[Root Question] How to I Install Xposed on Rooted Amazon Fire TV 2? (Guide Please) - Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

How to I Install Xposed on Rooted Amazon Fire TV 2? (Guide Please)
Do I download XposedInstaller_3.0_alpha4.apk? and xposed-v78-sdk21-arm64.zip?
Please Help
Could I Use Flashfire?

You can't install xposed since there is no custom recovery

Tried with Flashfire where no custom recovery is needed ? what version of xposed should i try?

No Luck with Flashfire and xposed v78-sdk22-arm 64. Going to have to wait for a fix

yeah I've had no luck, just have to wait I guess

ians325 said:
No Luck with Flashfire and xposed v78-sdk22-arm 64. Going to have to wait for a fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you encounter boot loop or soft-brick when you attempted this?

z_thompsonpa said:
Did you encounter boot loop or soft-brick when you attempted this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No

ians325 said:
No
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! You prompted me to give this a shot after confirming that it wouldn't do any serious damage. I found some things out in the process that explain why this isn't working as of yet.
The Xposed zip you mentioned requires the following Linux GNU tools (or equivalent):
cut
find
head
sed
I suspect this is why it is failing, because I was able to backup my system partition and restore my backed-up system partition through FlashFire. (more on this later)
Sooo.. I thought why not go all the way and try to install BusyBox first? ..since this would fix the missing commands
Much to my surprise the Busybox install actually worked and I had the whole suite of linux commands at my disposal!!!
Things went south pretty quick, though, when I realized that SELinux was blocking my ability to run the following command:
I couldn't run this command:
Code:
mount -o remount rw /system
So, this would prevent a further attempt at installing Xposed through Flashfire, because it would have to mount the system partition as rw in order to modify the files and add the Xposed framework.
I ended up restoring my system partition after this fiasco using Flashfire. It re-enabled my ability to remount /system as rw and SELinux has seemed to calm down in the logs.
In conclusion:
Xposed requires Busybox
[*]SELinux enforces more policies when Busybox is installed
[*]Setting SELinux to Permissive has no effect
EDIT: **Details in my next post**

z_thompsonpa said:
Thanks! You prompted me to give this a shot after confirming that it wouldn't do any serious damage. I found some things out in the process that explain why this isn't working as of yet.
The Xposed zip you mentioned requires the following Linux GNU tools (or equivalent):
cut
find
head
sed
I suspect this is why it is failing, because I was able to backup my system partition and restore my backed-up system partition through FlashFire. (more on this later)
Sooo.. I thought why not go all the way and try to install BusyBox first? ..since this would fix the missing commands
Much to my surprise the Busybox install actually worked and I had the whole suite of linux commands at my disposal!!!
Things went south pretty quick, though, when I realized that SELinux was blocking my ability to run the following command:
Code:
mount -o remount rw /system
So, this would prevent a further attempt at installing Xposed through Flashfire, because it would have to mount the system partition as rw in order to modify the files and add the Xposed framework.
I ended up restoring my system partition after this fiasco using Flashfire. It re-enabled my ability to remount /system as rw and SELinux has seemed to calm down in the logs.
In conclusion:
Xposed requires Busybox
SELinux enforces more policies when Busybox is installed
Setting SELinux to Permissive has no effect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice work, have you seen this tidbit on BusyBox Github for SELinux?
https://github.com/ukanth/afwall/wiki/BusyBox#difference-between-selinux-and-non-selinux-busybox
There's also some decent results on Google that may offer some clues... https://www.google.com/search?q=SELinux+mount+system+as+rw+android&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

fldash said:
Nice work, have you seen this tidbit on BusyBox Github for SELinux?
https://github.com/ukanth/afwall/wiki/BusyBox#difference-between-selinux-and-non-selinux-busybox
There's also some decent results on Google that may offer some clues... https://www.google.com/search?q=SELinux+mount+system+as+rw+android&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for helping out. I jumped the gun on blaming SELinux. I'll go back and edit my previous post.
BusyBox, as far as I can tell works great!
(It will probably require more testing, but for the time being I am not having any issues.)
I figured out what was causing the problem with the inability to mount /system as rw. It was actually caused by attempting to flash Xposed, I believe. I tried it all again tonight and stopped this time after installing BusyBox and before flashing Xposed using Flashfire. I was still able to mount /system properly with functional GNU utils. I hadn't tested this before at this this stage.
I couldn't remount because of "orphaned inodes" after attempting to flash Xposed. Pretty sure this means its corrupting the partition, but yet its still mountable as read-only.
I restored my /system again to get everything back to normal and just installed BusyBox this time. So far so good...
I want to go back and try to flash Xposed again, and this time look in the logs folder. I think the addition of the BusyBox binaries are causing the installer script to error somewhere else during execution causing the partition corruption. Who knows.. there may be a workaround.

