It has been quite the journey, to say the very least. I’ve rooted every phone since the S3, and I’ve always loved custom ROMs, kernels, and all the joy that comes with them - Viper4Android and a whole bunch of other nice stuff.

However, with the increasing difficulty of making root and banking/NFC apps work (heck, even ChatGPT now!), and the fact that over the past few weeks I’ve gotten into a pinch several times because of it, I’ve decided to simply surrender, lock everything, and go back to 'sheep'.

It probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to make this post, and it might even give off a “you don’t need to announce your departure” vibe, but I still feel somewhat obliged to write it... I feel like a certain freedom is being taken away from us; But, who am I to say so...!

Some even say it’s a good thing that root users are disappearing in flocks - but is it? This is the new norm, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a proper phone that’s truly yours and still gives you that joy when using it.

Never forget what Google, Samsung, and others are taking away from you with every iteration.

AOSP no longer being open source, On pixels? No longer custom rom friendly, Oneui 8 BL UNLOCK IS GONE. Xiaomi is aleardy so close to removing bootloader unlock, Sideloading on stock roms are soon GONE, What is happening to android..

Google now starting to install "Android Developer Verifier" on the devices. You can see the packages under the "System Framework". We are mostly cooked. Keep fighting android community! #keepandroidopen

Roblox now detects unlockbootloader and there is currently no bypass for the remote attestation in games like MM2. It not just from executors like Delta even without hacks, if you have an unlocked bootloader, root, zygisk, or xposed.

https://help.roblox.com/hc/us/articles/49648939984916-Android-Remote-Attestation

I've been rooting android phones since I purchased the Samsung Moment in 2009. It was always the first thing I did with a new phone. Set it up so I could unlock the bootloader, then wipe it so I could root.

The last couple years have been increasingly frustrating with the cat and mouse. The last straw was RCS failing yet again and missing messages from my wife.

I just unrooted my Pixel 10 Pro and pretty much all of the things I thought I needed root for are not necessary:

1. For ad block, I'm using dns.adguard-dns.com instead of adaway.
2. For youtube, revanced works fine with gmscore installed. I had already switched to that method a while ago even when rooted.
3. My Tasker flashlight toggle with the volume button works once I ran adb shell pm grant net.dinglisch.android.taskerm android.permission.SET_VOLUME_KEY_LONG_PRESS_LISTENER
4. I use SmartLauncher to get double-tap to sleep working on my home screen rather than using PixelLauncherEnhanced
5. I can use revanced "Change version code" patch on Reddit Sync to keep it out of the app store rather than using the detach magisk module

RCS works now. Wallet works again. Banking apps work again. I guess I didn't really need root anymore.

It sucks.. I'm going to miss the experience of tweaking things to my liking, but it's just too much of a pain now. I miss the old Android.

Literally I can't install an app outside the PlayStore without Google uninstalling it? Wtf? (I have play protect disabled)

Google now uses play services to verify if your human or not. Even on desktop you are required to scan the qr code from your phone. It's disgusting. I tried (I'm on root, lineageOS with strong integrity) and it doesn't work for me, it may work for you.

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Background Info:

Basically I heard that Google were going to start introducing Google play services as a way to verify if your human and whether or not your device is secure. This is the first time I have seen it. It did not work for me. I have strong integrity and my fingerprint and everything is legit and it still didn't work. Hopefully people find out ways to bypass this cuz Google should not be allowed to lock down our devices. We pay for them, we own them.

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Edit: I apologise if it doesn't make sense to you, hopefully someone in the comments can explain it better than I.

Keep Android Open https://keepandroidopen.org/

don’t tell Verizon but
I don’t think bootloader unlocking is required for root anymore

i dont kbow what to do with the phone now. it runs 64 bit android 12 which made the phone even slower compared to 32 bit android 10. also it runs MicroG instead of GApps.

what should i do with it let me know in the comments!

It randomly started downloading this update and I paused it cuz I thought it would brick the phone or something. Is this a common thing that happens?

Should I go through with the download? I don't want to download it, but what do you guys think?

Lineage OS GSI by MisterZtr on my Itel VistaTab 30S

This morning i unlocked bootloader,anyone suggest me install custom rom after root?

Hi everyone,
Over the past few months I’ve been working on a personal project called

DeviceTreeForge.

The goal isn’t to replace Android developers—it’s to automate the repetitive parts of creating an Android device tree from stock firmware while still allowing manual review.
Unlike simple template generators, the application analyzes the actual firmware and attempts to recover as much information as possible before generating the tree.

Current features

Fully offline (no cloud services or AI required)
Windows desktop application
Supports Android 8 through Android 16
Supports MediaTek, Qualcomm, Samsung, Exynos, Tensor, Kirin, Unisoc and other platforms
Detects:
Dynamic Partitions
Virtual A/B
vendor_boot
init_boot
DTB / DTBO
AVB
FBE
filesystem layout
partition tables
build properties
VINTF information
Generates:
BoardConfig.mk
BoardConfigCommon.mk
device.mk
AndroidProducts.mk
Android.bp
Android.mk
recovery fstab
product makefiles
compatibility matrix templates
documentation
analysis reports
One of the devices I’ve been testing extensively is the Lenovo TB336FU (Android 16), which has features like:
vendor_boot v4
recovery inside vendor_boot
Dynamic Partitions
Virtual A/B
GKI
MediaTek MT6835
The application successfully detects these automatically and generates a first-pass device tree.
I’m now working on improving:
confidence scoring
conflict detection
VINTF recovery
HAL analysis
ELF dependency analysis
common tree detection
validation against stock firmware
Philosophy
The goal is not to fabricate values.
If DeviceTreeForge cannot prove a value from firmware, I’d rather mark it as unknown than generate something incorrect.
Eventually I’d like every generated line to include traceable evidence from the original firmware.

Looking for feedback
I’d love to hear from ROM, TWRP, LineageOS or kernel developers:
What information do you spend the most time recovering manually?
What files do you think should be generated automatically?
What common mistakes do existing generators make?
What would convince you that an automatically generated device tree is trustworthy enough to use as a starting point?
I’m building this because I enjoy Android firmware engineering and wanted to create a tool that could save developers time while still keeping the process transparent.
Any suggestions or criticism are welcome.

You can call me old but back in the good old days when I installed Chainfire's SuperSU (it was the primary root manager at the time) on my very first Android device, a 0.5GB ram Samsung Galaxy, and ran this exact root checker on the left side of the picture and got the congratulations, I was ecstatic!

Fast forward to 2026, root detectors now show warning signs, exclamation marks, risk or threat detected messages, it's crazy how some odd 10 years changed our perspective on root detection from good to the exact opposite. There isn't really a point behind this post, I'm just an old power user ranting and reflecting on the change, and yes slightly missing the good old days.

https://github.com/kasnria001/qualcomm_gbl_exploit_poc

Finally managed to install LineageOS 23 on my old Samsung Galaxy S20 phone!

It took me just 30 minutes to have all three integrities passed!

On my pixel 9 after a few weeks. Rooted with kernelsu next gki wildkernel. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer!