Android Rooted?

[JulianM]

Hi Tommy_2Tall,

I'll try to answer all your questions as good as I can.

Maybe I've misunderstood something but will we be able to use Google Play Store, Netflix, Spotify, (other "DRM sensitive" apps) with a rooted device?

You will be able to use the most of the apps from Play Store.
Sure, there exist a few apps which will not work, if your device is rooted, but you can use the Xposed framework with "RootCloak".
RootCloak will hide "root" for specific apps.
- RootCloak (with 5.x and 6.x support) | Xposed Module Repository
I don't know how to install Xposed at the moment on the Pine 64, because I don't have a board yet.

The Google Play Store itself is really absolutely no problem with root.
Netflix is also no problem on a rooted device.

I was under the impression that a lot of apps from the Play Store will not run properly if you have a rooted device.

I can absolutely deny that.

It could be that the rooted devices that I've used in the past have been cheap noname tablets with limited support for Google Play and maybe those were not on some sort of "allowed/supported devices" list?

That COULD be the reason, but there is a solution
The magic is inside the file "build.prop".
This files contains all relevant device information for Google Play Store.
It contains the model, display size, dpi, and so on.

There are some tutorials how to get your device compatible with the most apps.

So my main concern is probably wether there would  be a benefit to have an image which is NOT rooted in certain circumstances or if rooted is "always better"?

What do you expect from a "rooted" device?
What do you want to do with root?
It's useless to say "I want root!", but you don't know what to do with it.
So, please tell me more about your plans and I'll help you as good as possible.


Best regards
Julian

[Ghost]

I think Tommy_2Tall is saying he wants a simple, straightforward user experience and would like an Android image appropriate to that, be it rooted or not. Not everyone wants to download program x, y, z to mitigate issues a, b, c. Some people just want to use the device without fussing and fiddling with the background workings too much.

[JulianM]

That's correct, but he also asked something about DRM and cheap devices, which have some problems with app incompatibilities.
This topic is really no "easy stuff" and I just tried to answer his questions as good as possible.

In easy words:
You don't have to worry about DRM, if you're using a non-rooted device.

[Ghost]

That's correct, but he also asked something about DRM and cheap devices, which have some problems with app incompatibilities.
This topic is really no "easy stuff" and I just tried to answer his questions as good as possible.

In easy words:
You don't have to worry about DRM, if you're using a non-rooted device.

Ah sorry, missed that 'DRM sensitive' part. Thanks JulianM!

[Tommy_2Tall]

Thanks to both of you for clearing that up for me

Just as SkairkrohBule assumed I am basically after a minimum-fuss, works OOTB, image and was just worried that only having access to an "official" rooted image from the Pine team could become an issue.
Seems like it will most likely not become an issue at all.

[JulianM]

It would be really great, if there will be 2 Android images.
A rooted-image and a non-rooted-image.

[minutesgrep]

It looks like the "Android Image Release 20160216" from this page is *not* rooted.

http://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/Pine_A6...re_Release

Any easy way to root it? I can't seem to get adb wireless on it, may try via USB here soon.

Strange, should be root. If not, I will make sure the next image is rooted.

@tllim - any update on getting a rooted Android image? Since linux has no accelerated graphics support, I would like to remove/trim as much of the Android image as possible, but root is needed. Thank you.

[tllim]

It looks like the "Android Image Release 20160216" from this page is *not* rooted.

http://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/Pine_A6...re_Release

Any easy way to root it? I can't seem to get adb wireless on it, may try via USB here soon.

Strange, should be root. If not, I will make sure the next image is rooted.

@tllim - any update on getting a rooted Android image? Since linux has no accelerated graphics support, I would like to remove/trim as much of the Android image as possible, but root is needed. Thank you.

How you plan to trim Android image for accelerated graphics support?

[arpanj2]

How you plan to trim Android image for accelerated graphics support?

I think he means that he will remove everything he feels useless from image, so that RAM is not over consumed and gives him better performance. He wants to make it lightweight by snapping off any software he doesnt want.

[minutesgrep]

How you plan to trim Android image for accelerated graphics support?

I think he means that he will remove everything he feels useless from image, so that RAM is not over consumed and gives him better performance. He wants to make it lightweight by snapping off any software he doesnt want.

This is correct. I'm trying to minimize RAM utilization, and also reduce the disk space utilization.

There are also certain applications which write to /data/data/ which is not accessible without root as far as I'm aware.

Any ETA on a root-enabled build or a suggested method for rooting the device?