Is it Possible to Fully Format Partition and install drivers, OS etc. on Xperia Z2? - Xperia Z2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
I've been wondering if it is possible to fully format the hard drive on my Z2?
I've had my Z2 for a while and I've been picking compounding software errors from previous bad updates, installs etc.
One for example, before I rooted and unlocked my bootloader, I received an update and my camera stopped working because I denied Google play permission to the camera. I've tested the phone on various OS and Kernel installs and the camera is still working, in fact it doesn't shut down, but it is inaccessible because some file somewhere where I can’t reset the permissions.
I’ve also had various other software errors compromising my screen, battery etc. The same errors tend to keep popping up and it doesn’t matter whether I am running stock or customised kernels and OS’.
Like I said, I was wondering if it would be possible to completely format the hard drive and start with a blank slate, so to speak, where I can reinstall everything from the drivers the phone needs to the Kernel and OS of my choice.
I would really like if someone could please tell me where to start and maybe how this could be done.
Thanks for checking out this post.

Well I would say your suggestion is good but well, in fact, there are some tens of partition on our phone eMMC. Some can be accessible via normal user and root user, such as /data and /system; however there are also some partitions that are hidden from the users and only the manufacturer have the keys and tools to access it, for instance /loader, /fotakernel. So the only way to perform your tasks is to apply for a job at SONY or Qualcomm and use their bunch of development tools.

Thanks for the help.
The Z2 is a great phone unfortunately I don’t like it enough to work for Sony unless I could get a job as one of their very sarcastic and unhelpful ‘specialists’ on one of their forums.

Eddy-Pooh said:
Thanks for the help.
The Z2 is a great phone unfortunately I don’t like it enough to work for Sony unless I could get a job as one of their very sarcastic and unhelpful ‘specialists’ on one of their forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you're already halway there......

You can semi-natively run linux on your phone via Linux Deploy app
It uses the phones own kernel
If you're thinking of windows then thats not realy doable unless via x86 emulation
Sent from my E6653 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Related

