between the two steps I followed. In my understanding, both basically did the same thing, i.e., installing a new rom. Is ftf file sony specific?
Thanks again.
@berbatov93 definitely back up the DRM keys before unlocking the boot loader, it was a fairly simple process from memory.
We need more information on the sound problem. Does it happen consistently? If it isn't consistent look for a common situation when you have the problem, like loud noises, high wind etc. Have you used the diagnostics tool to test the microphone? It's in Settings > About phone > Diagnostics.
Thinking about it a bit more, sometimes there seems to be a little pause for people to hear me. I'm not sure if it's phone or network based, I guess it could be phone related while it works out the background noise cancelling magic.
WiFi being slow to connect is a better description than, "my device is too slow."
Sometimes I notice that it hasn't automatically connected to my WiFi when I get home but by the time I notice and look it's connecting. Is that what you mean?
What setting do you have the WiFi on when the phone is asleep? Settings > WiFi > ... menu > Advanced > Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep.
Everything is slow with lots of Chrome tabs open, you could try a different browser or just be better at closing tabs.
I've never noticed any slow launching with the dialer, perhaps your call history is huge? Try backing it up with an app from the Play Store and then deleting it to see if that is the cause. Each time you open it it looks at that to display it.
As you're on a stock ROM it will notify you that there is a new update. If you let it update though you'll lose root and then have to downgrade again to get it back. I just wait for the update to be available through XperiFirm, download it and make a pre-rooted flashable zip. There is a thread about how to do that here. That thread will also answer your question about what you did which seemed like flashing two ROMs, you did but in different ways.
I still don't know enough so I can't answer your questions but it looks like your Google Fu is weak. :silly:
Try this link, it won't always be the top search result though.
There are lots of different summaries about what rooting does for you, I don't want to try and summarise them for you. (I'd rather go to bed, it's 4:30am for me!)
Just reading a description of one of the various Busybox installers on the Play Store should answer that question, I bought this one. I can't remember if a friend recommended it to me or something I read somewhere, but I bought it as I appreciated the effort the developer put in for the rest of us to use. The same with SuperSU Pro.
Bootloaders are trickier, probably something you'll get better answers by reading more or using Google. These days they seem to all be locked with a way of unlocking them from the device manufacturer which lets them record your IMEI or serial number. I assume they do this so if you send it back for a warranty claim they can see you've unlocked it and then charge you to fix something you've screwed up. I've never taken anything back so I don't know.
They're something I have to learn more about too but if you find out more before me please fill me in.
Cluey said:
definitely back up the DRM keys before unlocking the boot loader, it was a fairly simple process from memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should I use this to take backup? And what kind of backup should I take to recover my device from bootloop? I wanted to install xposed on my device, but it was warned somewhere that sony devices might go into bootloop and that I should take a backup to restore my device. What kind of backup can help me recover my device from bootloop or soft brick?
We need more information on the sound problem. Does it happen consistently? If it isn't consistent look for a common situation when you have the problem, like loud noises, high wind etc. Have you used the diagnostics tool to test the microphone? It's in Settings > About phone > Diagnostics.
Thinking about it a bit more, sometimes there seems to be a little pause for people to hear me. I'm not sure if it's phone or network based, I guess it could be phone related while it works out the background noise cancelling magic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It happens most of the time, even when I am in a closed room with no background disturbances.
WiFi being slow to connect is a better description than, "my device is too slow."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was a wifi issue, it just didnt connect automatically, I had to do it manually even for saved networks.
Sometimes I notice that it hasn't automatically connected to my WiFi when I get home but by the time I notice and look it's connecting. Is that what you mean?
What setting do you have the WiFi on when the phone is asleep? Settings > WiFi > ... menu > Advanced > Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It just shows connecting but doesnt connect until select the network. Keep wifi on during sleep was enabled.
Everything is slow with lots of Chrome tabs open, you could try a different browser or just be better at closing tabs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then maybe its a chrome issue.
As you're on a stock ROM it will notify you that there is a new update. If you let it update though you'll lose root and then have to downgrade again to get it back. I just wait for the update to be available through XperiFirm, download it and make a pre-rooted flashable zip. There is a thread about how to do that here. That thread will also answer your question about what you did which seemed like flashing two ROMs, you did but in different ways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I needed 4.4.4 pre rooted stock ROM for D6502 but cant seem to find it anywhere. I read the steps in the thread you mentioned about creating a pre rooted ROM, but steps are not explained in detail for someone new like me. I am also scared a little to try something new on my device as I am already facing a few problems. Can you provide me with a link with much more detailed steps?
