[Q] How do I become master of my new LG K8? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello!
TL/DR version:
How do I ultimately gain complete control over my own phone?
Android version 6.0
SecPatch 2016.03.01
Kernel 3.10.49
Build MRA58K
Software US37510b
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 210
Long version:
For various reasons, I decided I needed a pocket portable Android computer, and a cell phone seemed to be the best option open to me. In researching for what would suit my needs and budget, I discovered the local U.S. Cellular store was having a penny promotion for the LG K8 US375 prepaid. Did some research, and decided it was a good deal for seeing if a phone works for my needs, as I don't care about the phone part.
It has been a headache. I am used to PCs. I knew it would have a reserve amount of storage for system files, but I wasn't expecting 50%. Then I installed the programs to do what I wanted, and was left with 500MB left. This won't do. Got a bargain on a PNY 32GB Class U3 SD card, and installed it. I then discovered I had to manually move files to it, only partial data would be moved, and only certain programs would move at all. I tried to find a way to set it to be a default install location like a second hard drive, but found nothing. Best I could come up with is adoptable storage. Which appeared to be disabled on the phone. I would also like to remove files I don't want or need. I talked it over with an online tech from LG, and he basically said I needed to root the phone.
I have spent two weeks, and I don't even want to know how many hours researching here & elsewhere how to do this. I keep coming up with dead ends. Either the method doesn't work for Marshmallow, doesn't work with LG, doesn't work for this kind of LG phone, is known to brick/bootloop the phone, requires programs that have been removed from the links provided, or required unlocked bootloader. Finding how to unlock the bootloader has been about as fruitful as rooting.
I am done researching. I have lost too many nights being sucked into the project to the point I am rereading the same threads without realizing it. I have 21 bookmarks regarding how to do this, and the best I have is a method for unlocking adoptable storage on a Sony phone with the brief mention that it worked on someone else's K8. I haven't felt this overloaded with tech information since I crammed for the A+ cert test. (I did not pass) I know I need to do this manually, I have unlocked dev commands, picked up adb/fastboot, poked around a bit, and I think I can get to the point where I would have a clean boot. Like installing a new OS after formatting on a PC. It's everything that comes after that I am lost on. Please advise.

mageofthesands said:
Hello!
(...) Please advise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not everything can be root.
Try asking the thread Lg 2-3g Tool 9.21 Update. LG G5, ...

Related

[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

Need help "preserving" an SM-G900T in a few different ways

I feel super awkward and a bit embarrassed to ask this question, but I'm asking for help from this community (see last 2 or paragraphs for ask if you want to skip the boring details) and I think I need to explain briefly why to define my ultimate goal and why I even have to ask rather than sift through searches and assemble the steps/versions I need, etc.
My 22 year old daughter died recently (unexpectedly). I obviously want to preserve everything I can of hers, but I'm not firing on all cylinders mentally. I was able take her ThinkPad and virtualize it to my ESX system and also yank and clone the physical drive for safe keeping. But even doing that took me a while (which it shouldn't, that's kind of what I do for a living - I should be able to do that in my sleep, but it took 3 days and a lot of screaming). I was able to access her google accounts, facebook accounts, etc. and preserve a ton of stuff from there.
