Ferrari353
Well-Known Member
What does rooting actually do? Like I know it allows you to install non-market apps, but are there any downsides to it? What else does it do though?
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Root Rooting?
- Thread starter Ferrari353
- Start date
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- Tags
- htc inspire 4g
Kopsis
Well-Known Member
As it stands right now, having root on the Inspire 4G means installing a custom ROM. There are currently several to chose from but none are without problems. The biggest issue at the moment seems to be audio quality. Devs are working this hard, but there's only so much they can do until HTC releases source code for the Inspire's Linux kernel.
The other down side is that the current process for getting root on Inspire is non-trivial. There are several steps you have to go through and lots of opportunity for user error. If you're good at reading/following instructions, it's not terribly difficult. But I strongly recommend spending some quality time reading the Inspire forums on XDA Developers before diving into it.
The other down side is that the current process for getting root on Inspire is non-trivial. There are several steps you have to go through and lots of opportunity for user error. If you're good at reading/following instructions, it's not terribly difficult. But I strongly recommend spending some quality time reading the Inspire forums on XDA Developers before diving into it.
Ferrari353
Well-Known Member
What can you do once it's rooted that you can't do when it's unrooted?
leavinghome
Member
You can flash custom ROMS, remove ATT's crappy bloatware (ATT Navigator, Hotspot, etc.), turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot without ATT's crappy Hotspot plan. Those are the few that I was interested in, not sure what else you can do. I've only rooted my old Captivate and Nexus One, so still don't know all the benefits to rooting.
Ferrari353
Well-Known Member
oh that's pretty cool...
shawn1224
Ex CEO-DNPSEA foundation
I rooted so I could remove AT&Ts bloatware and to WiFi tether my iPod. Although I might try out some of the overclocking roms to see what the performance gains are like. I think the phone runs smooth regardless but its always nice to see how much this phone can really handle.
droid newb
Android Enthusiast
My brother just got an Inspire...must this phone be rooted to install non-market apps?
TheOrioles33
Lurker
I'm a newb to the Android world and just rooted my Inspire following some YouTube videos. Went surprisingly smooth. Installed the Android Revolution ROM. Now I have hotspot ability as well as side loading abilites and then some. Yes, the speaker sound quality can use some improvement buts its acceptable.
To answer the question above my post, yes you can install non market apps using
Sideload Wonder Machine.
To answer the question above my post, yes you can install non market apps using
Sideload Wonder Machine.
Ferrari353
Well-Known Member
Really? There's no app that can take screen shots or record the screen without rooting?
FMR101stgi
Lurker
Try SHOOT ME in the android Market...
lsutigers03
Android Enthusiast
lsutigers03
Android Enthusiast
There's a Gingerbread ROM? Did you do anything special to get the BUZZ 1.6Ghz kernel on the phone? I've flashed it twice and setcpu won't let me go past 1.2Ghz.
shawn1224
Ex CEO-DNPSEA foundation
Yea, they have a kernel up that works with Cyanogenmod 7 aka Gingerbread 2.3.2. Only thing not working yet is GPS but the rom is blazing fast and you can overclock up to 1.5 gigs
There's a 1.2 and 1.6 BUZZ kernel. You just have to flash the appropriate one.
lsutigers03
Android Enthusiast
Cool I'll check out CM7. I was close to getting the Atrix but I'm loving all the ROMs and kernels I can flash to the Inspire.
What does it mean to flash GAPPS?
shawn1224
Ex CEO-DNPSEA foundation
Yea I know. We won't be seeing CyanogenMod on the Atrix anytime soon.LOL
Nah, he can't include the Google apps in the rom because Google didn't want him to. Therefore you have to flash them separately. They're all packed together in a flashable zip file called a "gapp" file which is short for google apps.
You can download the right one from the cyanogen wiki
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Latest_Version#HTC_Desire_HD
lsutigers03
Android Enthusiast
Ok I think I have everything. Here are the files I have.
kernel-cm7-inspire-dhd.zip
gapps-gb-20110120-signed.zip
update-cm-7.0.0-RC1-DesireHD-signed.zip
Now I flash CM7, then gapps, then the kernel correct? Also CM7 is only 80MB?
Sorry for all the questions I'm new to Android.
shawn1224
Ex CEO-DNPSEA foundation
Aatos.1
Android Enthusiast
The device in our hands we (generically) call a phone. The specific class is smartphone. However that label can be very misleading, since it's really a handheld computer which includes a phone.
My point?
These devices are not as simple or easy to root & modify as many portray.
To root is to get to the base of the Linux based Mobile Operating System known as Android.
It allows a trained user to modify how the computer functions. It also allows the untrained user to render the computer useless.
Quite often people that root have a much higher understanding & much more experience than you do. To them it's easy to forget just how much they know.
No one here is likely to intentionally mislead you. But if they leave out one crucial step by honest mistake, you're screwed. Think about it.
So - before you are quick to mess with your phone, invest some time in educating yourself (not just believing others). You'll be extremely glad you did.
My point?
These devices are not as simple or easy to root & modify as many portray.
To root is to get to the base of the Linux based Mobile Operating System known as Android.
It allows a trained user to modify how the computer functions. It also allows the untrained user to render the computer useless.
Quite often people that root have a much higher understanding & much more experience than you do. To them it's easy to forget just how much they know.
No one here is likely to intentionally mislead you. But if they leave out one crucial step by honest mistake, you're screwed. Think about it.
So - before you are quick to mess with your phone, invest some time in educating yourself (not just believing others). You'll be extremely glad you did.
lsutigers03
Android Enthusiast
I spend a ton of time reading here and xda. Most of the time I can read and get all the steps but sometimes something isn't clear so I ask just to be sure. Also there are apps like ROM manager that make doing this stuff a lot easier. Rooting the Inspire can be a bit of a pain right now (I had to go through the steps twice) but that will be simplified in the future. I've flashed 3 ROMs to my Inspire and I'm not an expert at all at this stuff. Thankfully the devs are geniuses when it comes to this and make easy to use tools and easy directions to follow. Also CM7 is amazing on the Inspire. I'll be using this ROM for the foreseeable future.
Your device still needs to be rooted to run that app.