Question Boot image - Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)

Can the boot image be changed?

striker59 said:
Can the boot image be changed?
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Not sure what you mean by changed, but if you're looking to root it needs to be patched with Magisk

I uninstalled Knox using adb shell. The startup screen has something like protected by Knox. I was wondering if I could change that screen.

striker59 said:
I uninstalled Knox using adb shell. The startup screen has something like protected by Knox. I was wondering if I could change that screen.
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That has nothing to do with removing Knox. It appears once you have unlocked the bootloader. There's no way to remove it

kevinco1 said:
That has nothing to do with removing Knox. It appears once you have unlocked the bootloader. There's no way to remove it
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Okay thanks, I haven't unlocked the bootloader. Tablet is still new I won't mess with it until after the warranty runs out. I have an Asus ZenPad that I rooted and installed custom recovery but there is no custom ROM for it.

striker59 said:
Okay thanks, I haven't unlocked the bootloader. Tablet is still new I won't mess with it until after the warranty runs out. I have an Asus ZenPad that I rooted and installed custom recovery but there is no custom ROM for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you wait for the warranty to run out before customizing? Should be the other way around
There's no custom ROMs for this device either, which is why we've been using GSIs. You can do the same with your Asus

Related

[Q] bootloader unlock

I have a Nexus 6 that came rooted and with busybox.
how do I know if the bootloader has been unlocked?
You can't root it without unlocking the boot loader, so if its rooted then that's all the evidence you need
caguas56 said:
I have a Nexus 6 that came rooted and with busybox.
how do I know if the bootloader has been unlocked?
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Click to collapse
Also, as soon as you turn on the phone, the black screen with the white Google logo comes up, on the bottom of the screen should show and unlocked padlock. That also means your bootloader is unlocked.
do you see an open padlock on the bottom of the screen while booting? then it's unlocked. also, you can boot into the bootloader, itll say unlocked. but if you already havd root, its probably unlocked, or he relocked it. if you have root, you can use an app to re unlock it.
simms22 said:
do you see an open padlock on the bottom of the screen while booting? then it's unlocked. also, you can boot into the bootloader, itll say unlocked. but if you already havd root, its probably unlocked, or he relocked it. if you have root, you can use an app to re unlock it.
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you are right, I see the padlock unlocked and the word "unlocked" on the bootloader screen.
thanks.
I'm coming from a Samsung device and have no idea how to flash roms on a Motorola device.
any suggestions you can give me?
caguas56 said:
you are right, I see the padlock unlocked and the word "unlocked" on the bootloader screen.
thanks.
I'm coming from a Samsung device and have no idea how to flash roms on a Motorola device.
any suggestions you can give me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest you start with this, to learn adb fastboot and flashing.
https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
If you run into the missing system.img problem here is the link to fix it:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/11/12/running-into-the-dreaded-missing-system-img-error-flashing-android-5-0-factory-images-heres-how-to-get-around-it/
This way you can start from the beginning.
Also, give this a read:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2948481
Sent via Tapatalk on Shamu
Davzone said:
I suggest you start with this, to learn adb fastboot and flashing.
https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
If you run into the missing system.img problem here is the link to fix it:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/11/12/running-into-the-dreaded-missing-system-img-error-flashing-android-5-0-factory-images-heres-how-to-get-around-it/
This way you can start from the beginning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last question : is there anyway to change the icons colors and shape on the notification bar like wifi, signal etc?

