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Note 3 Root, SHOULD I root my Note 3???

josholand

Lurker
I just got the Note 3 and am wanting opinions. Should I root / rom it? If so please give me some good things I will gain from this. I have rooted / rommed phones in the past. I am guessing I will gain a lot of speed this way. Anyway I would love some feedback... Also what ROM should I use? A link for step by step rooting / romming instructions would be very helpful!!! Thank you!
 
I rooted to freeze bloatware. That's it.

You need to be careful though when you root if you have knox. If your knox counter gets flagged, your warranty is gone and there's no way to reset it.
 
Only you can decide if you want to root or not. Here are some pros and a few cons.

The first one, and it is a biggy you can turn your phone into an unusable brick, permanently. While highly unlikely it is not impossible.


I rooted to freeze bloatware. That's it.

You need to be careful though when you root if you have knox. If your knox counter gets flagged, your warranty is gone and there's no way to reset it.

You may or may not trip your Knox flag if you root, you will if you then install a custom recovery. The "Knox flag" is the status of an eFuse, basically a single bit on a chip that is either 0 or 1 in binary. The flag is set at either 0x0 - fine and untripped, or 0x1 tripped. As stated it is completely irreversible. Despite what people have said about tripping it voiding your device warranty (I always agree for all practical purposes), it isn't necessarily so. People have gotten warranty repairs on a "Knox tripped" device. Err on the side of caution and assume "Knox Warranty void" does not mean that just the device is insecure and the Knox warranty is void, but the "device warranty" is nullified too. Samsung's only ambiguous statement ever on rooting and installing custom ROMs on a Knox enabled device is here :

https://www.samsungknox.com/en/blog...ox-enabled-devices-and-knox-warranty-void-bit

Assuming you'll never need Knox security and your not bothered by the fact your device warranty is invalidated by rooting and tripping the Knox flag you may want to root for several reasons. Modifying the stock ROM, doing away with the new read /write restrictions on the external SD card. Trying a completely different ROM (An AOSP pure Android ROM) for instance. Bypassing carrier tethering restrictions. Getting rid of carrier and Samsung "bloatware" you don't need. If your really adventurous over-clocking and over volting in a custom kernel (although the quickest way to fry your CPU). The list is endless.
 
Most if not all carrier-loaded bloatware can be disabled using the Manage Apps screen, no need for root to do it.

I've not rooted my Note 3, I see no need to do it. I need my warranty on the device.
 
disabling the bloatware is an option.

but to me..
that is like sweeping the kitchen floor after a big dinner party.
but instead of into the trashcan...it is swept under the rug.
I want it gone from my house!
 
Most if not all carrier-loaded bloatware can be disabled using the Manage Apps screen, no need for root to do it.

I've not rooted my Note 3, I see no need to do it. I need my warranty on the device.

Evernote and Flipboard can't be disabled. And the T-Mobile service apps that remain in memory can't be either.

samsung hub and apps can't be.

I have all those disabled.
 
Most if not all carrier-loaded bloatware can be disabled using the Manage Apps screen, no need for root to do it.

I've not rooted my Note 3, I see no need to do it. I need my warranty on the device.


Most warranties are only a 1 year. Inportant yes.

Most credit card will extend that 1 year, and to the best of my attempts to read fine print, there is nothing in those credit card extended warranties that mention anything about software or rooting, or anything such as that.

I opted, still not sure why, but since I paid full price for my Note 3, I got the vzw equipment protection plan. I read that thing twice, and nowhere could I find anything that hinted about rooting or software/os modifications.

While I hope to never need warranty work. I feel quite sure that I would get it if needed.

I hate bloatware. managed apps doesnt do a full/complete job of stopping all unnecessary (different for each person) services and apps.

I used the Kingo method with safestrap. So I do have a custom recovery in safestrap.

I use HyperDrive7 rom. still new to HD and there are more options that I could dream about. But the phone is snappier (if thats even possible since the was was awesome under stock.. except for the dozens of apps always running and updating)

I agree with others. To root is personal choice. One I made, and many others have as well. Its our phone. We should and can do with it, what we please.
 
I've heard that rooting can trip the Knox counter. Once that's tripped AT&T (my carrier) could potentially say that I'm up a creek without a paddle.
 
I've heard that rooting can trip the Knox counter. Once that's tripped AT&T (my carrier) could potentially say that I'm up a creek without a paddle.

from what I gather...

rooting does not trip the Knox sensor.

flashing a ROM will trip Knox sensor.

you can use a work around: safestrap (I think that is how you spell it).
it fakes a virtual drive in your memory.. and makes the phone boot from that. so that the original OS/ROM is still in its proper spot.
you can then load new ROMs without tripping the Knox sensor.

