Autor: FlexiSPY

Sometimes it is great to install (flash) a custom ROM on to your Android device in order to tweak it for better performance or to utilise features of the handset that otherwise is off limits by the manufacturer or network provider.

But what makes people want to do this?

Popular custom ROMS have become a part of everyday life for Android users and an example of this would be Cyanogen who recently made installing their ROMs as simple as downloading an installer to your computer and connecting your phone.

Surely there are risks involved in modifying the phone software?

The days of being afraid to install custom ROMS for fear of damaging the phone are long gone as long as you take precautions. Taking precautions applies to many more things than just IT but it is always good to be safe and not sorry whatever the situation may be.

But there are times when you may need to install the ROM that the phone came with (known as the stock ROM).

• Applying a firmware update that you are not happy with
• You want to sell the phone
• You want to send it in for repair and want to return everything to factory settings.

The thing to learn from this article is that there are times when factory reset is a necessity and that it is important to make sure the phone data is backed up also. The rest of this post discusses how to flash your Android device with a stock ROM, effectively restoring it to the ROM version that it came with when purchased.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for research purposes only. In no way at all is FlexiSPY responsible for any misuse of your device through following the actions contained in this document. By reading forward of this notice you are agreeing that FlexiSPY is not responsible in any way for any actions that may result from following the instructions contained hereafter

Doing this involves three main tasks.

• Backing up any phone data you wish to keep
• Finding the correct stock ROM
• Flashing the phone with the stock ROM successfully

We recommend backing up the phone data to a secure location (such as in the cloud) or just to your computer using the likes of the EFS Professional which is available for free and provides a comprehensive suite of backup options to make sure that all your important data will not be lost.

In order to use EFS professional you must have first rooted the Android phone and also installed BusyBox on to it from the Play Store.

To backup the EFS partition we will use a program called EFS Professional which is a PC program that allows us to backup the EFS partition to a computer to keep it safe.

You can download EFS Professional from here.

On the Samsung Android phone go to the Play Store and download and install BusyBox as this is required for EFS Professional to work.

Simply grant root access when asked and then tap Install to start the installation process.

With BusyBox installed and the Samsung Android phone rooted simply plug the phone in to your PC using the USB cable it came with and run EFS Professional.

When you run EFS Professional it will perform checks on the phone itself first to make sure USB debugging is enabled (to enable USB debugging, on the phone itself go to Settings > More > About Device and continue to tap Build Number until the Developer Options option is shown. Once inside Settings > More > Developer Options make sure that USB debugging is checked.)

Simply tap OK on the phone when asked.

Back on the PC if you run EFS Professional it will make sure the phone is rooted and BusyBox is installed and it should look similar to this.

Tap the Backup tab.

Make sure EFS Professional looks like this. You can see that All Partitions is selected.

Click Backup to start.

Once the backup process is complete disconnect the phone from the PC and reconnect it again.

Using Windows Explorer browse to the SD card of the phone and you will find the backup folder titled EFSProBackup.

Simply copy this folder to your PC and keep it in a safe place.

Congratulations! You have successfully backed up the phone

So we have backed up the ROM now comes the fun part. This is the part that most people find difficult.

Finding the correct ROM to use is not as difficult as many would have you believe but it is not without risk.

If you pick the wrong ROM and flash (install) that to the phone then it can have dire consequences.

Luckily there are several websites available that help make finding the correct ROM as easy as possible. One such site that we recommend is SamMobile and their firmware section (http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/).

Whilst on the above site click the Check Your Firmware link and fill in the information.

Once you have found the ROM for your particular phone version and country download it to your computer. You then need to download and install Odin on to your computer also as that is the software you are using to flash the phone.

If you have downloaded and extracted both Odin and the ROM to your computer you should have something that looks like this.

When you open Odin it will look like this.

As you can see from the message window no phone has been added yet. This is because, in order for Odin to see the phone you need to first of all put the phone in to download mode.

To do that you do the following.

1. Turn the phone off completely
2. Hold down the volume down key
3. With the volume down key held, press the main button
4. With the volume down key and main button held hold down the power button

This means you need to press all three keys at the same time in the order mentioned. You will know that you have done it properly when the following appears on the phone screen after it boots up.

Press the volume up button to continue and the phone screen will now look like this.

Connect the phone to your computer using a USB cable and now it will be seen by Odin.

If your phone is in download mode, connected to your compute but Odin does not see it then make sure you have installed Samsung Kies on to your computer first.

Without Samsung Kies installed (not open and running) the drivers for Windows to recognize the phone will not be installed and so Odin will not be able to see anything.

You can download Samsung Kies here – http://www.samsung.com/us/kies/

So far you should have done the following:

1. Backed up the phone data you wish to keep to your computer
2. Downloaded Odin and the ROM you are going to use for flashing
3. Installed the Samsung phone drivers to your computer by installing Kies
4. Put your phone in download mode
5. Connected the phone to your computer via the USB cable
6. Opened up Odin

If all has gone well it will look like the previous screenshot.

The final process of flashing the ROM to the phone is all that is left.

Click the AP button inside Odin.

You then browse to the firmware file. You will know if the file is correct because you will be able to see it inside the Windows Explorer menu and click on it.

It will also have the file extension MD5.

If you have downloaded the stock ROM but only see a zip file then it means you need to unzip the file first. Only after having done that will you get the correct MD5 file that Odin can then recognize and use.

Simply double-click the ROM MD5 file and it will be added to the AP section of Odin.

When you see Please wait… and the program says it is not responding (see screenshot below) do not be alarmed.

This is normal. Do not be alarmed, your phone is fine.

It just takes time for Odin to verify the firmware contents as it is such a large file.

During this time you must wait and it may look like the program is not responding but it actually is.

The ROM will be added to Odin once it has been checked.

Once you have done that click Start to begin.

Make sure the phone is not touched in any way or the USB cable disconnected from the computer or Odin closed whilst the flashing is in progress.

After a few minutes Odin will continue and the firmware file will be written to the phone.

You can tell this is in progress because, on the phone itself, a blue progress bar will be slowly going from left to right on the phone screen and in Odin you will also see a green progress bar.

When both Odin and that progress bar get to the end Odin will look like this.

Odin will also say Removed! because the phone restarts and so the USB connection is terminated and thus Odin sees the phone as having been removed. The phone will restart as normal and will boot in to the new OS for the first time – this will take some time.

Give the phone a few minutes and then, once it has booted up, it will now be running the stock ROM that you flashed to it.

You can then configure the phone as you did when you first bought it from the factory and it will be ready for use.

However if, after several minutes, the phone is still stuck on the Samsung logo or the phone may keep displaying the Samsung logo over and over and rebooting then read the steps below to resolve this.

But do not be alarmed, this is easily fixed.

To do this you need to boot the phone in to Recovery mode.

This is similar to how you got the phone to boot in to Download mode and involves holding down several buttons as the phone powers on.

1. Remove the battery and reinsert it
2. Hold down the volume up key
3. With the volume up key held, press the main button
4. With the volume up key and main button held hold down the power button

If you have done it properly the Samsung logo will appear as normal, wait two seconds and let go of all the keys.

If you have timed it properly the phone will boot in to Recovery mode and the phone screen will look like this.

You will also be presented with a menu with several options to choose from. To select an option use the volume up and down keys to move up and down and press the Power button to select the option.

What we need to do is delete the user cache and delete all factory data (it now makes sense why we backed up the phone first).

The recovery menu looks like this.

First, choose wipe data/factory reset and select it.

Scroll all the way down to Yes – delete all user data and select that.

The data will be wiped.

Second, choose wipe cache partition and select that.

The cache partition will be wiped.

If you have done it correctly, on the screen, in yellow text, it will say the following:

— Wiping data…
Formatting /data…
Formatting /cache…
Data wipe complete.

— Wiping cache…
Formatting /cache
Cache wipe complete.

With that done simply select reboot system now.

The system will reboot and it will be ready for use with the new firmware version that was flashed to it.

You can also verify the new ROM version by going to Settings > About Phone on the device and looking at the OS version to make sure it is correct.

If you are looking to root an HTC phone then the first thing you will need to do is actually unlock the bootloader. HTC, by default, lock down the bootloader to avoid tampering with system software that may permanently damage the phone if used incorrectly.

Rooting requires access to those very same files which is why unlocking the bootloader is required for rooting most HTC phones.

Unlocking the bootloader will void the warranty on the device once you have successfully done it.

