Database Users

Really hard decision

Root or Not. Soooo hard
I've read how to do it and all the benefits and i really really want to but then again i read the "Broken phone " threads and it makes me indecisive.
When did you guys root your phone? (How long after receiving it)
What do you guys think?

Just did root on mine today, after almost 2 months. Couldn't resist any longer. So far so good. This thing is a lot faster, and noticeably smoother.

I waited a month... i let the phone get accustomed to my lifestyle and see if the normal use i give it would keep it intact and it was fine so i was satisfied enough to root it... personally i would just wait till the 14 day return period and after that go for it
and keep in mind, its like losing your virginity, once its gone its gone

I rooted mine from day one

within 1 hour of receiving the phone..

I still have not rooted mine... but I am ][ close to doing it!!

I've had the phone since a week after it was released and I have not rooted. So far there's nothing compelling enough to want me to switch.

There is absolutely ZERO reason to root unless you want some/all of the features in the CyanogenMod rom or want to try the Desire rom. (Look in Nexus One -> Development for their respective threads.)
Do you want/need either of those?

Paul22000 said:
There is absolutely ZERO reason to root unless you want some/all of the features in the CyanogenMod rom or want to try the Desire rom. (Look in Nexus One -> Development for their respective threads.)
Do you want/need either of those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or if you want a nice speed boost.

wifi tether?

Paul22000 said:
There is absolutely ZERO reason to root unless you want some/all of the features in the CyanogenMod rom or want to try the Desire rom. (Look in Nexus One -> Development for their respective threads.)
Do you want/need either of those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol...what??
I'm using Enoms TheOfficial ROM because it's more stable than Cyanogens. I use Cyanogens Kernel but that's it. There are so many reasons to Root. Cyanogen isn't a God like people make him out to be. He's a really good developer, don't get me wrong but his perception is a little over the top [which doesn't have anything to do with him personally, it's his followers].
Many reasons to root are underclocking, Tethering, Cyanogens Kernel that gives me around 300mb RAM free vs Stock being at around 120mb. Some apps require root like Nexus One Torch which is very helpful. I think the number one reason is to have a more reliable and stable ROM. Enomther and Cyanogen are good at working out the bugs and eliminating the excess coding.
I rooted my phone after 3 days because I wanted to make sure I didn't get one of the devices that had dust under the screen. After 3 days I was sure it was fine. Also I spoke with a Google employee that told me that they have had multiple instances that have had rooted devices replaced under warranty that had obvious hardware defects.

If you like to customize then rooting is for you, it opens up a whole new selection of mods/themes etc. I also found the speed increase even without overclocking to be pretty awesome

getting rid of amazon mp3 was enough to make me root
It's fairly simple and risk free in my experience

Root or No Root

Hey guys, I have been using smart phones for a while and usually get around great without rooting. I had the HTC Dream back in the day and couldnt use it without rooting, lol. I am upgrading from the G1 which has met the end of the road for me. What are the benefits of rooting? With the Vibrant which I will finally have on Tuesday, is it necessary? And if it is HIGHLY recommended, how do I go about rooting it?

i would say root it cause its really easy takes not even 5 minutes seriously lol but i would also root it cause there is lots of bloatware on this thing so many apps that arent needed

I am not generally a rooter but this one seemed so easy (and it is) that I did it.
I didn't root the phone to dig into the files, I did it just so I could install stuff that I couldn't otherwise install. It bugged me to see a cool app and then read "YOU MUST HAVE ROOT ACCESS". That's not a problem anymore.
You certainly don't lose anything by rooting so I would say go for it.

Any other disadvantages/advantages

really there are no disadvantages accept maybe warranty but i think theres a way to unroot so no probs but once everything starts picking up there will be way more advantages than disadvantages

Besides the fact of removing awful apps (Bloatware), you can use your phone to tether. Also you can use an app called SetCPU to overclock your processor to actaully use your 1GHZ processor which speeds your phone up, along with a ton of other root apps. Youll be able to flash custom ROMS, flash themes, etc. Not sure if there is a volume hack for the vibrant yet, but that has been a reason for past rooted phones as well.
I highly recommend it...

