Why root, besides natural causes.. - Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A

Just got my Nexus 7 today. Been a root user since HTC desire (still use it, even though I've been through One X and others..)
I know the pros of being rooted, but why should I root my Nexus 7 when it's a pure google device already? Are there any significant changes in the ROMs that diff from the official KitKat 4.4?
I'm not searching for an angry argument, would just like to know if there is much for me to benefit from rooting now, at the moment. And, I'm sure someone will ask; I do everyday tasks, but am very curious to geeky stuff and all that.. but, a side from that, is it worth rooting?!
Thanks!

Titanium Backup.
For me it's worth rooting even only for this single app.

k3lcior said:
Titanium Backup.
For me it's worth rooting even only for this single app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And Adfree! I've never installed any fully custom roms, just left them standard but rooted, on all the Androids I've had. On my first one, a Xoom, I did install another rom, but only because someone produced a nice 'standard' one, with just overclocking added.

Ah yeah completely forgot it, first thing to install. Though i'm using AdAway.
Also FasterFix.
I couldn't use Android without these 3.

k3lcior said:
Ah yeah completely forgot it, first thing to install. Though i'm using AdAway.
Also FasterFix.
)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does fasterfix help the GPS lock time if you're not using the other google location services?

alpine101 said:
Does fasterfix help the GPS lock time if you're not using the other google location services?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry i dont understand your question, anyway FasterFix improve gps lock time.

Well its not all ad free, that depends on what apps your running.. And, still; pretty obvious reasons, but I agree. Oh well, guess I just root the anyway, since I know I'm going to do it at some point.. Just need to play with it for a while and find a absolute awesome ROM first.. I would still appreciate other good 'whys' though!

If you think you are going to want root do it now before you get to far into setting your tablet up. Rooting the N7 requires unlocking the device and well reset the device.
fasthair

Root because its a Nexus...a toy that needs to used to its full potential and for root apps we need and love, I also need a kernel that I can customise with trickster mod to increase sound and just generally tweak!
deud said:
Just got my Nexus 7 today. Been a root user since HTC desire (still use it, even though I've been through One X and others..)
I know the pros of being rooted, but why should I root my Nexus 7 when it's a pure google device already? Are there any significant changes in the ROMs that diff from the official KitKat 4.4?
I'm not searching for an angry argument, would just like to know if there is much for me to benefit from rooting now, at the moment. And, I'm sure someone will ask; I do everyday tasks, but am very curious to geeky stuff and all that.. but, a side from that, is it worth rooting?!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Yeah, true. But I don't mind full wipes/resets that much.. Kind of used to it! I realize now this topic maybe was a little unnecessary, since I AM going to root at some point.. Got a bit carried away here, blown by the sweetness of N7! So I figured 'why root?!', but I ain't foolin' no one, I will root, haha.. Any ROMs that are specifically better?! I like pure Android, fast 'n stable..
Edit:
I mean; **** is lightening fast as it is already! Great hell, I'm amazed by this machine..

You can use Stock and Root it.