keep up the good work

z_thompsonpa said:
Thanks for helping out. I jumped the gun on blaming SELinux. I'll go back and edit my previous post.
BusyBox, as far as I can tell works great!
(It will probably require more testing, but for the time being I am not having any issues.)
I figured out what was causing the problem with the inability to mount /system as rw. It was actually caused by attempting to flash Xposed, I believe. I tried it all again tonight and stopped this time after installing BusyBox and before flashing Xposed using Flashfire. I was still able to mount /system properly with functional GNU utils. I hadn't tested this before at this this stage.
I couldn't remount because of "orphaned inodes" after attempting to flash Xposed. Pretty sure this means its corrupting the partition, but yet its still mountable as read-only.
I restored my /system again to get everything back to normal and just installed BusyBox this time. So far so good...
I want to go back and try to flash Xposed again, and this time look in the logs folder. I think the addition of the BusyBox binaries are causing the installer script to error somewhere else during execution causing the partition corruption. Who knows.. there may be a workaround.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you restoring your system partition? Using that diff patcher (for root) with a USB A-A cable?

fldash said:
How are you restoring your system partition? Using that diff patcher (for root) with a USB A-A cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had to break out the USB A-A cable yet... thankfully (except for root of course).
I used Flashfire to backup my /system partition as RAW backup before I started all of this experimentation. I have just been restoring back to this known good state using Flashfire after each time I corrupt the system partition.
I intended on trying this method, and if it didn't work to fall back to the method mentioned in the root thread. I checked the logs last night and Flashfire seems to be succeeding at this task, at least.
Right now, I am picking through the Xposed installer script source and using the Flashfire logs to debug why it is failing. It appears to be a permissions issue, but a lot of the stdout/stderr is suppressed so its hard to tell exactly where. When I get home today, I am going to try to modify the installer script to produce more output so I can debug the issue further. If I cant figure it out, I'll post my findings either way.

I've fixed a few bugs in the flash script already, but it always errors on overwriting:
Code:
/system/lib/libart.so
It's throwing some error about read-only filesystem. (I'll post exact error later)
I've thrown in some checks to see if the /system mount is unmounting or something odd like that, but that's not it.
I've got a few guesses as to why, but I am not going to mention them until I have more solid evidence.
Any advice would help as well... I just wanted to post the update I promised.

z_thompsonpa said:
Thanks for helping out. I jumped the gun on blaming SELinux. I'll go back and edit my previous post.
BusyBox, as far as I can tell works great!
(It will probably require more testing, but for the time being I am not having any issues.)
I figured out what was causing the problem with the inability to mount /system as rw. It was actually caused by attempting to flash Xposed, I believe. I tried it all again tonight and stopped this time after installing BusyBox and before flashing Xposed using Flashfire. I was still able to mount /system properly with functional GNU utils. I hadn't tested this before at this this stage.
I couldn't remount because of "orphaned inodes" after attempting to flash Xposed. Pretty sure this means its corrupting the partition, but yet its still mountable as read-only.
I restored my /system again to get everything back to normal and just installed BusyBox this time. So far so good...
I want to go back and try to flash Xposed again, and this time look in the logs folder. I think the addition of the BusyBox binaries are causing the installer script to error somewhere else during execution causing the partition corruption. Who knows.. there may be a workaround.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
z_thompsonpa said:
I've fixed a few bugs in the flash script already, but it always errors on overwriting:
Code:
/system/lib/libart.so
It's throwing some error about read-only filesystem. (I'll post exact error later)
I've thrown in some checks to see if the /system mount is unmounting or something odd like that, but that's not it.
I've got a few guesses as to why, but I am not going to mention them until I have more solid evidence.
Any advice would help as well... I just wanted to post the update I promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we should go another method. Use the tools in the root thread to just create an image with Xposed/root and just do a DIFF.

fldash said:
I think we should go another method. Use the tools in the root thread to just create an image with Xposed/root and just do a DIFF.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so... I am pretty sure its a dead end. I also tested using adb to write the files and it failed on /system/lib/libart.so, as well. It's, I believe, because the object is loaded in memory?? don't quote me on that... but loading through preloader, I think, would avoid this limitation as ART is not running.

So can anyone in here tell me if its possible to have xposed on fire tv 2 5.0.5 thats rooted and now has twrp recovery on ? I have tried to flash the xposed zip in recovery but when i reboot its stuck at amazon logo. Went back into recovery and flashed rbox's pre rooted 5.0.5 and booted normally. Id like to have (im sure many others would also) xposed and playstore, ive searched the forums but because rbox method is new there is no information on this subject now.

sconnyuk said:
So can anyone in here tell me if its possible to have xposed on fire tv 2 5.0.5 thats rooted and now has twrp recovery on ? I have tried to flash the xposed zip in recovery but when i reboot its stuck at amazon logo. Went back into recovery and flashed rbox's pre rooted 5.0.5 and booted normally. Id like to have (im sure many others would also) xposed and playstore, ive searched the forums but because rbox method is new there is no information on this subject now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use this method, I've slightly modified the text from another post & added it into a text file for you, this works a 100% but as usual I take no responsibility if you do any thing wrong & brick the Fire Tv2.
Enjoy & press that thanks button If this helped you

Thanks for this. I will try it shortly and report back if it works for me. I have stumbled upon another thread that the guys seem to be working on playstore issues, http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/help/q-guide-to-getting-google-play-rbox-t3310974

Made a guide here if anyone wants to install
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/general/installing-xposed-fire-tv-2-guide-t3314142