I still don't know enough so I can't answer your questions but it looks like your Google Fu is weak. :silly:
Try this link, it won't always be the top search result though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel silly now.
Bootloaders are trickier, probably something you'll get better answers by reading more or using Google. These days they seem to all be locked with a way of unlocking them from the device manufacturer which lets them record your IMEI or serial number. I assume they do this so if you send it back for a warranty claim they can see you've unlocked it and then charge you to fix something you've screwed up. I've never taken anything back so I don't know.
They're something I have to learn more about too but if you find out more before me please fill me in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will sony be able to fix my device in case I screwed up and bricked it?
Thanks.
@berbatov93 I'm sure Sony will fix it if you pay them too!
Hopefully it won't come to that though, they're pretty hard to brick because of the way they've set things up. Even if you soft brick it you can power it off, fire up the flash tool and then hold volume down and plug USB in, press flash and it'll put a base Sony ROM on for you. I've kept the D6503_17.1.A.2.55_Generic AU 1281-9715.ftf file on my PC for just that reason but I haven't had to reuse it yet.
I don't know of any other instructions for making your own pre-rooted zip file, it took me a fair bit of reading and looking at menu options to work it out the first time but it's pretty easy. You won't screw your phone up with it as it will fail before you get it to the phone if you do it incorrectly. As with most things in life you have to learn from experience, just follow the instructions with the programs open so you can refer back to them. You could try Google for better instructions, I'm not sure if anyone wrote something more newbie friendly.
As for the WiFi problem perhaps a different ROM version will sort it out, also you might want to get all your data off your phone and do a completely fresh install on it and see if that sorts it out. The backups people talk about as Nandroids are done from in the custom recovery, have a look in there now you've got it working again. I'm not going to reply to the other thread as I see you did it all again.
I doubt there are any pre-rooted 4.4.4 still around as most people have moved on. There's probably no need to make a pre-rooted one though, one of the root exploits works on it so you could just download, via XperiFirm, the 4.4.4 you want and flash it, then root it. I've never downloaded a pre-rooted ROM as I'm overly cautious, I'm not even keen on using the one click root programs as I can't read what they're doing!
You could call it a Chrome problem but I'd really call it a user problem. Like I said originally you could try another browser and see if it copes better but they aren't really designed to have lots of tabs open. Each tab takes up memory, so you'll fill it all up and then it will start using virtual memory but eventually it will crash. It happens on desktop computers too, I've got 8GB of RAM in my PC but Chrome eats it all up if I open too many tabs.
I don't know what to do about your mic problems in call, I'd take it back to where you got it from and see what they say. But I'm pretty sure you've waited too long as you indicated it was out of warranty which is why you've started looking at root options now. If you've been having problems for a while you should have taken it back before you lost that. It's still worth asking the store/phone company about it though, just make sure they don't go charging you anything to fix it without asking you about it.
You might just have to chalk it up to experience and live with it. Never be afraid to ask for things to be looked at while the warranty is valid, it might be inconvenient but if something needs fixing it's better to use the warranty than pay for it.
The other option would be to use a headset for calls, I picked up an SBH52 and I'm pretty happy with it. As long as you don't lose or break it it will work with whatever phone you end up replacing your Z2 with.

HUAWEI Y538: how to upgrade Lollipop to something usable?

I lucked into a sale on a HUAWEI Y538 smartphone at Best Buy the other day, knowing we have no Boost Network around here for the cellphone service. Perfect!
I just wanted it as a nice little media player and access to my LAN, like my KitKat tablet. Nothing terribly fancy. I rooted it with Kingo, hoping to remove that nag cellphone activation every startup. I have to press Accept, then Self Service comes in and I click the no button. In addition as many of you know, Lollipop has a lot of unwanted background apps running . I spent a whole day trying to tame this and the only good news is that I worked out the factory reset.
My real question is if it's possible to remove that startup nag entirely, but either way, to ask if it's possible to downgrade to KitKat or something else? As a WiFi-only media player Lollipop would seem to be quite awful.
I've been on computers for decades but no experience with Android except my happy KitKat tablet. If some kind soul could be persuaded to help me out, well that'd be really cool.
JoeyTablet said:
I lucked into a sale on a HUAWEI Y538 smartphone at Best Buy the other day, knowing we have no Boost Network around here for the cellphone service. Perfect!
I just wanted it as a nice little media player and access to my LAN, like my KitKat tablet. Nothing terribly fancy. I rooted it with Kingo, hoping to remove that nag cellphone activation every startup. I have to press Accept, then Self Service comes in and I click the no button. In addition as many of you know, Lollipop has a lot of unwanted background apps running . I spent a whole day trying to tame this and the only good news is that I worked out the factory reset.
