Can this phone be safely rooted, without triggering some kind of security stuff? - One (M8) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Like Knox on Samsung? I just bought a Galaxy Note 3 yesterday and it's an absolutely gorgeous device except for the software. TouchWiz is a complete bloat fest. So i wanted to root the phone and make it "my own" until I got into that Knox stuff. Basically, even if you restore to the stock bootloader and firmware, Samsung can still tell if you rooted the device and automatically voids the warranty. Now I have like 28 days left to return this and consider another phone. Samsung is out of the question, I cannot imagine myself with a phone that is missing adaway, greenify, lucky patcher, xposed framework or not being able to uninstall system apps. The nexus 5 is too 2013 and now I was thinking at this phone, the m8. Can the HTC one m8 safely be rooted without permanently voiding the warranty?

The answer is S-OFF, you'll have to wait for it though

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Knox?

I've been "out of the loop" for quite some time and much has happened to Samsung devices since my last one (Samsung i9000). Basically it is the terror stories about this Knox security thing that mostly concern me and brought me here...
I mean I like this tablet, I trully do, but if I'm robbed by android's main advantage (modifying the thing to suit your needs) then I have absolutely no reason to choose this.
I have already read a a couple of stuff but they are all concerned about s4 and note 3. What about this tablet (the WiFi version), is it ... secured too? Also I'm a bit unclear of what this Knox thing achieves, at first it voids your warranty, second does not let you to flash certain ROMs, but I'm unclear from/on which ROMs this is enabled or even if merely rooting your device would enable this. I mean someone may not be interested in aosp ROMs but still love some "optimized stock + custom kernel" will this Knox thing prevent him even from that?
If this is proved an unmodifiable device I'd think twice for it's usefulness, android's only edge is its "modifiability" remove it and you buy sth 2nd or 3rd tier...
Stevethegreat said:
I've been "out of the loop" for quite some time and much has happened to Samsung devices since my last one (Samsung i9000). Basically it is the terror stories about this Knox security thing that mostly concern me and brought me here...
I mean I like this tablet, I trully do, but if I'm robbed by android's main advantage (modifying the thing to suit your needs) then I have absolutely no reason to choose this.
I have already read a a couple of stuff but they are all concerned about s4 and note 3. What about this tablet (the WiFi version), is it ... secured too? Also I'm a bit unclear of what this Knox thing achieves, at first it voids your warranty, second does not let you to flash certain ROMs, but I'm unclear from/on which ROMs this is enabled or even if merely rooting your device would enable this. I mean someone may not be interested in aosp ROMs but still love some "optimized stock + custom kernel" will this Knox thing prevent him even from that?
If this is proved an unmodifiable device I'd think twice for it's usefulness, android's only edge is its "modifiability" remove it and you buy sth 2nd or 3rd tier...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can still root and modify things, however, Samsung has taken the stance that since Knox has been tripped you must've been running Custom firmware/apps that can "potentially" damage the hardware so all warranties (at least from Samsung) are void....
The other issue is Samsung are updating bootloaders when you install firmware updates. If you happen to get a new bootloader then you CAN'T go back to a lower version of firmware, period... Doing so generally results in bootloops or stuck on Samsung logo until you update to the newer firmware again...
The downside to this is the nandroid backup you took just before updating in case of a problem is rendered useless, and in the case of the Note 3, Kies no longer recognises the new bootloaders so emergency firmware restore doesn't work...
Knox also tries to deny any app root access, some messenger programs were denied access as their permissions required root access. SuperSu has been updated now to work with no problems, until Samsung decide to interfere again....
Knox is also a secure container for your data, it was meant for security agencies and such to have a secure passworded partition in the software that doesn't allow anyone but the person with the passcode to access it. This is disabled after rooting as the system has been modified and can no longer be deemed secure....
ultramag69 said:
You can still root and modify things, however, Samsung has taken the stance that since Knox has been tripped you must've been running Custom firmware/apps that can "potentially" damage the hardware so all warranties (at least from Samsung) are void....
The other issue is Samsung are updating bootloaders when you install firmware updates. If you happen to get a new bootloader then you CAN'T go back to a lower version of firmware, period... Doing so generally results in bootloops or stuck on Samsung logo until you update to the newer firmware again...
The downside to this is the nandroid backup you took just before updating in case of a problem is rendered useless, and in the case of the Note 3, Kies no longer recognises the new bootloaders so emergency firmware restore doesn't work...
Knox also tries to deny any app root access, some messenger programs were denied access as their permissions required root access. SuperSu has been updated now to work with no problems, until Samsung decide to interfere again....
Knox is also a secure container for your data, it was meant for security agencies and such to have a secure passworded partition in the software that doesn't allow anyone but the person with the passcode to access it. This is disabled after rooting as the system has been modified and can no longer be deemed secure....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So Knox is more about controlling your device than security as it is not optional (you cannot turn it off , right). Also about losing the warranty, well I was hoping to buy it from a reputable store in my country, even if Samsung voids my warranty can't the store itself honor it?
If not, if in fact merely rooting your device voids my warranty whatsoever than I'm most certain that this is not a device for me and I'm not sure for whom it is, I don't think android is a good os when decoupled from rooted apps (no xposed framework, no adblock, no virtual buttons, no gestures, no greenify), the experience is basically killed...
Even jail breaking your iPad doesn't kill the warranty as long as you install non jail broken iOS version on top... Bad Samsung, bad
OK, since I actually want to give this tablet a go I came up with a new idea. What if I trip up the Knox counter but then get back to stock firmware and *then* my tablet gets damaged? Would then my warranty be honored? The Knox counter can only tell you that it was tripped *once* but not what is/was happening at the time you got a defect.
Maybe my battery died, or more than a handful pixels died on me, all having nothing to do with me rooting my device at some point. Can my rooting still be grounds for samsung to dismiss my warranty? Because if so that is quite a scheme that Samsung runs.
Do any people had their warranty honored even though the Knox counter was tripped?
If you have a squaretrade warranty you should be fine with that excuse. However, Samsung will say that they cannot tell if the damaged occurred before or after the rooting occurred, thus denying you your warranty. Once the counter is tripped, from that point on the warranty is gone. My recommendation, get a squaretrade for 100 with a 2 year warranty and you will be fine.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

