• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Rooting. Lets discuss, shall we?

M

mynamestiki1

Newbie
I rooted my android. Its the Net10 LG optimus net. Was a really good phone straight out of the box. Even saved me having to buy a kindle. But I wanted more out of it. So I came to the forum and used unlockroot after trying gingerbreak. Success. Phone is now Uber sweet. Got all the bloatware off it, fine tuned it to maxmize battery and performance, now have a 3g hotspot, blah blah blah. But you know what I learned? Rooting an android is a complete and total nightmare, at leas for me . It was exremely difficult (Im terrible at computers, even navigating and using this forum is very difficult for me). I had to try around ten or twelve times to even get the unlockroot method to work. And that was with following instructions correctly. Ive tried routing three other droids for people so far and only been successful on one of those (the infamously easy to root lg from virgin mobile). I mean it is just SO HARD TO DO. It is a total crapshoot whether a routing method or the software for it will even work.
Anyone else have similar thoughts?
 
I had the opposite experiences, my nexus one, galaxy s2 and s3 all were relatively easy to root. I followed the instructions and got it in the first try. I don't mind it being a bit difficult, it keeps the average person from doing it when they have no business rooting their phones.
 
The more obscure the phone, like the LG Optimus Net, the more difficult it is to root. The more popular a phone is (especially high end flagships like the S2 and S3), the easier to root usually. Nexus devices are always readily rootable.
 
I started with a zte z990. I didn't want to drop alot of green on a phone that I may end up using as a door prop. It was almost rooted out of the box, but, it was nice to learn on something before jumping into a nightmare like Moto. IMO, ya have to crawl before ya walk. Less mistakes (and bricks) are made that way.
 
I don't think that rooting is such a tough task if a person knows how to operate computers. Just find the right thread for your device over web and follow the instructions step by step. I have rooted my previous phone (HTC Wildfire) upto it's limit to android 2.3.7 version and it was done easily.
 
I found you need to read a couple of different slants on rooting for any device. Some that post tutorials think you have done the preliminaries like backing up, others start in the middle of the tutorial or assume you know certain commands, etc. The most complete tutorial I found was one of the Cyanogenmod wikis. They started from scratch and went step by step. I've watched videos, and find it to be a PITA to back up the video to catch a certain part again.

I've been messing with computers since DOS (not too proficiently) and one program for rooting had me scratching my head until I realized they were talking about running part of the process on the computer!

Some also don't say Windows only until they get to the part where you do need a computer. (I'm also using Ubuntu) I don't do anything until I get all the instructions straight in my head and have doublechecked that I have all the instructions.
 
I've been a huge fan of rooting and hacking since the G1. It's the reason I bought the original Google phone. When Cyanogen released CyanogenMod, I jumped on it immediately. Rooting THAT was difficult. It required a script, terminal emulator, gold cards, and many things which are obsolete today.

Now, the directions are idiot proof. Multiple websites (XDA, CM.com) have step by step walkthroughs, or even one-click solutions. If you can't follow those directions, you shouldn't touch the inner workings of your phone. The fact it took you TWELVE attempts is a huge red flag. You should have stopped at one.
 
AF87 said:
what are you using android for if you ain't rooting it??
Click to expand...

3/4 of the people who root their phones don't know what to do with it. They think it will fix hardware issues of garbage phones, which it can't. It's just a buzz word like synergy. People say it, but have no clue what the hell it means.
 
AF87 said:
what are you using android for if you ain't rooting it??
Click to expand...

Lets see, what do i do on my currently unrooted tablet and phone :
calling
texting
email
keeping my schedule/calendar
alarm clock
calculator
taking pictures and videos
watching videos
playing music
playing games
weather forecast
reading books and comics
recording expenses
recording workouts and caloric consumption
taking notes on evernote
avoiding getting lost via maps
reading stuff on currents and flipboard
chatting online
social media (facebook, twitter, blogging, etc)
looking for recipes
surfing the net/searching for stuff
converters
information (first aid for various stuff, dictionaries, etc)
connecting to services (electric bill, phone bill, government apps, etc)

What more would you do on a rooted device that's really essential to people?
The only thing I do after rooting is use Titanium Backup or MyBackup Pro. I lost my phone's root after updating to 2.3.6 and my tab when updating to 4.0.4
 
mynamestiki1 said:
It was exremely difficult (Im terrible at computers, even navigating and using this forum is very difficult for me).
Click to expand...

First of all, if you are really having that much trouble with computers, then I give you props for rooting even one device. The process can be technically demanding, especially for more obscure devices as others have already pointed out. That being said, I would recommend that you get more familiar and comfortable with your computer and the tools required for rooting. You don't have to root to use adb, the command line, or whatever other tools are required. Play around with it, explore, and lots of those rooting instructions will start to make sense.
 
I wanted T Mobile's crap GONE. Half of Google's crap, too. I started rooting with Froyo. There was no other way to stop an app from turning on even if you hadn't subscribed, and had turned all options off. Doubletwist was the final straw. Once you got Titanium Backup to run, you could at least FREEZE the offending app if you didn't want to delete it.

I have a very large reference library with apps and astronomy apps. They don't work on a dumb phone. And I wanted all the space for my stuff.

I haven't felt the need to root the tablet, but if Acer starts pushing, I just might. I do buy apps. Prefer to, most of the time.
 
ExtremeNerd said:
The fact it took you TWELVE attempts is a huge red flag. You should have stopped at one.
Click to expand...

Screw that. If I had stopped at my first fail in everything I did in life, I would have virtually nothing. I never accept defeat. I never quit. Failure is a rehearsal for success. Only the weak lay down and admit they are beaten. As difficult as the process turned out to be for me, it was worth it. Once I got all the bloatware off the phone it ran a lot better. No more lag, fewer bugs, no more crashing. Just plain improved. Plus having a rooted Android is kind of a technologically prestigious thing. Ive been showing it off to anyone who'll bend their ear for the last couple of days :)
I dont know why the optimus net isnt more popular, its a great and inexpensive phone. Yet oddly obscure. Weird.
 
mynamestiki1 said:
Screw that. If I had stopped at my first fail in everything I did in life, I would have virtually nothing. I never accept defeat. I never quit. Failure is a rehearsal for success. Only the weak lay down and admit they are beaten. As difficult as the process turned out to be for me, it was worth it. Once I got all the bloatware off the phone it ran a lot better. No more lag, fewer bugs, no more crashing. Just plain improved. Plus having a rooted Android is kind of a technologically prestigious thing. Ive been showing it off to anyone who'll bend their ear for the last couple of days :)
I dont know why the optimus net isnt more popular, its a great and inexpensive phone. Yet oddly obscure. Weird.
Click to expand...

Because the devs who develop rooting procedures and ROMs usually buy the more expensive high end top of the line devices as test units. Lower end devices get the snub. Which is why one is better off with buying a used former flagship device than an newer mid range one if someone is looking to root and stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom