[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bobdamnit:
Thanks. I've gone out and purchased a laptop for this. Core i7, 8Gb RAM, 500Gb SSD, Intel/nVidia graphics. It should do better than my aging desktop (Core2Quad, 4Gb RAM, 200Gb 5k HDD, onboard graphics) was doing before. Eventually I'll get another desktop, but I'm waiting until I get out of this ****ing apartment my insurance company stuck me in until this stuff gets settled. It has TurboBoost, but I know how to lock that to the max in Linux so thats what I'll be doing.

Yep, KingRoot rooted rooted 23A just fine for me too. I'm about to wipe the laf partition and install PhilZ (The one I linked earlier) and verify fastboot. As long as I have fastboot, I can recover from this. If it works, would you like a quick tutorial? Although, it won't be much different than the one I wrote thats on Android Forums... This will also give me a chance to play around with the new security features and figure out if we need to "bump" flashables.

I've used SuperSu-ME before, however I prefer the manual method. That way I know I'm getting everything that SuperSu-ME might leave behind.

Edit:

I'm not sure it matters, but I've found another KDZ available to us. It is 12A. I'm thinking that it was a test build for 5.0.1 that was never officially rolled out except to a few users. If anyone wants it, I'm going to add it to the "G Vista return to stock" thread over at Android Forums and mark it untested.

D630 users: I'm looking for an updated TOT/DLL file for you guys too. Hopefully one for 5.1.1 so we can get you guys back to that should you brick it. I've purchased one for you already at $15 and I'm willing to do it again should I find one. I'm asking you guys to help me look. I know of the usual places to get one, but I'm hoping to come across someone who knows elsewhere to look for our very forgotten phone.

I also wanted to add why, after using a G3, we cannot learn new TV remotes. We do not have an infrared receiver. We have a blaster, but no receiver. So we cannot learn IR blasts no matter what we do. I was hoping we could somehow, but its just not possible. Nor is activating the FM Radio function built into all cell phone devices. Both AT&T and Verizon neglected to have it properly attached and unless you are damn good at PCB soldering, it'll never work.

Second edit:

Whoa. So in preparation of wiping the laf partition, I reapplied the 23A KDZ and on a whim checked for updates. Sure as ****, it found one. Anyone know what it is? I cannot find a newer KDZ anywhere for the VS880 other than 23A. Is it just a small update that does not change build number?

This kind of makes me not want to take it. If it updates and I cannot backup the laf partition before blowing it away, I'm basically stuck like that. I'm going to re-root 23A and see if I cant pull it out of where it downloads. Maybe I can do something with it.

And now this is odd... Kingroot 4.8.0 failed the first time, so I rebooted my phone and tried again. It rebooted my phone like it should, proceeded with the root, claimed success, and when I verified with a root checker and Titanium Backup, neither detected root. Going to reapply the 23A KDZ and try again. I really want to know what this update is.