What's the best way to unroot 4.5.2 and remove gapps? I'm not doing as much on the tablet as before and I'd like to just go back to stock. I do want to back up my APKs first so I can adb reinstall a few that Amazon doesn't have (Marvel Unlimited, up to date version of Trillian, etc) rather than having to dig around for them on apk sites.
Thanks.
You can unroot in SuperSU.
And for gapps and such, just manually remove all the files, or can I just uninstall the various apps using the native uninstall function?
You can't regularly uninstall system apps, so you'll need to do those things while you're still rooted.
Would it be cleaner to do a firmware rollback/upgrade? I don't mind wiping everything.
Still looking for the right way to remove gapps before I unroot... thanks.
No easy way to remove 'gapps' as there are multiple ways it can be installed each containing a different suite of components. Your best bet would be to disable anything having to do with google. You may need a 3rd party tool to accomplish this (not sure if FireOS shows all installed apps/services). This approach leaves the files behind but effectively negates their function.
You could also replace (overwrite) FireOS via temporary installation of SafeStrap v4 but that involves several hoops and accompanying risk.
Just use something like ES File Explorer or 'System app remover' to get rid of anything to do with Google.
"Just use something like ES File Explorer or 'System app remover' to get rid of anything to do with Google."
Be careful with this approach. If you trash a file that is referenced at boot your device may hang (FireOS is fussy stupid around startups).
Regardless of approach make sure USB debugging is enabled so you can use adb to fix stuff if necessary.
Could I reenable ota updates, remove Google play services, Google play store, supersu, towelroot, upgrade to 4.5.5 or whatever the current version is, and then safely do a factory reset? If so, how do I turn the updates back on first?
On FireOS v4 OTA updates are typically disabled by renaming DeviceSoftwareOTA.apk located under /system/priv-app/. Assuming you followed this process restore that file/filename to reenable updates. Before doing that remove whatever components were added while rooted as you may not be able to do so after it updates.
I would be hesitant to perform a native factory reset as others have reported boot hangs and other anomolies after rooting FireOS v4 and installing non-Amazon components (eg: gapps). Really depends how they were installed and whether system files/permissions/settings got twiddled. As you can not be 100% sure everything was removed/restored the risk remains.
To restore pure stock you'll need to install Safestrap v4, wipe system and data partitions, flash a custom SS compatible version of FireOS 4.5.2 (here) and then immediately remove Safestrap. Your device will update to v4.5.5 (or whatever the current version is) shortly after. Under this scenario a factory reset is not required as a full wipe was done within Safestrap.
While installing and working with Safestrap is relatively safe/easy it is not a brainless process and requires careful attention to detail. Important: Never perform a 'native' factory reset with Safestrap installed!
BTW - towelroot is irrelevant on FireOS v4 (remove the .apk if present).
Ah sorry I meant the cvexxxxx successor to towelroot, it's been quite a while.
Related
Has anyone had trouble using the 'check for updates' feature on the stock B&N App Library? I have a couple of apps that were purchasedfrom B&N and newer versions are available, but I can't get the updates after rooting. I have tried archiving the apps and reinstalling, but the old version gets reinstalled, not the new version. Any ideas on how to get B&N app updates?
Thanks, William
is it roots fault?
If the apps are really worth it to you, you could always use the acclaim.update method to restore before root and then archive the update apps. Then, when you re-root make sure you don't debloat any of the Nook software (if you debloated the first time). Good luck, see if it works.
landonotis said:
If the apps are really worth it to you, you could always use the acclaim.update method to restore before root and then archive the update apps. Then, when you re-root make sure you don't debloat any of the Nook software (if you debloated the first time). Good luck, see if it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used part of your suggestion and found a work around solution. There is no need to unroot the Nook. Simply archive the apps (which uninstalls them) then go back to the B&N app store and un-archive the same apps....it downloads the latest version and installs it. There is one odd thing I discovered.....if you have set a "Password for Purchases" you will have to remove it before it will download the new version.
Thanks for the archive suggestion.
I have unlocked the bootloader of my new AT&T HTC One 64 GB, installed CWM and rooted.
