Develop Bugs

[Q] Clarifications on R800x Rooting Status

I know all of this has been covered but when searching all the threads I found were from last year at some point so I figured I would see if there was any new news that I just wasn't finding with my search terms. I apologize in advance if I put this thread in the wrong place or didn't follow the forum format in some way.
Basically, is the Verizon version of the Xperia Play, R800x with 2.3.3 still locked and there is no way to root this phone now? Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought the Supreme Court or something had ruled that we were legally able to do what we wanted with devices we owned? Does that not apply here or am I crazy? Let me guess, I inadvertently signed all my rights away by clicking something that automatically means I agree with whatever restrictions they wish to put on me, am I getting warm? Lol.
I knew I should have done this earlier but I honestly wanted to give my phone a good run stock before tinkering with it. Now that I am having to delete just about every app I have downloaded on my phone, including games I paid good money for, just so I don't get continuous memory warnings mostly due to updates for the preinstalled software that I never use that Verizon saw fit to saddle me with, I decided to look into rooting it only to find that this is no longer an option. Honestly, I am fed up with this phone, Verizon, the whole nine yards. Excuse me while I rant a bit but I wish I have never upgraded to a "smart" phone and I am seriously considering dropping back to a normal plan without all the data and use my old, reliable Samsung Flipshot. It was a phone and a camera and it did both very well. My Play is supposed to do all sorts of things but it does nothing well and even when I am inclined to surf the 'Net or play a typical game or even txt I am constantly bombarded with the popup that the app has stopped responding and do I want to Wait or Force Close. It honestly smacks of the Windows 95 and 98 days when nothing seemed to work right and the BSOD was a common, everyday thing. Ok, rant over, I apologize.
Seriously though, is there anything I can do to stop the slow, inevitable death of my phone? I have uninstalled the largest of the updates for most of the programs I don't use like the Kindle app, some sort of "office" app and a few other updates that were over the 10mb mark but is this a viable solution? Are these apps just going to update again later or harass me with notifications to update? What the hell happened to the 250mb of extra space I had before and why can't I get it back by deleting the apps I downloaded myself? When my phone was new I had all kinds of room to do stuff and had many apps installed that I rarely used but were very handy when I needed them, now I find that I have to delete anything non-essential just to get my phone to operate on a somewhat normal level. Is there anything I can do to fight this and get back enough memory to make my phone fun and somewhat useful again? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I guess I am just very disappointed with my first foray into the "smartphone" world. I honestly feel they are pushing the technology too far to fast since it seems almost like your phone is only something cool when it's new sitting on a shelf, then when you get it home and use it, it turns to crap in you hand. I suppose I am just angry over the whole situation and I feel sort of cheated. Maybe I misunderstood something somewhere but I thought these cool little gadgets were supposed to make life better and actually be useful. Then again, maybe I am just getting old.
So is there any hope or am I stuck with this for the time being or as long as I am stuck with Verizon in my rather remote area?

Read my sticky thread on "R800x Users: You've got Custom ROM questions? I've got answers." It still applies, at least until May 1st when you get an update.
In short: you can root your phone. There is something else called a bootloader that remains locked that controls whether you can use certain custom ROMs and kernels. There is a paid way to unlock it which gives you more access. There are quite a few custom ROMs you can use with a locked bootloader that will improve your phone's performance, and even more if you unlock the bootloader.
About the locked bootloader thing, Verizon can do that because they subsidize the cost of the phone in your contract. So, technically, they "own" the phone for the contract period and can dictate what you can do to said hardware.
You need to do a bit more digging. You can do a LOT more than stock.
Sent from my R800x using xda premium

Thanks for the info. I skimmed through the thread but I wondered if it still applied, good to know that it does so I'll go back and read it in detail. I guess I understand the Verizon thing. This is the real cost of buying my phone for a penny off Amazon, lol. Again, thanks for the info and I will definitely check out the info on rooting my phone, even if it's not totally unlocked. As long as I can get rid of most of the bloatware, I will be satisfied with that. Not really looking to make my phone do anything more than it does now, but improving it's performance and storage is definitely my motivation so hopefully something along those lines is still possible. Thanks again!

netizenmt said:
About the locked bootloader thing, Verizon can do that because they subsidize the cost of the phone in your contract. So, technically, they "own" the phone for the contract period and can dictate what you can do to said hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I paid the unsubsidized price for my Play (~$500 if I recall) so I wouldn't have to sign a contract, and they still won't let me unlock it, not that that stopped me...

