SuperSU pre-installed on a factory unlocked phone?

1911Shootist

1911Shootist

[H]ard|Gawd
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I dropped my G3 a few days ago, so I purchased an unlocked one on Amazon (was supposed to be new, but is refurbished). I noticed it came with the app 'SuperSU Free' pre-installed, but does not appear to have root access (although I'm a noob when it comes to rooting/modding).

Is this cause for concern (security), another sign the phone was refurbished and not new, or is it normal for a stock ROM to include this?
 
No major brand would come with that installed send it back for security reasons
 
What else makes you think it's refurbished? I'd send that shit back if I got a used phone with a root app on it.
 
That's def not a stock app on any phone. If it's supposed to be new and it's obviously a refurb, I would contact Amazon or the seller and ask for a partial refund or something to compensate for the false advertisement. But I would still keep it if it seems ok otherwise, as some refurbs have been better than new phones in my experience, so it's not a big deal IMO. It's not really a security concern, but I would be concerned about the ability to receive OTA updates if it doesn't have the stock recovery installed. Here's a vid on how to boot into the recovery mode on the G3;



If your recovery looks like that in the vid or says TWRP opon opening, then that's not the stock recovery for the phone and it will not be able to be updated until you flash the stock boot image and recovery agent onto it. Fortunately that's normally not very hard to do and you should find all you need to restore it to stock here in the XDA G3 forum. If you don't feel like dealing with all of that though, then yeah, just request a new replacement.
 
I can tell it's a refurb due to slight scratches on the camera focus emitter, lint in the charging port, no protection film over the camera lens, screen film left residue upon removal, accessories are not in factory wrap, charger shows scuffs/scratches (possibly from no protective wrap). Other than that, it looks brand new - doesn't even have the standard cracked bezel at the microphone ports that all the G3's develop over time.

I'm not leaning towards returning it because:
1. I need a working phone.
2. I probably can't trust any 3rd party seller on Amazon to supply a new/non-refurb'd phone at this point, so I'd likely get the same shit, I think. Correct me if I am wrong.

T4rd said:
That's def not a stock app on any phone. If it's supposed to be new and it's obviously a refurb, I would contact Amazon or the seller and ask for a partial refund or something to compensate for the false advertisement. But I would still keep it if it seems ok otherwise, as some refurbs have been better than new phones in my experience, so it's not a big deal IMO. It's not really a security concern, but I would be concerned about the ability to receive OTA updates if it doesn't have the stock recovery installed. Here's a vid on how to boot into the recovery mode on the G3;
snip
If your recovery looks like that in the vid or says TWRP opon opening, then that's not the stock recovery for the phone and it will not be able to be updated until you flash the stock boot image and recovery agent onto it. Fortunately that's normally not very hard to do and you should find all you need to restore it to stock here in the XDA G3 forum. If you don't feel like dealing with all of that though, then yeah, just request a new replacement.
Click to expand...

I did a factory reset on it right away, and my recovery screen only showed reset and exit. Reset proceeded to reset the phone, not bring me to a recovery manager, so I think it is stock...

Thanks for the help guys!
 
Aaaaaaannndd it just failed a software update. This thing is going back. Hopefully the next new one will be new...
 
1911Shootist said:
Aaaaaaannndd it just failed a software update. This thing is going back. Hopefully the next new one will be new...
Click to expand...

Android 5.0 or 5.1 made updates fail if a single file is altered/added/removed from the system partition. That tells me even if root isn't there now it was.. In theory someone could gain root, install keyloggers as system programs, unroot and return..
 
If you're fine with it physically, root it, install TWRP, do a full wipe including data (which will get rid of any potential "nasties") then either download/flash CM 13 and Google apps, or follow the "LG G3 back to stock" procedure on XDA (after which it should take OTA updates no problem). It will be safe then, as it will be completely flash wiped, and you'll have a working phone without having to worry about a return. It's a bit of work, but it'll teach you about the software / ROM side of Android if you aren't already familiar.
 
Definitely rooted...
 

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The other "new" phone arrived today from a different seller... Pretty sure this is also a refurb, but it's in better shape than the first, and doesn't appear rooted so far. These sellers (or LG) must be refurbing the phones and using a grey definition of 'new'.

This one came running 4.4. I cannot trigger/inquire about a OTA update though, which seems weird... Settings>General>About Device>Software Information doesn't show any update option. Does that seem normal for an unlocked phone? This one doesn't show any AT&T logo at boot up. Factory reset shows asian characters under the open belly of the android dude, which I also haven't seen before...

Ugh, why can't one buy a direct replacement for a 1.5 year old phone?
 
That's a hacked device using one of the Chinese ROMs. I bet anything that SuperSU was installed as an easy root access tool to root many devices.
 
$200 - $250 on Amazon Prime from 3rd party sellers fullfilled by Amazon.

I Just ordered a G4 directly from Amazon for $300. We'll see how this one turns out... I would think there's a better chance of it being legitimately new, but I've been unpleasantly surprised before...
 
G4 seems legit, and a nice upgrade. It'd be nice if my 2 spare G3 batteries worked in it, but LG changed them just enough to make that a no go.:mad:
 
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