To root or not to root, that is the question.

[alackman]

Admittedly not such a troubled question as to question my existence but it is something I wonder about. Given the relative quietness in the xe section compared to my last phone (desire) I thought is try and open up some discussion.

I didn't root my desire, although came close and had I been locked into a 24 month contact,I probably would have done. But this is the thing, the sole reason I would have done would have been to solve the low space warning.

However,this issue isn't so relevant now with the xe. So the question would be, what is the payoff for losing warranty?

I understand some people just enjoy playing and tinkering with the bare bones, but hobbyists aside, what are the actual benefits for a standard user?

I've heard people talk about super user, and more app access. But what are these apps I'm missing out on? What does this super user access allow me to do?

I do understand why some people want to root, in the same way some people would enjoy taking an car engine apart to is smallest parts, and then to put it back together, or some one else would enjoy buying clothes, cutting them up, and then remaking them into something very different. I have huge respect for anyone finding enjoyment and happiness in whatever they do.

Is rooting therefore just something for people who find pleasue in this level of tinkering, or is there a place for an average user to investigate further into this process to really make a difference and improvement to their phone.

Opinions anyone?

 

[Rush]

My words are short but nonetheless important... Rooting is not a necessity but more of a personal choice. I've never "rooted" any of my phones. Have I ever thought about rooting? Yes! Will I ever root my phone? I don't know. If you want to root your phone, then it's your right to do so. However, everything comes with a price.

Ps. Keep in mind == "Rooting voids your warranty.

 

[alackman]

My words are short but nonetheless important... Rooting is not a necessity but more of a personal choice. I've never "rooted" any of my phones. Have I ever thought about rooting? Yes! Will I ever root my phone? I don't know. If you want to root your phone, then it's your right to do so. However, everything comes with a price.

Ps. Keep in mind == "Rooting voids your warranty.

Without getting into a discussion about the definition of "necessity" I understand what you are saying about personal choice. What I wanted to find out however is what exactly comes at this cost of loosing warranty? What are the benefits? I personaly am happy with androids level of customization unrooted and so will not root my phone just because I can. What are the incentives?

 

[psyxologos]

I am like that too. I was toying with the idea in my HTC Desire but never done it. Now in my Sensation XE I do not think I will bother as I have all the space I need...

 

[Roxolid]

Correct me of I am wrong.but wouldn't rooting the xe remove the"beats"software. One of the main reasons for buying the xe over the sensation ?

 

[alackman]

Correct me of I am wrong.but wouldn't rooting the xe remove the"beats"software. One of the main reasons for buying the xe over the sensation ?

Interesting. I wonder if anyone who has rooted can confirm this or not.

 

[85jas]

I rooted my XE a few days ago according to the guide here and it worked fine, the beats audio software is retained. I'm a n00b but, as I understand it, rooting just provides superuser access, it doesn't replace the phone's software. Once rooted the superuser app appears and root programs can then have low level access.

Hope this helps!

 

[alackman]

I rooted my XE a few days ago according to the guide here and it worked fine, the beats audio software is retained. I'm a n00b but, as I understand it, rooting just provides superuser access, it doesn't replace the phone's software. Once rooted the superuser app appears and root programs can then have low level access.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for confirming this. I'm sure this will help people make a decision. I'd be interested in hearing about the differences in your newly rooted phone. I'm generally of the attitude that I shouldn't have to root/jailbreak/hack a phobe in order to make it function better. I've still not really had an answer beyond tech hobyists who can explain the difference in real terms and not just number stats that are possibly not really noticeable in daily use.

 

[85jas]

Alackman, to answer you directly there is very little difference - if you root your phone the only thing you'll notice is the apperance of a New app, the superuser app. This app allows other "power" programs to access the phone's system at a lower level. This allows you to install and use more.powerful apps (e.g. task killers which actually kill all those apps which just keep running!) etc. The main reason I rooted was to get a fully functional linux terminal in my pocket, yay!

So, to root or not to root? f you've always been a linux geek (like me) and want to experiment with this wonderful new bit of pocket-tech then rooting can be very exciting. If on the other hand your phone does everything you ever wanted and more, and you're still in warranty, don't. Sure, you may be able to squeeze an extra few percent out of the battery but is it worth it to you to void your precious warranty?

I really hope this helps you to decide what to do. In my mind if you're asking yourself 'should I root?' Then you probably shouldn't... If you're saying 'i wanna hack theplanet!' Then go right ahead

EDIT: Just read my own post again, 'tis a bit waffly but I hope it doesn't come across as patronising in any way!

 

[alackman]

HI 85jas,

thank you for your response, Im not actually asking peoples advice about if I shoudl root or not really, I just wanted to throw out a question i would imagaine some people are pondering upon and to read the ensuing discusion. I am mostly decided that I have no need to root and unless the information changes about the benefits, im staying with this. I didnt find your post in anyway patronising, I appreciate people spending the time to offer any response at all.

 

[85jas]

Alackman,

I had thought you may not really be asking that question, for some reason my brain told me to speil (just re-read my post again, oh dear). Hopefully someone somewhere will find this thread and be enlightened, one way or the other...

It's always great to have stimulating conversation!!!

 

[al090187]

I rooted my XE today, and had no problems with any software being removed or anything.

The reason I did it, was to enable a proxy server to be used, as the university network I am on requires that. The program needed low level access to change iptables. Apart from that, you can't tell the difference.

 

[murzz]

I rooted my DHD because it was 14 months old and i just fancied giving it a go. Some of the ROM's out there are pretty stunning but i have always liked Sense and ended up running ARHD a sense based ROM that gave me good battery life. Having just came over to the XE i'm impressed with the battery life so will be leaving it alone (for a while)

 

[wanbo]

I rooted my SXE a few weeks ago. I'm a complete noob and hadn't much of a clue what to do. I loaded the ARHD rom for a while, then cyanogenmod 7.1, then back to ARHD. I found that there wasn't much that was based on the XE itself, most ROMs are for the Sensation. Unless I was looking in the wrong place I don't know. Anyhow I reinstalled the Stock RUU v1.73.401.4 but still have s-off. I might root it again and just keep the stock ROM and mess about with CPU settings and battery saving apps etc. Nothing to technical because when I was running ARHD or cyanogenmod I found that the phone signal was very poor.....not recieving phone calls or text messages and I'd rather not go through that again. I did find that installing CPU tuner did significantly increase my battery life though which was good. Another perk was an app called Adfree which removes ads from free apps which was also handy....specially for angry birds lol. I think further reading and understanding of this whole rooting malarky is required. I can see the benefits but I suppose I'm too much of a noob to fully explore and utilise them. As far as I can see rooting and unrooting is fairly straight forward so surely give it ago. Why not eh?