[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Guides, News, & Di] positonic:
Presenting.. the Next Best Thing to Root for the U.S. Samsung Galaxy S7 T-mobile edition (model SM-G930T that is)

As of 6/7/16, no root is publicly available. I purchased my S7 on 5/26/16 and decided to keep it despite the lack of root. This is my story.

INTRO

So the ol' Galaxy Note II up and died on me a couple weekends back, and I blew 40 bucks on a new battery before I realized it was gone gone gone. Queue new phone shopping, the hip glasses-toting dudes at T-mobile swayed me to an S7. I didn't want something as big as my last phone and forget using a bumper case with that curved-screen edge (an acquaintance of mine quotes: "The only thing that ****ing screen is good for is when I'm high as hell and want to read the clock without lifting my head". He dropped his and shattered it.), so I went with the plain ol' S7. Well, now I know why the salesguy got real quiet when the first thing I told him I would do was 'root the phone'. Being a programmer, I was pretty bummed and unhappy about owning a device that I am purposely locked out of Administrating.. but the return fee was $50, and I really liked what the S7 brought to the table.

Goes without saying, I was ready to pay for the rootable HTC-10 (my local store didn't even carry it, the salesman said they were 'test-marketing it' at a couple other stores across town) or the LG monstrosity (I haven't liked this company since the spying TV debacle, tho once upon a time they made good and cheap TVs), but I hated how much bigger the devices were and that svelte S7 really impressed me otherwise. Samsung really does make the 'iPhone of Androids'.

So, I decided to stick with the S7, and un-screw it pretty much as best as I could. And, because all I read was mostly a lot of 'is the root out yets', I thought it would be cool to share.

ABOUT THE S7

Not too terribly much has changed in the android linux filesystem since the last time I seriously delved into it. Got a vague idea where most of what is what, but I also recognize that the Path to Rooting is two: Utilizing a bootloader to actually flash the chip, or Piggybacking on some existing Administrative-privileged software in the otherwise 'closed' environment. Samsung shipped the U.S. T-mobile S7's (mine is SM-G930T) with a locked bootloader to make it nigh-impossible to root via flashing. Get to it, ya chip-hackers.

However, it is a universal law of the internet that someone out there will find an operable software workaround, and this is usually some 13-year-old kid from Finland, or at least it was in the case where I found drivers for a Voodoo 3 card during the advent of Windows XP. God bless the internet will provide, and in this case that gentle soul is none other than a man by the appropriate name of OSPolice.

PACKAGE DISABLER PRO - THE 99 CENT APP

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro&hl=en

This little gem of an app I purchased for $0.99 off the play store. This is the key to enjoying the disabling features of Root access and the key to un-screwing the T-mobile Galaxy S7. What this app does is essentially co-opt the Administrative access that Samsung Knox (the 'security' software) uses and allows you to disable any and all packages on the phone. When you first activate it you will have to accept an agreement tied to Samsung Knox (don't worry, this in no way causes anything to 'phone home' as far as I can tell).

I would recommend the very first thing you do is go to the settings and add a password to the app, that way nobody else can get in, because this can seriously **** with your phone's software, if you disable the wrong package the phone will not boot up properly and you will need to reinstall. There is an option to Disable All Bloatware based on automatic picks from the application but this can screw up some phones and you will miss a lot of crap, so DO NOT AUTO-DISABLE.

There is also another important reason you should manually disable these. Clicking on a package from the main app brings up a screen where you have several options (the auto-google feature is quite helpful to researching various processes). There is also an important little button that says 'Clear Data', erasing the temporary package data. Due to info I found on another forum, which I am too lazy to dig up here and now, there is an important process to disabling with Package Disabler Pro:

THE DISABLING PROCESS

1. If the package is not enabled, enable it.

2. While the package IS ENABLED, click Clear Data.

3. DISABLE the package with the Disable button.

4. Click CLEAR DATA a second time.

5. On to the next one...

It appears there may be some data that is not erased when the package is disabled. In any case, this fixed all of the problems I had disabling earlier without using the Clear Data button. This is important to stop certain packages from utilizing an outside process to re-enable themselves.

Below I am listing all of the processes that I disabled. Your list might be different; before I did this I updated the phone's system software from T-mobile's servers (as of 5/25), and I don't plan to auto-update again until I root or have to reload everything.

Also, please keep in mind I turned off a few features with this method, you will have to ADJUST YOUR PACKAGES ACCORDINGLY or know what to re-enable from the below list. I turned off all wi-fi calling (don't like 'weird' internet connections), all NFC and payment such as the Samsung pay chip (nothing I want/need enabled right now). I kept Bluetooth connectivity on since I pair the phone with my car for and it's more or less an 'established' form of protocol, neverless if I didn't use it I would deactivate it as well. Security Over All is my philosophy.

