yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
@fonicmaxxim Some things you can do on root as opposed to stock include the ability to pull system files that would normally not be pullable and sometimes not even readable. This also allows you to adb shell ls (view contents) of the file system.

Why this matters is it helps you to see the whole picture of the apks, files, and what not running in the background that you may indeed play around with and remove. That may be hidden otherwise.

So on Stock Root or the Dev Root you may dd the system partition to the sdcard (or any partition to the sd) and then adb pull it so you have a backup and a visual guide (think of it like the gui version of the adb shell ls XD)

Having this visual reference on my main pc makes it easier on me to see what folders / files I want to try to remove.

Removing things is easy in android, rm -R insert/path/here

So you can make a script on the side to test things like make a batch full of items to delete and test and see if you broke anything. Or you can adb shell and rm one by one, the choice is yours!

If you did break something, then no worries because you already pulled the system files, you could adb push them back, and if you Really broke things you can always just flash back. Nvidia did a really good job sandboxing us so we can't do anything to where we can't flash back.

an example -- haven't tried removing this yet

adb shell rm -R system/vendor/app/QuadDSecurityService

Working on a script that I can share and explain in further detail later just in the middle of a project with kali linux arm on the phone. Was able to get it running beautifully thanks to mr david bomball haha. It is a fantastic project to help learn linux if anyone is interested. Lots of little problems to solve, terminal using, and well, just fun~! see here note it is not for the faint of heart and takes up lots of time and space. PS this Will Not work on the shield as is, would have to figure out how to get it to go on external storage.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] Manzing:
If you just want to clean your system without risk, you can enable USB debugging in developer options (usng network is more practical as you don't have to plug a cable)

Then using ADB you disable all the package you don't need.

For example, I stick to the 8.2.3 version and I don't want to be bothered by the com.nvidia.ota app keeping telling me the 9.1 update is available. So I disabled it. You can re-enable it if necessary.

Be careful to know what you're doing and double check the name of the package you want to disable by checking the app properties (the package name is displayed) before proceeding.

you have some info here:

How To Disable Any System App Bloatware On Android Without Root (xda-developers.com)

If you are sure, you can uninstall the app.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] fonicmaxxim:
@jenneh That's kind of what I meant: root on the Shield is certainly very interesting from a developer's view, but is it also useful for normal users? One thing I could think of would be disabling/remapping that damned Netflix button for good (Button Mapper kind of works for that, but not reliably).

@Manzing Thanks, good advice, I'll look into that!
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
@fonicmaxxim I think "normal" is kinda subjective but in my opinion I don't think it is useful for normal people (outside of the curious) because of all the potential problems and troubleshooting needed. What I think of as normal people is they like things to just work and have some clear directions what to do with the root privilege escalation when its really something you do for you, for fun, for work, or some other predetermined reason (like perhaps self education). Rooting should be a solution for a problem for your use case, and if it is the opposite, a solution seeking a problem, then maybe it's best to stay stock, security concerns aside. Rooting is a good learning tool I can say that as a very positive aspect but for a lot of people the negatives (bugs, breaking things) would usually be a deal breaker.

Thank you for asking these things I think it will really help others who aren't sure if or why they would even want to try this, to save some time.

PS i am no developer I am just a normal curious person trying to self educate so this is my use case
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] I_did_it_just_tmrrow:
I am having a 2015 foster nvidia Shield TV. I want root my device. Can I adapt this guide here?
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
You would just need to download the firmware you want from gameworks for the 2015 shield and then patch the boot like shown here. If you have any trouble or if you would rather me make one for you, just tell me which firmware you want and I can build one.

Spoiler content hidden.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] I_did_it_just_tmrrow:
Thanks for your information. I already saw the instructions for modifying the boot img in your initial post.

What worries me though is the fact that foster devices don't have a ramdisk. As far as I know, flashing a patched boot img on devices without ramdisk will cause a bootloop. Do I have this wrong in my head?

Also, I would be interested to know why this project is based on a fork of Magisk?

PS: Is this is the current release page:

Releases · HuskyDG/magisk-files

Contribute to HuskyDG/magisk-files development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
I do not know the answer to your first question, but the forked version was used because it included magiskhide which topjohnwu's original did not have, for some folks who needed to pair with safetynet module bypass. I didn't think to add the option for topjohnwu's bootmod to the op, will get those added this week so there is more choice. Thank you for asking this and yes the mods shared right now are using husky's delta variant of magisk.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] I_did_it_just_tmrrow:
My information comes from here:

Bootloop with patched boot.img - Nvidia SHIELD TV 8.0 · Issue #2063 · topjohnwu/Magisk

Similar to #1750, I'm still having issues flashing Magisk on the Nvidia Shield TV on Shield Experience 8.0.0 (Android Pie) using this guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tv/general/guide...

github.com
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
It's very interesting to see the history there, all the troubleshooting behind the scenes. My only question would be were the affected 2015 users locked out of the bootloader menu when the bootloop occurred? This has not been possible with all the terrible things I have done to my 2019 shield. No matter what I can still access the bootloader to flash, so therefore it is okay to test images. Is this the case with the 2015 shield? I am not sure, which I why I wont say to just test it and try. Can't really advise more there but maybe someone who knows more will see your post and can share some thoughts.