Related

Why to root my Desire

Hi all,
sorry for my bad english iam a german user.
I have an Magic and a Desire, my Magic is rooted because the original Rom is stupid and slow....
Why should i root my Desire. I Like the original rom, its fast, very good functions (like sense, htc tether, and the other htc features)....
i dont know if there a desire rom that has all the same functions include root....
Thanks for your help..
Erm...then don't root it.
he's asking if by Rooting it he loses the HTC functions
Why shouldn't you root?
You can have the same exact ROM as the stock, but with root. Check the rooting procedure from modaco.
By rooting, you'd lose nothing. If I had a Desire, I'd surely root it even if I decided I wanted to keep the stock ROM. There's little to no risk, so no reason to hold back
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App from my Nexus One
And how about warranty?
ingvarr_zaag said:
And how about warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same question,
on my magic i can recover all (SPL, Recovery, ROM etc) with the sapphimg.nbh and on the desire?
stingerpl said:
Why shouldn't you root?
You can have the same exact ROM as the stock, but with root. Check the rooting procedure from modaco.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's basically said he loves the features, he's happy with it and everything is working fine...so I'm saying, use it and leave it.
Why root if there's no specific reason to do so apart from "you can"?!
It's like the thread that's just popped up asking if SetCPU is working yet...why? Is the CPU too slow as it is? Just because you can doesn't mean you should for no good reason other than you're bored.
the good reason to root the phone is to get apps2sd which currently isnt working too well for some people,
however, apparently google with the 2.2 software which will be out soon will bring the apps to sd functionality, so i will wait till then as so far dont see the point of doing so
PsYDoX said:
Hi all,
sorry for my bad english iam a german user.
I have an Magic and a Desire, my Magic is rooted because the original Rom is stupid and slow....
Why should i root my Desire. I Like the original rom, its fast, very good functions (like sense, htc tether, and the other htc features)....
i dont know if there a desire rom that has all the same functions include root....
Thanks for your help..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep the rooted rom is exactly the same except root access and the super user app, would translate this but i know it wouldn't make much sense due to german sentence structure etc.
slaming said:
yep the rooted rom is exactly the same except root access and the super user app, would translate this but i know it wouldn't make much sense due to german sentence structure etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm ok, but how about warranty?
PsYDoX said:
Why should i root my Desire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you want it to do something it doesn't already do? If not, leave it alone.
On a more personal note, I'd hold off rooting for a couple of months at least. Let all the guys at the bleeding edge get hurt and bloodied by the rooting process. Then once things have settled down and the initial niggles are resolved, see what benefits it brings. The phone is very new after all. Surely you can't be bored of it yet?
SIM Free Deal
I'm thinking of getting a Desire SIM free - will this come with bootloader unlocked and engineering SPL as standard do you think?
spences10 said:
I'm thinking of getting a Desire SIM free - will this come with bootloader unlocked and engineering SPL as standard do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only advantage in getting a sim free version is you can use any sim card with it. That's it. No special bootloader and stuff.
Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but searching around on google for an answer I came across this.
Aitese said:
He's basically said he loves the features, he's happy with it and everything is working fine...so I'm saying, use it and leave it.
Why root if there's no specific reason to do so apart from "you can"?!
It's like the thread that's just popped up asking if SetCPU is working yet...why? Is the CPU too slow as it is? Just because you can doesn't mean you should for no good reason other than you're bored.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of advice is this? Seriously? Yes, you should do things because you can. You should learn and explore, become educated about the world around you. There's enough bigotry, ignorance, and lethargic mind states out there without telling others to hold back. This very technology was founded on forward thinking and sharing of community knowledge. As a counter to your statement why should I -NOT- root my device other than "because I can"?
What I want to know, and I believe op does as well, is what are the advantages of rooting? Are there any? Most of what I've looked up is fairly old (1+ years) and the biggest boon I've seen people talk about is being able to tether, this is something I can already do with my HTC Desire. I see plenty of answers for the second half of my question, what are the disadvantages, and there seems to be a hearty agreement that there really isn't one.
So what would I stand to gain from rooting?
briskmojo said:
Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but searching around on google for an answer I came across this.
What kind of advice is this? Seriously? Yes, you should do things because you can. You should learn and explore, become educated about the world around you. There's enough bigotry, ignorance, and lethargic mind states out there without telling others to hold back. This very technology was founded on forward thinking and sharing of community knowledge. As a counter to your statement why should I -NOT- root my device other than "because I can"?
What I want to know, and I believe op does as well, is what are the advantages of rooting? Are there any? Most of what I've looked up is fairly old (1+ years) and the biggest boon I've seen people talk about is being able to tether, this is something I can already do with my HTC Desire. I see plenty of answers for the second half of my question, what are the disadvantages, and there seems to be a hearty agreement that there really isn't one.
So what would I stand to gain from rooting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can gain much.....
One of the reasons I rooted mine is so that I can control the CPU speed using SetCPU and improve my battery life.
You can install firewall apps to control iptables and keep your phone a little bit safer from the "perils" of internet.
I have also installed a cache removal and a move2sd app to help save a bit more space in the internal memory.
And, obviously, you can flash custom ROMs and extend functionalities (I haven't done this....yet)
All of which are possible through rooting.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I cannot see a reason to root a phone if you want to keep the original ROM. Mine is rooted but I cannot do anything that I couldn't do before on the original rom.
spile said:
I cannot see a reason to root a phone if you want to keep the original ROM. Mine is rooted but I cannot do anything that I couldn't do before on the original rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use certain applications from the market that required root such as setcpu.

Why should I root my phone?