Disclaimer: FlexiSPY is not responsible for any damages that may occur through following these steps. These steps are correct at the time of writing. Unlocking the bootloader is your responsibility and FlexiSPY is not responsible in any way. Please back up the phone completely before performing any of these steps.

Unlocking the bootloader may void the warranty on the device.

What is needed to unlock the HTC bootloader?

To unlock the bootloader on an HTC phone you will need the following:

• The HTC phone whose bootloader you want to unlock in your hand
• Access to a PC

Step 1 – Download the Android SDK

You will need to use ADB to unlock the bootloader and you get this through downloading the Android SDK.

You can read our article on how to set up ADB here.

Once you have set up and installed the Android SDK and you have confirmed that ADB works on your machine then it is time to proceed to the next step.

On the device itself, go to Settings > Power and make sure the Fast Boot option is not checked.

Step 2 – Unlock the bootloader online

On your PC go to http://www.htcdev.com

If you do not have an account you need to register first and then log in.

Once you have logged in please follow the steps.

Click Unlock Bootloader.

Then Click Get Started.

From the drop-down menu choose your HTC phone and then click Begin Unlock Bootloader.

If your device is not listed click the ‘All other supported models’ option instead.

Once you have chosen your phone and started the bootloader unlocking process the disclaimer will appear, Click Yes to proceed.

Agree to the legal terms (please read them carefully) and then click Proceed to Unlock Instructions.

Step 3 – Unlock the bootloader on the phone

The bootloader instructions will appear.

The steps and downloads may differ according to the HTC device whose bootloader you wish to unlock.

The first thing you must to is put the HTC phone in Fastboot mode.

1. Turn off the phone completely
2. Hold down the Volume down button and the power button together
3. Wait for the phone to power on

When it powers on select Fastboot from the menu (use the Volume up and Volume down keys to navigate and the Power button to select).

Now that the HTC phone is in Fastboot mode connect it to the PC.

Keep proceeding through the HCTDev wizard until you get to step 8.

On the PC, open up a command prompt in the folder where you installed the Android SDK and Fastboot window and type and press enter:

fastboot oem get_identifier_token

If done properly the unlock bootloader token ID will appear.

You only need to select the letters as the mosaic above illustrates.

Inside the HTC Developer unlock bootloader wizard paste the token ID where asked and then click Submit.

After a few moments you should get an email from HTC (the email is sent to the email address you used for registration on the HTC Dev website when you logged in to get started).

The email will contain an attachment, a file called unlock_code.bin

Download this file from the email and save it to your computer in the same folder that you installed ADB and the Android SDK.

Once you have done that (remember the HTC phone is still connected to the PC via USB running Fastboot mode) type the following and press Enter when done.

fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin

After pressing Enter, on the HTC device itself you should see the following screen.

Tap Yes (use the Volume Up and Down key to select and Power to confirm).

The HTC phone will reboot and it will boot up again. This process may take longer than usual so please be patient.

Once the phone has booted up the bootloader on the HTC device will have been unlocked so you are now ready perform advanced tasks on the phone such as root the device or install a custom ROM.

Disclaimer: While installing ADB is a safe process, please follow all the steps carefully. FlexiSPY is not responsible for any damage or data loss through following this article and all steps are correct at the time of writing. Create a Windows system restore point at any time if you are unsure. Performing these steps is your own responsibility.

If you are a casual Android user who just uses their phone for Facebook, Clash of Clans, calls and emails then you most likely won’t be interested in ADB or what it is. But for those who like to tinker with the plethora of Android customization options available to the platform ADB is an integral part of the experience.

But what is ADB and why should Android owners become familiar with it?

When you plug in your Android phone or table to your PC Windows will happily display the contents of the phone for you to work with. This can be internal storage or external storage from an Sdcard you have inserted. But surely you must have wondered, what else is on my phone and how can I get access to it?

ADB is the answer

ADB stands for ‘Android Device Bridge’ and is a set of tools for your PC that allows you to interface with your Android phone at the very lowest level in terms of system and processes. You essentially can access all areas of your Android phone and its filesystem instead of the areas deemed safe by the manufacturers that only Windows can see.

ADB allows you to perform advanced operations on your Android phone that you would otherwise normally not be able to.

But what are these ‘advanced operations’ you mention?

Usually ADB is commonly used for rooting.  An Android phone software is powered by the Android OS which is based on Linux. On Linux there are certain levels of user responsibility, the highest being superuser which allows you to change anything.

