Rooting the Droid?

maderhatter · 10-29-2009, 10:41 PM

Since it seems that this will be inevitable according to some of the stuff I have been reading, are most Android users fans of doing this? I like the idea of changing the ROM to something more asthetically pleasing! But at what costs? I have been looking at Cyanogen since I keep seeing it mentioned and it looks pretty sweet! Any major drawbacks to doing this?

Edaze55 · 10-29-2009, 11:03 PM

Since Droid will be running 2.0, Id say thats a great reason not to root with the intent to flash your ROM. At least not until someone cooks up a 2.0 ROM. Going backwards will remove anything thats been added to 2.0. And really, being a CDMA device, you can only really go back to 1.6, without trashing your phone.

And of course you still have to wait for someone to actually figure out how to root the Droid. It hasnt quite been a month yet and Sprint Hero owners are still waiting on a root solution, so while it may be inevitable that someone will figure out how to root the device, it could also be a while before that actually happens.

There are upsides as well. Im not saying you shouldnt, but you should know what you are doing and why before you just decided to root because it appears to be the "in" thing to do.

maderhatter · 10-29-2009, 11:28 PM

Dont get me wrong, I will definitely not be doing any rooting/hacking anytime soon! It was more of me trying to figure out what the benifits were to doing it once it can be done on 2.0. I'm an Android virgin, so I will be staying stock for a long time. Just trying to learn. Most of the stuff I read is above my technical vocabulary!

DGalt · 10-29-2009, 11:32 PM

Is there no way to change the UI without rooting the phone? (android nub here as well lol)

dabx724 · 10-31-2009, 05:27 PM

madderhatter, i saw this thread and i HAD to register so i can educate you bro. Let me tell you something about rooting your droid, its the same/similar process as any other android phone (since its all the same os in 1 version or another). The benefits of rooting a phone is nothing but shiny stars and glitter, nothing harmful will occur to your phone, i promise you that!! When rooting your phone, it comes with a very handy back up program that if anything goes wrong, you can start from where you backed up your phone. Cyanogen and other developers make fantastic roms, a wide VARIETY to choose from, some i can vouch to say are far better and more advanced in some ways than android 2.0. I have a G1, when i first got it, i admit the OS was laggy, ugly, unresponsive at certain times, overall it sucked. Once i rooted it, it gave its meaning of open source, a whole new meaning. I was a nub like you a few months back, and still kind of one, i'd just thought i'd share with you how great it really is to root your phone.
take it easy man

dabx724 · 10-31-2009, 06:02 PM

also let me add the benefits of rooting your phone

1. You can change themes, and good lord there is so many to choose from. This gives the OS a pretty make over. (the themes apply throughout the entire phone)
2. Change the clock speed of your phone's cpu, stock phones never use its full potential, so you can make it even faster than its current state.
3. Tether your phone as a modem, some people root alone just for this feature, its extremely convenient when your stuck at like a coffee shop with your laptop and no wifi around, wait a min, you can use your phone as an internet source!!
4. And so much more.

for any more information go on google and search xda developer. That site has a massive knowledge about rooting android phones.

Edaze55 · 10-31-2009, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabx724

madderhatter, i saw this thread and i HAD to register so i can educate you bro. Let me tell you something about rooting your droid, its the same/similar process as any other android phone (since its all the same os in 1 version or another). The benefits of rooting a phone is nothing but shiny stars and glitter, nothing harmful will occur to your phone, i promise you that!! When rooting your phone, it comes with a very handy back up program that if anything goes wrong, you can start from where you backed up your phone. Cyanogen and other developers make fantastic roms, a wide VARIETY to choose from, some i can vouch to say are far better and more advanced in some ways than android 2.0. I have a G1, when i first got it, i admit the OS was laggy, ugly, unresponsive at certain times, overall it sucked. Once i rooted it, it gave its meaning of open source, a whole new meaning. I was a nub like you a few months back, and still kind of one, i'd just thought i'd share with you how great it really is to root your phone.
take it easy man

Oh where do I start.... This post is full of misinformation.

You assume that rooting the phone will be the same as any other Android out there. This is incorrect, if it was correct, the Sprint Hero would have already been rooted. One click root doesnt work, the old way of rooting doesnt work. So its highly likely that the way to root the droid will be different as well.

Please dont ever tell anyone that there isnt a risk involved with rooting their phone. While the risk may not be that great, there is always risk involved. It it was all "shiny stars and glitter" there wouldnt be a need to back up the phone prior to the flash except to return it to factory default.

