Rooting your phone? A few things to think about – Android customization

Our Android customization series has, sometimes painstakingly, dedicated itself to non-root tools, tips and tricks to get the most out of your Android device. Today that changes. Last week we showed you how to replace a worn out USB port or headphone jack on a Nexus 7 tablet. That same tablet has now been rooted and we are ready to explore with you this new world of customization.

We will simply be working with a rooted device, we have not installed a custom ROM. We do not actually plan to change the installed OS at all, at least not for now.

Before we go too far, as far as the world of rooting your Android device goes, this is an article for beginner’s. Just a few tips and tricks to help you with the rooting process.

Heralding in a new age for Android customization, join us for a quick overview of root, and a few first things you might like to do once you’ve rooted.

Before we begin

The ability to obtain root access is different for most devices, and sometimes not even available, please check that your device has a known and stable root method before you proceed here today. You will be required to download and install an app on your device, a program on a connected PC or both.

We will be working with a Nexus device for our root projects moving forward, our 2012 Nexus 7 that we fixed last week. We rooted it using the Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh. This is an application that installs on a PC, then we simply connect our Nexus device via USB cable and follow the provided instructions. From there, we installed TWRP Recovery so that we could flash Xposed.

Today is all about sharing our experience with the root process, a few tips and tricks to help you get through it as best possible.

Disclaimer: Root is an advanced method within Android that gives you permissions to perform actions on your device that are not otherwise possible. These abilities allow you and your installed apps to perform actions on your device that can prove detrimental to your device. Please proceed with caution and understand that you are doing so at your own risk, we will not be held responsible if your device encounters issues. It is possible that you may brick your device, rendering it completely unusable, please be careful.

Also, unless your carrier/manufacturer states otherwise, rooting your device invalidates your warranty. You’ve been warned.

To learn how to root your device, check out some of our tutorials from days past, they are a little older, but the info remains true today:

Should I root my Android device?
How to root your Android device
13 best root apps for Android

Tips when rooting your device

If you’ve made it this far expecting to learn how to root your device, please hit those links above. We do not want to get caught up on the root process in this customization series, we just want to get on with using root to get the most out of our devices.

As I literally just rooted this Nexus 7, a few of the hiccups are fresh in my mind, just little things that I’m hoping will help you as you get started.

Bootloader, Root, Recovery, ROMs and more

OK, let’s start with some basic vocabulary. Please forgive me for this, I am about to explain some really advanced stuff in a really simple way, I may be technically inaccurate in these explanations, but only in the hopes of making it easier to understand.

Bootloader. In an attempt to keep this really simple, let’s call the Bootloader the BIOS of your Android device. If your Bootloader is locked, you will not be able to make any base level changes to your device. You’ll need to unlock your Bootloader before you can root your device, for example.

Root, as mentioned above, is simply the process of granting yourself elevated privileges on your Android device. If you are looking to delete some of those nasty bloatware apps that came pre-installed on your device, root is the permissions you need to make that happen.

Recovery, for our purposes, is a minimal operating system that can be run in place of your main operating system, for basic software management. Much like the BIOS on your computer, Recovery runs before the operating system boots up, but where the BIOS handles hardware, the Recovery on Android focuses on software. I guess it is more like the Install/Recovery screens you may have seen on your Windows machine when the operating system fails to load. Have I confused you yet? All you really need to know for today is that we used the TWRP Recovery and only for the purpose of creating a backup and flashing Xposed. More on that later.

ROMs, for the foreseeable future, we do not plan to handle ROMs in this series. A ROM is basically just another name for a new operating system for your Android device. You may have heard of CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android or the term AOSP. The former are completely different versions of Android, while AOSP is the pure, open source, Android experience that most ROMs are based off of.

These four terms should be enough to work from for now. Everything else we do will relate to working with or managing the above.

Back up

You are going to see these words over and over again, and for good reason. There are several levels of backup that you’ll be able to manage from here on, you can backup your data, including your photos, backup your apps, backup your system and more.

Before you root, your only real options are to backup your user data and your apps. We’ve talked about using apps like Helium to do this, but Nexus Root Toolkit can handle this as well.

Once rooted, you’ll be able to take more in-depth backups, including a full system backup. A popular service for backing up and restoring a full system is called Nandroid.

The key thing that you need to know for rooting is that unlocking your Bootloader performs a full system reset, wiping all of your apps and data. Back it all up and save those files off of the device for re-install later.

Unlock Bootloader

While Unlocking your Bootloader seems a simple thing, be sure to double check your warranty status before continuing, this is the piece that is against the rules for most manufacturers. From there, prepare for a full device wipe – this is done for security purposes, ensuring that no rogue apps already installed can take advantage of your newly opened security permissions.

Once unlocked, most devices will show you an open padlock icon on the initial Android boot screen. You are now ready to dive in to the good stuff.

