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Root How much will rooting effect my current tab setup?

varxtis

Newbie
Dec 25, 2012
44
2
Im considering Rooting my Galaxy Note 8.0 in order to take advantage of some Root based apps like BluputDroid to control my PS3, and also to find any apps that might help me do screen recording (recording the screen instead of just a screenshot). I rooted my old Galaxy Tab 10.1 at one point, but was dissappointed with the lack of apps that were available at that time. But I want to give it another go. My question though is, If I root, will I have to re-setup my tab as if it were a factory reset? or will rooting just open up additional "admin" features? Id REALLY like to keep my Note as it is.
Anybody have suggestions?
 
Rooting is putting one missing file in the tab's storage. The problem is that where it has to be put you need to be rooted to save a file - and if you were your phone would already be rooted so ...

So people find holes in the security of individual phone models that allow them to get root temporarily. That allows them to save a file named su (and usually one named busybox) to some place like /system/bin. That's the file that gives permanent root - su. In Linux you just type su, you're asked for the root password and you have root privileges. In Android, apps ask su for root, su asks an app like SuperSU whether to give it root, SuperSU asks you and reports your response back to su.

Doing all this is too complicated for some people so they download programs called "one click root" programs that - supposedly - do the above steps, gaining temporary root, installing su, busybox and SuperSU (and usually deleting the file that gave them temporary root, since it's no longer needed). If that's all they did, you'd never notice the difference (except for SuperSU or Superuser or some app like that being in your app drawer). But some people make mistakes, or don't understand what they're doing, so they make a one click root program that deletes files, factory resets your phone, does all sorts of things there's no reason to do.

The best way to root a phone is to find an exploit file for that phone (that's the one that gives you temporary root), learn to use adb and the Linux/Android command line, and root the phone. Aside from installing adb, it probably takes less time to root the phone (or tablet in your case) than finding and downloading a one click program. And you know exactly what was done.

The next best way I've found so far, and it's device-independent, is Kingo It'll check your phone, then check its database to see if it has an exploit for that phone. If it has, it'll root the phone. If it doesn't, it'll let you know and exit gracefully. (The nice thng is that if it rooted your phone, the next time you run it on that phone, the ""Root" button will say "Unroot", and it will. It'll leave your phone just the way it was before you rooted it.)

Either of these methods, adb or Kingo, will leave all your files and data intact. All they'll do is make su available for apps that call on it for root access.

If none of them appeal to you, you'll have to find a one click file for your tab. Will it leave your data intact? Will it reset your tab? There's no way to tell. Probably 95% of them work fine. It's getting one of the really bad 5% (maybe actually 1% or less) that leave your phone bricked. It's like 1,000 people running across a busy street on a red light. 997 of them make it. 2 get hit but live. But if you're one who gets killed, the numbers don't matter to you.

I personally won't run a one click unless it was something I could unzip, read the shell file and do the steps in adb, at least to the point that I knew that the exploit actually gave me root. (At that point I could see if the rest of the shell program was doing what it should, or something wrong or nasty. And I'd probably just finish the process by hand.) And then, only if I needed root on that phone for a reason. I buy phones with enough storage for what I need, so "getting rid of bloat" isn't a reason for me to root. Neither is "I don't like the way the homescreen looks". I seldom run the launcher that the phone comes with. (My current "daily luncher" is Nova. I ran Go for few years. Also ADW. You don't need root or a custom ROM for that.)

But if you're going to run a one click root, at least read the comments of people who have run that one on your tablet, in a few forums. Then at least you'll have a feeling of the odds of its running with no problems or ruining your tab.
 
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Wow, thats quite a lot to consider. Thank you.
If I were to try and go the exploit route or Kingo route, will i have to edit any code or anything. I am extreeeeeemely ignorant to the dev side of things and would much rather keep it that way… to much stuff changes too frequently. Its confusing and frustrating to me. So the most straight forward, least invasive method would be my preference. Im not concerned about changing themes or how the homescreen looks, just running a few apps that require root. The biggest thing im trying to do (which is mainly why im looking to root) is video capture (screen record). So do you think Kingo would be right for me?
 
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