[Q] New Viewpad 7

hi, i am new on the forum so hello to everyone. I joined as i have recently been given a Viewpad7 as a present. i only wanted a 7 inch tablet and didnt have the funds for an ipad/transformer etc, they were a bit on the large size.
i have read a bit about the device and have had a chance at trying it out at one of our local shops. it certainly was a lot faster and more sturdy that the storage options 7" device.
i may be interested in rooting the device and have read up a bit about it on various threads on this forum. i get 50% of what is being said but 50% goes over my head at the moment.
i have an htc android phone and one of the things that is really frustrating is the fact that the memory fills so quickly if you add too many apps. i have been told rooting a device will allow more apps as it allows install to the disc rather than the internal memory...i am presuming this will be the same for a tablet allbeit most have a larger internal memory??
i have heard that the android 2.2 is not great with tablets as it is designed really for the moblie phone? is this the case for the viewpad?
i am presuming that a rooted tablet can use slightly amended operating systems with some tweaks?
can anyone tell me what other benefits there are...
Gingerbreak sounds a good one from what i have read as it is based on the android 3 software...
if there isnt a need to root it i will carry on as is but if there are a lot of benefits i might as well root it when i first get it before i load anything onto it...i will have to learn some of the jargon like 'adb shell' to make sure i dont end up with a brick.....what are the risks in rooting and how often do things not turn out better?
sorry for all the questions....
atb
forgot to ask is there a youtube guide to rooting where i could watch someone going through the stages etc
Hi
Here is the link to video guide for rooting viewpad 7 (or variant like mine - commtiva lynx n700): http://www.techofweb.com/technology/root-viewsonic-viewpad-7-superoneclick.html
With rooted system you can actually do a lot of tweaks like flashing altered core, which will give you possibility to overclock a bit, it will also give the ability to install applications which can require root like Titanium Backup (total backup of all applications, their settings and data) and others.
With rooted device you can also change how your desktop looks, changing even notification icons or dialogue windows or buttons.
Then as you mentioned rooting opens a way to use cores which allows you to store applications, data and java machine cache to a partition on SD card (ext2, 3 or 4) and this will give you a way to install lot more apps than on non rooted tablet.
I can see a lot of benefits in rooting tablet, I have done it 2 days after purchasing n700. Installing new roms will not always give you a stable, fast working tablet, there are reboots sometimes for no apparent reason, there is sometimes a lot of fun flashing another rom and restoring all your apps and data and rearranging desktop to how is was.
What are the risks - if you start wisely and flash proper recovery first and do a system backup first - chances to brick your device permanently are slim. But if you start flashing a device with a new rom right away - you may end up with a non working device and a need to find a stock rom. Because before you can flash rom you must flash recovery, which gives you the ability to flash a rom designed for your device. I haven't read of anyone who bricked tablet when trying to root it.
I've heard about some stack with non working rom (boot loop) and asking for stock one. But there is always a way to flash non altered rom for your device (after flashing recovery which is kind of application like bios but without all those options to change device settings).
But behind all this, which is for altered pads lovers just a fun - you will have a device which is far more functional then the stock one.
Have fun
Jaredj
hi...i think i will root it at least, but not sure if i will bother with any of the roms. doesnt look like there are many available for this tablet, although i may be looking in the wrong places...
atb
rooted it...use the one click but it wouldnt do it with the latest so i used one of the older versions and it did it...
now...now that it is rooted can i get rid of any of the clutter like the stock browser and any of the other stuff i wont use as i will download other apps??
will titanium backup copy the whole system for me, i have seen a post about backing up the viewpad but it was using the command prompt and i am not confident doing this...what is the easiest way of doing a full backup in case i brick it??
atb
another question i have is will rooting the pad now mean that i can save more apps onto it...it is showing about 80mb of space left at the moment...if so how do i get it to save everything to my sd card?
atb
Another point....now i am getting into this device. i have copied some of my films onto disc to put in this... some mp4 some h.264 [i think] files both with mp3 audio but the player on the viewpad just says it cant play them...it hasnt opened any video files yet!!!!
atb
nothing seems to be working here...i have emailed viewsonic support and have now been told this unit only supports 3GP playback????????
atb
Install a better video player app, I use rockplayer myself to play avi files.
Further I would recommend you search and read the forums, there is a lot of info to be found and most of your questions will already have been answered in the past.
have now tried rockplayer but still no joy. it will play small files up to 70mb but anything bigger seems to bring the sorry cannot play video warning... have tried altering some of the settings in the 3GP format but still no joy. have also noticed it wont paly any of the youtube videos through the app at HQ, but it will play them all at a lower quality...really did want this to hold films to play on the move but as yet cannot seem to get them to play no matter which palyer... not sure if it may be a problem with the unit?
will do some more reading!!
atb

