Some months ago I rooted my Vibrant, and realized that was all I had done...rooted it. I had no idea where I was going after that point, so I unrooted and went about my day. I am taking a new approach, I would like some advice in rooting. Pros and cons (other than by rooting I have the chance of REALLY messing things up...i know that thanks.)
I would like to know what exactly rooting does for me, and if there are any articles anyone can point me to I would greatly appreciate the links.
ALSO I am dipping my toes into app development. the best way I could think to do so was with Google Labs App Inventor, but I think ive read that it limits you as far as developing and then sharing through the market, if someone could set me straight on that I would appreciate it, but this also goes in hand with rooting, I have read that alot of people who develop have rooted their phones.
I appreciate any help that you can give me.
Gore
Pro : Access to all the amazing ROMs this community has to offer.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
................................
Shortbus-Driver said:
................................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, that was helpful...thanks. next?
First off if u didnt want to deal with something u could tinker with u could of gotten a iphone but u didnt? Androids are open source so u can tweak it the way u want it to be, leave it stock or u can add themes to ur stock froyo and make it look like u want it to. But if u want to go all the way and realy make the phone live up to its potential u can root it and do so many amazing things with it once its opened to the power of the Superuser. U can make ur phone run so much faster and once it runs that fast and smooth ull wonder how u lived with that dull slowness of ur phone before. And dont forget all the cool colors u can add to ur phone that dont come with just stock, ginger red theme, high voltage blue and so many more. And then theres the mods that u get with ur phone that the brilliant developers port from other phones. Theres just too many reasons to root and none not to. now u know...LOL
Let me count the ways...
You can install applications that need root:
* AdFree - block in-application ads
* Titanium Backup - backup/restore applications AND their data, and with the paid version you can also backup to your dropbox account
* Root Explorer: Lets you manage files that aren't in your user partition, including the files for the annoyingly loud T-Mobile jingle that plays on boot. Sometimes you do need to start up your phone discreetly, without letting everyone in a 50m radius know you're a T-Mobile customer.
You can also UNinstall applications that you don't need. Don't want T-Mobile TV cluttering your applications list? Gone. Don't want Slacker Radio? Byebye.
Also, you can flash ROMs (or just kernels) that are much faster than the stock, unoptimized Samsung one. There is a thing called the Voodoo lagfix that makes your storage access cached, so applications aren't held up by slow writes when they need fast reads. Some also come with kernels that support Voodoo Sound which makes the audio output sound much better by increasing the sampling rate on the DAC and tying the DAC to the clock to reduce jitter. Definitely a must whether you're an audiophile with $10k cans or just plugging the phone into a sound system.
Let's see, what else. With root, you can also add on wifi tethering without having to shell out more money to use T-mobile's version. You can also install Clockwork Recovery and use it to make a complete backup of your phone, so in case you break it and get another one, just root it, install clockwork recovery, and restore the image and you're back to your old configuration.
So yeah... hopefully at least some of this stuff interests you. If not... well, yeah there's really no point in rooting.
Root becuse your mom told you not to
Not to be rude but if you don't know why you should root then you shouldn't.
OP, if you want an answer to your question, read my Vibrant Guide (why root) and then the Noob root (detailed steps) guide if you need help doing it.
If you read anything on this forum...and still cant figure it out...then give up...you'll never understand
OP, rooting is for those who are not 100% satisfied with there phones. Samsung has given us an amazing device, but fell short in delivering in some areas. Rooting helps us add more functionality & personalization options. If you are happy with the phone and no issues using the way Samsung gave you the phone. Then I do not see a reason for you to root. But if you are like one of us, Then you need to get on the Root train and follow the wonderful guide maintained by "s15274n".
Statutory Warning: Rooting & flashing an android device is a serious addiction. Might lead to serious domestic and or job related issues.
Why shouldn't you?
Unless you want to become a flash junkie with an obsessive need to mod, update, enhance or customize; jonesin’ to flash something every few days, suffering from withdrawals if you ever have to ODIN back to stock due to error (has yet to happen to me, though), scrounging XDA daily for your next hit, do not concern yourself with something like AOSP. Simply turn away and do not look back.
rooting your hpone basically gives you Admin privalages.