My real question is if it's possible to remove that startup nag entirely, but either way, to ask if it's possible to downgrade to KitKat or something else? As a WiFi-only media player Lollipop would seem to be quite awful.
I've been on computers for decades but no experience with Android except my happy KitKat tablet. If some kind soul could be persuaded to help me out, well that'd be really cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.techmesto.com/unlock-bootloader-huawei-honor/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...how-to-data-off-shell-command-tasker-t3370783
Well I can't thank you enough for trying, but it seems Huawei changed their procedure. I got the 4 informations required and registered with Huawei. Going to the unlock page changes to Chinese and says too much traffic for servers in English. So I emailed Huawei Mobile support and got the following reply:
Dear User,
Huawei Customer Service is pleasure to be at your service,sorry to bring you the trouble,if you want to unlock your phone, you should meet these conditions as follow:
1.Please register your Huawei ID in our official website http://huawei.com/en/ on your phone.
2.Log in your Huawei ID for continuously 14 days.
3.Each Huawei ID should not apply for the unlock code more than twice within half years.If you meet the information,please go to http://emui.huawei.com/en/ and click the 'download'button to login your Huawei ID other than any other third party ID to apply for the unlock code.Please contact us by mail or local service hotline as following if error message appears.
TEL: http://consumer.huawei.com/en/contact-us/index.htm?tag=hotline
Mail: http://consumer.huawei.com/en/contact-us/index.htm?tag=email
Please submit your mobile model, SN, IMEI/MEID and erro message in your e-mail.We also need to know that your phone is rooted, it can be out of the best working state and part of functions may not be able to work normally. In additon, the system is vulnerable to be invaded by viruses once your phone is permitted to unlock. What's more, for the lacking of fully tested, the third party software will not be compatible with your phone. Unlocking will bring unexpected negative impacts and the device will be not normal, and can not be restored, Huawei after-sales service office will not provide warranty service for your rooted phone, and you may bear the cost. So we strongly advise you to think it twice.
If you have any other problems, please send your feedback to us. We will be at your service to help you to solve your problems.
Once again thank you for contacting Huawei device.
Best Regards.
Huawei Device Customer Care Team 3206
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I 'm reading that right they want me to log in every day for 14 days, which is kind of nuts.
To be fair the phone may possibly be rooted using Kingo (fast boot showed an "unlocked" message which I don't know if that means rooted but probably not boot unlocked), and for all I know that changes some of the information.
So I'm just replying FYI so you know how it went. Maybe I should do factory reset and try again?
Long day I'll go crash and see how it looks in the morning. Thanks for trying!
Joey
Happy here to report a partial solution, 1/2 way there!
If you take out the SIM card inside the phone it only nags once and saves probably 30 seconds of boot-up time. It's a great improvement!
bg260 said:
https://www.techmesto.com/unlock-bootloader-huawei-honor/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...how-to-data-off-shell-command-tasker-t3370783
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the same phone at BB ($10 on sale) to use like you do (unactivated). What you're trying to do is actually super simple. Merely put the device in Airplane mode, then turn back on the wifi (and GPS if you like). You will not be prompted to activate your device. You actually should be doing this anyway as it saves your battery by not having the cell radio constantly trying to talk to the tower.
In case you missed it, there is a firmware update to the phone that can be downloaded via the Emui app on the phone. I'm not sure what all the update affects, but it doesn't impact your ability to use the procedure I described to avoid the constant activation reminder.
I believe this was in response to your question @JoeyTablet
bg260 said:
I believe this was in response to your question @JoeyTablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, sorry, yes it was meant for @JoeyTablet
zerozed99 said:
I bought the same phone at BB ($10 on sale) to use like you do (unactivated). What you're trying to do is actually super simple. Merely put the device in Airplane mode, then turn back on the wifi (and GPS if you like). You will not be prompted to activate your device. You actually should be doing this anyway as it saves your battery by not having the cell radio constantly trying to talk to the tower.
In case you missed it, there is a firmware update to the phone that can be downloaded via the Emui app on the phone. I'm not sure what all the update affects, but it doesn't impact your ability to use the procedure I described to avoid the constant activation reminder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this was in response to your question @JoeyTablet
Remember, quote or mention the member if you want them to be notified.
zerozed99 said:
I bought the same phone at BB ($10 on sale) to use like you do (unactivated). What you're trying to do is actually super simple. Merely put the device in Airplane mode, then turn back on the wifi (and GPS if you like). You will not be prompted to activate your device. You actually should be doing this anyway as it saves your battery by not having the cell radio constantly trying to talk to the tower.
