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Help What skills needed to root and where to learn?

M

Metal Rabbit

Lurker
I am considering rooting a device and have a few questions:
Does the device have to be on wireless carrier service? in other words, can I try rooting a cheap or old phone, which is not in service, and learn about rooting and what it does with wifi functions of phone?
What can I read or watch to get a good intro and learn more skills to root. I have some ancient programming skills but no developer experience. Would consider exploring the Raspberry Pi project and not messing up my phone.
 
All depends on what phone or tablet it is, for some no skills are needed at all, others it can be quite complex and possibly risky and you might even be buying a new phone if it screws-up(bricked), and there's quite a few that are impossible to root. I'm sure there's not any where actual carrier service is required for rooting though. Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5 or Google Nexus or OnePlus One or Oppo Find 7 come to mind for something to learn about rooting with.

I can definitely recommend Raspberry Pi 3 though, I've got one. I've left main smart-phone well alone. And if I did root, hack and modify it, it would effectively make it useless for the apps and services I use daily.
 
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Check out the root discussion forum here and also the specific forum for your device, if there is one. If it's not a popular device you may be out of luck as less popular-lower tier devices usually don't get much development.

Please avoid any temptation to use any 'universal' root exploits you may come across, they often carry risks including bricking your device (possible with any root but more likely with these) and compromising your private data. Especially avoid root apps that claim to work from the phone, the safer and legit ones require a PC.
 
I just got email from friend's spouse, who is an engineer, advising me that working with the Raspberry Pi can get considerably more expensive in peripherals as well as complex for a novice. I saw that they were teaching Raspberry Pi to teachers, so I didn't get the impression it required advanced engineering skills. I was looking for a fun way to learn new coding skills starting from the ancient basic ones I have. You got me curious as to what you do with the Raspberry Pi 3.
 
Metal Rabbit said:
I just got email from friend's spouse, who is an engineer, advising me that working with the Raspberry Pi can get considerably more expensive in peripherals as well as complex for a novice. I saw that they were teaching Raspberry Pi to teachers, so I didn't get the impression it required advanced engineering skills. I was looking for a fun way to learn new coding skills starting from the ancient basic ones I have. You got me curious as to what you do with the Raspberry Pi 3.
Click to expand...

It does require a HDMI monitor, keyboard and mouse, because otherwise it's just a board. :) As for complex, it can be as complex or easy as you want, the thing is completely open and basically impossible to brick. :thumbsupdroid: if you can copy files to a micro-SD, you can use a Raspberry Pi.

What I do with it is show and demonstrate it to friends and students, because almost nobody else in China has one. :D ...I bought mine in the UK. And apparently they're made in the UK, and NOT the PRC.
 
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Depending on your device, look no further than this forum. Another place to check out is XDA.

That's how I learned how to root. Expect to spend a number of hours reading and re-reading and possibly watching some Youtube videos if the phone is popular.

But first find a page that gives a beginner's guide to rooting. Again, check this forum.
 
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