SuperSU, a Popular Root App For Android, Disappears From Google Play Store (androidpolice.com)

Corbin Davenport, writing for AndroidPolice: For years, SuperSU was one of the most popular root applications for Android. Chainfire, the creator of SuperSU, handed over development to CCMT in 2015. He ended his involvement with the app last year, so CCMT has been in full control of it since then. For reasons currently unknown, SuperSU has now vanished from the Play Store. The app's Twitter and Google+ accounts for SuperSU haven't made a post since last year, the Facebook page has been inactive since March, and the official forum is currently offline. As such, it seems like the app was largely abandoned. The latest version available from APKMirror was published in January. Further reading: End of an era: Chainfire is halting development on all root-related apps.

Comments

Magisk

[Anonymous Coward]

Magisk with Magisk Manger has been a nice alternative for me.

Re:Magisk

[Anonymous Coward]

With how phones are going, a systemless root like Magisk is just the next step in the process. Hopefully Magisk can carry the torch from where SuperSU left off, so people can still run their stuff like Titanium Backup, firewalls, and other apps.

There's always Superuser on F-Droid

[gti_guy]

https://f-droid.org/en/package...

Re:There's always Superuser on F-Droid

[JackieBrown]

Which was last updated on 2016-01-21

Re:There's always Superuser on F-Droid

[higuita]

and still works fine...

Re:There's always Superuser on F-Droid

[Shikaku]

I don't think the issue is whether it works. It might be good enough as a utility but for what it does, which is give root system permissions and do some very powerful tasks, it needs a patch if a security issue/bug arises, and someone has to code that. I saw some good alternatives in this comment section though and I'll keep that in mind; I am just warning people that this is a possibility.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[b0s0z0ku]

Stay in your walled prison, coward.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[ArchieBunker]

I'd rooted my old Android phones because there is no other way to remove the factory installed bloated apps and spyware. I also rooted my iPhone because iTunes is so shitty and terrible. I just want to access the phone like a flash drive. But you can't even do that because iOS mangles all the filenames.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[Bruce Perens]

Well, some of us are even the creators of some of the software on those phones as Open Source, for example Busybox is widely used, and we're quite competent to manage our own devices. The main reason is that we wan to be in control. Who wouldn't? We want to be able to run our own software, we want to be able to do things that the OS doesn't allow by default. Some of the most simple functions of the device seem to be locked away from normal applications, not always for the best reasons.

We also want to be able to load an alternate OS, like LineageOS, when it becomes available for our devices. Meaning we need to be able to re-write the firmware, which root can do.

Perhaps they're trying to uproot it

[penguinoid]

Someone should get to the root of the problem.

SuperSU fixed my useless Samsung Galaxy Tab

[MobyDisk]

I have an older Galaxy Tab that was useless out-of-the-box. I should have returned it because it was so slow that it literally couldn't keep up with my typing, even after a factory reset. It scrolled at 5 fps. After it fell into disuse for years, I rooted it with SuperSU, and used a task manager find and delete two processes that were eating 80% of the CPU. No idea what they did, but the tablet has been fine since then.

Magisk had replaced SuperSU a long time ago

[Anonymous Coward]

Magisk had replaced SuperSU a long time ago.

Chainfire is an absolute master and his SU applications impeccable

But with the latest revisions of Android, Magisk had begun to replace what SuperSU and other SU applications provided.

Re:Magisk had replaced SuperSU a long time ago

[Thelasko]

KingRoot has its own su bundled.

It's also malware.

Re:Magisk had replaced SuperSU a long time ago

[johnsie]

Rooting your phone with any software is risky. Nearly all rooting software looks for exploits in your phone that allow them to gain root permissions (ie take over your phone). They upload a bunch of software to your phone that is now completely writable. Most people who root their phones have no idea what they are uploading to their phones. There could be malware, proxy software, bots, trojan horses, you name it Then of course there's the fact that there's only the superuser app between preventing any apk (play store or external) from having full access to your phone. That's a lot of trust to put in one third party app. Remember, not all malware announces it's existence. Some malware likes to go quietly undetected while it does it's thing. I wouldn't touch a rooted android device with a bargepole. A non-rooted device already gives app developers way too much access and information.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[Megane]

But you can't even do that because iOS mangles all the filenames.