You can install custom apps and ROMs with awesome features!
nomadrider123 said:
Not to be rude but if you don't know why you should root then you shouldn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not to be rude but if you didn't have anything helpful to say then why say anything at all?
Thanks to most!
I thanked those who gave me some helpful advice. I do appreciate the insight. I guess i'll give this another crack.
By the By, with the exception of the handful of mildly entertaining comments, if you didnt have anything helpful to say, why say it? No one should discourage anybody from trying anything. Weighing my pros and cons was just a way to decide if its something I really wanted to mess with again.
SO again, thanks to all who did help, and thanks was given
^ I can't vouch for everyone, but the one you quoted I am confident didn't mean it negatively. Way too hard to decipher words on the Internet.
If you want additional features, you should root. If you are content, do not.
gorealmighty said:
not to be rude but if you didn't have anything helpful to say then why say anything at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thing was, nomad had a point. If you genuinely don't know why you should root--and a Vibrant, of all phones--you probably shouldn't. You mention the con of messing up the phone in your original post, and if you don't know the advantages of applying custom ROMs and kernels to the Vibrant, there's a decent chance you may well brick the device.
The Vibrant is a great phone, but tends to be so only after it's rooted and customized. Without the rooting and customization, there are problems with lag, gps, battery life, and myriad other functions.
By rooting and customizing, you're essentially updating the software in various ways that will help ameliorate those issues. My Vibrant was unusable to the point that I upgraded to a Nexus S. However, with the Nexus S, I got comfortable with rooting, unlocking bootloaders, adb, and flashing ROMs and kernels. It became rather routine.
It became routine enough, in fact, that I ended up going back to my Vibrant, because I was comfortable enough to experiment and attempt to make it better than it had been.
But if you don't know that you have to root to correct the lag, say, you may well be better off getting a more midrange Android phone that's more feature than super. You don't want to bork anything, after all.
Just do yourself a favor--understand that rooting and customizing are individual things, and that the forum is great for technical help but less so when you want to know things like which ROM is "best"; there's no such thing. If you root, play with the device, and play with the different ROMs. Give yourself a week where every day you use a different one so you can get a feel for which one's your favorite.
willentrekin said:
Thing was, nomad had a point. If you genuinely don't know why you should root--and a Vibrant, of all phones--you probably shouldn't. You mention the con of messing up the phone in your original post, and if you don't know the advantages of applying custom ROMs and kernels to the Vibrant, there's a decent chance you may well brick the device.
The Vibrant is a great phone, but tends to be so only after it's rooted and customized. Without the rooting and customization, there are problems with lag, gps, battery life, and myriad other functions.
By rooting and customizing, you're essentially updating the software in various ways that will help ameliorate those issues. My Vibrant was unusable to the point that I upgraded to a Nexus S. However, with the Nexus S, I got comfortable with rooting, unlocking bootloaders, adb, and flashing ROMs and kernels. It became rather routine.
It became routine enough, in fact, that I ended up going back to my Vibrant, because I was comfortable enough to experiment and attempt to make it better than it had been.
But if you don't know that you have to root to correct the lag, say, you may well be better off getting a more midrange Android phone that's more feature than super. You don't want to bork anything, after all.
Just do yourself a favor--understand that rooting and customizing are individual things, and that the forum is great for technical help but less so when you want to know things like which ROM is "best"; there's no such thing. If you root, play with the device, and play with the different ROMs. Give yourself a week where every day you use a different one so you can get a feel for which one's your favorite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with the initial quote in mind, I understand. But thank you just the same because this is in fact the kind of feedback I was looking for. DID get my phone rooted btw, now im just fighting with rom manager. I'm on my way though
gorealmighty said:
with the initial quote in mind, I understand. But thank you just the same because this is in fact the kind of feedback I was looking for. DID get my phone rooted btw, now im just fighting with rom manager. I'm on my way though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well good luck with it. It's a totally fun, very empowering process. And XDA is the Android equivalent of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; the users here are so knowledgeable and helpful, there's no reason to panic, ever. Pretty much everything you do to your phone will be mostly harmless.
What is with the complete lack of support for i905? Everything is either p7500 or p7510. In fact it is so p7500 or p7510 I ended up searching for whether or not i905 was a subdivision of one of those two models because there is absolutely no other options.
Also, why is this the only device development thread without a bible or some reference stickies! Comparatively to the other carriers who provide the 10.1, I thought verizon was the best choice due to no soft or hard caps on data plans and you essentially get what you pay for. Now I feel totally screwed. I've enjoyed xda's awesome community on my g1, mytouch, galaxy s and other devices but I feel completely homeless with this device.
I enjoy the stock rom and I'm not nearly as flash happy as I used to be, I mainly wanted a custom rom to unlock some standard bluetooth profiles that are locked by default on verizons's i905, such as A2DP. Does anyone know if you can use heimdall to install parts of a custom rom excluding the radio and other potentially brick-able parts? Or maybe any leads on just enabling the A2DP?
Thanks.
After browsing for hours more I'm starting to understand why verizon has a surplus of refurbished galaxy tabs. No doubt people are bricking their devices trying to use any of the awesome looking incompatible roms and sending them back because their is so little information about LTE vzw i905 devices anywhere. What gives? It's still a galaxy tab 10.1! Even the few roms that claim to work with LTE completely lose 4g :'(
Are verizon tabs just completely screwed?
I almost bought a verizon tab but it was priced stupid and contact if I got it was forever it seemed. Didn't know of the lack of support for it, but an really glad I never got one.
Other than current lack of custom support for it being pretty obvious, I know nothing more about it. Sorry.
If you can read this it was sent using my GT-P7510.
On MetroPCS, when strongly recommended to upgrade to a GSM capable phone, traded it in for a Galaxy Light. I have since switched to T-Mobile and borrowed a friend's old phone until my ebay bought S5 comes in later this week. Meaning, i now have a locked Galaxy Light useful as a toy or wifi phone (which i don't care much about). Right now, i'm just using it as an alarm clock.
I want to get rid of all the MetroPCS stuff, have a toy to play stuff on, and use for Android development (learning java right now). I also want to get more comfortable with rooting and custom roms before i attempt anything so drastic on my S5. A little searching found LightWave. Is there a list of (custom) ROMs available for the Galaxy Light, and what each one is (purportedly) best for? I apologize. I am a little confused about the forum structure here on xda. Though, this definitely seems like the place to be.
I'm on Sprint so if I go Galaxy I have no chance of getting root based on what I'm hearing right now. So a big selling point here is the ability to actually do some decent, cool root stuff on the G5. However, in the past I've mainly used root for wireless tether, but I now have hotspot so that won't be a huge deal either. I never had the V10 or G4—was the development decent there? Do you think it'll be decent on the G5?
Put differently, what are some of the main things you'd need to see in development for G5 in order to think it's worth getting over the Galaxy S7 or S7E, *and* do you think we'll see those things?
Thanks!!
The biggest thing for me is that I enjoy using a stock rom over the different softwares that phones come preinstalled with. From what I have seen many different developers already plan on porting Cyanogenmod for the G5 if you enjoy using a custom rom. The biggest reason I chose the G5 over any Galaxy is the fact that I really don't like Touchwiz at all and if there is a chance of not being able to root it and get away from that terrible software I wouldn't want to take the risk.
CorruptProfile said:
The biggest thing for me is that I enjoy using a stock rom over the different softwares that phones come preinstalled with. From what I have seen many different developers already plan on porting Cyanogenmod for the G5 if you enjoy using a custom rom. The biggest reason I chose the G5 over any Galaxy is the fact that I really don't like Touchwiz at all and if there is a chance of not being able to root it and get away from that terrible software I wouldn't want to take the risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm not big into custom roms, actually. Too much work! When you say stock roms here, are you including stock but rooted?
So basically you chose it because of your dislike for Touchwiz, not because of development potential? And when's the last time you interacted much with Touchwiz (I've never owned a Samsung but I hear people saying it's gotten a lot better, and accusing Touchwiz haters of not having tried recent versions...not saying that's the case with you but just trying to get a feel here.) I've got to two stores to demo the Galaxies but they are in retail mode so I can't really tell if I'll like it or not (which is super frustrating!!).
Being on Sprint you can count on there being less development for it's version than the others. But there should surely be some and able to take some advantage of things from other versions. Check the G4 and G3 too see how different the amount of stuff for Sprint is. Darn CDMA lol
panamaniac said:
Yeah, I'm not big into custom roms, actually. Too much work! When you say stock roms here, are you including stock but rooted?