[Q] Note 4 root. no Knox trip

Is there anyway to root the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 4(SM-N910P) with out Tripping KNOX? I have tried towel root and it is not supported. Any help would be appreciated
Chain fire auto root then install twrp through the ROM I think. I just flashed through Odin though
I believe there is no way not to trip the knox if you root. It is a permanent change. However sprint will honor the warranty as long as you flash back to stock.
Damn, one can only hope. And when I had my s4 and I tripped knox. I had a SIM card issue, and they said sense it was tripped there is nothing I can do.. sorry about your luck
I had my s4 and it lost all audio in the headphone port somehow and I was running slimrom at the time. He wanted to see my phone and he asked if he could install root checker, of course I said yes. But said one sec let me check something, went into the settings and disabled root that way. He did his thing and then fixed my phone. When I turned in my phone, I am on the easy pay thing, it was still rooted and Knox was tripped. After I had my new phone and was ready to walk out. I asked him about it. He said he didn't care cause it gets shipped out and they wipe the phones and reinstall the factory image.
I guess it just depends on the tech that's helping you.
My screen had a bit of dust under the screen, I was rooted Knox tripped and had the screen replaced no questions asked. Like stated above just depends on the tech.
Shouldn't have posted this here and needs to be moved.
Does the sprint exchange work if you didn't buy it at store ..? Bought mine at bestbuy