Your Android phone is the same. By default the filesystem of the phone is locked down by the phone manufacturer but you can gain full and complete access to the device by gaining root (hence the term ‘rooting’). This lets you do anything you want on the phone and ADB helps make this happen.

So if you want to root an Android phone or perhaps install a custom ROM or basically just perform advanced tasks on your Android phone then you’ll need ADB so let’s install it.

What is needed to install ADB?

To install ADB you will need a PC. You will need to download and install the Android SDK which you can get from here.

Once you have downloaded the Android SDK save it to an easy to remember folder, for this article we are going to use C:\Android on the PC we are using to write this article.

Here we have downloaded the Android SDK to the desktop.

We will now extract the contents of the folder.

 

The above screenshots show what is inside the extracted SDK. We will now make a new directory on our C drive called Android and we will copy the three folders shown above.

If you are wondering, you simply navigate to SDK > platform-tools and ADB will be shown along with Fastboot which is also needed if you are rooting

Note: You will not see a platform-tools folder after you extract the SDK. You must install it first which we discuss now.

How do you configure ADB?

To configure ADB and make sure you have the right packages installed launch SDK Manager.

Because you are running it for the first time it will ask you which packages you wish to install, we must install Platform-tools because this is what contains ADB.

Just make sure Android SDK Platform-tools is checked, click Accept and then click Install.

Installing all the packages may take some time – please be patient.

When all packages are install the SDK Manager should look like this.

As you can see, Android SDK Tools and Android SDK Platform Tools are both installed.

Set the Windows ADB path variable

Based on which version of Windows you have (we are using Windows 8.1) the steps here may be a little different. Basically we need to tell Windows that the SDK actually lists and has its own unique path. That way, when ADB is invoked by a program (e.g. a rooting tool) it knows where to find the required file inside your SDK installation folder.

Because you are modifying system variables and paths you may want to create a Windows system restore point first.

You need to access Advanced System Settings.

To do this (on Windows 8.1), press the Windows key + S to bring up the search box and type Advanced System Settings and click the entry that appears.

On the menu that appears click Environment Variables.

The environmental variables window will appear and this is what we need to edit.

Under System Variables, scroll down to Path and click Edit.

Note: Do not delete the variable value field in any way.

Instead, append it. At the end, add the following line (include the ; at the start):

;c:\android\android-sdk-windows\tools;c:\android\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools

Note: Remember that we installed our Android SDK to C:\Android? Your SDK folder location may be different so please make sure you update the variable value field with the correct path.

Click OK when done.

Now that you have done that you need to install the Android USB drivers.

Installing USB drivers using the SDK Manager

For many Android phones, once you have connected them to your PC, they require their own special set of drivers for Windows to be able to recognize them and allow you to interface with it using ADB.

To do this, inside SDK Manager, scroll down to Extras.

Make sure Google USB Driver is selected and then install it.

The Google USB driver should work for most Android devices once they are plugged in to your PC but not all phone manufacturers require the use of ADB however you should always make sure that you have installed the latest USB drivers for the Android device you wish to root on to your PC.

These are available to download below.

1. Samsung (install Samsung Kies)
2. HTC
3. Motorola
4. LG
5. Sony
6. Huawei
7. ASUS
8. Lenovo

Now that you have done that there is one more final thing to do.

Test that ADB works correctly

Now that we have set up ADB and installed the Android USB drivers it is time to test it all work.

• Plug in any Android phone to your PC using its USB cable.
• On the Android phone enable USB debugging. To do this go to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) and tap build number until the Developer Options menu is enabled.
• Once inside the Developer Options menu make sure USB Debugging is checked.

• On your PC open up a Windows command prompt by opening Run (Windows key + R) and then entering cmd and then press Enter.

In the command prompt window type adb devices and press Enter.

If everything is working properly the command window will display the device data as shown below.

Congratulations! You have now successfully setup and configured ADB for your Android phone and you can perform many additional tasks such as rooting, OS upgrading, OS downgrading and other custom options.

 

No doubt, if you are a regular reader of the FlexiSPY Blog you will see that we have a new section called ‘Android Rooting’. The purpose of this section is to provide helpful and up-to-date rooting guides for the most popular Android phones.