Mogul345 said:
Well, I paid the unsubsidized price for my Play (~$500 if I recall) so I wouldn't have to sign a contract, and they still won't let me unlock it, not that that stopped me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically you pay for the device but Sony holds the rights to what is contained within. You don't own EVERYTHING in the phone. Just the right to use it. Sure its in the Terms and Conditions
Sent from my R800i using xda premium

Well even with Verizon's meddling I was able to root my phone even without unlocking the boot loader. I got Titanium Backup installed and was able to remove a lot of the bloatware on my phone and free up a lot of memory. I wasn't able to delete all that I wanted but I was able to get back about 100mb of phone memory with just the things I did delete and that is good enough for me. The phone is acting normal so I guess I did everything right and didn't do any damage and I got the space I needed so I am pleased. Maybe down the road I will want to do more to the phone and workarounds will exist then but for now I am happy with what I have achieved.
Thanks again to Netizenmt and all the people who posted the information listed in your sticky. It was a great help once I calmed down, dug below the surface and did some more research.

[Q] Is the Verizon Galaxy Nexus Still Worth It?

Is the Galaxy Nexus still worth it on Verizon half a year after launch? I'm looking to get a phone, and yes it has to be Verizon, and this is really the only appealing one. Don't feel like playing the waiting game.

Yes if you want AOSP android and are willing to deal with potential issues.

m0b1l3 said:
I'm looking to get a phone, and yes it has to be Verizon, and this is really the only appealing one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So... you answered your own question.

joshnichols189 said:
Yes if you want AOSP android and are willing to deal with potential issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn I just ordered mine.. what issues.. ?
Sent from my LG Revolution using Tapatalk 2

mursepaolo said:
Damn I just ordered mine.. what issues.. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just read the forums. People complain about anything and everything. There actually are real issues with signal, call quality and software hiccups... although they effect people differently.
Just use your device. Don't go looking for issues.

Okay, but do you think Verizon's gonna get the s3? Honestly though, I don't really like it. I don't even know if they're gonna change the processor for LTE. Is there a better phone on Verizon?

m0b1l3 said:
Okay, but do you think Verizon's gonna get the s3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nobody knows.
Honestly though, I don't really like it. I don't even know if they're gonna change the processor for LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay... then you don't care.
Is there a better phone on Verizon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely subjective. Go try them all and do your research then decide. How can I know what you want?

Yes, Verizon along with the other two big carriers as well as US Cellular is getting the S3.
Problems with the Nexus:
1. battery life is terrible. buy the extended battery from VZW, makes a world of difference.
2. Can't transfer data off the phone via usb.

jgarozzo said:
2. Can't transfer data off the phone via usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh. Yes you can. Plug it in, open Windows Explorer (or Android File Transfer on OSX) and transfer files.

jgarozzo said:
2. Can't transfer data off the phone via usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't tell if serious..

Yes, the Verizon Nexus is worth it. Its easily still the best Verizon phone available right now (unless you want the Razor Maxx's battery life).
Like all current smart phones, it's not perfect, but I've found that the latest 4.0.4 update has cleared up most of my software problems. (Been running a leaked build for about a month now, though I switched to stock yesterday so I could get the official OTA update - which came through a couple hours ago).
Only complaints for me right now are hardware related: so-so camera, screen banding, and status bar burn in on the screen (this may or may not be a hardware failure, as some other phones I've seen don't have the issue, but then others have it MUCH worse as well).
I should also note that I live in Phoenix and have great LTE coverage, so I can't comment on any of the network issues that some people have reported.
Ultimately, I would say pick it up and try it out for a while. If it doesn't work for you take it back and wait for another phone to come out.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

I'm having the same dilemma as well, although I have begun leaning heavily to the Gnex simply because after going to the store and checking out the Razr Maxx, it just looked terribly ugly to me.
The sad part is a major deciding factor for me leaning towards the gnex was that I assumed it had an unlocked bootloader (ITS A NEXUS). Now that I know it is not unlocked, I am back on the fence. I know it can be easily unlocked, but that voids the warranty (if they can tell...), do you guys really think VZW would decline a return or exchange based on the bootloader?