About warranty

Hi all, I am about to buy my zenfone 2 as my next cellphone, just want to make sure of one thing.
The agent from Asus told me that if I root the phone and uninstall some internal softwares which comes with the device, they will know it and unvoid the warranty, is that true? I don't think I can bear with all the bloatware. So root and uninstall those software is what I am going to do.
Is that a way to recovery the device to the factory state without any changes so that I don't have to lose the warranty after I play with it?
Thanks very much. The warranty issue really bugs me.
Bloatware can completely be uninstalled with the latest update.
Even I am happy of my ZenFone, I can only advise you to take the redmi note 2 instead.
xfl123 said:
Hi all, I am about to buy my zenfone 2 as my next cellphone, just want to make sure of one thing.
The agent from Asus told me that if I root the phone and uninstall some internal softwares which comes with the device, they will know it and unvoid the warranty, is that true? I don't think I can bear with all the bloatware. So root and uninstall those software is what I am going to do.
Is that a way to recovery the device to the factory state without any changes so that I don't have to lose the warranty after I play with it?
Thanks very much. The warranty issue really bugs me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, from fastboot you can flash the whole stock firmware (1.1GB image from Asus).
But if you unlock bootloader, AFAIK you cannot lock it back. But you can unroot easily and return to factory firmware.
gontie said:
Bloatware can completely be uninstalled with the latest update.
Even I am happy of my ZenFone, I can only advise you to take the redmi note 2 instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly - with the latest firmware you can't uninstall the bloat and free the storage space, but you can disable it all. You can uninstall the third party stuff (zinio, kindle, trip advisor, etc) but the ASUS and Google stuff you can either just hide from the app drawer or homescreens (ASUS launcher) or disable altogether. Some system apps cause issues if disabled though, for example disabling clock and/or calendar breaks other stuff.
Because you can disable stuff now without root, if you are really concerned about the warranty then there is no pressing need to root. That said, if you do want to root, it is very easy to go back to stock unrooted anytime. Unlocking the bootloader is currently irreversible though, so you can't install custom ROMs like cyanogen without voiding warranty.
What apps are considered bloatware in zenfone?
Kill Me said:
What apps are considered bloatware in zenfone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me everything besides the launcher and the Play Store. Every another app should be optional, that's one of the reasons for rooting my mobile
Yup. Rooting your phone does void your warranty. But that can be solved by downloading the latest official stock firmware for your phone and installing it on your phone, after that your phone and its warranty will be back as normal.
Sent from my Asus Zenfone 2 with Tapatalk

Few questions from Sammy Newb

So I got the S8 on BOGO last night, my dad got the S8+, mine is SM-G950U from Costco, it was placed on TMobile network, it's got the T-Mobile firmware I believe as there are about 5 TMO apps pre-installed.
I'm a bit confused, it seems that there are root options for this phone, other threads say TMo won't unlock bootloaders, yet I see there are a few ROMs floating around.
Thus far I did 2 system updates and am currently running on G950USQU1AQEF.
I see that there's a AQFJ already downloading, and the patch notes say "Device Security Enhancements"
Now I don't want to update this device to the point of not being able to root, even though I am not even sure if there's a root available.
Can someone clear up the rooting situation for me?
I don't see any rooting guides, yet I see some ROMs around. (most/all are for G950F/FD/N) - Is the version of the device unrootable?
Does rooting break warranty?
Also, i read somewhere that there are Knox counter re-setters, would that prevent void warranty?
Thanks!
Shemploo said:
So I got the S8 on BOGO last night, my dad got the S8+, mine is SM-G950U from Costco, it was placed on TMobile network, it's got the T-Mobile firmware I believe as there are about 5 TMO apps pre-installed.
I'm a bit confused, it seems that there are root options for this phone, other threads say TMo won't unlock bootloaders, yet I see there are a few ROMs floating around.
Thus far I did 2 system updates and am currently running on G950USQU1AQEF.
I see that there's a AQFJ already downloading, and the patch notes say "Device Security Enhancements"
Now I don't want to update this device to the point of not being able to root, even though I am not even sure if there's a root available.
Can someone clear up the rooting situation for me?
I don't see any rooting guides, yet I see some ROMs around. (most/all are for G950F/FD/N) - Is the version of the device unrootable?
Does rooting break warranty?
Also, i read somewhere that there are Knox counter re-setters, would that prevent void warranty?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no root for the Snapdragon variant of the S8 or S8+, it's not T-Mobile it's Samsung. Yes rooting will trip Knox and void your warranty, even flashing stock firmware won't untrip Knox. So update away, the chances of root are slim to none. I have had 14 or so android smartphones since 2009 and they were all rooted on day one. You can use Package Disabler Pro to get rid of the bloat. If you want some more customization you can use layers from this thread. And there's even Subsratam for Samsung here. I sincerely doubt that the bootloader will be unlocked in the near future.

