Root fears?

[Thatdad]

What exactly is it about rooting that makes a lot of android users cringe and say absolutely not or no way I'll never root?

I've rooted my Huawei Premia in about 4 minutes just by pointing and clicking, easiest process in the world. (Especially considering I use to be a Jailbreaker which I found was a lot harder to do and harder to fix if in Bootloop)

Anyway, all of you unrooted phone users, what has stopped you from taking the leap of faith and rooting your device?

Would love to hear from all of you!

 

[rabidhunter]

I rooted both my phones, but my SG Note 10.1 is a different story. The difference in my mind is the warantee thing. I paid a small amount of money for my phones, but a significant amount of money for my Note. I just don't want to take the chance with that.

 

[dan330]

1. void warranty
2. issues arrise in middle of process
3. not all phones have easy root processes. (1 click methods / kits)
4. fear of unknown
5. they dont see a "needed" feature/benifit
6. just plain dont want it

Me personally.. i have rooted all my Android devices..
custom ROMs are my 1# reason

 

[bubkusjones]

1. void warranty
2. issues arrise in middle of process
3. not all phones have easy root processes. (1 click methods / kits)
4. fear of unknown
5. they dont see a "needed" feature/benifit
6. just plain dont want it

Me personally.. i have rooted all my Android devices..
custom ROMs are my 1# reason

Pretty much this. My biggest fear was bricking my phone and having to buy a new one. I don't have an expensive phone but having to shell out another couple hundred to replace mine would be tough.

 

[jmar]

Hey y'all,

Moved this to the Android Lounge since this thread is specific to Android. Thanks for understanding!

jmar

 

[funkylogik]

It took me about 6months before i rooted my s3. Part fear, part just not feeling the need.
ive had much cheaper phones that i rooted straight out the box so i could boost CPU performance and get a newer better version of android :beer:

Although rooting doesnt legally void a warranty, the stress of trying to get a carrier or manufacturer to accept that is a daunting thought

 

[divinebovine]

I wouldn't want a phone/tablet that I can't root. It is a necessary part of owning it, for me.

That said, if I had an expensive one I'd consider not rooting it until the day that being unrooted irritates me too much, in order to make sure the hardware is not defective in case of warranty issues (and even then, only in the event that I cannot restore it to stock).

 

[Thatdad]

I just rooted mine a couple days ago. I haven't been able to flash any custom Roms just yet but I'm hoping to be able to soon!

About the warranties though, when I had jailbroken my iPhone 4 it bootlooped. I actually took it to the Apple Store and they replaced not asking any questions.. (It was rather obvious though since I had a custom boot screen, they didn't even seem to care at all)

Maybe I just got lucky.

The biggest reason why I decided to root was all of the stupid bloatware MetroPCS stupidly deems necessary for my device to have.

Biggest one for me was Easy wifi. Seriously useless for me since I never go to Mc Donalds, Starbucks, or anything with open wifi like that.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah and its defo best to wait until the dev community have a good grasp of the device so youre not using your phone as a $

 

[Thatdad]

Yeah and its defo best to wait until the dev community have a good grasp of the device so youre not using your phone as a $

 

[B2L]

I've rooted several of my devices, but I have yet to root my Galaxy S4. My main reason is stability, after experiencing hundreds of roms on different devices; I've yet to find one that's completely stable. There's always an issue, whether it be random reboots or something small. It's just a matter of the added features outweighing the bugs.

I'll likely end up rooting soon, I just need to get bored with the stock rom first.

 

[funkylogik]

Definitely. I think the only reason why Premia got a fair amount of Developer's attention is the fact the CPU and everything else under the hood is rather good for a decently priced Android.

But my phone is "somewhat" new.. I don't mind being a guinnaepig though, we all got to start somewhere. But its of no consequence since I have actually drastically improved the battery life of my phone. (seems to be the biggest complaint of this device)

Yeah if noone was willing to experiment, we would get nowhere and i must admit i enjoyed following the Boost Mobile s3 root forum when it was launched to see the development and experimentation in progress

 

[Thatdad]

I've rooted several of my devices, but I have yet to root my Galaxy S4. My main reason is stability, after experiencing hundreds of roms on different devices; I've yet to find one that's completely stable. There's always an issue, whether it be random reboots or something small. It's just a matter of the added features outweighing the bugs.

I'll likely end up rooting soon, I just need to get bored with the stock rom first.

Shouldn't take to long.

 

[funkylogik]

I've rooted several of my devices, but I have yet to root my Galaxy S4. My main reason is stability, after experiencing hundreds of roms on different devices; I've yet to find one that's completely stable. There's always an issue, whether it be random reboots or something small. It's just a matter of the added features outweighing the bugs.

I'll likely end up rooting soon, I just need to get bored with the stock rom first.

Id just root it justnow and remove all the bloat while u wait on a good stable rom :thumbup:

 

[Thatdad]

Yeah if noone was willing to experiment, we would get nowhere and i must admit i enjoyed following the Boost Mobile s3 root forum when it was launched to see the development and experimentation in progress

It is rather exhilarating isn't it? Watching projects begin and bloom into fruition. That's why I loved Jailbreaking and Modding as well as Rooting. There's just a comradeship you can't seem to find anywhere but in the "Modding Community."

It's refreshing.

 

[Hadron]

Stability varies - the ROM I used on my Desire for most of its last year was more stable than stock. Of course it wasn't first generation, and the dev was concerned about usage rather than trying to be clever or cutting edge.

I root because I want control, and if there's a problem I want to be able to fix it, which is much harder without root. And I'm the sort of person who always customises rather than uses the defaults

 

[Thatdad]

Stability varies - the ROM I used on my Desire for most of its last year was more stable than stock. Of course it wasn't first generation, and the dev was concerned about usage rather than trying to be clever or cutting edge.

I root because I want control, and if there's a problem I want to be able to fix it, which is much harder without root. And I'm the sort of person who always customises rather than uses the defaults

I'm all about customization lol. My iPhone 4 was so Modded it might as well have been android with an iPhone screen "look" lol. I even had the Pattern lock.

 

[Thatdad]

I rooted both my phones, but my SG Note 10.1 is a different story. The difference in my mind is the warantee thing. I paid a small amount of money for my phones, but a significant amount of money for my Note. I just don't want to take the chance with that.

Yeah that is a little different. Me personally I would Mod the heck out of it, but thats just how I am.

I was the type of kid who would "color outside the lines." :smokingsomb:

 

[funkylogik]

Lol i took my toys apart to see how they work then couldnt put them back together

 

[Thatdad]

Lol i took my toys apart to see how they work then couldnt put them back together

Mine was watches and clocks.. Needless to say there was a lot of clock parts and angry parents LOL

 

[Stuntman]

The first time I rooted a phone was a few months ago. Prior to that, I had no interest in rooting my phone. Here are my reasons:

• I didn't really care all that much about getting the latest updates for my phone if the existing OS version works for me.
• The bloatware was not an issue for me because it was never on my home screen.
• I didn't have any hate on the manufacturers skins. In fact, I do find that there are features of Sense and TouchWiz that I liked. Ever since I switched from an HTC to a Samsung, I miss some of the Sense features for which I can only find rather poorer substitutes.
• The customisability as and eventually with Nova Prime launcher served my needs very well.
• Rooting seems to be additional work for me at the time that required me to do even more work to make changes that seem to have a rather marginal benefit for me.

I did ended up rooting my phone a few months ago. The reason is that I need a feature that required root access. That feature was the ability to have the keyboard switch automatically to SwiftKey when the phone is in landscape and to Swype when the phone is in portrait. I did some research and found that I needed root for this feature.

The process from deciding to root my phone to finish rooting it is non-trivial. I know a lot of people say it took them a few minutes. As a first time rooter, I searched for the proper process to root my phone. When I found the instructions, I found them to be non-trivial. It involved connecting my phone to my PC, downloading some files, copying them over, uncompressing them and then doing some unconventional booting of the phone. It took me around 15-20 minutes as a first timer as I was checking every step with the instructions I had.

It's not necessarily hard and I was successful on my first attempt. I can see a potential issue where if I made a mistake at some point of the process. Then it can potentially become difficult to fix. It's not like installing an alternate launcher where it is fairly straight forward. If you made a mistake in the configuration, it is easy and obvious to say uninstall the app and then reinstall it. With rooting, if I selected something wrong by mistake, I don't know if there is an obvious way for inexperienced rooters to be able to undo it.

I think for many people, rooting is not something that I feel they would see a lot of benefit for the effort and risk. Android phones can already do so much out of the box already. I'm sure there are many features I don't use or even know about. For me, it was just that one feature that I wanted that needed root. I didn't do anything more than install the Keyboard Manager app.

 

[Thatdad]

The first time I rooted a phone was a few months ago. Prior to that, I had no interest in rooting my phone. Here are my reasons:

• I didn't really care all that much about getting the latest updates for my phone if the existing OS version works for me.
• The bloatware was not an issue for me because it was never on my home screen.
• I didn't have any hate on the manufacturers skins. In fact, I do find that there are features of Sense and TouchWiz that I liked. Ever since I switched from an HTC to a Samsung, I miss some of the Sense features for which I can only find rather poorer substitutes.
• The customisability as and eventually with Nova Prime launcher served my needs very well.
• Rooting seems to be additional work for me at the time that required me to do even more work to make changes that seem to have a rather marginal benefit for me.