[Q] T-Mobile P76920h Bootloader/Root maze help

There are at least 5 different bootloader/root methods and topics on the first page of "Optimus L9 P760, P765, P768, P769 General"...it's a "maze" of methods.
I have some experience with rooting...I rooted my old G2x and played with several different ROMs, but I am definitely still a noob at this game. This maze of methods makes me want to run away from my son's P769, but I can't because he is out of memory space and insisting that I do something about it. I have read several threads only to learn (a couple of pages into it) that it doesn't apply to ver. 20h or that the programs to be used are deemed "suspicious".
All I want to do is give the kid more space through the use of a larger sd card (class 10). I understand that I need to root and then either keep the stock ROM and use an app like Link2sd (which is all the kid really needs because he will not take advantage of a custom ROM) or I can run a custom ROM that takes proper advantage of the sd card in the first place.
Sorry, but I need to quit reading threads that lead to nowhere or confusion and just ask: Will anybody help me make a decision as to what method to go with? I'm not concerned about it being super-simple, I just want to be sure that it works for the kid's phone (ver. 20h) and that it's safe (in terms of malware). A little clarification on the bootloader/root thing would help too: I have to unlock the bootloader first, then root? or is it the other way around? or are they done at the same time?
OK there's two ways to look at root, it is either done at the same time as flashing a new ROM(because the ROM's come with root access) or you can root it with the Chinese program on stock ROM. If you want a custom ROM it's doable but a total pain, I still haven't done it to mine because it requires a data plan and I don't have one. Its kinda like this, downgrade the os with a kmz meant for a p760, have weird mirrored issues with bootloader and os and touches, flash radio fix , wait 30 min to an hour with data and WiFi connected, pray you received an unlock token and reboot to unlocking screen. That's the process in a nutshell, here's an actual tutorial: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2584997
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app
stunts513 said:
OK there's two ways to look at root, it is either done at the same time as flashing a new ROM(because the ROM's come with root access) or you can root it with the Chinese program on stock ROM. If you want a custom ROM it's doable but a total pain, I still haven't done it to mine because it requires a data plan and I don't have one. Its kinda like this, downgrade the os with a kmz meant for a p760, have weird mirrored issues with bootloader and os and touches, flash radio fix , wait 30 min to an hour with data and WiFi connected, pray you received an unlock token and reboot to unlocking screen. That's the process in a nutshell, here's an actual tutorial: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2584997
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK...forget the custom ROM...he's just a kid that wants more stupid games and videos on his phone...all he needs is more space. So what you're saying is to use the "Chinese program" to root it. OK...I will find the "Chinese program", but I'll ask first: does it work on ALL versions (particularly v. 20h).
Thanks for taking your time...it's appreciated.
It should work on that version, it did on mine and I have the same version, here's a link to it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2553547
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app
stunts513 said:
It should work on that version, it did on mine and I have the same version, here's a link to it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2553547
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K...but isn't that the VRoot prog with all the suspicion surrounding it? Some of the threads I have read about this prog are actually closed by the moderators "until further notice" or until it's fully investigated...do we have an "all clear" on this?
CaptNasty said:
K...but isn't that the VRoot prog with all the suspicion surrounding it? Some of the threads I have read about this prog are actually closed by the moderators "until further notice" or until it's fully investigated...do we have an "all clear" on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no issue with that program. People don't read directions 99% of the time, can't get it to work so they report it as being faulty. I used the same app to root my P769V20H. Only difference now is there is actually an English version, so I've heard.
You may have to enable init.d support on the stock ROM before using something like Link2SD. I currently am not having any storage issues, 32 GB sdcard, so I cannot say if Link2SD will work or not. I did notice that there was NOT an init.d folder in my system image, which is required of Link2SD in order to work correctly. You may want to look in to this thread for enabling init.d support.
I'd also advise downloading and installing the bootstrap recovery for L9 devices with a locked bootloader. It's called L9_Recovery_Installer.1.5.0.apk. Search the L9 forums for a download link. After installing, boot in to CWM and perform a backup. This will give you something to restore to just in case something goes wonky in the future.
I ended up installing and using Cydia Impactor for root, installing the bootstrap recovery that was suggested, installing and using Universal Init.d, MiniTool Partition, and Link2SD. Seems to work fine, although I'm still having a hard time grasping why the extra space provided by the new Ext2 partition on the SDcard isn't displayed in System Settings/Storage/Internal Storage.
Thanks to all
CaptNasty said:
Seems to work fine, although I'm still having a hard time grasping why the extra space provided by the new Ext2 partition on the SDcard isn't displayed in System Settings/Storage/Internal Storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's because most stock ROMs aren't configured to search for extended partitions. You can view all partition infos with Link2SD.

How to verify integrity of installed android image?

