Some Questions

[riffdex]

I have a few questions, which I could not find using the search feature. I really did try to find these answers, but if they have already been answered I do apologize.

1) Is Verizon going to do "forced" updates for the Droid's firmware? I assure when they release the 2.1 update, we won't be able to root for awhile. I just want to know if they will automatically update my phone, or if I will be able to choose when to update it? Also, I'm afraid that if they do automatic updates, what would happen if I happened to be in the middle of rooting the phone and it tries to do this? Doesn't sound like a good position to be in. Just an obscure question that probably no one knows the answer to.

2) Don't the volume and power buttons seem a little cheap to you guys? I kind of wish they were like the iPhones buttons in this respect (hey, Droid can't win em all). This is not a question as much of an observation, but comment if you'd like.

3) I know theres a rooting app on the Marketplace. I'm just kind of weary about using that. Don't you think Verizon would see that I downloaded that and try to void my warranty? ):

I had more questions but I forgot /:

 

[Sp33d KiIIz]

1) The 2.0.1 update it was up to you if you wanted to download it or not, so I assume the same for 2.1.

2) Yes I think all the buttons are cheap.

3) Rooting/jailbreaking will always void your warrenty, thats why you backup/restore.

 

[riffdex]

1) The 2.0.1 update it was up to you if you wanted to download it or not, so I assume the same for 2.1.

2) Yes I think all the buttons are cheap.

3) Rooting/jailbreaking will always void your warrenty, thats why you backup/restore.

1) ty

2)

3) I realize that rooting will void my warranty, and the idea is to not let verizon find out you rooted your phone. I'm referring to the Sholes rooting program on the Marketplace. I'm just afraid Google or Verizon will see that I downloaded/used that and use that to justify voiding my warranty, regardless of if my phone is currently rooted or not. Also I'm surprised a rooting program is even allowed on the Marketplace to begin with...

 

[Shadowtech]

If you are worried about them tracking you on market or something, you can find the rooting app on their webpage. It is also free on the Sholes website as the market version is donate.

Sholes

The SMUpdater link is down the homepage a little bit.

 

[dougwilson2000]

As far as the update goes, once you receive it, you will have an option to download it but the first time you reboot the download will take place wheather you want it or not.

 

[messenger13]

Comments, opinions, and interjections below.

1) Is Verizon going to do "forced" updates for the Droid's firmware? No, you will be "asked" if you want it. I assure when they release the 2.1 update, we won't be able to root for awhile. "Awhile" ... like in a week? Maybe 2 at the most. I just want to know if they will automatically update my phone, or if I will be able to choose when to update it? Also, I'm afraid that if they do automatic updates, what would happen if I happened to be in the middle of rooting the phone and it tries to do this? Doesn't sound like a good position to be in. Just an obscure question that probably no one knows the answer to. Based on the past, we do have the answers to these concerns. The OTA update doesn't come flying in like some renegade and take over your DROID in the middle of what you are doing. Although, I do find that scenario quite humorous.

2) Don't the volume and power buttons seem a little cheap to you guys? It appears not all DROIDs have been created equally. My DROID feels like it was built by Mercedes Benz. It is solid, rigid, tight, and still feels/looks like the day I brought it home, now over 2.5 months ago. I kind of wish they were like the iPhones buttons in this respect (hey, Droid can't win em all). This is not a question as much of an observation, but comment if you'd like. I know you're going to misunderstand my comment, but here goes. Why didn't you buy an iPod? Why are you settling for second best? I mean, I view your post and take the time to reply, and you're just going to "comment" about your crappy buttons. What are we supposed to do for you? Join in on the whine session? Will that make you feel better? I apologize, but I just don't get it.

3) I know theres a rooting app on the Marketplace. I'm just kind of weary about using that. Don't you think Verizon would see that I downloaded that and try to void my warranty? ): You are truly afraid of "the man", aren't you? The very app that you're weary of using happens to be the same app that can unroot your DROID making VZW none the wiser.

I had more questions but I forgot /:

Food for thought ... With the 2.1 OTA update just hours away, I would hold off on rooting at this point.

 

[riffdex]

Comments, opinions, and interjections below.



Food for thought ... With the 2.1 OTA update just hours away, I would hold off on rooting at this point.

