this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
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Android

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Is there any guides on rooting android, specifically tablets (lemm.ee)
submitted 9 months ago by Scrimby@lemm.ee to c/android@lemmy.world
20 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hello, I was wondering about how to root my tablet, it is a 10.1" onn surf walmart tablet, I wanted to root it, but all the guides I could find are either outdated, or the wrong model (or both!) and I'm kinda at my wits end.I have OEM unlocking and usb debugging, so i can root it i believe.

I wonder if there is any software or app that can dump the ROM file? because I can't seem to find any archive of the model, and like i said, the ones people talk about are the wrong type and i don't wanna risk breaking anything.

thank you.

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[–] aluminium@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

If the tablet uses a Mediatek SoC which is very likley you can use this to make a full backup of the ROM.

Also if its a mediatek device I'd recommend you try MTK Easy Su. Its extremly easy to use and gives you temporary root access until you reboot your device.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Should be possible. Next step after unlocking would be installing a custom bootloader that supports installing a superuser app like supersu.

And here starts the trouble, you need to run any alternative software that allows modifying your currently running system. But this is highly specific and built for that exact model of tablet.

So if you can find a bootloader to flash and get it to boot, you should be fine.

[–] Scrimby@lemm.ee 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I'm very sorry, i'm not very smart, why do i need a superuser app? what does it do in the process? also thank you for responding so quickly, i always appreciate help.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 7 points 9 months ago

Supersu is like sudo for Linux or run as administrator for windows if you know it. If you try operations your phone wouldn't allow due to lack off privileges it will promt you if you want it to enforce that via root.

[–] thantik@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

If you aren't very smart, you should probably not be rooting. What exactly are you trying to accomplish with rooting that you can't do otherwise?

If you're trying to disable applications, you can do that with ADB. If you're trying to delete them; know that they live in the system partition and will not free up any space.

[–] Scrimby@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago (3 children)

to be honest, i'm not sure, just because i can doesn't mean that I should. I suppose I just wanted to be able to remove bloat and get a add blocker.

[–] shigutso@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

If you want to remove bloat, you can use this software. It doesn't require root. Just be careful to not disable important system apps otherwise you can make your tablet unusable and will have to find a way to go to recovery and factory reset.

https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation

I used it on a friend's cheap Chinese phone and it removed a lot of stuff. The phone was much better after that, but of course, be extra careful to not remove important stuff.

Good luck!

[–] thantik@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Anything you think is bloat, can be uninstalled, and then disabled. Root isn't required for this, and deleting apps via root doesn't gain you anything because the apps are installed in the system partition and not any of the user partitions. Android has this capability built in.

Switch to Firefox and set it as your default browser for the device and install the uBlock origin addon for it (you can install this from within the firefox app). It won't get rid of all ads, but will work while you're browsing any web pages.

If you're not technically minded, or don't have some sort of linux/command line experience, you're likely to just brick your device irreparably.

You can also probably block ads by changing your DNS provider manually in the settings to something like dns.adguard.com - which will basically do the same thing a PiHole on your local network would. It'll essentially null-route your requests to the ad servers.

[–] Scrimby@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

oh i see. I am slightly tech inclined, but im just not phone smart if that makes sense. I always make sure to install ublock on my firefox's (mobile, pc). and what should I use to remove the stock apps?. and while my browser is ad-free, I was wondering if i could block in-app ads? and thank you for informing me about everything!.

[–] thantik@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

You can just go into the uninstall screen to uninstall and then disable preinstalled applications. Disabling them causes Android to hibernate them, essentially - meaning they don't ever fire up on their own again, and since they're installed in the system partition, you don't necessarily lose any space by them being there, because you don't gain any space back by removing them.

There are multiple ad-blocker apps that use your phone...as a VPN loopback, which can then intercept and block ads for the whole device. I don't know of a particular one to suggest, as I run my own adblocked network from home and rely on a similar, but ultimately different method.

[–] Scrimby@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago

thank you, i'll look into it!

[–] limerod@reddthat.com 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Get PersonalDNSfilter from playstore or fdroid. It's a system wide dns blocker app. This is for your system wide adblocking needs.

[–] Scrimby@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago

perhaps there is a better way to achieve this?

[–] Fisch@lemmy.ml 10 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

What Android version do you have? Nowadays Magisk is used to root devices. There's a guide on how to install it on the GitHub I linked. Before you can install that you need a custom recovery like TWRP tho. Keep in mind installing a custom recovery requires you to completely wipe the device and install a new rom, so you'll probably have to use a custom rom like LineageOS and you'll need to backup important files. Also, the files you need to install for TWRP and LineageOS are specific to devices, so you'll need to look on their respective websites (I linked both) if your tablet is supported.

[–] Scrimby@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

thank you all for your input, I've decided not to root it due to lack of experience and there being no need for me to do so. thank you all once again!

[–] BigMikeInAustin@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Hey, it's just lack of experience, not lack of "smarts."

Everyone started off knowing nothing. Asking questions and reading a lot will get you there. Takes notes. Pay attention to conflicting information, because it's all just people trying out things and sometimes forgetting details.

This was a fairly supportive thread.

When you try something, just understand the risk of what you could lose if something goes wrong.

[–] ransomwarelettuce@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Oh I still rememberer first time I tried to root my phone, I swear I was sweating.

[–] TheInsane42@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Same here, especially as it was the Samsung S2 of my employer.

However, when you don't try (prefferably on an expendable device) you never learn.

[–] ransomwarelettuce@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Yeah that and always get a soft-brick solution tested before hand.

My first softbrick was 30 min before going to college I had to show my bus tickets on my laptop, and fix the phone before my chicken mom came to my apartment because I would not awnser the phone.

[–] Hiro8811@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

If you want similar privileges try Shizuku. It's not fully fledged root but you can still use it to do some interesting stuff.