mobile iron after relocking and unrooting not working

I unrooted and relocked my nexus 6, but my mobile iron still says it is OS comprismised. I did uninstall supersu, doesn't look to be installed. What else does MDM or mobile iron flag for? I am the admin to our MI box, so I can see what's going on, and can retire/readd at whim. I just don't see what else it's flagging for, it just says OS compromised, like when I was rooted, and unlocked.
vivithemage said:
I unrooted and relocked my nexus 6, but my mobile iron still says it is OS comprismised. I did uninstall supersu, doesn't look to be installed. What else does MDM or mobile iron flag for? I am the admin to our MI box, so I can see what's going on, and can retire/readd at whim. I just don't see what else it's flagging for, it just says OS compromised, like when I was rooted, and unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but probably same as Google update. Just removing the SU app doesn't remove all the SU system files. Have to reflash back to stock.
It is a stock OS. Do I have to unlock wipe, flash, lock ,wipe?
vivithemage said:
It is a stock OS. Do I have to unlock wipe, flash, lock ,wipe?
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Click to collapse
no. you want to unlock your bootloader, flash a factory image, make sure that it boots fine, only then you want to relock your bootloader.
vivithemage said:
It is a stock OS. Do I have to unlock wipe, flash, lock ,wipe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just removed SU app will have to unlock and reflash system to actually remove root. Do not relock till you sure it will boot and reset the unlock switch in developer options.
OK, doing that now. What's the correct way to relock once in the OS unlocked bootloader and fresh install?
I booted into the OS, went back to recovery, ran this: fastboot oem lock
Should be good, will set it up again, hopefully mobile iron thinks I am an compromised OS now.
vivithemage said:
OK, doing that now. What's the correct way to relock once in the OS unlocked bootloader and fresh install?
I booted into the OS, went back to recovery, ran this: fastboot oem lock
Should be good, will set it up again, hopefully mobile iron thinks I am an compromised OS now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fastboot oem lock is the only way to lock the bootloader
ahhh man, after all that, it still says OS compromised. Is there another flag somewhere? It is not rooted, or unlocked!
vivithemage said:
ahhh man, after all that, it still says OS compromised. Is there another flag somewhere? It is not rooted, or unlocked!
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Click to collapse
You did fastboot flash the system.img and boot.img before locking your bootloader, right?
cam30era said:
You did fastboot flash the system.img and boot.img before locking your bootloader, right?
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yeah, and everything else in the gz file, cache, system data, radio, boot, etc.
I am going to open a ticket with mobile iron, they have a root ident app that they can install, to tell me what is still flagging it.
vivithemage said:
yeah, and everything else in the gz file, cache, system data, radio, boot, etc.
I am going to open a ticket with mobile iron, they have a root ident app that they can install, to tell me what is still flagging it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know what you find out.
https://help.mobileiron.com/articles/MI_Article/Android-Compromised-Rooted-devices
Apparently they have a root checker app. I removed all of my root required applications and I am good. So greenify (flagged), root browser (flagged), total commander (not flagged), betterbattary stats, .
I also uploaded their root status tool if anyone wants to use it:
http://vivithemage.com/extra/RootCode.apk
If anyone else is having problems, but doesn't have support with MI. this should help you discover what's causing it to be listed as comprismised. I am sure some of the savvier folks will use it as a way to stay rooted, but find ways around MI MDM .
vivithemage said:
If anyone else is having problems, but doesn't have support with MI. this should help you discover what's causing it to be listed as comprismised. I am sure some of the savvier folks will use it as a way to stay rooted, but find ways around MI MDM .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any chance you could re-upload the tool? I'm running into the exact same problem but don't have MI support available
Sorry, they asked me to remove it

Re locking boot loader.