But many people are not entirely sure what rooting actually is. Furthermore they also think that rooting is a requirement to run FlexiSPY. This is not true. You can install FlexiSPY onto any Android device running Android OS 2.3 up to 4.4.2, and if it is not rooted then FlexiSPY can still be installed and it will run just fine – except you will not get access to specific root only features.

Basically, rooting an Android phone has many additional benefits besides being able to use the root only features of FlexiSPY.

What are the main reasons to root an Android device, besides FlexiSPY?

1. Free tethering – Tethering is where you can use the internet connection on your phone to access the internet on your PC or other device. Right now, for example on Boost Mobile, this costs $5 a month. On a rooted device, using Android Wi-Fi Tether it costs you nothing.
2. Increase battery life and speed – On a rooted device programs such as SetCPU allow you to overclock your phone (make it faster) for better performance or underclock it (make it slower) for better battery life.
3. Remove ‘bloatware’ – On any Android phone, especially ones tied to a carrier, there are always extra programs installed that you may not want to have (for example ‘Galaxy Gift’ on Samsung devices). Usually these cannot be removed but on a rooted phone, using Titanium Backup, running in root mode, they can be which makes your device not only run faster but also gives you additional storage space.
   
4. Remove adverts from applications – On the Google Play Store many applications are free and the reason behind this is because they serve you adverts. On a non-rooted phone you must either suffer the adverts or pay money to remove them. On a rooted phone there are programs (AdFree for example) that will remove the adverts for you for free.
5. Extensive customization – Unlike other device manufacturers (e.g. Apple, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry) who lock down the operating system meaning you cannot really customize, it a rooted Android phone gives you customization options to literally customize the entire phone to look and behave as uniquely as you wish it to. This includes installing custom ROMS, custom keyboards, and custom launchers – the works.
6. Install apps from the Play Store that are prohibited – If you have ever tried to download an application from the Play Store only to be told that you cannot because it is not available in your region or it just does not appear in the Play Store at all then a rooted device can solve this. You can sideload applications to bypass the Play Store restrictions.

What does rooting require?

To root an Android device you will need a PC and the Android device itself that you wish to root. Because every Android phone is different (make, model, manufacturer, OS version, firmware, kernel, etc..) there are a number of different ways you must root the same looking phone because of its configuration.

So, rooting a USA T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android OS 4.4.2 may not be the same as rooting a UK O2 Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android OS 4.4.2. Rooting requires a lot of research to make sure that you get the right rooting guide for the Android device that you wish to root.

Mac users who wish to root an Android device are out of luck. No rooting tools are available for Mac which means that Mac users must either run Windows on their Mac to perform rooting or they must get access to a PC to follow the rooting instructions.

Usually, when you want to root an Android device you need three pieces of information along with the device itself in your hand and access to a PC.

1. The model number
2. The manufacturer
3. The OS version

You can find that information on any Android device by going to Settings > About Device and the information will be listed.

So based on the details above, if we wanted to root this Samsung Galaxy S4 we would type ‘how to root Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 OS 4.2.2’ in to Google

FlexiSPY, in conjunction with Spy Phone Review, already provides tried and tested rooting guides for many popular Android devices and you can find links to them in the next section.

Do you have a rooting guide for my Android device?

You can find a complete list of all the rooting guides that we offer here.

If you wish to request a guide is written specifically for your Android device, for example, if your device is not listed please tell us in the comments and we will create one for you.

All rooting guides we offer are provided by Spy Phone Review and they are tested and correct at the time of publication.

How do I know an Android device has been rooted successfully?

Once you have rooted an Android device successfully there will always be a new icon visible called SuperSU. This is how you can tell if an Android phone has been rooted, by being able to see this icon in your main applications list.

If I root the phone won’t they find out because of the visible SuperSU icon?

Rooting will install a visible icon called SuperSU. While many people may be thinking that this icon will lead to discovery please understand that as part of the installation process on a rooted Android device FlexiSPY asks if you wish to hide the SuperSU icon or not.

Simply tap Yes and the SuperSU icon will be hidden completely. This means that there will be no traces of the software visible on the phone if you choose to also hide the FlexiSPY software icon as well.

What are the risks involved from rooting?

Rooting will void the warranty of the Android device in 99% of cases. That is why it is very important to find the correct rooting guide that you need for your specific Android device. As ever though it is recommended to backup the Android device first before performing rooting to make sure that you have a copy of it should anything go wrong.

