Need clarification re: results to expect by rooting

[JAW2004]

I've had a Sprint HTC Hero for several months. I don't need to explain to the rest of you about the lags it suffers. I've read and read and then read some more on rooting, and am anxious to finally take the plunge. Primarily, I want to get rid of lots of the extra programs I have no use for like Sprint Nascar & NFL & TV, Footprints(what a useless program, IMHO!) and Stocks, just to name a few. It would be really nice to have programs load faster, too, especially text msgs, as that's what I seem to use it for more than anything else.

However, I have a few lingering questions:

1. My phone shows software # 2.32.651.2 - Do I need to revert to an earlier version before rooting?

2. What about the Kernel version, firmware version & baseband version? Do I need to do anything with these? I'm afraid I come from an old MS-DOS background with config.sys and autoexec.bat files, then progressed to Windows system files. But I am not entirely sure how all these pieces fit together in Android.

3. What happens to my programs like email, calendar, etc... will I have to re-load all of these from scratch? And if so, can I just find them in the Apps Market?

4. Will rooting my phone interfere with accessing my cellular network? In other words, will I need to somehow reprogram the phone to make calls again?

5. Do I need to load a new ROM , or can I just root my phone so I can get rid of the programs I listed above?

Ok...those are the pressing questions I have right now. Sometimes I can over-complicate things with my brain, but don't want to start something and then get 'stuck.'

Thanks in advance for your help!

JAW

 

[andygu3]

I've had a Sprint HTC Hero for several months. I don't need to explain to the rest of you about the lags it suffers. I've read and read and then read some more on rooting, and am anxious to finally take the plunge. Primarily, I want to get rid of lots of the extra programs I have no use for like Sprint Nascar & NFL & TV, Footprints(what a useless program, IMHO!) and Stocks, just to name a few. It would be really nice to have programs load faster, too, especially text msgs, as that's what I seem to use it for more than anything else.

However, I have a few lingering questions:

1. My phone shows software # 2.32.651.2 - Do I need to revert to an earlier version before rooting?

2. What about the Kernel version, firmware version & baseband version? Do I need to do anything with these? I'm afraid I come from an old MS-DOS background with config.sys and autoexec.bat files, then progressed to Windows system files. But I am not entirely sure how all these pieces fit together in Android.

3. What happens to my programs like email, calendar, etc... will I have to re-load all of these from scratch? And if so, can I just find them in the Apps Market?

4. Will rooting my phone interfere with accessing my cellular network? In other words, will I need to somehow reprogram the phone to make calls again?

5. Do I need to load a new ROM , or can I just root my phone so I can get rid of the programs I listed above?

Ok...those are the pressing questions I have right now. Sometimes I can over-complicate things with my brain, but don't want to start something and then get 'stuck.'

Thanks in advance for your help!

JAW

1. You can use z4 for that build
2. Make sure your baseband version ends in .29, this might give you a better signal. Once rooted and flash a new rom, you can change the kernel. If you flash a new rom, your firmware will be different.
3. If you use Google calender, your calender is linked to your google account. Once you sign into your google account, your gmail, google calender, google contacts... will automatically be synced to that google account.
4. Nope, nothing will change with the cellular network
5. Yep, you can root and stay with your stock rom and remove unwanted bloatware. But before removing bloatware, make sure you do your research on which ones to remove. Some apps are critical for your phone to operate. Apps like flikr, sprint tv, sprint vvm, sprint nfl, htc stocks... are ok to remove.

My suggestion is to find a rom with all these apps removed.

 

[JAW2004]

Thanks, andygu3, that helps a bit. My phone does show baseband .29.... I know so little about cell programming, so...what exactly do the kernal & baseband do?

 

[MahaloCat]

baseband is Radio - Your signal and signal Strengh -
Kernal will control your CPU (and many other things) Will allow you to overclock

 

[JAW2004]

Does baseband/Radio effect connecting to the internet or just cell service? I rarely have problems getting calls or texts...but OFTEN have problems accessing the internet unless I have WiFi available. Any thoughts?

 

[andygu3]

Does baseband/Radio effect connecting to the internet or just cell service? I rarely have problems getting calls or texts...but OFTEN have problems accessing the internet unless I have WiFi available. Any thoughts?

Baseband version is cell service, profile update is for data

 

[JAW2004]

Thanks for the explanation. Funny...once I rooted my phone, my internet access seemed to greatly approve, even without WiFi available.

JAW