Magisk is a popular utility for rooting and customizing Android phones through installation of modules. The latest version brings support for Android 12 and a new feature called Zygisk that could bring support for new, more powerful modules that can run code in every Android apps’ processes.

But Magisk v24 also marks the end of a few features: developer John Wu has ended support for a centralized Magisk Modules repository and he’s no longer developing MagiskHide.

@_AndroidAsh

Now that there’s no longer a centralized repository, developers can specify an update URL that Magisk will use to check for updates. That way you’ll be able to continue receiving updates delivered directly by the developer.

MagiskHide, meanwhile, was a feature that allowed users to trick some Android apps into thinking a device wasn’t rooted and/or its bootloader wasn’t unlocked. Some apps, including banking and mobile payment apps use Google’s SafetyNet feature to block you from using them on devices that have been tampered with for security reasons, and MagiskHide allowed you to continue using those apps on rooted devices, since you were presumably the person who decided to tamper with your device and are hopefully aware of the risks.

Other apps including some games and video streaming services rely on SafetyNet in order to prevent piracy or cheating.

Wu has said he was getting tired of the cat-and-mouse game involved in keeping MagiskHide working, because it involved poking holes in Google’s security… which Google usually patched, requiring a new build. Now Wu himself is working on Google’s Android Platform Security team, and revealed months ago that he would be ending his work on MagiskHide.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t circumvent SafetyNet on a rooted Android phone anymore. A number of third-party solutions have popped up in recent months, including:

  • Universal SafetyNet Fix – Developer kdrag0n’s Magisk module (use the Zygisk version with Magisk v24/Android 12)
  • Shamiko – Work in progress Magisk module, available for download from a Telegram group
  • ih8sn – Experimental method that doesn’t involve Magisk, but which allows you to spoof prop values to pass SafetyNet checks, developed by members of the LineageOS team, but not an official LineageOS project

Other changes in Magisk v24 include support for devices that are unable to run 32-bit code, and which are 64-bit only and a number of bug fixes and improved support for some devices from Sony, Meizu, Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme.

via @topjohnwu

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4 replies on “Magisk v24 brings Android 12 support, drops MagiskHide”

  1. OK so how do we, the users, deal with this? I have to download something SafetyNet fix from some place and somehow install it? :/

  2. Wow. ~shocked face~
    Really didn’t see MagiskHide ever going away when Google hired him.

    Cat and mouse my ass. My employer doesn’t like me circumventing their DRM.

    If you can’t beat ’em, buy (or hire in this case — but it really is just a different flavour of being bought) ’em.

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