Is there a reason for me to root? Everyone is talking greek to me I am a complete noob when it comes to this. I have tethered my phone with no problems, I'm not really interested in overclocking. So is there any reason at all I would want to go through the headache of trying to figure all this stuff out and root my phone?
One of the major reasons I root is so I can use custom roms, edited versions of the stock os, that are modified to include different features and improve the speed of the device, others love rooting for the ability to customize anything you want to.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
None
While all those are valid, none of those exist; and even the current Root is not NAND write enabled.
After seeing all the problems in rooting combined with threads regarding phones REALLY acting up after, I would say ... don't root unless and until you see a custom ROM you like.
Personally, anything Rooting would get me, FroYo will get me too; and while a faster custom FroYo would get my attention; Verizon WILL release Froyo in 2010 at some point. I'll be waiting.
jdmba said:
Personally, anything Rooting would get me, FroYo will get me too; and while a faster custom FroYo would get my attention; Verizon WILL release Froyo in 2010 at some point. I'll be waiting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just don't hold your breath! On the WinMo side, at least, they're a few quarters behind the OS update schedule, mainly thanks to HTC's Sense(less)UI. Since we have a layer of HTC stuff on top of Android, you can expect to wait just as long for 2.2.
aaronjb said:
Just don't hold your breath! On the WinMo side, at least, they're a few quarters behind the OS update schedule, mainly thanks to HTC's Sense(less)UI. Since we have a layer of HTC stuff on top of Android, you can expect to wait just as long for 2.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd bet we'll have a FroYo port waaay before VZ pushes it out over the air. I think (!) HTC's Software Quality Assurance is more thorough (and slower than) Google's Quality Assurance, or at least Google would rather push an update out with fewer features whereas HTC will wait for all features to work. AFAIK, VZ has very little to add or subtract to the mix -- how long does it take to recompile against a new framework and kernel?
superflysmith said:
Is there a reason for me to root? Everyone is talking greek to me I am a complete noob when it comes to this. I have tethered my phone with no problems, I'm not really interested in overclocking. So is there any reason at all I would want to go through the headache of trying to figure all this stuff out and root my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have to ask, then you truly shouldn't be rooting your phone.
seanmcd72 said:
If you have to ask, then you truly shouldn't be rooting your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been trying. Just trying to see if it's even worth trying to figure out. At this point I see nothing that would make me want to anyhow.
seanmcd72 said:
If you have to ask, then you truly shouldn't be rooting your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shoot first, call Verizon Warrant Department is my motto
Why, indeed! What else is there to do but constantly trying to break your phone with new mods?
rynosaur said:
Shoot first, call Verizon Warrant Department is my motto
Why, indeed! What else is there to do but constantly trying to break your phone with new mods?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I miss messing with stuff... i came from a G1 were i was running a different rom every 3 days it seemed like.. i was constantly messing with things with it just for ****s and giggles
I do feel really locked down with the incredible in knowing that i cant really mess with anything, the only thing ive been able to change is the boot screen and put the nexus animation on that instead of the stupid verizon symbol.
Too be honest though nothings even wrong with my phone whatsoever... the OS is perfectly fine and does everything i want it too, i cant really complain about anything with the software on it now... its just that want to customize thats driving my desire to root.. moreso then any actual need as everything works fine
The WiFi tether and lamppu was good enough for me now until we get custom roms
An even better title for this thread would be
"Why is this in 'Development' and not in 'General'?"
kentoe said:
The WiFi tether and lamppu was good enough for me now until we get custom roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you there, those dual LED's are serious.
KB Smoka said:
I'm with you there, those dual LED's are serious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Omfg I know, right? I flashed them in my eyes accidentally and I was like holy crap, blinded me for about a minute.
m1k3- said:
An even better title for this thread would be
"Why is this in 'Development' and not in 'General'?"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be a great title, you're right!!!
I got a froyo port going!
jdmba said:
While all those are valid, none of those exist; and even the current Root is not NAND write enabled.
After seeing all the problems in rooting combined with threads regarding phones REALLY acting up after, I would say ... don't root unless and until you see a custom ROM you like.
Personally, anything Rooting would get me, FroYo will get me too; and while a faster custom FroYo would get my attention; Verizon WILL release Froyo in 2010 at some point. I'll be waiting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have released a froyo port method over at the "anyone want froyo" thread on the 8th page. I hope it helps anyone!
Joe92T said:
Too be honest though nothings even wrong with my phone whatsoever... the OS is perfectly fine and does everything i want it too, i cant really complain about anything with the software on it now... its just that want to customize thats driving my desire to root.. moreso then any actual need as everything works fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. There is not much that comes to mind with regard to things I'd like to improve with the DI. For example, the phone has more app storage than I could ever use, so there is no need for A2SD. And the processing speed is satisfying, so gaining OC'd kernel isn't a big priority. However, I simply miss being able to **** around with and compare various ROM's and mods, even if they are unneccessary on this device.
I have no real reason to root just yet, well then again I'm totally new to android, so I'm not exactly sure what rooting entails. All I want is stock 2.2 froyo, the day that is ported over to our phone is the day I will be rooted.
Can't wait..
kentoe said:
The WiFi tether and lamppu was good enough for me now until we get custom roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree, the wifi tether is what made me root now rather than later.
HELP..Will my 16gb card work?
if i go buy a 2gb card to root my phone can i use my 16gb when im done rooting or am i stuck with the 2gb?
langebart13 said:
if i go buy a 2gb card to root my phone can i use my 16gb when im done rooting or am i stuck with the 2gb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely....just need the POS 2GB to get ADB going.

I've only been and gone and rooted it!

