Root total r00ting n00b...

[jhewit22]

Alright, I want to root my phone because everyone here makes it sound awesome. These may be STUPID questions, but I have NO idea what I'm getting myself into. This is my first smartphone and want to improve it's performance so I don't have to upgrade before my 2 years is up! Please help...

1) If I root, do I have to use a ROM or can I stick with the current interface that I have set up? If I do, what is a ROM that is pretty close to the standard interface (2.1 OTA)

2) I've read a few posts about xtr ROMS and Kayos or whatever, what are the major differences between the ROMS...not just these popular ones, but between all of them? Are they mainly just interface differences or is there something more that I'm missing?

Thanks- again, I'm a TOTAL N00B to rooting things and I'm not afraid to admit it!!!

Jeremy

 

[psack]

I figured I would answer some of your questions first because I was a lot like you a week ago. I just rooted my phone and flashed Kaos Froyo.

1) no, you dont have to flash a custom rom. You can flash the rootme.zip and keep everything the same on your phone and just gain rot access. you can then get root only apps like drocap, setpcu, and tethering apps.

2) XTR roms are 2.1 based and run similar to your stock eris. Froyos are 2.2, and are quite different, but as far as I can tell from reading everyone's posts are kind of buggy.

if you want to flash an rom that is similar to stock you can try PlaneJain or Ivan's official which I am sure some one will link you to soon.

Hope I can be of some help, remember I am new to this too, but I did it just fine and absolutely love my phone now.


Have fun!

 

[jhewit22]

Glad I'm not the only one looking into rooting still...feel like I'm a lonely non-rooted person on these forums...which is helping make my decision easier because I know there are a TON of rooted people who are saying they love it.

 

[erisx]

Don't worry about asking questions! Take it from me! I just rooted yesterday! But to answer your questions,
1.you can root and keep everything the same by flashing the root me zip found in the one click root app! you'll have some privileges but it isn't the same as flashing a rom
2 the main difference is the ui and if they are on 2.2 or 2.1
I'm sure the others will be able to explain more in detail! They did teach me!
And good luck!

 

[jhewit22]

Is flashing the rootme.zip file the simplest way to get into rooting? I mean, if I do that, then later on decide to flash a custom ROM, is it harder to do then?

 

[erisx]

Yes but like I said earlier, your only granted a few things, like access to root only apps
As for the custom rom, its a similar process but there a few xtra things u need to do

 

[jhewit22]

I'm on a Mac...does that make a big difference when rooting?

 

[psack]

rootme.zip is probably the easiest way using the one click app. and it wont be any harder to flash a rom later. Make sure you thank the developers of the oneclick app.

It is pretty eady once you get into it. I have flashed a bunch of things in the past few days, including a new kernel. I have to say, I am really liking the Froyo set up now.

 

[scary alien]

Guys,

There are no "bad" questions...we've ALL been there .

Here's some helpful links:

Lots of good miscellaneous root-related links here: [READ FIRST] Eris Roll-up Thread - xda-developers

PlainJaneT2 (basically, Ivan's with the 17-July-2010 OTA updates):

[ROM]Plain_JaneT2 V2.0 7/18/10 Stock With everything ROOT!! - xda-developers

Ivan's ROM: [ROM] Eris_Official 1.0 Alpha With Controllable Overclocking! [5/9/2010] - xda-developers

Cheers!

 

[psack]

Oh and I am mac too, no problem if you use the one click app. no pc or computer needed

 

[erisx]

Well there are three ways to root, one being the one click root method (easiest but a little vague, no offense!), the universal root, which is very detailed, and the one which involves a comp, but I'm not to sure on that one xD
Lol I also need to learn how to swype faster xP but these guys have more knowledge than me

 

[pkopalek]

Any of those ROM's you've read about, forget it.

xtrSense has it all. 100% reliability, by far the fastest/smoothest SenseUI ROM out there, the best options and features, and a 100% comprehensive writeup for it makes it idiotproof. it's a no-brainer.