THE SINGLE PROBLEM I HAVE HAD is being unable to 'browse' for a background when choosing a new one for the lock screen. I kept the lock screen with a stock dark blue and had already set my live wallpaper (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dkeesto.holographlw&hl=en if you are curious, Digital Hive by the unsurpassed Cypher Cove). So set your backgrounds before disabling all these, or try and figure out which disabled package screws this up, though I tried re-enabling anything with 'wallpaper' in it to no avail.

I also disabled a lot of the Google services, I check my gmail online, phone apps seem so hideously insecure to my mind, and I don't want to use any drive or cloud backup services AT ALL. Go with an all-encrypted service or backup your data yourself, and I don't trust any non-rooted backup apps. If you use the Gmail app or etc, simply don't disable it.

A LIST OF PACKAGES I DISABLED (remember to Clear Data, then Disable, then Clear Data a second time!):

AASAservice

Access cloud

AllShare FileShare Service

Amazon

ANT + DUT

ANT HAL Service

ANT Radio Service

ANT+ Plugins Service

AutoPreconfig

Basic Daydreams

BBCAgent

BeaconManager

Beaming Service

Briefing (**** you)

Calculator

Calendar

Camera test

Carmode Stub

ChocoEUKor

Color Adjustment

com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks

com.android.sharedstoragebackup

com.android.wallpapercropper

com.facebook.appmanager

com.facebook.system

com.samsung.android.app.watchmanagerstub

com.samsung.android.sm.devicesecurity

com.samsung.dcmservice

com.samsung.enhanceservice

com.samsung.faceservice

com.samsung.hs20provider

com.samsung.ipservice

com.samsung.storyservice

com.sec.android.app.minimode.res

com.sec.android.app.wfdbroker

com.sec.bcservice

com.tmobile.pr.adapt

Context Service

Control TV

CoolEUKor

Device Unlock

DeviceTest

Dictionary

EasyOneHand

EasySetup

Email

Enhanced features

eSE UCS Plugin

Facebook

Favorite Contacts

Filter Installer

Filter Manager

Filter Provider

Foundation

Galaxy Apps

Galaxy Essentials Widget

Gallery (I use an app called QuickPic, don't disable if you use the regular Gallery)

Game Launcher

Game Tools

GamepadService

GameService

Gear VR Service

Gear VR SetupWizardStub

Gear VR Shelf

Gmail (You might not want to disable, but for security's sake you should and use your browser)

Google App

Google Backup Transport

Google Calendar Sync

Google Contacts Sync

Google One Time Init

Google Partner Setup

Google Play Movies & TV

Good Play Music

Hancom Office Editor

Hangouts

Health Service (this auto-health reading stuff is kind of scary)

Help

Highlight video player

IMS Settings

ImsLogger+

IntelligenceService2

Interaction control

Internet (have a secondary browser in place, I initially used Chrome)

IPsec Service

Kies Application BnR

KNOX

KnoxAppsUpdateAgent

Live wallpaper picker

Lookout

Magnifier

Market Feedback Agent

MDMApp

Memo

Message service

Messages (I use an app called Textra, it is pleasant, don't disable if you use this for text messages)

MmsService (I have had no trouble sending/receiving MMS text with this disabled)

Mobile tracker

My Files

My interests

My Places

Nearby Service

Nfc Service

NSDSWebApp

Personal Data Management

Photo Editor

Photo Screensavers

Photos

Print Spooler (might be necessary for phone-to-printer if you're into that)

Private Mode Service

Quick connect

Remote Controls

RoseEUKor

S Finder

S Health

S Voice App

Safety assistance

Safety information

Samsung account

Samsung ApexService

Samsung Billing

Samsung Content Agent

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung Gear

Samsung keyboard (HAVE ANOTHER KEYBOARD INSTALLED [I use Hacker's Keyboard] OR DO NOT DISABLE THIS)

Samsung Location DSK

Samsung Milk Music

Samsung MirrorLink 1.1

Samsung Pay Stub

Samsung Payment Framework

Samsung Push Service

Samsung setup wizard

Samsung text-to-speech engine

Samsung+

SamsungDLPService

SapaMonitor

Screen Mirroring

Security policy updates

SecurityLogAgent

Settings Receiver

ShootingModeProvider

Simple Sharing

SLLibrary

Slow and fast-motion video player and editor

Smart Manager

Smart Manager Provider

SmartCallProvider

SmartcardManager

SmartcardService

SmartFaceService

SmartManager Clean DSK

SnsImageCache

Software update

Software Update

Sound detectors

Sound picker

T-Mobile

T-Mobil Name ID

T-Mobile TV

Theme store

Themes

TouchWiz easy home

TouchWiz home

Trim

Universal switch

UrgentFWUpdateNfc

UrgentFWUpdateTSP

Video collage

Video Editor Lite

Video Player (Stock, don't disable if you use, I use an app called VLC that plays damn near anything)

Virtual tour

Visual Voicemail

Visual Voicemail

Voice Assistant

Voice service

Voice wake-up

WallpaperCompression

Weather

Weather

Wi-Fi Direct

Wi-Fi Direct share

Wi-Fi Calling Settings

withTV

And that's it! Boy, wasn't that a lot of clicking clear data and all that junk! But it is worth it!

