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Is your 'Android Device' rooted?

Have You Rooted? Are You Thinking About Rooting?

  • Yes, but I regret rooting (unrooted or trying to)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    29

Rush

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'I saw this question on another forum and thought it would be a good idea to bring it here.'

"I think it would be a good idea to know who is looking to root or already rooted their phones, and why they're doing it. It's a choice everyone should consider before making, as these little (and not so little) pieces of glass and plastic can get pretty expensive to replace."

Meddling around with the software can be a risky move, and when you're done your phone is a bit less secure.

So let's hear what the average reader of Android Forum has to say. Do you root your phone?


[Guide Leader Note]: Poll added at Guide Rush Lindsay's request
 
Droid 3. Yes, It's rooted. Factory ROM. Only been removing extra/unnecessary trash and trying to get WI-FI for my tablet. I understand the arguments both ways for doing this but that is what I did. Like it or not. If HASH can get a functioning camera on ICS, I will install a custom ROM. Until then. I haven't found anything that encompasses what I am looking for. I am too into customization.
 
Main phone, Samsung Galaxy S2, rooted on CheckRom V6
Started out to specifically remove or freeze the bloatware which manufacture (samsung) and network provider (O2) bundled onto the handset. As a provided OS the apps and tools should be there as a user option. As an example, I neither like nor use facebook in any capacity and therefore would like to uninstall it. However many handsets are preloaded with junk and not much you can do about it. Rooting gives me the option to do something about it.
From there I've tried many roms to get the right look and feel of how I want my phone to be. Given that it is often an expensive purchase and one we all probably use many times a day in some capacity, it seems not unreasonable to have it how we want it and not how manufacturers think it should be. :rolleyes:
 
After what you said about rooting diminishing the phone's security a bit, I've decided fer shur.
I ain't a' rootin'! :cool: (SGSII)
 
I'm fairly new to the smartphone scene and have been reading about rooting phones etc. As the OP mention, It's pretty expensive for me to try and root the phone, after having it since Dec. and mess it up to where it's unusable. I will wait at least around one year of having the phone, then decide if I would want to try my hand at rooting. I do like the idea of customizing the phone and removing the bloat from it.

Thnx.
 
first android phone was... htc hero..
rooted it to use wifi tether..
later used custom ROMs to get new android updates..
then custom ROMs to cure its lagginess..

upgraded to the EVO.. and rooted 24 yrs after I got it...
I got to have ROOT..

for those that a scared to root because of fear that it will brick... it is less than 1% that you have a real brick.. most have a way back...

waiting 1 yr later... after your warranty runs out.. to try..
and if you do brick.. then you got NO chance to get it fixed.

better to get the insurance ... for a 1 or 2 months..
if your phone bricks during rooting.. then use insurance.. if they deny the warranty.

PS... OP, you might want to make this a poll...
 
Nope, not rooted.

I spend far too much time messing about with the look and feel of my phone using different home launchers all the time to the point my gf gets pissed that I'm always attached to my phone. So I think the more possibilities to tinker with the phone if it was rooted would be a no go lol
 
So let's hear what the average reader of Android Forum has to say. Do you root your phone?

I'll try to gather up some of my posts about root from here and there, organize my thoughts into a coherent post, and put it here. I hope I can get it shorter than War and Peace:D. Short answer, I root my devices. Why did I root and should you? That's the long answer and I'll get back here with it.
 
Yeh I rooted my Galaxy S because I liked the look of what CM7 had to offer. Done that mid last year, wouldn't go back to the Samsung software. Originally I wasn't going to do it, but after reading the procedure, it seemed quite an easy and a safe thing to do.

Also rooted a couple of Android phones for friends as well, because the useless Facebook crap was causing problems.
 
Rooted for the backup options, overclocking & apps that may require it.

I was under the impression that most people would do it, but now having seen the broad spectrum of android owners, from devs through to complete noobs who never read the manual & don't even know how to manage homescreen widgets (!), I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

I understand why networks lock & brand their handsets, but perhaps the sim-free, un-branded models should have root access as standard. We have admin rights as standard on our computers, so should smartphones (pocket computers) be any different?
 
Below is a compilation of several of my posts regarding root questions. Just thought I'd put them all in one place and what better place than here.

Should I root?

Don't root because it is the thing to do, root because you need to or want to. You don't have to root to be cool.

As you get comfortable with your phone, you may find that the one thing that would make it perfect is only possible if you are rooted. You may then decide to go down the rabbit hole. I would recommend checking out the All Things Root subforum for your phone and see what others are doing. See if what they are accomplishing with root would make your phone better for you.

Why did I root the first time?

I had an OG Droid (circa 2010) and it was awesome. I thought I had everything needed and wanted. The thing is, I got it right around the time Froyo came out and was waiting patiently for the update, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting:mad:. This was before carrier updates became a joke, we just expected them.

So, I started poking around different android sites (mostly here and droid-life). Looking (studying) at the all things root forum (I was scared poopless to brick my phone:D). I saw that people had been running Froyo for months. Then I started seeing themes for the roms and that pushed me over the edge. I jumped down the rabbit hole and haven't looked back.

