Rooting LineageOS 17.1 with Magisk

One of the side effects of switching to LineageOS 17.1 is that a different method for rooting the phone is required. The OS stores its updates at \data\lineageos_updates in the root directory. Since each update is of the order of 0.5 GB, these will eventually take up all of the available free space on the internal storage of the Moto G3. However, the amount of free space can be managed by deleting old updates or moving these onto the micro-SDcard. But, the file cleanup can only take place if the user has root access.

Previously, the LineageOS development team released the addonsu software package for rooting the phone. However, in developing LineageOS 17.1, the programmers were unable to port PrivacyGuard to the Android 10 code that forms the basis of the new software. PrivacyGuard had been used by the addonsu software package and its unavailability resulted in addonsu being discontinued. SuperSU, another rooting package I used previously, has not been recommended for use with LineageOS for some time. Consequently, the rooting software of choice at present appears to Magisk.

I found the primary instructions for using Magisk to be a little unclear. They indicate to run Magisk Manager and, if Ramdisk = Yes then a copy of boot.img is required “from official firmware packages or your custom ROM zip”. However, there was no further information as to how this image was to be extracted.

Fortunately, there is a second installation method using TWRP which, although not recommended, is available as legacy support. For me, the use of TWRP is preferable as I have used it successfully many times, both to create system backups and to flash custom-ROM’s.

This method also simplifies the process somewhat since the installation of MagiskManager is not actually required. Rather, just Magisk itself (i.e. the file Magisk-v21.3.zip) can be installed using TWRP.

The following steps can be used to root the Moto G3 smartphone with LineageOS 17.1 installed. (Note that the version number of the download was current at the time of writing.)

(1) Download Magisk-v21.3.zip from the Magisk v21.3 link on GitHub.
(https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk)

(2) Boot the Moto G3 into recovery mode

(3) Install the Magisk ZIP file

(4) Wipe Cache/Dalvik

(5) Select Reboot System

Run Root Checker Basic, grant SuperUser access, and verify that root access is enabled

References:

LineageOS is dropping its own superuser implementation, making Magisk the de facto solution
https://www.xda-developers.com/lineageos-dropping-superuser-addonsu-implementation-favor-magisk-manager/

Rooting the LineageOS 14.1 Custom ROM
https://linuxnorth.wordpress.com/2017/10/17/rooting-the-lineageos-14-1-custom-rom/

Manually Updating LineageOS on a Moto G3 Smartphone
https://linuxnorth.wordpress.com/2018/07/25/manually-updating-lineageos-on-a-moto-g3-smartphone/

topjohnwu / Magisk
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk
TeamWin – TWRP
https://twrp.me

How to Install Magisk & Root with TWRP
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/magisk-101-install-magisk-root-with-twrp-0179668/

Tracking down more Android storage space hogs

Even after cleaning out the app_webview/BrowserMetrics’ folder in my K-9 E-mail client (see: Tracking down Android storage space hogs), I found that the free space on my phone once again dropped precipitously to about 300 MB. Consequently, I decided to dig a little deeper into just what BrowserMetrics was all about.

Tracking down Android storage space hogs

When you (try to) download an app from Google’s Play Store and nothing seems to happen, there is probably a notification on the lock screen indicating that there is insufficient space to perform the operation. This can also be a problem when trying to update apps. On my phone, even quite small updates, say 20 MB, can fail if there is less than 500 MB of free space available! But, then the trick is to find what is hogging all the available storage.

Google phone app not displaying incoming calls

I had a very frustrating experience when waiting for an important phone call. The phone rang, but there was no pop-up to enable me to accept (or decline) the call. Having “missed” the call, I had to dial-out to return the call and make the required connection.

User Manual/Tutorial for LibreOffice Basic Macros

In an earlier post (Save the Current Workbook using a LibreOffice Calc Macro), I bemoaned the fact that I couldn’t seem to locate a really useful user manual or tutorial for macro programming using LibreOffice Basic. In particular, I noted that the keywords I was using for a Google search were not productive. Both aspects of this issue were resolved when I recalled that LibreOffice is actually a fork of OpenOffice. The trick is to search on Google for something like: OpenOffice basic macro user manual.

Identifying the OS (Linux or Windows) in a LibreOffice Basic Macro

In the last post I described how to save the open Calc workbook from a macro. One of the parameters used was file:///media/DataDisk/agl.ods which clearly indicates that Calc was being run under Linux. But, those of us with dual-boot systems can also run LibreOffice Calc under Windows in which case we would want to save the file as something like D:/agl.ods. It would be useful if we could use the same Calc workbook, and the same macro, with both operating systems. So, how are we going to code the macro to use the correct disk folder designation?

Save the Current Workbook using a LibreOffice Calc Macro

I often find it difficult to track down how to develop macro code in LibreOffice Basic to do what I consider to be routine tasks. Perhaps I haven’t found the requisite beginner’s guide, or don’t use the right search strings in Google. For Microsoft’s Excel, the latter technique using “VBA” usually does the trick; however, including “LibreOffice”, “Basic” and “macro” doesn’t necessarily find the answer for Calc.

Testing Development Versions of LibreOffice

If you are not a computer programmer, graphics designer, technical writer, or a web developer, one way to assist in the development of open-source software, such as the LibreOffice suite, is to test pre-release versions of the software as these are developed. If any bugs are identified these can be reported to the development team so that they can be fixed in future builds. A really neat feature of LibreOffice is that a development version can be installed in parallel with a stable release that is being used as a “daily driver”.

Changing Icons in Android Pie

Most of the icons used in Android Pie look fine, but I really don’t like the default icon for the Calendar app. Previously, with Android Nougat, I had used the Icon Changer free app developed by Juyeong to switch the default icon to a different image. However, a note in this app’s description indicates that it does not support Android Oreo (Version 8.0) and, presumably, this also applies to later versions such as Android Pie (Version 9.0). The good news is that many web postings recommend Awesome Icons from Momo apps for the same task.

Waking up the Moto G3 under Android Pie

As noted in the previous post, with Android Pie installed, waking up the phone seems to require (in my case) opening the wallet-style cover, double-tapping on the screen, and swiping up the screen to unlock it. This is a lot more steps that I have been used to since, previously, I could just open the cover and swipe up the screen. Fortunately, the WaveUp app solves my problem.