On a rooted phone you also cannot upgrade the Android OS version any more. If you try to upgrade the OS version on a rooted phone then it will fail. The only way to upgrade the OS version is to perform a full unroot (explained later on) and then, once done, upgrade the OS and root the phone again while running on the newly updated OS version.

That is why we recommend, before you even try to root an Android device, that you backup the device first. That way, if anything does go wrong you will have a backup to restore from to get your Android device up and running again.

But rooting is a fairly simply process. Samsung based Android devices are the easiest to root overall because Samsung use Odin which is a simple to understand application allowing you to interface with any Samsung Android device once it is in Download mode.

In contrast to this, HTC requires that you unlock the bootloader of the Android device first before you can root the device. This is quite technical and it does void the warranty once it has been done.

Once a phone has been rooted you also cannot upgrade the OS version any longer.

If you have rooted an Android device and you wish to get the latest and greatest version of the Android OS that was just released specifically for your device then unfortunately, when you go to the Software Update option on the phone itself it will say that this operation cannot be performed.

On many Android phones you can unroot the phone to return the phone to its original non-rooted state. This is done by going in to the SuperSU application on the Android device > Settings > Full Unroot. Performing a full unroot means that you should be able to still maintain your warranty although, if rooting your particular Android device trips a counter that Android manufacturer technicians can access (as we explained with Samsung Knox) then it may not be enough but it should always be tried first.

On a rooted Android device, if you perform a factory reset, ALL DATA WILL BE DELETED on the device but the root will still remain. You can only remove rooting by performing a full unroot which is explained above.

What FlexiSPY features won’t I get if I do not wish to root the phone?

If you do not wish to root the Android device, that is fine, you can still install and run FlexiSPY on the device without issue – you just won’t get the following features.

1. Spycall – Listen to the Android device surroundings in real-time using your own phone – FlexiSPY EXTREME
2. Call intercept – Listen in to the Android device phone calls in real-time using your own phone – FlexiSPY EXTREME
3. IM capturing
   – Capture IM’s on the Android device from popular services such as Facebook, LINE, Whatsapp etc. – FlexiSPY Premium/FlexiSPY EXTREME
   
4. Email capturing – Capture emails on the Android device – FlexiSPY Premium/FlexiSPY EXTREME
5. Hide SuperSU – Hide the rooting icon on the Android device if you do not wish for it to be shown – FlexiSPY Premium/FlexiSPY EXTREME
6. Password grabber – Capture the application and email passwords for all accounts set up on the Android device as well as any passcode/lock pattern set

What is the difference between FlexiSPY running in FULL or LIMITED mode?

On a rooted Android device, FlexiSPY may run in FULL mode (root permission granted, all features working) or LIMITED mode (root permission may or may not be granted, limited functionality).

In LIMITED mode the following features will not work:

1. Spycall
2. Call intercept

For the reasons behind why FlexiSPY may run in LIMITED mode only on your Android device please read below.

Why does FlexiSPY only run in LIMITED mode in Android OS versions higher than 4.4.2?

The cause of LIMITED mode is dependent on the OS version of the TARGET device.

From Android OS version 4.3 onwards SELINUX was changed from PERMISSIVE to ENFORCED. What this meant was that even if the Android device is rooted, the changes to the OS software itself are prohibiting FlexiSPY from getting full access to the system software (the OS) on the phone for all features to work.

Unfortunately getting around SELINUX is not easy which is why even though FlexiSPY supports up to OS 4.4.2 this is only on devices whose manufacturer still sets SELINUX to PERMISSIVE and the only way you can get this information is to physically check the device itself.

There are three ways you can try to get around SELINUX being set to ENFORCED.

1. Downgrade the OS version
2. Flash a custom kernel which has SELINUX set to PERMISSIVE
3. Install a custom ROM

In the above screenshot you can see the About Device page of a Samsung Android device running OS 4.4.2 with SELINUX set to PERMISSIVE.

How can this be?

They installed a custom ROM to bypass the restriction as you can see by the device name.

But there is more.

On Samsung phones, running Android OS 4.3 or higher, Samsung added a new security program called Samsung Knox which locks down part of the phone OS software so that it can be used in a corporate environment (essentially allowing you to switch your phone from your personal phone to your company phone and back again as you require).

