[Q] Root and OTA updates - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Hi,
What are experiences of current owners of Nexus phones ? My Desire Z is rooted ( only rooted, don't have a custom ROM), and I never got Gingerbread update so I'd hate the same thing happening to G Nexus.
Thanks.

zljk said:
Hi,
What are experiences of current owners of Nexus phones ? My Desire Z is rooted ( only rooted, don't have a custom ROM), and I never got Gingerbread update so I'd hate the same thing happening to G Nexus.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will never happen with the GN. When you own this phone you're first in line for the updates until the next is coming out then you're second but still faster than the others.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

When you're rooted you can't get the OTA updates. You have to unroot to apply them. That's true for all Android phones.

You cant get them at all?
Not even: get update and apply it, loose root because of the update, reroot?
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

TulpiX said:
You cant get them at all?
Not even: get update and apply it, loose root because of the update, reroot?
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you could do that, but chances are someone will get the OTA before you and pre root it for everyones pleasure and you can just flash that via recovery

TulpiX said:
You cant get them at all?
Not even: get update and apply it, loose root because of the update, reroot?
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If my experiences with my OG Droid match up with the Nexus line, if you've only rooted and haven't actually installed another ROM, you should be able to apply the OTA update and lose root because of it. Then just root again.

martonikaj said:
When you're rooted you can't get the OTA updates. You have to unroot to apply them. That's true for all Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen some threads claiming that root itself doesn't affect updates, but changing of data on system partition.... Was kind of hoping there is a way to have my cake and eat it too - don't mind having to root the phone all over again after the OTA....
Anyhow - as an alternative, is there a way to get official Nexus updates ( stock ) using other channels except OTA ? What was happening with old Nexus phones ?

zljk said:
I've seen some threads claiming that root itself doesn't affect updates, but changing of data on system partition.... Was kind of hoping there is a way to have my cake and eat it too - don't mind having to root the phone all over again after the OTA....
Anyhow - as an alternative, is there a way to get official Nexus updates ( stock ) using other channels except OTA ? What was happening with old Nexus phones ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The alternate way to get official Nexus updates is to download the update zip file once someone copies it off their device and uploads it, and install it in whatever fashion works.

I rooted my Nexus One without unlocking the bootloader or using custom recovery. I definitely still got OTA updates and they worked fine, but would unroot the phone.
The solution is to use a custom recovery and apply the update .zip manually, then reflash superuser before rebooting. Whenever an OTA update comes out, someone eventually uses logcat to get the URL to the zip and posts it so anyone can download it.
I was rooted on Froyo and got the OTA update to Gingerbread no problem, but I lost root. I eventually got root again (Gingerbreak) and when the 2.3.4 update came out, I did it manually in custom recovery to keep root.
Now I run CM7.1 so I definitely don't get OTA updates from Google

TulpiX said:
You cant get them at all?
Not even: get update and apply it, loose root because of the update, reroot?
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will often download and you can try but it will either fail, unroot you, or cause troubles.
You're best off applying the pre-rooted update, or unrooting and taking the OTA.

martonikaj said:
When you're rooted you can't get the OTA updates. You have to unroot to apply them. That's true for all Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. However it's trivial to repackage an OTA update to a rooted update and since it's very compatible with the source in AOSP and you get working drivers very early you can start messing around with it straight away.

blunden said:
True. However it's trivial to repackage an OTA update to a rooted update and since it's very compatible with the source in AOSP and you get working drivers very early you can start messing around with it straight away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, as is often the case for most phones supported here on XDA. the rooted OTA comes in the form of a .zip soon after it comes out.

slowz3r said:
you could do that, but chances are someone will get the OTA before you and pre root it for everyones pleasure and you can just flash that via recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When flashing the rooted OTA via recovery, does it wipe the phone (apps and all)?
Also for the other method, when unrooting >> applying OTA >> rooting again, does it wipe the phone at any point during this process?
Help would be appreciated and rewarded!