Down side of rooting ?

Hey there,
I've owned the Note 10+ (Exynos) since release and i haven't rooted it once. I remember the last phone is the note 8 and i did root it, but i remember when i wanted to return to stock to sell that phone i ran into some trouble.
For example the Samsung Pass, Samsung Health Apps etc... don't work anymore after your root your phone, is this still a thing ? Because i'm considering rooting the note 10+ now and i need to know if i can successfully get everything back the way it was before rooting ?
Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks
Warnahly said:
Hey there,
I've owned the Note 10+ (Exynos) since release and i haven't rooted it once. I remember the last phone is the note 8 and i did root it, but i remember when i wanted to return to stock to sell that phone i ran into some trouble.
For example the Samsung Pass, Samsung Health Apps etc... don't work anymore after your root your phone, is this still a thing ? Because i'm considering rooting the note 10+ now and i need to know if i can successfully get everything back the way it was before rooting ?
Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello. yes rooting is a bit of a problem nowadays. Samsung REALLY does not want you to root their Androids for whatever reason. Here are the disadvantages:
1) When you power up the device, a FILTHY boot-up screen pops up and takes 8 seconds and a button press to fully boot the device [see the full details and EXYNOS ONLY bypass here: Boot Pop up remove
2) The KNOX counter [hardware fuse] trips and goes 0x1 [Some devices get OTA updates after locking the bootloader and flashing full ODIN stock, but didn't happen for me. Also it voids the warranty]
3) All the KNOX secured apps [Secure Folder, Samsung Health, Pay etc.] will NOT work [there are bypasses for Samsung Health, Samsung Music and Secure Folder but say goodbye to Samsung Pay]
4) Samsung will refuse to repair your phone and you have to look at 3rd Party options to repair if anything goes wrong. [no bypass to that]
5) Once you unlock the bootloader, you can never lock it again [ idk much about this one, some people say you can lock it again. Gotta look it up ]
Also rooting with TWRP in of itself is a gigantic hassle nowadays [I really miss the days when we could just flash TWRP with ODIN and call it a day].
NullCode said:
hello. yes rooting is a bit of a problem nowadays. Samsung REALLY does not want you to root their Androids for whatever reason. Here are the disadvantages:
1) When you power up the device, a FILTHY boot-up screen pops up and takes 8 seconds and a button press to fully boot the device [see the full details and EXYNOS ONLY bypass here: Boot Pop up remove
2) The KNOX counter trips and goes 0x1 [This will prevent you from ever getting OTA updates and it voids the warranty]
3) All the KNOX secured apps [Secure Folder, Samsung Health, Pay etc.] will NOT work [there are bypasses for Samsung Health, Samsung Music and Secure Folder but say goodbye to Samsung Pay]
4) Samsung will refuse to repair your phone and you have to look at 3rd Party options to repair if anything goes wrong. [no bypass to that]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean as far as the boot up issue its fixed so that's fine, in terms of the counter, even if i restored the stock rom and removed root i won't ever get OTA updates ?
Ahhh i seriously hate samsung now ! let me mess up my phone the way i want
Well, that is the price to pay to really ensure a safe device, specially when using banking apps, and corporative enviroments, knox is really good in this regard, the e-fuse is a total warranty for knowing if a device is compromised at deep levels, so, that is how things are these days…
The e-fuse status (0x1) on the bootloader screen can be spoofed to look like it hasn't. Just checking the bootloader before purchasing a 2nd hand device is no longer a guarantee that you have a "secure" device...
This means that if you do get a device that looks secure you might actually get a few nasty surprises when certain apps just won't work or if you try to flash OTA updates yourself through ODIN...
Buyer beware...
Warnahly said:
I mean as far as the boot up issue its fixed so that's fine, in terms of the counter, even if i restored the stock rom and removed root i won't ever get OTA updates ?
Ahhh i seriously hate samsung now ! let me mess up my phone the way i want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup. even after you full flash stock, it's still gonna be 0x1 and no more OTA updates. But you still can do firmware updates with ODIN (remember it wipes everything including the Internal Storage). Tons of guides on Google, find one.
Just a tiny correction to this thread: it's not true that you can "never" get ota updates ever again. If you flash stock again, you will receive OTAs.
Source: my previously rooted note10+.
