Rooted Android - You really don't need to do this anymore

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Rooted Android - You really don't need to do this anymore

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

MC Hawking posted:

There's no need to be insulting dude. For what little it's worth I have spent several years heavily modifying my G2 (new radios, Desire Z hboot image and so on) to keep the drat thing alive. I'm not a complete rank amateur, even if I've managed to completely screw this up.

I've already called up Google Play support and they're sending me a new device since I've exhausted my feeble meat sack of a brain trying to puzzle out what's wrong. Obviously I'm just not hardcore enough.

\/\/ I know it's hard to process, but I followed the instructions for flashing a new rom. It's only in doing my restore that things went screwy for some as to yet to be determined reason. In my entire time dealing with android I've never had an issue with the IEMI getting wiped, so I wasn't under the assumption that it was needed.

Obviously I made the mistake of presuming that procedures would be roughly the same on a Nexus device for backing up and restoring the device. Unfortunately nothing in what I've read about procedure indicated that it'd be any different than what I'm used to!

So the biggest thing here is what caused the issue and who is to blame. Me for following what I felt was accepted procedure and which is generally documented as correct on Cyanogen's Wiki? The software developers for making a rom which is neato but ultimately flawed? The recovery writers?

Does blame really matter? I'd be much happier knowing exactly what happened so I can prevent that from occurring in the future rather than arguing with you guys about why I'm not a dithering idiot.

Have you looked into getting a debug cable and a code reader? Androidcentral.com sells them in their web store. If you could pull some codes it'd go a long way towards figuring out the problem.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2013 19:04

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 12:04

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Luceo posted:

Perhaps the average person doesn't need to, but they never did. If you want complete control of a device you own, like I do for any computer of mine, then yes, it's required.

A phone is not a computer.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2014 03:45

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Mooktastical posted:

Root is required, roms aren't. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Please draw a venn diagram in your brain with phone, computer, and smartphone Where would the smartphone bit sit, exactly? Exactly how much space in either circle would the smartphone bit take up?

(this is a dumb thing to say)

A smartphone is not a computer. The usage paradigms are entirely different.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2014 06:17

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Pyroxene Stigma posted:

Processor. 1.7GHz MTK6592 Octa Core
RAM 1GB
Storage 16GB, microSD card slot, up to 32GB
Camera 13 Megapixel Rear Camera & 3 Megapixel Front-Facing Camera
Battery 2600 mAh
Connectivity GPS, microUSB 2.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth

Funny, those bear a striking resemblance to computer specs...

my car has many of the same specs a locomotive would, but I wouldn't expect anyone to commute to work in a locomotive and I don't expect to pull freight with my car.

A phone is not a computer.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2014 14:24

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Luceo posted:

Is loving ridiculous. The only thing I can't do on my phone that I do on my laptop is play more demanding games. If someone tried to sell you a laptop without admin access to the OS, that would sound crazy, and I don't see a difference anymore. It's mine and I will be root.

"Power users" trying to force a computer user paradigm onto a communications device is the number one impediment to smartphone usability right now.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2014 17:41

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Pyroxene Stigma posted:

If you weren't talking out your rear end before, you definitely are now.

Just because the computer is smaller doesn't mean it somehow stops being exactly what it is. Your analogy doesn't work either, Steve Jobs beat you to the punch when he called the desktop computer a truck.

A smartphone is a communications device first and foremost. Treating it like a tiny laptop only interferes with the primary purpose.

One-size-fits-all results in a poor fit for everyone.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2014 19:19

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

nocal posted:

Sometimes to entertain myself I go watch computers become not-computers when their specs become old enough that film studios are unable to edit video on them. It's like an angel getting its wings.

A smartphone is a communications device, not a computer.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 16:24

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Thermopyle posted:

No one who says "smartphones aren't computers" does not think that the phone is not an actual computer. Of course they don't. You're a stupid idiot if you think anyone with non-retard intelligence doesn't recognize that phones are little computers.

This is how you arrive at downloading torrents on your telephone.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 17:43

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

redeyes posted:

Does the N6 have good sound output? From reading around the camera seems lovely as well. I don't really think of the Note as a BIG PHONE, just something that has the functionality I like. I didn't realize the N6 has an OLED.. looking that up. Also, I get 2 days out of my Note II using about 3-4 hours of screen a day. Seems hard to accomplish on the N6.

I'd consider Windows phone but it looks even more locked down.. I was hoping for x86 phones at some point but that looks like a pipe dream since Microsoft can't modify Windows to work mobile. I do agree that the N6 could be my best and only upgrade path.

Tizen looks interesting. *shrug*

There may be another option!

