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A comment on LineageOS 20. Parent comment

Re:LineageOS 20 by commoner on Saturday December 31, 2022 @02:08PM (#34199618)
Adding to the list of things that you can do with root on Android:

- App Manager[1] has a powerful feature that lets you disable trackers in every single app on the device. (Menu > 1-Click Ops > Block/unblock trackers)

- Neo Backup[2] is the most comprehensive backup app on Android, with automatic scheduling. It lets you back up and restore anything you want, including app data that the developer labeled "no_backup".

- Install and upgrade apps from third-party app stores without needing to manually confirm each installation. Extremely useful for Aurora Store[3] and Neo Store.[4]

- Universal SafetyNet Fix,[5] combined with MagiskHide Props Config[6] and Magisk,[7] allows you to spoof SafetyNet on your device to improve compatibility with apps that check for it, including some banking apps, commerce apps, and games.

> trusting Magisk, going without Clockwork Mod on many platforms, eschewing security updates

I have no problem trusting Magisk[7] as a free and open source Android rooting solution.

ClockworkMod Recovery has been discontinued for years. The most advanced Android recovery is TWRP,[8] and TWRP is not needed to root the device with Magisk.

I don't know what you mean by "eschewing security updates" since rooting Android does not prevent you from receiving security updates.

[1] App Manager: https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager

[2] Neo Backup: https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Backup

[3] Aurora Store: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/

[4] Neo Store: https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Store

[5] Universal SafetyNet Fix: https://github.com/kdrag0n/safetynet-fix

[6] MagiskHide Props Config: https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/MagiskHidePropsConf

[7] Magisk: https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk

[8] TWRP: https://twrp.me/

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:LineageOS 20 by josephcsible on Saturday December 31, 2022 @05:38PM (#34201485)
> - Universal SafetyNet Fix,[5] combined with MagiskHide Props Config[6] and Magisk,[7] allows you to spoof SafetyNet on your device to improve compatibility with apps that check for it, including some banking apps, commerce apps, and games.

This reason seems kind of silly, since your phone will already pass SafetyNet out of the box. You only need that to keep passing it once you do root.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:LineageOS 20 by commoner on Sunday January 01, 2023 @04:43AM (#34205020)
LineageOS in particular does not support relocking the bootloader after flashing, so it needs root access and this workaround to pass SafetyNet. The SafetyNet check fails if it detects an unlocked bootloader, unless the bootloader lock status is spoofed. (The other Android-based operating systems that do allow users to relock the bootloader don't support nearly as many devices as LineageOS does.)
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:LineageOS 20 by josephcsible on Sunday January 01, 2023 @01:48PM (#34209354)
> The other Android-based operating systems that do allow users to relock the bootloader

If you relock the bootloader with a third-party OS, won't you still fail SafetyNet since the signing key won't be the one that Google blessed for that phone?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:LineageOS 20 by commoner on Sunday January 01, 2023 @02:50PM (#34210090)
Yes, you're right. To pass SafetyNet, not only does the bootloader need to present itself as locked (either through relocking or spoofing), the device fingerprint must also present itself as a Google-certified fingerprint (through spoofing).[1]

I know that CalyxOS spoofs the device signature to pass SafetyNet by default,[2] though it does not spoof the bootloader lock status. (It does support relocking, but only if the device is not rooted.) For LineageOS and all other Android-based OSes that I'm aware of, MagiskHide Props Config is the easiest way to spoof both the device signature and the bootloader lock status to pass SafetyNet.

[1] https://github.com/cnrd/MagiskHide-Props-Config#spoofing-dev...

[2] https://calyxos.org/news/2022/05/07/location-safetynet-fix/

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:LineageOS 20 by meltyness on Sunday January 01, 2023 @02:44AM (#34204463)
> ClockworkMod Recovery has been discontinued for years. The most advanced Android recovery is TWRP,[8] and TWRP is not needed to root the device with Magisk.

Funny, since I read your post, I realize that I actually meant TWRP - I don't think I ever actually used Clockwork!

In any case, the simplicity of escaping any bootloops afforded using TWRP really necessitated its use - if you chose to risk your device's sanity with xposed/magisk scripts...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:LineageOS 20 by commoner on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @02:23AM (#34228797)
I don't use Xposed, and Magisk has always worked as expected in my experience. No bootloops whatsoever.
[ Parent | on HN ]