A FEW OTHER FEATURES I DON'T USE

Fingerprints.. never tested with this. I fail to see the usefulness of a fingerprint compared to a password in your head, and it's a whole lot easier to duplicate the former and scan someone's phone (call it the 'law gets in' password). So some of these might have disabled fingerprint functionality.

Voice-assistance.. again, the possibility of my phone recording me without me knowing is kind of scary. There's a lot of Samsung S-voice crap built in, I had this sort of thing on my last phone and never had the need for it.

Always-On Screen - It displays the time, had it on for a couple days and it worked just fine, but ultimately a battery eater, and the config options are real limited. I ended up turning this off.

The Samsung TouchWiz Launcher - As soon as I got all my packages disabled, I ditched this one. You can use anything you like, but personally I found a new home with NovaLauncher.

The Camera I tried to keep as whole as possible, I set it as the 'double-home-button-click-to-open', which was default behavior, and I really like it this way - double-click and you have a camera, and it works regardless of locked screen. They've really improved the camera software, I can double-click and start recording and that's just the way I like to use a phone. Now if there were only a way to compress, encrypt, and auto-transmit those movies immediately after recording...

DEVELOPER OPTIONS

Settings -> About device -> Click on 'Build Version' a bunch of times. If you're reading these forums you should probably know how to activate this.

Some cool settings, the only one I toggle is USB debugging.. for ease of file transfer on a PC thru USB cable, something which ALL modern phones suck ass at. It almost makes me want to program a simple universal file transfer software suite.

WHAT I WISH I STILL HAD

Encrypted Backup Solutions/State Backups: TitaniumBackup & Nandroid are the ****. Man do I miss having root access.

Customized Pull-down Notification Screen: I hate that first row of settings buttons. I will probably have to pony up the 5 bucks to NovaLauncher to see if they can make those go away.

One-touch Reboot app - Not getting this one until root Administrative access. I'll have to live without until then.

Otherwise, I have been pretty conveniently able to live without Root on this phone, and I hope this guide can make you happy, too!

SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - USEFUL

I've peppered the above with some apps I really like, here are some more:

Firefox - My favorite browser. I keep a copy of chrome for emergencies. 'Noscript' and 'Phony' are must-have extensions. Still looking for a good page-to-pdf extractor.

Orbot/Orfox - Best TOR/browser combo.

Rocket Player - FANTASTIC music app that I ponied up the money to unlock (mostly to play FLACs). Near-perfect, and a relief because Winamp **** the bed when it came to Android.

DuckDuckGo - I use this to replace the Google search bar widget. Doesn't work the same (click to open) but works quickly.

ZDBox - I use this exclusively for the 5x2 'control' widget on my home page. One-touch turnon/offs (or some options send you to the settings screen) for the following: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Mobile Network, Airplane Mode, TaskKiller, disable Screen Rotate, Brightness, Applock (you specify) and Flashlight (my default light, big screwy button but I'm used to it now).

ZDCal - From the makers of ZDBox, a free calendar that displays as a strip in the notification bar and also places a date at the top of the screen. Be careful, the first time I set it up I blindly clicked a couple pages and set up a period calendar that promptly notified me when I was beginning ovulation (I am a man).

SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - GAMES

Stellar Solitaire - The best Solitaire app ever. Tons of games, demos, beautiful for a phone screen.

Cliffy Run - A rager game my awesome friend made that is totally and amazingly simple and has some great graphics.

Neko Atsume - A stupid japanese cat simulator that I can't stop checking.

Source - A free 'pipes' puzzle game. I'm at 1 hr 2 mins on insane level. Great for killing time in the DMV.

SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - PROGRAMMER/NERD

OS Monitor - Process/Connection task-manager

JuiceSSH - My terminal app of choice.

Blowtorch Beta - My MUD app of choice. Told ya I nerd.

AndFTP - My FTP/SSHFTP app of choice.

AndroZip - My compression app, and, surprisingly, file manager of choice.

Fing - 1st of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.

Wifi Analyzer - 2nd of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.

Usemon - Resource Analyzer. Has a cool option for the notification screen, and measures both frequency and % use graphs when many progs do one or the other.

Cargo Decoder - If you want to read what exactly is in the tanker truck you are driving behind and how badly a spill will **** up your day.

Maverick - For all your GPS/compass/accelerometer needs.

FINALE

Please feel free to add anything to the above! I am pleased that I got my phone to do most of the things I wanted without a root. That being said, as soon as it is possible I will be jumping on that train. If you have any suggestions, please contribute! And thanks for reading!