Nope, that's just iTunes. That happened on the iPod before iOS even happened. They just wanted to appease the music companies that you wouldn't be able to yank the files out for easy piracy, no matter how silly that may sound now.

LineageOS doesn't need this.

[The_Dougster]

Instead, LineageOS https://lineageos.org/ provides a su option zip that can be flashed along with the main image and opengapps. After it is installed, you can toggle root access via the developer options and control which apps can get it.

The list of devices officially supported is not huge, but there are some unofficial builds available now for select others. LineageOS is rather nice if you can run it.

Android root is essential

[thomn8r]

I wouldn't own an android device without rooting it

Re:Android root is essential

[johnsie]

I use your rooted phone too. Thanks for rooting it. Oh, you didn't know there was an extra wee package pushed to your phone during the rooting process?

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[PmanAce]

Hey troll, please link proof about rooted android users complaining about being hacked. I don't think you understand what rooting actually does.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[segin]

Let me draw you an ASCIIart Venn Diagram: ( people who root ) [a gap] ( people who get hacked ) Does perhaps that explain it?

Magisk

[Artem S. Tashkinov]

Magisk has made SuperSU irrelevant because SuperSU needs to modify the system partition and Android since version 7 doesn't quite like it to the point that many functions stop working completely.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[goose-incarnated]

- A confused iOS user

You repeat yourself.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[Tough Love]

I'm impressed how even you missed OP's "A confused iOS user", clearly intended as a sarcasm tag. I suppose it just shows that nobody hears you being sarcastic on the internet. But thanks for the explanation anyway.

I remember the days when rooting Apple products was a thing, but by today Apple has trained all their diehard loyalists not to want that, and even think it's better without. Basically, "I'm so glad I'm an Apple".

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[Bruce Perens]

I do this stuff pretty quickly. So yes, I can miss sarcasm tags.

Re:MVNO root is essential

[TechyImmigrant]

Some MVNO phones aren't easily root-able for obvious reasons.

What is the non-obvious, obvious reason?

Re: Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[nnull]

I decided to try to do work on a trip recently with just an iPad. Suffice to say, I will never do it again.

Try to transfer files from an SD card on an IPad? Ahahah Good luck, frustrated me to no end. FileExplorer ftp server saved me here.

File handling in IOS is absolutely absurd.

My productivity went down dramatically on an iPad as many applications that claim to be similar to their desktop counterparts are not even close. Most of them are completely useless. Doing simple things like organizing things in windows to see my notes is very time consuming.

Eventually I got so tired of it that I connected to my vpn to remotely connect to my desktop. Lack of a mouse made things annoying, but I became more productive again. I'm in Japan with fast internet so it works fine.

Re: Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[nnull]

Oh to my point. If I have to root my device to be able to do simple tasks as above and then the manufacturers do everything to prevent me from doing so, it's a damn useless device to me.

I don't even bother rooting since 4.3

[p51d007]

I stopped rooting, when 4.3 came along...it was "good enough" and, I try to buy phones outright, NOT from the carrier branded, feature stripped, locked down, bloated garbage from the carrier stores. My last 4 phones, 3 Huawei Mates & the Essential PH-1 have been "good enough" they didn't need rooting, and what few apps I didn't want, were easy to install. I leave my phone alone, and don't jack with it. Install Nova Launcher Prime, the 8-10 apps that I use other than the defaults and pretty much leave it alone.

Re:I don't even bother rooting since 4.3

[johnsie]

It's not worth rooting. A person who admits rooting pretty much admits they have no idea about tech security. There are very few things that would make rooting worth compromising the security of your phone and/or networks.

Re:I don't even bother rooting since 4.3

[johnsie]

That would be great if you knew the software that was exploiting a security hole in your phone to root it was 100% legit. You know, if you knew for sure that wasn't also secretly installing some hidden presents in the background.

Re:Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[Aighearach]

Online sarcasm was deprecated in 1987

Re: Why was it ever on the Play Store?

[Aighearach]

Wait, you're hoping your cell phone is going to get you laid?!

I met a guy who believed that, but it was 1996 and still true then.

Last SuperSU built by Chainfire

[Malk McJorma]

Chainfire once said that 2.76 was the last version he personally built.