Hello! I just got a nexus 6 a few days ago, and I love this phone! However, I just read on here that relocking your bootloader is a bad idea? Well, I rooted my device and installed PAC ROM on it, then reflashed a stock image back to my nexus and relocked the bootloader, my phone is fine, no bootloops and no issues, does this pose a problem with OTA updates? Thanks! I really need to know because i would NOT wanna brick this thing! Thanks!
H4X0R46 said:
Hello! I just got a nexus 6 a few days ago, and I love this phone! However, I just read on here that relocking your bootloader is a bad idea? Well, I rooted my device and installed PAC ROM on it, then reflashed a stock image back to my nexus and relocked the bootloader, my phone is fine, no bootloops and no issues, does this pose a problem with OTA updates? Thanks! I really need to know because i would NOT wanna brick this thing! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thing is, when your bootloader is unlocked, the device is almost unbrickable. Also, you can be unlocked, 100% stock and still get OTA's if you want. If you have a locked bootloader, mess something up and end up in a bootloop, and can't boot to android, you're stuck.
Are you saying that OTA updates work even if your boot loader is open? Does it just check your system files and recovery? In theory, if I did an OTA update right now, and my bootloader was unlocked, it would install without problems?
H4X0R46 said:
Are you saying that OTA updates work even if your boot loader is open? Does it just check your system files and recovery? In theory, if I did an OTA update right now, and my bootloader was unlocked, it would install without problems?
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Click to collapse
Yes to all your questions.
Unlock it, its free insurance and wont change or harm a thing.
you can lock/unlock your bootloader anytime you want actually, you just have to make sure that you relock your bootloader sfter making sure that you can boot properly first. because if you can't boot, and your bootloader is locked, then you are just as good as bricked. because now, to unlock your bootloader, you have to enable allow oem unlock. and if you cant boot, you cant do that.
simms22 said:
you can lock/unlock your bootloader anytime you want actually, you just have to make sure that you relock your bootloader sfter making sure that you can boot properly first. because if you can't boot, and your bootloader is locked, then you are just as good as bricked. because now, to unlock your bootloader, you have to enable allow oem unlock. and if you cant boot, you cant do that.
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Click to collapse
That said, since 5.1.1, doesn't "allow oem unlock" remain ticked / selected after a reboot now? If so, it's fine to relock it, even if it doesn't boot if that is ticked.
danarama said:
That said, since 5.1.1, doesn't "allow oem unlock" remain ticked / selected after a reboot now? If so, it's fine to relock it, even if it doesn't boot if that is ticked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but in the case of an "accidentally" wiped OS, well, you know.
Alright guys, so I won't ever run into a problem with an OTA update with the bootloader unlocked? Thanks! You guys are awesome!
Sent from my Nexus 6
Evolution_Tech said:
Yes, but in the case of an "accidentally" wiped OS, well, you know.
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Click to collapse
Well it shouldn't matter. When you tick that box, it writes the change to mmcblk0p18, which is OS independent. Now that booting the rom doesn't revert that partition, if it is ticked once, it shouldn't matter if there is an OS at all.
H4X0R46 said:
Alright guys, so I won't ever run into a problem with an OTA update with the bootloader unlocked? Thanks! You guys are awesome!
Sent from my Nexus 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. Bootloader status has no effect on OTA. Updated script checks boot.img (kernel), system.img, and recovery. All have to be unmodified. No root, no unencrypted kernel, stock 100%.
cam30era said:
Correct. Bootloader status has no effect on OTA. Updated script checks boot.img (kernel), system.img, and recovery. All have to be unmodified. No root, no unencrypted kernel, stock 100%.
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Click to collapse
Scripts don't check recovery. It's just the OTA zip won't work without it.
-Jonny- said:
here you go!
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Correct. Just taking this shortcut.
Great! Thanks guys! Appreciate all the help and support on this! I would HATE to brick a $700 device! Haha
Sent from my Nexus 6
Real quick easy noob question, no point in making a thread just for this so I'm asking here, is the Nexus 6 CPU an arm or arm64?
H4X0R46 said:
Real quick easy noob question, no point in making a thread just for this so I'm asking here, is the Nexus 6 CPU an arm or arm64?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N6 is ARM. Arm 64 is for 64 bit devices such as the N9.
Clarification question
A question for clarification, as long as the bootloader is already unlocked, the "OEM Unlocking - Allow the bootloader to be unlocked" setting under Developer options doesn't affect anything?
alryder said:
A question for clarification, as long as the bootloader is already unlocked, the "OEM Unlocking - Allow the bootloader to be unlocked" setting under Developer options doesn't affect anything?
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Click to collapse
Correct.

Can I install an update without having the bootloader unlocked?

