[UTnick]

Pure copy pasta from this link:


**Edit**
An article with a solid explanation in it that goes a step further than what is listed below.


IMPORTANT! Please read!

While waiting to get my hands on one of these awesome phones I've been reading all I can about it. One thing I ran across in another forum was an issue people were having with the Nexuses & One X's and Google Wallet.

If you do not clear the Google Wallet settings before you do a hard reset/ROM flash, the secure element will be FOREVER BRICKED and you will NOT be able to ever use it for secure purposes such as Google Wallet purchases or future use of the secure element.

For some, this wont be a problem, but if you ever plan or at least want to have the option to use the google wallet, follow these simple steps before doing a hard reset or flashing a new ROM on your phone:

Launch Google Wallet
Hit menu button> Settings> Reset Google Wallet

You are now safe to flash a new ROM or reset your phone, Wallet will be waiting for you on the other side.

Clearing the app data or cache through settings or Titanium WILL NOT WORK! It HAS to be done within the Wallet app. This resets the secure certificate (?) and allows NFC to be used for secure purposes in the future.

---

While I understand the notion of keeping such functionality very secure, Google should have expressed the potential problem. Especially since hard resets are used as a solution when an ordinary user has a problem with their phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this mean if this happens to me I wont be able to use NFC at all?
No. Not at all. NFC will still be functional for non-secure events, like Beam and NFC tag usage. This will only affect secure things, which at the moment is only Wallet.

Is there really no fix?
If you get the "secure element not responding" error, no. Of all the cases the only solution is to get a new phone. The secure element is permanently broken. In the future someone might find a fix, but that sounds unlikely. If you can swap your phone, do it.

How can I prevent this from happening?
If you don't do a lot of flashing, just remember to clear Wallet settings before flashing a new ROM. I would recommend to just leave Wallet cleared if you plan on flashing a lot, you forget once and that will be the end of your secure element.

I get a "Unsupported Device Error" yet Wallet still works, why?
This is a complete different error altogether and as a matter of fact, is not a big deal at all. This only shows up to root users and can easily be ignored -- Wallet will still work.

Why don't we have ROM devs cook in an auto-wiper when installing their ROM?
Only Wallet has the ability to access the phone's secure element, and it will likely be that way for the foreseeable future. A workaround would be to add an option before flashing anything to the recovery itself to ask people if they have cleared Wallet settings.


Sources:





Edit:
Another source:

[UTnick]

I am gonna go to the store right now and test it. I should have already bricked mine so we shall see.

[UTnick]

Yeah, it looks like mine is bricked.

[Westfire]

Yeah, it looks like mine is bricked.

It shows Secure Element not responding on yours?

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

[UTnick]

Well, at the top of Google Wallet my phone says "device not supported" and gives a link to why security is important and why my device isn't supported.

When I tried using Google Wallet, after reseting it to remove the message above, the phone will just plain not work with the pay pass scanner. So no scientific test and it doesn't give any error during the attempt. The attempt just doesn't produce anything.

I will give it another go at a different store since I didn't get any active error. We will see if it behaves any differently.

[UTnick]

It shows Secure Element not responding on yours?

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

Here is an earlier encounter of root=nogooglewallet in a published article. In it the author gets the secure element not responding error. But again -- I just get the "device not supported" and no response when I try to use Google Wallet to pay. And an explanation with very similar language that the e-mail referenced in the article has.

[kbp08tls]

Does this only happen if you have already set up Google Wallet? I have rooted, unlocked, and flashed a custom recovery. I haven't touched Google Wallet to set anything up yet. Will I be OK?

[UTnick]

Does this only happen if you have already set up Google Wallet? I have rooted, unlocked, and flashed a custom recovery. I haven't touched Google Wallet to set anything up yet. Will I be OK?

I honestly couldn't say. From what I read in the pocketnow article -- each NFC chip/Secure Element goes with ONE installation of Google Wallet. I don't know if that even applies to folks with unrooted phones that have to do a factory reset and reinstall.

This is new territory we are all treading in and I couldn't tell you past what I have read and what I have done myself. And even then I am not sure. There are a lot of different opinions floating around and I am not even confident in my own testing so if you really want to have Google Wallet then I would tell you to wait to use/open it until someone figures something out for certain. Right now everyone is really just guessing. But I will report back more on my Google Wallet status so stay tuned. But don't take what I have to say for gospel. But I might know for certain tomorrow. But even then I could be wrong.