If this feature is enabled on a Samsung Android device then you may not be able to root it.

If you can root it then Knox keeps a record of it (called the ‘Knox counter’) and Samsung aftersales refer to this counter value if you ever take the phone in to be repaired. If the counter is not 0 then most likely your warranty will be void because Samsung will immediately know you tried to tamper with it by attempting to root the Android device.

They simply have to put the phone in to Download mode and look for the Knox Warranty Void value. If it is 0 then the warranty is valid. If it is 1 then Knox has been tripped and the warranty may no longer be valid.

The method to root a device with Samsung Knox enabled is complex. You essentially have to ‘cook your own ROM’ which means you are basically re-engineering the firmware OS file to not include Knox and you then flash that to the phone (meaning that the phone will be exactly the same, just without Knox) and you can then root it as normal. This is a process not many Android device owners will wish to do as it is complex, it will void the warranty and you will need to backup the device first as otherwise all data will be lost.

This method is also not available for all Android phones because it only applies to Samsung Android devices and not all Samsung devices can be upgraded to a newer Android OS version (e.g. OS 4.3.x and above) which Knox is compatible with which is why they are easier to root.

Ultimately, all of the issues here such as SELINUX and Samsung Knox, is beyond FlexiSPY’s control which is why we cannot guarantee all features will work if you are installing the software on to an Android device running that is not running an OS version from 2.3 to 4.4.2.

Samsung Knox is only available on Samsung Android devices. This is just one reason FlexiSPY may not run in FULL mode, for all other manufacturers (e.g. HTC, Motorola, Sony etc.) it would be the SELINUX setting that stops that from running in FULL mode on an OS version higher than 4.4.2.

Why can’t my Android device be rooted?

Not every Android device can be rooted.

It really depends on the configuration of the hardware and software inside the Android device for an Android phone to be able to be rooted or not and some are easier to root than others. Also, the more popular Android devices, from established manufacturers, are usually quicker to be rooted than a manufacturer that nobody has ever heard of.

Rooting takes time and patience. Many new Android phones get harder and harder to root. With Google now ready to near enough launch OS 5.x (Android Lollipop) it means a whole new challenge to make sure that this OS can be rooted. Unlike iOS for iPhone where all devices are pretty much the same configuration it means that it may be some time before rooting Android L based phones is possible and, when it is, it will only apply to the most modern handsets to start with as older devices may not be able to or eligible for running Android OS 5.0.

So while rooting is something that can be looked upon as being complex it really depends on the device itself. If you are interested in FlexiSPY and you want the root extra features then we recommended the following devices for best compatibility.

1. • Samsung Galaxy S3 – GT-I9300 – OS 4.2.x or below (SELINUX should be PERMISSIVE)
   • Samsung Galaxy S4 – GT-I9500 – OS 4.2.x recommended (SELINUX should be PERMISSIVE)
   • Google Nexus 4 – OS 4.4.2 (SELINUX should be PERMISSIVE)
   • Google Nexus 7 – OS 4.4.2 (SELINUX should be PERMISSIVE)
   • Samsung Galaxy S5 – SMG900H – OS 4.4.2 (SELINUX should be PERMISSIVE)

FlexiSPY cannot test each and every Android handset and its configuration so the above handsets are known for best compatibility overall. Please also remember that the above devices include a very specific model number so please make sure that the device you want to install the software on to has the same model number.

For example, if you want to install the software on to a Samsung Galaxy S4 and its model number is GT-I9505 then it may not work correctly with the software at this time and it highlights just how fragmented the Android OS system is compared to Apple and iOS which is more unified (but this comes at a price of less control and customization).

If you want to install the software on to an Android device running an older OS version such as OS 4.x – 4.2.x) then you have a higher chance of complete compatibility plus the device will be much easier to root as well.

If you are not wanting the root extra benefits then any Android phone running OS 2.3.x – 4.4.2 will run FlexiSPY without any problems. Please remember that on an unrooted Android device, whileFlexiSPY will display a visible icon, the ability to hide the application from the Application Manager list is something that can only be done if you have rooted the phone before installing the software.

Here on the FlexiSPY blog we love to customise our devices and root them and jailbreak them but we understand that this does not come without risk. Therefore, in this article we will explain how you can quickly and safely backup the entire contents of your Android phone.

