To Root or not to root

[diesteldorf]

Whenever I root a phone and use custom roms, any custom roms, I find Google Maps takes too long to find location on startup. I won't put up with that anymore. I think it screws up banking apps too. Phones offer so much now I don't see the reason to bother. The only thing I miss is saving app settings in Titanium. It was fun flashing new roms. They often had great features but I don't have the patience for problems that usually emerged.

I'm in the same boat regarding custom Roms. I don't think I've used one for 3-4 years, but I'll still root and use the stock Rom, specifically for Titanium Backup and a few other apps.

I've never had issues with Google Maps or banking apps when rooting and keeping the stock rom.

 

[recDNA]

Actually there is one reason I might root. I love my gear 2 (not s2) watch in part due to on board camera and ir blaster. The Gear 2 only works on Samsung phones. If I could get full and updated Gear 2 support with all functions and notifications on a Pixel I would root to get it. That said I'd prefer not to have to root and I doubt even with root if I could get full functionality.

 

[denisjanuzi]

I dont think its really needed phone is great

 

[iOS Gravity]

I did it on my Verizon XL. Realized it didn't need root, unrooted 5 minutes after rooting...

 

[Impulses]

Ads have never bothered me too much, on certain sites I'd let them run even if I could block them (to support the site) and if a site is really that riddled with badly covered ads I'd just end up avoiding it...

Initially (with the first 3 HTC EVOs) I rooted for the customisation aspect and ROMs, but I'm over all that and even stock Android has adopted most of the early mods I really digged. I rooted my Nexus 5 mostly for free tethering (on Sprint) and Titanium...

Helium can be a suitable replacement for sync'ing game and some app data without root (what I used Titanium for), and most newer plans/carriers no longer charge extra for hotspot tethering, so I doubt I'll root my Pixel, never rooted my Nexus 7 either.

If you're considering it and don't know where to start my best advice is this: don't take shortcuts, don't use a toolkit unless absolutely necessary for your phone (not necessary for Google devices), and don't run around asking for advice right off the bat.

READ, research, figure or anything you don't understand, start experimenting (maybe ask questions then if you're really at a loss over something), and then read some more. If you're not willing to spend a few hours doing that (yes, hours), running a rooted phone really isn't advisable for you IMO.

May sound harsh, but it's just brutal honesty.

P.S. Even tho I rooted my N5 I basically kept it on the stock firmware and even the stock bootloader, so I could take OTAs... Not quite sure if that's possible or even advisable on the Pixel with the new partition system.

 

[cydewaze]

The only reason I root is so I can avoid confirmation dialogs. I have an onscreen widget that lets me toggle things like GPS, Airplane mode, etc without having to go through the silly warnings. I also like Titanium Backup (I bought the full version) and that requires root.

 

[cydewaze]

Well it looks like my Pixel is non-rootable. When I go into dev options, the OEM unlocking option is off and grayed out. When I run "adb devices", nothing is found. I'm trying to decide if this is a deal-breaker since I still have 10-ish days to give this phone back.

 

[xocomaox]

Well it looks like my Pixel is non-rootable. When I go into dev options, the OEM unlocking option is off and grayed out. When I run "adb devices", nothing is found. I'm trying to decide if this is a deal-breaker since I still have 10-ish days to give this phone back.

Have you used Skipsoft's tool?

[TOOL] SKIPSOFT ANDROID TOOLKIT -Google Pixe… | Google Pixel

 

[diesteldorf]

Well it looks like my Pixel is non-rootable. When I go into dev options, the OEM unlocking option is off and grayed out. When I run "adb devices", nothing is found. I'm trying to decide if this is a deal-breaker since I still have 10-ish days to give this phone back.

I am guessing you have the Verizon version and are unable to unlock your bootloader.
There is a method to unlock your bootloader and then root. However, there is a rumor it may be patched with the next November security update.

Google "XDA Verizon Bootloader Pixel" to get the appropriate software.

http://www.xda-developers.com/verizon-pixelpixel-xl-bootloader-unlock-has-been-released/

 

[cydewaze]

I am guessing you have the Verizon version and are unable to unlock your bootloader.
There is a method to unlock your bootloader and then root. However, there is a rumor it may be patched with the next November security update.

Google "XDA Verizon Bootloader Pixel" to get the appropriate software.

Verizon Pixel/Pixel XL Bootloader Unlock has been Released

I tried that once and it didn't work, but I might have done it wrong. I'll try it again tonight.

I have an update pending that I keep postponing. Maybe that's the patch.

 

[xocomaox]

I tried that once and it didn't work, but I might have done it wrong. I'll try it again tonight.

I have an update pending that I keep postponing. Maybe that's the patch.

Did you buy your phone from Verizon or Best Buy? This is extremely important to know if you are going to be messing with the bootloader.

 

[cydewaze]

Did you buy your phone from Verizon or Best Buy? This is extremely important to know if you are going to be messing with the bootloader.

Verizon

My problem is that when I run 'adb devices' I get an empty list.
Running 'fastboot devices' gives me a long number followed by "fastboot"
Running the dePixel8 push command results in "no devices found".

 

[diesteldorf]

Verizon

My problem is that when I run 'adb devices' I get an empty list.
Running 'fastboot devices' gives me a long number followed by "fastboot"
Running the dePixel8 push command results in "no devices found".

Have you enabled USB Debugging?

Try that to see if adb or fastboot works.

fastboot will only do anything if you are actually in bootloader mode.

Assuming you can get adb to recognize your device, you can get in bootloader mode by running:

adb reboot bootloader

 

[cydewaze]

Have you enabled USB Debugging?

Try that to see if adb or fastboot works.

Sure have. The only think I can't do is enable 'OEM Unlocking'.

 

[diesteldorf]

Sure have. The only think I can't do is enable 'OEM Unlocking'.

What operating system are you running? Have you installed SDK manager? It may sound stupid, but you could try uninstalling and reinstalling the USB drivers.

 

[cydewaze]

What operating system are you running? Have you installed SDK manager? It may sound stupid, but you could try uninstalling and reinstalling the USB drivers.

GMTA! I just installed SDK manager and the Google USB drivers.

The PC I'm trying this on is Win 7 but I also have a Linux machine at my disposal.

 

[cydewaze]

OMG! I was doing it all wrong! I was trying to run dePixel8 from the bootloader. It just ran fine with the phone on normally. But of course now that I've fiddled with the USB drivers, the PC can no longer see the phone in bootloader mode. SO CLOSE! Arghh!

 

[diesteldorf]

GMTA! I just installed SDK manager and the Google USB drivers.

The PC I'm trying this on is Win 7 but I also have a Linux machine at my disposal.

Cool. I'm also running Windows 7. After everything is installed, I would try rebooting your machine. Connect your phone, open a command prompt and go to the directory where adb.exe is stored.

Try running adb devices again

Make sure USB DEBUGGING is turned on.

If that doesn't recognize your device, pull down your notifications menu from your phone.

You should see an option that says USB CHARGING THIS DEVICE-TAP FOR MORE OPTIONS.

I would start with Charge Only and keep trying other USB OPTIONS to see if adb finally recognizes your device. Good Luck.

 

[cydewaze]

YESSSSSS! Bootloader unlocked!! Thanks for everyone's help with this!

 

[cydewaze]

Ok, now that I've tried to root...

I followed the 5 steps listed here: How to root Google Pixel and Pixel XL in 5 steps

It wrote a new image to my phone, but now that I've installed Superuser, it says it's not rooted. Weird.

EDIT: Second time was the charm! All rooted!