Root Noob To Rooting Needs Advice?

[Yesevil]

Sorry if these questions have all been answered before.

I've been an Android phone user for 4 years now and love them, the customisability is fantastic. But I'm getting a little bored of what I can do without root access. Is it worth me rooting so I can use things like Gravity Box to open up a whole new world for me?

Thing is I'm worried about completely screwing my phone up!! Is there a simple root which will only give me partial access so I cant mess it up too much?

How easy (long does it take) to root my device?

I've got more questions but can't think of them off the top of my head!

 

[Rxpert83]

Sorry if these questions have all been answered before.

I've been an Android phone user for 4 years now and love them, the customisability is fantastic. But I'm getting a little bored of what I can do without root access. Is it worth me rooting so I can use things like Gravity Box to open up a whole new world for me?

Thing is I'm worried about completely screwing my phone up!! Is there a simple root which will only give me partial access so I cant mess it up too much?

How easy (long does it take) to root my device?

I've got more questions but can't think of them off the top of my head!

Hey there! Rooting really is a "whole new world". The good thing is, you have the right device to get into it. Google keep these extremely easy to root, it doesn't void warranty status, and they provide us with all the tools required to fix the device if things go wrong.

I'll move this thread on over to the root area where other who root can help answer questions.

Basically there are two ways to root. Either manually or using a toolkit to automate the process. In the end they both do the same thing.

Its a quick process either way. Roughly 20-30 minutes including the first time setup, but the actual process only takes a few minutes.

If you're interested, we have stickies that will walk you through either method

 

[Yesevil]

Cheers Rxpert, can you give me the link to the stickies please?

Also, what is the best way of backing up my current data, numbers, photos, messages etc? As I presume that I will lose them when I root

 

[Rxpert83]

Cheers Rxpert, can you give me the link to the stickies please?

Also, what is the best way of backing up my current data, numbers, photos, messages etc? As I presume that I will lose them when I root

This thread goes over the manual method, as well as links to the automated ones.

http://androidforums.com/nexus-5-all-things-root/790362-nexus-5-rooting-guide.html

I always suggest the manual method, as if something ever goes very very wrong, you'll need to have fastboot installed and properly setup on your computer anyway.

You are correct, the first step in the root process is unlocking the bootloader, which will perform a factory reset on the device as a security measure.

If you have it setup to do it, google will already have your wifi passwords, contacts, apps, data, ect backed up to the cloud. This is in the google account settings menu

You can also backup any files (photos, music, ect) you have on the internal storage by plugging it into a computer and just dragging and dropping to create a copy on your computer for safekeeping.

Another option is the helium app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup&hl=en

https://www.clockworkmod.com/carbon