When I started my phone, google play stated that there were updates to a lot of apps (like Chrome, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon kindle etc) which are all system apps. So I went ahead, updated them. Then as usual, I went to titanium backup and integrated the updates into rom/system. I cleaned Dalvik and cahce. When I restarted, google play said again that the same apps are out of date and wanted to re-update them. And sure enough when I checked versions on them, they were the old ones.
So decided to go the "make these system apps normal apps" e.g. move them out of the rom to data, update, move them back to system app directory. Same problem here, after a restart old versions in the rom showed up again.
Then I decided to un-install the apps. When I un-install them through titanium backup, after a restart they are back.
Like a bad nightmare.... Any ideas?
onurd said:
I have unlocked the bootloader of my new AT&T HTC One 64 GB, installed CWM and rooted.
When I started my phone, google play stated that there were updates to a lot of apps (like Chrome, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon kindle etc) which are all system apps. So I went ahead, updated them. Then as usual, I went to titanium backup and integrated the updates into rom/system. I cleaned Dalvik and cahce. When I restarted, google play said again that the same apps are out of date and wanted to re-update them. And sure enough when I checked versions on them, they were the old ones.
So decided to go the "make these system apps normal apps" e.g. move them out of the rom to data, update, move them back to system app directory. Same problem here, after a restart old versions in the rom showed up again.
Then I decided to un-install the apps. When I un-install them through titanium backup, after a restart they are back.
Like a bad nightmare.... Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me :
My ATT HTC One is unlocked and rooted already with CWM no-touch installed.
I installed ES File explorer as well as Titanium Backup Pro and gave both root privileges when they asked for them via Super SU
I can "Uninstall", via titanium backup, all the bloatware apps but when I reboot they come back.
Similarly, through ES File explorer I run the root explorer section and choose to uninstall system apps. I then successfully remove the bloatware, but it again comes back upon reboot.
Are there any other methods I can try or any successful bloatware removals for the One from anybody here? Is it a matter, as another thread about the Incredible suggested, a matter of the kernel not allowing writes to the /system while running? If so, how do I remove bloatware from Recovery?
Thanks!
any we need a kernel that allowed writing to the /system to stop this htc added some new code
It's because the kernel does not allow the /system partition to be modified. You need to flash a kernel that has the security disabled. I'm running the Renovate rom from the Intl One forums and that kernel has security disabled and works fine on the AT&T version
I'm currently rooted and restoring my apps, however it seems like with each new version of Android the external SD gets trickier and trickier. A lot of apps these days use the round about method of having you choose the card to write to via the file manager, unfortunately not all apps do this and one of them looks to be the ever popular Tasker. am I missing the option or am I screwed and have to rewrite all my tasks to write to the internal storage?
another issue is with Secure Settings mainly used in conjunction with Tasker... when I start it up it fails to recognize su and never prompts me via SuperSU for permissions to grant. anyone have any workarounds or fix for this?
lastly, is BusyBox still usable under Marshmallow? i loaded it up and everything seemed fine, but after a reboot Google Play Services, Amazon, Youtube and some others kept crashing.
My observations:
MyProfiles Pro not able to turn data ON/OFF with ROOT permissions even if the root permission is there for the app.
One Power Guard battery app works, but cannot tweak the profiles, it says root needed. I seriously doubt if it really is working.
njaustin123 said:
My observations:
MyProfiles Pro not able to turn data ON/OFF with ROOT permissions even if the root permission is there for the app.
One Power Guard battery app works, but cannot tweak the profiles, it says root needed. I seriously doubt if it really is working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what I've realized is that SuperSU is running in systemless mode, which is causing some issues for outdated apps that were hardcoded to find 'su' in /system. some workarounds are putting a dummy file named su in /system or getting SuperSU to run in /system.
dimm0k said:
I'm currently rooted and restoring my apps, however it seems like with each new version of Android the external SD gets trickier and trickier. A lot of apps these days use the round about method of having you choose the card to write to via the file manager, unfortunately not all apps do this and one of them looks to be the ever popular Tasker. am I missing the option or am I screwed and have to rewrite all my tasks to write to the internal storage?
another issue is with Secure Settings mainly used in conjunction with Tasker... when I start it up it fails to recognize su and never prompts me via SuperSU for permissions to grant. anyone have any workarounds or fix for this?