Phew that was nerve wrecking
But successful
Thanks to the wonderful guides here and supporting posts by the community, it was pretty painless. Now its just a matter of finding which ROM I'd like to stick with for the time being. I just couldn't wait any longer to play with Froyo, and I like the roughness of the N1 version but for now I've gone back to the Mocado Sense ROM until all the issues have really been ironed out with the custom Froyo ROMs. I have both images on the SD and it takes about 2 mins from boot to switch now, I'm impressed that I can back up and recover so easily.
I'm soo impressed actually, you guys are fantastic.
I guess really this is just an ass licking thread in the end
that would be ass kissing. Ass licking is not quite the compliment.
Nice one. It's a great feeling when you root successfully first time isn't it
You get a great sense of satisfaction.
If you like 2.1 roms over froyo at the minute, you should try one of pays roms in the dev section. They are a few pages down now as he hasn't kept the thread updated because he had to send his phone to HTC for repair (not rom related) lol.
His roms are very good, and a lot of people including me really like them. I'm on a froyo rom now though because I can't stop changing. lol.
al89nut said:
that would be ass kissing. Ass licking is not quite the compliment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you're right I stand corrected, lets move on
@socktug, okay I'll look at those.. I do like the inclusion of Wavesecure in the Modaco ROM but now its rooted I'm sure I'll look around before I settle. No point getting too cosy cos in a month or two an official sense Froyo will come and I'll have to flash that anyway.
(edit) I mean a custom version of the Sense Froyo of course
al89nut said:
that would be ass kissing. Ass licking is not quite the compliment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to each his own
seriously though, we are indeed fortunate to have such a talented and generous membership at XDA. things will get even better once Desire is sold in the US and more even people get on board.
I think ass licking would leave more of a bitter taste in your mouth and i imagine the texture would be something similar to Nutella.
+1 for the idea of ass kissing as opposed to ass licking (and no, i am not gay if that is what you were thinking!)
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
This thread is in danger of falling into brokeback mountain territory
Welcome to the rooted world
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
socktug said:
This thread is in danger of falling into brokeback mountain territory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFL... indeed
MasDroid said:
ROFL... indeed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean ROLF!
oursoul said:
Yes you're right I stand corrected, lets move on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet you still haven't edited your first post At least we know what your preference is
Actually i did mean ROFL (rolling on floor laughing)...
Just a coincidence that Socktug is called Rolf!
Now that is what i call funny!
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Wow pretty much same here! I rooted for the first time yesterday, but didn't go over as straight forward as I would've hoped. First I tried the Linux method which didn't work - apparently I need a goldcard even though my phone's unlocked and unbranded. Then it took forever to get the ADB interface to recognize the phone - major problems with Win7 x64 at first. Finally got that right though (after several hours). From then on it was quite smooth.
I installed PaY's BraveSoul ROM and quite love it
I want to try out FroYo, but there's one thing stopping me. It's kind of a small thing, but maybe one of you can shed some light? Here goes:
So, I like Sense. Quite a bit. But I'm willing to go to vanilla Android if there is a way to keep my contact information built up properly. i.e. right now, my contacts are merged with Facebook/Sense which gives birthdays, profile pictures, email addresses etc. all under one unified contact - will I lose that if I go to FroYo? Is there a way to make all those details static so they can be carried forward to a non-Sense ROM?
Hope this isn't extremely off-topic!
Yeah, you do sacrifice a lot of useful functionality moving away from Sense to a froyo rom, including the way it mingles all of your contacts together. It's a personal preference really but I prefer the mail app, HTC browser and photos app in Sense to Android 2.2, the mail app is actually far superior as you can use contacts from any of your accounts and the corporate address book when you cmopose a new message.
Not wanting to start rom wars here but I think Pays roms are the best - they include a lot of nice features like automatic ad blocking, I've tried pretty much everything on this board and I always end up going back.
As for rooting, it is necessary when HTC have given us such a pathetic amount of phone storage, I ran out after a week and only had about 20 apps installed. Rooting was necessary so that I could install apps to the sd card and use my phone without having to constantly do housekeeping in my market downloads.
Hey carrige, I just rooted 2 days ago, and I can say that I am seeing a lot of difference in speed and quality, compared to the stock ROM. Yeah I too miss the HTC contacts widget, since it used to sync every contact detail together, and liked a lot how the images on facebook were ported to my phone contacts. However I found something similiar to that, it only ports the photos though, and not the info.
As regards to ROMS, I only tried DeFrost and Mondaco's and I can tell you they are pretty amazing!
carrige said:
Wow pretty much same here! I rooted for the first time yesterday, but didn't go over as straight forward as I would've hoped. First I tried the Linux method which didn't work - apparently I need a goldcard even though my phone's unlocked and unbranded. Then it took forever to get the ADB interface to recognize the phone - major problems with Win7 x64 at first. Finally got that right though (after several hours). From then on it was quite smooth.
I installed PaY's BraveSoul ROM and quite love it
I want to try out FroYo, but there's one thing stopping me. It's kind of a small thing, but maybe one of you can shed some light? Here goes:
So, I like Sense. Quite a bit. But I'm willing to go to vanilla Android if there is a way to keep my contact information built up properly. i.e. right now, my contacts are merged with Facebook/Sense which gives birthdays, profile pictures, email addresses etc. all under one unified contact - will I lose that if I go to FroYo? Is there a way to make all those details static so they can be carried forward to a non-Sense ROM?
