How Root With Magisk

[Emigdio Binet]

Magisks support for Android Lollipop has been pretty broken for a while without it being noticed. Also, none of the active developers of Magisk have actual hardware to run Android Lollipop. We rely on using the official Android emulator for regression testing on older platforms, however Google never shipped a Lollipop emulator image with SELinux support, leaving us with no option but to drop Lollipop support since we don't feel comfortable supporting Android Lollipop without adequate testing.

Magic Mount, the feature that make modules modify partitions, has gone through a major rewrite. The existing implementation doesn't work well with OEMs injecting overlays into their system using overlayfs. The new implementation fundamentally changes how filesystem mirrors are created, giving us a more accurate clone of the unmodified filesystem.

Magisk allows modules to provide custom SELinux patches by including the file sepolicy.rule. Due to the complicated nature of SELinux patching, the compatibility of this functionality has been pretty spotty; many devices are not supported. In this release, a brand new pre-init partition detection mechanism has been designed to support even more devices. Due to complicated reasons, this detection mechanism cannot be performed in a custom recovery environment.

The new Zygisk API v4 is now live! It comes with new features and a refined PLT function hook API. The implementaton of Zygisk has also gone through some major refactoring, including new code loading/unloading mechanisms and a new PLT function hook implementation.

A significant portion of magiskinit (the critical software that runs before your device boots up) is completely rewritten from scratch. Ever since Android introduced Project Treble in Android 8.0, Magisk has been constantly fighting against the increasingly complex partitioning and early mount setups of all kinds of devices, sometimes with weird OEM specific implementations. It got to a point that magiskinit had become so complicated that few people (including myself!) were aware of every detail, and maintaining this piece of software like this was clearly not sustainable. After many months of planning (yes, this whole re-architecture has been in my head for a long time) and some help from external contributors, a whole new sepolicy injection mechanism is introduced into Magisk, solving the "SELinux Problem" once and for all.

Since this is a full paradigm shift on how Magisk hot-patch the device at boot, several behaviors that many developers implicitly relied on might not exist. For example, Magisk no longer patches fstabs in most scenarios, which means AVB will remain intact; some custom kernels rely on AVB being stripped out for them by Magisk.

Many might not realize, but using a trusted, unmodified Magisk app is really important. Magisk's root daemon treats the Magisk app differently and gives it blanket root access without any restrictions. A modded Magisk app can potentially backdoor your device.

And in case some of you are about to put on your tin foil hats, this is not designed to "vendor lock-in"; the goal is to make sure your root management app comes from the same developer of the underlying root implementation. Magisk's build system allows custom distributors to use its own signing keys, and in addition, I am also providing official debug builds which skips any signature verification for development.

Magisk Manager is the official app for managing root on Android devices. After unlocking the boot loader and flashing the corresponding file to root your device, Magisk Manager allows you to manage root permissions and grant them to the applications that request it. For added security, you can enable biometric verification in Magisk Manager, so that only the super-user permission is granted via fingerprint or face detection.

Magisk Manager also allows you to install additional root-related modules. For example, you can install SafetyNet Fix, which helps you to hide certain apps that your device is rooted, as well as the boot loader is unlocked.

From Magisk Manager's settings, you can also install Magisk with Zygisk, which allows developers to create more efficient modules by preloading the resources to be used in the system's memory. You can also choose the apps in which to hide the root, so that you can use them without problems or limits. Among them, you find games and banking and payment apps, which can limit functions if your device is rooted.

Magisk Manager is the best tool for root permissions on Android. It is the most widespread, flexible, and easy-to-use option thanks to its "systemless" flashing mode, which does not modify the Android system partition. In addition, it is compatible with all devices on the market after Android 8.

It's possible to install Magisk Manager without having root permissions on the device, but you can't root your device unless you've completed the previous steps. So it will tell you if you've successfully completed the steps you need in order to enjoy root permissions.

Uptodown is a multi-platform app store specialized in Android. Our goal is to provide free and open access to a large catalog of apps without restrictions, while providing a legal distribution platform accessible from any browser, and also through its official native app.

Rooting is basically giving yourself privileges to access features on your phone which either would be blocked by the carrier or the actual provider of the phone. There are a variety of apps, access to which can only be granted if your phone has root permissions. For example, you can download an advanced screen recorder.

To the people new to rooting, you are in safe hands! To the people who know rooting, how irritating was it to constantly keep rooting/unrooting your phone in order to get OTA updates! Or the inability to use banking applications on your phone? We totally feel you.

Now, to run that application, you may choose to unroot your phone, work on that app, and re-root your phone using Chainfire SuperSU. But rooting and unrooting your device is a lengthy process. You may do it once but doing it repeatedly will surely feel tedious.

If you want to grant/deny permission for any application, this can be easily done with the help of Magisk App. There are a ton of free modules available on Magisk App, from them you can download apps and games to your Android device. And the plus point is, you can add your own or custom repositories to get stuff from.

Magisk Manager is a well-developed rooting application compatible with Android smart devices and reportedly does not include any sort of malware. It does not modify the boot partitions neither does it touch the system partitions. Unlike other rooting apps, it does not install any third-party applications. Hence, you can rest assured that Magisk Manager is risk-free.

Q.6 With which Android versions is Magisk compatible?

Magisk is now completely compatible with the latest Android version. This app would function on all the versions above the Android 6.0.

Q.7 Why is Magisk not working properly on my phone?

Installing the Magisk Manager to external or adoptable storage can cause some functioning issues. We recommend reinstalling the app to internal storage.

Magisk Manager is undoubtedly a must-have application. It is a one-stop solution to all the root-related issues that usually arise later after rooting of the device. We hope you have now understood what is Magisk, what is Magisk Manager, and what is the use of Magisk Manager. While it may take some time for you to get a hang of it, you will find it totally worth your while.

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