Wish Android was as Open as webOS

[TomD]

What a pain in the ass rooting in Android is. Just tried the supposedly new and safe root method on galaxys2root.com. Does not work on 2.3.6.

Apparently rooting methods require exploiting some vulnerability in Android. Android is said to be so open. Why then do we have to break in to obtain root access?

I would rate Android as just as closed as iOS. At least in obtaining root access.

My Palm Pre only required a password to gain root access.

Longing for the good ole days, sigh.

 

[AlphaTango414]

What a pain in the ass rooting in Android is. Just tried the supposedly new and safe root method on galaxys2root.com. Does not work on 2.3.6.

Apparently rooting methods require exploiting some vulnerability in Android. Android is said to be so open. Why then do we have to break in to obtain root access?

I would rate Android as just as closed as iOS. At least in obtaining root access.

My Palm Pre only required a password to gain root access.

Longing for the good ole days, sigh.

I got some good lols... Thanks for the laughs. Give it time and there will be root. Its called hacking for a reason.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[twiktor]

Thats so weird . . my name is Tom, and I live in Vegas. But I am not VegasTom

 

[CandleStick69]

I'm from Vegas too! my name is Thomas though:/

 

[TomD]

We could start the Android Tom from Vegas club

 

[TWC_SouthPhilly]

What a pain in the ass rooting in Android is. Just tried the supposedly new and safe root method on galaxys2root.com. Does not work on 2.3.6.

Apparently rooting methods require exploiting some vulnerability in Android. Android is said to be so open. Why then do we have to break in to obtain root access?

I would rate Android as just as closed as iOS. At least in obtaining root access.

My Palm Pre only required a password to gain root access.

Longing for the good ole days, sigh.

What!!!!!

Do you even have an Android device m8!?!?

If ya do... Try this thread for your routing wants...

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=1609925

Or slide over to XDA they'll have you covered there to.

Sent to you from my SGS2 Class Star Fighter.

 

[atl10pnr]

It was really easy to get into what was called developer mode. All that had to be done was one of 2 things. Type in webos20090606 . Or the fun way which was the Konami Code . By typeing
upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart

 

[ragnarokx]

What a pain in the ass rooting in Android is. Just tried the supposedly new and safe root method on galaxys2root.com. Does not work on 2.3.6.

Apparently rooting methods require exploiting some vulnerability in Android. Android is said to be so open. Why then do we have to break in to obtain root access?

I would rate Android as just as closed as iOS. At least in obtaining root access.

My Palm Pre only required a password to gain root access.

Longing for the good ole days, sigh.

It was really easy to get into what was called developer mode. All that had to be done was one of 2 things. Type in webos20090606 . Or the fun way which was the Konami Code . By typeing
upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart

Android is open - basically the entire source code for each OS is available for download from Google.

Google also designed Android to be rooted easily. Plug phone into computer, type fastboot oem unlock, and done. Copy superuser.apk to your system folder and you're ready to play with root goodies. This is how Google designs the phones it has direct control over (Nexus line). The reason you have to find an exploit to root other phones is because the manufacturer designed them like that - in this case, Samsung.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[fofjjsr]

Is this a troll post? Android as closed as WebOS? Seriously?

Sent from my Epic 4g Touch using Tapatalk.

 

[caddyman#AC]

Took all of 5 minutes to root and I'm no phone guru!!

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[TomD]

Android is open - basically the entire source code for each OS is available for download from Google.

Google also designed Android to be rooted easily. Plug phone into computer, type fastboot oem unlock, and done. Copy superuser.apk to your system folder and you're ready to play with root goodies. This is how Google designs the phones it has direct control over (Nexus line). The reason you have to find an exploit to root other phones is because the manufacturer designed them like that - in this case, Samsung.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

It is ridiculous to have to have change the ROM to get root. Since we are on a non-google phone we have to break in just like and iPhone.

This is not what I call open.

 

[TomD]

What!!!!!

Do you even have an Android device m8!?!?

If ya do... Try this thread for your routing wants...

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=1609925

Or slide over to XDA they'll have you covered there to.

Sent to you from my SGS2 Class Star Fighter.

Do all of the root methods leave you in the lurch when it comes to OTA updates?

 

[JayWill]

Do all of the root methods leave you in the lurch when it comes to OTA updates?

Only if you modify your ROM, kernel, modem, recovery, or system applications. So ...

Flash a custom ROM - OTA update will fail
Flash a custom kernel - OTA update will fail
Flash custom recovery like CWM - OTA update will fail
Flash a different modem than the current official - OTA update will fail
Remove bloatware like Sprint ID - OTA update will (probably) fail

If you just root your phone, just to run Apps that require root for example, then OTA updates can be installed just fine (edit - how many times can I say "just" in the same sentence? geez!), but remove root in the process, requiring you to re-root if you choose to do so. If you do modify any of the above, flashing back to full stock in order to take an OTA update is quite easy using Odin so its mostly a non-issue. However, the full update is usually available to flash before the update even goes live, so it usually makes more sense to just flash that then go back to stock.