Hope this isn't extremely off-topic!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'm still on the fence. My phone runs very smooth, does almost everything I need, the only reason to root would be aps2sd but I think I can wait for the official Froyo+Sense update that should come any day now [sarcasm].
Of course, I haven't tried any of the custom ROMs, so, what am I missing? What would be the 3 most amazing things that you could say about the current rom you're using?
carrige said:
Hope this isn't extremely off-topic!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all, I dont do off topic.
3 things:
1- The ability to perform a FULL backup to SD that can be reinstated in about 2-3 mins on a good day.
2- Being able to do small customisations like using the rotary lockscreen or the circular battery icon (which trust me is effing kool!).
3- I've had a go on Froyo (gone back to 2.1 for the time being for stability) and in 6 months I'm sure I'll get a go on Gingerbread.
4- A2SD+ means I will never run out of space, not only this I can further customise the ROM with ADB and remove **** I really dont need like 'stocks', 'peep' & 'Friendstream' (I ****ing hate twitter with a passion).
5- You can stick 5 up your arse.
Since rooting my phone has felt complete (even tho I've flashed it about 100 times in the past 23 hours), stable.. more unique, solid, cool, better.
I remember when I had my PSP and I butchered my only battery to make a pandora and got the m33 custom firmware on it. This is the same thing.
It makes the boundries clearer about who the device belongs to.. I'll give you a clue... it's MINE.
"Those who dare Rodney, Those who dare...!"
oursoul said:
1- The ability to perform a FULL backup to SD that can be reinstated in about 2-3 mins on a good day.
2- Being able to do small customisations like using the rotary lockscreen or the circular battery icon (which trust me is effing kool!).
3- I've had a go on Froyo (gone back to 2.1 for the time being for stability) and in 6 months I'm sure I'll get a go on Gingerbread.
4- A2SD+ means I will never run out of space, not only this I can further customise the ROM with ADB and remove **** I really dont need like 'stocks', 'peep' & 'Friendstream' (I ****ing hate twitter with a passion).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm ... so let me summarize:
[BACKGROUD: I had a G1 and flashed it countless times, I know how the game goes]
1. why would you need that on a rock solid device? Backups areonly needed if you feel unsecure, if you flash it over and over again, so you can go back if something goes wrong.
2. OK, I get it, but this one is soooo small, it's not worth counting. Not worth the risk (don't tell me it's risk free because it NEVER is)
3. so you don't even get the benefits of Froyo but you (maybe) lose Sense. I for one love Sense.
4. OK, that is ONE. (I already stated thiswould bea reason).
So, bottom line, you are saying CUSTOMIZATION. Hmmm, not worth the risk IMHO.
P.S. I'm not trying to play smart, I'm doing this for the sake of arguments / counterarguments.
P.P.S. If you feel we are going off-topic here please say and I will start a new thread.
There's no such things as offtopic on an oursoul thread okay.
1- True say, cos obviously if you've rooted you're gonna try some crazy **** sometimes, its just good to know that with the Recovery patched you will never completely **** it up. And the backup just means that when you've made that perfect setup you can freeze it in case you have to replace your handset or unroot for any reason. Means you can Test a new ROM and if you dont like you can recover in minutes to your happyROM.
2- Come on mate, its ****ing cool.. I hate the Sense lockscreen, its bollocks.. I like the rotary one personally .. round and round hehe. This point was more than that, its about pure customisation.
4- Yeah you mentioned that but I added the fact that you can also delete **** you dont need, very good imo.
3- I said test Froyo, I'm not interested in keeping it cos I love sense too.. I might have kept Froyo if the N1 camera app wasn't so shoddy. I already miss my c905 camera quality. I love how on the MoDaCo rom you can move the homescreens about in 'helicopter' view
PS dont worry about it bruv, you're safe with me..
It really isn't that hard to root as long as you follow the instructions on the top of the Dev page here.
I had to have my goldcard in to root, but it was easy.. then applying the UnrEVOked Recovery patch was just the icing on the cake.
Point I wanna make now, is my phone is now better than yours pascanu
oursoul said:
4- Yeah you mentioned that but I added the fact that you can also delete **** you dont need, very good imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Missed that one, very true, I agree with you, I hate a lot of those apps too.
oursoul said:
It really isn't that hard to root as long as you follow the instructions on the top of the Dev page here.
I had to have my goldcard in to root, but it was easy.. then applying the UnrEVOked Recovery patch was just the icing on the cake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, yeah, I know. Still, I don't feel like going through the "pain" if my phone performs SO well. The G1 was a completely different story, it needed to be rooted to make it a true Android phone. When I got my Desire I was (and still am!) blown away by the speed and all those things it could do right out of the box. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old, but at some point I'm wondering if I'm actually using the phone or just trying to make it do things.
oursoul said:
Point I wanna make now, is my phone is now better than yours pascanu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh NO, it's not! Mine is better for a lot of reasons! Want one? BECAUSE IT'S SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME.
BACK ON TOPIC (beware, I changed the topic now):
You still haven't convinced me. Anybody else would like to take a shot here?!
P.S. I'm surprised Market Enabler didn't show up as a reason to root. Maybe you are all Brits or whatever but for a lot of us Market only offers free stuff. But I decided it's not a reason to root since I can find everything I need on the "dark side". Sorry developers, I know it's not your fault but it's not mine either. If Google enables payed apps for Romania I will start buying again. Until then I'm a pirate!
I've got to admit, as someone that constantly flashed roms to my HTC Magic, I was very happy on the stock desire rom aside from the running out of storage issue. HTC did a good job. If the phone had enough storage I would still be running the stock rom now. I don't see any real reason to root other than the lack of phone storage. Froyo roms still don't work properly anyway - for me they ALL have an echo on the line. I would stay with stock if you are happy, don't crumble under the peer pressure!!