So I am the prime v6. 5 rom. I have twrp, I'm rooted and I have xposed. Would installing the 6.6 update brick the phone? I just don't have the bootloader unlocked. Any help is appreciated!
I thought you had to have an unlocked bootloader in order to install TWRP and root. Are you sure your bootloader is locked?
ytsejam1138 said:
I thought you had to have an unlocked bootloader in order to install TWRP and root. Are you sure your bootloader is locked?
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Click to collapse
Is there a way to check this?
Remix245 said:
Is there a way to check this?
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I got twrp and root without unlocking the bootloader.
I ended up doing that later by running rootjunky's script. It will wipe your data. So you would know if your bootloader was unlocked. If you look on his thread, he has a way for you to check.
Of course this all assumes you aren't on 6.6.
jacewt said:
I got twrp and root without unlocking the bootloader.
I ended up doing that later. Of course this all assumes you aren't on 6.6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coltondrg has an update for 6.6 to side load. Has anyone side loaded it.?
Remix245 said:
Is there a way to check this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot getvar all

[Q] No OEM Unlock, Rooting, and stock ROM

I know that there are a lot of the missing OEM Unlock posts, but this isn't about how to force it to appear.
What I would like to know is that if I want to stay on the stock ROM, but I don't have the OEM unlocked option, would I be able to factory reset to clear out encryption and then root with Magisk?
The guide says that I need to have OEM unlocked to be able to root, so I'm curious what would happen if I tried to root with the OEM still being locked? Would I soft brick it?
This is quite different from the other phones I've used and it's extremely frustrating that Samsung decided to pull this kind of bs on everyone and so far, there's no solution to it.
Thanks
If the OEM switch is not visible and switched on, then you cannot flash any non-official binaries, which means you can't flash TWRP or Magisk, which at this point means you can't get root. That's why everything boils down to the OEM switch being enabled. Please contact Samsung expressing your dissatisfaction about this OEM issue. All of us should, until they react to remedy this.
If we can get to fastboot, why can't we boot TWRP, install Supersu/magisk and dm-verity thus gaining root.
This wouldn't replace the stock recovery.
I believe this was how the Axon 7 was rooted prior to bootloader unlock being presented/found.
I do this on one of my phones (not Samsung) as I only want root access and still be able to get OTA updates.
Would booting TWRP instead of flashing it trip Knox and would root be gained or would you find the boot partition or other system files be altered and you get the error that seems to popping up on these devices?
Just throwing this out there as food for thought.
ultramag69 said:
If we can get to fastboot, why can't we boot TWRP, install Supersu/magisk and dm-verity thus gaining root.
This wouldn't replace the stock recovery.
I believe this was how the Axon 7 was rooted prior to bootloader unlock being presented/found.
I do this on one of my phones (not Samsung) as I only want root access and still be able to get OTA updates.
Would booting TWRP instead of flashing it trip Knox and would root be gained or would you find the boot partition or other system files be altered and you get the error that seems to popping up on these devices?
Just throwing this out there as food for thought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having an unlocked bootloader is what would allow us to use fastboot to boot or flash an image. Just because we can access fastboot, doesn't mean we can get it to write to partitions, even temporarily. I haven't messed with a Samsung phone for years, so I could be wrong. This has been my experience with google bootloader in general.
fragtion said:
If the OEM switch is not visible and switched on, then you cannot flash any non-official binaries, which means you can't flash TWRP or Magisk, which at this point means you can't get root. That's why everything boils down to the OEM switch being enabled. Please contact Samsung expressing your dissatisfaction about this OEM issue. All of us should, until they react to remedy this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I did read from other threads, if you don't see the option in the Developer Option Settings, then you shouldn't need to enable it
77Eric77 said:
From what I did read from other threads, if you don't see the option in the Developer Option Settings, then you shouldn't need to enable it
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Click to collapse
I was reading about this as well and what I got from that was in regards to custom roms, the oem unlock option is default to unlock and hidden. but for the stock rom, it's locked by default unless visibly given the option. otherwise when you go into download mode, it'll show FRP Lock: On.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
di11igaf said:
Having an unlocked bootloader is what would allow us to use fastboot to boot or flash an image. Just because we can access fastboot, doesn't mean we can get it to write to partitions, even temporarily. I haven't messed with a Samsung phone for years, so I could be wrong. This has been my experience with google bootloader in general.
