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As an Android app developer, there are many reasons why you might want to utilize an abuse detection mechanism to examine the target device’s software and hardware environment. Google's SafetyNet Attestation API is one such anti-abuse API that allows app developers to assess the Android device their app is running on. However, it will be deprecated by 2024 in favor of the Play Integrity API. Naturally, the modding community will soon need a practical and easy-to-use method to query Google Play Services about the device integrity properties. This is where Play Integrity API Checker comes in.
Google to discontinue SafetyNet API in favor of Play Integrity API
Google has announced the plans to deprecate SafetyNet Attestation API. It will be replaced by the new Play Integrity API. Read on.
SafetyNet is a term that probably everyone in the Android modding community is familiar with. After unlocking the bootloader and flashing a custom ROM, passing the SafetyNet integrity test is critical if you want to use banking apps and streaming apps like Netflix. Over the years, it has become harder and harder to circumvent SafetyNet, especially after Google started enforcing hardware-backed attestation. But the API is now going away, and it looks like the community will soon be fighting a new demon.
Universal SafetyNet Fix gets updated with support for Android 12 and many OEM skins
Universal SafetyNet Fix's latest update brings support for Android 12, along with several OEM skins. Read on to learn more.
It took a long time for the Android aftermarket development scene to find a somewhat universal method to bypass the hardware-backed SafetyNet attestation techniques, but after an immense amount of work, XDA Senior Member kdrag0n accomplished the feat in January. Thankfully, it took significantly less time to make the fix compatible with Android 12. The developer has now released a new version of the Universal SafetyNet Fix. This new build, tagged as v2.0.0, also adds support for several popular Android OEM skins and comes with tons of improvements.
SafetyNet’s hardware attestation feature is here to stay
After testing the feature last year, Google has finally made hardware attestation in SafetyNet API accessible to developers. Read on!
Back in May 2020, Google surprised the Android modding community by silently introducing hardware-backed attestation for SafetyNet responses on some devices. Due to the fact that Google’s servers didn't entirely stop accepting "BASIC" evaluation reports to check the integrity of the software environment of remote devices, the advent of hardware-backed key attestation seemed like more of an experiment. At that time, however, Google said they were "...evaluating and adjusting the eligibility criteria for devices...," indicating the potential of a wide scale rollout. Well, Google is finally doing exactly that.
How to (maybe) bypass SafetyNet hardware attestation on devices with an unlocked bootloader
It is possible to bypass hardware attestation and pass SafetyNet on devices with an unlocked bootloader using a Magisk Module. Read on!
Over the last couple of years, the challenge of bypassing SafetyNet Attestation has evolved from a simple cat and mouse game between Google and the modding community to a burgeoning battle chock full of obscure barriers. Thanks to the rise of hardware-backed attestation techniques, it is very difficult to bypass the boot image integrity verification routine and hide root access. Installing Magisk alone wouldn't be sufficient to circumvent the latest SafetyNet update, especially on newer devices. This is exactly where the Universal SafetyNet Fix Magisk module comes in.
SafetyNet's dreaded hardware attestation is rolling out, making it much harder for Magisk to hide root
Hiding root access in Magisk is about to become a whole lot harder to do thanks to a recent change in SafetyNet bringing hardware attestation.
Back in March, a few users with Magisk installed noticed that their devices were failing SafetyNet attestation. This news was troubling to the community at XDA because it means that many crucial banking/financial apps and popular games like Pokémon Go and Fate/Grand Order were refusing to run on rooted devices. For some time, it seemed as if the tightened restrictions in SafetyNet were pulled back, only to roll out again for a handful of users in the last few weeks. However, Google quietly confirmed in early May that they testing hardware-backed attestation for SafetyNet responses, which is what made Magisk unable to hide the bootloader unlocking status back in March. If this change widely rolls out, it will mean that users will have to choose between having access to root/custom ROMs/kernels/etc. or their preferred banking apps and games. One of the biggest appeals of Android for power users could soon be gone.
Kernel Assisted Superuser (KernelSU) - The Final Frontier for SafetyNet and an Essential Developer Tool
Unlike Magisk, KernelSU embeds the ability to gain root into the kernel itself. It tricks the shell into thinking /system/bin/su exists on the device.
Root is very special to us at XDA. It allows users to take control of their devices and add features that aren’t always available, such as call recording, themes and advanced battery monitoring. There have been a few root implementations through the years, with the most-popular likely being SuperSU. Recently though, with the introduction of SafetyNet and increasing restrictions to rooted devices, Magisk has been the root implementation of choice, as its Magisk Hide feature allows users to effectively hide the fact that they have root from apps such as Netflix and Google Pay. However, the implementation and functionality of Magisk Hide is very much a cat-and-mouse game of Google patching it and Magisk working around that patch.
How to pass SafetyNet on beta Android Pie builds for the OnePlus 6
It's possible to pass SafetyNet on the beta builds of Android Pie running on the OnePlus 6. Check out how to do that here.
You can get Android Pie on your OnePlus 6 right now if you're willing to switch to the company's latest Open Beta version of OxygenOS. While it comes with all of Android Pie's latest features such as Adaptive Battery and the latest Material Design theme, it's not without its problems. One of the main issues is that Google Pay is not supported. In fact, the device fails the SafetyNet Attestation API test. Not only does that mean you can't use Google Pay, but you won't be able to log in to Snapchat, play Pokemon Go, or use pretty much any app that requires you to pass SafetyNet. You can't even install Netflix through the Google Play Store (though side-loading the APK still works).
