general questions

[MjK3]

Okay so I recently switched from an iphone four to the SGSII. I love this phone and I am am interested in rooting it. But I have some questions that id like to know the answers to before I consider it.
1) I upgraded to Gingerbread.UCKK6. Will this affect my rooting my phone? If so how?
2) what is a kernal ans how do you pick one?
3) what is a rom and how do I pick one?
4) how do I pick which software to root?

I have a samsung galaxy s ii(ATT) AKA THE SGH-I777.
If you have any quesrions post them and I will answer to the best of my ability.

 

[T.M.M.L]

Greetings MjK3,

I would first ask you, why do you want to root your phone? It doesn't seem like you've had it all that long, and I wonder what does it not do that you wish it did?

I'm not try to come off as elitist or blowing you off as a "Noob", because most of us started out like you are now, but you don't seem to have grasp on what rooting, and rom switching incurs.

I would suggest a little "light, LOL!" reading up on the whole thing, before you start to tinkering with your phone.

Let me get off my soapbox, because that's not what you come here for. I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1. I don't know the answer to this one. I'm unfamiliar with how old the update you've upgraded to is. The rule of thumb is that for every update, there is usually a waiting period (could be short, could be incredibly long. Never can tell), before a way to root it is found. Updates in general, close of whatever exploit was used in the previous version of the firmware to attain root.

2. A kernel is like the engine for the phone. It tells the phone how to perform and how to run the software.

2b. Picking one is a matter of choice. There can be number of kernels available for any device. The choice is up to the user. Some will work better than others. Your best bet is to read up on a kernel. Check out the comments from the developer and the people who use their work.

3. Roms contain the information for a device to work. They supply the the instructions for the kernel to run. Roms contain the overall appearance of you phone, the apps that come installed. Its the operating system for your phone. Think Windows or OSX.

3b. Same as 2b.

4. I'm a little confused with this question. Are you asking which software on your device to root, or asking which particular software is used for the rooting purpose.

If it's the latter, then your gonna have to do some reading to find that out. Different devices have different ways of rooting that phone.

Here is a link to the sub forum for your phone. I would suggest looking through it and getting better acquainted with how things work. The most often asked questions and information are usually pinned at the top of the forum.

Samsung Galaxy S2 (AT&T) - Android Forums

Good luck hope this helps.

 

[jerofld]

I would like to make a small addendum to what TMML said. I'd check out the rooting subforum:

Galaxy S2 (AT&T) - All Things Root - Android Forums

As these questions revolve around root.

 

[lunatic59]

*moved to Samsung Galaxy S2 (AT&T) > Galaxy S2 (AT&T) - All Things Root forum*

 

[MjK3]

Hello T.M.M.L,

You are correct; I have only had my phone since Black Friday. I have an idea of how it works; however, I wanted to make sure I had all of the facts straight before I even considered rooting my phone.

I would like to root my phone for a few reasons:
Firstly, I honestly enjoy tinkering with devices. I have had the first four iPhones and have jailbroken them. Secondly, I do not like the bloatware on the phone. I have not used many of the apps that come preinstalled on the phone, yet when I open the task manager I find them running. I wondered if there was a software glitch, so I tried restoring the phone. This did not solve my problem, so I would like to remove the offending apps (assuming they are not important to the phones operation. Jerofld, I plan to check your link for which apps I can safely remove). Lastly, I want the ability to backup ALL of my app information, and conveniently, I came across Titanium Backup; however, this app requires root access.

Answering questions you posed:
I was asking about software used for the rooting purpose.

Thanks guys for your help!

 

[lunatic59]

Let me suggest that you read through this thread first. Why You Don't Need a Task Killer. There is a good deal about the misconceptions about Androids reporting of 'running' apps.

As to removing bloatware, Let me offer a word of caution. Many apps provide services for other parts of the OS and if you remove them, you can disable certain features or make your phone unusable. More importantly, system apps are not easily restorable like simply installing an .apk file. And once deleted, even a factory reset will not recover them. You will have to locate and flash a stock rom image to get them back. If you plan on rooting and deleting those apps, please check back here first before you do anything so we can make sure it's safe for you to delete those without any negative impact to your phone.

 

[T.M.M.L]

Questions asked and answered, Lol.

I like to inquire from people who desire to root, because a lot of the time I see "I just got device X today, I want to root it. What do I need to do?"

I never quite understand that logic. I figure, give yourself some time with the device to find out what it does and doesn't do for you. Then if something is amiss, rooting might be what you need.

This is just my opinion, and you know what they say about those...LOL!