Related

castrated aftv

I castrated one of my aftvs; through an incredibly bone-headed series of events I disabled adbd AND left myself without an alternate entryway for repairs (terminal or ssh). Now I have an aftv that Amazon would love -- no sideloading at all, device only usable for Amazon content. It's stuck on 51107.
I was hoping that the new software update would make it whole (if unrootable), but when I check for new software update I get nada.
jocala said:
I castrated one of my aftvs; through an incredibly bone-headed series of events I disabled adbd AND left myself without an alternate entryway for repairs (terminal or ssh). Now I have an aftv that Amazon would love -- no sideloading at all, device only usable for Amazon content. It's stuck on 51107.
I was hoping that the new software update would make it whole (if unrootable), but when I check for new software update I get nada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can play content why can't you go into settings and re-enable ADB?
kairnage said:
If you can play content why can't you go into settings and re-enable ADB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that simple. The problem involves a script running adbd as root after boot. Running adbd as root lets you do some cool stuff you can't do otherwise. Worked pre-boot, failed post-boot, leaving the box w/o adbd. Sucks to be me
Anyway, if you're going to play with internals, have a back door enabled. Lesson learned here, thought I'd pass it on. Locked bootloaders stink.
what about booting to recovery menu, clearing cache, restoring to factory defaults from there? Surely that would un**** your system?
jocala said:
I castrated one of my aftvs;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFL...sorry, I feel your pain, but I love the subject line...can't stop laughing.
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
roligov said:
what about booting to recovery menu, clearing cache, restoring to factory defaults from there? Surely that would un**** your system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope
The problem lies in the install-recovery-2.sh script. Restoring to factory default doesn't seem to touch /system/etc.
jocala said:
Nope
The problem lies in the install-recovery-2.sh script. Restoring to factory default doesn't seem to touch /system/etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, if there is a problem in /system and you can't get a root shell, there really isn't anything that can be done. There is no way to force recovery to use an update.zip because there is no way to get it on there, and that's the only way to get recovery to write to /system. The only solution I know is to mount the emmc chip in linux and fix the /system partition: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55280958&postcount=254
rbox said:
Unfortunately, if there is a problem in /system and you can't get a root shell, there really isn't anything that can be done. There is no way to force recovery to use an update.zip because there is no way to get it on there, and that's the only way to get recovery to write to /system. The only solution I know is to mount the emmc chip in linux and fix the /system partition: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55280958&postcount=254
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Thanks for the link to gtvhacker. I wasn't aware of that method.

