Why does my Blade refuse to accept that it's rooted?

[Guest Poodha]

Bear with me since I'm noobie on rooting. But just rooted and swapped ROM(japanese jellyfish) yesterday, and now restored back the original Orange ROM. But every time I use Titanium backup or ZTE Recovery Manager(0.29b) after a boot, it tells me that it doesn't have rootaccess and I should check if the phone is rooted(titanium backup) or it just crashes(Recovery manager, and it apparently acts that way when the phone isn't rooted). But after using Universal Androot again, both apps works fine. Problem is that I have to root my phone every time I start it now to get those apps working.

And on top of that, the first time I used Androot(before my phone was rooted), the app told me my phone was already rooted??? :P

Anybody who could enlighten me on what's going on?

Additional info/weirdness, if I check the MD5 sum for the apk for my ZTE blade Recovery manager(even though that wasn't a step in the noobie guide for rooting) it doesn't match the sum from where I got it(http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blade-roms-rom-customisation/329772/app-zte-blade-recovery-manager-v0-32-beta/). Is that a problem? Should I uninstall and reinstall the app? Even though I already managed to root and install another ROM yesterday?

Edited February 6, 2011 by Poodha

[Guest fonix232]

Answer is simple - no permanent root in this case. You need a pre-rooted Orange stock ROM, that will make it work :P

[Guest Poodha]

Answer is simple - no permanent root in this case. You need a pre-rooted Orange stock ROM, that will make it work :P

You're saying this problem will just be for this ROM? Not other? Like the japanese jellyfish I installed. I didn't get as far as installing the apps again, but you're saying that titanium and recovery manager would work in that rom? Odd, I thought that once you rooted, you had rooted your phone. =)

But do you happen to know why universal androot keeps telling me my phone is already rooted every time I use it(even the first time, when my phone wasn't rooted)?

[Guest targetbsp]

Androot doesn't keep a Blade permanently rooted. But it thinks it does. So when you reboot you are no longer rooted but you load Androot up it says you are.

So just run androot every boot, ignoring its protests that you already are, or yeah you can put on a rom like Jellyfish because they are permanently rooted.

[Guest Poodha]

I think I've misunderstood the whole concept of rooting. I thought it was something you did to the hardware, and then the phone was rooted. But you guys are saying that the phone is rooted depending on the ROM? It's the ROM that gives you root access(or androot gives you temporary access when the ROM doesn't allow root access)? There is no way of "permanently" root your phone, it depends on the rom?

[Guest targetbsp]

Root is just a user with permissions to do anything you want, like being an admin in Windows. You log into Windows as an admin and you can do stuff to the OS that you can't as an ordinary user. It's only relevant to the operating system (or in this case, the rom)

Edited February 6, 2011 by targetbsp

[Guest Sebastian404]

WARNING : SLIGHTLY TECHNICAL ANSWER

There are a few things that go on when you use androot, but basicaly...

• ro.secure is set to 0 (false).
  
• su is installed into /system/bin/ or /system/xbin/ or /system/sbin/ (or any combination of the above)
  
• ChainsDD SuperUser application is installed in /system/app/
  

In the 'stock' rom ZTE ship, it comes with a version of su in /system/bin so universal androot thinks its already rooted when its not, hence sometimes it complains the phone is already rooted when its not.

But it also uses an exploit that changes ro.secure for the current session.. (ie untill you reboot).

the ro.secure setting is defined in '/default.prop' and that is in the boot partition, its not simple to permanently change it from within the device... so then next time you reboot, its set back to 1 (true)

While I've never tried JJ, most custom roms do come with a changed boot image that changes ro.secure.

Edited February 6, 2011 by Sebastian404

[Guest Poodha]

Root is just a user with permissions to do anything you want, like being an admin in Windows. You log into Windows as an admin and you can do stuff to the OS that you can't as an ordinary user. It's only relevant to the operating system (or in this case, the rom)

WARNING : SLIGHTLY TECHNICAL ANSWER

There are a few things that go on when you use androot, but basicaly...

• ro.secure is set to 0 (false).
  
• su is installed into /system/bin/ or /system/xbin/ or /system/sbin/ (or any combination of the above)
  
• Chains SuperUser application is installed in /system/app/
  

In the 'stock' rom ZTE ship, it comes with a version of su in /system/bin so universal androot thinks its already rooted when its not, hence sometimes it complains the phone is already rooted when its not.

But it also uses an exploit that changes ro.secure for the current session.. (ie untill you reboot).

the ro.secure setting is defined in '/default.prop' and that is in the boot partition, its not simple to permanently change it from within the device... so then next time you reboot, its set back to 1 (true)

While I've never tried JJ, most custom roms do come with a changed boot image that changes ro.secure.

Thanks both of you for those explanations. The first one makes it easier to grasp the concept, and I'm slightly shocked that I partly understood the second more in depth one. =)

Just one question, what is "Chains" as in "Chains SuperUser application? Somebody who made the SuperUser application or is it something else?

[Guest targetbsp]

Yeah, ChainsDD is just what the guy who writes it calls himself: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=682828

[Guest Sebastian404]

Thanks both of you for those explanations. The first one makes it easier to grasp the concept, and I'm slightly shocked that I partly understood the second more in depth one. =)

Just one question, what is "Chains" as in "Chains SuperUser application? Somebody who made the SuperUser application or is it something else?

Yes, sorry ChainsDD I miss typed.. I was quite hungover when I wrote my repsonce... the fact its in English should be considered a bounus

[Guest Poodha]

Hey, maybe I have a easier time understanding tech terms written by somebody hungover since I understood your previous post.=)

Again, thanks guys for the explanations.