AdFree Android removes nearly all ads from websites and apps

reasons to root
1. Use apps that require root access (such as Titanium Backup and Drocap2)
2. Remove preloaded bloatware (who needs TeleNav when Google Maps Navigation is totally free?)
3. Full access to filesystem (useful for developers and general tinkerers)
reasons not to root
1. Always involves some risk (however small) of irreversibly damaging your device
2. Could void warranty or official support
3. Makes it easier for you to accidentally mess up your system.

I only rooted my mytouch and g1 phones so i can get apps2sd, wi-tethering, and overclockcpu.
however, since the upcoming froyo update will allow most of that, i chose not to root for the time being. the phone is very fast and stable for my current needs and has an ample amount of internal memory. the only other reason to root for me would be to flash roms/themes because of my dislike for Samsung's TouchWiz.
it depends on what you ultimately want to get out of your phone.

ryan562 said:
I only rooted my mytouch and g1 phones so i can get apps2sd, wi-tethering, and overclockcpu.
however, since the upcoming froyo update will allow most of that, i chose not to root for the time being. the phone is very fast and stable for my current needs and has an ample amount of internal memory. the only other reason to root for me would be to flash roms/themes because of my dislike for Samsung's TouchWiz.
it depends on what you ultimately want to get out of your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me i had the g1 loved to root however i switched to unlocked iphone and now im back with the vibrant , the vibrant does everything i want now and the ease of the rooting might have me root if froyo is delayed by Tmobile or something.

Understood, also from reading I dont think there is a way to unroot the phone at all is it? And another ? since you all are being so helpful, is there already an app to at least see what speed your processor is running at. i know that task managers arent really needed, but some of them showed ur cpu speed as well as the load on it. is that something that anyone had an interest in and found. thanks for all of you all's help

Hmm, still debating on rooting. Waiting for my Froyo update. Plus I want to port my Harley-Davidson theme I made for my G1 to Vibrant. Hopefully they don't use those CRAMS files on Vibrant, cause that is when I had to stop themeing my G1. CRAMS was too difficult to mess with. Is the signing file method gonna be the same as G1, or is there a different testsign file? Plus I hope to see my stock file, plus a thinned down, less bloatware file, and themeing templates. So many factors to consider.

I say ROOT! I've never rooted a phone till this one. I just couldn't stand all the bloatware that was in this phone. They just had to be removed. Now all I'm waiting for are some sick ass ROMs I've seen done for other devices to hit this one. I'm sure I'll need help doing so, but this community has been fantastic when help is needed.
Plus side for me is that I also have a 3 week old New still in the box Nexus One as a backup phone in case I screw this one up.

I rooted mine because people kept saying you could tether, but none of the tethering apps actually WORK. They install fine, and Wireless-Tethering says it's working, but the access point never shows up. And Wired-Tethering says the kernel isn't compatible.
So I'd like to hear from any rooted users who actually got them working AND successfully tethered a laptop with it.

talltexan said:
Same for me i had the g1 loved to root however i switched to unlocked iphone and now im back with the vibrant , the vibrant does everything i want now and the ease of the rooting might have me root if froyo is delayed by Tmobile or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if there's any delay on the froyo update, i'd blame it on samsung

I was hoping not to have to root the phone so soon - especially until I could reset it back and a recover like Amon's is available, but after a glorious couple of days of honeymoon, the lags are just killing the experience for me. And I don't think I have a choice now, but to root. I'll try a general reset and see if it works. I have another Vibrant that seems to be only slightly laggy. But I have to return that one and keep the problematic one :-(
Even moving icons on the desktop now takes almost 2 second. Linpack still clocks at 8.5. No problem at all playing a video - just OS operations. The camera froze for 5 minutes and I finally had to just restart the phone. Restarting the phone is not painful on this device though. Very fast.