As has already been stated since your post, Android is as open as it gets. It's the device manufacturers and carriers that lock the system down, for a variety of reasons that all have to do with maximizing profits. Flashing phones = more warranty claims and service calls which cut into those profit margins. Samsung Android phones are actually a bit more "open" than say HTC or Motorola phones as Samsung does not lock down the bootloader. REAL exploits like Revolutionary S-Off and others normally overcome this issue, but this phone is technically a bit more open than others.

The current root method that is linked in this thread really does pass the caveman test.

 

[jeff1974w]

It was really easy to get into what was called developer mode. All that had to be done was one of 2 things. Type in webos20090606 . Or the fun way which was the Konami Code . By typeing
upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart

actually it up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, select, start

 

[Thedonkeyshow808]

I kinda understand what the op is trying to say, coming from a palm pre.
But hardware and specs just sucked. The phone simply couldn't keep up.

 

[Biggnaa20]

As a webOS refugee, I can understand exactly what the OP is trying to say, even if an Android forum might not the be the place to find sympathy likened to a failed operating system.

With the underpowered palm pre and its successors, I didn't HAVE to flash a new rom to change things. I could just patch certain aspects of the OS adding options or changing the GUI or pretty much anything else. If I didn't like what I just did, I could change it back. All of my files, and settings would still be intact.

All of this could be done over the air through the wonders of Preware and webOS internals. You only had to connect to the computer once (to set up the Preware relationship) after that, I could root, overclock, theme, add features from the handset. No Odin or factory reset needed.

webOS and Palm failed. But everyone here should hope that we can get Android "hacking" to be as simple, intuitive and easy as it was on webOS.

nnb

 

[TomD]

I kinda understand what the op is trying to say, coming from a palm pre.
But hardware and specs just sucked. The phone simply couldn't keep up.

Hey what do you expect. The original phone was made in 2009. Mine was over clocked from 600 mhz to 1000 mhz, had over temperature alarms, auto clock reduction in low load times. webOS Internals was breathing new life into old hardware. It is a great community. The multi tasking was very elegant.

BTW the reason ICS is making such strides is the same guy who designed the UI on webOS is designing the UI on ICS - Matias Duarte - I think he's the leading UI man period.

 

[TomD]

Only if you modify your ROM, kernel, modem, recovery, or system applications. So ...

Flash a custom ROM - OTA update will fail
Flash a custom kernel - OTA update will fail
Flash custom recovery like CWM - OTA update will fail
Flash a different modem than the current official - OTA update will fail
Remove bloatware like Sprint ID - OTA update will (probably) fail

If you just root your phone, just to run Apps that require root for example, then OTA updates can be installed just fine (edit - how many times can I say "just" in the same sentence? geez!), but remove root in the process, requiring you to re-root if you choose to do so. If you do modify any of the above, flashing back to full stock in order to take an OTA update is quite easy using Odin so its mostly a non-issue. However, the full update is usually available to flash before the update even goes live, so it usually makes more sense to just flash that then go back to stock.

As has already been stated since your post, Android is as open as it gets. It's the device manufacturers and carriers that lock the system down, for a variety of reasons that all have to do with maximizing profits. Flashing phones = more warranty claims and service calls which cut into those profit margins. Samsung Android phones are actually a bit more "open" than say HTC or Motorola phones as Samsung does not lock down the bootloader. REAL exploits like Revolutionary S-Off and others normally overcome this issue, but this phone is technically a bit more open than others.

The current root method that is linked in this thread really does pass the caveman test.

Thanks Jay,

Great summary.

Which root method leaves you in good shape for OTA? The one I saw requires a ROM update.

 

[Sn1per 117]

Thanks Jay,

Great summary.

Which root method leaves you in good shape for OTA? The one I saw requires a ROM update.

Use sfhub's no data rooted EL29 Odin one click. That will only give you root access and won't change anything on your phone (except maybe update you to EL29 if you're not on it already or you could of course use an older version as well and then use his auto root tool). You should then be able to still receive ota updates if you wish. Just don't go changing around any system files

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[Stearmandriver]

Part of the reason the procedure was different is that "developer mode" on the Pre WASN'T root access, not the same way we have it. Remember all the things the Pre failed at that WebOS Internals just COULDN'T fix, without "an updated SDK from Palm"? Like the inability to open pdfs for instance? See, on a truly rooted system, they could have released an updated ROM we could have all flashed that would have fixed Palm's failures. But that sort of thing never happened, because the devs didn't have the same level of access. At least, that's how I understand it.

I've heard it said that the "patches" we could apply via preware were more like themeing Android... They changed the look of things, but didn't often change the way things fundamentally worked. Hence, the reason the devs couldn't actually fix things.