The benefits of doing this are numerous such as if you decided to downgrade the OS or install a custom ROM for example – backing up the Android phone can often be a lifesaver.

Disclaimer: FlexiSPY is not responsible for any loss of data or damages incurred from following the directions given. The directions were accurate at the time of writing. Please make sure you follow the rooting guide correctly if you need to root your phone first and make sure your phone has enough storage space to perform a backup before proceeding.

What is needed to backup the Android phone?

To backup the Android phone you will need the Android phone in your hand and, depending on the method of backup (discussed later) a PC may also be required.

What is the easiest way to backup an Android phone?

The easiest way is on the device itself and even though you think that means you do not need a PC it actually does. This is because you need to have rooted the Android phone first to install a custom recovery on it and it is through booting in to this custom recovery that you can then perform a full backup of the phone.

Usually this is to the SD card that you have inserted but what if you do not have an SD card? You can save the backup to the internal memory of the Android phone but if the phone is restored or reset you risk losing the backup so you still need a PC to transfer the backup file (which can often be large such as several gigabytes) to a PC for safekeeping.

To backup the Android phone itself, as mentioned, you will still need a PC to transfer the backup file from the Android phone to the PC for safekeeping once the backup is complete. However you also need to make sure that the Android phone you want to backup, on the device itself has been rooted as well.

Why is this?

Because rooting a phone is what installs a custom recovery. It is the custom recovery that has the feature that allows for the Android phone to be backed up directly to the device to start with.

You can find out more on what rooting is and why it can be a good thing by reading this article.

Essentially backing up the phone directly to the device consists of three steps.

1. Root the phone (this installs the custom recovery mode)
2. Backup the phone using the device itself and custom recovery
3. Transfer the backup file to a PC for safekeeping

For the sake of this article we are going to assume that you have already rooted your Android device. If you haven’t and you want to know how to root some of the more popular Android handsets then be sure to check out rooting help here.

So how do you backup the phone to the device itself?

First of all you must boot the phone in to recovery mode.

To do this you do the following:

1. Turn the phone off completely.
2. Hold down the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons together.
3. Wait until the phone boots up.

Providing you have done this correctly the phone will boot up and it will look like below. If your phone does not boot in to custom recovery mode then it most likely has not been rooted so please remember to root it first otherwise this article cannot be followed.

Use the volume up and volume down keys to select and the power button to confirm.

From the main menu choose backup and restore.

On the menu that appears choose the backup option.

The backup process will start – please be patient, this may take some time.

Once it is complete you need to transfer the backup file to a PC for safekeeping.

This is done by doing the following:

1. Reboot the phone after using the recovery mode to backup the phone. – The Android phone will be recognised by Windows.

Double click Phone. The contents of the phone internal memory will be displayed.

Double-click the clockworkmod folder.

Inside the clockwork mod folder you’ll find that there are no backup files of any kind.

So where are they?

This is why you need root access.

The clockworkmod backups are actually located on the Android phone in /mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/backup.

We will show you how to find the backup files using ES File Explorer which is freely available on the Play Store.

Simply search for ES File Explorer on the Play Store and install it.

Once it’s installed, run the program

You now need to get root permissions from the application to find the hidden location where the backups are stored. This option is found in the Tools menu.

In the Tools menu set Root Explorer to ON and grant root permission when asked.

Once root permission has been granted browse to the original file location – /mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/backup

This time the folder will not be empty and the backups will be listed.

If you open up any backup folder you can verify the contents.

But now that we have found the backups how do we get that folder on to our PC for safekeeping?

By copying the backup folder to a folder on the Android phone that the PC can access such as the Downloads folder.

To copy the folder press and tap the folder icon and then tap Copy that appears at the bottom of the screen.

You then need to browse to the main downloads folder.

When you have reached the Download folder tap the Paste button to start copying.

Wait for the copying process to be completed – this may take some time.

Now that you have copied the backup file to a folder that your PC can access on the Android phone we can now copy it to our PC for safekeeping.

To do this make sure that you have plugged your Android phone in to your computer. Once it is plugged in simply browse the phone until you reach the Download folder.

Inside there will be the backup file we copied previously

As you can see, backup folders are there. Simply copy these folders to a convenient place on your PC for safekeeping and everything is complete.

You have now successfully backed up your phone entirely. We will discuss how to restore these backups in a separate article.