if you are paying for insurance it is not a warranty issue
i also have yet to see anyone really brick their phone from rooting.
it was COMPLETELY dead?

 

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.

 

There is plenty of reason not to root. The possibility of bricking IS real. People HAVE BRICKED THEIR PHONES ROOTING. Even one-click methods are not entirely safe. If the process gets interupted at a critical point, you can corrupt key files.

I'm not saying that if a certainatity, or even a 1/500 chance. But it's a chance, and if YOU aren't getting any real benefit, it's not worth that risk.

And there are MANY members of this forum that have decided not to root for the time being (myself included). And before some ad hominem attack on my skill/nerd status...I've been messing around with Linux for the better part of a decade. I have built 5 computers, and know a half-dozen computer languages. I know what rooting is (I've rooted/flashed/etc every other smartphone I've owned) I just don't see the point.

So just because I go to Focushacks.com means I obviously want to tear out my fuel injection and replace it with a racing spec system from a GT. Just because you're interested in improving the device doesn't mean you see any need to muck around with the internals...

The same idea goes for insurance. Insurance will not cover intentional damage, and if Assurion (or whoever) figures out you bricked the phone trying to root, they will consider it intentional damage. Granted, I don't think that is at all likely, it's still possible.

 

rooting is the best thing to happen to me

 

hey guys....can any1 tell me what is the GREATNESS of rooting??? coz as far as i know it only help in uninstalling the inbuilt apps!

 

-you can flash different roms (either more vanillay, or something somebody has cooked up)
-full backup (backing up all settings etc)
-alot more control on settings (change multitasking settings, change how buttons light up, etc)
-wireless tethering (w/o paying $30/month to use the verizon app)
-overclock/underclock (improve performance and battery)
-easy screen shots (ok, I don't get this one, but people keep mentioning it)

probably some more,that I didn't mention.

 

Regarding the insurance issue, this is why I stated that:

It gave me something to confess.(I've been pretty good so my priest was suspicious already) I know it was unethical, unfortunately I rely on the phone to perform my work. I also justify the $200+ a month I pay VZ on a single phone number account to the fact that it is worth it to me.

Regarding the brick, I had nothing. SDK no go, no vibration, no white lines, no nothing. I tried the blind Vol UP Vol Down power button stuff for hours and hours. I can reflash my phone blindfolded. Linux machines nor winders boxes saw it. There was nothing. I repeat, NOTHING, It was toast.

And, again, your mileage may vary, but you and I aren't on the same road.

 

To me, the advantages of rooting are many. I was soooo scared of rooting at first when I had an Eris. Once I got to understanding ADB and things like that it's cake, I even now know how to deodex ROMs fully as well as zipalining the entire ROM for faster stock speeds. I now know how to them my own ROM. I enjoy learning things for myself rather than sitting back and having someone else do all the work,

 

I look forward to seeing it, in case I ever need to bring the Dinc back to VZ

 

I could never go back to stock. For me, the greatest advantage of rooting is far greater battery life. With setcpu and the ROM I am running, I can easily go nearly 2 days on 1 charge.

 

Truth is, if you root and are serious about learning about your phone, you won't need to take your phone back to Verizon at all. Ever. When I go into a VZW store, corporate or kiosk, I know 1,000 times more than even their "tech department" about my phone. There isn't anything that I don't feel like I can't fix on my own, either through trial and error or coming here and XDA and getting the solution. The ONLY reason why I would need to get any outside help for my phone is because I would have shattered the screen (like I have done once). In that case, there is no unrooting because the screen wouldn't even come on for me to see what I was doing. There is contacting Asurion and letting them know my screen is done and that I need a new phone. They ship it and I return the other one and move on with my life.

 

I'll see your "Uh what?" and I'll raise you a "Really???"!

Isn't that exactly what I said? vvv

Nobody is disputing the ease of achieving root, it is the potential for damage you can cause once you have SU access to the device! If I really have to go over all of the potential negatives I will, but I am going to assume you know them.

So your contention is that just because someone is here, they should root their phone?

-They can't come here to learn about Home Replacements?
-They can't come here to hear news and reviews of a cool, new App?
-They can't come here to discuss the latest firmware upgrade?
-They can't come here to learn tricks on conserving battery life?
-They can't come here to learn about some cool weather widget?
-They can't come here to compare layout and get ideas from others?
-Etc, etc, etc...

Listen, I personally am not against rooting (I am rooted actually) and see all of the cool things you can do (not the least of which is getting all the VZW installed crap off my phone), but it is simply not for everyone!!

Remember, for some this is not a toy but a business tool, for others it is a large expense not easily replaced. Either way, the potential to ruin that device is there. If you don't share the same concerns then that is great for you, but its not for everyone! Why not jump into helping people who are interested in rooting and specifically ask for assistance?

 

Not scared so much just not worth the minor risk or bricking to me. If there were some feature I really wanted and there was no other way to get it, I'd probably do it. For now, though, I haven't found anything like that yet.

 

Poor analogy. There's plenty to learn here and in other forums outside of getting root. The attitude that the phone is not useful without root is also faulty.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the passion that many here display about the phone and the OS, I just don't need to "make it mine" by rooting or going the custom ROM path.

I was simply presenting my non-rooted opinion.

 

I must agree. I had my phone for about 3 months before I rooted. I found these forums and found all the root guides and decided why not? Was probably one of the easiest things to do (using unrevoked). I can't be more happy, my phone is great, got rid of all the stupid bloatware, and customized it to my likings.

 

Interesting timing for a discussion about the legality of rooting/jailbreaking.

SlashDot just had this on yesterday: Jailtime For Jailbreaking - Slashdot (which in turn links to this article on Tech Dirt: Jailbreaking Phones Lands A Guy In... Jail! | Techdirt)

But it's not a scary as the headline makes it sound.... A guy who was unlocking iPhones (so they can be used on other carriers) and selling them for profit has been in jail for over a year now while facing criminal charges.

I haven't really done any research on it, but TrakFone's (civil) lawsuits against unlockers does seem potentially troubling, But simply rooting your own phone for your own use is not illegal.

That having been said, I haven't rooted yet. For me there are two reasons: 1) I'm a bit worried about voiding the warranty; 2) I haven't had time to research rooting and pick a ROM I'd want to try. Once I have a couple of days to do some reading, I'll probably wind up rooting.

 

I just wanted to state that I rooted my phone for the first time, with my first smartphone and it was quite easy as long as you follow directions that you can normally find anywhere. If you ask, or look on the board you can normally find some instructions that are very thorough in what you need to do and have and how to do it step by step. Thank god for those instructions and a friend that helped me along the way when I got stuck here and there.

But, overall. I am happy with my rooted phone, and now using a totally different rom that I fell in love with!

My heart was thumping the whole time, thumped louder as it got closer to the finish line. Then I was calm once I realized everything worked out successfully.

 

As a 7 year VZW employee, I can tell that VZW SAYS they will charge u if u root/unlock your phone however thats not actually the case. Its a scare tactic. Period. They dont want people rooting bc then we have the ability to get the apps for free that they want you to pay them your hard earned money for. Period. I have rooted/unlocked every phone I have had with VZW over the last 7 years, and trust, as an employee, there has been many, had issues, took it to the store to swap it out, exchanged with Asurion (insurance) and everything else and not once has someone called and said "Hey you rooted your phone, we're gonna charge you!" VZW does not take the time to look at that stuff. Yes, there are fears associated with rooting as far as bricking the device but as many have said, if you real a full tutorial BEFORE u do it its pretty simple. Now with the tools available you dont even have to do anything except turn the phone on and click a button.

So, all in all, as far as voiding your warranty, yes, u do, but who cares? No one checks. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of VZW ever given a damn about whether u unlocked your device or not. Lol.

 

I haven't rooted yet, i like many others are nervous to try it. I can follow instructions, but i don't know which ROM to choose. I'd like longer battery life, the ability to delete some of the "standard" apps and to be able to tether for free.

 

You dont have to change ROMs just because u root. Although, personally, I dont see the point in rooting without doing so. If u ask many people, many ppl will tell u different opinions on which ROMs are good. Basically u just have to look at the specifics of each of them and see what fits u best or what u like the most. Personally, I prefer either Skyraiders or Myns Warm 2.2 ROM. I was on SR from day one I rooted and I recently just switched to Myn's, whom I love as well. Both have good options and are visually pleasing. Those are the best to me but thats just my own personal opinion.

 

Perhaps someone could do a PROs and CONs article.

I joined this forum for several reasons...

#1. For real user advise
#2. To learn everything about the STOCK phone
#3. To learn everything about the ROOTED phone

Whether I will ROOT or not, I have not decided. The phone does A LOT already. I really don't care about it being a hotspot as I would prob end up racking a huge data bill, and anything I REALLY need to be able to do I should be able to do on the phone as is. That is the only thing I know about rooting. But with a little research I bet I could find out all the other perks.

However there may be a ton of reasons I might find to ROOT. When I "hacked" my PSP, I got more use out of it in one month than the 2 years I had it before. Seriously, if it weren't for all the legal issues Sony would be in and other headaches, they should sell them with the "hacked" firmware. Anything that incredibly increases functionality is a plus in my book.

 

This is quite possible one of the most ridiculous statements I think I have read on here! And this is coming from a user who IS rooted. Messing around in the OS has nothing to do with the core use of the phone, which is calls, texts and web access. You don't even need to know what root is to use this phone, let alone do it.

Rooting is NOT for everyone. Period. And there is not a single argument out there that ANYONE can make to change that. Is the rooting process itself simple? Sure. A well training monkey can do it. But gaining SU access to the phone is really just part one of rooting, there is a lot more to it than that.

The reason that it isn't for everyone is because many people just shouldn't have root access to their phone. There's a reason they don't come that way to begin with. Once a user has that sort of access they are opening themselves up for doing some serious damage to the phone if they don't know what they are doing.

Yea, you can find tons of guides that walk you through the rooting process. And even the unrooting process. And yes, Unrevoked made rooting painfully easy. But how many "simple" guides are there out there about what to do and not to do once rooted? How many guides are there out there explaining SetCPU or Titanium? How many guides about ROM's, what they are, why you use them, how to flash them, etc? Not many.

How many threads do we have like this on the board? How many people ask "what's root and what's it good for?"? IMO, if you don't understand the benefits of rooting then you shouldn't be doing it. And if you don't WANT the benefits of rooting then you shouldn't be doing it.


For what it's worth, I rooted my phone for one primary reason... to get all the massive amount of bloatware that Verizon/HTC put on my phone. It's MY phone and I get to decide what's on it. Since Verizon/HTC didn't give me that choice out of the box, I gave myself that choice.

Since then I have utilized root only apps (titanium, SetCPU, Wireless Tether, etc) and flashed a custom ROM. SetCPU is important to me because it improves my battery life by about 20%. Titanium is important to me because I have the peace of mind knowing that I have full and complete backup's of my apps. Wireless Tether because... well... I tether

My phone is rooted and I wouldn't have it any other way. But that doesn't change the fact that if someone asks me "should I root my phone?" my answer is not automatically yes! In fact, many times it's a big fat NO!

 

I probably won't root until the Incredible isn't supported by HTC and Google with Android updates anymore. Then I'll root just so I can get the latest OS. Of course, that's assuming that I won't have a different phone by then. Until then, the stock phone works just fine for me. I even don't mind Sense, though I did install Launcher Pro to experiment a little.

 

1/500 chance? i don't think so. the risk is very small and most likely you can take it back for another one from verizon if for some reason something does happen. the question is 'should I be scared to root?" and I say no. There are benefits to rooting... if you don't care about them why ask the question in the first place?

I also fail to equate one click rooting with swapping out fuel injection... However if I were interested in doing something like that I would join a forum and ask questions about it.

Of course people come here for all of those things. Most of the things you mentioned are greatly enhanced by having a rooted phone. Once again the op asked the question and I answered it with MY OPINION. Not sure why that has to be such a big deal to you.

My analogy is sound. I never said the only thing you can learn here is root. The fact is that rooting is safe and easy to do and that is what the op is asking about.

 

Thanks to all for a very lively discussion (and thanks for the confirmation of the ability to do a full system backup with Titanium only if rooted). I'm leaning increasingly towards running unrevoked and easing slowly into rooted waters.

A few comments however.

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.

2. You don't need root to tether. There is software that will tether, and you can choose to pay for it. I don't use it enough to warrant rooting just for that (I own tether-plus); and I pay Big Red thousands of dollars a year for many phones. If I want to use the data built into the phone how I choose, I have absolutely no ethical qualms about that. Big Red knows Android is an open system.

3. When phones are returned, they typically go to a clearing house/refurb company. The people who open the boxes probably don't even try to turn the damn thing on, and they certainly don't "track it back" to the problem reported by the user. They just check the ESN against the user, to ensure that receipt is noted, and immediately get to work on refurbishing the unit (if possible) to put it back out there in the marketplace as soon as possible. If you aren't actually showing the darn thing to a techie at a store, chances are decent that they'll never know you're rooted, especially when the problem is the "standard" stuff on Dincs, "disappearing sms's;" "spontaneous reboots", etc. etc. etc.