Android 11 Gets Root Access with Latest Magisk Canary

Apr. 20, 2020

It’s been just over two months since theAndroid 11 Developer Preview 1release, andMagiskhas gained Android 11 support with the latest Canary buildusing which Android 11 users can root their devices.

60 days without root, this bad boy finally get some Magisk love 🥰🥰pic.twitter.com/tEG6P0p32x

According to Magisk creator John Wu’s tweet, initial user feedback from Pixel 2 users say the new Canary build resulted in a boot loop. Later on, he found the update affects most Android 10 devices. However, Wu has released a new build aiming to fix the issue. Since this is a Canary build, bugs like these don’t really come as a surprise. The developer should hopefully be fixing them in the coming days, followed by a stable release later on.

If you have a device runningAndroid 11and are interested to test out new Canary builds of Magisk, you may download them fromhere. However, do this at your own risk, since it could result in loss of data, a boot-loop, or worse.

Also in case you’re wondering, theroot implementation passed the SafetyNet test, which is required for a lot of payment apps, banking apps, and even games like Pokemon Go to work.

However, Magisk Hide’s glorious days might be numbered due to recent changes in SafetyNet Attestation API. According to Wu,MagiskHide is no longer able to spoof an unlocked bootloader, while the ability to hide root status functions normally.

“This new update utilizes hardware-based key attestation. It will send an unmodified keystore certificate to SafetyNet servers, verify its legitimacy, and check certificate extension data to know whether your device have verified boot enabled (bootloader status)”,explained Wu.

Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.