Greeting's, I would like to know if there's a way to verify android installation (or image, i'm unsure on which is the correct reference; pardon me.). I own a Nexus 5 (32GB) and my phone recently received 5.1 update. Update process finished normally, there was a reboot and the standard optimizing app's screen. Few days later, when I rebooted my phone; the same optimizing apps process started. I had checked that my 5.1 update was to build LMY47I and there is no further update to this build. At this point, I am bit concerned as to - 1) Why the optimizing application process started? 2) While I did google around a bit, I did not find any definitive way to check integrity of installed android image.
I'm a information security architect and almost all OS's have a way to verify its installed integrity. Windows for PC's have sigverif and SFC commands. Traditional BIOS is being replaced with UEFI which helps verify and maintain boot cycle integrity.
So, in android is there such process or tools or commands to verify integrity of installation?
Thanking you in anticipation,
Parth Maniar
It is doing it because something wiped the cache. There is no way to check at the moment. If it doesn't install properly then it will kernel panic and not boot at all.
zelendel, thank you very much for your reply. I personally did not wipe the cache partition. Also, will this occur every time cache partition is wiped? Because I've at times manually wiped the cache partition but application optimization has never started. Is there a logging mechanism to check why this was invoked? Is there a way I can enable, disable or control logging parameters? For example - In a PC environment, I can log all network traffic using syslog standard or enable logging using group policy in windows. Does android have any such option?
Please don't mind my questioning and don't let that make you feel that I'm doubting your answer. I am just trying to learn. I would like to once again thank you for your prompt answer.
Parth Maniar.
ParthManiar said:
zelendel, thank you very much for your reply. I personally did not wipe the cache partition. Also, will this occur every time cache partition is wiped? Because I've at times manually wiped the cache partition but application optimization has never started. Is there a logging mechanism to check why this was invoked? Is there a way I can enable, disable or control logging parameters? For example - In a PC environment, I can log all network traffic using syslog standard or enable logging using group policy in windows. Does android have any such option?
Please don't mind my questioning and don't let that make you feel that I'm doubting your answer. I am just trying to learn. I would like to once again thank you for your prompt answer.
Parth Maniar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As to why it happened I am not sure. I normally happens when the delvic cache partition its self is wiped. There are some tools that might help with what happened. You could look into logcats and last_kmsg HERE is a great tut on them that might help. There are also a few on device apps like catlog and a few others that might help.
Oh no not at all. I understand completely where you are coming from. Most of the error logging is done in a linux setup and not on device or windows really. It also depends on the device and the distro of android your using.
I'm currently using stock androind (AOSP) on my Nexus 5. One of the reason's that I've never tried running other android built is mainly my lack of understanding. Not that I know how AOSP works but I feel tad bit secure knowing it's the official build. Like your signature say's "Security is an illusion".
I would love to play around with Android but where would you suggest is the best and safest way to start, from the perspective of a clean restore. For example - PC's have virtual environments where I can do testing or even trying to break a software just to learn how it works. What kind of process or tools are used for android.
I have one more question (Pardon me for the question parade ) but how does one verify tools posted on Internet which deal with reseting firmware or even factory flags. I have tried on a test phone resetting LG flag for tampered. I had manually flashed the phone with android 5.0 image which required unlocking the bootloader. So to ensure I can claim warranty i used the temper reset tool. While I truly appreciate the author(s) of that particular and such other tools which assist "hackers" (this would be the correct use of the word) immensely. How can one be sure that no malware code is present.
If you've ever researched on this - There are couple of companies out there giving tools (software) for complete control of the phone. Most of them excel at giving features for Android. While that scares me, it also gives an opportunity to learn on detection and remediation.
ParthManiar said:
I'm currently using stock androind (AOSP) on my Nexus 5. One of the reason's that I've never tried running other android built is mainly my lack of understanding. Not that I know how AOSP works but I feel tad bit secure knowing it's the official build. Like your signature say's "Security is an illusion".
I would love to play around with Android but where would you suggest is the best and safest way to start, from the perspective of a clean restore. For example - PC's have virtual environments where I can do testing or even trying to break a software just to learn how it works. What kind of process or tools are used for android.
I have one more question (Pardon me for the question parade ) but how does one verify tools posted on Internet which deal with reseting firmware or even factory flags. I have tried on a test phone resetting LG flag for tampered. I had manually flashed the phone with android 5.0 image which required unlocking the bootloader. So to ensure I can claim warranty i used the temper reset tool. While I truly appreciate the author(s) of that particular and such other tools which assist "hackers" (this would be the correct use of the word) immensely. How can one be sure that no malware code is present.
If you've ever researched on this - There are couple of companies out there giving tools (software) for complete control of the phone. Most of them excel at giving features for Android. While that scares me, it also gives an opportunity to learn on detection and remediation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could use a live disc and run Linux which would allow you all the great tools. I would start with the android SDK which allows for virtual devices. I have a dual partition set up to boot up linux so I can download all the source code and go from there. As you have a nexus you have almost complete freedom in that aspect. When dealing with devices like LG, HTC or the worst being Samsung it gets alot harder dealing with resetting flags. They are working harder and harder to lock things like this down. Now that Samsung has given alot of the Knox code to google for use in the base AOSP code it will get harder. Alot of the newer devices with knox cant even have the bootloader unlocked.
As for being sure there is no malware included that gets a bit harder. Most rely on a good malware software. I can not attest to any as I dont use any of that myself, I am just very careful with what I download. Any company that is giving away software that claims to allow you to completely control a device is bound to have some sort of malware involved. I have seen a few and alot of them have ransom ware deeply embedded in them.
Thank you very much again, zelendel. I wanted to correct or better explain what I already mentioned. I was referring to companies which offer hacking services .. I've had couple of run downs with them and they "sell" products, with capabilities well beyond general publishing. I wanted to learn on how to counter them. Sadly, I'm not a programmer and downloading source code will help me little. But i will still setup as you've mentioned. What linux distro do you use? I hate multi boot with UEFI especially since i use a FDE product. Ah, the fun of setting up a lab.
Thank you very much again. Journey in Android begins now.
PS: Have you used any other android build except the AOSP? I would like your take on that too.
ParthManiar said:
Thank you very much again, zelendel. I wanted to correct or better explain what I already mentioned. I was referring to companies which offer hacking services .. I've had couple of run downs with them and they "sell" products, with capabilities well beyond general publishing. I wanted to learn on how to counter them. Sadly, I'm not a programmer and downloading source code will help me little. But i will still setup as you've mentioned. What linux distro do you use? I hate multi boot with UEFI especially since i use a FDE product. Ah, the fun of setting up a lab.
Thank you very much again. Journey in Android begins now.
PS: Have you used any other android build except the AOSP? I would like your take on that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally Use Ubuntu as it is the supported android building setup. It was easy to setup and use for a Linux noob like I was. Oh God I know what you mean with UEFI.
As for countering them. The easiest way would be to pay attention to what gets root access. This would be the only way they could really do anything major. Mainly with the new sandboxing in android 5.1
I have used just about every distro of android available. I have used OEM Roms like HTC Sense, Samsung Touchwiz. I have used all of the AOSP based roms. CM, Slim, AICP, DU (my current), PA. I now avoid CM based builds and stick to builds that work off of AOSP instead of CM based. This is due not only to the companies BS stand on removing Google from android but they have a bad habit of treating others like trash and merging untested code which can cause issues like the recent string of nexus 6 bricks.

