Root Should I or Shouldn't I

[jugglerbry]

Hi all

I've posted in the forums once or twice and the help and comments I've had back have proved more than useful.

I've also looked, as you do, at other postings and again, these have been useful.

Now we come to rooting.
I've read the main thread, and totally accept that this could go drastically wrong, and I'll end up with a nice but albeit useless paperweight, but I'm getting more and more tempted to root my phone.

Why ? The primary reason is that I have this phone until at least June next year and want jellybean ideally but if not ICS.

So, what's stopping me. A number of things;

What's the likelihood of this going wrong and me having a contract but no phone until June ?

Can I backpeddle and put it back to as it was ?

HTC didn't give us ICS due to alleged space and partition sizes on the phone meant it wouldn't fit. Is this still the case ?

Which ROM is the most stable as I'd like everything to work as it does now, only in a different Android version ?

ICS or JellyBean ?

Obviously there's no OTA updates, but I guess that means flashing each time an update comes out ?

I'm basically looking for as close to Android as I can get ah la nexus, so no sense etc. So any recommendations ?

Really sorry for the long winded post and all the questions, but hopefully someone can assist.

Thanks in advance

Bryan

 

[D-U-R-X]

If you follow the steps and ask any questions if you get stuck (before just going on to the next step), then it is relatively straight forward - I know that there are several who will be able to talk you though it

As for ROM's... the beauty of rooting is that you can try as many as you want... you make a backup of your system, as it is, then perform wipes and flash the new ROM... if you don't like it, you can go straight back to your backup

I'm on IceColdSandwich (Vanilla Android), but there are several different ROM's out there and you may find that one of the others suits you better. I haven't flashed anything in a while, so others would be better to offer opinions... ral has tried pretty much EVERYTHING going, so he's a good person to listen to!!

 

[jugglerbry]

Thanks D-U-R-X, I'll keep checking back over and see what others suggest / recommend. It's really tempting, but daunting too as I've never done this before, and have so long left on contract....

 

[D-U-R-X]

You can backpeddle (from rooted to non-rooted)... you would run an RUU (ROM Update Utility) - an exe file which pushes HTC's firmware to the phone... it would be put back to a state as when it came out of HTC's warehouse. If you meant from a brick, then it would be more difficult.

HTC said that ICS wouldn't fit on the DHD... I believe that the story was that, for it to fit, there would have to have been a partition change. This would have meant that users would loose their data... something that the root community/advanced users may be (or are usually anyway) able to live with, but that your ordinary user (the majority) would not.

There is no OTA... if you want to update, then you flash an update. Because you can back up, flashing is not dangerous (if you follow steps and back up, you can always go back to your last set up).

As for most stable... again... others would be the best to advise

 

[ugleymatt]

i was in the same position as you a few days ago, but tonight i finally took the plunge, and 30 mins later i have a rooted phone, ready to be backed up. The AAHK really does hold your hand through the process.

 

[ral]

Rooting should be fairly safe.

Yes, you will have to flash each update. I suspect once you realize how easy and safe flashing is, you will flash ROM's out of curiosity.

Close to a Nexus as possible.

For a ROM aa close to the Nexus as possible I would recommend aospX which is an ICS ROM. This is what I recommend you try.

A lot of users swear by Ice Cold Sandwich, another ICS ROM. Tried this but prefer aospX.

JellyTime is a good Jelly Bean option, and I like it better than aospX, but battery life has not been too good for me with this ROM.

Than there is codefireX and codefireX 4.2. I have not tried this pair yet.

I recommend you try several. You won't find one best ROM, but you will find one best for you.

I rooted back in July when ICS updates stop. When you want to root let's go through it step by step.

I hope uglymatt can help with AAHK. I was so nervous when I did it, I don't remember much. But it was easier than I expected. But do it on a Mac or Linux. When people have encountered problems, it has been because of Windows USB drivers issues. Android drivers are native in Mac OSX and Linux.

 

[jugglerbry]

That's great - thanks for the responses so far

So with regards to backing up my phone, can I back up or save my existing setup before i start ? (I mean the OS, as the phone is locked to Orange, but doesn't have all the bloatware they provide as my phone had to be flashed by HTC, and I dont really want all the Orange rubbish if I can help it - if i do need to go back to the beginning again)

What kind of battery issues is/was JellyBean giving ? Is it worth avoiding it if it's that bad ?

When/if I do try out different ROMs (ie if I get the rooting bug), does that mean that i'd have to reinstall all my apps each time ?