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Click to collapse
Ah, but if I want to just root and nothing else, would I still need to have the bootloader unlocked? I'm used to rooting stuff but the technicalities and mechanics of the process escapes mr.
my hope is to atleast root the stock rom and factory reset including wiping the internal sd to start fresh. but if I factory reset on a stock rom, the internal storage would still be encrypted right?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
mputtr said:
Ah, but if I want to just root and nothing else, would I still need to have the bootloader unlocked? I'm used to rooting stuff but the technicalities and mechanics of the process escapes mr.
my hope is to atleast root the stock rom and factory reset including wiping the internal sd to start fresh. but if I factory reset on a stock rom, the internal storage would still be encrypted right?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why I want to know if we can boot TWRP. It boots TWRP but leaves the stock recovery.
However, I'm not sure if the boot image is altered when flashing root. I know Magisk seems to alter the boot image but not sure if SuperSU does.
Would this trigger KNOX?
If it does trip KNOX, it's not worth booting into TWRP, might as well just bite the bullet and install but only if bootloader is unlocked 1st... Too expensive to just brick it for an experiment...
ultramag69 said:
This is why I want to know if we can boot TWRP. It boots TWRP but leaves the stock recovery.
However, I'm not sure if the boot image is altered when flashing root. I know Magisk seems to alter the boot image but not sure if SuperSU does.
Would this trigger KNOX?
If it does trip KNOX, it's not worth booting into TWRP, might as well just bite the bullet and install but only if bootloader is unlocked 1st... Too expensive to just brick it for an experiment...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
personally I don't care about knox. I just want to be able to root and restore my apps so I can transfer my stuff from my s7 to the note 8 and freeze all the bloatware like touchwiz and stuff.
from what I gleaned from reading the threads is magisk makes a copy of the boot image as a backup.
but again I just want root and I can wait for a longer term solution in how to fix this moronic 7 day jail bs.
but I think knox will get tripped the moment you root
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
mputtr said:
I was reading about this as well and what I got from that was in regards to custom roms, the oem unlock option is default to unlock and hidden. but for the stock rom, it's locked by default unless visibly given the option. otherwise when you go into download mode, it'll show FRP Lock: On.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have OEM option as well (FRP lock was ON), I just followed me2151 guide but I was getting the partition error, so in first part I also added BL and after that everything went smoothly.
KNOX wasn't tripped, it's rooted as of this moment and tomorrow I will be installing custom rom.
PS: And yes it was an experiment but I was willing to take the risk because after reading half a day about no OEM option in developer options everyone was saying if it's not there you don't need it, I wasn't 100% sure but I was 98% sure I'm not going to brick it. btw I'm using Telus N950W note8 (locked)
I think you might want to be careful on that. I'm not sure who "everyone" is but the others like Dr.Ketan did not even recommend rooting without unlocking the option first and it seems to me that the general gist of the other thread (the 150+ page thread) was that you need it explicitly unlocked.
The ones who talked about not seeing the option means you probably don't need it are talking about custom roms (like renovate) that purposefully hid the option since it's already defaulted to unlocked on that rom.
I haven't used any custom roms yet, but that seems to be what I'm reading.
77Eric77 said:
I didn't have OEM option as well (FRP lock was ON), I just followed me2151 guide but I was getting the partition error, so in first part I also added BL and after that everything went smoothly.
KNOX wasn't tripped, it's rooted as of this moment and tomorrow I will be installing custom rom.
PS: And yes it was an experiment but I was willing to take the risk because after reading half a day about no OEM option in developer options everyone was saying if it's not there you don't need it, I wasn't 100% sure but I was 98% sure I'm not going to brick it. btw I'm using Telus N950W note8 (locked)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just following up. Were you able to root and flash a custom rom with OEM Unlocked checked after all?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
mputtr said:
just following up. Were you able to root and flash a custom rom with OEM Unlocked checked after all?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to root it but the boot loader is still locked. It's faster without the bloatware and what not. KNOX is disabled. There is still no twrp and custom rom for Snapdragon to the best of my knowledge. It did change the model of the phone from N950W to N950U1.
finally got the OEM Unlock option and rooted + stock recovery... i had to restart my phone to bring my android ID back to the one I always used.. and got locked out...
so 7 more days for me. And all I wanted to do was to have Titanium backup up and running so i can transfer my phone over....
i am hating what samsung has done

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