Am i the only one who is scared of rooting

welp with all this snowy weather lately, i actually had time to root and it went really well, im just "Stock" root. its been pretty cool so far im just trying to figure out when i want to try and do the whole flash rom deal.

I'm not scared. I'm just waiting 2 more years for my agreement plan to run out. I'll do it then. =)

I was afraid, very afraid. I wasn't fully aware of what nandroid was and that's what kept me from going to custom roms. Once I realized nandroid was like ghost for the phone, and that you can always revert to a backup if you don't like something you did, I jumped in with both feet. SOOO glad I did! I've used almost every ROM in rom manager, and a few not, and settled now on Warm's TwoPointTwo...what a fantastic rom!

DO IT! Just make sure you back up stuff just in case you don't like something you changed and all will be well.

what is rooting!?

Rusty49 said:

okay, i'm a bit (maybe a lot) new to Android. I kindof get what rooting is but not really.... What exactly is it? What are the benefits? and What are the downsides?

In layman terms please.... like I said, i'm a newb.

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Rooting (Android OS) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not trying to be a jerk, but, if you don't know the basic pro's and con's of rooting I would STRONGLY suggest not rooting your phone. Until you can go into a HOW TO root thread and be comfortable and familiar with every step I'd stay as far away as possible. Rooting is a risk and is not for everyone. Don't worry, your Incredible is still awesome.

My pc is sorta outdated, circa 2005-2006 build. What are my chances I will run into something wrong when I root?

ezydroid said:

My pc is sorta outdated, circa 2005-2006 build. What are my chances I will run into something wrong when I root?

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You mean the PC you would attach your phone to?

Raftysworld said:

plus it's legality is questionable. you are right to be scared. just don't give into temptation and all will be ok

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It's perfectly legal to root a phone as per the United States government as of July 26, 2010.

AppleInsider | US government legalizes iPhone 'jailbreaking,' unlocking

As far as Warranty goes, you can unroot a phone and restore it to stock very easily, thus making the Warranty valid again.

iowabowtech said:

Exactly. Ton of brick stories when the slcd's hit the scene due to the need for an alternate recovery. Too many people getting the black screen and thinking they had a paperweight when they were fine all along.

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I have an SLCD Incredible. I rooted with Unrevoked and then applied the proper update afterwards to get the recovery working. It was easier, in my opinion, than using unrevoked with the proper recovery.

I don't know how anybody thought their phone was bricked because the recovery didn't work. Even with a busted recovery it still booted fine and functioned as it always had.

Had my DINC since the day it released. I finally rooted this morning using the steps provided on this very site. It is very worth it if you want better battery life, improved performance, wifi tethering at no charge and the ability to make your phone act and feel the way you want it to. if you are happy with the way it cam from Verizon, then no need to root. Peace out and Happy Crhismahannakwanzakahh

When this thread was first started, I was among the unrooted, apprehensive about messing with a device that I rely extensively upon for a professional practice, but very unhappy about certain aspects of the device (battery life and bloatware; "out of memory" messages) that were positively maddening.

As the thread progressed, I rooted my Dinc using Unrevoked 3.22. Then I ran unrevoked forever to prevent Big Red from unrooting me. Then I started doing nandroid & Titanium Backups. Then I started using SetCPU to underclock and extend battery life with screen off. Then I loaded Virtuous ROM 3.1, then 3.2, then modified the lock screen to a rotary lock screen, and most recently, modified the battery icons and the signal strength meter.

I am comfortable with tearing computers apart, opening and fixing ipods, and other tech stuff, although my last coding experience was on basic decades ago. I do not get or understand unix, and a lot of this stuff about kernels is beyond me.

But there are others who have gone before, and there are tremendous guides (the "All things root" guide on Android Forums is exceptional).

If you are patient, deliberate, and focus on the "one step at a time" approach, and you are positively OCD about backing up before making each incremental change, you can overcome a little apprehension and make the Dinc truly your own.

As several others have said here, however, it's not for everyone. (My daughter won't let me near her Incredible, although she complains incessantly about its losing her test messages on a routine basis). It's still a great device, even if unrooted, annoying characteristics and all, and, as is the genuine basis of open operating systems and environments, to each their own.

Happy Holidays.

i too went the root path since the beginning of this thread.... unrevoked is awesome.

be patient. follow directions. if your phone freezes.... WAIT for it.

I have flashed 2 ROM and my first Kernel. A few mods too.

All easy and just read up and follow directions!

I personally have found no reason to root. All I see is everyone rooting to "change how it looks" or to take screenshots (which can be done without rooting)... I have seen nothing so different from the standard wallpaper-widget-icon layouts to make it seem like rooting is more versatile. There are endless ways to customize the look and even the function of the phone without rooting.

As for "bloatware" and performance... the device is a tiny computer with an inadequate battery. There's only so much one should expect from it. I put in a 1750 battery and just got used to charging it based on usage. I'm never really somewhere that I cannot charge the phone.

Anyway... I can go on and on about this but the bottom line is that there is really no reason to root if you aren't tech savvy (if you don't understand things about rooting - it's better to just not do it). It seems a lot of people who root their phones do it either for the wrong reasons (wi-fi tether, customize) or don't even do anything with it.

If you don't know why you should or shouldn't root - don't root.

Just out of curiosity, why is using wifi tether the wrong reason for rooting? I've found it to be a lifesaver more than once when i've been on the road.

paulmz said:

I personally have found no reason to root. All I see is everyone rooting to "change how it looks" or to take screenshots (which can be done without rooting)... I have seen nothing so different from the standard wallpaper-widget-icon layouts to make it seem like rooting is more versatile. There are endless ways to customize the look and even the function of the phone without rooting.

As for "bloatware" and performance... the device is a tiny computer with an inadequate battery. There's only so much one should expect from it. I put in a 1750 battery and just got used to charging it based on usage. I'm never really somewhere that I cannot charge the phone.

Anyway... I can go on and on about this but the bottom line is that there is really no reason to root if you aren't tech savvy (if you don't understand things about rooting - it's better to just not do it). It seems a lot of people who root their phones do it either for the wrong reasons (wi-fi tether, customize) or don't even do anything with it.

If you don't know why you should or shouldn't root - don't root.

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giraffe999 said:

Just out of curiosity, why is using wifi tether the wrong reason for rooting? I've found it to be a lifesaver more than once when i've been on the road.

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Because on the Incredible specifically you can do wi-fi tether without rooting and without cost. Look it up on the forum: 3G Mobile Hotspot.

Also, EasyTether works perfectly fine as well. What laptop doesn't have a USB port for it?... unless you have an Apple product.

In addition to letting iPads access the web, having wifi tether also enables multiple users/devices at the same time. Plus, you don't need to remember to carry around a USB cable. And for whatever reason, I'd feel guilty about using the wifi hotspot 'sneak-around', but not bad at all using wifi tether app on rooted phone.

paulmz said:

Because on the Incredible specifically you can do wi-fi tether without rooting and without cost. Look it up on the forum: 3G Mobile Hotspot.

Also, EasyTether works perfectly fine as well. What laptop doesn't have a USB port for it?... unless you have an Apple product.

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giraffe999 said:

In addition to letting iPads access the web, having wifi tether also enables multiple users/devices at the same time. Plus, you don't need to remember to carry around a USB cable. And for whatever reason, I'd feel guilty about using the wifi hotspot 'sneak-around', but not bad at all using wifi tether app on rooted phone.

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I personally have no guilt about using the wi-fi tether "workaround". Big Red gets more than enough for their service and would just as soon spit on you before actually being helpful or cost-effective.

Anyway... I still don't see the wi-fi tether as a reason to root. It's much easier and safer to just pay the $20 per month to have it. (I mean safer in that a lot of people who root their devices for reasons like tethering still don't really understand about rooting and should just leave their devices alone.)

But, to each their own. I only find it strange that people who don't know how to do something simple like performing a Google search are rooting these expensive and temperamental devices the moment they get them... and end up doing practically nothing to it that sets it so far apart from stock.

It's like rooting is a fad- some people think they need to do it to be in the club.

I could root if I wanted to. I just don't want to. I like the phone as it is just fine.

just to update, i returned my phone to verizon for a warranty replacement (posted about that early in this thread). the phone was rooted when i sent it to them and i've heard nothing from them about it now weeks later. it may be their policy that rooting breaks the warranty agreement, but they do not practice that policy.

root without fear!

paulmz said:

Anyway... I still don't see the wi-fi tether as a reason to root. It's much easier and safer to just pay the $20 per month to have it. (I mean safer in that a lot of people who root their devices for reasons like tethering still don't really understand about rooting and should just leave their devices alone.)

But, to each their own. I only find it strange that people who don't know how to do something simple like performing a Google search are rooting these expensive and temperamental devices the moment they get them... and end up doing practically nothing to it that sets it so far apart from stock.

It's like rooting is a fad- some people think they need to do it to be in the club.

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I pretty much agree with this. I was initially hesitant to root, but did a few weeks ago. I am a technical person, so it wasn't really a big deal, and I've had few issues I didn't understand how to avoid/fix.

But for those who aren't technical, or don't have a specific need... Froyo is pretty flexible, and I really don't have much desire to do some of the mods just so I have a transparent app drawer, or circle battery in the status bar, or a 6 bar signal meter. BFD.

I have zero need for WiFi tethering (at the moment). No desire to watch Hulu on my device. Really, the backup abilities of a rooted phone are handy, but most of my data is in the cloud already, and rebuilding my device doesn't take that much longer (and just doesn't happen that often).

With that said... there are some things I do find useful, like more efficient ROMs, and battery saving kernels, and a few added features that wouldn't normally be on the device.

But if I didn't have some natural desire to tinker with computers, I don't believe any of those things is really worth the hassle and risk. Many people would be better off with the stock rom and buying a bigger battery.

1. The guy who was busted was messing with the software on Tracfone's to completely bypass the service (i.e., turning them into "free" phones). That violates the DMCA and is theft. He was definitely not just an end-user trying to run the silicon through its paces.

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maybe a bit off topic, but from my understanding of this, no one was making "free phones" out of tracfone phones. Tracphones will sell you a hand set for less than they pay for them, just like all the service providers. Difference is, Verizon and others lock you into a 2 year contract, guaranteeing them over the life of that contract they will make a profit off you. Tracfone doesn't lock you into a contract, but the phone they sell you for 10$ is locked to their network. If you jailbreak it, you can buy a phone from tracfone for 10$ then put it on another network. Basically people can buy new phones without having to sign a new contract. Tracfone looses out because they sold you that phone below cost, hoping you would buy minutes on their network.


As for rooting, no its not for everyone. Me and my wife bought incredibles at the same time. My is rooted and super customized, her's is still unrooted stock everything, tech stuff isn't her thing, she just wants a phone that works. My friend just bought his 13 year old daughter a Epic, and she doesn't even know what rooting is, and doesn't really care.

For me my first smart phone (The Incredible) was an awsome toy, as well as my new phone, so I tweeked out on it for weeks, rooting customizing, poking around and figureing all the ins and outs. I like gadgets and its like a hobby. I spend lots of time reading and researching all the features and possibilities, because its what I like to do.

For some people, all that seems like work. They get no joy out of it, and simply moving some icons around or changing the look of the phone, or showing off how they can wireless tether for free, isn't worth all that work.

But, if you do like that stuff, want to learn more about your phone, and don't mind or enjoy spending time reading and learning about rooting and the technicals of your phone, then rooting is super easy.

One thing to think about though, that I haven't really heard mentioned is, yes it's easy to unroot your phone, if its working!

I've read VZW don't really check to see if your rooted when you warranty your phone, but there is still the possibility. So, what happens if you root, then bust the screen? Can't unroot now, and you just have to send it off and hope they don't check. Just another something to think about.