To Root or Not To Root?

Coming from an Evo 4G that I had rooted right after I got it... ran a ton of different ROMs and that phone seemed like it needed to be rooted to really make it run right... I'm finding that I really don't see any benefit to rooting this phone (other than free tether)...
So, am I missing something? What are these improvements in these custom ROMs that are making it worth it to root... this thing is so freakin awesome already I just can't think of anything else I need...
There are tons of perks in the custom ROMs: themes, TSM-mod, cm7, MIUI, faster lighter ROMs, debloated, Rouge recovery to name a few. If you flashed roms on the EVO im sure its just a matter of time until you dive into the ET4g dev section.
ignore this
phatmanxxl said:
There are tons of perks in the custom ROMs: themes, TSM-mod, cm7, MIUI, faster lighter ROMs, debloated, Rouge recovery to name a few. If you flashed roms on the EVO im sure its just a matter of time until you dive into the ET4g dev section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's "TSM-mod" and "Rogue recovery".. Or more precisely, what are the advantages of them?
I've looked around at the Dev section but the phone's been out long enough that it's hard to find threads that actually explain what all this is.. it's just assumed that I already know...
I know, I know.. use the search fxn... you dont have to flame me... I'll find out on my own
blakjak220 said:
Yeah, I'm not saying I can deny the "flash bug" for long... but I'm so impressed with the phone as is that I'm content for now I guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your impressed now, just wait till you start flashin'.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App
Reason to flash=MIUI.
Calkulin's rom is great for a boost of performance on a stock rom as well...
Honestly, if you're happy with the phone as is, then maybe you should just leave it as it is until something comes along that makes you change your mind. Having a stock/unrooted phone is not a sin
blakjak220 said:
What's "TSM-mod" and "Rogue recovery".. Or more precisely, what are the advantages of them?
I've looked around at the Dev section but the phone's been out long enough that it's hard to find threads that actually explain what all this is.. it's just assumed that I already know...
I know, I know.. use the search fxn... you dont have to flame me... I'll find out on my own
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tsm is like Cyanogen settings from the cm7 roms, but compatible with Samsung ROMs, Rogue recovery is clockwork recovery but redone, the options are grouped better, better theme, a lot less pain in the ass to use.
Oh yea check out qbking77's videos, he does a lot of how to's and reviews of ET4g ROMs, great stuff.
cds0699 said:
Honestly, if you're happy with the phone as is, then maybe you should just leave it as it is until something comes along that makes you change your mind. Having a stock/unrooted phone is not a sin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree. That's what I do with my phones. It also gives you time to get really comfortable with the new device as I know quite a few things change going from an htc phone to a samsung device. I generally will use the phone as is out of the box until I find something I can't bear, don't like or if there is actually a defect of some sort in the software. At which point, I check xda and see if there are fixes for said problems. If there are fixes and you're comfortable, root it and give it a shot. I'd suggest Calkulin's as it kinda seems like the go to rom for just about everyone on here, then maybe venture into the abyss. I'd suggest staying away from modems and other mods until you understand them and are comfortable.
I agree as well, nothing wrong rocking a completely stock phone. There are times I run a stock (debloated) rom just for a change.
I'm running a rooted with no fancy rom phone here. The only reason I haven't flashed a rom yet is because my first phone had GPS problems and this one doesn't. And plus, my evo with 3.0 rom has its own issues too. So I just don't want to jinx it. My wife's phone has the GPS problem. Thinking about bringing it in to the store for a replacement.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Root? Root... ROOT!!!!!!
phatmanxxl said:
Tsm is like Cyanogen settings from the cm7 roms, but compatible with Samsung ROMs, Rogue recovery is clockwork recovery but redone, the options are grouped better, better theme, a lot less pain in the ass to use.
Oh yea check out qbking77's videos, he does a lot of how to's and reviews of ET4g ROMs, great stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, for the info and the referral. I'm comfortable enough with rooting and tech that it's just a matter of learning the different names for things, as it all goes by something different over here.
And thanks to everyone else for their input... I think I'm just gonna run it stock until I find something I can't live with.. Because right now, I love this thing.
Ok, scratch that.. I rooted yesterday.. just couldn't help myself, I need to be able to tweak the notifications toggles...
Like a drug, its good stuff you probably don't like nascar anyways either or kies or the allinone messenger battery sucker or the.... well ya dig..?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Mynaga said:
Like a drug, its good stuff you probably don't like nascar anyways either or kies or the allinone messenger battery sucker or the.... well ya dig..?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dig.........
blakjak220 said:
Coming from an Evo 4G that I had rooted right after I got it... ran a ton of different ROMs and that phone seemed like it needed to be rooted to really make it run right... I'm finding that I really don't see any benefit to rooting this phone (other than free tether)...
So, am I missing something? What are these improvements in these custom ROMs that are making it worth it to root... this thing is so freakin awesome already I just can't think of anything else I need...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be perfectly honest with you the way to go is stock rooted. None of the TW roms are really offering anything so much more exciting than stock TW. But definitely root it. On the practical side you can use the Wireless Tether app (if needed) block ads (a big thing for me) and access all files through Root Explorer. IMO those are reasons enough to root. In a nutshell, if you root your stock ROM you aren't really altering it and it is super easy to revert to non-rooted so there really is no downside as far as i can tell.
I debated the same thing... to root or not to root? I rooted and i am glad i did!
I held off for a while too but miui and the xplode roms are awesome. Just something different.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Well I rooted and flashed Calk's ROM... within 5 minutes it was having freezes and what not so I said screw it and restored my nandroid of stock... I'll be stayin here for a while.
Edit: not saying anything bad about Calk's work... It prolly would've been resolved with a wipe and clean install and some tweaking but I'm just wanting fast stability right now and stock TW is super fast and my battery life is awesome

[Q] Is there a genuine, legitimate reason to root

I've had my E4GT for about 2 or 3 weeks now, I received the OTA update to FI27 last week, and overall I'm pretty happy with it (I was happy before the update though, but to be honest because I only had the phone a few days I haven't noticed a difference ).
I rooted my last phone, which was a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V, but that was because Virgin loaded it with a bunch of bloatware and there was a very good ROM that removed all of it, improved battery life, etc etc.
But with this phone, I don't find I have any issues with battery life, I have plenty of space on my phone with way more apps installed than I had on the Optimus, it runs smoothly, and the only complaint I have is that my LED notification light isn't working correctly, which I know can be fixed with an app.
So, to all the people that have rooted and know what else this phone can do, is there a good reason other than "you can install lots of different custom roms" that I should root my phone? What else will I be able to do with it? What benefits will I see? Installing different ROMs doesn't mean much to me. Even though I did that on my old phone, there was a real reason to do it: I could install more than 4 apps on it (and I kept that same ROM on it the entire time). I don't have that issue with this phone, so why should I?
Thanks
I personally consider customization, removing bloatware, and tweaking to your own liking genuine and legitimate reasons. You also have Ad blocking & WiFi tether though.
You shouldn't if you are happy with it.
I rooted for those reasons..
-Tired of stock look. Install new roms.
-Use apps needing root like titaniun backup.
-Get rid of stock apps.
I didnt root for almost 2 months. I was eager to try ics leaks before ota so I eventually rooted.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
someguyatx said:
I personally consider customization, removing bloatware, and tweaking to your own liking genuine and legitimate reasons. You also have Ad blocking & WiFi tether though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is what I don't really understand. What sort of customization and tweaking can be done to the phone? What are the effects of it?
BluesRulez said:
You shouldn't if you are happy with it.
I rooted for those reasons..
-Tired of stock look. Install new roms.
-Use apps needing root like titaniun backup.
-Get rid of stock apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you really only need Titanium Backup if you are gonna be rooting though? The bloatware I can deal with as the phone hasn't (yet) told me that I don't have enough space to stop me from installing new apps.
mewikime said:
I've had my E4GT for about 2 or 3 weeks now, I received the OTA update to FI27 last week, and overall I'm pretty happy with it (I was happy before the update though, but to be honest because I only had the phone a few days I haven't noticed a difference ).
I rooted my last phone, which was a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V, but that was because Virgin loaded it with a bunch of bloatware and there was a very good ROM that removed all of it, improved battery life, etc etc.
But with this phone, I don't find I have any issues with battery life, I have plenty of space on my phone with way more apps installed than I had on the Optimus, it runs smoothly, and the only complaint I have is that my LED notification light isn't working correctly, which I know can be fixed with an app.
So, to all the people that have rooted and know what else this phone can do, is there a good reason other than "you can install lots of different custom roms" that I should root my phone? What else will I be able to do with it? What benefits will I see? Installing different ROMs doesn't mean much to me. Even though I did that on my old phone, there was a real reason to do it: I could install more than 4 apps on it (and I kept that same ROM on it the entire time). I don't have that issue with this phone, so why should I?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no reason for you to root. You are happy that's good.
XDA's 4,697,117+ Members are just nuts. We're unhappy with our stuff and insist on making it less useful to us.
Nothing to see here....
Seriously if you need to ask and don't want to investigate for yourself then rooting and certainly these forums are not for you.
I root because
- Hate Touchwiz look
- Customization
- Themes
- Battery Saving options
- AOSP (AOKP)
- JELLYBEAN
- Better reception and data
You may be happy with bloat. I do not want battery resources going to apps I will never open. I like battery life. I like optimization. I like customization. If you don't see a need then don't do it. But if your phone ever drowns don't complain that you lost all your game data or texts and stuff. With titanium backup I can even set a schedule to back up those items for me at whatever time to my sd card. So if my phone drowns I pop my as card into my new phone and its all there. Also make nandroids when I receive my replacement its like my phone never died. Its all exactly how I had it.
sent from my BAD A$$ Epic touch
I run stock 90% of the time.
My main reason to root at least after FF18
-Tethering
-Tethering nothing more
I said after FF18 because on Gingerbread there's no need to root for tethering thanks to FoxFi but since ICS, Sprint block it and they are working on a new version for ICS when they found a way again I'm back to Stock.
Do what you want!
That is what is most important.
If there was any legitimate reason, it would be because you want to.
Otherwise you are just following what someone else says. Of course, there are very good reasons for both. The one thing I am told a lot by people on the other end of the phone conversation consistently, is that there seems to be feedback and they hear themselves a lot(- since I started Modding). What do I care, I hear everyone just fine. But I do care. I use my phone for work a lot. NOW, someone else is going to post after this that you can play with modems and what not to clear this up... which is true. And also you can reflash and do this & do that. What if the person using the phone just wants simplicity.... stay stock! Do not pass go. It takes tweeking, fine adjustments, research and ROM updates(The almighty Search box on XDA is awesome) and time to figure some of this stuff out. And ALSO it doesn't hurt to have an interest in android, Apps, ROMs and so on and so on.
Sometimes either the manufacturer or the carrier sends out updates that just don't work well. I like having the ability to keep it working properly, not working the way Sprint thinks is best for me.
You have only had your phone for a month. I have had mine for about a year, and others here have had it longer. If you are trying to convince us not to root, you should spend your time on the Sprint message boards instead of here.
Your happy that's what matters. Your choice
Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Xparent SkyBlue Tapatalk 2
It comes down to personal choice. Android is customizable right out of the box. It is even more so once you root and get under the hood.
Agreed with all that say it's your choice. Also your habits are very important. One of the reasons why I love Android is that I can literally change my software whenever I want. I was running AOKP 2 days ago, M'ICS the day after. Now today I'm on stock rooted FI27.
Honestly though, this phone is really good out of the box. I had the LG Optimus V for over a year as well, and the only way to get that phone to perform was to root it and put a custom ROM on it. It was actually a great phone for being low end. I had said that when I upgraded to this phone that I wouldn't root it, but that didn't last long. Really though, you can easily get the performance you're looking for on this phone without rooting it.
I rooted for UV/OC ability.
And I really didn't like touchwiz, but I accidentally found that it comes stock with both the ICS launcher and TW launchers, so that was a plus.
I'm on a stock rom running agat's source 6.5 kernel. Runs great. Only thing better would be if I could find an optimized stock rom (much like Sprint Lovers on the OG Evo 4G.)
I'm rooted because I like to tell my devices what to do.
I guess rooting might make more sense if you've ever been an administrator or if you've ever ran any Linux machine.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Tethering and titanium backup. There is no way to truly backup data without root and on something as accident prone as a smartphone that's a necessity.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