lastly, is BusyBox still usable under Marshmallow? i loaded it up and everything seemed fine, but after a reboot Google Play Services, Amazon, Youtube and some others kept crashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I learned this the hard way in updating from LP to MM; do NOT restore your apps from a backup under LP. I did that, and was having nothing but issue after issue. Best bet, backup everything not an app, go back to the google play store, and reinstall everything from there. Any apk's you had you installed, install them fresh. I was literally to the point of shipping the phone back to T-Mobile and going to an S7 it was such a pain in the neck. After I learned after the 4th factory reset from LG Bridge, I've never had any issues since.
chernabog88008 said:
I learned this the hard way in updating from LP to MM; do NOT restore your apps from a backup under LP. I did that, and was having nothing but issue after issue. Best bet, backup everything not an app, go back to the google play store, and reinstall everything from there. Any apk's you had you installed, install them fresh. I was literally to the point of shipping the phone back to T-Mobile and going to an S7 it was such a pain in the neck. After I learned after the 4th factory reset from LG Bridge, I've never had any issues since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whenever you do a clean fresh flash Rom at the setup most rooms let you restore all your previous apps from google, no need to go to the play store it does it automatic. If you made a backup just restore the data.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA-Developers mobile app
dimm0k said:
what I've realized is that SuperSU is running in systemless mode, which is causing some issues for outdated apps that were hardcoded to find 'su' in /system. some workarounds are putting a dummy file named su in /system or getting SuperSU to run in /system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. But can you give me little bit more details on that. How can I get SuperSU to run in /system? I checked settings of SuperSU app, but could not find.
Also I tried to create a new file called su in /system with Root Browser of ROM Toolbox, but it says 'failed'
chernabog88008 said:
I learned this the hard way in updating from LP to MM; do NOT restore your apps from a backup under LP. I did that, and was having nothing but issue after issue. Best bet, backup everything not an app, go back to the google play store, and reinstall everything from there. Any apk's you had you installed, install them fresh. I was literally to the point of shipping the phone back to T-Mobile and going to an S7 it was such a pain in the neck. After I learned after the 4th factory reset from LG Bridge, I've never had any issues since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have witnessed this, mainly with Google apps. after restoring the app with data the app would randomly crash... removing the app and installing it from Google fixes it, but I have not experienced this with non-Google apps. I'll keep this in mind the next go around when restoring my stuff.
njaustin123 said:
Thanks. But can you give me little bit more details on that. How can I get SuperSU to run in /system? I checked settings of SuperSU app, but could not find.
Also I tried to create a new file called su in /system with Root Browser of ROM Toolbox, but it says 'failed'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you won't be able to change SuperSU to be in systemless mode within SuperSU... look here for the non-systemless root method that you'll need to flash in TWRP. realize that if you do this flash that it most likely will break Android Pay. not sure if you need to mount /system as rw in Root Browser before you can create files there or if Root Browser does it for you automatically?
I am having issues with the camera in manual mode it keeps force closing
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA-Developers mobile app
after doing some research and from my understanding, the bad news is that it looks like it's up to devs to add the feature of writing to the external SD via the Storage Access Framework (SAF). unfortunately it doesn't look like an easy task, as the developer of Tasker mentioned that he won't be implementing this since the number of external SD users are far and few =( and would revisit it if that number changes.
the good news for those of us smart and brave enough to root our devices, this is solvable via editing packages.xml and adding in one line for each app you want to "fix". this is documented here
justice26 said:
I am having issues with the camera in manual mode it keeps force closing
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
works fine for me here... are you using stock ROM?
dimm0k said:
you won't be able to change SuperSU to be in systemless mode within SuperSU... look here for the non-systemless root method that you'll need to flash in TWRP. realize that if you do this flash that it most likely will break Android Pay. not sure if you need to mount /system as rw in Root Browser before you can create files there or if Root Browser does it for you automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to break stuff like Android Pay though I am not using it right now.
And about putting the file, in ROM Toolbox it says rwxr-xr-x for /system. Doesn't that mean write is there?
njaustin123 said:
I don't want to break stuff like Android Pay though I am not using it right now.