Es File Explorer issue

I'm having a problem with es file explorer and root explorer. Last night my fire tv kept booting to home screen and rebooting, so I had to re-install 5.0.5.1 prerooted rom thru recovery. I reinstalled all my apps, and when trying to enable root explorer, I get the superuser request as usual, I grant and get the notification that it's been granted. Root explorer access is enabled for about 6 seconds before disabling with the message "Sorry, test failed. This feature cannot run on your device". Adaway works fine when asking for su permission. Only thing I did differently this time around with installation of the rom is I installed Es file explorer and tried to enable root explorer before doing the SU command from adb shell. I've since uninstalled and reinstalled ES file explorer and reacquiring SU permission but it does the same thing. I went and installed a much older version and it does the exact same thing. Anyone else come across this problem?
The only thing I could suggest would be to remove the manager app es file explorer & reinstall the prerooted rom again? Then start fresh, Su, then after you get access then reinstall es? Only other thing I would say if that don't work is do a factory reset (but only do it from within TWRP Recovery!) Then reinstall the prerooted, block updates, grant Su & then see if that works for you? I use ES pro & Root Explorer & haven't had no problems at all.
deanr1977 said:
The only thing I could suggest would be to remove the manager app es file explorer & reinstall the prerooted rom again? Then start fresh, Su, then after you get access then reinstall es? Only other thing I would say if that don't work is do a factory reset (but only do it from within TWRP Recovery!) Then reinstall the prerooted, block updates, grant Su & then see if that works for you? I use ES pro & Root Explorer & haven't had no problems at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. I'll do what another user suggested and use Total Commander instead as I have it installed and granted root access for it, and it does the same functions. I haven't had any issues with es file explorer on my ftv 2 at all, but another user reported the exact same problem in a different thread on this forum so I'm not alone.
Ok mate no worries, just a note I have both manager apps working on 2 sticks (1 rooted & 1 not, both updates blocked but on different firmware) & also on my prerooted AFTV2 so dunno what happened with yours & the other forum member?
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
i have this same issue on 2 firebox's after a full conversion from os3, running rbox latest 5.2.x
both give the identical error, yet other apps are getting su control just fine?
any idea's? @rbox
I am having this problem on my first FTV1 I upgraded from PreRooted FireOS 3 to latest PreRooted FireOS 5. It is a fully rooted with fully unlocked bootloader FTV1. ES File Explorer is giving me this error when trying to turn on its Root Explorer option and all though Total Commander & Root Explorer are not giving me this error. They are not letting me copy files from a Root folder into regular storage. I can view them & choose them but it errors out when trying to copy over. I had to copy them thru TWRP.
I plan to do a Factory Reset thru TWRP & reinstall the latest PreRooted Rom again. But this time after doing the TWRP special build number update blocking tweak. I plan to run the SU command before installing any apps. Will see if that helps at all or not. If not I will post more detail info in case someone can help. This is the last bug I've encounter since doing the move from FireOS 3 to FireOS 5.
@d3adpool , @deanr1977 , @LittleBill21
Where you guys ever able to come up with an answer or fix for this issue ??
Unfortunately no, I'm sure reinstalling the rom via twrp would've fixed it but never did. That ftv has since stopped working.
Y314K said:
I am having this problem on my first FTV1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ESFE's root explorer has worked fine for me on multiple sticks, running various firmware versions (5.0.5, 5.2.1.0, pre-rooted 5.0.5_r1)
I didn't see mention of which device the OP was using -- but I'm going to go out on a limb and say FTV1 as well.
The same apk on pre-rooted 5.0.5 FTV1 box gives me that error message.
It seems like this just affects 1st-gen firetv boxes.
The question is whether it's linked/limited to pre-rooted bueller ROMs or just AFTV1's in general.
I didn't use ESFE until I was already on bueller-5.0.5_r2, I wonder if it works on stock 5.x.x rooted with kingroot?
d3adpool said:
Unfortunately no, I'm sure reinstalling the rom via twrp would've fixed it but never did. That ftv has since stopped working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear that, thanks for responding. I had already done a few reinstalling of the latest PreRooted Rom via TWRP without that fixing it. Will keep at it, though.
phresch said:
ESFE's root explorer has worked fine for me on multiple sticks, running various firmware versions (5.0.5, 5.2.1.0, pre-rooted 5.0.5_r1)
I didn't see mention of which device the OP was using -- but I'm going to go out on a limb and say FTV1 as well.
The same apk on pre-rooted 5.0.5 FTV1 box gives me that error message.
It seems like this just affects 1st-gen firetv boxes.
The question is whether it's linked/limited to pre-rooted bueller ROMs or just AFTV1's in general.
I didn't use ESFE until I was already on bueller-5.0.5_r2, I wonder if it works on stock 5.x.x rooted with kingroot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is definitely an FTV1 Bueller on FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom problem. And in my case it is tied to the "unable to access the /sdcard and other directories while in su mode" bug. But the .zip fix provided over @ the PreRooted Rom OP is not fixing the issue. Gonna post a more detail assessment of what I am encountering & what I've tried to fix the issue & failed so far in a bit.
---------- Post added at 01:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 AM ----------
@RBox ; @AFTVnews.com
Decided to upgrade my first TowlRoot Rooted Bueller FTV1 on the last FireOS 3 PreRooted Rom (v51.1.6.3) to the latest FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom (v5.2.1.1_r1). I verified that I meet all the requirements. My bootloader was FULLY unlocked & I was on the latest CWM (v6.0.5.1.4a) with BootMenu (v1.0). I decided I wanted from the start the upgrade on as a clean as possible FTV1. So I uninstalled all programs except for SuperSU. Then I went into CWM & did a Factory Reset (Wipe Dalvik, Cache, Factory Reset) from within CWM & Reinstalled the last FireOS 3 PreRooted Rom (v51.1.6.3). All that was left after the Factory Reset was SuperSU.
Then I pushed over the TWRP bueller-twrp_3.0.0-7.img to the /SDCard & verified it's hash to make sure it was not a corrupt upload. Then I ran the command to switch to the TWRP recovery & everything installed perfectly.
I had ready a USB stick (Fat32) so I could install & md5 verify the FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom (v5.2.1.1_r1) on installation. Booted into TWRP & first did a wipe from within TWRP of Dalvik, Cache, Data & Internal Storage. Then installed the FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom (v5.2.1.1_r1) without any errors. Then I rebooted into system & it went thru it's paces. I did hit a road block when it came to check updates. This was because I was blocking the HTTPS update address from both my router & thru OpenDNS. I did a few re-flashes of the FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom (v5.2.1.1_r1) until I figure out that since this was the latest Rom version I should just let it talk to the update servers or do the PropBuild mod. So finally I got past the update nag. I first turned on ADB Debuging & I first did the SU command & chose to GRANT SuperUser rights. Then I did the update block command from SU. I installed my apps & the only bug I found after that was that ES File Explorer, even after it has been granted SuperUSer rights. It will error out "Sorry, test failed. This feature cannot run on your device". I thought this problem was just with ES file Explorer. But it seems to happen to a lesser degree on Total Commander & Root Explorer too. On those I can see the Root directories. But if I ever try to copy something over from /Root to /SDcard or to /USB it won't allow it. They will have some type of error that stops it. Or makes /SDCard disappear.
Then I notice the "Can't cd to /sdcard after using su? Install this TWRP flashable zip to fix it." post in the PreRooted Rom's OP. And decided to do the SU test of "[email protected]:/ # ls -al /sdcard" & sure enough. I always get the non SU response of:
"lrwxrwxrwx root root 1970-01-06 19:40 sdcard -> /storage/emulated/legacy"
I tried flashing the bueller-fixsusdcard.zip thru TWRP on that install but nothing changed on the test response. Then I tried to do a full reinstall of the PreRooted Rom with the bueller-fixsusdcard.zip as a secondary .zip to flash during the installation. And same... Then I re-verified that I do have a unlocked bootloader. And that I am rooted. Passed on both. I was able to verified I am rooted by using an SDCard app while trying to see what size my MBCache.db file was. I was able to find it in /Data/Data/ without any problem.