1) Well I'm glad I'm not the only one with this concern. I'm glad the rooting devs are keeping in mind the OTA updates and are trying to make sure that these updates and rooting won't conflict with each other. I'm very paranoid though so I had to ask

2) Just to clarify, I do not consider the Droid second best in any respect. In fact, I decided a while ago that the Droid was much better suited than the iPhone or iPods for that matter. I wanted a dedicated device that could handle all of my needs, and I was becoming very sick of having to carry around a phone+ipod wherever I went. I sold my iPod because I am happier with the Droid's overall features. Now yes, I do criticize certain aspects of the Droid, but that certainly does not mean I rate it second best This is in fact one of the few criticisms I have of the Droid. It would appear my goal in posting this has been met. You're reply of "It appears not all DROIDs have been created equally. My DROID feels like it was built by Mercedes Benz. It is solid, rigid, tight, and still feels/looks like the day I brought it home, now over 2.5 months ago." Was the type of comment I was looking for. I understood that my buttons personally felt cheap to me, though I was not sure if this was an inherent problem of the Droid, or just a fault of my own device. I don't really see the problem with my bringing this up, I was wondering if other users shared my opinion on the subject, that it all. I'm not here to bash the Droid and praise the iPhone, obviously. Just here to discuss the Droid. Don't mistake a minor comment for a large concern

3) Yes. The man's always bringin' me down ):

Thanks a lot for your comments, I really appreciate your time!

 

[CRPercodani]

If you definitely want to have root access then I would root now and wait till a 2.1 ROM is made from the update, as of now we have no way to root the droid like before. The exploit that was used was fixed the day after we found it, so all new releases will have to be rooted a different way. Before we found that exploit there was a 34 page thread going and no one had found any way to root, so I wouldn't expect anything to quickly.

If you have no need for root and don't plan on using anything that requires it then just use the OTA update.

 

[nycebo]

Let's address the buttons because I know where you're going. The standby/power button and the volume rocker buttons are solid (Mercedes Benz solid as mentioned above). Maybe the power button could be a little easier to press but then it would be 'easier' to press and be turning the screen on all day long while it's in my pocket.

Now the camera button? That's a totally different story. It's feels a little cheap in terms of the click, and what makes it worse is that the camera software is laggy. Hopefully 2.1 updates this issue. Other than that, my phone, including slider, is damn tight.

 

[riffdex]

Let's address the buttons because I know where you're going. The standby/power button and the volume rocker buttons are solid (Mercedes Benz solid as mentioned above). Maybe the power button could be a little easier to press but then it would be 'easier' to press and be turning the screen on all day long while it's in my pocket.

Now the camera button? That's a totally different story. It's feels a little cheap in terms of the click, and what makes it worse is that the camera software is laggy. Hopefully 2.1 updates this issue. Other than that, my phone, including slider, is damn tight.

Personally my power and volume buttons seem pretty bad... they seem loose and unresponsive at times ): Perhaps I have a faulty Droid, the issues are annoying, but definitely something I can learn to deal with.

If you definitely want to have root access then I would root now and wait till a 2.1 ROM is made from the update, as of now we have no way to root the droid like before. The exploit that was used was fixed the day after we found it, so all new releases will have to be rooted a different way. Before we found that exploit there was a 34 page thread going and no one had found any way to root, so I wouldn't expect anything to quickly.

If you have no need for root and don't plan on using anything that requires it then just use the OTA update.

Well, I'm pretty sure that (at some point) I will want root access, so I may get rooted soon. The thing is, my main things I would like my Droid to be able to do at this point that it has not been able to is:
1) Remove useless apps (Visual VM, Amazon MP3, ETC)
2) Overclock to 800 MHz
3) Make the Droid able to go to a lower brightness setting (I have my Droid on the lowest setting, it's still plenty bright, and it's ridiculous... I look at my battery usage and and 49% of the battery is being used by my screen, yet the d*mn device cannot go any dimmer! Do y'all know if there are any apps to accomplish this after rooted?)

Most of these options will probably never be possible with a non-rooted Droid (Remove apps, overclock - Do you guys think it's a possibility that our Droids will ever be able to do this?). And the lower brightness setting? I'm not holding my breath for the 2.1 update to address this. Though I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to do this with a rooted Droid anyway, I haven't found a conclusive answer to this.

So anyways, I have a few more questions and I figure I won't waste forum space by creating a new thread:

1) After researching for a bit, I've come to see that the actual "rooting" of the phone is a very simple process (seemingly), as well as safe, while installing custom roms is a more risky business. To root my phone, I just need the update.zip and run it after booting the phone using X+Power button, correct? Also, is it necessary to create a NAND backup before rooting? Is it even possible to back up the NAND before the device is rooted? Would y'all suggest that at this time, I just do the 5 minute process of rooting and then hold off? I'm not trying to rush into loading roms yet, but I would like to insure that I am not locked out of root access if I receive the 2.1 OTA update (somebody mentioned that once it's released, if I were to reboot my phone, it would automatically update).

2) Can anyone confirm if I will be able to get a lower brightness setting that the current lowest, after rooted? And do you know if there is any significant increase in battery life?