And about putting the file, in ROM Toolbox it says rwxr-xr-x for /system. Doesn't that mean write is there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe non-systemless root only breaks Android Pay because of the way Android Pay is designed, as I believe it needs /system to be "pure". just want you to know that I have not done anything and have left everything as is, systemless root. seems like the only app I had that needed root was Secure Settings, which doesn't look like it will ever be updated anytime soon so I'm trying to ween myself away from that and do everything via Tasker without that plugin. as for you, if you're lucky, write to the apps you're having issues with and have them update it for systemless root. the issue is that their apps were looking for root specifically in /system, but with systemless root the su binary is now in /su/bin. as for putting a dummy su file in /system, I'm not entirely sure that would make your apps work and if it would break Android Pay if you did so. regardless, it doesn't hurt to try as you can simply remove the dummy su file to revert back to systemless. I believe those permissions you've listed for /system does does mean it can be written to, however it has to also be mounted as rw. check that via a terminal by issuing "mount | grep /system". you will probably see a ro in parenthesis or simply try to put a file in there.
dimm0k said:
I believe non-systemless root only breaks Android Pay because of the way Android Pay is designed, as I believe it needs /system to be "pure". just want you to know that I have not done anything and have left everything as is, systemless root. seems like the only app I had that needed root was Secure Settings, which doesn't look like it will ever be updated anytime soon so I'm trying to ween myself away from that and do everything via Tasker without that plugin. as for you, if you're lucky, write to the apps you're having issues with and have them update it for systemless root. the issue is that their apps were looking for root specifically in /system, but with systemless root the su binary is now in /su/bin. as for putting a dummy su file in /system, I'm not entirely sure that would make your apps work and if it would break Android Pay if you did so. regardless, it doesn't hurt to try as you can simply remove the dummy su file to revert back to systemless. I believe those permissions you've listed for /system does does mean it can be written to, however it has to also be mounted as rw. check that via a terminal by issuing "mount | grep /system". you will probably see a ro in parenthesis or simply try to put a file in there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so here is it: I was able to mount /system as rw with the terminal emulator in ROM toolbox and then create a dummy file named su. Rebooted the phone, both the apps still fail. I will write to the developers. For the time being, I am OK turning data on/off manually along with using MyProfiles for other things. And for the One Power Guard, I believe freezing many of the T-Mobile and LG junk using Titanium and having SetCPU with a little bit under-clocking have already made the battery better. So I can wait. Am also evaluating Craig's Root Battery App instead of OPG. Thank you anyways.
I rooted my phone using kingroot before and after removing al root authorization i found that kingroot has been installed as system app
also whenever i open the kingroot app it restarts my phone
how could i completely remove it
there's also the problem of the phone not able to connect to google play store (no connection, cannot login account)
my phone is NTT Docomo Sony Xperia SO-O4E
tried factory reset twice, deleting cached apps data, still doesnt work
a basic rundown on how it all happened :
-uninstall some bloatware from phone
-phone starts to restart randomly
-deleted cached apps data, no more random restart
-remove kingroot root auth and uninstall
-found out that phone cannot connect to play store, also kingroot has installed itself as system app
anonweeb said:
I rooted my phone using kingroot before and after removing al root authorization i found that kingroot has been installed as system app
also whenever i open the kingroot app it restarts my phone
how could i completely remove it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your bootloader is already unlocked, the easiest way would be to restart the phone in fastboot mode, then boot (you don't need to flash it) TWRP and install SuperSU from a flashrecovery zipfile. This will remove kingroot app and running processes (mind you, there may be some dead kingroot traces left over on the filesystem - if you want to remove these too, you'll have to do so from a shell with root permissions). I haven't tried this with the Sony Xperia ZR/NTT Docomo Sony Xperia A (SO-04E), but it seems to work with most phones that are supported by TWRP. I wrote a short guide on how to do this (it's for a different device but these steps should be mostly generic if you have the necessary prerequisites in place).
Another good thing about SuperSU is that if you don't wish to keep root, it will remove itself cleanly and completely from your system (you'll find the unroot option in the apps settings). If however you would like to keep root, then SuperSU is an app that doesn't spy on you and doesn't phone home (I did a thorough check of the shell script used to install SuperSU and a rough check of the SuperSU apk using strings and wireshark only yesterday and as far as I could tell, it doesn't attempt to do anything malicious or touch files that it doesn't need to touch for its purpose, nor did it start a single internet connection by itself). The automatic NVISO analysis at https://apkscan.nviso.be/report/show/99a7841aa3eeaefa69f767602b0c454c confirms this too. Just saying this in case you decided to move away from root due to spyware concerns.