Stock Android Rom with no bloatware!!!

I have the HTC Desire 816 (Virgin Mobile version).
I was wondering if there was a way to get a "stock" bare version of android for it. When you get this phone it comes preloaded with a lot of junk!!! It comes with some kidsafe software a whole bunch of Virgin mobile junk and all this amazon/twiter/facebook junk.
I've rooted the phone and tried uninstalling it, but it just breaks the phone.
I've tried CM for this phone and it works great but it may not be a daily driver.
I'm curious if anybody knew of ways to effectively remove this software without affecting the operating system and/or there was a minimized version of android for this phone.
steppinthrax said:
I have the HTC Desire 816 (Virgin Mobile version).
I was wondering if there was a way to get a "stock" bare version of android for it. When you get this phone it comes preloaded with a lot of junk!!! It comes with some kidsafe software a whole bunch of Virgin mobile junk and all this amazon/twiter/facebook junk.
I've rooted the phone and tried uninstalling it, but it just breaks the phone.
I've tried CM for this phone and it works great but it may not be a daily driver.
I'm curious if anybody knew of ways to effectively remove this software without affecting the operating system and/or there was a minimized version of android for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to say, I believe the only way to use this phone as stock would be CM. As you obviously know, it isn't 100% functional or even close.
I believe you posted this in the wrong forum also.
Tommydorns said:
Sorry to say, I believe the only way to use this phone as stock would be CM. As you obviously know, it isn't 100% functional or even close.
I believe you posted this in the wrong forum also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like there has to be a way. I remember I was rooting my wife's LG volt. In her volt the rooting process was very complex but involved downloading a LG firmware installer then downloading a LG ROM from somewhere and I flashed it to a basic (bare bones) version of android. Everything worked and it was rooted.
I guess my understanding is false, but could you get a "baseline" android OS with no drivers nothing, install it and extract the drivers from a full version. Place these drivers in your custom ROM and install it on the phone?
In M8 section there is an app called Rom Cleaner maybe its compatible with desire 816. Or use Titanium backup to remove bloatware.
The insert coin rom allows you to remove a lot of apps prior to flashing. After flashing I had 2 gig's of space free.
Sent from my 710C using XDA Free mobile app
I had the same problem because I love stock. I tried almost all the rooted apps (titanium, root uninstaller, rom toolbox) but couldn't seem to delete the system apps. But I found a way to do so.
There's a recovery application called "Aroma file manager" - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108
Flash this in recovery and delete all the system apks you want to. Make sure to mount system first before flashing
Cheers.
Parth_14 said:
I had the same problem because I love stock. I tried almost all the rooted apps (titanium, root uninstaller, rom toolbox) but couldn't seem to delete the system apps. But I found a way to do so.
There's a recovery application called "Aroma file manager" - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108
Flash this in recovery and delete all the system apks you want to. Make sure to mount system first before flashing
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You couldn't delete the system applications because of the HTC's daft decision to add write protection to the /system partition which (in our case) can only be bypassed by paying 25$ for a Sunshine S-OFF exploit. Aroma file manager is also an option but managing the system from the system itself is way more comfy
Tommydorns said:
Sorry to say, I believe the only way to use this phone as stock would be CM. As you obviously know, it isn't 100% functional or even close.
I believe you posted this in the wrong forum also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please expand on this? I am intensively considering CM12 as my main ROM and I'd love to hear what kind of problems have you experienced with it.
CrashBandicootX said:
You couldn't delete the system applications because of the HTC's daft decision to add write protection to the /system partition which (in our case) can only be bypassed by paying 25$ for a Sunshine S-OFF exploit. Aroma file manager is also an option but managing the system from the system itself is way more comfy
Could you please expand on this? I am intensively considering CM12 as my main ROM and I'd love to hear what kind of problems have you experienced with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize, I couldn't honestly tell you because it has been a long time ago since I tried CM12. It was different things with each release. I would check the thread thoroughly and ask to see what bugs are present in the latest release. I remember little things like the battery not reading correctly or data not working. I'm the type of person that needs something that is 100% functional. Esp. for my job. That's the closest you're going to get for a stock Android (aosp) rom though. I don't even use the HTC Desire 816 anymore. I ended up giving it to my daughter and I ended up getting the One M9. Good Luck.
Tommydorns said:
I apologize, I couldn't honestly tell you because it has been a long time ago since I tried CM12. It was different things with each release. I would check the thread thoroughly and ask to see what bugs are present in the latest release. I remember little things like the battery not reading correctly or data not working. I'm the type of person that needs something that is 100% functional. Esp. for my job. That's the closest you're going to get for a stock Android (aosp) rom though. I don't even use the HTC Desire 816 anymore. I ended up giving it to my daughter and I ended up getting the One M9. Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm the type of person that needs something that is 100% functional.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, me too - last time I used CM12 everything seemed to work pretty well but I reverted back because of the lack of slow-motion feature (Really a minor thing but I love it).
It's free after all so I'll just wait around until (and if) things get ironed out. Sense isn't half bad at all, I just prefer stock Android.

LOS17.1 + recovery: how to create a full backup without root and without TWRP?