As for samsung pay, my country doesn't support it, so no loss there, s-health you get working with a build.prop line, and secure folder is more or less a gimmick for me. As for getting your phone warrantied, i had my friend get his rooted s6e+ replaced for dead camera pixels with no issues. And from what i read european countries have laws separating hardware warranties from software. But i could be wrong on this.
With that being said, unless you have a specialised application for it, rooting isn't worth it anymore imo. It was back when touchwiz was a bloated pos and flashing cyanogenmod gave you a really noticeable advantage, but samsung caught up software wise.
Rooting and installing a custom rom takes me back to good old htc hd2 days.... I've rooted all my phones up to the original pixel. After further looking into rooting and how it can affect security I decided to opt out of rooting for the next 4-5 years. I feel like back then, the OS weren't this customizable as todays phones are. I do miss Xposed Frameworks though
As some posters above say, unless you want very, very badly some app that requires root, it is not worth the hassle and the security issues, I really loved Viper sound, which requires root, but, I decided not to root since the note 7, now samsung one UI gives a very good customization, I do apreciate Knox, and some banking and streaming apps refuse to work on rooted devices, so, I said bye to viper…
Not being rooted, I really miss titanium backup. Every time I get a new phone I end up losing progress or data in some app or other, usually a game. There was one game I had spent a decent bit of money on, years ago now, on my note 4, and it didn't transfer properly to my note 7, and I lost all my progress and the money I had spent on it.
I really feel like consumer protection laws should mandate that the manufacturers can't make rooting impossible like they do. I don't care about losing knox or Samsung apps, heck, part of why I root is to get that crap I don't use off my phone! I miss lineageos. Samsung's android customization isn't to my taste.
I agree with you about root, somebody buys a phone, therefore that person should be able to do anything to it, but, for other part, if rooting is all that important for you, you might very well cosidered getting a rootable device, I rooted my devices in the past, begining with a S3, these days I just miss Viper, but, considering how samsung has progressed with itd UI, I no longer think about root, furthermore, I use a number of apps that do not work when root is detected, so, in the end every one has to think carefully what really needs before getting a device
the only thing i miss on stock, are proper backups as in TWRP or in Titanium Backup, as a lot of things are not restorable with SmartSwitch. also i miss the possibility to completely uninstall bloatware like facebook or netflix and others. i see no reason, why these are part of the OS. CCSWE is quite a big help in that matter, though. for OTA, you can have them, when you re-lock the bootloader and odin stock on the device (at least on the S10+)
blackspy_ said:
the only thing i miss on stock, are proper backups as in TWRP or in Titanium Backup, as a lot of things are not restorable with SmartSwitch. also i miss the possibility to completely uninstall bloatware like facebook or netflix and others. i see no reason, why these are part of the OS. CCSWE is quite a big help in that matter, though. for OTA, you can have them, when you re-lock the bootloader and odin stock on the device (at least on the S10+)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as for backup I think I heard about a software called helium, which backs up apps w/o root. Also you can disable/remove bloatware using a PC and ADB w/o root. Here you go: https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/
---------- Post added at 07:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:21 AM ----------
Rainbow_Dash said:
Just a tiny correction to this thread: it's not true that you can "never" get ota updates ever again. If you flash stock again, you will receive OTAs.
Source: my previously rooted note10+.
As for samsung pay, my country doesn't support it, so no loss there, s-health you get working with a build.prop line, and secure folder is more or less a gimmick for me. As for getting your phone warrantied, i had my friend get his rooted s6e+ replaced for dead camera pixels with no issues. And from what i read european countries have laws separating hardware warranties from software. But i could be wrong on this.
With that being said, unless you have a specialised application for it, rooting isn't worth it anymore imo. It was back when touchwiz was a bloated pos and flashing cyanogenmod gave you a really noticeable advantage, but samsung caught up software wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot for correcting me. Even after I flashed full stock on my Tab S3, it would not detect OTA updates and some updates totally soft-bricked it. Editing my post for correction
i went fir CCSWE,regarding disabling.

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