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To Root or no to Root

jjbturnage

jjbturnage

Newbie
First of all let me let everyone know Im new to this and please excuse my Newbieness. I have been reading about rooting your phone on the forums. Could someone please explain what the pros and cons are to rooting? To be honest I do not really know what rooting is....

Thx for any responses ahead of time:)
 
Rooting gives the user (and user apps) access to all the folders/partitions in the device that are "locked down" by the manufacturer. This means things can be done that the manufacturer never intended. With access to the /system partition, you can remove those annoying pre-installed apps and even change the operating system. It also gives certain apps the ability to do more powerful things.
Id say only root if theres something you wana do that requires root.
The cons are that it voids your manufacturers warranty (although thats debatable) and that root access gives you the power to really mess up the device. Basicly it removes the "idiot proofness" :)
 
funkylogik said:
Rooting gives the user access to all the folders in the device that are "locked down" by the manufacturer. This means things can be done that the manufacturer never intended. With access to the /system partition, you can remove those annoying pre-installed apps and even change the operating system. It also gives certain apps the ability to do more powerful things.
Id say only root if theres something you wana do that requires root.
The cons are that it voids your manufacturers warranty (although thats debatable) and that access gives you the power to really mess up the device. Basicly it removes the "idiot proofness" :)
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Oh Ok I see you pretty much make the phone more customized to what you want or need versus what the manufacturer thinks you want or need. thx very much for clearing it up for me
 
In a nutshell yeah mate. Like on a PC you can do what you want. On an unrooted phone you cant :thumbup:
 
funkylogik said:
You can donate to help out the site and it gives you that daft premium badge lol. Im not staff or anything like that :)
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Thanks a lot I think Im gonna have to do a little donating myself I have already gotten help and have only been a member a couple days. Thx again for your quick response.
 
rooting also gives you the ability to use apps that need to access the root directories in order to function. Some popular ones include titanium backup which allows you to back up all your apps with the data associated to them, or any of the many ad blocking apps. It also opens the door to even more modification possibilities on the phone if you feel adventurous enough.
 
jhawkkw said:
rooting also gives you the ability to use apps that need to access the root directories in order to function. Some popular ones include titanium backup which allows you to back up all your apps with the data associated to them, or any of the many ad blocking apps. It also opens the door to even more modification possibilities on the phone if you feel adventurous enough.
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Sounds like something I need to look into. From looking through some of the threads I am sure I can figure it out. Thx for answering my questions it really helps someone like me understand all of the various options you have with your device :)
 
hey there jjbturnage.

Since you are on boost mobile and have not rooted your phone yet would you be able to get 2 files from the phone and send them to smith058? A lot of people are waiting on those 2 files so smith058 can complete the odin restore file that will allow people to restore their s3 to stock Boost Mobile rom.

If you are willing, please follow the directions in this post
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/755665-i-need-file-usa-boost-mobile.html

If you have any doubt on how to do it step by step, I'm sure that smith058 would be able to walk you through it.

Thanks for your consideration.
 
:thumbdown::thumbdown:
I dont think you should be asking a "noob" to do things like that tbh mate. Surely there are others with untouched Boost s3s who are more experienced and would happily contribute?
 
The problem is that the question has been posted an no one is responding. Just hoping someone will be able to get the files.
 
Pretty common to secure the stock data/boot img's but yeah nobody should feel obliged. Fair question to ask for it though. Let's leave this as..."no" is a fair answer if you're not interested jjbturnage. I think that's what czeresniak was pretty much saying anyway. :)
 
I didn't root until I had a spare phone to switch to in case I screwed up.

But I rooted and flashed Carbon because I secretly lust for a Galaxy Nexus but love GS3 accessories.
 
I keep rooting and I keep going back to stock. There are simply no 100% stable ROMs out there. For a lot of people they are stable enough, sure, but I keep having enough issues to go back. I believe Samsung hasn't released the sources yet, which is probably why.

Bear in mind, issues are usually minimal but I am pedantic and want a 100% stable ROM with good battery life, which I found only the stock one is.
 
Yeah samsung based roms cant be beaten for battery life but i adore how the rom im on feels and to me, its less buggy than TW. Im not a battery life person
 
funkylogik said:
Yeah samsung based roms cant be beaten for battery life but i adore how the rom im on feels and to me, its less buggy than TW. Im not a battery life person
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I find I get a better battery life on the Liquid Smooth ROM than on Samsung...unless that is Samsung based??? My hubby did it for me, and it's what he was using LOL :)

Anyways, getting a good 5-6 more hours out of it with the same usage :)
 
Gomjaba said:
I keep rooting and I keep going back to stock. There are simply no 100% stable ROMs out there. For a lot of people they are stable enough, sure, but I keep having enough issues to go back. I believe Samsung hasn't released the sources yet, which is probably why.

Bear in mind, issues are usually minimal but I am pedantic and want a 100% stable ROM with good battery life, which I found only the stock one is.
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Yes, because at almost a gig of storage the stock Rom uses less battery than my Rom at 150megs
 
I've never felt the need to root my phone and fiddle about with it, fair play to those that like doing it though. It is something I've thought about.

I'd like stock Android so I'm just going to buy the next Nexus phone (hopefully not too far off now!) I love it on my Nexus 10. I'm one of the minority that has no real issues with Touchwiz, I even bought the S3 after playing with an S2 and being suitably impressed.
 
I've found since first having a Moto Droid in '09, Androids need less and less reasons to be rooted. It's all up to the owner. Are you happy with your device? Does it do what you need it to do?
With stock Jelly Bean, I honestly didn't have much of a reason to root. But, since it's become so easy these days (my Verizon model was able to do it with one-click), I definitely do it. If for no other reason than to backup your phone. Yes, now there are apps that allow for it without root (like Helium), but I like the comfort of having a complete nandroid stored on my phone and computer. :)
Also, coming from a stock Android, Galaxy Nexus, there was no way I was going to put up with Touchwiz. My S3 was unlocked and rooted day one. :D
 
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