So I had an argument with someone over telegram if root exists or not in android. My point of view is that like any linux kernels the concept of root exists but it's not accessible to other processes. That's where magisk comes in play, hacks the kernel permitting other apps to use the root functionality. Now the other person mentions that the concept of root doesn't exist in android and mods like magisk implements it. Now, which one is which? Does root exists in android phones or mods like magisk implement it?
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is known as a “systemless” root method. It’s essentially a way to modify the system without actually modifying it. Modifications are stored safely in the boot partition instead of modifying the real system files.   I have looked around but did not find a sufficient explanation as to how it actually works. How is the root access gained and maintained? What exactly is the role of the boot partition and if it integrates with the system partition how it does it? A really detailed description of how it works lacks from everywhere I searched so it would be really highly appreciated.
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If I root my android phone (just so I can get access to Wifi Tethering, etc.) will that erase anything on the phone (apps, data, etc.)?  Will it change anything other than the ability to run app(s) as rooted?
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I have just learned about the "Rootless" feature in El Capitan, and I am hearing things like "There is no root user", "Nothing can modify /System" and "The world will end because we can't get root".  What is the "Rootless" feature of El Capitan at a technical level? What does it actually mean for the user experience and the developer experience? Will sudo -s still work, and, if so, how will the experience of using a shell as root change?
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I want to make sure that using adb backup -apk -shared -all -f ~/backup.ab will also save /data/misc/vold?   I am trying to backup before rooting, in order to be able to gain access to the encryption key in /data/misc/vold (got corrupted SD card adopted as internal). So I want to make sure ih something bad happens during the rooting, I could still access the backup version of /data/misc/vold?  Thanks!
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Is the Ubuntu Phone available anywhere yet? I want start developing apps.  I am very impatient to start to develop on real ubuntu phone.
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I'm working with a support member for a product, and he insists that I need to be root to install a series of patches, and that sudo won't work; he doesn't provide a reason but seems very firm in his beliefs. Browsing Superuser I can't determine any possible reason for this being the case, and in confirmation, when I run:  sudo -l   I get:  ... User [MY USERNAME] may run the following commands on this host:     (ALL) ALL   Getting access from the Linux/server team to actually be root is not an imediate process as I understand, so I'd prefer to install them myself.  Is there any practical reason whatsoever why sudo would behave differently than root for installing software on a server?
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On Android's root (/), what is the purpose of each folder? I want to learn the folder hierarchy structure. I would like to know the differences between Android 2.3 and 4.x, if they have different folders in "/".
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I searched in lots of websites/forums but did not find a solution for this problem, and this site is last chance, this is problem: This problem have several other users too. my phone is Galaxy S7 Edge , exynos, Oreo 8.0 (Stock ROM), rooted with magisk latest version. root works well in other applications. In pentesting applications like csploit, Network Spoofer, WifiKill and others  root works well(grants permission)  but when start using options of app(for example, arp spoofing, network sniffer, MITM, etc) drops same error: [ERROR] Unable to retrieve local hardware address libnet ( ioctl: Permission denied ) what to do? Can this issue fixed? or exactly which permission is it?  Also one interesting thing, when I installed old version of WifiKill app it worked - killed wifi connection.
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So I have an old unlocked phone and I'd like to load up my own OS.  I've seen some mods out there.  CyanogenMod seems to be the most popular.  However, I was curious if I could just install a pure untouched version of the OS -- as distributed by Google. I seem to remember being able to download a clean compiled version of the Android OS.    Does Google distribute any binaries like this, and if not, is there someone out there that does?    Additionally, is this even worth trying?  These days is it necessary for Android to be packaged with special drivers and such for all of the different hardware out there?