But if you do find out that the bootloader is still accessible even after a bad boot image flash, then it wouldn't hurt anything to try. I would just verify that is the case first.

PS thank you again as this discussion led me to realize I accidentally deleted the stock 2019 8.2.3 images and am fixing that now for the repo. Working on re-modding all the boots for the 2017 and 2019 shield. I am going to just erase all the old boot mod links and share new ones when it's done
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
An update was made to the OP, the instructions have been edited, pictures added, sources and source code added, and all dl links are updated.

CHANGES:

Spoiler content hidden.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] I_did_it_just_tmrrow:
Done and success.

My patched image, extract from the zip "nv-recovery-image-shield-atv-2015-pro-9.0.0.zip" is here in attachment. Source (v9.0.0).

This image should work on device (both orig. boot.img had the same md5/sha256):

NVIDIA SHIELD ANDROID TV 2015 with 16GB EMMC

Codename: foster

NVIDIA SHIELD ANDROID TV PRO 2015 with 512GB HDD (or more if you changed your SATA-Device)

Codename: foster_e_hdd

certutil -hashfile boot-magisk_patched-25210.img SHA256
SHA256-Hash von boot-magisk_patched-25210.img:
2096f51684858f4d5ea402879203743e85d0728e3aee37c7f91f7af24aa2ea25

certutil -hashfile boot-magisk_patched-25210.img MD5
MD5-Hash von boot-magisk_patched-25210.img:
e86d32f620979b282fcad1ef8d1167bb

====

certutil -hashfile bootOriginal.img MD5
MD5-Hash von bootOriginal.img:
1cf3a64cba4563127df659ba65fa4398

certutil -hashfile bootOriginal.img SHA256
SHA256-Hash von bootOriginal.img:
0186f1ccd67778425b5de754b83370ad5ee40194a2fa32ccc51b3cdec0bbaf7f
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
An update has been released and pushed to all the zip files. (These are just QoL things for the BOOTMOD script.) As usual, the OP's guide has been updated again with the new source code and pictures.

Spoiler content hidden.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] I_did_it_just_tmrrow:
Thx, nice Job.

I think it would be good to mention that the Boot.img is for 16 (bon-pro) and 500gb (pro) 2015 Version.

Greetings by Idijt
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
Thank you so much, I will get those spoiler tags corrected. I promise I read what you said yesterday but it didn't Click what that meant until just now..

Do you happen to know if the same applies to the full system firmware they have up on gameworks for the 2015, the 8.2.3? Not just the boot but like a total fresh install?

I noticed that gameworks does not have an 8.2.3 image that is labeled only as "2015" instead it is labeled as 2015 pro. Would you happen to know if the "pro" image works for flashing to 8.2.3 fully on the 16gb? No big deal if not but would like to get it added to the firmware repo thread if its possible.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] karim-ps:
Stuck with ****. Anyone with a rooted boot.img for 2017 or a working magisk zip?
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] karim-ps:
Does this boot.img work on 2017 normal "non pro" version?
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] karim-ps:
Will this tool actually root (install magisk boot.img) the device or only install magisk apk?
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
It does both. Option 1 flashes the boot.img and is able to install the apk after the shield resets, the apk menu option 2 was provided incase the user presses a button too early after the flash and missed the apk installation. There are images provided for the 2017 shield the normal one that manzing tested for us. The "boot mods" in the op are already magisk patched and ready to go. Look under Step 2 and you can see the mods up for the 2017. The "boot mods" downloads have everything you need, they already have magisk included and you can choose between the original magisk or the forked version when you run the script. You just have to pick the right boot mod for your currently installed firmware
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] karim-ps:
I checked the tutorial. Overall, I'm on 9.1.1 (latest) I have adb/fastboot drivers/modes working and I can issue manuall commands. I also have TWRP installed.

I'm getting this error when trying to root. I should add that I tried to run the script as admin but to no avail.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] karim-ps:
Chose option 2 which is HuskyDG Magisk Delta, it was flashed successfully but can no longer boot to system. Each time I reboot it goes straight to fastboot menu
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
I don't have a 2017 to test with unfortunately. The 9.1.1 boot image hasn't been released on gameworks. This was a special image pulled from the OTA update that @Manzing was able to pull for us. It also doesn't make sense why image 1 wouldn't flash unless the image was missing from the folder. All the bootmods use the same script..

