I understand that, while it may void warranty, it gives unlimited access to my Android phone, but what does that even really mean? I'm a Droid Incredible user for the time being, and haven't had the urge to root my phone, despite being urged to by my other Android-using friends.
Am I missing something? What does rooting your phone allow you to do? Is it worth the risk of bricking your phone?
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Can someone explain what rooting does in plain English?
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When you root your phone, you've given yourself control pretty much over the whole phone. You can install alternative mods (like CyanogenMod) or even upgrade to the most recent version of Android. Alternative mods typically give you more customization options when it comes to settings, allow for overclocking, and may even optimize battery life. Also, you can uninstall the crapware the carriers or manufacturers often put in their Android phones. Another perk is that you can install apps that would not have been possible if you had an unrooted device. For example, a rooted Nexus One on T-Mobile can install and run T-Mobile's Wifi calling app (androidcommunity.com/t-mobiles-wifi-calling-now-us...).
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Here is the quick run down
1. "Rooting" means, essentially, providing yourself with administrative rights to your phone.
2. A "ROM" is basically an entire system image - think of it like Windows XP versus Windows 7.
3. A ROM will *not* root your phone.
4. "Bricking" your phone means it's permanently borked. If you can turn your phone on and get to virtually any system screen, you're probably not bricked, and there's probably hope for you and your device!
5. You must be already rooted to install a ROM.
6. A ROM is installed through a custom recovery, such as ClockworkMod Recovery.
7. There are tools in existence, such as UnrEvoked3.x that will assist in easily rooting your phone.
8. The "Radio" is (in layman's terms) the part of the phone that interacts with a service provider's tower, and it too has firmware. Flashing a Radio image is a bit more of a risky proposition than just flashing a ROM, but it may be required in some cases. Again, ALWAYS READ THE DIRECTIONS.
9. ROMs are device-specific and, oftentimes, Radio-specific as well. This means that you must pay attention to the requirements for the ROM you want to install.
10. Remember: Rooting doesn't mean that you'll have any more success in "pirating" software. It just means you'll be able to control more of your phone's functions. I think you'll find that the developer community is even more protective of IP rights than the average user-base. A lot of developers work off of donations, but that doesn't mean that credit for their original works shouldn't be given.
Here is a link to an easy way to root: www.unrevoked.com/
Here is a link to one of the better ROM's for your phone forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1022282
Hope that helps
1. "Rooting" means, essentially, providing yourself with administrative rights to your phone.
2. A "ROM" is basically an entire system image - think of it like Windows XP versus Windows 7.
3. A ROM will *not* root your phone.
4. "Bricking" your phone means it's permanently borked. If you can turn your phone on and get to virtually any system screen, you're probably not bricked, and there's probably hope for you and your device!
5. You must be already rooted to install a ROM.
6. A ROM is installed through a custom recovery, such as ClockworkMod Recovery.
7. There are tools in existence, such as UnrEvoked3.x that will assist in easily rooting your phone.
8. The "Radio" is (in layman's terms) the part of the phone that interacts with a service provider's tower, and it too has firmware. Flashing a Radio image is a bit more of a risky proposition than just flashing a ROM, but it may be required in some cases. Again, ALWAYS READ THE DIRECTIONS.
9. ROMs are device-specific and, oftentimes, Radio-specific as well. This means that you must pay attention to the requirements for the ROM you want to install.
10. Remember: Rooting doesn't mean that you'll have any more success in "pirating" software. It just means you'll be able to control more of your phone's functions. I think you'll find that the developer community is even more protective of IP rights than the average user-base. A lot of developers work off of donations, but that doesn't mean that credit for their original works shouldn't be given.
Here is a link to an easy way to root: www.unrevoked.com/
Here is a link to one of the better ROM's for your phone forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1022282
Hope that helps
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The process of 'rooting' is generally a bad idea, unless there is something that you want to modify on your phone that would require it to be rooted. If you don't fully understand the security risks and implications of rooting, you'll be at risk to many of the newer malware attacks that are becoming unfortunately more common on the Android platform.
That being said, all of my current and past android phones have been rooted, because I like to modify the low-level software on my phone. But I take extra caution to make sure I know which applications are able to take advantages of the 'root' privileges, because they can potentially do ANYTHING to your phone, including turn it into a paperweight.
While one might be drawn into the idea of modifying their phone, bear in mind that this often comes with a tradeoff in reliability. Many of these modifications are home-grown and unstable. Some can seem fine for a few weeks before they start causing problems. I can live with this, but I know many people would be devastated if their phone didn't work for most of the afternoon.
If you don't have a good reason to goof with it, just leave things the way they are.
That being said, all of my current and past android phones have been rooted, because I like to modify the low-level software on my phone. But I take extra caution to make sure I know which applications are able to take advantages of the 'root' privileges, because they can potentially do ANYTHING to your phone, including turn it into a paperweight.
While one might be drawn into the idea of modifying their phone, bear in mind that this often comes with a tradeoff in reliability. Many of these modifications are home-grown and unstable. Some can seem fine for a few weeks before they start causing problems. I can live with this, but I know many people would be devastated if their phone didn't work for most of the afternoon.
If you don't have a good reason to goof with it, just leave things the way they are.
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Yes I would only root if you have some need to do so.
By rooting your phone you will gain the ability to do things that normally are not allowed like removing stock apps from the phone or installing apps that require root capability like some tethering apps.
By rooting your phone instead of apps not being able to perform tasks that require root you will be prompted with a message asking if you trust the app enough to give the app root access to your phone. Once an app has been granted root access it can do pretty much anything it wants to the phone.
By rooting your phone you will gain the ability to do things that normally are not allowed like removing stock apps from the phone or installing apps that require root capability like some tethering apps.
By rooting your phone instead of apps not being able to perform tasks that require root you will be prompted with a message asking if you trust the app enough to give the app root access to your phone. Once an app has been granted root access it can do pretty much anything it wants to the phone.
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