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Or, how do I root my device without a rooter?  Rooting instructions for Android devices that I have seen are typically of the following form:   Download Gingerbreak.apk Run Gingerbreak, click “root device” Observe that Superuser.apk has been magically installed, possibly along with busybox and other things, and enjoy your rooty goodness.   What I am wanting to know is this: how does the rooting actually happen? What does Gingerbreak do?  I understand the end result of rooting:   su is present and working Superuser.apk is installed and controls access to su Various utilities are present, provided by BusyBox (optional?)   I also think I understand the basic idea of how Gingerbreak gets started — it exploits some local privilege escalation vulnerability and uses its new-found powers to deploy Superuser and whatever else is necessary.  So, unless I am wrong in some of the understanding I laid out above, the core of thing I want to know is what the root installer does to deploy and activate Superuser. It seems that just putting Superuser.apk in the right place wouldn't be enough — how does it get allowed root access? How does it get hooked up to moderate that access for other applications?  What does Gingerbreak do post-exploit to enable and secure root access?
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I just deleted a file on my Nexus S that I really need back. (It was actually part of an app using a sqlite database that did a drop table when upgrading to a new version.)  Presumably I need to root the phone first (which I hear is easy on Nexus phones) but am I in a catch-22 here? Namely, does rooting the phone mean wiping/overwriting the partition where the data lives?  If not, what do you recommend for data recovery tools? Presumably the file was just unlinked and not actively overwritten (per usual when "deleting" a file) so technically the data must be there...
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Since some time I am unable to create file/folder on root. I always log in as root and was able to work properly. My experience is as follows: # pwd /root  # mkdir xcxcx mkdir: cannot create directory `xcxcx': No space left on device  # df -h Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/sda1        41G  4.1G   35G  11% / /dev/sda3        91G   36G   51G  42% /home /dev/sda2        99G  3.4G   91G   4% /usr  I see ample space on my system; so why am I not able to create folder/files? Update: df -i  reports Filesystem   Inodes    IUsed    IFree IUse% Mounted on /dev/sda1   2681728  2681728        0  100% / /dev/sda3   6037504   111043  5926461    2% /home /dev/sda2   6553600   146034  6407566    3% /usr  Have I run out of inodes? If so, then how do I correct it?
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As the question title implies, if I root my Droid Incredible (or any Android phone), will I lose all of my data? I'm not interested in installing a custom ROM right now so will rooting cause me to lose my data? Also, which tool should I use to root the phone?  Edit #1: Based on a suggestion, I rooted my Incredible using Unrevoked, and I didn't lose any information.
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Right now I have in my phone the stock rom and I haven't rooted it. I want to root it and change the rom.    What should I do first, root or flash the rom? I don't want to lose all the configuration, apps, apps data or files (images, music, videos, etc in the SD). How can I do to be sure to avoid this? I want to make sure I can go back to the stock rom if I need, is there any special thing I should do?   If its relevant, I have a Samsung Galaxy I5510.  Thanks!
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do you have some informations about Ubuntu phone at the moment?  I saw few articles about Ubuntu Edge but I thought that it is dead. Also I saw for UBPorts with Ubuntu Touch.  I was really interested for project Ubuntu Edge. So my question, is there some idea of ubuntu phones in 2019 or everything is dead?
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I rooted my Dream/G1 last night and finally gave up on modding it (not for good mind you, but for the moment) and opted instead to just restore it to factory settings via Settings &gt; SD card &amp; phone storage &gt; Factory data reset, which did solve all the problems I was having with multitasking (and not being able to answer it, etc.)  Curiously, I still seem to have root on the phone, despite having reset it. I'd love to understand how that is possible! Superuser Permissions is the only non-stock app still on the phone, and I'm still able to use su to gain root privileges from adb shell. Is this because BusyBox installs to my SD Card?  My phone works just fine, so this is hardly critical, but the whole exercise was/is about knowing my phone better and this is most def. a mystery. Thanks!
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I'd really love your help with proving that for  $q, p$ odd primes such that $p \neq q$, there is not primitive root modulo $pq$.   There's a theorem says that there's primitive root only for $2, 4, q^l, 2q^l$ for prime $q$ and $l \in {Z}$, but I guess I can't use it.  any other suggestions?  Thanks a lot