Root Access

Rooting allows Android mobile operating system users to reach privileged control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems. As Android uses the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access to administrative (superuser) permissions as on Linux or any other Unix-like operating systems such as FreeBSD or macOS.

Un-Rooted images

Genymotion Desktop offers several unrooted Android images which can be rooted dynamically:

| Android version | Initial state | Dynamic root toggle | | --- | --- | --- | | 16.0 | Unrooted | Available | | 15.0 | Unrooted | Available | | 14.0 | Unrooted | Available | | 13.0 | Unrooted | Available | | 12.1 | Unrooted | Available | | 12.0 | Unrooted | Available | | 11.0 | Rooted | Not available | | 10.0 | Rooted | Not available | | 9.0 | Rooted | Not available | | 8.1 | Rooted | Not available | | 8.0 | Rooted | Not available | | 7.0 | Rooted | Not available | | 6.0 | Rooted | Not available | | 5.1 | Rooted | Not available | | 5.0 | Rooted | Not available |

x86/x86_64 images have been deprecated and are no longer supported.

Dynamic rooting availability

Genymotion Desktop images include un-rooted versions that can be rooted dynamically, under the following conditions:

Android version 16.0 Unrooted

Android version 15.0 Unrooted

Automotive - 14.0 Unrooted

14.0 Unrooted

13.0 Unrooted

12.1 Unrooted

12.0 Unrooted

11.0 Unrooted

10.0 Unrooted

9.0 Rooted

8.1 Rooted

8.0 Rooted

7.0 Rooted

6.0 Rooted

5.1 Rooted

5.0 Rooted

Root and Un-root a device

This feature is not available on rooted Android images (11.0 and below).

Rooting and unrooting the device is controlled via the device property persist.sys.root_access which can be changed from the Advanced Developer Tools, when creating or editing a device from the launchpad:

When creating a device

From launchpad
In Advanced Developer Tools

How to enable root during creation

When creating a device, check the "Root Access" option in the virtual device installation wizard. Then proceed to create the device. Root access will then be enabled by default.

How to change root status for an existing device

Edit a virtual device settings and go to the System tab. There, you can toggle Root access by checking the "Root Access" option. Open the Advanced Developer Tools Widget and toggle "Root Access".

Root toggling is controlled via the device property persist.sys.root_access which can be changed only by command line, with adb, for the moment.

How to toggle root via command line

Follow the instructions from Connect to ADB to connect your device to adb. Then run the following ADB command:

adb shell setprop persist.sys.root_access 3

To disable root, run the command:

adb shell setprop persist.sys.root_access 0

Device properties can be changed using the HTTP API endpoint

/configuration/properties.

Example POST (to root):

curl -u <username>:<password> -X 'POST'
'https://<host>/api/v1/configuration/properties/persist.sys.root_access'
-H 'accept: application/json'
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-d '{"value": "3"}'

Example GET (current value):

curl -u <username>:<password> -X 'GET'
'https://<host>/api/v1/configuration/properties/persist.sys.root_access'
-H 'accept: application/json'

Response:

{
  "key": "persist.sys.root_access",
  "value": "3"
}

Once the device is rooted, root access is granted and available for applications and from command line interfaces.

Root access for applications

If you are using a un-rooted device, Superuser will only be available once the device has been manually rooted.

Superuser is already installed on rooted virtual devices: when an application requests root access, it prompts a pop-up asking whether root access should be authorized or denied. The default policy can be changed using the Superuser application.

Root access by command line (adb)

Connecting as a root user may damage your instance or jeopardize your data. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Android 10.0 and above images are no longer rooted by default: root access is only accessible after the device has been manually rooted.

Android 9.0 and below images are always rooted: when logging with adb shell, you will already be logged as root.

Use the adb root command to switch directly to root:

# Switch to root user
adb root
# Switch to root user
adb shell
# Access the device shell
:/>

Use adb unroot to switch back to standard user.

How to sign your system app

Android 10 images and above are user build types, whereas older versions are userdebug build types.

Android 10 and above images are signed with release keys: you can use the keys provided in this public repository to sign your system apps.

Other versions are signed with the default AOSP test keys.

Emulated Features

Genymotion Desktop

Genymotion PaaS

Genymotion SaaS