3) Is this a reliable guide for rooting my Droid?
Obtaining Root | Root Your Droid
I tried to to find the update.zip on this website and I could not find it. I'm just very paranoid and afraid I'm going to come across a site that intentionally has files to brick my Droid... If anyone can just confirm this site it would be great! haha

Well if anyone has answers to these, I very much appreciate the help, Also, thanks to everyone for the help provided thus far!

 

[nycebo]

3) Make the Droid able to go to a lower brightness setting (I have my Droid on the lowest setting, it's still plenty bright, and it's ridiculous... I look at my battery usage and and 49% of the battery is being used by my screen, yet the d*mn device cannot go any dimmer!

I wouldn't get all riled up about the percentage. It's a relative measure. Basically, the screen is the bulk of battery usage unless you are on the phone, wifi or GPS. As such, even with a lower display, it will still be pretty high relative to the other apps on your phone because the latter just don't use that much battery. So, if you want lower brightness to 'save' battery, it won't make that big a deal. Now, if you want lower brightness because it's just too damn bright and you're eyes are too sensitive to the screen, I can understand your plight, but unfortunately can't provide a solution.

 

[gnmitchell]

Personally my power and volume buttons seem pretty bad... they seem loose and unresponsive at times ): Perhaps I have a faulty Droid, the issues are annoying, but definitely something I can learn to deal with.

Well, I'm pretty sure that (at some point) I will want root access, so I may get rooted soon. The thing is, my main things I would like my Droid to be able to do at this point that it has not been able to is:
1) Remove useless apps (Visual VM, Amazon MP3, ETC) Yes with root you can
2) Overclock to 800 MHz (you will need root and buy SetCpu in the market for .99 to do this and set profiles.)
3) Make the Droid able to go to a lower brightness setting (I have my Droid on the lowest setting, it's still plenty bright, and it's ridiculous... I look at my battery usage and and 49% of the battery is being used by my screen, yet the d*mn device cannot go any dimmer! Do y'all know if there are any apps to accomplish this after rooted?) Yes you will be able to get a lower brightness.

Most of these options will probably never be possible with a non-rooted Droid (Remove apps, overclock - Do you guys think it's a possibility that our Droids will ever be able to do this?). And the lower brightness setting? I'm not holding my breath for the 2.1 update to address this. Though I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to do this with a rooted Droid anyway, I haven't found a conclusive answer to this.

So anyways, I have a few more questions and I figure I won't waste forum space by creating a new thread:

1) After researching for a bit, I've come to see that the actual "rooting" of the phone is a very simple process (seemingly), as well as safe, while installing custom roms is a more risky business. To root my phone, I just need the update.zip and run it after booting the phone using X+Power button, correct? Also, is it necessary to create a NAND backup before rooting? Is it even possible to back up the NAND before the device is rooted? Would y'all suggest that at this time, I just do the 5 minute process of rooting and then hold off? I'm not trying to rush into loading roms yet, but I would like to insure that I am not locked out of root access if I receive the 2.1 OTA update (somebody mentioned that once it's released, if I were to reboot my phone, it would automatically update). You should get the sholesmod from the market. It cost's $5 and it pretty much does everything for you. You can also get it for free from the sholes site.

2) Can anyone confirm if I will be able to get a lower brightness setting that the current lowest, after rooted? And do you know if there is any significant increase in battery life? Yes you can. Using SetCPU has really helped in improving battery life.

3) Is this a reliable guide for rooting my Droid?
Obtaining Root | Root Your Droid
I tried to to find the update.zip on this website and I could not find it. I'm just very paranoid and afraid I'm going to come across a site that intentionally has files to brick my Droid... If anyone can just confirm this site it would be great! haha
Check out sholesmod from the market. Does everything you need for you to root your phone
Well if anyone has answers to these, I very much appreciate the help, Also, thanks to everyone for the help provided thus far!

Answers are in Red

 

[riffdex]

Answers are in Red

I don't have a credit card and can't buy things off the Marketplace. Also I don't think I want to ROM my Droid at this time, just root it (possibly disable OTA updates afterward) So I was wondering where I could find a legitimate update.zip, that will work to root. I know you can set CPU speed without buying an app, I saw a youtube vid where he specifically says he does not have a credit card so he cannot buy apps from the Marketplace, and the video shows how to overclock.

"Also, is it necessary to create a NAND backup before rooting? Is it even possible to back up the NAND before the device is rooted?"
I'm really searching for the answer to this. I would like to know if I can back up my device before rooting. And is the rooting process really very risky, or is most of the risk involved in installing custom ROMs?

 

[Shadowtech]

You can download the sholes updater and setcpu for free outside the marketplace. No need to buy anything. Google and this forum should have their relative locations.