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Basically what the title says. I rooted my phone with unrevoked (I am not sure if I used the "forever" version or not). Will installing the 2.3.4 Gingerbread OTA update from Verizon remove my root? I'm not running any special ROMs if that makes a difference.

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3 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

You almost always lose root when installing an OTA update. I would keep an eye on RootzWiki or DroidForums for someone to confirm that it can be rooted or someone to release a rooted update.

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Now that I think about it, I seem to recall installing an OTA update several months ago which didn't remove the root. Is there any reason why one update would remove root and another wouldn't? – wawa Sep 7 '11 at 18:48
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@wawa - Yes. Note that the key words here are "almost always". There's always the chance that it will work out fine just like there's the chance that you can brick your phone beyond usability. Most updates only replace certain files making assumptions about what's leftover. If your root setup fits those assumptions, then you'll be fine. However, if you changed something and you make the OTA's assumptions now become bad assumptions, then you're likely going to be doing a lot of Googling figuring out how to get your device usable again. – Jaxidian Sep 23 '11 at 17:22
up vote 5 down vote

Yes, what Cheuer said.

Installing an OTA while you're running a customized ROM in any way (even just rooted) pretty much always screws up root, sometimes even having a high risk of bricking your phone. NEVER install an OTA update while running customized software. If you ever want to go back to stock software, you need to go find the thread for your phone/ROM that tells you how to do this. Only after reverting back to stock should you attempt an OTA install.

Lastly, note that after an OTA update, you aren't always guaranteed to be able to root your phone again. Sometimes you're stuck unrooted.

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up vote 1 down vote

I would recommend not installing the update while you have root. The manufacturer of the device could have changed something in the update which stops the root from working either intentionally or unintentionally. If this is the case there is a risk that the phone will be bricked (i.e. stop working). I would recommend seeing if you can unroot the device then perform the update and then put the root back on if you can.

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