What additional useful apps would anyone recommend after rooting ? For starters i can see Ad-Blocker which seems to be a must, but what other (free) ones can be recommended ?

Bryan

 

[ral]

That's great - thanks for the responses so far

So with regards to backing up my phone, can I back up or save my existing setup before i start ? (I mean the OS, as the phone is locked to Orange, but doesn't have all the bloatware they provide as my phone had to be flashed by HTC, and I dont really want all the Orange rubbish if I can help it - if i do need to go back to the beginning again)

What version of Sense are you running. If Sense 2.1 yes. If Sense, 3 no, since you will have to downgrade to Sense 2.1. But as D-U-R-X said, it wont be hard to flash a carrier bloat free official ROM.

What kind of battery issues is/was JellyBean giving ? Is it worth avoiding it if it's that bad ?

If is a bit hard to quantify. Each user has the phone set up in a different way, and battery life varies from user to user. The ROM has plenty of satisfied users.

I am flashing JellyTime, it again today or tomorrow with a new Kernel, which a user reprted improves battery life as well as fixes two issues.

When/if I do try out different ROMs (ie if I get the rooting bug), does that mean that i'd have to reinstall all my apps each time ?

No, you can use Titanium Backup to backup your apps on the SDCard.

What additional useful apps would anyone recommend after rooting ? For starters i can see Ad-Blocker which seems to be a must, but what other (free) ones can be recommended ?

Many ROM's already include an Ad-Blocker by default. I do not know which ones. All my apps are ad-free. Paying a few dollars to an app developer is something I like to do. Any apps that won't let me pay to remove the ads... I wipe

 

[jugglerbry]

Thanks for all the replies so far
For info, I'm currently on Android version 2.3.5 and Sense 3.0

Does the AAHK kit carry out the downgrade as well or is this something I need to do beforehand ?

How do I carry out a backup of my current system ?

Im guessing installation of my chosen from happens after I've rooted so I need this before I start too ?

Lastly, I think, where do I download the roms ?

Thinking either something jellybean (which is best for as close to fully working) or the ICS recommended in an earlier post.

Thanks again and no doubt I'll be back..

Now where did I put that Ubuntu CD.....

 

[ral]

You will have to run AAHK twice. The first time it will downgrade your phone, and the second time it will root your phone and do a couple of other things you will need.

Will have to get back to you on the best way to backup or hopefully someone with actual experience will drop in and give advice. I keep my data on the cloud so I did not backup anything.

Where to download ROM’a? XDA is the best place. You will find links in the All Thing Root sticky in this forum.

When you download AAHK do it on Ubuntu our make sure your virus scanner is off. It had a file that virus scanners mistake for malware. Read the manual well and ask any questions you have before proceeding .

 

[jugglerbry]

Thanks real. I might get chance to do at least something this evening but then again.....

So just so I'm clear after running aahk I should still have the set up I have now only rooted and raring to flash ?

 

[ral]

No. When youth run AAHK it will install a factory Sense 2.1 ROM. All your apps,settings and data will be gone. The contents of your SDCard will not be touched. If you keep contacts and checked info on gmail, those will be restored.

You can backup using an app called My Backup, but is I suggest limiting what you backup. You will be going to a whole new pursuing system after you flash a ROM,and some apps and settings will not be compatible.

 

[BrutalUK]

Thanks for all the replies so far
For info, I'm currently on Android version 2.3.5 and Sense 3.0

Does the AAHK kit carry out the downgrade as well or is this something I need to do beforehand ?

How do I carry out a backup of my current system ?

Im guessing installation of my chosen from happens after I've rooted so I need this before I start too ?

Lastly, I think, where do I download the roms ?

Thinking either something jellybean (which is best for as close to fully working) or the ICS recommended in an earlier post.

Thanks again and no doubt I'll be back..

Now where did I put that Ubuntu CD.....

It would be ideal to download some custom roms before you root but you can add them to your SD card later. After rooting your phone will still have operating software on it. You can find some suggestions for roms on here or dare I say XDA forums!. If you want Jellybean then Jellytime is a good rom, though it gets a lot of updates or for a ICS rom you could try Ice Cold Sandwich. It's really a case of trying a few and see what suits you. Some prefer 'Sense' based roms whilst others like 'Vanilla' based roms. These are pretty bare & basic.

 

[Omar Days]

Just bare in mind that if you use Sky Go, it won't work on rooted devices. Same as Barclays bank app. I don't know what other apps don't work but it's best to make sure you know what works or not before doing it. It's why I've not rooted my primary device because I need to use my bank app a lot.