Ultimately while I would want to do with her phone the same thing I did to her notebook - preserve it virtually so I could examine it without fear of changing/modifying anything, but I don't think the product exists that allows me to virtualize an existing Android phone with apps and everything intact into a PC environment. I think I could install a whole new Android emulator in Windows, but that's not probably what I want.
I had just given her a Samsung S5 SM-G900T running on Ting for her birthday about 2 weeks before she died. It was unlocked but unrooted, it's rare that I would do nothing to the phone prior to giving it to her - but I pretty much just turned it on and handed it over with no custom ROM or anything - mostly because I was pressed for time the day of her party and it was shipped late.
When I got it back from the police a few say ago (they held it for 2 months) and charged it and turned it on 2 days ago, it upgraded from Lollipop to Marshmallow 6.0.1 (baseband is PE1), which was apparently pending. I don't know if that complicates things. It pissed me off, though. I have copied off local photos off and videos and already took control of her Google and Facebook accounts as I mentioned.
My slightly confused brain tells me normally I might install TWRP or CWM and make a NAND backup and copy it off someplace and at least have a restorable copy of her phone. I haven't done much of this sort of thing with phones for a year or two, I don't know what's changed in the latest OS versions and beides, plus I sort of "lose it" a bit, especially going through her personal things.
I'm not an idiot, I'm just not all here, yet. I'm asking if someone can please give me steps to safely preserve an image of her phone (IE, install TWRP or CWM using specific version xxx, etc., using Odin version xxx, etc.) - If I can virtualize it, too, I'd love to know what product does that, but again, I don't think I can.
I don't know why I feel the need to do these things, I just do.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bump. Somebody please help this fellow. This is too important for me to try advising him, I don't know enough.
So even though half my brain is addled, I did some more research and found out a few interesting things, should anyone care to try this. I found there are a couple of open source tools built for android forensics:
Open Source Android Forensics Toolkit
https://sourceforge.net/projects/osaftoolkit/
Santoku
https://santoku-linux.com/about-santoku/
And there are commercial products, , like NowSecureForensics, some (if not most) built on the toolkits I just mentioned. Another is the painfully ironically named (for me, anyway) Autopsy.
This interesting website verified (to me anyway) that rooting the phone and changing access is still fundamentally sound forensically:
http://freeandroidforensics.blogspot.com
And it confirmed there is no way (yet) to truly "virtualize" the phone entirely (unless you are the manufacturer and you have some proprietary software).
For a "live" example virtually, the best you can do is install an Android emulator and restore an ADB backup of an app. This obviously may or may not work if the app is very hardware dependent. But for a simple program it might work fine.
So in addition to rooting my daughter's S5, installing TWRP, and backing it up, I also got my daughter's HTC One M7 to finally power up, and I rooted it and installed TWRP for backup purposes as well. Many of the forensic tools I mentioned will then report from the standard TWRP backups, with no risk to changing the phone. Some want to look at the phone themselves, even offering to root them, which I find more risky.
I haven't found any one tool to fully provide what I need, you need a Windows PC, a Linux PC (or VM), one or more toolsets (each comprised of other toolsets) and then a lot of time/will to really piece together things. I haven't completed the examinations - even typing is harder now for some reason, but should anyone else need this sort of thing (hopefully for different reasons than mine), the above info is a good start.