Users looking to root should have some idea of what it means and what is is to root as well as why they wish to root. Just rooting to be hip or cool is kinda pointless if you dont know what to do once you get there. Its like taking a road trip. While you dont need to know where you are going, it usually works out better if you have a general destination in mind.

CRPercodani · 10-31-2009, 06:49 PM

Agreed Edaze55. You can potentially ruin your brand new phone when rooting, and if you do, a backup won't do jack. Rooting is great and I haven't looked back since I rooted my G1, but for a complete newbie it is not a big deal especially with the Droid as it comes with 2.0. Rooting is definitely not the same process with every Android phone, while you get the same result it is not done the same way. Also we need a proper recovery for the Droid before flashing any custom ROM's, and possibly a new SPL and Radio. And it isn't a night and day difference unless you specifically need tethering or Apps2SD. The OS is still basically the same, you just have super user access and most people have no clue what that even means. Wait until someone figures out how to root the Droid, then wait another month or so and see what everyone says about it and how many bricked devices pop up.

dabx724 · 10-31-2009, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edaze55

Oh where do I start.... This post is full of misinformation.

You assume that rooting the phone will be the same as any other Android out there. This is incorrect, if it was correct, the Sprint Hero would have already been rooted. One click root doesnt work, the old way of rooting doesnt work. So its highly likely that the way to root the droid will be different as well.

Please dont ever tell anyone that there isnt a risk involved with rooting their phone. While the risk may not be that great, there is always risk involved. It it was all "shiny stars and glitter" there wouldnt be a need to back up the phone prior to the flash except to return it to factory default.

Users looking to root should have some idea of what it means and what is is to root as well as why they wish to root. Just rooting to be hip or cool is kinda pointless if you dont know what to do once you get there. Its like taking a road trip. While you dont need to know where you are going, it usually works out better if you have a general destination in mind.

I'm not assuming its the same way, and absolutely not saying its the 1 click process, but the general idea of rooting an android is quite similar is what i'm saying. there are steps to rooting a phone of course, and the sprint Hero was just recently released, they will discover a way to root it, VERY soon.

There is a risk, but its so insignificant it shouldn't even be claimed as one. Something called Nandroid back up, that if you ever brick your phone, you can return it to normal, therefore you really can't brick it. Well yeah obviously you can't just root an android phone and do nothing with it. Rooting an android phone means purpose to that. Once an android is rooted, so many doors open to what it can really do and how amazing it really is. Custom build roms are far better and more efficient than any official released rom. Developers take what the official rom contain and expand on that.

And honestly it doesnt take a rocket science to root a phone, there will always be step by step instructions for the real noobies to have what the geeks have, a pretty fly android phone.

CRPercodani · 10-31-2009, 07:35 PM

Ok just to let you know, if your truly BRICK your G1 nandroid wont fix it. A true brick is when you are stuck at the G1 screen no matter what button combo you use when booting up the phone. The ONLY way to fix that is if you know JTAG procedures and that is something only a small handful of G! users might know how to do.

People confuse bricking with messing up, it is not the same thing. If you truly brick your phone it is dead and nandroid can't help you, nor can any recovery or software backup.

knickerbocker · 10-31-2009, 09:38 PM

If I root my phone, it might be to install future versions of Android once those ROMS comes out if Verizon decided not to upgrade the droid. I am interested in tethering, so I might do it for that. But I have heard you can do that without rooting using PDAnet (USB only).

maderhatter · 10-31-2009, 09:54 PM

Man, i thought this thread was gonna die as fast as I started it. Now its getting informational! Lol. I would be interested in the tethering aspect of rooting, but i thought i read that verizon will eventually notice the increased data usage and tag you with a charge and a slap on the wrist or something? Regardless, I definitely will wait until someone has the Droid all figured out and everyone is ecstatic with the outcome before I jump on board. Im definitely a newb and from what I have seen I will be very happy with the phone as is! Cant lie though, some custom roms I've seen for the G1 are kickazz!

knickerbocker · 10-31-2009, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maderhatter

i thought i read that verizon will eventually notice the increased data usage and tag you with a charge and a slap on the wrist or something?

I don't know. I would only use it when traveling and I needed to get online with my computer to edit and send a file in an airport. That usually happens a few times a year. I use Wifi when I travel in hotels, at clients, etc.