If you want to go Froyo (for some reason), then any of them are OK. All three have similar setups and the issues are pretty minor with them at this point. I'd go with xtrSense. I've flashed every ROM known to man. I keep coming back to SenseUI, and xtrSense is the bees knees. xtrROM is good too if you want a different 'home screen' than the SenseUI Home (but it's still the same ROM otherwise, basically.)

 

[doogald]

Having a Mac doesn't make rooting any easier or harder. At the risk of involving you with rather advanced topics, which you really shouldn't worry about too much, with the exception of unrooting by using the RUU method, Macs are easier to use with a rooted Android phone. At some point you may start seeing recommendations to use "adb" commands from the Software Development Kit (SDK). It's a lot easier to install the SDK on a Mac than on Windows, if you ever need it.

 

[Podivin]

You don't NEED to use a custom ROM, but for ME the main reason to root is to get rid of the lag that the phone had, and until you change ROMs that won't happen.

I mostly agree with Paul ( ) xtrSense would be an excellent first choice for a ROM (it's what I put on my wife's phone). It will give you the same basic look and feel on the phone that you're used to now, but will be generally smoother and snappier. However I prefer the xtrRom because I don't use the Sense UI. Either is an excellent choice. From what I've heard and seen myself, the 2.2 based ROMs are REALLY close to being good enough for daily use, but each of them has some bugs that *I* am not willing to work around at this point. They have some darn fine features though, and I expect that someday one of them will be near-perfect enough to lure me away from 2.1.

 

[nathanirwin311]

I second Paul and Mhotovec. I rooted the rootme.zip first and there was not much change. I wanted diff options and removal of lag especially with the dialer. After a couple of days I bit the bullet and went with xtrrom. It is awesome. I have tried several others and keep coming back to it. If you are looking for a better phone try xtrsense or xtrrom. They are what htc should have put on the phone to start with.

 

[scary alien]

You don't NEED to use a custom ROM, but for ME the main reason to root is to get rid of the lag that the phone had, and until you change ROMs that won't happen.

Or...what about just rooting your current, base 2.1 setup (i.e., rootme.zip or engtools3.zip) and flashing Zanfur's overclock patch to give you a snappier phone?

You get to keep all of your current setup (i.e., apps) and just get some more root goodness.

I might have gone down this road even over installing Ivan's 1.0 (although there's still more you'd have to do to make it more like Ivan's like deleting bloatware, removing OTA, etc.).

Just another set of options and tools in our toolbag . Cheers!

 

[deezer]

Ok, here's another noobie. I've been lurking here since I got my eris back in may. Does xtrSense have the google maps & the turn by turn navigation with the voice that speaks the directions all built in? Or do you have to install that separately? I'm considering going with xtrSense cause I like the idea of everything being set up ready to go, such as the overclocking, without having to do it manually. Is that what I can expect?

 

[nathanirwin311]

Ok, here's another noobie. I've been lurking here since I got my eris back in may. Does xtrSense have the google maps & the turn by turn navigation with the voice that speaks the directions all built in? Or do you have to install that separately? I'm considering going with xtrSense cause I like the idea of everything being set up ready to go, such as the overclocking, without having to do it manually. Is that what I can expect?

Yep. It even shows a pic of it in the screencaps xda forum.
[ROM][9/13/2010][GPL] xtrSENSE4.2 & 4.5[cache2cache,apps2sd,oc,jit,flash10]-HTC Sense - xda-developers

 

[jhewit22]

I think I'm just going to do it tonight after work...do the one click and then flash xtrSense first and see how I like it! I'm nervous!

 

[Podivin]

I think I'm just going to do it tonight after work...do the one click and then flash xtrSense first and see how I like it! I'm nervous!

As somebody wise once said, if you're not nervous about rooting your phone, there is something wrong with you.
That said, it'll be fine.
You might find this thread interesting reading - in the first 16 posts or so Scary Alien walks a newbie through rooting his phone. Read this before, and during, the process of rooting - it'll help a lot.
http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/175747-rooting-now.html