So this is where I am at. I wonder if the bueller-fixsusdcard.zip file needs an update for FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom (v5.2.1.1_r1). Or should we try to install SuperSU as a secondary .zip file in TWRP or what can possibly be the answer to getting SU & Root working properly.
I would appreciate any ideas to try.
Y314K said:
This is definitely an FTV1 Bueller on FireOS 5 PreRooted Rom problem. And in my case it is tied to the "unable to access the /sdcard and other directories while in su mode" bug. But the .zip fix provided over @ the PreRooted Rom OP is not fixing the issue. Gonna post a more detail assessment of what I am encountering & what I've tried to fix the issue & failed so far in a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the su & /sdcard/ problem too.
I'm going to guess that things went something like this (they did for me):
1] installed twrp & pre-rooted bueller ROM
2] discovered that the included superSU had no GUI
3] replaced superSU with another version to access a GUI
4] discovered su/sdcard bug
5] found & flashed the zip fix
6] tried to su /sdcard/ & still doesn't work
But if I ever try to copy something over from /Root to /SDcard or to /USB it won't allow it. They will have some type of error that stops it. Or makes /SDCard disappear.
Then I notice the "Can't cd to /sdcard after using su? Install this TWRP flashable zip to fix it." post in the PreRooted Rom's OP. And decided to do the SU test of "[email protected]:/ # ls -al /sdcard" & sure enough. I always get the non SU response of:
"lrwxrwxrwx root root 1970-01-06 19:40 sdcard -> /storage/emulated/legacy"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to remedy this part of the problem; at this point, I still can't access Root Explorer within ES File Explorer..
However, I am able to access /sdcard/ and other previously invisible folders, as well as using RootBrowser and RootExplorer apps.
I'm pretty sure the reason that the zip flash didn't work is because (assuming swapped versions of superSU) your installed superSU binaries are different from the ones the zip was intended to fix.
You have a couple of options, both will give pretty close to the same end result:
First option:
1. re-flash your firmware ROM
2. flash the zip to fix the mount namespace problem
3. install a different SuperSU with a GUI
Second option:
Install a version of SuperSU that includes a 'disable mount namespace' toggle button, and toggle it. v2.05 works for me.
Hopefully that helps
phresch said:
...
Second option:
Install a version of SuperSU that includes a 'disable mount namespace' toggle button, and toggle it. v2.05 works for me.
Hopefully that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I searched for a download of v2.05 and could only fine sources that I did not trust. Do you have a link to that version?
phresch said:
I had the su & /sdcard/ problem too.
I'm going to guess that things went something like this (they did for me):
1] installed twrp & pre-rooted bueller ROM
2] discovered that the included superSU had no GUI
3] replaced superSU with another version to access a GUI
4] discovered su/sdcard bug
5] found & flashed the zip fix
6] tried to su /sdcard/ & still doesn't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried to change or flash to a different SuperSU then the one that comes stock with the PreRooted Roms. Which is v2.46. Trying my best not to loose having a Fully unlocked bootloader. Are you flashing/testing the different versions of SuperSU thru TWRP or are you just flashing APK's just to try to see which one's GUI might still work ?
I notice the SU /SDCard bug only after trying out Total Commander & Root Explorer. Others said those where working fine for them. But for me it looked like they where gonna work fine. But as soon as any of those went to Root mode. I started to see bugs in those programs too. Although in those programs I can at least view Root files. And this last time Root Explorer is letting me copy files over from Root to /SDCard. Total Commander is still hanging when trying to copy files from Root to /SDCard. Like I said this last time I installed the /SDCard SU .zip fix right after I flashed the PreRooted Rom. So it did changed something. But from ADB I still get the same response from the SU List command.
phresch said:
I was able to remedy this part of the problem; at this point, I still can't access Root Explorer within ES File Explorer..
However, I am able to access /sdcard/ and other previously invisible folders, as well as using RootBrowser and RootExplorer apps.
I'm pretty sure the reason that the zip flash didn't work is because (assuming swapped versions of superSU) your installed superSU binaries are different from the ones the zip was intended to fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not swapped SuperSU from what comes with the PreRooted Rom. Trying other SuperSU versions might be something I do after getting some feedback from @rbox since I really do not want to accidentally loose my Fully unlocked bootloader.
phresch said:
You have a couple of options, both will give pretty close to the same end result:
First option:
1. re-flash your firmware ROM
2. flash the zip to fix the mount namespace problem
3. install a different SuperSU with a GUI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you doing the SuperSU changing thru APK flashing or thru TWRP zip flashing ? Do you know a link to where we can find most versions of SuperSU from v2.16 (used when we towelrooted) to v2.78 ? I see v2.79 is the latest version. Have you tried v2.79 on your FTV1 ? Is there a version of SuperSU we shouldn't go beyond ?
phresch said:
Second option:
Install a version of SuperSU that includes a 'disable mount namespace' toggle button, and toggle it. v2.05 works for me.
Hopefully that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please post v2.05. I wonder if we can go down to v2.05 for that option. And then when things are working right go back to v2.46.
Either way ES File Explorer / Root Setting will not work for your right. Not matter what?
Hope I can get past this bug before updating my other 3 FTV1's.
Just ran into something else that is very odd. I've been using Amazon FireTV Utility App v0.66 to access ADB non-Root & Root Shell. Decided to switch to the stand-alone "adb-setup-1.4.3" to see if that would help with the SU commands. But I found that as soon as I give it the "adb shell su" command. Even if SuperSU has been granted full access on a fresh install of the PreRooted Rom on the FTV1. The "[email protected]:/ # _" line gives me a blinking _ & it won't let me input anything else. On the FTV1's screen it says "ADB Shell (2000)" was granted root access each time. But I can't get past that. Is like ADB never receives the granted access response. Then I have to CTRL+C to be able to input anything & exit. This happens whether I opened the CMD with & without Admin rights on my Windows 8.1 PC.
Gonna try downgrading to adb-setup-1.4.2 but I doubt it will make a difference. So the bugs are bunching up. Seems SuperSU is not being installed or allowed to work properly. Any help would be appreciated.
Forgot that on FireOS 5 you have to break the command.
First "adb shell" to get "[email protected]:/ $" & then just "su" to get to "[email protected]:/ #" without it freezing.
The /SDCard list still had the same response though.
"lrwxrwxrwx root root 1970-01-07 19:45 sdcard -> /storage/emulated/legacy"
Solution:
First let me start by Thanking @rbox , @AFTVnews.com , @zroice , @phresch for all their work & feedback.
Was finally able to test multiple options & found a reproducible solution to this problem. The key was in @zroice post about Holo Themer.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/fi...w-to-supersu-xposed-app-t3552590#post71703744
Basically you got to make sure you install or have installed the latest version of BusyBox & XPosed & HDXPosed Module. And to have activated Holo Themer from within XPosed so you can run the SuperSU APK that comes with the PreRooted Rom. SuperSU should ask you to update. Once you have done a "Normal" update like we did when we first rooted our FTV1's then that should fix the Root Option fail that ES File Explorer & other apps have had. I am guessing the problem comes when we uninstall or wipe our FTV1's during our FireOS 3 to FireOS 5 update. Some of us thought BusyBox & Xposed would not be as important to functionality on FireOS 5 as it was on FireOS 3.
Make sure you only activate Holo Themer on a per needed basis. Since it will make your FTV reboot randomly if you leave it on all the time.
And like always. As long as you installed TWRP correctly. You can always start anew with a wipe (NEVER WIPE SYSTEM) & install of the latest PreRooted ROM. I would also recommend having all the files you know you will need in a USB drive or SDCard in FTV2's case ready to go & in separate folders before you start flashing away. Makes things much easier.
If you forgot how to install BusyBox or XPosed you can always find how in the many guides over @ AFTVNews.com . For me even the old FireOS 3 guides & FTV2 guides help as a good refresher or visual confirmation.

