wRooting my Sprint Galaxy S4 (Questions and Procedure)

[ApolloTitan]

Wasn't getting any replies so I'm just going to post here, sorry if this is not a right thing to do but whatever.

So I want to root my Sprint Galaxy S4 and I want to know the whole procedure to root it exactly, I also have some questions. I know there are probably threads already lying around on the forums, but I just want to make sure I get the latest information from a resourceful and trusted person if possible. And sorry if this is a unnecessary thread because of my questions, etc. I don't want to use rooting for customizing and doing complicated things. I just want to use basic things such as Lucky Patcher and other things. I understand that it will void my phone.

My phone info:
Software version: L720TVPUBNG5
Hardware version: L720T.03
Model Number: SPH-L720T
Android Version: 4.4.2
Baseband version: L720TVPUBNG5
Build number: KOT49H.L720TVPUBNG5
Security software version: MDF v1.0 release 2

My questions:

• If I root my phone, will I still have version 4.4.2? or how does it
• How can I prevent bricking my phone in general and how is that caused? (as I said, I don't want to root for doing complicated things)
• What is Custom ROMs and is a process my phone has to go through?
• What other important things do I need to know when I have a rooted device
• What is tripping knox mean and what does it do?

Thanks.

 

[WillieWonka1985]

I second that, I'll help best I can. New phone as of today identical system info. Will posts links as relevant.

 

[Dngrsone]

Rooting the phone just gives you more access to the guts of the operating system (let's you do things that Samsung or Sprint would prefer you not do), so the version of Android on your phone would remain the same.

Custom ROMs are variations of Android that you can install in place of the operating system that came with your phone. Playing with these is definitely a risky venture, and you can break your phone (or "brick" it, which means make it useless and unrecoverable). If you decide to try that, then do a lot of research beforehand and make sure the program you are installing is intended for your specific model.

Knox is a security flag built into the hardware of the phone. Once it is set, it cannot be reset, and nearly all rooting methods will trip this flag. It is a guaranteed method for proving you have voided your warranty.

If your phone is out of warranty, then it doesn't really matter if you trip it or not... It's your phone and you can do whatever you want with it, right?