So basically you chose it because of your dislike for Touchwiz, not because of development potential? And when's the last time you interacted much with Touchwiz (I've never owned a Samsung but I hear people saying it's gotten a lot better, and accusing Touchwiz haters of not having tried recent versions...not saying that's the case with you but just trying to get a feel here.) I've got to two stores to demo the Galaxies but they are in retail mode so I can't really tell if I'll like it or not (which is super frustrating!!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very true I haven't personally owned a Galaxy phone since the S2 Epic 4G Touch and I know Touchwiz has gotten better since then since I have many friends who run Touchwiz. However, I still don't like Touchwiz even with the improvements they have made to their software. Also, when I say stock I do mean stock rooted roms and these do come out for most variants of phones.
The only probelm is that atleast Tmo's version has a locked bootloader just like the S7, so how are you going to install custom roms ??
i am buying a new phone, the S8+ to be exact, and there have been a lot of new developments (problems) when it comes to rooting your device. i've been rooting my smartphone devices for over 10 years because i love the freedom it brings (er, brought). Now i read things like Netflix, Snapchat, and AndroidPay not working on rooted devices. So i am wondering what people's experiences have been like. Any regrets? Are the trade-offs worth it to you? Is it worth being able to uninstall bloatware and install custom ROMs if a lot of other features and apps will stop working? i know most of this is personal preference but would like to know more about what other people have experienced.
billybag said:
i am buying a new phone, the S8+ to be exact, and there have been a lot of new developments (problems) when it comes to rooting your device. i've been rooting my smartphone devices for over 10 years because i love the freedom it brings (er, brought). Now i read things like Netflix, Snapchat, and AndroidPay not working on rooted devices. So i am wondering what people's experiences have been like. Any regrets? Are the trade-offs worth it to you? Is it worth being able to uninstall bloatware and install custom ROMs if a lot of other features and apps will stop working? i know most of this is personal preference but would like to know more about what other people have experienced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First and foremost, if you plan on getting a US variant, meaning it will have a SD835 in it, Root is unlikely to come soon for it, This doesn't mean it won't happen, just not soon. Now if we're talking international, the ones that ship with an Exynos in it, they're rootable now.
Now, with that out the way let's get into the questions you've asked. There will indeed be a selection of apps that will not work when rooted these days because of "SafetyNet" check failure. Some of the biggest would be Snapchat and Android pay, However they will work with the assistance of Magisk which will allow SafetyNet to pass it's check, Same goes for most apps that fail to work because of root presence.
Heading back to what I first mentioned now, Rooting a Samsung device of recent years comes with some pretty notable cons to it, These would include loss of KNOX, I'm not sure what your stance on security is but if security is a concern to you, losing KNOX is not good. Another big and notable con is you will lose all Samsung pay support permanently, Actually to be honest both of the latter are permanently lost once rooted. If these things aren't a concern for you then by all means root away.
On to other things now, Rooting these days doesn't present as many attractive things as it use to, especially on a Samsung device. Most OEMS have given alternatives to many of the things a user couldn't do without root before. Currently there is no Xposed on Nougat and above, it's being worked on but there is no foreseeable date that can be given on when it will be completed.
So all in all, Until root is achieved for the Snapdragon variants, I'd hold off on a purchase of an S8. If we're talking Exynos variants then by all means get one, as I've said they're rootable right now. But don't let that be the ray of sunshine, though they're rootable, They're in infact an Exynos and Samsung is unwilling to provide source code to their Exynos chipsets. Which basically means to you that custom ROMs will be limited to rehashes of the stock ROMs with a couple mods if possible, AOSP such as Lineage and others like it are next to impossible to happen on Exynos without a source code to work from. It has been done before but the resulting roms took a long time to develop and either were extremely buggy or were just simply not usable for daily use.
I'm pretty sure I've hopefully covered every aspect I could but if you've got any more questions I'll surely answer them.
I apologise for this being so long lol.
Perfect. Thank you, this helped a lot.
billybag said:
Perfect. Thank you, this helped a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I could help, Again sorry it was a lengthy response but it was necessary to cover all of it.