In case you missed it, there is a firmware update to the phone that can be downloaded via the Emui app on the phone. I'm not sure what all the update affects, but it doesn't impact your ability to use the procedure I described to avoid the constant activation reminder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
COOL! Perfect it boots and no need to click anything further - and besides it's less stray microwaves. Also to report Huawei replied and said they accept bootloader code requests at: consumer (at) huawei.com. They say to include IMEI and serial numbers in the email. Both can be found in Settings >> about phone or underneath the back cover.
Where to go from here, I'd also like to disable sneaky RAM-stealing apps like Sprint cellphone and some apps I'll never use, such as most Google Play. Add decent firewall and decent media player, and have a good time!
Recommend root method I'm good to go.
JoeyTablet said:
COOL! Perfect it boots and no need to click anything further - and besides it's less stray microwaves. Also to report Huawei replied and said they accept bootloader code requests at: consumer (at) huawei.com. They say to include IMEI and serial numbers in the email. Both can be found in Settings >> about phone or underneath the back cover.
Where to go from here, I'd also like to disable sneaky RAM-stealing apps like Sprint cellphone and some apps I'll never use, such as most Google Play. Add decent firewall and decent media player, and have a good time!
Recommend root method I'm good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read elsewhere (here on XDA) that folks have gotten root using Kingo root (mostly tethered to a Windows PC and not the app version). Note that this root method often requires you to run the rooting program multiple times before it is successful. I'm not a fan of Kingo after being forced to use it to re-root another device (it took well over a dozen times before root took). Also, Kingo doesn't use SuperSu, it installs a Kingo version of SuperSu which CAN be removed (not exactly easily) but users of the Huawei Y538 Union have gotten bootloops trying to remove Kingo's proprietary SuperSu, so not advisable at this time. Even after rooted you are not able to remove the pre-installed bloatware because of the locked bootloader (which is different than the carrier unlock). To be honest, I've pretty much decided to just not root this device and just install an SD card if I need the space...I'd rather do that than risk bricking the device when (for me) there's really no need. I'm going to wait it out and see if anybody can figure a reliable way to deal with the device without bricking before I do anything else.
If you do root using Kingo, you might be able to "freeze" the background apps you don't want using Titanium Backup. I've read that folks haven't had any luck using TB to uninstall the bloatware, but if you're just trying to free ram it *might* work. I believe the risk would be the device expecting certain apps to run, and if unable it might bootloop/brick. Without a custom recovery allowing a nand backup bricking seems like a real possibility.
Please post your results if you unlock your bootloader. It surprises me that they're offering this, as I thought they only supported carrier unlocking. If you're able to figure out how to trim down the bloat please share.
I'm currently using Google's Play Music app for music/podcasts since I've already got 20,000 song's uploaded and since I can't delete that app anyway. Otherwise I'd just use Doubletwist for offline listening.
In case you, or anyone else with this phone is interested, I ended up purchasing a cheap ($5 delivered) case for this thing. Overall I like the case, but if you have any questions about that, let me know.
Yeah that case is perfect. I might have found the same on eBay searching " Huawei Union Y538 Case Innovaa".
As for Kingo ROOT, I have one hit and one miss to report. The KitKAt tablet it worked and I un-rooted after I got my business done. But the Lollipop phone is another story. I run a really tight ship on the Windows end, and Kingo rooted Lollipop, I got some functions involving root accomplished, but it ended at some point (completely offline except for USB tether to PC).
I factory reset the phone and tried again. Kingo downloaded more stuff and my firewall asked for access to PCAccelerator and acdsee.. The former is considered a virus and the second an image viewing app, which I don't use (maybe it's payloaded who knows).
I don't wish to scare anyone nor besmirch Kingo ROOT's reputation if it's a wholesome rooting app, but advise great caution and use a firewall that notifies things like this (I use NetLimiter on PC).
So I await the boot-unlock code and hope I live to tell about it Thanks a million zerozed99! That case is icing on the cake.
For what it's worth, no reply from Hauwei, and yesterday I sent another SOS asking, if not for boot unlock code, even just a stock KitKat ROM for the Y538. We know that model ran KitKat as well as Lollipop.
It just kills me to see this cute little quadcore wasted with all the bloatware taking up valuable RAM and battery power as well.
Ladies & Gentlemen, distinguished colleagues at xda-developers... Please bear with me.
I started coding on Macs in 1981(1981!). I later went on to 5 years formal education in Computer Science at a decent University, and spent the better part of 2 decades volunteering for low and no income people- those were the best years of my life!
Now I'm on the old side, with some heart disease that has four stents in my heart and the no-fun life expectancy that goes with it.