Help with Rooting, Flashing, & Unlocking Bootloader For LG Rebel LTE (L44VL)

I just bought this phone about 2wo weeks ago, & it's actually not a bad for a Tracfone. It runs on version 5.1.1. But forget specs lol. It's currently not activated, & I'm not so sure if that matters when it comes to the actual process of Rooting. I downloaded KingRoot, but I seen that before Rooting I would have to unlock the bootloader. So I followed the procedures only to stumble upon something wasn't right.. I couldn't put my phone in either fastboot, download, or recovery mode.. No matter what I did. I've tried every guide & forum, but nothing. I finally called my service provider to see if they could figure out what the problem was. They came to tell me that I wasn't going to be able to access those features until I activate the phone. (which sounds really suspicious & stupid) I noticed I can access safe mode. What sounds more suspect is that I have to pay for a plan just to activate it, which I never had to do with a phone before. Nevertheless, to sum it all up.. Is there an actual way around this craziness? I never had to go thru this much to root a phone. I honestly feel like there is no point of having an android without unleashing it's true potential. Please, any help would be great. :fingers-crossed:​
I have the same phone and the same problem. Still have yet to find a way. anybody?
Looks as though Straight Talk (ST) sets it up that way. I have had other straight talk phones and have always had issues rooting their phones. In fact I have never been able to root their phones. Please someone, show us a work around solution these ST phones.
Same on net 10. Think its an lg thang...
activated my phone and have same prob...help
Funny how I have a LG Optimus Fuel that has really crappy specs and can root easily with android kitkat but this phone is lollipop and better specs and newer can't root at all. I think it is more bootloader locked and only ones that are not locked are mediocre to expensive phones from the manufacturer now. My Optimus Fuel is a Tracfone too, just like the Rebel. I doubt anyone is interested in getting this one rooted. I would not mind because when I rooted my Optimus Fuel it let me put my Micro SD Card into exfat instead of fat32, which exfat sound quality is better and boosted volume a couple db. Only thing with Optimus one is that 512mb makes the music randomly skip. So that is one reason to get the Rebel rooted but we are SOL with this device.
Straight Talk is newer than Tracfone, because Tracfone created Straight Talk. Not the other way around. Tracfone has been around the longest.
TrillzUpTheBlock said:
I just bought this phone about 2wo weeks ago, & it's actually not a bad for a Tracfone. It runs on version 5.1.1. But forget specs lol. It's currently not activated, & I'm not so sure if that matters when it comes to the actual process of Rooting. I downloaded KingRoot, but I seen that before Rooting I would have to unlock the bootloader. So I followed the procedures only to stumble upon something wasn't right.. I couldn't put my phone in either fastboot, download, or recovery mode.. No matter what I did. I've tried every guide & forum, but nothing. I finally called my service provider to see if they could figure out what the problem was. They came to tell me that I wasn't going to be able to access those features until I activate the phone. (which sounds really suspicious & stupid) I noticed I can access safe mode. What sounds more suspect is that I have to pay for a plan just to activate it, which I never had to do with a phone before. Nevertheless, to sum it all up.. Is there an actual way around this craziness? I never had to go thru this much to root a phone. I honestly feel like there is no point of having an android without unleashing it's true potential. Please, any help would be great. :fingers-crossed:​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried shutting the phone off, and pressing the buttons after connecting to pc. I don't remember the exact buttons you press. I have worked on a few lg phones before and that was the only way i was able to obtain the mode i needed.
Cannot Root my LG Rebel LTE (L44VL)
I am also having problems trying to Root my my LG Rebel LTE (L44VL) too. My Backup&Restore program of choice is Titanium, but it requires that my system needs to be "Rooted" first. I couldn't find any settings to do this (even when I enter 'Developer Mode'). I've even tried several popular Rooting app tools, including RootKing and Kingo Root (Mobile Version), but they all were not able to Root my system. Please help me with this problem...thank you very much.
At the moment I really only need to backup the critical *system* files, any recommendations?
Looks like this phone is never going to get the root attention it needs. It been out about a year now since release and nothing at all. No one cares about this phone.
Have any of you tried going into developer options and turning on the oem unlock option before trying to get into download mode or anything? Just a thought guys...
As for the optimus fuel,install towelroot. open it, tap the title/symbol 3x, change the 2nd from last digit to "zero". Tap "make it rain". Should root it in literally like 3secs...
---------- Post added at 11:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:43 AM ----------
Worx exactly the same for the lg l41c ultimate 2...
so anybody with this device is jst boned or what?
Is this place dead
Skunkser said:
Is this place dead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No this phone sucks without root though lol.
I've been fiddling with this phone for months, the farthest I've managed to get was a temp root, which is undone when the phone is reset. My theory is that it's possible, if done within the timeframe before the phone resets itself, whether that means pushing files through adb or shell, or flashing a custom Rom. My phone has been through a number of battles, and has seen more bricks than a brick wall..but, I'm still at it.
BlindReaperz0rz said:
I've been fiddling with this phone for months, the farthest I've managed to get was a temp root, which is undone when the phone is reset. My theory is that it's possible, if done within the timeframe before the phone resets itself, whether that means pushing files through adb or shell, or flashing a custom Rom. My phone has been through a number of battles, and has seen more bricks than a brick wall..but, I'm still at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to Share what You did to get temp root ? that may be enough to dump a partition...
Astr4y4L said:
Care to Share what You did to get temp root ? that may be enough to dump a partition...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone is the same as the Optimus Zone 3, or the LG Leon, or the LG K4, however the Optimus Zone 3 seems to be its direct ancestor.
I have successfully temp rooted with kingroot 5.2.2 and oem unlock, problem is a random crash/reboot soon follows which of course flushes all the root.
We worked on this phone and the zone 3 a few years back. Never had any luck with this handset. It's another cheap undesirable that will most likely not see any development for itself any time soon.
_360Root 8.1.1.3
_In Chinese but worked on first try
_360_Root_v8.1.1.3.apk - Android Data Host
My wife Karen gets credit for this find.
360_Root_v8.1.1.3.apk - Android Data Host
You are about to download the 360_Root_v8.1.1.3.apk file on your computer. The file comes as an apk application and the file size is approximately 8.14 MB only. ADH Editorial Staff uploaded this file from Spain on 18/07/2018. The registered Editorial Staff uploaded this file under the Public...
androiddatahost.com

Dragon Touch Y88X Plus 2016 model root help!

