Shizuku Setup Guide: Elevated Permissions Without Root

Every AMX Dev app that changes a system-level setting uses Shizuku rather than asking you to root your phone. This guide explains what that means and gets you set up in about two minutes.

What Shizuku Actually Does

Some Android settings — including the ones that control frame-rate behaviour — can only be changed by a process holding elevated permissions. Traditionally that meant root: unlocking your bootloader, flashing a patched boot image, and losing Play Integrity along with access to banking apps.

Shizuku takes a different route. Android’s own wireless debugging can start a process with shell-level privileges, and Shizuku keeps that process alive so authorised apps can make requests through it. Nothing is flashed. Nothing on the system partition changes. Your warranty, your banking apps and your Play Integrity status are untouched.

The trade-off is that the process does not survive a reboot. That is the whole cost.

Step 1: Install Shizuku

Get it from Google Play or from the GitHub releases page. Both are official.

Step 2: Enable Developer Options

Settings → About phone → tap Build number seven times. Enter your PIN when asked. Developer options now appears in Settings, usually under System.

Step 3: Turn On Wireless Debugging

In Developer options, enable Wireless debugging. Your phone must be on Wi-Fi — the setting is greyed out on mobile data.

Leave this screen open. You will need the pairing code it can generate in the next step.

Step 4: Start Shizuku

Open Shizuku and find Start via Wireless debugging:

1. Tap Pairing in Shizuku.
2. Switch to the wireless debugging screen and tap Pair device with pairing code.
3. Enter the code Shizuku shows, or accept the notification Shizuku posts.
4. Return to Shizuku and tap Start.

Shizuku’s home screen should now read that the service is running, along with the Android and API version it connected with.

On Android 10 and Older

Wireless debugging does not exist before Android 11. Start Shizuku from a computer instead:

adb shell sh /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/moe.shizuku.privileged.api/start.sh

Shizuku shows the exact command for your device under Start via ADB. Copy it from there rather than from here — the path can differ.

Step 5: Authorise the App

Open FPS Unlocker or FPS Monitor. On first use it requests Shizuku access; approve the prompt. The app’s status indicator turns green once the connection is live.

FPS Monitor requires Shizuku for its GPU frame-rate tracking. For FPS Unlocker, Shizuku is optional and only powers certain utility functions on supported devices.

Authorisation is remembered. You will not be asked again unless you revoke it in Shizuku’s app list.

After Every Reboot

Shizuku stops when your phone restarts. To bring it back:

1. Open Shizuku.
2. Tap Start.

That is all — pairing is remembered, so it is one tap. Your app settings were never lost; only the privileged process needs restarting.

If Start is greyed out, wireless debugging turned itself off during the reboot. Re-enable it in Developer options and try again.

Troubleshooting

“Failed to start” or the service dies immediately. Some OEM skins — MIUI, ColorOS and Funtouch in particular — aggressively kill background processes. Lock Shizuku in Recents and disable battery optimisation for it.

Pairing code rejected. Codes expire quickly. Generate a fresh one and enter it within the timeout.

Wireless debugging keeps switching off. Certain battery-saver modes disable it. Turn off aggressive power saving while gaming, or re-enable wireless debugging as part of your reboot routine.

Shizuku runs but the app still shows grey. Check Shizuku’s authorised-apps list. If the app is not there, force-stop and reopen it to trigger the permission request again.