root Stories November 7, 2019
One of the biggest complaints about the smaller Google Pixel 4 is its limited battery life, compared to other flagships, and even last year’s Pixel 3. In case you were looking for a way to kill that battery life even faster, a mod for rooted Pixel 4 phones can enable “high brightness mode” to make the display even brighter.
root Stories October 31, 2016
PSA: Chainfire releases root method for Google Pixel
We told you last week that Chainfire had achieved root on the Google Pixel, and as we predicted, said systemless root is now available for you to download.
root Stories August 29, 2016
Rooting your Android device can bring a lot of benefits, but in today’s safety first world, Google is pushing root out of the picture for many important apps. A great example of this is Android Pay. Since its debut, developers have been working hard to get the service working for users who are rooted, but unfortunately, they haven’t seen much success.
root Stories March 16, 2015
PSA: Samsung’s Galaxy S6 has been rooted by Chainfire
Chainfire has announced this afternoon that the first two models of the Samsung Galaxy S6 have been added to the CF-Auto-Root repository. Specifically, you’ll find that CF-Auto-Root for both the SM-G920T and SM-G925T are now available, otherwise known as the T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. CF-Auto-Roots for other devices in the S6 family are surely imminent…
As per Chainfire’s Google+ post:
Either way, the first CF-Auto-Root’s for the S6 family are up: SM-G920T and SM-G925T – the T-Mobile US S6 and S6 Edge.
Only very minor modifications were necessary [to the existing CFAR script]. The S6 CFAR has been tested on a real device, and root was achieved. Further information? I have none, I wasn’t there in person.
All completely expected, but perhaps nice to know regardless.
Before actually rooting though, consider that KNOX will likely be tripped, and there’s a good chance untripped KNOX will be required for phone based payments.
If you want to download the CF-Auto-Root, be sure to head over to the repository: http://autoroot.chainfire.eu/. It’s probably not going to be useful for many yet, because the Galaxy S6 hasn’t even shipped for most. And in the case that you don’t have any need for a root at all, you’re probably in the majority.
root Stories November 5, 2014
The Nexus 9 is one of the most exciting Android devices to hit the market in a long time, and with it comes the latest version of Android: 5.0 Lollipop. And with new hardware and a new operating system, it was only a matter of time before one of the better known developers in the rooting space achieved such on the tablet. It’s already available thanks to Chainfire, and it only takes a couple extra steps to get working.
root Stories August 25, 2014
When Google’s $35 Chromecast was originally released, obtaining root access was incredibly easy. So easy that some users believed that it had been intentional on Google’s part, as to allow curious developers to explore the inner workings of the device a bit. Nevertheless, the vulnerability used in that root method was eventually closed. Now, however, developers once again have discovered another exploit that allows root access on the Chromecast.
root Stories August 18, 2014
Stump Root provides fast root access to all US LG G3 variants
If you recently picked up an LG G3 and are looking for an easy way to root your shiny new smartphone, then look no further than Stump Root. Created by a talented group of XDA members this app works with just about every version of LG’s new flagship phone and is a cinch to use.
root Stories April 23, 2014
It’s no secret that Samsung Galaxy device owners aren’t too fond of Sammy’s native software, however some folks will go to great lengths to see the company’s bloatware completely removed from their handset — even as far as paying out cold hard cash. Recently, a group of Verizon customers turned to the community at XDA Developers in hopes of finding a solution that will bring root access to Big Red’s version of the Galaxy S5.
root Stories April 22, 2014
MagicPlay—another app from the doubleTwist developers—brings support for Apple’s AirPlay to any Android device running Android 4.1, allowing content to be streamed to an Apple TV connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the phone. If you aren’t rooted, a separate app will enable you to stream your music and videos to an Apple TV or compatible set of speakers from doubleTwist, but you won’t be able to use these features within the Play Music app itself.
If your device is rooted, however, MagicPlay now adds an option to stream your content via AirPlay from the Play Music app. This feature, added in the 1.1 update that was released today, was announced by doubleTwist in a blog post today. MagicPlay now takes advantage of an API normally reserved for the Chromecast: expand full story
root Stories July 29, 2013
Just a few days after its announcement, Google’s new Chromecast stick has already been rooted. The rooting process, as detailed by GTV Hacker, is similar to almost every Android phone. During the announcement last week, Google said that the Chromecast was powered by Chrome OS, but GTV Hacker has found something different.
The blog says that after rooting and doing a little digging around within the software, it looks like the Chromecast is running software closer to Android or Google TV, not Chrome OS as Google implied. While this doesn’t mean all that much for the end user, it does leave the door open for an eventual port of the full Google TV operating to the tiny HDMI stick or the ability to install standalone apps at some point.
We had a lot of internal discussion on this, and have concluded that it’s more Android than ChromeOS. To be specific, it’s actually a modified Google TV release, but with all of the Bionic / Dalvik stripped out and replaced with a single binary for Chromecast. Since the Marvell DE3005 SOC running this is a single core variant of the 88DE3100, most of the Google TV code was reused. So, although it’s not going to let you install an APK or anything, its origins: the bootloader, kernel, init scripts, binaries, are all from the Google TV.