So Grandma got the my three kids this tablet and even though it has a sdcard slot you can't install anything to it. I'd like to use Appgr III or Move2SD anything to install more than a few games for the kids. I've tried Kingo root (both from google play and from a laptop) but no luck.
Anything else I can try?
Here are the details:
Model:
Y88X Plus
Processor type:
Quadcore-A23
Android version:
5.1.1
Firmware version:
v.3.3rc5
Kernel version:
3.4.39
[email protected] #3
Tue Mar 22 23:27:08 CST 2016
Build number:
A33_U70_U709HB2C_1605213.20160527
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Sagz
Bright Tab V90-HD is the same
Other than the processor being an A33 everything you say is the same as this worthless tab I have, I was trying to replace an Acer tab that was slowly dying and when I purchased this one I forgot the old saying "if it sounds too good to be true" you know the rest. After trying to research the tablet and the elusive 16GB that it shows but is inaccessible I have concluded that I just wasted $45 that would have been better invested in a better quality item. The only thing I can tell you is if you can afford it to buy a better tablet that looks the same (most of them do) and not say anything to Grandma about the switch this will save you a ton of frustration that I have already experienced trying to make this work, I wish I could give you a ray of hope but I can only save you the disappointment I have experienced.
Hello,
I have two of this very same tablets, that I bought for my girls.
Since it is only used for playing and videos, I removed and disabled all I could, and I even emailed to support in order to know how to move apps to an SD, since 5.1.1 was supposed to be able to do so. They kindly answered and it was like: sorry you cannot move apps to SD.
I must admit this is a huge problem when you have a couple of paid app (like Disney story central) that are ginormous.
So a few months ago I tried to root it with the Kingo Root from my pc and it did not worked properly (root lost after reboot).
Yesterday I was trying to do some updates with huge problems due to the lack of space and decided to give the Kingo Root apk a try. It took a couple of minutes, got the thing done and moved me to a splash screen that suggested me to buy the premium app (which I avoided, since it was about 50% of the cost of the device ). After that I checked everything and it seemed to work, I removed the cleaner that it installed together with the super user, rebooted twice and still Superuser app was showing the device as rooted. A few ads stated appearing on my device, which annoyed me a LOT.
Since I could not install Titan backup due to lack of space (there are several unwanted bloatware preinstalled) and I am a noob with no big rooting experiece, I decided I would study more, went to Superuser menu and removed the root, the apps and cleared system cache in order to gain enough space for CCleaner.
I will probably try again once the new U1 sd cards will arrive.
Obviously I am not worried about IMEI (no GSM or anything) or data, since the tablets usually run under a Kiddoware parental control interface.
I read about some people suggesting to get rid of the Kingroot/ Kingoroot apps and put Supersu, but I am a bit worried about the risk of bricking the device since it seem less supported and exploited than other major brands.
Any suggestion?

Question Help me reverse engineer this mod? How do i get my phone back to stock rom, and regain full control over it? Unroot?