Android 7.0 & /etc/hosts

/etc/hosts blacklist entries seem to be ignored with Android 7.0 (e.g. adding 127.0.0.1 amazon.com still allows me to reach amazon.com). Is anyone else experiencing something similar or familiar with any gotchas around Android 7.0 and modifying /system/etc/hosts?
I'm running official Nexus 5X Android 7.0 build number NRD90R. I have an engineering build of android that I boot from as follows to modify my /system/etc/hosts file:
adb reboot-bootloader
fastboot boot my-recovery.img
<mount from phone menu>
adb remount
adb push my-hosts system/etc/hosts
adb shell
chmod 644 system/etc/hosts
exit
<reboot from phone menu>
I've been using this process after every OTA update since Android 6.0, and it's been working. I also noticed that I'm not getting the red warning on boot any more (the one you get after you modify anything on the system partition), just the yellow warning (the one you get from having phone unlocked). Maybe I did something wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but I could sure use a sanity check.
Could be related to java cache, after a modification to hosts file you should reboot to let the cache reload. Try it.
The OS is not booted when editing hosts since it's being edited from a recovery image with the system mounted into it. The last step is to reboot. I did reboot the phone again for good measure and it's still not working. If it is a cache related thing, it lives through reboot. I suspect it's not though as I was seeing ads in news websites that I do not frequent.
Any other thoughts?
Are you using chrome? Did you disable data saver option in chrome?
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk
Seems to be related to: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nex...oid-nougat-t3445647/post68737720#post68737720 . Basically the files that one would modify by mounting /system are no longer used, afaict.
When I boot a live image, mount the system partition, and make a modification (i.e. /system/etc/hosts), that change is persisted through a reboot back to the live image and remount. However, it's not loaded by the OS when it boots. Instead both /etc/hosts and /system/etc/hosts are unmodified. Odd, and why is there even anything mounted at /system? I'm not sure if there are multiple system partitions or what's going on. I would love to find some information about Android 7.0 that explains.
crashenx said:
Seems to be related to: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nex...oid-nougat-t3445647/post68737720#post68737720 . Basically the files that one would modify by mounting /system are no longer used, afaict.
When I boot a live image, mount the system partition, and make a modification (i.e. /system/etc/hosts), that change is persisted through a reboot back to the live image and remount. However, it's not loaded by the OS when it boots. Instead both /etc/hosts and /system/etc/hosts are unmodified. Odd, and why is there even anything mounted at /system? I'm not sure if there are multiple system partitions or what's going on. I would love to find some information about Android 7.0 that explains.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I responded to your post in the other thread. This is repost.
Android 7.0 introduced redundant bits for reed solomon forward error correction into the system and vendor partitions and code in the kernel to perform the error correction.
Your changes are being written to emmc but when you boot with 7.0 kernel with dm-verity enabled your changes are being treated as data corruption and on-the-fly error corrected back to original.
You can see your changes if you boot into twrp because it has dm-verity disabled. However if you boot into android with dm-verity enabled it will look like original image again even though your changes are technically still there.
It took me a day to figure out what was really going on because i initially had no idea they added this feature to Android N.
The simple way to disable dm-verity is to install SuperSU, but you can also accomplish the same patching your own kernel, installing pre-patched kernel, installing custom kernel, etc.
sfhub said:
I responded to your post in the other thread. This is repost.
Android 7.0 introduced redundant bits for reed solomon forward error correction into the system and vendor partitions and code in the kernel to perform the error correction.
Your changes are being written to emmc but when you boot with 7.0 kernel with dm-verity enabled your changes are being treated as data corruption and on-the-fly error corrected back to original.
You can see your changes if you boot into twrp because it has dm-verity disabled. However if you boot into android with dm-verity enabled it will look like original image again even though your changes are technically still there.
It took me a day to figure out what was really going on because i initially had no idea they added this feature to Android N.
The simple way to disable dm-verity is to install SuperSU, but you can also accomplish the same patching your own kernel, installing pre-patched kernel, installing custom kernel, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good info and makes total sense. Thanks! Pretty neat actually, just a bummer for me.
Yeah so SuperSU path is not really one I want to pursue. I could learn how to update the dm-verity shas used for verification. That'd probably be the most secure, but it's gonna be a PITA I bet. I imagine I'd need to compile my own image similar to how I made my live image and update a few things. Might have to deal with encryption which is probably an even bigger headache. Also, I bet it would break OTA and have to reflash to update, though that's true now.
I'm really curious what AdAway is doing. Maybe I should pursue reverse engineering that.
I really appreciate you pointing us in the right direction.
crashenx said:
I'm really curious what AdAway is doing. Maybe I should pursue reverse engineering that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use adaway but I believe there are 2 ways to install it with Android N. First is to install SuperSU (or otherwise disable dm-verity) and have it update as it always has. 2nd way is systemless where it piggybacks on some init scripts SuperSU has created to mount "over" the existing hosts file. Basically like symlinking but using a mount point on top of the existing file.
sfhub said:
I don't use adaway but I believe there are 2 ways to install it with Android N. First is to install SuperSU (or otherwise disable dm-verity) and have it update as it always has. 2nd way is systemless where it piggybacks on some init scripts SuperSU has created to mount "over" the existing hosts file. Basically like symlinking but using a mount point on top of the existing file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll probably try to go the route of updating init scripts to mount over the existing host file but without using SuperSU or AdAway.

