With the recent posts about Locked Boot loaders, Custom ROMS, and the “when will we get froyo.” questions, a lot of new people are asking what rooting is, and more importantly, why should they care about it. Rooting can be a bit confusing to understand at times because unless you have a linux computer, you’ve most likely never had to deal with it before. I’m not a computer programmer, or an android programmer, but I spent a lot of time reading about rooting before I started to try it so hopefully I can Clarify some things. What is Root? The simple answer is that Root gives you total control over your device. If you have a window vista or 7 PC (or you’re at least familiar with it) Root access is like allowing you to run your phone as an “administrator.” As a default, Android sets your account up without administrator access. You can save most applications to the device, and change things like your wallpaper without an issue. But if you want to change a basic function of the device (such as overclocking your CPU) your device won’t let you do it. This is a GOOD thing. Let me repeat that, this is a GOOD thing. For most users this is all they will ever need. This is how Linux systems run as a default, and with Windows, they’re moving this way with the “Run as administrator” dialog. Blocking these extra commands in Android makes your experience predicable and safe. It means that if something goes wrong with the device (and you didn’t drop it) it’s most likely a manufacturing issue so Motorola/HTC/Etc doesn’t need to go over the phone line by line to see if you did it. The difference between Android handsets and computer’s, however, is that on computers attaining administrative access is pretty easy. With Android, it takes more work. Since these handsets are largely sold by carriers to consumers who demand hassle-free replacements, this is (mostly) acceptable. So what root does is it opens up the option to run applications as an administrator, to change the default values of almost anything on your phone. Why Root? So if you waded through that technobabble, the next question becomes, what is the benefit of rooting? There are three primary reasons (aside from saying “because I could”) that you would want to root your phone: Installing Root Only applications, removing carrier bloatware, and installing custom ROMS. Root-Only Applications The obvious one is that if none of the above interest you, don’t root. If you’re someone who’s content with the experience of the device you’ve been given (most people) then why mess with it? Sure, there are benefits to rooting, but only if you take advantage of them. If you don’t think you’ll use any of the features, then you’ll just be taking all the risks without any real payout. For another, it’s clearly stated that what you do voids warranty. Taking control of your own device also means accepting responsibility for what happens to it.
This is just a single example of Root-Only applications that you can run on your phone. Other examples include: screenshot apps, LED hacks, Cear your cache, and apps that let you back up and restore all your data from your SD card. I won’t go into detail for all of them, but if you click the links, it will take you to a web page that describes them. Root apps provide a lot of functionality for the user, both practical (like the SetCPU) and fun (screen captures).
Remove Carrier Bloatware
Because you’re able to access every part of your phone, you can find that pesky Vcast/ATT application and wipe it from your device. For users of older phones, this is a great way to free up some more memory. For those of us with newer devices, it just makes our application menu a lot cleaner.
Most custom ROMS do this as a default, so it’s not as popular as the other two options, but for those of you with digitally signed bootloaders (aka DroidX, Droid2, Milestone) This is a great way to customize your device.
Custom ROMS
The most popular reason to root is that, if your phone allows you to flash an alternate Recovery (Information on this here) then you can load custom ROMS.
Custom ROMS are versions of android built for your device by developers who don’t work for the handset maker. These builds often feature customizations (new colors, hardware button tweaks, etc) That you can’t find in stock android. Or if you have an HTC sense device, loading a custom rom can allow you to have a stock experience, or if you have a stock phone, you can mimic sense.
Custom roms are also a great way to extend the life cycle for your device. The HTC G1 was the first android phone released in the US. It launched with the first version of android and is officially stuck on 1.6 (Cupcake). However, if you have a rooted version of this phone, it’s possible to load the latest possible Android OS (2.2) before most current line phones even have it. This is a great way to extend the usefulness of your device long past the time carriers say it’s no longer needed.
Why shouldn’t I root?
So I went over the primary reasons to root, but if it was a no-brainer everyone would do it, right? So what are the drawbacks?
If it ain’t broke…
Even though rooting on most devices is a very safe process, and if you’re patient it’s next to impossible to destroy a rooted phone, Rooting does void any warranties that you had on your device.
What this means is that if, three months after you root your device, it starts acting up and becomes unusable, you can’t take it to Verizon, T-mobile, Sprint, or AT&T and get a replacement for it. When you root your phone, you take responsibility for it. This is why it’s very important to either have some sort of insurance on the device, or have a backup plan.
Sure, you’ll read stories about people rooting, and then going back to stock and being able to successfully make a warranty claim, but you shouldn’t count on this. Always assume that what you’re doing is permanent, and just be happy if it’s not.
Ok, you talked a lot… I kinda ignored most of it. But should I root?
Say that you’re ok with the idea of losing your warranty, and you like the idea of having custom roms. This doesn’t mean that you should just go ahead and root (even if your device is one of those with a simple one click rooting process). If you decide you want to root, I would spend a lot of time looking into the exact process of how your device is rooted, and make sure you feel comfortable with that process.
Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you should do it right away. Remember, these are $600 pieces of equipment you are dealing with, so when in doubt, read more.
I didn’t write this “guide” to scare everyone from rooting. There are a lot of amazing things you can do once you root and it doesn’t require a programming degree to do it. All it really requires is patience, and the ability to follow instructions. But that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. If someone is really interested in rooting, I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction. Hopefully this long-winded “guide” will give you a place to start.
As always, feel free to ask me questions, either via Twitter, or email me at Mennomobileblog (at) gmail (dot) com.