I constantly had the latest and greatest on that device. My phone was customized for me (icons/colors/dialers) and when I got bored with the look and feel, I changed it. It was like being able to have a whole new phone every few months (OK, few days when I first started) without the hassle of, you know, a new phone.

OK, I decided I want to root, now what?

As far as rooting an Android phone, I would recommend reading about many different ways here and on other forums(and I don't like recommending other forums, but in this case I do). Sometimes other folks explain the process in a way that is easier for you to understand. Make sure you follow every instruction to a tee.

Get familiar with ways to restore your phone. Bricking one's phone during the root process is usually caused by getting to a point where somehow what is happening is different than the instructions, and you push forward anyway. If you see something during the process you aren't comfortable with, stop, come back here and ask questions or check the threads to see if someone else has seen the problem. For example, when I rooted my GNex it was a batch file I ran through ADB. I had read the threads extensively and saw that occasionally it would hang and that if it did, do a battery pull and reboot and I would be fine. I was prepared for that and when it happened, I knew what to do. If you get stuck, have a question that you can't find a thread for, or aren't finding an answer that you understand, fire up a new thread and you'll get help. I know myself, and I may be speaking for many others, are enthusiasts and enjoy talking about Android and helping out new adopters.

What about my warranty?

Rooting voids your warranty. Make no mistake about it. I have rooted 4 of the 7 android devices I own knowing full well that the ones I rooted would not be covered under warranty. I carry insurance on all of my devices as that covers any problem regardless if I root (like when my wife dropped her phone in the toilet). This comes at a monthly cost and a per incedent deductable, but does protect me if I go too far with something. I would rather pay $80 to replace a $600-$700 phone instead of committing fraud. My ethics and my own personal paranoia don't allow me to do that.
 
My Droid X is rooted, but my ASUS TF101 is not rooted.

Waited about 6 months to root my DX.
Rooted mainly for root apps like:
ShootMe (no longer in Market)
Titanium Backup
Ad Free
Location Cache

A month or so later, I got into ROMs.
I was on Apex 1.4.1 the longest.
I've tried a couple of other ROMs, but now I'm back to stock .602 rooted.

The Droid X has SBF files out there, so if anything ever goes wrong, I can last resort restore my phone to stock. That's always a nice safety net to have.


The main reason I haven't root my tablet. I'm very happy with Honeycomb, and I'm sure I will be with ICS when the TF101 gets it eventually (delays). Plus there are not to many ROMs for the TF101.
 
Why I never thought of rooting any of my devices: 1.) There are no preinstalled apps on my phone that bothers me; 2.) I don't think I would be able to follow those instructions on "how-to" correctly. And the main reason why I don't root my device, is that of the 'unknown' problems that may occur.
 
I would never actually root my phone (gnex). I know I'd destroy something. Or worse, I'd have a panic attack that would put me into cardiac arrest. I love my little phone that much. If I hurt it's lovely little superfast self, I don't think I could stand it one bit.
 
I would never actually root my phone (gnex). I know I'd destroy something. Or worse, I'd have a panic attack that would put me into cardiac arrest. I love my little phone that much. If I hurt it's lovely little superfast self, I don't think I could stand it one bit.
Your Vote Matters. Thanks. :)
 
Some of us have more than one device, one rooted and one not. My X2 is stock except for the launcher, and my Galaxy Tab (wifi only) is rooted.
 
And adding a thought...I have no need to root.

My galaxy nex does everything except wash the dishes. It's pretty. I have a big battery. I have every app I could ever want.

BUT I have to use the stupid google. if I could root those asshats out of my little phone, THEN i swear to all the gods and demons in heaven and hell I WOULD GO FOR THE GOLD AND ROOT!!
 
I would never actually root my phone (gnex). I know I'd destroy something. Or worse, I'd have a panic attack that would put me into cardiac arrest. I love my little phone that much. If I hurt it's lovely little superfast self, I don't think I could stand it one bit.

I'm glad your happy. I agree with Rush, if you are happy being stock (and stock ICS is kick butt:)) then there is no reason to root.
 
Some of us have more than one device, one rooted and one not. My X2 is stock except for the launcher, and my Galaxy Tab (wifi only) is rooted.
I'm thinking of getting a Galaxy Tab soon. Since my laptop seems to be inoperable. And the screen looks awesome.
 
I rooted the GT once I removed it from the Verizon data plan, not wanting/anticipating any OTAs. It's pared down to bare bones content app wise, and is quite the work horse now.

The X2 was fine out of the box, but I rooted it so I could help in the (active then, not now ;)) X2 ATR area. Unrooted and went back to stock after a few weeks.. never did flash a ROM.
 
I question the premise that a rooted device is less secure.

The only way to install the Android firewall (DroidWall) is on a rooted device, and as I believe in firewalls, I root to gain that security advantage.

When you root, you install an app called Superuser. It notifies you when an app is attempting root access and you can prevent a rogue app from gaining root access by simply clicking No when asked. Plus that would alert you to uninstall immediately.

What am I missing here?
 
Oh, yes I am! :)

Well, basically I'm using my ZTE Blade(which I rooted the day I got it, got no clue about Android, just did what the community 'forced' me to :D ), but I ordered my SE Arc S like a week ago, I'm also gonna root it quickly. Although it's a bit more complicated to root Arc, but I think I'll manage to do it.
 
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