We are not ruling out the ability for this to become a Google TV “stick”.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google has been working on an Android-powered set-top box, so it’s possible that it the device may be some sort of advanced variation of the Chromecast. expand full story
root Stories June 25, 2013
Following the original announcement of the Galaxy S4, Samsung stated that a developer edition variant would come soon after launch for both AT&T and Verizon, and it looks like one of those models is finally here. Samsung has quietly added the Black Mist Galaxy S4 Developer Edition for Verizon to its website. The device will run you a steep $649 and is exactly the same as the normal Verizon Galaxy S4 except for the fact that it comes with the ability to unlock the bootloader.
The Developer Edition is good for people who like to quickly hack and mod their devices, which is not easy with Verizon’s strict bootloader policies. Keep in mind that the Google Edition Galaxy S4 launches on June 26th and will also be hack-friendly, so it might be a better option for those on a GSM network and prefer stock Android. expand full story
root Stories April 26, 2013
We already knew that Google Glass would be running Android 4.0.4 and got a look at the official tech specs straight from Google, but until now we didn’t know some of the specifics such as how much RAM and what processor the device is using. Today we details via developer +JayLee (via Selfscreens) that Google Glass reports running a OMAP 4430 CPU similar to that used in the original Kindle (although not other details are available on the processor) and 682mb of RAM. Lee speculates Glass might actually pack in 1GB of RAM: expand full story
Update: A post from Google employee Dan Morrill clarifies that, although the original developer claimed a “root is easy”, the process developers are using is actually a ‘fastboot oem unlock’. Rather than exposing a security exploit, Google has actually intentionally left Glass open for devs to tinker with, as further explained by Googler Stephen Lau:
Not to bring anybody down… but seriously… we intentionally left the device unlocked so you guys could hack it and do crazy fun shit with it. I mean, FFS, you paid $1500 for it… go to town on it. Show me something cool.
Updated 2: Founder of the Cydia jailbreak store @saurik provided some clarification on his earlier tweets, informing us that he did not use fastboot oem unlock:
Actually, my device’s bootloader is still locked: I did not use fastboot oem unlock, and in fact that would not have been useful without the source code to the Glass kernel, which was not made available until this morning. I relied on a race condition in the adb restore process, a bug that existed in Android 4.0 (and even Android 4.1). As the Glass ships with Android 4.0.4, the bug was easy to exploit. This exploit was not one that I found, to be clear (unless you count “using Google” ;P): I pulled apart an implementation by@Bin4ryDigit, and adapted it for use on Glass (which required very small modifications to the backup; the entire process of learning the exploit and fixing it took 2 hours).
Saurik later published an article explaining some of the ins and outs of the potential for writing apps for Glass and the exploit he originally took advantage of.
Have you been wondering how long until developers crack into Google Glass to provide full root access and start creating some interesting mods? It appears we might not be too far off with Google intern on the Chrome OS team and hacker Liam McLoughlin confirming on Twitter that a root might be easier than many people think (via selfscreens).
McLoughlin first tweeted that, “There’s a “debug mode” option on Glass that appears to enable ADB access. I got a shell on my Glass :D (no root yet!).” Shortly after it appears he also figured out a root method, tweeting, “looks like root is easy too: reboot-bootloader gives you fastboot oem unlock. There is fun to be had here…”
He isn’t the only one working on a root for Google Glass, hacker @chpwn tweeted today that founder of the Cydia jailbreak store @saurik is in the process of unlocking his Google Glass and Saurik later confirmed: expand full story
root Stories December 5, 2011
Developer JackpotClavin has released CyanogenMod 7 for Amazon’s Kindle Fire, and it is now available over on the XDA forums. Before you install we must warn that this version isn’t very stable. There is also no way to revert the Kindle Fire back to your original settings, so there’s literally no going back. That being said, read on for the directions!
root Stories November 16, 2011
If the customized Amazon Android experience on your new Kindle Fire just isn’t cutting it, Amazon is now offering up the source code as an 809MB download to external developers here. Of course this means custom ROMS, overclocked CPUs, and endless other hacks will follow, but first you’ll need a root method. Thanks to AndroidForums.com member death2all110 (via Phandroid), we already have a one-click method using SuperOneClick 2.2, which requires you first have the SDK installed. Full instructions after the break. expand full story
root Stories August 28, 2011
With the price drop of the HP TouchPad to $99 came many developers who began working on porting Android to the device. A stable release hasn’t made its way to the internet quite yet, but as shown above by someone on the CyanogenMod team, it’s getting there. The $1500 or more bounty is surely pushing developers to getting there first. But, did Qualcomm beat everybody to the punch? (via RootzWiki)
root Stories July 10, 2011
HTC announced via Facebook that they will be unlocking the bootloader on the global HTC Sensation at first, and then the HTC Sensation 4G on T-mobile and HTC EVO 3D on Sprint shortly after. An update will go out in August to prepare the three devices for the unlocking, but another update will go out in September to unlock the bootloader completely. HTC says more phones will come soon after. Check out HTC’s, and its CEO’s, comments below:
We’re thrilled to announce today that software updates to support bootloader unlocking will begin rolling out in August for the global HTC Sensation, followed by the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile USA and the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint. We’re in the testing phase for the unlocking capability now, and we expect it to be fully operational by early September for devices that have received the software updates. We’ll continue rolling out the unlocking capability over time to other devices as part of maintenance releases and new shipments.
Peter Chou, HTC CEO: expand full story