LOS 17.1 is now available and developers say that LOS's own recovery is going to be the preferred recovery.
Last year Google announced that adb is very likely to be removed soon.
Those two statements brings up an important question: how can users create a full backup of their devices **without** having to root them in order to make backup apps work?
I am not talking about backing up pictures, media, calendars or address books, there are plenty of ways to do this without root access. I am talking about a full backup, including the whole system partition and user data. TWRP was an excellent tool for this job: a backup could be created any time, any where, completely independent whether a PC was near or not. You could even write the backup directly onto a USB storage, and the phone could always be restored as well any where and any time.
That is a feature that I miss very much in LOS's own recovery and to my opinion this is an issue that needs to be solved.
Will this feature be added to LOS recovery in the (near) future? Or are there any other solutions to do a full backup without the need for root access?
dvdram said:
LOS 17.1 is now available and developers say that LOS's own recovery is going to be the preferred recovery.
Last year Google announced that adb is very likely to be removed soon.
Those two statements brings up an important question: how can users create a full backup of their devices **without** having to root them in order to make backup apps work?
I am not talking about backing up pictures, media, calendars or address books, there are plenty of ways to do this without root access. I am talking about a full backup, including the whole system partition and user data. TWRP was an excellent tool for this job: a backup could be created any time, any where, completely independent whether a PC was near or not. You could even write the backup directly onto a USB storage, and the phone could always be restored as well any where and any time.
That is a feature that I miss very much in LOS's own recovery and to my opinion this is an issue that needs to be solved.
Will this feature be added to LOS recovery in the (near) future? Or are there any other solutions to do a full backup without the need for root access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Making a complete system backup requires root and/or custom recovery, period.
That is he way it is, you can't change that. There are no alternatives.
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Droidriven said:
Making a complete system backup requires root and/or custom recovery, period.
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Pardon me, but that is a very harsh answer to a seriously asked question of common interest.
"We take security very seriously"...
Do you know where these words are written?
Maybe you'd like to try looking at this issue this way:
Many users who install LOS, are doing this because of security reasons. Imagine some of these users having bad luck and their phones get compromised by some bogus apps. And then they read an answer like this, telling them nothing different than: sorry, we can't and we won't help you!
And know imagine this:
Users can create snapshots or images of their running systems, with all of their apps included, as well as all necessary accounts, logins and passwords. When the "impossible thing" happens to a device running LOS, they have the option to restore the complete system without having to do a factory reset and without having to reinstall each and every app and the corresponding accounts.
What do you think, which one would please the users of your product more: an answer with an attitude like that one above, or the second possibility?
Furthermore: I was not bagging you to include this possibility. I was asking how this kind of back up could be made in the future, when TWRP won't work with Android 10, and when Google will remove adb. And frankly, I don't see why a recovery made by LOS should not be able to do a task that a third party recovery is capable of. If TWRP developers can put together such a piece of code, I am sure LOS developers should be able to do so as well.
Another possibility would be to reverse Google's decision and to keep adb.
So, from my perspective, there are at least two possible ways of dealing with this. But I am a user, not a developer, and I don't know if or why any one of these possibilities is a bad idea, or if there are really serious arguments against it, or whatever pro or con there might be. I simply don't know about these things and that's why I was asking about it. I am a user who doesn't like having to do a complete re-installation after a crash. And I am pretty sure that I am not the only user with this kind of antipathy.
A polite answer to the question would have included at least a glimpse of explanation why this and why not that.. And an open minded developer would have even cared to discuss about this.
dvdram said:
Pardon me, but that is a very harsh answer to a seriously asked question of common interest.
"We take security very seriously"...
Do you know where these words are written?
Maybe you'd like to try looking at this issue this way:
Many users who install LOS, are doing this because of security reasons. Imagine some of these users having bad luck and their phones get compromised by some bogus apps. And then they read an answer like this, telling them nothing different than: sorry, we can't and we won't help you!
And know imagine this:
Users can create snapshots or images of their running systems, with all of their apps included, as well as all necessary accounts, logins and passwords. When the "impossible thing" happens to a device running LOS, they have the option to restore the complete system without having to do a factory reset and without having to reinstall each and every app and the corresponding accounts.
What do you think, which one would please the users of your product more: an answer with an attitude like that one above, or the second possibility?
Furthermore: I was not bagging you to include this possibility. I was asking how this kind of back up could be made in the future, when TWRP won't work with Android 10, and when Google will remove adb. And frankly, I don't see why a recovery made by LOS should not be able to do a task that a third party recovery is capable of. If TWRP developers can put together such a piece of code, I am sure LOS developers should be able to do so as well.
Another possibility would be to reverse Google's decision and to keep adb.