I just received my OTA update notification and found the update zip itself in the cache of my phone. I can post that update zip here if a mod can come along and tell me where to put it. I am going to wait till I'm home so I can have my rooting facilities handy before starting.

phazerorg said:
I rooted my Nexus One without unlocking the bootloader or using custom recovery. I definitely still got OTA updates and they worked fine, but would unroot the phone.
The solution is to use a custom recovery and apply the update .zip manually, then reflash superuser before rebooting. Whenever an OTA update comes out, someone eventually uses logcat to get the URL to the zip and posts it so anyone can download it.
I was rooted on Froyo and got the OTA update to Gingerbread no problem, but I lost root. I eventually got root again (Gingerbreak) and when the 2.3.4 update came out, I did it manually in custom recovery to keep root.
Now I run CM7.1 so I definitely don't get OTA updates from Google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. Exactly.
There is a lot of wrong (or slightly incorrect) information in this thread.
Have root has no impact whatsoever in your ability to receive or apply the OTA update. This has been the case on every Android device. However, if you have a custom recovery flashed, you will not be able to automatically apply the update - you will have to find the zip file in the cache and use your custom recovery to apply it.
On a slightly separate note, once you apply the update either automatically or manually via custom recovery, you will lose root. However, if you do have a custom recovery, as long as you flash ChainsDD's superuser package immediately after applying the update, but before rebooting, you will retain root.
On another separate not, if you flash the update as is from Google, it includes a file (/system/recovery-from-boot.p) that re-flashes the stock recovery on every boot, so you will lose your custom recovery. Either remove the file before flashing the update, or just re-flash your custom recovery.

Related

[Q] System Update unroot?

Hi im running this rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741775
and i have recieved a notification for new software update (the one with better russian keyboard) and i tried downloading but it didnt work. Is it possible to do this (im rooted with unrevoked)? Also would i lose my root? i dont care if i do, im more interested in getting the new update and unrooting, thanks
yes you would lose root.
you are aware that if you install it you may never be able to root your phone again? well at least until one of the devs here finds a way.
i'm sure that update will get rooted and added to the ROMs soon if they haven't been already.
but other than that if you don't care then you should be find installing it.
i tried updating using system update, but it wouldnt work, my clockwork mod said the update failed
how can i update to this safely?
i know theres a way, do u know it?
cgrec92 said:
yes you would lose root.
you are aware that if you install it you may never be able to root your phone again? well at least until one of the devs here finds a way.
i'm sure that update will get rooted and added to the ROMs soon if they haven't been already.
but other than that if you don't care then you should be find installing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be extremely easy to root the phone after installing this update...
adbirdie said:
i tried updating using system update, but it wouldnt work, my clockwork mod said the update failed
how can i update to this safely?
i know theres a way, do u know it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't try to install OTA updates to rooted phones. It usually won't work.
If you want the new version you can either install an RUU with the official version and then root, or you can install a newer rooted stock ROM through recovery.
yaaaaa bout that im on a mac, tehehe, and i dont mind losing my root
^havent heard of an ruu working on mac
The easiest thing for you to do is install a new custom ROM that is based on the new version (mine and a couple of others).
teppic74 said:
It would be extremely easy to root the phone after installing this update...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hence the third line of my post.
what if i just wanted the update and i didnt want my root tho?
Reboot into recovery, apply zip from sd card, toggle signature verification so its off, the update zip is downloaded to your sd cards download folder. Apply it. Then use unrevoked to root your phone again.
Sent from my HTC Desire
do i have to download the system update first, and then it will become update.zip, or is already do, can u walk me step by step through?
update: i tried what u said elmalote and it didnt work, what do i do now????
The ROM you are on has been updated with the latest OTA now so I'm not sure why you want to go another way than just flashing that ?
-----------------------------------
- Sent via my HTC Desire -
the ota didnt go throught properly, i did what elmalote said, but it said installation aborted
elmalote said:
Reboot into recovery, apply zip from sd card, toggle signature verification so its off, the update zip is downloaded to your sd cards download folder. Apply it. Then use unrevoked to root your phone again.
Sent from my HTC Desire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a fully safe way to try install OTA update over the rooted ROM? I have branded ROM rooted using unrEVOked and I would like to try to install OTA update this way.
it didnt work for me, but if u try please tell me, it shouldnt screw up your phone.
does any one know how to install ota on a rooted phone
adbirdie said:
it didnt work for me, but if u try please tell me, it shouldnt screw up your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not so sure about that. I've looked into OTA update downloaded into sd-card and it contains:
- system updates (new files, patches and so on)
- recovery img
- hboot update
- radio image
So let's assume that I toogle verification process (turn it off). OTA update will install over rooted ROM. After this, I have new recovery (because OTA update contains it).
I can see possibility of bricking my phone, when following situation appears:
- OS doesn't start-up (fell into boot-loop, whatever)
- recovery is back to stock, so no possibility to restore from nandroid backups
What do you think about that? Can someone confirm this is safe/dangerous?
Barthand, relax, i tried this, and i just rebooted my phone and it was fine. if you don't want to do it, then don't, but don't fret. it didn't work for me but it didn't screw up my phone either, now back to the main problem does anyone else have any solutions to install ota on a rooted phone.
bump..........