# ¿ Dec 15, 2014 00:22

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

redeyes posted:

Yeah well, he is an unhelpful dick to me, so gently caress him.

As for the Tizen comment, I have used it on Samsungs new camera and it is not only fast but seems nice. But nevermind that, SPERGLORD AUTSTITC GOON LOL

Haha, I bet you're a blast at parties

# ¿ Dec 15, 2014 02:49

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

RandomPauI posted:

Last year rooted my Nook HD+ per the instructions. A few weeks back it informed me about new updates, I installed them, and that caused my keyboard to stop working.

I'm torn between going through re-installing the root mods or finding and installing the original OS. The biggest reason for rooting it in the first place was so I could install and run ROEHSOFT RAM Extender but I never figured out a way to how to set it up to swap more than 300-odd megs of ram.

How is it possible to know what updates will work and which ones will brick your tablet? Is the nook HD+ even worth it at this point?

Edit: I forgot how painless the process was, not sure why I thought it was going to be hard.

An e-Reader is not a computer and should not be forced into a computer use paradigm.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2015 18:15

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Fuzz posted:

About to reroot my phone and wipe to a new ROM, but I just got a new 64 got SD card for it that I want to swap to. I have Titty Backup and all that, but I kinda wanna clean out all the poo poo, both on the internal and external card, and only keep the handful of backup SMSes (have Save and Restore) and Titty Backup stuff. Any easy and clean way to do this? Is my assumption that both programs hopefully save to a single file or directory even remotely correct?

You shouldn't have to worry about doing these things. A phone is not a computer.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2015 20:59

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Sir Unimaginative posted:

And you are not a constructive poster.

I posted the only constructive response he received.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 15:08

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Dr. Arbitrary posted:

I'm new to this and my phone model has a broken link in the OP and I'm a bit overwhelmed. Most of the info online is a year old so I'm not sure if I'm going to break my phone.
I've got a:
Moto X,
Android version 4.4.4
Verizon

I've found a few guides that seem relevant for 4.4, but I'm not sure if it'll work with 4.4.4.

I don't necessarily need someone to hold my hand (unless you have a video or something that explicitly shows how to do it), I'm just not sure how to start.

Also, on a long shot, is there a way to get a PS3 sixaxis controller working with my phone via bluetooth without root access? I could just skip this step if there's a way.

A telephone is not a Playstation 3.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 13:55

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

nocal posted:

Not only is this an entirely useless post, but Sony is specifically moving towards making their games playable on their mobile devices. Are you this dedicated to your phone forum gimmick posting?

I cannot imagine a use case for carrying around a Playstation controller and rubberbanding your phone to it that isn't better served with a more appropriate device.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 02:09

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Pyroxene Stigma posted:

Because a $30 GameKlip is a bad idea instead of buying a $200 Nvidia Shield? Even their wireless controller is like double the cost of a Klip.

Also, here's a use case: playing games more complex than Candy Crush. Physical buttons are nice.

There are already dedicated devices for playing games on the go: The PS Vita, Nintendo handhelds, etc.

Under what bizarre use case is attaching a wireless controller to your phone with a rubber band a better choice?

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 04:02

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Mooktastical posted:

I keep waving my Kinect at my Lumia and nothing happens, what the gently caress.

Edit: Citizen Tayne is trolling, btw. Every post he makes in this thread or the regular android thread is how phones should only be used for calls and text messages, and how everything else is wrong. Well, Facebook might be ok, he never specifically banned it. Please don't feed him, and especially don't quote him. Thanks.

I am absolutely not trolling. The phone UI and experience is created to do a very limited subset of things properly. Once you start trying to play video games with a bluetooth controller on your phone, or you start managing bittorrent streams on your phone, you have exceeded those design intentions.

I like playing old video games. I can play through MM1 on a Macbook Air, or I can play through it on a 4.3" android phone with a bluetooth keyboard and AnDosbox. Guess which experience is lovely garbage and which one is good?

If you think I'm trolling, you should probably think about how you (mis)use the technology in your life.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 06:42

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

nocal posted:

Maybe you just have a design intention manifesto you'd like to post, it would save us time on this inane argument.

If you feel a need to tether a video game controller to a phone in public you're a loser, it isn't that complicated.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 06:48

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

If you seriously want to retrogame, just buy a MacBook Air 11".

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 06:49

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

mobby_6kl posted:

What are those things that the phone UI is designed to do properly anyway?

Sadly, the phone UI is designed to let me see your posts.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 14:21

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Medullah posted:

Hey I'll be honest, i use a controller with my phone because even though i have a Vita, 3DS, and PSP Go, the phone is the best portable emulstor for all the old systems.