Rooted HTC 10 - cannot mount /system - root incomplete ?

Hi folks,
I need your help.
A few days ago I have received my brand new HTC 10. I updated to latest Android 7 Nougat and began to root remaining stock.
I followed the official guide and unlocked the bootloader, flashed latest TWRP (3.1.1.0) and SuperSU v.2.82SR1 and even got S-OFF by SunShine.
System is up an running and readily booting but...
Fact is I cannot mount /system in TWRP without the option "read-only". When I try to install apps via TWRP I get repeated messages saying "Failed to mount '/system' (Invalid argument) " and usually the apps do not install properly - flashed apps do not show up in the system after reboot.
In the system I have tried to rename a file audio_effects.conf (this is needed to install Viper4Android) in the folder /vendor/etc/ on the device but the folder is strictly read only. Any attempts to mount the folder as RW (using "adb shell", "su", "mount -o remount,rw /system" and similar) have failed. I have tried to gain access to files in the system folder using Root Explorer and Total Commander but the files remain strictly read only. I just get error messages trying to change file attributes, permissions,names).
SuperSU seems to work and according to Root Checker I am properly rooted but I doubt this. Somehow /system seems to be locked and not accessible.
Any ideas what I could do ?
Many thanks for your help ! :good:
Well, I simply flashed Viper10 ROM and the issue was gone.
Feel free to suggest solutions to the problem as somebody else might come accross this thread struggling with a similar issue. I believe the issue was caused by an incompatibility between the latest Android Nougat and the last available TWRP.
Buddha1979 said:
Well, I simply flashed Viper10 ROM and the issue was gone.
I believe the issue was caused by an incompatibility between the latest Android Nougat and the last available TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not an incompatibility issue.
Does anyone know what is causing this? I been running into a similar type issue where I get an error trying to flash ROM's. Tried to do a TWRP backup and it failed to back up data. I do a factory reset and data format and it seems to fix some things but still have trouble flashing ROM's. I was able to restore a nandroid but have ran into this issue a few times. I am on Viper magisk.
plz help a noob
LibertyMonger said:
Does anyone know what is causing this? I been running into a similar type issue where I get an error trying to flash ROM's. Tried to do a TWRP backup and it failed to back up data. I do a factory reset and data format and it seems to fix some things but still have trouble flashing ROM's. I was able to restore a nandroid but have ran into this issue a few times. I am on Viper magisk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also just recently updated to nougat and when i tried to root using the latest (TWRP 3.0.3-11) it seems I get stuck on a screen with red text that says, "This build is for development purpose only . Do not distribute outside of htc without htc's permission."
I know this is not the original question but was hoping someone with more experience could help instead of starting a new thread :/
Thanks much!
I just ran the latest Verizon RUU and I am still getting this error when trying to flash Viper10_5.9.0_MAGISK. Seems system is not mounting, I don't know I will appreciate any help Thank you.