Root and Recovery

Unlocking your device can be a scary process, the screen flashes, your device reboots multiple times, funny stuff pops up on the display. Relax, if you’ve chosen a respected rooting tool with confirmation that your device is supported, this process very rarely goes wrong. However, do not mess around, if performed incorrectly, if you unplug the USB cable halfway through, for example, this can brick your device.

Before you root, consider what you are looking to accomplish by unleashing these new permissions. What I mean is, as I learned the hard way, are you rooting to wipe some nasty apps, or are you hoping to install Xposed or even a new ROM? If you would like to install Xposed, as I did, you are going to need to install a custom Recovery first.

There is no harm in rooting and then coming back later to install a custom Recovery, in-fact, your tool may not even offer the option to do both. It simply saves you time and a few device reboots to do this all at the same time. Nexus Root Toolkit can install TWRP, CWM and more.

Storage space

Because Xposed is a fairly advanced framework that goes beyond any normal app functionality, it is now required to flash the framework to the device. Once the framework is installed, you can then install the normal Android app to continue.

We’ll talk more about Xposed later, it is a very exciting tool for customization, for now, let’s talk about System space.

You may have noticed in the root process, or now here when trying to flash Xposed to your device, that the installs fail. One common reason for this failure is a shortage of storage space. Now, at this stage of the game we are not talking about the storage locations that you have seen in your system Settings or favorite file explorer app, we’re talking about a reserved partition for your actual system files.

The easiest way to repair the System storage issue is to delete some apps. You’ll need a root file explorer, navigate to the files and kill ’em. If you are not sure what to get rid of, I recommend deleting apps that you can later install from the Google Play Store. For example, Google Sheets and Slides. I rarely use these apps on this device, they are fairly large files and I can always get them back later.

Anything funny going on? You backed up all those apps you deleted, right? Of course you did.

What’s next

I think that about covers the main tips and tricks from my most recent rooting experience. I have not used Xposed on Lollipop or Marshmallow yet, I hope you are ready to explore this great tool and all of the great modules as we go.

Resources:
Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh
TWRP (TeamWin) website
ClockWorkMod
Xposed Module Repository

Next week

I hope you found our tips useful today and I hope you are happily rooted and ready to roll. Next week is Christmas Eve, the week after that is New Years Eve. I’m still with you, watch out for some lazy holiday inspired Android customization projects for the next couple weeks. Then, in the new year, we will talk Xposed, maybe walk through the install in more detail, and get started with some cool modules.

What is your top pick for the first Xposed module a new user should install?

You can toggle “Merge tabs and apps” on and off in Chrome

An interesting feature introduced in Android Lollipop that was built into Chrome is merging the browser tabs into your phone’s multitasking menu. This eliminated the ability to see all your tabs within Chrome for a more minimal interface. The idea is nice in theory, but many users have preferred the old way of accessing the tabs within the Chrome app itself, as the new way creates a rather unorganized system of your tabs being spread all throughout your recent apps and the user not knowing how many tabs they have open.

1. Tap the Chrome menu (three dots on the top right)

This will bring up a number of actions, one of which is the Settings button near the bottom.

2. Go to Settings

Once in the Settings menu, select Merge tabs and apps

Here, you can toggle this feature on and off. Toggling this will restart Chrome to your desired choice and put all your tabs into Chrome’s tabs menu or in your phone’s multitasking.

The post You can toggle “Merge tabs and apps” on and off in Chrome appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Apple Pay Coming to China Through Partnership With China UnionPay

Apple today announced a new partnership with China UnionPay, which will see Apple Pay expanding to China in early 2016. Through the partnership, China UnionPay cardholders will be able to use their bank cards with Apple Pay on the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad (within apps).

“Apple Pay has revolutionized the way millions of people pay every day with their iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “China is an extremely important market for Apple and with China UnionPay and support from 15 of China’s leading banks, users will soon have a convenient, private and secure payment experience.”

Apple Pay in the country will work with the China UnionPay Quickpass, an existing contactless payment service. Customers will be able to hold an iPhone or Apple Watch near a UnionPay QuickPass-enabled point-of-sale terminal to make a payment at participating stores.

Reaching a deal to bring Apple Pay to China has been a priority for Apple, given China’s increasing importance to the company. A partnership between Apple and China UnionPay was first hinted at in February, when the first iOS 8.3 beta introduced support for the China UnionPay network. Talks reportedly stalled later that month, but in the weeks ahead of today’s announcement, rumors pointing towards a deal picked up.

A recent rumor has suggested Apple is aiming to launch Apple Pay in China before February 8, 2016, which marks the start of Chinese New Year. According to Apple’s press release, the service will be available following “relevant tests and certification” required by Chinese regulators.