One thing you can test is to reboot into the bootloader menu and run the .magiskmodonly script and see if that installs the bootmod1 for you. Then you could install the apk after rebooting to system.

You could also try flashing it back to stock and it should just post back.

Spoiler content hidden.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] Manzing:
Right, I would say the bootmod1.img was missing when @karim-ps tried to flash.

Yes, I made it on my shield non pro 16 GB version, pro is the one with 500GB drive.

AFAIK it should work on both.

Double check your path and command line.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] tnomtlaw:
Is there any way to get this method to root the Shield 2019 TUBE???
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
I checked on Gameworks and I don't see any firmware up for the tube version, but question are you able to run adb reboot bootloader and does it present with a menu to unlock the bootloader like the other shields do? Idk how to get it to post to the pc but I wonder if it at least has a proper bootloader menu or what options it presents
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] karim-ps:
Also makes no sense for me. I flashed it with manual command fastboot flash boot xxxximg and I have root now

Thanks for the good work
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
This is in regards to this link https://developer.nvidia.com/shield-open-source

Spoiler content hidden.

Here is a copy of the downloaded source code:

nvidia-8.2.3.zip

drive.google.com

It's home will be located on the Repo Thread under this spoiler so we don't have to dig through comments to locate it

Spoiler content hidden.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] Sage:
Watching this thread with interest!
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] lm32692:
I have followed the new instructions and have achieved root on my shield pro 2019, however the ai upscaling is telling me no due to an unlocked bootloader. I am certain that I used the latest scripting solution for this activity. I selected the delta version to achieve root access, and the magisk-like root options seem to work as they have on other boxes where I have used magisk to achieve root. When I tried to lock the bootloader to see if that would enable ai upscaling, the shield wouldn't boot, and told me it couldn't find any operating system on my shield. Is there some configuration item(s) that I need to check to get ai upscaling to work properly on my shield? BTW, thanks to all of the people who worked on this rooting solution for the shield. I'm sure I just need to toggle some setting somewhere to get ai upscaling to work as shown in your example. lm32692
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
Hi there, the ai upscaler is currently not working with root enabled, and for right now the bootloader cannot be locked while rooted. Unfortunately you would have to revert back to the stock boot image in order for these features to work again. I tried to warn about this at the bottom of the OP but then again I put it at the bottom :-)

I made "bootmod" so we can easily switch between stock and root, so one could re-engage these features when they are done doing whatever they needed root for, but for right now there are no updates in this area. We just got the full source code but its 12 gb and will take time to dig through and do things with
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] lm32692:
What's with the comment from louforgiveno 100% confirmed that the ai upscaling works without having to lock the bootloader. That comment implied to me that someone has solved the ai upscaling issue. I'm sure it's just a matter of time until one of you developers figure out the fix for ai upscaling. I am not upset that I have experimented with rooting my shield pro 2019, as I learned a lot about the workings of the shield in the process. I have multiple shields and so I use my personal device to experiment and learn. Maybe I will revert until a fix is finalized for the upscaling. [BTW....FYI, if any of the community uses a Samsung Galaxy laptop as their windows platform, the drivers for adb/fastboot offered, don't seem to work with my laptop. Samsung has issued their adb/fastboot interface drivers that work like a champ, but the "universal' adb driver, and a number of other adb interface drivers don't seem to work on the Samsung laptop H/W. Again, it's a learning experience for me as a Shield newbie, but I have done many of the activities with other less capable android devices. Good luck with solving the ai upscaling issue(s). lm32692
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
@lm32692 I made a mistake when I made that comment. At the time I wrote that, I did not understand how the AI upscaler worked, and misunderstood what a friend had said. This post explains the blunder Thank you and sorry for the mis-speak again!
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] lm32692:
I was just surprised that the comment mentioned that the ai upscaler worked with root active. Since you have the source code now, it's only a matter of time that you can devote to the project, until you will identify what mods are needed to have a fully functional root implementation. I'll look forward to that future event., along with all of the other folks who like to modify devices to give them more capabilities. lm32692
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] lm32692:
Don't feel bad at all, I feel fortunate to have people like you who are willing to work on these solutions for common streaming platforms. Keep up the good work. lm32692
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] legend0s:
Hello xda community!

I have the same problem, that ai upscaler didn´t work. it shows me a message that the bootloader is unlocked. Cause of that, i cannot use it.

So i decided to go into theo bootloader menu again (via magisk) and select the option "lock bootloader".

After this, my shield 2019 cannot boot anymore.

I got only a black screen with this message:

"No valid operating system could be found.

The device will not boot."

That´s it.

After a few seconds, the shield turns automatically off.