If you used it a lot, I am sure they would notice. For me, it is just a once in a while type thing.

maderhatter · 10-31-2009, 10:14 PM

I used to read about people getting busted all the time on Crackberry. But I'm sure if you were just using it in "emergencies", it would probabley not be noticed. lol

michaelk · 10-31-2009, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maderhatter

Man, i thought this thread was gonna die as fast as I started it. Now its getting informational! Lol. I would be interested in the tethering aspect of rooting, but i thought i read that verizon will eventually notice the increased data usage and tag you with a charge and a slap on the wrist or something? Regardless, I definitely will wait until someone has the Droid all figured out and everyone is ecstatic with the outcome before I jump on board. Im definitely a newb and from what I have seen I will be very happy with the phone as is! Cant lie though, some custom roms I've seen for the G1 are kickazz!

typically (as in other OS's) on verizon's cdma network - the "official" tethering solutions use a different identifier (not sure what but it clearly shows to them that you are not using the internet on the phone) so that verizon is very well aware that you are tethering and then can force you to pay the extra tethering fee. PDAnet (at least on Windows Moble and Palmos) and other hacks (which are pretty prolific on WM at least) use the phone's identifier so they have no idea you are tethering. I've read internet posts that people who haven't paid to tether but use the offical methods get redirected to a site that tells you to add tethering to you line.

at one point with verizon there was a soft cap, then there was a hard cap at I think 5GB, and I think now they look at the traffic you are generating and if they deem it "server" related or "file sharing" they will take actions against you.

as others said above I've used the free hacks occasionally- ("emergencies"- a few times a year while traveling) with Palm OS or WinMo and never been "busted"- years back I had pdanet on palmos and literally used it for 8+ hours a day for 2-3 days at a clip when i was working at client sites without wifi and needed the internet for email and some browsing and never got a wrist slap or anything.

maderhatter · 10-31-2009, 11:31 PM

So is there anything out there like the PDAnet for Android that will hide our little "emergencies", lol, or are we banking on the fact that there will be? If there isnt, I would pay for that app! Still, the 5GB hard cap would be a hinderence I guess for abusing them too badly. lol

michaelk · 10-31-2009, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maderhatter

So is there anything out there like the PDAnet for Android that will hide our little "emergencies", lol, or are we banking on the fact that there will be? If there isnt, I would pay for that app! Still, the 5GB hard cap would be a hinderence I guess for abusing them too badly. lol

PdaNet -- Use your Android as a USB Modem

pdanet- 29 bucks- for that price they better hide your activity from vz.

DGalt · 11-01-2009, 08:48 AM

What I don't quite understand is if the android is all about customization why, to create a truly customized UI (not just different wallpapers or number of icons on a screen) you need to root the phone. Why don't they allow you to flash the ROM without rooting the phone?

CRPercodani · 11-01-2009, 09:30 AM

Well Android is open, but the manufacturers of the phones have to do lots of custom work to make it work, and if you can flash any ROM you want it could cause lots of trouble if that ROM isn't properly built. Then VZW would get a ton of calls from customers who are having trouble and whatnot, if they all use custom ROMs then there is really no way your average VZW tech rep could find the true reason for whatever problem you might have.

However you can use aHome, OpenHome, DxTop, FreshFace, GDE and some other "home replacements" to allow you to change the icons and widgets, they will skin all of that and some other stuff but not the dialer/contacts or notification panel.

TreyDaPrince · 11-01-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRPercodani

However you can use aHome, OpenHome, DxTop, FreshFace, GDE and some other "home replacements" to allow you to change the icons and widgets, they will skin all of that and some other stuff but not the dialer/contacts or notification panel.

In order to use those, do you need to root the phone?

CRPercodani · 11-01-2009, 12:32 PM

Nope, they are all in the market. Some are free, or have a free version. Then you download "themes" for them which will change your icons, menu drawer, widgets, and wallpaper.

noonehereyet · 11-01-2009, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabx724

I'm not assuming its the same way, and absolutely not saying its the 1 click process, but the general idea of rooting an android is quite similar is what i'm saying. there are steps to rooting a phone of course, and the sprint Hero was just recently released, they will discover a way to root it, VERY soon.

There is a risk, but its so insignificant it shouldn't even be claimed as one. Something called Nandroid back up, that if you ever brick your phone, you can return it to normal, therefore you really can't brick it. Well yeah obviously you can't just root an android phone and do nothing with it. Rooting an android phone means purpose to that. Once an android is rooted, so many doors open to what it can really do and how amazing it really is. Custom build roms are far better and more efficient than any official released rom. Developers take what the official rom contain and expand on that.

