New 100% reliable "temp root" for Titanium Backup (won't stop working until reboot!)

[joel.bourquard]

New 100% reliable "temp root" for Titanium Backup (won't stop working until reboot!)

Hi all,

I grew frustrated by the annoyance of losing root access randomly, when modified files on /system suddenly become inaccessible because of the S-ON lock.

But here's some good news: I came up with a way to get a 100% reliable "temp root" for Titanium Backup.

Advantages:

• You will not lose root access until next reboot!
• 100% reliable, does not modify /system at all.

Drawbacks:

• Minimalistic approach with no BusyBox.
• Will only work with select root apps.

Tested with Titanium Backup only (for now).

Requirements:

• Original "out of the box" Sensation or EVO 3D (untested).
• Android SDK tools ("adb" command) on a computer.
• USB connection between computer and phone.
• Installed Superuser app from the Market.

Initial (one-time) setup:

• unzip better-temp-root.zip
• adb push fre3vo /data/local/tmp/
• adb shell "cd /data/local/tmp ; chmod 755 fre3vo ; ./fre3vo"
• adb shell "mkdir /data/bin ; mv /data/local/tmp/fre3vo /data/bin/"
• adb push su /data/bin/
• adb push root.sh /data/bin/
• adb shell "chmod 4555 /data/bin/su ; chmod 755 /data/bin/root.sh"
• adb shell "/data/bin/root.sh"

After every reboot:

• adb shell "/data/bin/fre3vo"
• adb shell "/data/bin/root.sh"

The advantage of this method is that /system is not modified, therefore the rooting will be totally stable and will persist until the next reboot

Q&A:
Will it work with other root apps?
This is a minimalistic approach which installs no busybox and does not touch /system, in order to be perfectly reliable. The drawback of this is that it will work only with root apps that are able to find "su" at /data/bin/su, and that don't need a busybox in $PATH. Fortunately, Titanium Backup fulfills both of these criteria. If you know other apps that do, please post about them.

Status:

• Titanium Backup (free & pro): works
• Root Explorer: works
• MyBackup pro: works?
• SetCPU: FC
• Wireless tether: needs system modification

Greetings go to #teamwin for the exploit, of course.

Have fun !

 

[eyegor]

Great. Good job!

Now where is that test recovery?

 

[madindehead]

If it works well, maybe you should try and pass the files onto agrabren for him to implement into Fre3vo^2 (apk that makes root better like your fix is aiming to).

That way things will move a LOT faster

 

[madindehead]

Using this, I can get Titanium Backup to work, but not AdFree. Might just wait for Fre3vo^2.

 

[xtcislove]

Adfree is build to edit files on /system partition which is not possible with temp root

Set-Cpu is working?

 

[DomSim]

possible to make a script that runs

    adb shell "/data/bin/fre3vo"
    adb shell "/data/bin/root.sh"

at each boot automatically?

 

[will75]

Does barnacle or any WiFi tether apps work with this? Still at work.....

 

[Tiffany84]

Sorry for the noob question but where do unzip it to, the computer or the phone?

Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

 

[joel.bourquard]

Using this, I can get Titanium Backup to work, but not AdFree. Might just wait for Fre3vo^2.

Thanks for your feedback. I hadn't tested AdFree, but I'm not surprised here. This solution is a willful compromise: we refrain from modifying /system, and thus we gain 100% reliability - but at the same time we lose compatibility with some root apps, because they often rely on BusyBox being in /system (or at least in $PATH).

I have contacted @agrabren on Twitter with a link to this thread. I haven't looked into it, but if #teamwin can come up with a way to execute adb commands locally on the phone, it could all be done automatically at boot. Hopefully they'll add a configuration choice such as:

Method 1: Full compatibility with root apps, system BusyBox, "ephemeral" root
Method 2: Compatibility with *some* root apps, no system BusyBox, 100% reliable root

Let's see how it goes... but I know which method I'd personally use

 

[joel.bourquard]

Sorry for the noob question but where do unzip it to, the computer or the phone?

Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

Unzip to the computer, you'll get 3 files. Go on from there

 

[Ganii]

What about this:
Any difference to files/method from first post?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/S-Off-for-Sensation-and-Evo-3d-NOW/117107248377328?sk=wall&filter=1

 

[Tiffany84]

Unzip to the computer, you'll get 3 files. Go on from there

Ok. So this is where I struggle with adb. So how does it know where the files are at? Do u have to tell it the location of the files or do u put it in the same directory with adb? Again, I apologize when it comes to being clueless with adb.

Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

 

[joel.bourquard]

possible to make a script that runs

    adb shell "/data/bin/fre3vo"
    adb shell "/data/bin/root.sh"

at each boot automatically?

That's the goal - but such a script would not work right now, because: (1) the 1st command terminates the current shell and (2) the 2nd command must be called through ADB.

As far as I see, the 1st command could be invoked automatically from an Android app at boot, but the 2nd one needs to be called through adb, which requires a separate computer right now.

I haven't looked into that - but I think @agrabren / #teamwin are aiming at this (ie: somehow doing the equivalent of running commands through "adb" from the device itself) with Fre3vo^2.

 

[jerrylzy]

Thanks very much..

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

 

[Pinepig]

Ok. So this is where I struggle with adb. So how does it know where the files are at? Do u have to tell it the location of the files or do u put it in the same directory with adb? Again, I apologize when it comes to being clueless with adb.

Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

Same directory

 

[joel.bourquard]

Ok. So this is where I struggle with adb. So how does it know where the files are at? Do u have to tell it the location of the files or do u put it in the same directory with adb? Again, I apologize when it comes to being clueless with adb.

Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

I run Linux personally, but I think if you just unzip the files into some empty folder, then stay in that same folder and run ADB by its absolute path, it should work fine. Something like:

"C:\Program Files\Android SDK\BIN\ADB.EXE" push xx yy

Maybe a Windows user could give you more precise advice here...

 

[Xcor3]

Why would you need barnacle when you have wireless tether built in?

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

 

[Ganii]

With this,only run fre3vo bat file and all will install
automatically:

What about this:
Any difference to files/method from first post?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/S-Off-for-Sensation-and-Evo-3d-NOW/117107248377328?sk=wall&filter=1

 

[joel.bourquard]

Anyone tried SetCPU ? Which profile did you select, and does it work?

 

[Tiffany84]

Same directory

Thanks.

Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App