So, from my perspective, there are at least two possible ways of dealing with this. But I am a user, not a developer, and I don't know if or why any one of these possibilities is a bad idea, or if there are really serious arguments against it, or whatever pro or con there might be. I simply don't know about these things and that's why I was asking about it. I am a user who doesn't like having to do a complete re-installation after a crash. And I am pretty sure that I am not the only user with this kind of antipathy.
A polite answer to the question would have included at least a glimpse of explanation why this and why not that.. And an open minded developer would have even cared to discuss about this.
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Your reaction is a very butt-hurt reaction for a question that has been asked AND has been answered many times on this website and could have easily been found by you if you had searched.
Unless, of course, you did search and you did read where it has been answered before and, for whatever reason, you mistakenly thought that you would get a different answer just because you needed it to.
My point was, there is no way to access system partition or data partition without root. This forum is full of posts from other users asking the same thing, they all got the same answer, it can't be done without root or TWRP. Android just does not work that way, it has a linux kernel, which means, everything requires specific permissions and it is not in the best interests of OEM/carriers to allow access to /system and /data that easily and there is no way to give you "limited" access that only allows you to backup the /system and /data. There is only full permissions or none and they will not allow full permissions to the user.
That is entirely the whole point of people like us that find ways of rooting devices and installing custom recovery in the first place, because it is the ONLY way we can access /system and /data to make backups or modifications.
As for your thoughts of whether there will be a "new" way of making backups if adb and TWRP are no longer viable options....
Who knows? None of us will know until that time comes. We will all just have to wait and see if any takes the time to develop a new method.
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dvdram said:
...
Last year Google announced that adb is very likely to be removed soon.
...
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Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a Server - Client pair software
ADB Server runs in the Android device
ADB Client runs in Windows / Linux / Mac iOS
ADB completely is open source. Hence everyone can grab the source code and compile it matching the target Android OS / computer OS. Manufacturers like Samsung & ZTE actually already provide their build of ADB Client suitable to their Android devices: they don't recommend to make use of universal ADB Client that floats around the WEB.
AFAIK Google announced to remove backup / restore feature from ADB Client, not ADB at whole.
jwoegerbauer said:
Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a Server - Client pair software
ADB Server runs in the Android device
ADB Client runs in Windows / Linux / Mac iOS
ADB completely is open source. Hence everyone can grab the source code and compile it matching the target Android OS / computer OS. Manufacturers like Samsung & ZTE actually already provide their build of ADB Client suitable to their Android devices: they don't recommend to make use of universal ADB Client that floats around the WEB.
AFAIK Google announced to remove backup / restore feature from ADB Client, not ADB at whole.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I can't see Google completely removing adb, it is too valuable of a tool for development even for the stuff the carriers and their developers do on their end. Removing it would be like building cars and engines but completely disallowing the production or use of tools to assemble/disassemble the cars or engines.
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Droidriven said:
My point was, there is no way to access system partition or data partition without root.
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Click to collapse
I know that and I understand that. I've been using Linux on my private and on my working machines for at least 30 years now, and I know about permissions. And I also understand that there are good reasons for not rooting an Android device.
But that is not the point here.
I am and I always was talking about the recovery here, not the running LOS system, that you run every day to make any use of your phone at all. From my point of view, as a Linux user, booting into recovery is like taking a secondary boot device, eg a USB memory, and starting another Linux system that is completely independent of the one that my PC is running in normal cases. Using this secondary Linux I can do anything to the system and the hard drive that I want, regardless of permissions. I can re-install the boot manager, I can copy or delete files, I can repair the file system, and, most important: I can create images and snapshots of the system that will serve as an lifeline, a certain point in time that I can return to if it should become necessary.
My question was and still is, why a custom recovery like TWRP can include this function, but the recovery made by LOS can or will not do so, or if there is a chance that the LOS recovery will include this function in the future.
Again: I am not talking (and I never was) about making root available in LOS.
@dvdram
...
My question was and still is, why a custom recovery like TWRP can include this function, but the recovery made by LOS can or will not do so, or if there is a chance that the LOS recovery will include this function in the future.
....
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Click to collapse
Wondering why you don't ask this question to the developers of LineageOS?
jwoegerbauer said:
@dvdram
Wondering why you don't ask this question to the developers of LineageOS?
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Silly me! I actually believed there would be developers reading this forum. How could I mistaken this statement on the starting page:
"XDA Developers was founded by developers, for developers."
I guess the word "developers" must have another meaning than I have always believed. Thank you for showing me my wrong!

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