WARNING

Root access is intended for developers and knowledgeable enthusiasts ONLY. Improper use of any root access application can cause your phone/tablet to malfunction or become entirely non-operational. You assume all risk when using this or any root-access application to modify your device.

The root module requires that you have root/superuser access on your phone/tablet. The root module WILL NOT root your phone/tablet. If you do not have root access, the root module is useless.

Obtaining the Root Module

To do work as the root user, you need to first download and install the free root add-on module for FX. The root add-on module may be found on the Google Play Store here:

Download the Root Add-On Module

Once you install the root module, you will see a "Root Access" item appear on the FX home screen. Please note that the root module won't actually add a new item to your device's home launcher.

Using Root Access

Only use root when required: Even when the root access module is installed, normal everyday file operations should be done without root access. For safety and security, root access should only be used when it is required, i.e., when making modifications to the Android operating system or installed applications. Root access will only be enabled when you open the "System (Root)" catalog from the FX home screen and do work within it.

Granting superuser access: The first time you open the "System (Root)" catalog, your installed superuser application will ask you if you want to allow FX to use root permissions. The root module cannot work unless you grant it root access.

Warning dialogs: FX will additionally present a "Root Access Authorization" dialog whenever you attempt to perform any work as root. Press the "OK" button to allow work to be done as root or "Cancel" if you did not intend to do so. This dialog will only appear if you have not done work as root in the past five (5) minutes. You can configure this time interval, disable the dialog entirely, or require a PIN/password to do such work using FX's Settings. See "Configuring Authentication" for more information.

Remounting Filesystems Read-Write and Read-Only

The critical filesystems of Android are mounted read-only under normal conditions. The critical filesystems are the root filesystem ("/") and the system filesystem ("/system"). In order to make modifications to these filesystems, you must first remount them as writable, and you should then immediately remount them as read-only when you are finished.

FX will display a lock icon in the upper-right corner of the screen when browsing a filesystem that is mounted read-only (when you are using root access). Tap the lock to remount the filesystem as read-write. Tap it again to remount the filesystem as read-only. A warning message will appear on the FX homescreen whenever critical filesystems have been remounted with write access.

Working with Files as Root

You can move, copy, delete, rename, or use any of FX's other file operations on files and folders as the root user.

Opening files as root: Files that require root to access can only be opened with FX's own viewers and editors. If you need to open a file as the root user with a third-party application, you'll want to make a copy of it and place the copy in a user-accessible directory. Then open the file with the third-party application, save changes, and use FX to copy it back to its original location. This extra step is necessary because other applications generally won't be able read or write files as root.

Editing Text Files as Root

You can use the FX Text Editor to edit files as the root user. Just long-press on a file and tap "Open With", then select "Text Editor" in the Open With dialog. It is strongly recommended that you make a backup of any critical files you edit. It is also recommended that you edit copies of configuration files and then replace the original when your have completed your changes, rather than editing a "live" configuration file.

Changing File Permissions and Ownership

To change UNIX permissions and ownership of files, long-press on a file and select "Permissions". A dialog will appear showing a permissions grid containing Read, Write, and Execute permissions for the file's owner, group, and all users. Tapping a cell in the grid will toggle the state of its represented permission. To change ownership of a file, tap the "Owner" or "Group" buttons on the left side of the grid.

Configuring Authentication

FX provides the ability to restrict access to its root access features or simply provide warnings when they are used. The default behavior is to warn the user when they begin using root features (and have not done so for a period of time). The behavior can be changed using FX's Settings panel. To access the root-access settings, tap the "Tools" menu, select "Settings", and then select "Root".

Authentication can be disabled, configured with a numeric PIN, a text password, or a simple warning dialog (the default).

Please note that restricting access with a PIN or password will only prevent root access via FX; you'll want to install a secure superuser application if you need to entirely prevent root access by any application without password authentication. The primary intent of FX's root access authentication is to prevent non-malicious users of a device from inadvertently performing operations as root.