Now, being a reasonably informed geek, I'm seeing some disturbing things I want to air out in "public" if you'll so allow me.
The idea Hauwei will send you a boot unlock code, I don't think it's true. They make it easy to fill out a form with at least four identifying informations, but I have YET to see anyone receive their code! In my case the form advances to a page written in Chinese! I believe this is a spy device and priced to spy on a certain demographic. The almost perfect unlockability and easy bootlock application with no one reporting being sent a code.... there's a reason.
Granted one thing: I've never owned a cellphone nor did I even want cell access from this. Maybe you've noticed the same thing(s) years ago. I just wanted a little quadcore computer to play around with, to access my LAN and play media, and this has me worried the kind of entities that design such forced options.
Oh well, no luck. anyone else going to wait a bit or should I trash this?
Can't tell you how much I'd like Marshmallow and the evil bootloader out of there for something else.
Lollipop is not so bad IMHO except for the lack of privs to access our own SD cards.
If you hold down the volume-down button and press the power button until the phone starts up you can boot into fastboot mode. I've read here in XDA someplace that there are 2 available builds of TWRP custom recovery for the y6, both work on our phone, tho only one of the builds works fully. I have not tried to install either on my y538 yet, but I will, and I'll let you know what I find out.
If you can get the bootloader unlocked, you should be able to flash SuperSU from TWRP.
I suggest you google the xda guide to fastboot. It is not very complicated.
I doubt we can locate any custom ROM for this device. However, if we can get rooted we can backup stock and then remove all the bloatware. ES File Explorer is great in root mode for managing the SD card.
More useful info: I pulled my SIM out before I fired up the phone for the first time, and when I turned on the phone it didn't download any of the extra crapware from Sprint! I have the Virgin version, and I expected all that stuff to download, but it did not. Also, if you look in the App Manager settings, you will see a few apps which shipped on your phone in the Disabled state!! You may wish to enable Lookout or others of the stock disabled apps. Also, without root, you can remove the Sprint ID app here, and disable any of the Google spots you don't want, like Play News or Play Movies.
This is my first Huawei device, though it's my twenty-somethingh Android, and so far I am very pleased with the layout of the settings and of the notifications tray. This is way liveable, and they allow us to disable most of the bloat.
Good luck!

[QUESTION] Future of Bootloaders and rooting. Custom ROMs and root sensitive Apps

Hi guys,
So after ages I finally unlocked my S7E Bootloader so I could root and be able to do a 'nandroid' backup instead of relying on 'the cloud' which is slow and does not restore my app data. My phone had gotten to the point where typing even was almost impossible 7 out of 10 times.
I used magisk for rooting, went through all kinds of shenanigans and apparently my knox efuse (while burnt) displays 0x0 to apps at least. Hid magisk, hid magisk from my banking app (Juice by MCB if curious) and it still would detect my device is rooted. I removed magisk completely thus removing root and still no go. Nothing I could do it appears (btw if there's a method to determine how a specific app is detecting root, I'd love to know).
So basically now I cannot use my phone anymore with the banking app... nice.
In the interval I was looking also at replacement phones and with the knox situation I was looking to leave samsung. I wanted a nice bump in battery life and camera performance and loved what the p30 pro is offering (still gapps compatible and amazing low light and zoom) even if I'm not a fan of the nano-memory expansion.
Eventually I found out that the p30 pro's bootloader was at one point unlockable then not anymore and I'm like that's a mess.
To me (I could be wrong) there's no way to plug your phone in a computer and backup completely (like an itunes iphone backup) or to do a nandroid type of backup from stock recovery.
I also love ACC (which you can use to charge your phone to 80% and no more). but apparently we're letting apps dictate how we use our phones now more and more.
So my questions are:
1. What's happening with the bootloaders? Are we more and more having locked BLs that mean we cannot root our phones
2. Is rooting (despite all the amazing efforts of magisk & friends) just not going to be invisible anymore to all apps
3. Are custom ROMs going to die off as people are more dependent on their phones to use banking apps (and tomorrow maybe more apps will want your phone to be 'stock)
4. Is there currently no way to trick those sensitive apps to think you're a stock phone, unrooted, etc?
I absolutely hate having to carry around a 2nd phone in my pocket which seems to be the only solution to this problem right now besides just plain not touching the phone's BL and/or rooting
Thanks for reading through guys
little no.5: What's the status of phones like the Realme Pro x2 which seem to bring great value but little to no community support?
I guess I'm talking about the camera system. It seems to have top notch hardware but no proper software, can this be improved substantially in software today, aka a special gcam maybe? < That is likely its own thread sorry

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