Root Rooting Question from an Admitted N00b

JakeStarr37 · Oct 9, 2012

So I admit I am an avid user/fanboy of iOS, and have been for some time. For my birthday, however, I got a Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (GT-5100), and I plan on making the most of it. On my iOS devices, I've jailbroken them, and I understand everything there is to gain and benefit from them. With Android, I'm lost. I know rooting is what I want to do, and ultimately do whatever is necessary through custom ROMs to make this device what it is capable of being.

With this Tab 2, though, I haven't found much on it as far as the "good ROMs," and the "best method" of rooting. I did look over the guide in the primary thread here, and I plan on following through with those directions. At the same time, I figured I would pick the brains of those far more knowledgeable as far as ROMs go.

Also with this OS, is there an easier manner of installing third-party apps? I know that is one of the biggest advantages of the jailbreak on iOS, but didn't know if that was something that required rooting or no.

Thanks everyone, and I apologize for my lack of knowledge in advance.

Rxpert83 · Oct 9, 2012

With android you just put the app on the sd card and navigate to it with a file explorer app to install. No rooting needed.

I don't have your device, so that's where my useful knowledge for your situation ends. I will say rooting will open up way more options to you on android than jailbreaking ios

Welcome to the forums and to the good side

JakeStarr37 · Oct 9, 2012

In the battle of "good" versus "evil," I will now claim the role of Switzerland or Sweden...

Romulous · Oct 10, 2012

There are plenty of custom ROMs available for the Galaxy Tab, most of them being variants of the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android.

Then there are the Jellybean versions.

I am currently running the 'Nightly' releases of Cyanogen Mod 10 4.1.1 Jellybean on one of my Tabs, and Cyanogenmod 9 on my other, both of them excellent ROMs.

The tablet is very easy to root, only takes a couple of minutes if that, most people appear to struggle because they install the wrong version of Clockworkmod recovery for the version of their tablet.

In respect of Apps, these can be downloaded to your Tab via whatever method you choose and installed adhoc.

If the apps themselves do not originate from the Play Store then you have to enable Unknown Sources which will allow unsigned apps to be installed to your tablet.

JakeStarr37 · Oct 10, 2012

So am I safe to assume the guide is up to date and what I should fully follow?

Romulous · Oct 10, 2012

JakeStarr37 said:
So am I safe to assume the guide is up to date and what I should fully follow?

It should be fully upto date, let me have a quick read at it again and i will post back.

Romulous · Oct 10, 2012

The only difference i can see now is that there potentially could be issues if the Tablet is running Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 although they have posted a fix for this which is reported as working.

Both my Tablets shipped with 4.0.3 and i updated one of them to 4.0.4 prior to rooting and installing Cyanogen Mod on both.

I experienced no problems, however, mileage varies with each user, and, as with the Ipad, bricking can occur if done incorrectly.

JakeStarr37 · Oct 10, 2012

Yeah I'm still on 4.0.3 as well. What noticeable performance increases will I notice once I get CM up and running? And would JB be a more "gooder" one to go with or should I start with the ICS ROM and go from there?

Rxpert83 · Oct 10, 2012

Jb is absolutely a better os than ics

Romulous · Oct 10, 2012

JakeStarr37 said:
Yeah I'm still on 4.0.3 as well. What noticeable performance increases will I notice once I get CM up and running? And would JB be a more "gooder" one to go with or should I start with the ICS ROM and go from there?

The one thing i noticed about stock ICS was that it would lag quite a bit although any other aspect on day to day use was fantastic.

When, or 'if' you switch to Jellybean, you will see how buttery smooth it is.

One of the benefits about running a custom ROM is that they tend to come without all the bloated apps that most tablets ship with, and to be honest, most people would never use. This will free up more space on the tablet, and more importantly, free up much needed memory.

Even if the custom ROM ships with crap, you can install apps that will allow you to get rid of all the junk [handle with care].

JakeStarr37 · Oct 10, 2012

Awesome. I'll be doing this either tomorrow night or this weekend. I'm anxious to do it. I know I'll have a lot more questions to throw out there, and I appreciate the fact that those here are more helpful than looking to embarrass the newbies.

Romulous · Oct 11, 2012

Well, i have only been on the forums for about 5 months, and i have never seen anyone being ridiculed.

Everyone is very supportive, even though the same questions are asked time and time again, which i think speaks volumes about the Mods and the users.

JakeStarr37 · Oct 11, 2012

I figure a lot of questions are asked multiple times, but it should also speak to the fact more and more people are trying to learn the ropes. Sure you can find some threads with a vague connection to what you're wanting to know, but if there is a specific twist to what you're wanting to know, it ultimately needs to be asked again.

But I really appreciate the help here.

JakeStarr37 · Oct 11, 2012

It's official! I'm rooted, and on the JB nightly. Gotta say, since this is totally new to me, figuring out the differences is crazy... But I'm learning! UI on JB definitely has a more unique feel from iOS than ICS. I'm excited now.

Romulous · Oct 12, 2012

JakeStarr37 said:
It's official! I'm rooted, and on the JB nightly. Gotta say, since this is totally new to me, figuring out the differences is crazy... But I'm learning! UI on JB definitely has a more unique feel from iOS than ICS. I'm excited now.

Excellent stuff JakeStarr, glad it went with no hitches.

There are a couple apps you might want to consider now that you are rooted.

RomToolbox - this is a great app for any rooted android device and has a slew of features to allow you to backup/restore your existing rom. One of the most innovative features is the ability to disable Google ads etc in apps, especially useful for apps where the advetisements can be quite intrusive on the screen.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.liberty.toolbox&feature=search_result

Titanium Backup - This is a fantastic app for backing up and restoring you applications, especially handy if you are doing full wipes if you are installing another rom at some stage. Be warned though that if you have 2 gig of apps, then it will backup a similar amount to a seperate directory, however, these can easily be dumped onto a folder on your laptop/pc for retrieval later.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup&feature=search_result

Both apps have demo or 'lite' versions available, so mileage will vary depending on what functions you are looking to utilise.

Hope this helps.

JakeStarr37 · Oct 15, 2012

Got another question that I'm curious about... I have seen some people who have seemingly customized the UI, and I didn't know how all that worked, or if it was worth doing. Thoughts?

Romulous · Oct 15, 2012

JakeStarr37 said:
Got another question that I'm curious about... I have seen some people who have seemingly customized the UI, and I didn't know how all that worked, or if it was worth doing. Thoughts?

Hi Jake.

CyanogenMod runs on the Trebuchet launcer of which you can download custom skins and themes for it.

There are other launchers available, Apex being a very popular one, and there appear to be more and more themes/icons/skins released on an almost daily basis.

I never really bothered updating to a different launcher as the stock build suits my needs, plus, with fancier widgets effects etc comes with more battery power being consumed.

Now i would use my tablet extensively, more than my laptop now, so i prefer to have the best power option as opposed to bling.

Check some of them out, whatever you install can always be reversed at a later stage should you decide you dont like it.

This is the lite version on play

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anddoes.launcher&feature=search_result

fweiss09 · Nov 4, 2012

Romulous said:
The only difference i can see now is that there potentially could be issues if the Tablet is running Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 although they have posted a fix for this which is reported as working.

Both my Tablets shipped with 4.0.3 and i updated one of them to 4.0.4 prior to rooting and installing Cyanogen Mod on both.

I experienced no problems, however, mileage varies with each user, and, as with the Ipad, bricking can occur if done incorrectly.

Another noob here, can someone explain what the 'workaround' on post 325 is referring to? I recently purchased the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 for my wife and she updated OTA to 4.04.

So I looked on the forum page on how to root and see what we already know:

"If you used KIES to update to 4.04 BEFORE rooting OR received a new tablet that came loaded with 4.04, use workaround at post 325. "

I'm not sure what KIES is referring to (is this the Samsung pushed OTA update)?

Anyway, I ffwd to post 325 and see this:

"Quote:
Originally Posted by weltwon
Before any of you decide to try the 7" touch CWM on your 10.1,
be advised that when I tried it, it nearly bricked my Tab 2 10.1
so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Glenn
I was thinking more how hard to port it, not I wonder if it would work.

Sent from my XT860 using xda premium"

Nothing refers to any "workaround" that I can utilize.

On post 328 there is a mention about 4.04 but seems that the root process worked as instructed (if I'm understanding that correctly).

So where is this "workaround" and what do I need to be doing since I have 4.04 OTA update?

Sorry for the long post but thanks for the help! You guys are great!

Root Rooting Question from an Admitted N00b

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