Root Easy Root Woes

[saktown]

Let me start this off by saying today was my first time trying to root but I've read a lot about it. Anyways, I bought Easy Root this morning and rooted without any issues. Got Titanium and backed everything up. Got Rom Manager and downloaded Sapphire 1.0.0. I tried to install it, but when I tried to flash into Clockwork Recovery I was just brought to the regular recovery screen. Not realizing this at the time, I proceeded to wipe the phone and reboot. Obviously, it did not install the Sapphire Rom. For some reason, I figured I should just go back to stock android 2.2, so I did that. I still have the Superuser Permissions in my Apps, but when I go into Titanium, it says I'm not rooted. I even had it download a new version of BusyBox. I'm guessing this is because I went back to STOCK 2.2. Why do I still have the ninja icon, though? I can't download Easy Root because it's been removed from the Market. Is there some other way to give Titanium SU permissions?

 

[vincentp]

Whew... this stupid EasyRoot program is killing me. Go to the "Guide to all things root related" up top and either root it the right way, or restore a stock image. There are guides for both and they will require the RSD Lite program. It should fix your problems though.

 

[BenDroid]

I agree...it seems like this Easy Root is just too easy. I say go with RSD as well. It is not hard at all and should clear up any of these problems that you are experiencing.

 

[johnlgalt]

For those of us who are old hands at it, and also those of us who do not mind putting the time and effort into it, sure, RSDLite, SBFs and a little elbow grease seem easy enough.

But to most of the point-and-click generation, using a command line is scarier than a 10 car pile-up. While you may say that it is not hard, other folks are never going to agree with you (and I am not downing on you or anyone else that says it is easy - being a commandline junkie for over 25 years, I *agree* that it is easy - for us - but to them it's the equivalent of rocket science). I am not just saying that - I have also worked Tier I and Tier II and Tier III help desk support for a very long time. It's why I am able to make money - other folks would rather pay someone else to do these simple little things than do it themselves.

However, I can say this: Anyone interested in doing this needs to take a deep breath, and read the entire post first before attempting to do anything.

It's the folks that don't bother reading carefully and end up skipping steps that have the worst problems - b/c they swear up and down backwards that they did everything right, when in fact they did not.

When pointing people to that post, please, Please PLEASE admonish them toe read everything FIRST and ask any and all questions BEFORE starting the process.

I hope that gets the point across.

Oh - believe it or not, we hard a major discussion over the viability of these 'easy' one-step solutions before, and what I predicted then is coming to light - again.

 

[patch]

Got Titanium and backed everything up. Got Rom Manager and downloaded Sapphire 1.0.0. I tried to install it, but when I tried to flash into Clockwork Recovery I was just brought to the regular recovery screen. Not realizing this at the time, I proceeded to wipe the phone and reboot.

This is the problem, not EasyRoot. I don't know why there are so many haters, just expect there will be many more casual users so cut them some slack. EasyRoot still does not mean that you don't need to understand exactly what you are doing, the same with using an application like ROM Manager.

 

[patch]

If you used TitaniumBackup, you should have a copy of the EasyRoot.apk on your SD card. It looks like they are backed up in tar.gz files in the TitaniumBackup folder.

I don't want to waste time looking this stuff up to help you get back your EasyRoot.apk, if you already tried the "reflash and start from scratch" method which will be guaranteed to work, but if you haven't maybe we can see if you can try get back to EasyRoot again to see if you can restore your root access.

Let us know, maybe even for the anti-EasyRoot crowd we can find out once and for all a little bit more on how robust EasyRoot really is.

 

[johnlgalt]

This is the problem, not EasyRoot. I don't know why there are so many haters, just expect there will be many more casual users so cut them some slack. EasyRoot still does not mean that you don't need to understand exactly what you are doing, the same with using an application like ROM Manager.

Call it what you want - but easy one step fixes without explanations on what to do next make it too easy for novices to mess things up.

If you used TitaniumBackup, you should have a copy of the EasyRoot.apk on your SD card. It looks like they are backed up in tar.gz files in the TitaniumBackup folder.

I don't want to waste time looking this stuff up to help you get back your EasyRoot.apk, if you already tried the "reflash and start from scratch" method which will be guaranteed to work, but if you haven't maybe we can see if you can try get back to EasyRoot again to see if you can restore your root access.

Let us know, maybe even for the anti-EasyRoot crowd we can find out once and for all a little bit more on how robust EasyRoot really is.

And that exactly is why we're hating. OUR community takes the time to help users. Over and over. Repeatedly. Taking time to look things up. Again and again....

Get my drift?

 

[patch]

I understand but my point is all easy root does is lower the bar for entry. The question is how the community wants to deal with this.

I think there's no problem with telling them to try a known working method that has previously been done. And maybe there are some new members to the community thanks to EasyRoot that would be willing to help users like this, and I'm fixing your highlighting of my quoted post.

I don't want to waste time looking this stuff up to help you get back your EasyRoot.apk, if you already tried the "reflash and start from scratch" method which will be guaranteed to work, but if you haven't maybe we can see if you can try get back to EasyRoot again to see if you can restore your root access.

 

[johnlgalt]

No, you're absolutely correct, an easier method should be shared with the community - but something as important as rooting your phone should also be supported heavily with users that can hold the end-users hand.

No matter how foolproof you make a process, someone will come along and break it - because end users tend to do the unexpected. Just as you highlighted above, with this user, who went back and performed a manual factory reset on his phone without realizing that he had no custom recovery on his phone anymore, users will do some strange things, and more often when they are less versed in what they are actually doing in ht first place.

I am all for easier processes - I just get tired of the posts just like this original post where a user has gone awry and has no clue what to do next and is FRANTIC about having just ruined their phone b/c they did not stop to read the directions carefully, or they did something out of turn, or they simply heard form a friend on what to do and didn't bother to do more research and make sure they knew what to do and had a backup plan ready in case something went wrong.

I think by now you've gathered that we're NOT hating on your app, we're frustrated beyond belief that every time this type of app makes it to the surface, the end users get left in a lurch b/c no one is providing 24/7/365 support on the app....

 

[patch]

First of all, I'm not saying this application is the holy grail -- it could be a very unstable/unreliable POS, but it also could be a very clever and simpler (and safer) way to get root access on our devices.

I don't like the method it's being distributed, and feel like the methods used should shared and vetted with the more knowledge members of the community. I do think this will eventually happen since even if the author does not want to share it since I'm sure others will eventually figure out how it was done exactly.

In any case, I'm also tired of reading so many posts that all the problems people are having is because of the application, while most of them have been because the users. If anything the author of EasyRoot should have just never gave a link to get ROM Manager from the Market in his application. Until someone how actually knows what they are doing makes this claim from experience and back it up with evidence, instead of spreading FUD.

Until then I don't see a problem with "I'm sorry but I can't help you properly since we don't understand what EasyRoot did to your phone, contact the author if you want to peruse that route -- but I can help you fix your phone if follow our tried and true methods and you'll be fine."

I'm still learning about how everything works, and I'm willing to see what I can do to help understand how EasyRoot works as compared to the methods used by people who packaged the first rooted firmware. I'm not worried to continue since I do feel like there always is tried and tested methods that community already came up with to restore my phone that I can fall back on worst case scenario.

 

[johnlgalt]

The problem is that n00b users who run into problems with these tools are the ones hat spread said FUD about the tool.

I had a big argument / discussion about tools like this in the past, and my stance is the same - making it too easy for n00bs is great, IF you support it. When it falls on the rest of us to go around putting out fires, it becomes nothing more than a PITA for us.