TWRP is an open source project. Their Homepage is https://twrp.me/
The TWRP image files for your device arel located here https://dl.twrp.me/dogo/
SuperSU homepage is https://www.chainfire.eu/ , the latest flashrecovery zipfile can be found here http://www.supersu.com/download
Both projects also have their own sections here on xda.
SuperSU also has it's own sections here on xda.
there's also the problem of the phone not able to connect to google play store (no connection, cannot login account)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was this problem related to the rooting process in any way?
Does your internet access work otherwise?
What happens exactly when you start google play?
hi, thank you for the reply
the phone has only been rooted once with kingroot app, which i have removed (both the supposed app and the root auth), but kingroot app installed itself as system app without my permission and whenever i open the app my phone reboots
i'll try looking for ways to flash the phone
as for the play store, it always show the no connection screen even though i can browse the internet without any problem
i tried following the steps from google help page but it doesnt seem to do anything
i'm thinking that the hosts.txt file cause this so im trying to delete it, but i found no other way to delete it without rerooting my phone
i tried factory reset twice but it doesnt seem to help either
thanks before and sorry for the late reply
EDIT : i dont think i can unlock the bootloader officially so i need an exploit
anonweeb said:
EDIT : i dont think i can unlock the bootloader officially so i need an exploit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/QUOTE]
In that case, you will have to root first. Once having gained root access you can unlock the bootloader. To root, you can either use the kingroot app you used before (not much to loose, since you already installed it and its spyware the first time, and you will later be able to remove it with SuperSU). Or you can try towelroot, although if your smartphone has seen firmware updates, that will propably no longer work. There may be other, more current options - search trough the Xperia ZR Section.
Once you have root, you can use adb and fastboot to boot the latest TWRP for Sony Xperia ZR, then install the latest SuperSU recovery flashable zip. Using that you can completely remove Kingroot even as a system app and afterwards remove SuperSU itself, which will cleanly uninstall itself via Settings.
Code:
as for the play store, it always show the no connection screen even though i can browse the internet without any problem
i tried following the steps from google help page but it doesnt seem to do anything
i'm thinking that the hosts.txt file cause this so im trying to delete it, but i found no other way to delete it without rerooting my phone
i tried factory reset twice but it doesnt seem to help either
I would try the above first, see if the playstore works again after you SuperSU has completely removed Kingroot (reboot), and if it doesn't take a look at the hosts file. Then uninstall SuperSU when you don't need root anymore...
I can help along with adb/fastboot commands, but you need to root your device first (and install the necessary drivers for your phone on your computer).
Good luck!
After successfully having flashed the stock firmware for this phone, installed TWRP, and installing the Xposed framework, I thought I would share what I did.
First, I ODIN'D the 4.4.2 firmware, generously hosted by Tsar3000 at:
http://www.tsar3000.com/Joomla/inde...ini AT&T Firmwares&catid=55:samsung&Itemid=82
Secondly, I used kingoroot apk to root the phone, which worked the first time.
EDITED PART: you need to download SElinux changer and set it to permissive after rooting and before doing anything else.
Third, I downloaded the safestrap(TWRP) apk for this phone at:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24499762636000015
And then, the Xposed Installer:
http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.installer
Then finally, I used the recovery flashable zip to install SuperSU(Version 2.79):
http://www.supersu.com/download
EDIT TWO: BEFORE DEBLOATING, USE SAFESTRAP TO REBOOT TO RECOVERY THEN BACKUP YOUR ROM. I was able to use System app safe remover to get the total down from over 200 to 48 apps with no failure. Be careful though.. Removing certain key modules is causing home button malfunctioning after removing.
From there, use System App Safe Remover to remove Kingoroot and it's own SuperUser app.
FOR SCREENSHOTS, CHECK ATTACHMENTS.(taken after I de-bloated)
System App Safe Remover
I followed all the steps as stated in the OP with great success, but the only part I'm confused about is the System app remover utility. Is that found on the Play Store, or is it built into the Superuser app we flash in the recovery. You'll have to forgive me I am pretty rusty when it comes to Android. It's what happens when you become dependent on iOS for so long.