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Root A couple of questions for a pre-rooter

J4son3

J4son3

Newbie
:edit: title should read "from a pre-rooter"


I'm new to Android and Root. I have a couple of questions before I take the plunge. Thanks in advance and sorry if these questions have been over asked.

1. Will I still be able to purchase apps from the Google Play Store?
2. Will I be able to re download any apps I already purchased?
3. Will I be able to get OS updates OTA from Google, if not will updates be available somewhere so I can manually install them?
4. If I screw something up, will I be able to go back to "stock"?

My main reason for wanting to root is for Stick mount...
5. Is that a good enough reason to root?

Yes or no answers are good enough for me. Thanks again for any help I can get.
 
1. yes
2. yes
3. short answer no, long answer yes
4. yes
5. yes, especially with the low amount of storage space
 
J4son3 said:
:edit: title should read "from a pre-rooter"


I'm new to Android and Root. I have a couple of questions before I take the plunge. Thanks in advance and sorry if these questions have been over asked.

1. Will I still be able to purchase apps from the Google Play Store?
2. Will I be able to re download any apps I already purchased?
3. Will I be able to get OS updates OTA from Google, if not will updates be available somewhere so I can manually install them?
4. If I screw something up, will I be able to go back to "stock"?

My main reason for wanting to root is for Stick mount...
5. Is that a good enough reason to root?

Yes or no answers are good enough for me. Thanks again for any help I can get.
Click to expand...


Hi J4son3. Palmtree5 answered your questions. I just wanted to add if you need any help feel free to ask.

If you use the Nexus Root Kit, follow the link for NZTechFreak's guide at the bottom of the OP. Its pretty easy to do and it will also answer your question about manually installing updates. Versions you can flash in recovery usually come out pretty quick after an OTA.
 
OK, completely new to rooting, although I do have several Android devices, including the new Nexus 7.

My main question, is why would I want to root my device if I'm happy with what it does. What do I gain ??

If I do decide to root it, how do I know what is the best rooting kit to use, and how do they compare ??

Will all hardware work as with the stock OS ??

Is there an idiot's guide to rooting, and especially why you would want to against why you don't need to ??

TIA.
 
CBers said:
OK, completely new to rooting, although I do have several Android devices, including the new Nexus 7.

My main question, is why would I want to root my device if I'm happy with what it does. What do I gain ??

If I do decide to root it, how do I know what is the best rooting kit to use, and how do they compare ??

Will all hardware work as with the stock OS ??

Is there an idiot's guide to rooting, and especially why you would want to against why you don't need to ??

TIA.
Click to expand...
I figured I would respond to this with something I wrote a loooong time ago. As far as an easy tool, use Wug's toolkit. I takes a matter of minutes.
Unforgiven said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
Hi all,

I'm getting my 16GB Nexus 7 this afternoon and I'm thinking of rooting. I currently don't have a real reason to root other than the fact that unlocking the boot loader wipes the device.

I would normally just get familliar with the device then root if I found a reason to down the road.

My big question is are there any reports of people bricking the device using the toolkit to unlock and root?
 
Sailing_Nut said:
Hi all,

I'm getting my 16GB Nexus 7 this afternoon and I'm thinking of rooting. I currently don't have a real reason to root other than the fact that unlocking the boot loader wipes the device.

I would normally just get familliar with the device then root if I found a reason to down the road.

My big question is are there any reports of people bricking the device using the toolkit to unlock and root?
Click to expand...

All the toolkit actually does beyond getting the drivers set up properly is issue adb commands, so bricking shouldn't be an issue. It isn't taking advantage of an exploit. Just make sure you have a full charge before you start.
 
I'm going to have to root mine when I get it and I'm scared "poop-less". :) Since it voids the warranty, would it be a good idea to wait for a few days to ensure that none of the current issues pop up (i.e. screen issues) in case I need to return it? I'm torn because on the one hand I know I'm going to want to play with it and install apps and stuff but on the other hand, I don't want to get it set up just the way I like it and get used to it and then wipe that all away if a few days after rooting the screen starts separating or whatever.
 
Chiming in as a noob.... let's say I root and then change my mind. Can I undo it and go back to getting OTA updates?
 
CrackBaby said:
Chiming in as a noob.... let's say I root and then change my mind. Can I undo it and go back to getting OTA updates?
Click to expand...

So long as you don't change your bootloader, kernel, recovery, or rom (that is rooted stock) you won't even need to unroot to get OTA's
 
Unforgiven said:
So long as you don't change your bootloader, kernel, recovery, or rom (that is rooted stock) you won't even need to unroot to get OTA's
Click to expand...

Oh, I see. I was under the impression that if you root, you don't get OTA's.

Well, this is good to know because the ONLY reason I would root is so that I'd be able to use stickmount, same as OP.
 
You will probably need to root again after an OTA (not sure if rootkeeper is live for N7 yet) but other than that, you should be all set.
 
I've never personally returned a N7 to stock, but I've done it with other devices with no problem, and they didn't have this fancy all in one app! Root access can be turned back off. Custom bootloaders can be flashed back to stock. Custom ROMs can be flashed back to stock. You can restore your device so that there is no trace of your shenanigans. Assuming you don't damage your USB port, I guess...
 
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