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Here are the devices law enforcement use to spy on you

The Intercept obtained the catalog of devices used by federal and local law enforcement to collect and monitor cell phone data. The tracking hardware — including the infamous Stingray — in the catalog is accompanied by its capabilities including, limitations, “planning factors,” price and manufacturer. From handheld pieces of electronics that can track a few phones to boxes that can target as many as 10,000 unique cellphones the list is chilling reminder that even if you’re not under investigation, you’re being tracked if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The publication obtained the list from a source within the intelligence world and it unearths dozens of devices that most were unaware of before today. Judges and privacy advocates have long asked for information about how many of these items work but have been thwarted by claims of national security. Plus, law enforcement agencies sign NDAs before purchasing a tracker. Many local law enforcement agencies purchase these items with Department of Homeland Security grants then use them for crimes that have nothing to do with stopping terrorism.

The technology found in the catalog is used to spoof cell networks like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and others. In other words, a machine creates a fake cell tower that phones connect too and the device tracks the data that is sent between the phone and device. The information can be used to locate an individual, eavesdrop on calls and text messages, and even extract media from the phone.

In addition to being used for tasks that have nothing to do with the reason for which they were purchased, the dragnet solution that many of these devices offer violates fourth amendment search and seizure rights. Because judges are unable to determine the scope of capabilities of the technology, many believe search warrants issued that use this type of technology can be overly broad. At least now these judges can see just how powerful these pieces of hardware are before unleashing them upon the public.

Source: The Intercept

Free Data Programs From T-Mobile, AT&T and Comcast Scrutinized by FCC

The United States Federal Communications Commission yesterday sent letters to T-Mobile, AT&T, and Comcast questioning the companies about mobile services that allow customers to access certain content without paying for the data usage, reports Bloomberg. While the FCC has been careful to note the inquiry is “not an investigation” and designed to help the FCC “stay informed as to what the practices are,” there have been some questions about whether such services violate net neutrality rules.

Under scrutiny is T-Mobile’s Binge On program, which allows customers to stream 480p video that doesn’t count against a data cap, AT&T’s Sponsored Data program that lets AT&T customers view sponsored content for free, and Comcast’s Stream TV, a video service that does not count against data caps in areas where data caps are imposed. Ars Technica has uploaded a copy of the letters that were sent to the three companies.

Back in February, the FCC voted in favor of new net neutrality rules preventing Internet providers from blocking or throttling web traffic or offering prioritized service for payment, but it has not specifically addressed these “zero-rating” data exemption programs. Last month, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said the organization would keep an eye on T-Mobile’s Binge On service, but praised it as being both “highly innovative and highly competitive.”

In a statement, a T-Mobile spokesperson said the company is “looking forward” to talking with the FCC, and believes Binge On is “absolutely in line with net-neutrality rules.” Comcast expressed a similar sentiment, stating it looks forward “to participating in the FCC’s fact-gathering process relating to industry practices.” An AT&T spokesperson said AT&T is committed to “innovation without permission” and expressed hope the FCC is too.

The FCC has requested “relevant technical and business” representatives from T-Mobile, AT&T, and Comcast be made available for discussions by January 15.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Samsung+ helps your parents navigate their Galaxy devices so you don’t have to

Samsung+ is the app you need so that your relatives don’t need you. With the holidays fast approaching, every techie’s nightmare looms. You know it’s coming, but there’s no way you can escape it. However, this just might be the tool you need to survive.

You should know that it’s your own damn fault. It’s okay, we all screw up, but you forgot the golden rule. Always always feign 100% ignorance of all things technical around your family. But you slipped. You goofed up. You showed Grandma how to “get email on her phone” that one time and that was the end of it. You sealed your own fate, and you became Tech Guy.

Now you’re staring down the barrel of an entire weekend of yuletide troubleshooting. There might be some good news, however. If your family members own Galaxy devices, you can at least shovel mobile tech assistance off to Samsung+. You’ll still have to configure the router and get the new TV up and running, but at least you won’t have to worry about smartphones and tablets.

Samsung+ aims to be a one-stop-shop for all things Galaxy related. If you’re an avid Android fan, then it’s probably not going to be of any use to you. You already know everything your device can do, and you’re maxing out your Galaxy’s capabilities with gusto.

However, it is the ideal app for someone who doesn’t have a clue what they’re doing (like Grandma). Samsung+ has a clean, unconfusing interface with prominently displayed links to Samsung’s IT support. It also has guided tours that can help new users learn more about their device. A library of tips and tricks is being constantly expanded, so users who aren’t interested in staying abreast of the latest updates can be gently reminded about what’s different about their smartphone or tablet throughout the software’s evolution.

See also: 10 tips for improving Samsung Galaxy Note 5 battery life8

So this holiday season, when you’re trying to enjoy your eggnog and Uncle Pete can’t get this “damn contraption to work,” do yourself a favor and point him to Samsung+. However, if he wants you to unhook that “PlayBox” so he can watch The Christmas Story on repeat, we’ve got nothing for you.

If you want to see what Samsung+ looks like before chucking it at your relatives, click the button below to grab it from the Google Play Store.

Get it from the Google Play Store

Next: 10 best new Android apps of November 2015