Root Root? Still confsed.

[jaycbrf4]

Ok, I know what Root is, On my Mac it is the same as logging in as root...

After rooting my D3, is it always in superuser mode? On my mac I only log in as root if I need to make system mods, otherwise I log in as a regular user...

What is the SuperUser apk that is installed? What does it do?

If I root and remove bloatware, change fonts, etc. Can I unroot and keep these changes?

Thanks-

 

[lunatic59]

To answer some of your questions ... once rooted, no you are not running in superuser mode all the time. You are running in normal mode with the ability to elevate privileged to root when an app requires it, and only for that app as long as you use it, not indefinitely (which is what the superuser app does).

If you remove the carrier installed apps, you will never be able to recover them without a proper backup. A word of caution about removing them. Many of the seemingly useless apps provide services to other apps or the system and by removing them you could limit or disable those services. And you won't simply be able to reinstall an .apk file to get it back. You will have to flash a stock rom to return everything to proper functionality.

I always recommend for users wishing to get rid of the carriers apps to post a list here of what you want to delete and ask if it's safe before you do anything that may cause problems with your phone.

 

[jaycbrf4]

I have been having a problem where the phone forgets what ringtones and notification sounds I have selected after being connected to my Mac laptop.

Would moving the ringtones to the system>media>ringtones folder solve this issue?

Are the default ringtones in the ROM? Do they stay on the phone when sd-cards are unmounted?

 

[lunatic59]

I have been having a problem where the phone forgets what ringtones and notification sounds I have selected after being connected to my Mac laptop.

Would moving the ringtones to the system>media>ringtones folder solve this issue?

Are the default ringtones in the ROM? Do they stay on the phone when sd-cards are unmounted?

Moving the files to the system folder certainly would make them permanent, but you have to make sure that permissions for those files are set correctly.

I would suspect your SD card or the process in which you unmount the phone when it is usb connected. When you mount the phone as storage, the contents of the SD card and any internal storage on the phone is unavailable to the system. When you are finished copying files you need to unmount the phone cleanly. On a Mac I would guess it's still dragging the device to the trash. Then, once unmounted, you must turn off usb storage for it to remount the device properly.

 

[jaycbrf4]

That is the exact process I follow. I am very tech savy with Mac... For some reason after I unmount the phones SD cards, the ringtone, notification tone, and SMSpopup tones are forgotten and a random song is used in their place.

Seems to be a motorola issue :

https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/318525

So, are there any draw-backs to rooting? Is there a chance I'd regret it?

 

[lunatic59]

That is the exact process I follow. I am very tech savy with Mac... For some reason after I unmount the phones SD cards, the ringtone, notification tone, and SMSpopup tones are forgotten and a random song is used in their place.

I had this happen to me twice ... once when I swapped the old SD card for a new larger one. The second was after a system update. Is this the phone's internal storage partition or an actual sd card?

So, are there any draw-backs to rooting? Is there a chance I'd regret it?

Not really. You use root if you want to but for the most part you operate in normal user mode. As for regretting it, if you mess up your phone by doing something ill advised, then yeah, you could regret it

 

[jaycbrf4]

lol.... yeah, aside from stupidity...

The ring/notif tones are on the phones internal SD partition, but when I connect to my Powerbook both the internal and external mount.

I posted my question on Motorola's Droid 3 forum as well.

Thanks for your knowledge!

 

[jaycbrf4]

One last question... If I root, what happens when an Android update is released? Will my D3 accept the update? Will I need to re-root after? Is there anything I need to do before the update?

I am teetering on the edge...

 

[lunatic59]

One last question... If I root, what happens when an Android update is released? Will my D3 accept the update? Will I need to re-root after? Is there anything I need to do before the update?

I am teetering on the edge...

That's one you're really going to have to get from a D3 owner. And, it will depend on the carrier update. Sometimes a rooted phone will not get updates, but most will. Sometimes a system update will lose root, and you'll have to re-root once an exploit is found for the update. Sometimes, it will apply the update and you'll retain root.

 

[redsox985]

I don't believe rooting will throw you off the update track. I haven't run into it in the past 2 years running both a rooted DX and D3. Only applying leaked updates will cause you to possibly be thrown off the track. Rooting just gives you deeper access into the phone, it's what you do with this access. Usually any update will negate root, so unless you have a root keeper backup, perma-root, or re-root the phone, you'll usually lose root with an OTA update. Root Keeper is the easiest method. When you're alerted of an OTA update, you download Root Keeper from the market, back up root, then apply the OTA and restore root from the app.

 

[jaycbrf4]

So removing bloatware will not affect receiving updates? I am not looking to load any roms or do anything to phone other than removing all the vzw apps...

An OTA update would re-install all the bloatware? So re-rooting would be necessary after an update in order to remove the crap again?

 

[redsox985]

Instead of removing it, I'd use an app freezer to freeze them that way when an OTA comes along, you can unfreeze them and accept it as I believe that all bloat must be present for the OTA to come through. Usually, an OTA will need to be re-rooted, but with OTA Root Keeper, you can quickly restore root after an OTA.