And honestly it doesnt take a rocket science to root a phone, there will always be step by step instructions for the real noobies to have what the geeks have, a pretty fly android phone.

Ok 1) rooting is NOT in any way the same for any phone... Nor is it possible to 1 click root any phone just because it is Android 1.5... The SPL/Bootloader is different on every phone and a recovery image needs to be specific to the phone and its setup... Rooting process in its self is simple once someone else has done ALL the work to manipulate the spl and writen a new recovery image..

2) Nandroid is essentially a photo it creates .img files of your phones current state and although this provides a 99.9% restore possibiltiy it is still possible to brick your phone when messing with things like going from stock bootloader to engineering bootloader or hard spl.... especially if your HTC device has a DVT board....

3) To truly understand root and what it does you must have a solid knowledge of linux based operating systems as Android is linux based..

CRPercodani · 11-01-2009, 03:11 PM

Thank you, Mr. Rubber Chicken, for clarifying rooting to everyone who doesn't understand.

ajm144k · 11-01-2009, 03:39 PM

so other than the potential of bricking during the process of rooting, are there any other drawbacks?

dakoop · 11-01-2009, 04:21 PM

And if someone was completely stupid, like me, what in the world does rooting your phone mean to me. What is the purpose of doing this?

blazingwolf · 11-01-2009, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakoop

And if someone was completely stupid, like me, what in the world does rooting your phone mean to me. What is the purpose of doing this?

For you I would say don't worry about what it means. Enjoy your phone as it is now (well, as it will be on Friday).

dakoop · 11-01-2009, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazingwolf

For you I would say don't worry about what it means. Enjoy your phone as it is now.

Thanks, that was helpful.

Not saying I am going to but it doesn't hurt to expand my knowledge base.

Will be new to Android in a week.

blazingwolf · 11-01-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakoop

Thanks, that was helpful.

Not saying I am going to but it doesn't hurt to expand my knowledge base.

Will be new to Android in a week.

Here is an article you can read:

Five Great Reasons to Root Your Android Phone - Android rooting - Lifehacker

dakoop · 11-01-2009, 04:42 PM

Thank you.

demon117 · 11-08-2009, 11:48 PM

One of the reasons I am getting a Droid is because of the rooting aspect, those of you not familiar with Linux and the root should do a little search on Wikipedia.

I'm curious how many active people are trying to hack android2.0 and the phone right now to root it

best of luck and thank you in advance for your efforts.

BTW, with root access to any Linux based device there is ABSOLUTELY an increased chance of something going completely wrong (brick, melt, assplode, you name it)! If anyone tells you different they either have no idea what they are talking about or are lying to you.

-Demon

XxpapoxX · 11-10-2009, 08:33 PM

im new to rooting..and have a general idea of wut it entails since ive jailbroken my ipod plenty..but i have a new droid n want more knowledge on rooting b cuz it seems interesting..so keep posting ppl plz cuz i want 2 kno as much as possible..thnx

centax1 · 11-10-2009, 09:09 PM

What's with the Development Tab under Applications in the settings?

Darkbleed · 11-10-2009, 09:17 PM

I be keeping a weather eye on yon intarwebs fer a way to root me pocket parrot, landlubbers. Arrrrrgh this scurvy Droid be a fine target fer a plunderin!

yevar · 11-18-2009, 01:42 AM

Hey guys, we have come up with some decent ideas for rooting the Droid at:

AllDroid.org - View topic - Possible Droid Exploit for Root

We have also started a wiki at

Droid-Devs

We are seeking people with an interest and/or knowledge to help us out. We are also currently trying to raise funds to pay for a Droid to tear apart to help with the rooting effort. Feel free to visit and help us out. Please don't ask if we are done yet, the Wiki page will be very clear on when and how we do root the Droid!

Happy hacking!

ajm144k · 11-18-2009, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yevar

Hey guys, we have come up with some decent ideas for rooting the Droid at:

AllDroid.org - View topic - Possible Droid Exploit for Root

We have also started a wiki at

Droid-Devs

We are seeking people with an interest and/or knowledge to help us out. We are also currently trying to raise funds to pay for a Droid to tear apart to help with the rooting effort. Feel free to visit and help us out. Please don't ask if we are done yet, the Wiki page will be very clear on when and how we do root the Droid!

Happy hacking!

continue discussing here: Help Root the Droid!

hagure · 12-10-2009, 04:18 AM

FYI, the guys at AllDroid have rooted the Droid. *Eeeeexcelleeeent*