I did ended up rooting my phone a few months ago. The reason is that I need a feature that required root access. That feature was the ability to have the keyboard switch automatically to SwiftKey when the phone is in landscape and to Swype when the phone is in portrait. I did some research and found that I needed root for this feature.

The process from deciding to root my phone to finish rooting it is non-trivial. I know a lot of people say it took them a few minutes. As a first time rooter, I searched for the proper process to root my phone. When I found the instructions, I found them to be non-trivial. It involved connecting my phone to my PC, downloading some files, copying them over, uncompressing them and then doing some unconventional booting of the phone. It took me around 15-20 minutes as a first timer as I was checking every step with the instructions I had.

It's not necessarily hard and I was successful on my first attempt. I can see a potential issue where if I made a mistake at some point of the process. Then it can potentially become difficult to fix. It's not like installing an alternate launcher where it is fairly straight forward. If you made a mistake in the configuration, it is easy and obvious to say uninstall the app and then reinstall it. With rooting, if I selected something wrong by mistake, I don't know if there is an obvious way for inexperienced rooters to be able to undo it.

I think for many people, rooting is not something that I feel they would see a lot of benefit for the effort and risk. Android phones can already do so much out of the box already. I'm sure there are many features I don't use or even know about. For me, it was just that one feature that I wanted that needed root. I didn't do anything more than install the Keyboard Manager app.

I can respect that. You are correct most people don't see a need, it seems to be more for Devs anyway.

In my honest opinion I think everyone could benefit from Root just because there is no limitations. If its available why keep yourself from it?

 

[MoodyBlues]

What exactly is it about rooting that makes a lot of android users cringe and say absolutely not or no way I'll never root?

When I got my first smartphone, a Motorola Bravo, I PLANNED on rooting it as soon as it arrived. But I didn't. For one thing, the only 'help' and files I could find online were for window$ users. Thanks, but I only use Linux, so those were worthless/useless on my computers.

But aside from that--and this is the reason I haven't rooted any of my phones to date--I just don't feel the need. And I think people around here who know me will be picking their chins up off the floor right about now! Like, WHAT?!, that UNIX/Linux geek who always talks about the FREEDOM *nix offers, like total ability to customize it, or disassemble its kernel and recompile it? Yeah, me.

I paid a good amount for my Motorola Atrix 4G and my Motorola Atrix 2. What I definitely don't need is a pretty, but expensive, little brick.

I really only use my phones for playing games. I basically don't text or check e-mail or do banking or pretty much anything else (even though I've installed apps for all those), because it's just too damned hard to read. I prefer doing all those things on my 17+" laptops, where I can actually see what I'm doing. On the rare occasions when I need to actually make a call, I do that, too, but that's about the extent to which I use smartphones. So there's just no need.

 

[Stuntman]

In my honest opinion I think everyone could benefit from Root just because there is no limitations. If its available why keep yourself from it?

If you're a user who is not hitting any of the non-root limitations, you're not getting any benefit for the effort. I was like that for about 2.5 years and on my second Android phone before I encountered a situation where rooting was actually necessary.

 

[Thatdad]

When I got my first smartphone, a Motorola Bravo, I PLANNED on rooting it as soon as it arrived. But I didn't. For one thing, the only 'help' and files I could find online were for window$ users. Thanks, but I only use Linux, so those were worthless/useless on my computers.

But aside from that--and this is the reason I haven't rooted any of my phones to date--I just don't feel the need. And I think people around here who know me will be picking their chins up off the floor right about now! Like, WHAT?!, that UNIX/Linux geek who always talks about the FREEDOM *nix offers, like total ability to customize it, or disassemble its kernel and recompile it? Yeah, me.

I paid a good amount for my Motorola Atrix 4G and my Motorola Atrix 2. What I definitely don't need is a pretty, but expensive, little brick.

I really only use my phones for playing games. I basically don't text or check e-mail or do banking or pretty much anything else (even though I've installed apps for all those), because it's just too damned hard to read. I prefer doing all those things on my 17+" laptops, where I can actually see what I'm doing. On the rare occasions when I need to actually make a call, I do that, too, but that's about the extent to which I use smartphones. So there's just no need.

A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open Windows.

But seriously yeah its a little bit more difficult, but you can root on Linux now! The only reason why I could see the benefits of you rooting your device/s would be the fact that you can tweak the CPU to enhance the performance of your device/s game. Other than that probably not a whole lot you could gain.