I have a A52 5g and a tab S7+ wifi, that are both remotely controled and monitored, and serve as gateway to my home network and basicaly every device connected to it. I noticed it at first and mew NOTHING related to this, didnt even know what open source was. Since then i have come to understand that, somehow, my phone seems to run a custom version of android, my guess is, built from AOSP and designed to disguise itself as oem samsung ui, but in background enables remote access and total takeover of every function. I have discovered, using total commander, that storage has been partitioned in 2 separate locations, and that one folder in there is called root system file, and filled with data/apk/installkits/etc.. this has me asking for help in 2 specific questions:
Am i holding a rooted device or is there another possibility that creates this situation? I was convinced its rooted untill i read here that root prevents from using samsung pass, secure folder etc.. and those seem to work on mine(or is it a version of those apps?) If its indeed rooted, will it wype everything if i flash it with the stock rom? And should i trust a small cell repair store to do that or learn how to do it myself?
2: i have bought 3 brand new phones since august, and made sure not to use my usual accounts, no use backups, not even set it up near my home wifi, and it almost instantly started self installing harmful software in background. I see no other way for it to link itself to be owned by me at initial setup, but for the sim card, new of course, but with my usual phone number and service transfered to it. Is that enough to make a breach and compromise a new device? If so, what would be different after fpashing the stock rom, if everything reinstalls itself? Do i need to change my number? Change cellular service provider even? I know its an unusual request but im a fast learner, i have compiled lots of technical info on specific apps, ip's, servers, build id numbers etc.. that i know would make more sense to anyone more qualified than me, and i am about ready to try and wype/flash the thing myself, i just would feel better with a little help since i have gone this far pretty much alone, since no service provider or manifacturer actualy feels like this is their problem to solve....
Here you can download firmware for your phone and flash with Odin, which you can also download at the bottom of the page, there are instructions on how to do it also.
Make sure to download correct firmware for exact device you have. There are few different A52 5G models.. SM-A526B, SM-A526U, SM-A5260, SM-A526U1, SM-A526W.
You will lose all data after flashing new firmware. After this your phone will be like brand new from Samsung..
If your device is rooted then that means your warranty is void and manufacturers and carriers are under no obligation to help you.
I'm trying to understand your situation but its so conflicting I don't know where to begin.
For example, you say your device runs a custom AOSP with a Samsung UI. Thats exactly how it actually works. Samsung take the AOSP, customise it with their own functionality, then overlay their own skin as the UI. Theres absolutely nothing unusual about that.
I'm conflicted as to whether your rooted or not. If the manufacturer or carrier has physically seen the device and won't repair it then that would suggest your definitely rooted. If you spoke to them virtually and told them your rooted then they will use it as an excuse whether you're truly rooted or not. The partitions you mention could be the internal storage and an sd card which can be seen non-rooted. I dont know what you mean when you mention a "root system file". Is it an actual folder called "root" or is the app you're using just telling you that you've reached the "root" of the filesystem? I can't quite work out what you mean. You also say Knox-powered apps still work which just adds to the confusion.
You stated you have had 3 new devices and they all self-installed harmful software. To get one device compromised is possible. To get three compromised means your either a high profile government target (which I doubt because they wouldn't be so sloppy as this) or your doing something to compromise your own devices such as continuously visiting dodgy websites.
Flashing will fix things but so would having a new device. The only common denominator is you so either you're doing something wrong or you truly are a government target in which case I wish you good luck!
First let me appologise for the long silence, i cut off most online activity for a while and just read your answers. To clarify, i have not solved my prolem yet. But ill try to explain better what you ask about my situation:
About de os version arobase40 got it right. I Asked google play help reps. And a stock samsung version of android would not trigger googles warning about running a custom version of android. So that point to a modified after-the-fact more than to the fact samsung has their propierary version installed.
About beeing rooted or not, ylwhat you are asking is what im not totaly certajn of, also. I know partition can happen without rooting, its seems to have created a "virtual sd card" since its named as such when sd card slot is actualy empty. About the root files folder, i cant say for sure, all i can say is that its holding a large amount of Gigs that dont get taken into account when looking at storage capacity and usage, and accessing that folder gives me a message that root files cant be access from this device. Does it mean my device had root acess privileges revoked to prevent viewing files that hide what is given control of the software remotely, so i dont find out or have the capacity to remove or alter those files?
What is absolutely sure is that if it is rooted, it wasnt done by me. As for the chance the devices were not factory brand new, 1 of them was not, got it opend box from amazon, a saudi arabia version, but my prkblems had started months before getting it, did not keep it more than 2 months, and all others before and since are 100% pure factory new, some directly from my cellular service provider, as financed device came with 2 year agreement of service,(actualy 2 of them i got this way) and the last one is my tab s7+ i got online directly from samsung canada website, on preorder, delivered on release day.
And lastly the fact i cant seem to shake those persistent leeches, is not from having reckless habbits online, but from having careless and uneducated habbits before that all started, usual older lazy dude stuff, like not changing my wifi password after a ruff breakup with bipolar psycho ex gf, or having only a few passwords reused on most my accounts. I have stopped doing those things long ago now that i know better, but i suspect that i could have been unaware something gettnng installed and staying dormant for a while, maybe? The ex had way more opportunities than needed to do something like this and is more than psycho enough to realy do it also. For having the skills to do it, lets say she has "assets" that can easily get her guys willing to help about that. It may also be coming from somwhere else, but as you say im not a super spy or a high ranking gov. Official. Im not even that interesting, and have absolutely no usable id for fraud or anything, my credit history would raise more red flags then there is in all china. So after so long struggling with this still very active, i cant even think of a rational reason to do so much effort into this, theres nothing to gain, i only can imagine that maybe a twisted mind seeking revege, or with a sick way of amusing themselves could see the point to all that, but i dont realy care. I only want to get rid of it.
As for the way it manages to be so much persistent, i can only see one option left i didnt remove from the process, and its through my phone number/account on the sim card, even a new sim on a new phone, still is linked to my cell service. I did initial setup with only that new sim card, accounts freshely created during setup, with no info or anythink linkable to my previous accounts, and even did it sitting outside, far from any building that could get me in range of a wifi network. And it still was no more effective at staying secure.
Thats why i did not yet try to flash a stock rom myself on my device, because it would, at best, become exactly like it was when brand new, and i know that this is not enough to keep it secure, and that means theres still something im missing in the whole picture.

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