mewikime said:
Don't you really only need Titanium Backup if you are gonna be rooting though? The bloatware I can deal with as the phone hasn't (yet) told me that I don't have enough space to stop me from installing new apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't reliably backup say your angry bird progress without TiBu or the like and being rooted. Sure for this specific series of apps there have been applications made to back up the save progress but they have proven often at times to be unreliable.
Maybe your favorite app gets pulled from the market, lets say flash. Too bad you didn't back up the APK. Of course for flash you can download the apk from adobe still so not a great example but you get the idea.
But overall something like Titanium Backup comes in handy if you ever need to format the phone. Like say the OTA to ICS, problems for unrooted users were easily solved by a factory reset (except for that brick bug triggered by factory reset...). Nice to be able to restore all your user apps with all their settings and save data.
I rooted so I could use a PS3 controller back on gingerbread. As time goes on many things that required root like taking screenshots have become officially available in Android or OEM firmware. Question is you want to be able to do completely normal and reasonable things up to a couple years ahead of Google catching up? Surely if someone locked down your windows PC so you couldn't do things you take for granted you would wish for root access.
I waited about 5 months before I finally rooted my phone. My old phone was rooted and I liked CM7 and MIUI but with stock ICS on this phone I was getting amazing battery life and I was using GO Launcher and it looked great. The only thing I hated was the black status bar and it could only be changed if it was rooted.
There are a lot of roms for our phone but I really missed the CM7 rom I had on the old optimus S. It supported status bar transparency and I could change the color of the status bar and status bar text. It looks like no rom for our phone has that feature. Right now I'm on MIUI which has a great looking UI but battery life isn't nearly as good as the unrooted FH13. I get the best battery life with CM9 which is still a lot less than before when it wasn't rooted. My phone used to last around 60 hours with very light use and now I could only get around 48 hours with CM9 and maybe 30 hours with MIUI. But I'm still happy with it since I get tons of beautiful themes and new features and I like to try new roms and it keeps me busy lol.
Rooting allows you to have full control of the device whether its software or hardware. I agree that this phone is just fine stock. It just works and its fast.
Reasons why I'm rooted
Titanium backup, roam control, extended toggles, root explorer to push custom themed apps to /system/app. When rooted you can do almost anything with your phone that comes to your mind. There's a pic of the super super handy extended toggles that I can't live with out.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
leaderbuilder said:
There is no reason for you to root. You are happy that's good.
XDA's 4,697,117+ Members are just nuts. We're unhappy with our stuff and insist on making it less useful to us.
Nothing to see here....
Seriously if you need to ask and don't want to investigate for yourself then rooting and certainly these forums are not for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
byrdcfmma said:
You have only had your phone for a month. I have had mine for about a year, and others here have had it longer. If you are trying to convince us not to root, you should spend your time on the Sprint message boards instead of here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't trying to imply that anyone who has rooted this phone is nuts, you shouldn't have done it, and that it's less useful. I was asking what are some specific advantages to rooting, how does rooting make it more useful, as at the moment I have had no issues with the operation of the phone, but I don't know the full extent of what it can do when rooted, and I thought that these forums would be the place to get such answers from experienced rooted users who have had their phones for a year and know more than I do. I should have worded my initial question differently to explain that better.
hrffd said:
I root because
- Better reception and data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is interesting to know. At home I get 1 bar of reception if I'm lucky, dropped calls, and no 3G data. I had to ask Sprint for an Airave. When I leave my street but am still in the general neighbourhood I get no service again. Is reception improved by root-only apps or certain ROMs?
patrao_n said:
You may be happy with bloat. I do not want battery resources going to apps I will never open. ... But if your phone ever drowns don't complain that you lost all your game data or texts and stuff. With titanium backup I can even set a schedule to back up those items for me at whatever time to my sd card. So if my phone drowns I pop my as card into my new phone and its all there. Also make nandroids when I receive my replacement its like my phone never died. Its all exactly how I had it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for telling me that. It's not that I'm happy with them, I just haven't yet had my phone tell me I can't install a new app. When that happens no doubt I wouldn't be pleased. I assumed that because I hadn't opened the bloatware apps that they weren't using battery resources so it's good to know that they do, and that this is a good reason for rooting and removing them. Your reasons for using Titanium backup were something I hadn't thought of as well.
Omar04 said:
I run stock 90% of the time.
My main reason to root at least after FF18
-Tethering
-Tethering nothing more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, good to know. As I said, I've had the phone a couple of weeks and only now with a lower workload have I really had time to sit and contemplate what to do with my phone, and look into what it does and what it can do. I have the paid EasyTether app but I haven't used it on this phone yet. I also saw that it comes preloaded with Sprint Hotspot app.. I take it then that EasyTether won't work on this phone with current stock setup?
mjs2011 said:
Agreed with all that say it's your choice. Also your habits are very important. One of the reasons why I love Android is that I can literally change my software whenever I want. I was running AOKP 2 days ago, M'ICS the day after. Now today I'm on stock rooted FI27.
Honestly though, this phone is really good out of the box. I had the LG Optimus V for over a year as well, and the only way to get that phone to perform was to root it and put a custom ROM on it. It was actually a great phone for being low end. I had said that when I upgraded to this phone that I wouldn't root it, but that didn't last long. Really though, you can easily get the performance you're looking for on this phone without rooting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think if I did root, I'd do what I did with the OV and stick with the same ROM for a good time. Again, not to insult those that do (see above reply), but I don't think I'd have the balls to run different roms on a daily basis in fear of bricking it and also because once I've found something I'm happy with I'm usually okay not to look any further!
Mattix724 said:
I'm rooted because I like to tell my devices what to do.
I guess rooting might make more sense if you've ever been an administrator or if you've ever ran any Linux machine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, no. No Linux experience here except for a tiny bit of stuff on my seedbox, installing 7zip and using Putty to unzip iso's and stuff.
I'm going to spend the next couple of days reading the various forums, looking at what ROMs are available, what they do, etc etc, checking out what apps that require root access I'm missing out on.. one has piqued my interest already: Root Call Blocker. But I use my phone to make calls, make texts, check emails, surf the web a bit, and let the kids play a few games on it. So this is why I was wondering if there were any other benefits for me to do this.

Categories

Resources