Questions about rooting / recoveries ...

Hello
Since this will be my first nexus device , I have some questions regarding rooting and recoveries and what they affect on nexus devices specifically this nexus.
What affects the ability to receive official google updates?
If you are rooted do you always loose root if a new update comes? Does root affect the ability to receive updates?
If you have a custom recovery is it possible to receive official updates from google?
Thanks
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
I also have one quick question about rooting. I am totally new to this, I used android on my HD2 but it was always SD card version.
Does rooting affect warranty? I don't think it matters, but I'm with O2.
Official Updates
I think you can, however if you do you can lose root
Custom Recovery
Yes its possible. I believe koush is working on a stable CWM
Warranty
Yes, you will lose it and the Nexus will tell you before it lets you confirm you want to do it.
Im currently trying to get my Nexus back to unrooted status so I can send it back and get it on PAYG. I'll write up a tutorial once I've figured it out
TulpiX said:
Hello
Since this will be my first nexus device , I have some questions regarding rooting and recoveries and what they affect on nexus devices specifically this nexus.
What affects the ability to receive official google updates?
If you are rooted do you always loose root if a new update comes? Does root affect the ability to receive updates?
If you have a custom recovery is it possible to receive official updates from google?
Thanks
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Rooting your device wont affect your ability to receive updates, Custom ROMs do.
2. when you receive a new OTA you WILL lose root, this is the reason custom ROMs dont accept OTA updates.
3 As far as custom recoveries, I dont think that affects your ability to receive updates, Even then you can still flash an official update.zip via a custom recovery.
rokfor2000 said:
I also have one quick question about rooting. I am totally new to this, I used android on my HD2 but it was always SD card version.
Does rooting affect warranty? I don't think it matters, but I'm with O2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Eh grey area. Rooting doesnt void your warranty, but unlocking the bootloader does. As of yet there is no way to re-lock the bootloader.
slowz3r said:
1. Rooting your device wont affect your ability to receive updates, Custom ROMs do.
2. when you receive a new OTA you WILL lose root, this is the reason custom ROMs dont accept OTA updates.
3 As far as custom recoveries, I dont think that affects your ability to receive updates, Even then you can still flash an official update.zip via a custom recovery.
1. Eh grey area. Rooting doesnt void your warranty, but unlocking the bootloader does. As of yet there is no way to re-lock the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fastboot oem lock does
Evostance said:
fastboot oem lock does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it actually re lock your bootloader..... its been a while since I last used my NS, Since i switched to VZW
If thats the case then dont worry about warranty
Apparently it's works. But I think I've bricked my phone flashing a system.img...
Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk
Ok thanks
I thought ota updates would also sometimes update stock recovery which would fail with custom recoveries and therefore no ota updates then.
So i was mistaken there?
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
So to be clear. I could do the following:
Get my phone
Unlock bootloader
Root it
Install cwm recovery
And this would NOT affect my ability to get ota updates?
TulpiX said:
So to be clear. I could do the following:
Get my phone
Unlock bootloader
Root it
Install cwm recovery
And this would NOT affect my ability to get ota updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pretty much, but remember an OTA will remove root/recovery
TulpiX said:
So to be clear. I could do the following:
Get my phone
Unlock bootloader
Root it
Install cwm recovery
And this would NOT affect my ability to get ota updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will get ota updates but it will not install it coz the cmw recovery, then you will need to update your rom that incloded the update via cmw recovery
Hmm ok
So you loose recovery too? I thought you would only loose root?
But arent the last two posts exact opposites? One says you would get ota and it would install but you would loose root and recovery and the other says you would get ota but cannot install it. Or am i missing some point here?
liorra3 said:
You will get ota updates but it will not install it coz the cmw recovery, then you will need to update your rom that incloded the update via cmw recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA updates install fine with CWM and have for some time. The only reason it would fail is if it is trying to patch recovery and does an assert.
TulpiX said:
Hmm ok
So you loose recovery too? I thought you would only loose root?
But arent the last two posts exact opposites? One says you would get ota and it would install but you would loose root and recovery and the other says you would get ota but cannot install it. Or am i missing some point here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will lose root on incremental updates only because it does a recursive chmod on /system - so it just changes the permissions on the su binary.
You will lose your custom recovery because it will restore /etc/install-recovery.sh which restores the stock recovery on boot.
not to smash your topic to bits but SINCE WHEN has an ota update been available before aosp code? Welcome to nexus device people running stock is for chumps you won't need ota updates because you will already be on a custom rom that has it
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Goat_For_Sale said:
not to smash your topic to bits but SINCE WHEN has an ota update been available before aosp code?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Froyo source did not push to AOSP until after the OTA to the Nexus One.
Slightly different but also held from AOSP until out on a device:
Eclair (2.1) was not in AOSP in a form that would build for a device until post Nexus One being available.
Gingerbread did not push to AOSP until after the Nexus S was available.
The other hold up is when new binaries are needed for the build. The early AOSP Gingerbread builds for the Nexus One were BUGGY.
The ICS builds for the Nexus S needed some "shady, leaked" binaries to get things up and running well (wifi, bluetooth, GPS, etc).
Typically the new binaries are not posted until it OTA's.
Goat_For_Sale said:
Welcome to nexus device people running stock is for chumps you won't need ota updates because you will already be on a custom from that has it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can say this all you want - I've run stock rooted roms on both the Nexus One and the Nexus S without any issues. The Nexus S forums are filled with people with issues with spontaneous reboots, poor battery life, FC's and 95% of the time it tracks back to a custom kernel that has been "tweaked" or the ROM they are running.
If you are looking for the added features of some custom roms then go for it. But thus far pure AOSP builds have been anything but "for chumps" with the Nexus One and Nexus S.
krohnjw said:
If you are looking for the added features of some custom roms then go for it. But thus far pure AOSP builds have been anything but "for chumps" with the Nexus One and Nexus S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure but "custom roms" he also included builds made from AOSP. The point is that AOSP is often newer between bigger releases and the times an OTA build is newer you could always just flash that if you really want.
Ok thank you guys
I learnt much from this
So in fact if i go cwm and root my best option is to forget ota and go custom rom. Even if its a stock + root custom rom.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
TulpiX said:
Hello
Since this will be my first nexus device , I have some questions regarding rooting and recoveries and what they affect on nexus devices specifically this nexus.
What affects the ability to receive official google updates?
If you are rooted do you always loose root if a new update comes? Does root affect the ability to receive updates?
If you have a custom recovery is it possible to receive official updates from google?
Thanks
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't receive OTA when your device is rooted. Why? Every OTA checks system consistence. If some different files or the same files with different checksums will be detected, OTA will be canceled.

