Root Root Noob

[skittlesV1]

I have some noob questions on rooting. I understand root means you can make changes on your phone you couldn't if you were not rooted, but i was looking at tutorials on how to root and Im just wondering, if you used unrevoked does that just root over your stock rom? Is there a list of custom roms with a little info about them? What roms are you guys using? Do you have to use a custom rom when your rooted or what? Also i was looking at 3 click simple root but step 2 and 3 I wanted to know what they do, they're Unlock Nand and Flash recovery. I was just hoping for a little insight into all this im new to android.

 

[blu3g]

Rooting just gives you admin access to your phone. Some apps can only be used with root access like titanium back up and wireless tether. The biggest reason though is to flash custom roms. But unrevoked method gives you access to root over your stock rom so you can use those apps which require root access. They also released a method to unlock nand and work with clockwork mod, if i'm not mistaken. With that you could flash new roms that gives better performance and better battery life. You don't have to use a custom rom, but most of the time they are way better than stock. You can find different roms over at xda, along with the descriptions and different features each rom has.

 

[paintmoonsred]

Alright instead of starting a new thread I think I'll reply to this one with my own questions.

-Once you have rooted, can the phone still get updates (like when Froyo is officially released for Evo)
-Rooting breaks the warranty, right? But is there a way to take the phone back to normal (ie hard reset) and they won't even know you did it?
-What are the DISadvantages to rooting?
-Is there a way to swap ROMS if I've installed the latest OTA?

I too am totally brand new to Android and especially to rooting, so try not to judge haha

 

[tsipa]

Alright instead of starting a new thread I think I'll reply to this one with my own questions.

-Once you have rooted, can the phone still get updates (like when Froyo is officially released for Evo)
-Rooting breaks the warranty, right? But is there a way to take the phone back to normal (ie hard reset) and they won't even know you did it?
-What are the DISadvantages to rooting?
-Is there a way to swap ROMS if I've installed the latest OTA?

I too am totally brand new to Android and especially to rooting, so try not to judge haha

1. Your phone will no longer recieve Sprint OTA updates but the developers usually incorporate the updates within their roms.

2. Yes, it does. Run RUU to restore to stock. FYI, hard reset does nothing in terms of removing root.

3. None, as far as I can tell. Most people don't root because they are afraid of bricking their phone. In reality, it is very difficult to brick your phone while rooting. At this point, I think that Sprint OTA updates have bricked more Evos than rooting.

4. They came out with a new method for rooting if you have performed the latest OTA update so you will be able to swap roms.