Rooting: I think I understand WHAT it means, but WHY?

[dowtie]

Someone school me on this one. I've been looking up info on possibly rooting my droid for a few days and seemingly every site I find says that it unlocks admin capabilities and allows for greater customization but they never say exactly what that entails. Could someone clarify a few things?

1. I read that some apps are only available to rooted phones: is there anywhere I could find a list of these?

2. Would rooting my phone allow me to get paid apps from the app store for free? My friend just jailbroke his iphone (yes, I know its different) and that has me jealous. I'm not sure if this forum has a policy against this stuff so a yes or no answer would be all I need.

3. What are the interface changes I could apparently make?

and finally

4. Are the overall benefits of rooting even that significant, or would the process only result in a few negligible gains?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[screamster]

I am pretty sure that rooting means giving the entire phone root access. Linux uses root to make admin type changes to drives. I believe this is the same idea.

 

[Fabolous]

If you don't have something you want that specifically requires root, I wouldn't do it. That being said, once rooted you can do many things. Highlights include:

-Flash different ROMS on there (i.e. 2.1, Sense UI, etc)
-Run root-only apps (AdFree, drocap2, etc)
-Modify your framework-res for different looking notifications bars
-Remove programs rarely used (Email, CorpCal, AmazonMP3, etc)

...and more.

Do not ask about piracy on this forum!

 

[dowtie]

I am pretty sure that rooting means giving the entire phone root access. Linux uses root to make admin type changes to drives. I believe this is the same idea.

Yea, this is basically what I keep seeing and I already know, but it doesnt tell me anything about what that means. So you can get root access, what does that actually translate to achieving?

 

[teschoen]

It is the same as having 'admin' rights. "Root" is just an access level. Albeit a very powerful access level. And as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.

If you aren't a linux geek 'root' will give you the ability to do stupid stuff to your phone and brick it faster.

I plan on not giving myself that level access as long as I own the phone. So far there is nothing I see out there that I want to do that needs it anyways.

 

[screamster]

It is the same as having 'admin' rights. "Root" is just an access level. Albeit a very powerful access level. And as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.

If you aren't a linux geek 'root' will give you the ability to do stupid stuff to your phone and brick it faster.

I plan on not giving myself that level access as long as I own the phone. So far there is nothing I see out there that I want to do that needs it anyways.

Yeah. I would not root your phone unless you know what you are doing. I used to do linux admin work. And root is not to be messed with unless you are certain of what you are doing.

If you are just going to follow directions for installing 2.1, you should be ok. Just be careful before committing any changes you make.

 

[Droid_Junky]

Rooting is definitely not for everyone. I personally spend way too much time customizing my phone with what is offered already. Most of which is free. I can't imagine spending even more time on it.

There is one post that still makes me laugh on this site. Some guy asked the question, "what exactly does root mean?" Then less than one hour later he post again saying, "help, I'm on step 5 and something went wrong!!!"

 

[Jbart15]

I'm guessing this would void your Verizon Insurance if something would go wrong?

 

[Muertos]

yeah i only would root my phone so i could get rid of those unused apps but knowing my luck id brick it lol