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Should I root my Razr?

A

AlexSJStein

Lurker
Well, I would like to really get the most out of my phone, but I hear that spyware, and other such things detrimental to your phone's health, are almost impossible to avoid once the phone is rooted. Can anyone assure me that I can do this without ruining my phone? Are there any sure fire ways to protect the phone once it's rooted?
 
AlexSJStein said:
Well, I would like to really get the most out of my phone, but I hear that spyware, and other such things detrimental to your phone's health, are almost impossible to avoid once the phone is rooted. Can anyone assure me that I can do this without ruining my phone? Are there any sure fire ways to protect the phone once it's rooted?
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Who is telling you this? It's completely wrong.
Rooting is simply signing into the administrator account on the phone (just like you would on a computer). The only way it makes you vulnerable to spyware is if you install it yourself.

There are very few risks involved with the actual rooting proccess. There are some more associated with flashing different software (called ROMs) on the phone, but that isn't necessary if you don't want to and is really pretty safe if you aren't careless about it.
 
euph_22 said:
Who is telling you this? It's completely wrong.
Rooting is simply signing into the administrator account on the phone (just like you would on a computer). The only way it makes you vulnerable to spyware is if you install it yourself.

There are very few risks involved with the actual rooting proccess. There are some more associated with flashing different software (called ROMs) on the phone, but that isn't necessary if you don't want to and is really pretty safe if you aren't careless about it.
Click to expand...

As far as ROMs go, do I HAVE to put a new one on the phone, or can I stick the the stock?
 
To answer your questions.... YES you should root your phone. No you aren't at any more risk than an unrooted phone*. You don't need to put a custom ROM on it, you can run stock and still see tons of benefits. That's what I do currently on my GN, and its what I would definitely do if the Razr was mine and not my wife's. The Razr has so much crapware that I cannot imagine running it stock.

My suggestion, root it, run it stock. Do some research in the ROOT forum regarding what apps you can freeze/remove and go from there. Once you are comfortable with the idea of "being rooted" you may want to look into some of the custom ROMs, but you can always go back to stock if you like. I'd also run a custom launcher/home screen as I hate the Razr home screen, but that's personal preference.

* Rooted or not, you can opt to install apps that don't come through the market - of course there are some apps in the market that are "bad" too. These apps carry some risk, rooted or not. Even if you did install a "bad app" you have to give each app explicit permission to access root. So if you install some obscure Chinese wallpaper app and it asks for root access, and you grant it, well then yes you could be in trouble.
 
Tim K said:
To answer your questions.... YES you should root your phone. No you aren't at any more risk than an unrooted phone*. You don't need to put a custom ROM on it, you can run stock and still see tons of benefits. That's what I do currently on my GN, and its what I would definitely do if the Razr was mine and not my wife's. The Razr has so much crapware that I cannot imagine running it stock.

My suggestion, root it, run it stock. Do some research in the ROOT forum regarding what apps you can freeze/remove and go from there. Once you are comfortable with the idea of "being rooted" you may want to look into some of the custom ROMs, but you can always go back to stock if you like. I'd also run a custom launcher/home screen as I hate the Razr home screen, but that's personal preference.

* Rooted or not, you can opt to install apps that don't come through the market - of course there are some apps in the market that are "bad" too. These apps carry some risk, rooted or not. Even if you did install a "bad app" you have to give each app explicit permission to access root. So if you install some obscure Chinese wallpaper app and it asks for root access, and you grant it, well then yes you could be in trouble.
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Well, I've decided to use this method: Free Cloud Storage - MediaFire
But the script screen pops up, I hit enter to begin the process, and it wont move past "Waiting for device".
 
I will eventually, but I havent found a need to do it yet. The phone is great as is. I just switch up some themes every now and then using GO Luancher,
 
Adauth said:
I will eventually, but I havent found a need to do it yet. The phone is great as is. I just switch up some themes every now and then using GO Luancher,
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I second that. It really does depend on what your needs as a user are if you should root or not. I've found that trying to keep up with all the latest mods and other root only apps seem to keep me glued to my device. When I rooted my Evo 3D I felt like I couldn't just let the phone be. I had to update something all the time just to keep up. I've decided to just use my RAZR as is and maybe change the launcher every now and then. I also have had a change of heart about just downloading ROMs from the internet and then throwing on my $700 device. It has become a big privacy concern for me lately.
 
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