I dont like that work around... because the full OS is still there.. and all its bloatware. now you have double space used. and another level of variables to add to trouble shooting problems.
 
Lately I've been considering rooting my phone. Performance wise I don't need to but I feel at a loss because all my previous saved data is gone without root.
Having backups strictly for apps means nothing to me. It's the app data that's most important because without it I'm starting from scratch.

Since having this phone I haven't really used it like I did my Note 2 because of app data.

Anyone know a way around this without rooting?
 
While just rooting may or may not (sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't) trip Knox, doing anything useful like installing a custom recovery, will do so.

Only certain models with locked bootloaders (mainly some US carrier ones) require a "bootstrap" or "safe strap", none of the vast majority of Note 3's world wide (model SM-N9005) do so and can be rooted easily and have their entire firmware reflashed with another.
 
ok.. is it true????
if I dont care about warranty... from ATT Note3.

I can fully root my ATT Note3.
Flash ROMs.. without use of Safestrap/bootstrap workarounds.
flash kernels..

is that doable now?
 
ok.. is it true????
if I dont care about warranty... from ATT Note3.

I can fully root my ATT Note3.
Flash ROMs.. without use of Safestrap/bootstrap workarounds.
flash kernels..
I
is that doable now?

I personally don't know enough to say that is possible. I know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005 (the international version) your US AT&T Note 3 is almost certainly not an SM-N9005.
 
I have been around the rooting scene multiple times. I own a Nexus 7 that's running CyanogenMod and I also at one time owned a Galaxy Nexus that too was running either a flavor of AOKP or CyanogenMod. Heck, I even compiled AOKP ROM packs from source code in a Linux installation that I installed on one of my computers. I have root on my Nexus 7 but there are so little things that I actually do with root even on my Nexus 7 that I just don't find the need to root my Note 3.

I don't want to run the risk of tripping the Knox counter on my Note 3 so I choose not to root it. Yes, having root can be handy but I don't think it's an be-all and end-all kind of thing. Is root necessary? No. Is it handy? Yes. Do you absolutely need it? Again, no.
 
What method did you use to root?

Well if you have 4.3, you can root safely with Kingo.

If you have 4.4.2, Kingo won't work and will reboot loop your phone. At least it did on mine. Had to reinstall 4.4.2 to fix it.

Just follow these steps for 4.4.2:

http://www.ibtimes.com/android-442-...-3-lte-sm-n9005-new-xxuenb7-firmware-tutorial

This method MIGHT trip knox. I'm not sure. My counter was already tripped from the failed OTA 4.4.2 update that I tried three times. It would get to 28% updating and then fail. After that my knox counter was tripped so I just went into Odin and did it that way. Do I care it's tripped? Maybe. I never broken a phone before. Always keep it in a hard case and take care of it. So hopefully I never need warranty support.
 
Well if you have 4.3, you can root safely with Kingo.

If you have 4.4.2, Kingo won't work and will reboot loop your phone. At least it did on mine. Had to reinstall 4.4.2 to fix it.

Just follow these steps for 4.4.2:

Android 4.4.2 KitKat Update: How To Root Samsung Galaxy Note 3 LTE SM-N9005 On The New XXUENB7 Firmware [Tutorial]

This method MIGHT trip knox. I'm not sure. My counter was already tripped from the failed OTA 4.4.2 update that I tried three times. It would get to 28% updating and then fail. After that my knox counter was tripped so I just went into Odin and did it that way. Do I care it's tripped? Maybe. I never broken a phone before. Always keep it in a hard case and take care of it. So hopefully I never need warranty support.

That guide will work for Note 3 (SM-N9005), the international Qualcomm version. Don't use that guide or the CF rooting .tar from its links for any other variant (which includes every Note 3 sold in the US which are all Exynos based) as you'll end up with a bootloop at best and a bricked device at worse.
Make sure you have the right method for your model, and to avoid confusion post in the right root section of you have a method or question for your particular model.
 
Not sure what you mean. It worked fine for my T-Mobile version. No looping.

The link you provided is for an SM-N9005, there are many variations of the Note 3 out there.

A US T-Mobile Note 3 is a SM-N900T not an SM-N9005. It maybe that the procedure to root is the same and an SM-N900T has the same CF-rooting file. Generally however most are quite different from each other and mixing guides and links is asking for trouble.

Verizon along with Sprint and US cellular for instance use CDMA rather than GSM, AT&T are known to mess with firmwares and lock bootloaders. Be careful what you use to root where it comes from and make sure it is for your model of Note 3 exactly.
 
I rooted with Kingo, and my phone still says 0x0 (Knox counter) Also using safestrap and it didn't trigger anything.
 
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