[Q] Help about rooting and other stuff

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but i could not find any.
So i got the Nexus beast yesterday, and it's already blazing me off with it's greatness. But i got a few problems though:
1. I got the jakjuxw, not the jakju, will i get the same updates as the jakju OTA, but only a week later or so?
2. I did not root the phone before starting using it, but i regret that now. Is there any way i can root it and NOT lose all of my apps and data? I have spent so many hours to customize this device and i dont want to start all over (yes i know about app backup's, but they are slow)
3. If i root but stay with the stock rom, will i still be getting the original OTA updates or does i have to flash the roms manually and wipe the phone every time?
I'd appreciate it if anyone could answer all the questions =)
Baguett said:
Sorry if this question has been asked before, but i could not find any.
So i got the Nexus beast yesterday, and it's already blazing me off with it's greatness. But i got a few problems though:
1. I got the jakjuxw, not the jakju, will i get the same updates as the jakju OTA, but only a week later or so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about this, it probably depends on what they want to release. I don't think there's any kind of guarantee they'll get the same updates, but there's also probably no reason why they wouldn't.
2. I did not root the phone before starting using it, but i regret that now. Is there any way i can root it and NOT lose all of my apps and data? I have spent so many hours to customize this device and i dont want to start all over (yes i know about app backup's, but they are slow)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to unlock the bootloader to root, and unlocking the bootloader wipes the device. Sorry. Someday an exploit might be found for ICS that allows you to root without unlocking.
3. If i root but stay with the stock rom, will i still be getting the original OTA updates or does i have to flash the roms manually and wipe the phone every time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you keep stock recovery, you'll still get OTA updates when rooted. If you use custom recovery like ClockworkMod, you'll have to do them manually (but you won't need to wipe). In both cases, applying the update will probably cause you to lose root and you'll have to re-root. This is easy if you've unlocked the bootloader.
If you root by using some future exploit, you might find that the update you just installed removed root and closed the hole that allowed you to gain it without unlocking the bootloader, and now you're left stuck without root. I'd say just unlock the bootloader now and be done with it. It'll be a pain, but then you don't need to worry about it again.
phazerorg said:
If you keep stock recovery, you'll still get OTA updates when rooted. If you use custom recovery like ClockworkMod, you'll have to do them manually (but you won't need to wipe). In both cases, applying the update will probably cause you to lose root and you'll have to re-root. This is easy if you've unlocked the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks
Just unlocked it and rooted it, but i think im gonna install the official google 4.0.2 rom, i wil get the OTA updates then too right?
edit: how am i able to flash a rom without CWM? Also do i really not need to wipe my phone if i use CWM? i had to do it on my Desire.
Baguett said:
ok thanks
Just unlocked it and rooted it, but i think im gonna install the official google 4.0.2 rom, i wil get the OTA updates then too right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but the updates will probably unroot you. You should be able to just re-root after. If using CWM you can probably flash superuser right after flashing the update and not lose root at all. This is what I always did with my Nexus One when I still had the rooted stock ROM.
edit: how am i able to flash a rom without CWM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the ROM comes as images (like the Google factory images) you can flash with fastboot. The Google ones come with a script that uses fastboot to do it for you.
Also do i really not need to wipe my phone if i use CWM? i had to do it on my Desire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant installing updates here... you don't usually need to wipe if you are installing updates to your current ROM, such as OTA updates to the stock ROM. You need to wipe if you're changing ROMs. It's probably no different than your Desire.

After rooting, will the OTA work?

I am sorry if this question is answered already, but is there any way one can get the OTA again once the device is rooted? I mean by unroofing and factory reset or whatever means....
After rooting, OTA is still working but you'll probably lose root after it, excepted if your Superuser has an " OTA Survival " feature. In this case, you'll have to flash a stock ROM, and root it.
Sent from my Nexus 7
azvlean said:
After rooting, OTA is still working but you'll probably lose root after it, excepted if your Superuser has an " OTA Survival " feature. In this case, you'll have to flash a stock ROM, and root it.
Sent from my Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
be careful if you have a custom recovery, accepting an OTA might screw your device up.
sk8trix said:
be careful if you have a custom recovery, accepting an OTA might screw your device up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying.
Will the custom recovery be overridden by the stock one? Or is there any chance of bricking the device?
sriram18981 said:
Thanks for replying.
Will the custom recovery be overridden by the stock one? Or is there any chance of bricking the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no sometimes what happens is the files dont install and you either get a reboot screen or some sort of black screen and then you might need to fix things with a toolkit through the pc or some hard kind of fix, t happened to me on a motorola Atrix a while back.
sriram18981 said:
I am sorry if this question is answered already, but is there any way one can get the OTA again once the device is rooted? I mean by unroofing and factory reset or whatever means....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your phone or tablet is rooted but with Stock Recovery the OTA should work just fine as long as you haven't modified any system files that get updated through the OTA. The bigger the update is the more likely it is you will lose root and that the OTA will find modified files. On Nexus devices I've personally never seen more than an error message if the OTA fails. At most I've only ever seen "unexpected contents in" error with whatever (modified) file is the problem. The OTA will always fail if you have a custom recovery but it's not really a big deal, you can always flash the OTA update zip in your custom recovery (TWRP?), more often than not before the OTA even rolls out to your device you can find the OTA zip here or on another website.

[Q] Question about root and updates

Lets say I want to update to a new version (Android L) when Samsung (if they ever bother) deploy it, I want to know if OTA will still work? I am only going to remove bloatware not flash any other rom.
Add to this I can't boot on download mode... it keeps looping the boot screen.
Thanks in advance.
AFAIK OTA doesn't work once you have rooted
killall said:
AFAIK OTA doesn't work once you have rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not entirely true. Specifically rooting does not block an OTA but usually you'll loose root when an OTA is applied. SuperSU includes a method to preserve root through an OTA. The reason most OTAs cannot be applied after rooting is because they check specific apps and if any have been tampered with or are missing the OTA aborts. Of course most of the reasons that you root is to "tamper" with the stock ROM so it's a catch 22 situation. You could root then add an app for some specific functionality and still apply an OTA.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app

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