Magisk 16.3 fixes issues with Pokémon GO; topjohnwu discusses "uncertified devices" controversy
Magisk v16.3 is now available and it now allows you to add Pokémon GO to Magisk Hide so SafetyNet will pass. Also, topjohnwu discusses the latest "uncertified devices" controversy and how Magisk plays in to that.
If you've rooted a device in the last year or so, you've probably heard of Magisk—the systemless root solution. Magisk has quickly risen in popularity as one of the preferred solutions to rooting modern Android devices, mainly because it offers the ability to have root access while still passing SafetyNet so you can use apps like Pokémon GO. A recent update to the popular mobile game seemed to introduce its own detection system on top of SafetyNet, however, which made Pokémon GO unusable with Magisk. In response, XDA Recognized Developer topjohnwu has released Magisk version 16.3.
How to Bypass Animal Crossing Pocket Camp's SafetyNet Bans
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp is starting to get pretty big and features the usage of SafetyNet to ban users who trip it. We've bypassed it.
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp is Nintendo's latest mobile offering for Android and iOS devices. You take the form of one of the only humans in a campsite where you meet other sentient animals and help them complete tasks and make friends with them. The game is starting to become a hit, just like Pokemon Go did, but also just like Pokemon Go the game is protected by SafetyNet. This means unlocked or rooted devices, unless they are running the latest version of Magisk, will not be able to play the game. What's more, Nintendo actually bans accounts which trip SafetyNet, leaving you with error code 802-5808 denoting a SafetyNet ban forever. This means if Google updates SafetyNet's root identification methods before Magisk is updated to work around that, your data may be lost forever if you launch Animal Crossing. But is it really gone forever?
Magisk v13.3 is Now Available, Bypasses Google's Latest SafetyNet Protections
Google updated SafetyNet earlier this week, but now a new version of Magisk has been made available that circumvents these recent checks.
As usual, the SafetyNet game continues to go back and forth with the latest activity being from the developer of Magisk. It was only a couple of days ago when we reported on the new SafetyNet update that prevented Magisk v13.2 and lower from bypassing its checks. At the time, there was a temporary fix made available thanks to XDA Senior Member Tobi@s. This worked for those who tried it, but it had to be applied each time you booted the phone or tablet.
As we all know, the SafetyNet bypassing is a cat and mouse game between Google and the community. It was only last month when Google had previously updated SafetyNet in order to prevent our bypass attempts with applications such as Magisk. XDA Recognized Contributor and Developer topjohnwu was able to quickly put in a fix in their Magisk beta channel, which led to a stable update for the application toward the start of last week.
There's been a lot of new surrounding Magisk lately. At the start of the month Google removed Magisk Manager from the Play Store because of how the application is setup. XDA Recognized Developer and Contributor topjohnwu then started testing a beta of version 13 just last week as it was a complete rewrite so it could be a unified binary. And then this week we noticed that Google had updated SafetyNet so Magisk was unable to bypass its new checks.
Magisk Developer Assures Next Magisk Beta will Pass SafetyNet Again
XDA Recognized Developer topjohnwu has assured users that the next Magisk Beta will once again pass SafetyNet checks, despite Google's recent changes.
Earlier today, reports started coming in of Google updating their Play Services and causing current "safe" root methods like Magisk to fail SafetyNet checks again. This meant that devices with root and other modifications once again got detected by SafetyNet, and subsequently, got blocked when attempting to use SafetyNet-reliant applications such as Android Pay.
One of the advantages of Magisk is the ability to make modifications to your device systemlessly, which in turn allows to retain you to retain the ability to pass SafetyNet checks for Android Pay and other services.
Last week, the news about the Netflix application being hidden for rooted users when searching the Play Store made waves across the community. At first it wasn't quite clear exactly why this was happening but then Netflix released a statement saying this was intended behavior. The company said they were using Google's Widevine DRM as a way to block unsupported devices, but that didn't make sense because it could still be side-loaded very easily.
Version 10 of Magisk Adds a new way to Mount System Mirrors
Version 10 of the popular Magisk mod adds a universal systemless interface, allowing users to bind files to any directory of their choosing.
We've talked about Magisk here at XDA multiple times in the past, and it's been great to watch the development of this modification since it was first introduced. The goal of Magisk is to overcome the limitations of systemless mods for the Android platform. By creating a universal systemless interface, this enables developers and users to apply software mods in a way that doesn't interfere with the system partition.
Google’s SafetyNet has been a huge thorn in the side of anyone who wants to use Android Pay while having full control over their phones. Until recently, it has mostly been about disabling Android Pay on devices with Root, but a couple days ago, Google took it one step further -- they are triggering SafetyNet even on devices with unlocked bootloaders.
It's Bad News Wednesday for developers and power users alike. A pleasant day was punctured by several reports coming in that a new update to Android's SafetyNet not only caused existing su hiding mechanisms to stop working (normal case scenario), but also started giving adverse results on devices which were not even rooted!
Experimental suhide Mod for SuperSU Hides su Binary from Applications
Suhide Mod for SuperSU hides the su binary from applications that detect root. Read on to find out what makes suhide different from other cloak apps!
XDA Senior Recognized Developer Chainfire needs no introduction in the world of third party development, so we'll spare you some time.