Sillyoldactivist
Lurker
How can I root my phone and why should I do it? Sorry. Stupid question. New to Android
-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
Root Rooting
- Thread starter Sillyoldactivist
- Start date
It depends on what phone you have, and since some carriers modify the phone's they sell may depend on what network or where you bought it from.
There is no rooting method that works for all devices, so we need that information to give the best advice.
There is no rooting method that works for all devices, so we need that information to give the best advice.
Sillyoldactivist
Lurker
Note 4 bought from swisscom
Sillyoldactivist
Lurker
The code is SM-N910-F
Crashdamage
Android Expert
First, you need to determine if you must root the phone to accomplish a particular thing. Or, if not maybe you just want to experiment. Nothing wrong with that, but there's some things you should know and consider first to avoid unnecessary grief.
Rooting grants full administrator permissions to the user, rather than limited user permissions. The good is that this allows you to do basically anything to any files on the device. It allows full control of everything on the device. The bad is that it also means you have full permission to muck up anything on the device. It also reduces the security of the phone somewhat.
If you decide you really do need and want to root, first do a LOT of reading. Look in the 'All Things Root' section here and see if there's a subforum for your phone. You should check out the XDA Developer forum for information too, but be sure to read first and post later there as it's not a very n00b-friendly site. And as always, for questions this forum and Google search are your friends.
There's some chance a mistake could 'brick' your phone (make it unusable). Make sure you understand why you're rooting, the exact procedures required and all the terminology. And it's absolutely critical to have a recovery plan and backups in case things go bad.
DO NOT try to install a ROM that is intended for any phone except your exact model! If you have questions post back here before proceeding and someone will help.
Don't forget to do backups! Read about nandroid backup.
Until you are confident that you have everything above ready and understood, you're not yet ready to root.
Rooting grants full administrator permissions to the user, rather than limited user permissions. The good is that this allows you to do basically anything to any files on the device. It allows full control of everything on the device. The bad is that it also means you have full permission to muck up anything on the device. It also reduces the security of the phone somewhat.
If you decide you really do need and want to root, first do a LOT of reading. Look in the 'All Things Root' section here and see if there's a subforum for your phone. You should check out the XDA Developer forum for information too, but be sure to read first and post later there as it's not a very n00b-friendly site. And as always, for questions this forum and Google search are your friends.
There's some chance a mistake could 'brick' your phone (make it unusable). Make sure you understand why you're rooting, the exact procedures required and all the terminology. And it's absolutely critical to have a recovery plan and backups in case things go bad.
DO NOT try to install a ROM that is intended for any phone except your exact model! If you have questions post back here before proceeding and someone will help.
Don't forget to do backups! Read about nandroid backup.
Until you are confident that you have everything above ready and understood, you're not yet ready to root.
Last edited:
Ok, I'll move this to the appropriate device forum to get the right advice for the particular handset.
As Crashdamage says, before doing anything it's important to know what you are doing, why you are doing it, and make sure you've taken all necessary precautions (e.g. backups) first. And if unsure, ask before proceeding - people will be happy to help, and we much prefer avoiding problems to trying to recover from them afterwards.
A good place to start reading is the All Things Root Guide sticky thread in this forum - that's where we collect guides and other useful info.
As Crashdamage says, before doing anything it's important to know what you are doing, why you are doing it, and make sure you've taken all necessary precautions (e.g. backups) first. And if unsure, ask before proceeding - people will be happy to help, and we much prefer avoiding problems to trying to recover from them afterwards.
A good place to start reading is the All Things Root Guide sticky thread in this forum - that's where we collect guides and other useful info.