juntistik said:
The sad part is a major deciding factor for me leaning towards the gnex was that I assumed it had an unlocked bootloader (ITS A NEXUS). Now that I know it is not unlocked, I am back on the fence. I know it can be easily unlocked, but that voids the warranty (if they can tell...), do you guys really think VZW would decline a return or exchange based on the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sigh... You realize that having a phone ship with an unlocked bootloader would be a HUGE security problem? Giving full access to the hardware without any user intervention, how is that a good idea?
People need to seriously understand the difference between a locked bootloader (which ALL phones should have by stock) and an encrypted bootloader, which is one that is locked, and not easily unlockable (requires an exploit to unlock).
Just because its locked by default, doesn't mean it can't be unlocked. It literally takes 1 command line prompt: "fastboot oem unlock" to unlock that bootloader and do whatever you want with the device. It can also be easily relocked with just 1 more command prompt as well. Verizon cannot tell you've unlocked once you've locked again, and as long as you're not stupid enough to return a non-stock phone, they will never deny you a warranty claim.
Read up on the subject before you start pulling out these stupid, baseless complaints. I'm tired of hearing people complain about locked vs unlocked bootloaders when they clearly have no idea what it actually means or offers them.

martonikaj said:
Sigh... You realize that having a phone ship with an unlocked bootloader would be a HUGE security problem? Giving full access to the hardware without any user intervention, how is that a good idea?
People need to seriously understand the difference between a locked bootloader (which ALL phones should have by stock) and an encrypted bootloader, which is one that is locked, and not easily unlockable (requires an exploit to unlock).
Just because its locked by default, doesn't mean it can't be unlocked. It literally takes 1 command line prompt: "fastboot oem unlock" to unlock that bootloader and do whatever you want with the device. It can also be easily relocked with just 1 more command prompt as well. Verizon cannot tell you've unlocked once you've locked again, and as long as you're not stupid enough to return a non-stock phone, they will never deny you a warranty claim.
Read up on the subject before you start pulling out these stupid, baseless complaints. I'm tired of hearing people complain about locked vs unlocked bootloaders when they clearly have no idea what it actually means or offers them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^This
This is the way all Nexus phones have been. You should be grateful Samsung lets you re-lock the bootloaders in case you have any issues. The HTC Nexus One was a permanent unlock.

Gnex is you want Android
iP4 if you want iOS
Those are pretty much the best phones on VZW at the moment.

You shouldn't worry too much about the locked boot loader on the Nexus. It's REALLY easy to unlock/re-lock the phone as needed.
If you're not comfortable doing it manually you can always download a tool to take care of the process for you.
For example: I just used the WugFresh Galaxy Nexus tool to return my phone to it's stock software, with a locked boot loader, so that I could try out the ota 4.0.4 update for a while. As far as anyone else can tell it's always run the stock version of Android and hasn't been fiddled with.
It's also good to remember that unlocking the boot loader on the Nexus doesn't require you to download some b.s. tool like HTC is using, and there's no official record of you playing with your phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

tell them your having problems with service, continuous dropped calls, get out of your contract. find an area that gets terrible verizon service, tell them your moving there. they will allow you out. they go grab t-mobile

I've had mine for a couple days and love it!! LTE is awesome, AOKP is awesome and the size is the best!!! Def a good phone still to look at.
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Apparently the s3 is about to come out on Verizon? Do you think I should still go with the GNex? I absolutely hate the design of the s3, and I'm not thinking the quad cor is gonna stay. 2 GB ram however.

Drop Verizon and get the gsm version
Sent from my HTC sensation 4g using Tapatalk

[Q] To Unlock/S-Off/Root or not

Just as a preface, wasn't sure if this should go in this section or the general section, but figured since this was Q&A I'd pick here. Anyways, I just got my HTC One today and am coming from Samsung Galaxy S3 (droid 3 and OG before that) and had them all rooted with custom roms, but have been reading about the process to unlock/root/s-off this device. I downloaded rumrunner and tried to run the program once already and got a "........f******" error and it closed without working, but that's not what I'm making the thread for. I'm really terrified of messing up the phone because I'm broke and can't afford to pay the insurance deductible if I break it and have to claim it was stolen. All of this back story to ask the question of: Is this one of those phones that NEEDS to be rooted to be worth using or can I expect acceptable battery life, speed, & use by simply disabling as much bloatware as possible and keeping the phone stock? Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it!