Can anyone help me?

Best regards

legend0s
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
@legend0s Hi there! This comment answers your question. Since there seems to be some confusion here, the OP was updated to reflect that you /cannot/ lock the bootloader while rooted, for right now. This is due to selinux and AVB 2.0 signed partitions. This may be able to be fixed but it isn't right now. AI upscaling can only be used with a stock boot image and the bootloader locked, which is why the tool was made, so we can switch back and forth from root to stock quickly, when done with root.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] trohn_javolta:
Hi,.. wow I'm 2 mins away from :sick: over my shield tv 2017.

Was on 8. sth. rooted via magisk and wanted to update to latest shield experience because I couldn't activate the stupid Alexa skill to add the shield to Alexa. Thought this could help.

Saw that there is an official stable twrp now for my shield so I went and flashed it. Could boot into it fine. Ran the update routine on shield, after reboot I got into twrp and saw it couldn't flash the update due to some error. Turned out it is because the twrp version was too new, so I flashed an older one. Updated again, everything looked fine, but after reboot I got stuck in a boot loop.

So I tried every script here, without sucess..

So I got myself the shield experience 8.2.3 and 9.0.0 recovery images from nivdia. Flashed boot and recovery from 8.2.3 (thought the update to 9.0.0) didn't go through.

Bootloop again, and now the worst of all:

If I try to flash a boot or recovery image I get:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

target reported max download size of 33554432 bytes

sending 'recovery' (19493 KB)...

FAILED (remote: Bootloader is locked.)

finished. total time: 0.015s

I mean wtf?!!!! Does flashing a stock recovery automatically lock the bootloader??? If yes, where does it state that?

That is a total disaster!

Can anybody help at this point or is my whole data screwed? I know unlocking bootloader erases everything...

Edit: it gets better. If I select "boot recovery kernel" I get into the initially flashed twrp :D

however I cannot mount data in twrp...
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
@trohn_javolta Hi there. No, it is not possible to "automatically" lock the bootloader by code or flashing on the shield, as it Requires External Input to confirm the selection. I am really not understanding what you are saying. So what I can suggest is to, unlock your bootloader again, then just dl the firmware you want from Nvidia Gameworks

and flash it normally. or patch your own boot from there if you still want to test root for your use case. No Twrp needed for any of these steps.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] trohn_javolta:
All I can tell you is I did the above and it locked my bootloader...at least fastboot told me it's locked once I tried flashing sth. I never selected to lock my bootloader in fastboot mode... no idea how it happened.

Well yeah, I did what you wrote which, of course, worked. Data is lost now as expected, but it's not too bad.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] legend0s:
Is there some progress to downgrade to an i0der version (like 9.1 to 8.0)?

Or to deactivate the discover tab and the commercials in the background?

Best regards!
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
@legend0s you can use a launcher app like wolf launcher to get rid of the apps and customize the back. There's other launchers out there too. I'm not personally trying to bring any fw backwards, would want to go forward personally, higher than what it is currently at on 9.1.1 but thats just ambitions. I'm not anywhere near there yet for that endeavor. If you are using a 2017 though, those can be flashed back to 8.0.0 or further to 6.0.0, just not the 2019s.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] legend0s:
Thanks for your reply!

I don't like all the launcher apps. So, i hope that it is possible to disable the discover tab and/or disable the ads in the future.

PS:

I have the 2019 version.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] allaboutevesn1987a:
Every other time I've rooted a device I was installing a new image, a clean slate each time, but for this the whole purpose is to recover some system files from a removable usb that I formatted as external so I can replace the drive -- will this process erase the current system?
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] jenneh:
Hi there! Yes, the step where we have to unlock the bootloader will unfortunately erase the system.
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] Cestults:
Hi, does anyone have the 9.1.1 firmware & bootmod for the 2015 shield 16GB? I’d like to give this a shot. My shield is basically bare bones I’ve deleted virtually every app and done everything I can do to gain additional space on the internal storage. Even with that it’s to the point that I can’t even update apps because there isn’t enough space to download the updates lol. I’ve read about a rogue log file taking up tons of space but need root access to be able to delete it. SHIELDS STORAGE SPACE IS TOO LOW lol
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] legend0s:
Wow!

Amazing news!!

I will give it a try in the next few days.

Can't wait to downgrade to 8.2.3!

Thanks for the info! (-;

Best regards from germany
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] legend0s:
I downgraded my shield 2019 Pro to 8.2.3 today.

Really easy and absolutely flawlessly! (-:

Thanks for this magic!!!!

Best regards!
[Nvidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro (2019) Guides, Ne] delfz:
Hello everyone! Can anyone help me please? My developer options is not opening, it's showing in my settings but once you clicked it it will not open. Thank you in advance for any help.