Question Read Only Access to System Files after Root

here are some commands I have tried after root following @sd_shadow 's guide
[email protected] ~ $ adb remount
/system/bin/sh: remount: inaccessible or not found
caprip:/ # mount -o rw,remount /system
mount: '/system' not in /proc/mounts
caprip:/ # mount -o rw,remount /
'/dev/block/dm-0' is read-only
caprip:/ # touch file
touch: 'file': Read-only file system
Wanted to post something like this right now since i have the same problem, i think for adb remount to work you need to first run adb root, but that doesnt work unless you modify ro.debuggable=0 to 1 which cannot be done since you cant mount system as rw, i will keep you updated if i find anything tho!
- Apparently you can modify the boot.img to set ro.debuggable=1 but most of the tools i tried dont recognize this phones boot image as valid so i wont really spend more time on this since i think its something way beyond the scope of what i can do. And the only tool that worked outputted a unusable archive, i think this has to do with the source of the device being closed or something related to why we dont have custom roms on this device yet. But dont take my word for it since i just started playing with stuff like this a few hours ago so i can remap the assistant button.
And even if i could modify it i have a hunch it would behave just as using remount from shell.
If anyone who understands this better than me could provide some insight to my rambling it would be great!
The reason for this behaviour is the unified "super" partition. /system is dynamic, i.e. it may change size depending on future updates. /vendor is also a part of the "super" partition, thus is also read only. There is a way to restore rw access but it a) is not guaranteed and b) affects the ability to apply OTA updates.
If you're willing to take the risk, you should be able to find the relevant post on here (XDA, not the G30 section) with some search fu. You will need a Linux machine and the knowledge to use it. The "run on device" unified script does not fully work on the G30 and you need to reconfig the super image on a Linux box.
Chron0s said:
The reason for this behaviour is the unified "super" partition. /system is dynamic, i.e. it may change size depending on future updates. /vendor is also a part of the "super" partition, thus is also read only. There is a way to restore rw access but it a) is not guaranteed and b) affects the ability to apply OTA updates.
If you're willing to take the risk, you should be able to find the relevant post on here (XDA, not the G30 section) with some search fu. You will need a Linux machine and the knowledge to use it. The "run on device" unified script does not fully work on the G30 and you need to reconfig the super image on a Linux box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I have some more search terms to find what you are talking about?
I can do better than that but with the usual caveats of bootloops, hard-bricks, kicked kittens, spacetime anomalies and global thermonuclear war:
G30 /system rw
I remain totally immune for blame when this goes wrong. You need a disaster recovery strategy in place before trying this. Read the first post in that thread thoroughly before doing anything.
Make sure you have a copy of the correct stock ROM and at least RSD-lite to recover. Also, revert Magisk patched initrd (boot.img - be sure your stock matches the ROM version or you'll lose the touch screen/RIL) before attempting this method - you can restore it later but the script requires the live ROM on the device to be stock. This is not something Motorola can be blamed for, it's upstream and applies to all devices running with a super partition and dynamic /system and /vendor.
More caveats: You will lose OTA updates. You will still need to boot to fastbootd to access /system. There is still currently no custom recovery for this device. A manual update will put you back to square one, which is why I decided to forget rw on /system and use Magisk to debloat/degoogle as the method employed in the debloater persists across updates.
Chron0s said:
I can do better than that but with the usual caveats of bootloops, hard-bricks, kicked kittens, spacetime anomalies and global thermonuclear war:
G30 /system rw
I remain totally immune for blame when this goes wrong. You need a disaster recovery strategy in place before trying this. Read the first post in that thread thoroughly before doing anything.
Make sure you have a copy of the correct stock ROM and at least RSD-lite to recover. Also, revert Magisk patched initrd (boot.img - be sure your stock matches the ROM version or you'll lose the touch screen/RIL) before attempting this method - you can restore it later but the script requires the live ROM on the device to be stock. This is not something Motorola can be blamed for, it's upstream and applies to all devices running with a super partition and dynamic /system and /vendor.
More caveats: You will lose OTA updates. You will still need to boot to fastbootd to access /system. There is still currently no custom recovery for this device. A manual update will put you back to square one, which is why I decided to forget rw on /system and use Magisk to debloat/degoogle as the method employed in the debloater persists across updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as I still have access to the bootloader I it should be fine? Also others on this device thread don't have this issue, why?
As long as you can boot to fastboot, you should be able to recover. There are, of course, exceptions to this as every G5s plus owner who ever deleted the persist partition without a bit-perfect backup will know only too well.
I haven't seen a single instance of anyone on a dynamic /system device, including the Moto G30, being able to remount /system rw without jumping through hoops like these. Perhaps it is simply because most people know that dynamic /system became A Thing recently. Again, this is on Alphabet, not Lenovo/Motorola.
This is also why this device section is full of "how to root" queries as the traditional method of banging su into /system/sbin and installing a management APK doesn't work with dynamic partitions. The only way to get a working su binary onto the system is via initramfs preloaded with the kernel, which is what Magisk patches and is why Magisk is the only root solution for this device.
If you think I'm typing nonsense, that's fine. Here's the advice, it was free and comes with a guarantee worth exactly what you paid for it.
No, not at all. Thanks for your help, Got error 73 which is where the Linux comes in so I imagine it's probably fine? I'll run the repair script when I get home later.
Error 73 is exactly the error I got, which is indeed why you need the older Linux method of patching the super image.

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