[sabbys]

For what it is worth, I performed the root as described by the post with the link from HTC Evo Hacks. I rooted not even a day after I had the EVO LTE. I never used Wallet before or after. Just now after reading this thread I went in and initialized Wallet and I am all set up and good to go with the initial $10.00 available.

So who knows. I am not telling anyone they will have better luck. My guess is, once you have initialized Wallet you should not root period until more is known. But who knows. The initialization process is pretty scary as it going through the set up.

And another FWIW, in that HTC EVO Hacks root thread I asked if anyone knew if that method affected Wallet stability, and no one answered me or responded. So who know maybe half of those folks are road kill already and just don't know it.

sabbys

Afterword, just for the heck of it I restarted my phone to see if Wallet survived, and it did. Well, kind of. I did get that "unsupport device" message at the top but just a flash. Then my pin entry came up but I had no way to hit an "enter" key. So I backed out, re-entered wallet and it let me in, $10.00 balance.

So, maybe a bit rocky but I think mine is working.

[sabbys]

Update - I now have the "unsupported devices" banner above Wallet. The learn more link goes to a message saying that basically "if you root, you can't use wallet". I am thinking my certificate is probably still valid though.

sabbys

[Krasin]

Mine says unsupported but it works just as well.

[sabbys]

Update - I have decided since my Wallet "works" I have reset the setup from within Wallet, force closed it from app settings, cleared the data, and disabled it. That way I do not have to worry about it if I have to ever factory restore or if we get an S-on root solution I can run through that and see if it will "work" then. Since it will not work for transactions now, it might as well be disabled.

I would recommend that for folks in a similar situation. If it will not work for transactions anyway you might as well store it safely for now.

One other thought I had was when I had first rooted I did grant Wallet SU permission. Now I could clear the SU recorded of granting that restart my phone, denigh Wallet permission when it asks and see if it "knows" it is rooted. I do not know if it knows it is rooted through the S switch or from me givining it SU permissions. But I am not in the mood of trying this because I aready dodged one bullet.

sabbys

[cdcellular]

I'm not sure about the accuracy of this. I set up wallet, then rooted. I get the device unsupported message but wallet still works. I just made a purchase with it. So why is wallet not bricked?

[aviatordoc]

cdcellular, I am prettymuch in the same boat as you. I just now went to CVS and tried to use the wallet with their paypass. Nothing. Where did you use it. There are not many places where paypass is available.
I have not recd the secure element error yet but do get the unsupported device error.
Does anyone know if I completely unroot, will it fix it.
I primarily rooted for TiBackup. Unable to prioritize whether TB or Wallet ???

[aviatordoc]

Also reading the link and the article from pocketnow, if you scroll down, one of the posters says he downloaded a file that fixed the problem. He does not offer any details.

[imex99]

I get unsupported device after root... Hopefully we get a fix, I'm going to test it soon.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[UTnick]

I am going to go to another store later tonight and try it again. If it works for some getting the "unsupported device" message then maybe it was a disruption on the store's end instead of my phone when I tried it last.

[UTnick]

Mr. Jerry Hildenbrand -- can you help us out?

[kbp08tls]

I used mine today and it worked. I have the "unsupported device" warning as well. I did not set up wallet until after I rooted and unlocked.

Sent from my E4GLTE using Android Central Forums

[UTnick]

I used mine today and it worked. I have the "unsupported device" warning as well. I did not set up wallet until after I rooted and unlocked.

Sent from my E4GLTE using Android Central Forums

and I think that may be what makes the difference. I had Google Wallet setup before I rooted, etc.

[cdcellular]

I had wallet set up also before I rooted but it still works. From what I've read it should not. Why?

[aviatordoc]

Can you guys please list where (retail Outlet/ device) you tried this and it worked

[kbp08tls]

I had wallet set up also before I rooted but it still works. From what I've read it should not. Why?

I think the problem comes in to play when you do a full wipe (e. g. when unlocking the bootloader or before flashing a new ROM.) There is some debate on whether a factory reset or simply unlocking the bootloader will cause issues or not.
For now, I think it best to clear settings in wallet before doing anything of that nature until we have more definitive information or a proven work-around.

Can you guys please list where (retail Outlet/ device) you tried this and it worked

I used mine at a Rite Aid in the DC area.


Sent from my E4GLTE using Android Central Forums

[UTnick]

I love the discussion here. This is forum collaboration at its best.

[UTnick]

Any knew developments or discoveries? I have been a hermit lately and still haven't tested mine again.