Coste5a9 said:
Just as a preface, wasn't sure if this should go in this section or the general section, but figured since this was Q&A I'd pick here. Anyways, I just got my HTC One today and am coming from Samsung Galaxy S3 (droid 3 and OG before that) and had them all rooted with custom roms, but have been reading about the process to unlock/root/s-off this device. I downloaded rumrunner and tried to run the program once already and got a "........f******" error and it closed without working, but that's not what I'm making the thread for. I'm really terrified of messing up the phone because I'm broke and can't afford to pay the insurance deductible if I break it and have to claim it was stolen. All of this back story to ask the question of: Is this one of those phones that NEEDS to be rooted to be worth using or can I expect acceptable battery life, speed, & use by simply disabling as much bloatware as possible and keeping the phone stock? Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, based on what you wrote I'd say just disable the apps you don't want showing up and call it good. The Sense based ROMs are actually quite nice and HTC has been good about timely updates. Turning things off like Facebook notifications, weather updates, location service, and Google Now if you don't need it will all help. Enjoy your new phone.

I agree with mmuzy. I got my One right after they blocked HTCDev on this phone and the phone it worked perfect with out root. Speed was good, battery life was ok considering the size of the battery. My only reason for being hell bent on rooting this phone was ads on YouTube lol Pretty sure you already know this but disabling the animations in the developer settings speeds up the phone just a tad as well.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

Coste5a9 said:
Just as a preface, wasn't sure if this should go in this section or the general section, but figured since this was Q&A I'd pick here. Anyways, I just got my HTC One today and am coming from Samsung Galaxy S3 (droid 3 and OG before that) and had them all rooted with custom roms, but have been reading about the process to unlock/root/s-off this device. I downloaded rumrunner and tried to run the program once already and got a "........f******" error and it closed without working, but that's not what I'm making the thread for. I'm really terrified of messing up the phone because I'm broke and can't afford to pay the insurance deductible if I break it and have to claim it was stolen. All of this back story to ask the question of: Is this one of those phones that NEEDS to be rooted to be worth using or can I expect acceptable battery life, speed, & use by simply disabling as much bloatware as possible and keeping the phone stock? Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First things first, with the latest 4.3 update rumrunner doesn't work so even if you wanted to root and s-off it wouldn't be possible yet. Second, unlike Samsung devices, this thing is buttery smooth with or without the bloat so honestly your experience will still be excellent either way. I had an S4 before this phone that was rooted, all bloat removed, ad blocking, greenify, etc and I can tell you right now that right out of the box the HTC One was STILL way smoother than the S4 with NOTHING done to it. I'm running BoneStock at the moment which is basically just a stock rom, so I think HTC did an excellent job with Sense 5 on this phone.

I'm not going to try to sway you one way or another, just sharing my story. I've had the VZW HTC One since launch (Aug 22nd) and never saw a need to root or unlock it out the box. Everything was running great, the phone was smooth.
Suddenly, the 4.3 update arrived and my previously (close to) perfect phone has been plagued by issues. Multiple FCs from core and basic apps, piss poor data connectivity, and worst of all, terrible battery. Since accepting the update, my phone radio has been sucking roughly 45-60% battery at all time. Now I'm growing desperate for a way to unlock my device and control it. I went from around 14-16 hours of medium to heavy usage to barely getting 8 hours from light use. Once again, this is only my story, but, I know that having more control over my device will give me the ability to change my radio and fix my issues. So I vote yay to unlock/root.

LightAeterna said:
I'm not going to try to sway you one way or another, just sharing my story. I've had the VZW HTC One since launch (Aug 22nd) and never saw a need to root or unlock it out the box. Everything was running great, the phone was smooth.
Suddenly, the 4.3 update arrived and my previously (close to) perfect phone has been plagued by issues. Multiple FCs from core and basic apps, piss poor data connectivity, and worst of all, terrible battery. Since accepting the update, my phone radio has been sucking roughly 45-60% battery at all time. Now I'm growing desperate for a way to unlock my device and control it. I went from around 14-16 hours of medium to heavy usage to barely getting 8 hours from light use. Once again, this is only my story, but, I know that having more control over my device will give me the ability to change my radio and fix my issues. So I vote yay to unlock/root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try a factory reset. I was running the 4.3 OTA rom for a few days and I didn't experience any of the issues you just mentioned. I'm now on 4.3 BoneStock with zero issues as well.

Crawshayi said:
Try a factory reset. I was running the 4.3 OTA rom for a few days and I didn't experience any of the issues you just mentioned. I'm now on 4.3 BoneStock with zero issues as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this. OTAs are nice in that we don't lose all our apps and settings but they're kind of like dirty flashing a custom ROM. If you have a gremlin infestation with the OTA then I'd start with a factory reset and see if things run better when you clean install your apps.

Well, after a few days of time to test after the full wipe and manual restore I'm still experiencing terrible battery life. As I stated before, it was mainly phone radio taking the brunt of the battery, and that still seems to be the case. On the positive side of things, I do have twice the free space available now.

Looking to go to M9 from s5

I am looking at buying an m9 but had a few questions. Are the m9s able to get s off and rooted with unlocked boot loader ?
I looked around and found varying answers. Are only certain android versions root able and s off?
I was going to buy a note 4 but I feel Samsung's phone can be laggy due to their software.
Thanks

thrgk said:
I am looking at buying an m9 but had a few questions. Are the m9s able to get s off and rooted with unlocked boot loader ?
I looked around and found varying answers. Are only certain android versions root able and s off?
I was going to buy a note 4 but I feel Samsung's phone can be laggy due to their software.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-one-m9/general/m9-java-card-t3063247

Yes, you need to send it to someone to S-Off it. I did, rooted/unlocked running Viper.
But with that said...I hate this phone. First time the HTC One has disappointed me. Guess they assume everybody on the planet is right handed...the power button is located in the dumbest location. Everytime I pick up the phone, I'm either turning the flashlight on, hitting the power button etc..with my fingers...just no way around it..stupid design.
Unless HTC pulls some serious improvements, likely the shortest time I will ever own an HTC...and I love the Sense interface..but can't take this M9, and even worse, being on VZW since there is such limited support.
Might just change phones altogether.
But, have fun, it is a pain to get the phone S-Off, even knowing somebody with javacard, sending it off, then the ROMs available for limited etc...sad to say the least.
Good luck.

techlogik said:
Yes, you need to send it to someone to S-Off it. I did, rooted/unlocked running Viper.
But with that said...I hate this phone. First time the HTC One has disappointed me. Guess they assume everybody on the planet is right handed...the power button is located in the dumbest location. Everytime I pick up the phone, I'm either turning the flashlight on, hitting the power button etc..with my fingers...just no way around it..stupid design.
Unless HTC pulls some serious improvements, likely the shortest time I will ever own an HTC...and I love the Sense interface..but can't take this M9, and even worse, being on VZW since there is such limited support.
Might just change phones altogether.
But, have fun, it is a pain to get the phone S-Off, even knowing somebody with javacard, sending it off, then the ROMs available for limited etc...sad to say the least.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each their own. I love this phone. I have had a test handset since January, mostly stock, only sometimes rooted and I like pretty much everything about it. The camera is great; the screen is better than the M8; the speakers are phenomenal (and I use Boomsound a lot). I eventually sold my M8 and bought a second-hand M9 for when I have to turn this one back in to HTC. The overheating problems have largely been resolved, at least on the latest ROM I'm running, which should go public before too long at this point.
And it was no problem to hook-up with @dottat and get my non-UT handset S-OFF and rooted. It's ready to roll as soon as I send my UT device back to HTC.

Camera is an embarrassment still compared to iPhone...my wife's 6 plus and daughter's regular 6 still take much more accurate and better pictures by miles compared to the M9, I'm running Viper, have been for years on their Roms. Tried other things.
It is just the annoyance of the design/button layout that bothers me the most, and complete lack of support almost of the VZW users. There are better improvements I like with Sense, and as I said, I love Sense. Only reason I still have the Android phone...regular Android is still pretty pathetic..particularly the applications compared to WinMo and Apple. Like HTC/Sense, they make their mail and other apps built into the phone very slick/polished and nice. The regular android mail/calendar apps look like some 10yr old Linux mail app running under xwindows. Kind of sad that in 2015, regular Android apps are so sucky compared to HTC/Apple/MS apps in general that come on the stock android platform. If it weren't for HTC and Sense, not sure, probably have a stupid iPhone or WinMo.
Still hate apple iPhone though and Windows latest is kind of a mess as well.
Just wish somebody would make some really nice clean looking apps/interfaces with Android with good features similar to Sense, that isn't HTC...the M9 is their best effort so far with the camera, but the button layout is just a step backwards.
So, HTC still is the leader when in comes to much things Android from my perspective...
As you said, to each their own...but become left handed, then come back and tell me how many times a day you turn the flashlight on accidentally, hit the up/down volume buttons etc...their location are a mess compared to the M8, which besides the camera, never had really a complaint with that phone.
Maybe should have stuck with the M8..haha...
But have no fear the all new M9 will solve everything!!!!
See ya around guys. Or maybe over on the new Google Nexus forum or something...rofl.
Sorry...off topic I know.

techlogik said:
but the button layout is just a step backwards.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first picked up the M9 the first thing I noticed was how much I liked the button layout

Is there an actual need to root?

I've recently rooted my phone and now I am questioning why I did it. The first phone I rooted was my Nexus One and I've been a member of this site since the release of the Galaxy S2 so I am no novice. It used to be a necessity to root for the increased control it gave, but now all I seem to be doing is finding solutions to get back functionality that I've lost through tripping Knox. Please, can anyone give me a reason or list the advantages of rooting the current generation of phones because I'm struggling to justify keeping the bootloader unlocked and not going back to stock?

No. I wouldn't... for you though the cat's already out of the bag.
If running on Pie I definitely wouldn't update to 10 or worse 11.

mckeowngoo said:
I've recently rooted my phone and now I am questioning why I did it. The first phone I rooted was my Nexus One and I've been a member of this site since the release of the Galaxy S2 so I am no novice. It used to be a necessity to root for the increased control it gave, but now all I seem to be doing is finding solutions to get back functionality that I've lost through tripping Knox. Please, can anyone give me a reason or list the advantages of rooting the current generation of phones because I'm struggling to justify keeping the bootloader unlocked and not going back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like you, I've been rooting since my HTC-Hero way back in the early days of Android. It was necessary for better kernels, better battery life, better RAM and CPU management, better file systems (Early days of ARM and EXT4) and of course those cool themes and apps that only work with Root (Titanium Backup, Gosh I miss you!!). Not to mention what was my favorite, MIUI!
The last phone I rooted was the Nexus 6. It was a powerhouse! I still have it in a drawer full of old devices in my desk and miss it! Someone once told me when checking out my N6, "Your phone is like a muscle car!"
I miss rooting and I hate that carriers have locked the Bootloaders down. Android was founded on and was expanded by the Amateur Development community. Look up Cyanogen for details!.
I just bought my daughter this device outright - first, one I've ever bought that wasn't through my carrier and I'll be doing the same with the Pixel 6 for myself later this year which means I can finally go back to rooting and hopefully back to what earned me the RC title, but I also wonder, do I really NEED to root these??
My daughter isn't a power user. She's probably happy with whatever native settings and Samsung themes she can find on her own. My Pixel 4 XL has been great as is. so I applaud your question because I also wonder if rooting is still necessary or is it just a way to feel rebellious and outside the fray?

I also own a Pixel 4, bought to scratch an itch when I wanted to try out GrapheneOS.
I think I will go back to stock, which is sad as I enjoyed the process of modifying the phones software. If there was a net gain or increased functionality to keep the phone rooted, I would but unfortunately there isn't a compelling reason to keep the bootloader unlocked.
Am I wrong? Is the scene, at least for Samsung phones, dead and this forum obsolete?

Root is a must for me. Just being able to debloat. Either way I bought a unlock token

I understand the debloat of carriers useless apps, but since I found that ADB can basicly remove the programs I don't need root for that. But I still like root for change hosts files and such.