At this time so early in Vibrant development.. it honestly doesn't really make much of a difference if you root early or root later. Just enjoy the phone for what it is as of right now until the modding community becomes settled in. Just be aware if there are any incoming OTAs if you are unrooted to make sure that the OTA didn't do anything that would change the rooting process.
- Recovery (ability to flash custom ROMs) is in the making
- Custom ROM developers -- in the makes soon
So here's the question. Should I go ahead and invest on a Vibrant (but work for it will begin when I get the Slide done) cont... about 7 hours ago via HTC Peep
If I keep getting the donations I am now, I can get the laptop along with the Vibrant, just considering the Vibrant first ...cont about 7 hours ago via HTC Peep -WesGarner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would personally go ahead and root it to unlock some essential applications and it takes <1 minute to do and its pretty simple. But there isn't any rush to root it now or later.. not at least CyanogenMod6 (Android 2.2) gets released for this beastly phone to have JIT.

nm found it

N8QDogg said:
Understood, also from reading I dont think there is a way to unroot the phone at all is it? And another ? since you all are being so helpful, is there already an app to at least see what speed your processor is running at. i know that task managers arent really needed, but some of them showed ur cpu speed as well as the load on it. is that something that anyone had an interest in and found. thanks for all of you all's help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the root method given so far, I think the only thing you have to do to unroot it is to remove Superuser Permissions. That's the only thing that the root procedure added to the phone.

I'm rooting my phone when I get it, just because to me (at least) it is a part of the true android experience. I'm just geek enough to like to play with my equipment! Hurry up T-Mobile!!!

[Q] Switching from the iPhone 4 to Droid X

Hey everybody, I'm switching to an iPhone 4 to the Droid X within a matter of weeks now. That being said, I am a VERY experience user of iOS and even got Android on my old iTouch. Every iDevice I have owned has been jailbroken and heavily used. However, I believe it is time to switch to the Droid X. It has a much bigger screen, much more speed, and a more reliable network. Now to the good stuff - I have been following several threads on the Droid X about the "ROMS" . I do love the Vanilla Android look and would definetely want to put that on my upcoming Droid X. Does anyone know of a good instruction guide to get that properly set-up and working for noobies? Thanks to everybody, looking forward to making the big switch!

there is a good tutorial over on droidxforums.com for root/roms/backup in the hacks section

Welcome aboard. I too dumped my iPhone 4 after six months and now have the Droid X. I cleared some good resale value, and couldn't be happier. If you haven't sold it yet I would suggest checking out www.wennecorp.com, they were easy to deal with and a legit buyer.

Z4root will get you rooted (free in market) and Rom Manager will get you familiar with roms. You will also need bootstrap recovery to get started flashing. Google it. Steer clear of the leaked 2.2.1 flash for now. There is no full SBF to recover if things go wrong. Once the full SBF is available, it's no big deal. Use Rom Manager to back up before each and every flash. This will save you alot of headache.You will always have something stable to go back to if things go bad, unless you upgrade bootloader. Once you upgrade bootloader, old backups are useless. Another reason to stay away from the leak for now.

thanks for the suggestion bro

Barkleyfan said:
Z4root will get you rooted (free in market) and Rom Manager will get you familiar with roms. You will also need bootstrap recovery to get started flashing. Google it. Steer clear of the leaked 2.2.1 flash for now. There is no full SBF to recover if things go wrong. Once the full SBF is available, it's no big deal. Use Rom Manager to back up before each and every flash. This will save you alot of headache.You will always have something stable to go back to if things go bad, unless you upgrade bootloader. Once you upgrade bootloader, old backups are useless. Another reason to stay away from the leak for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks so much for the explanation man. the iphone 4 is pretty simple to hack with the new jailbreaks and such ahah. it will be fun playing witht he droid x tho. thanks again . i will search a bit more

Cyanogen or froyo stock?

Hi, I just got my g2 from the free promotion thingy and im pretty much new to andriod. Should I stay on stock froyo or use cyanogen? And what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I would root it. There are tons of things that are advantages, such taking some of the crapware that comes bundled on the phone, ability to put themes on your phone, and you get added features with cyanogenmod and other roms out there. The features you can check out for yourself, which can be found on changelogs, YouTube videos, forum post, etc. Spend some time, read that roms' forum thread and learn a few things along the way.
Sent from my HTC Vision

It can be a tough decision.
First of all I am coming from a g1 that was running the latest stable cyanogenmod so the G2 has been an amazing phone stock. It is super fast and the display is seriously amazing. I did root it because I wanted to check out the cm7 nightlies and also the stable cm6.1.1.
First of all I actually like some of the apps that came pre-installed on the g2. Quickoffice is amazing and an excellent ppt, pdf, doc viewer. I did miss that on cyanogen and I also preferred the stock 2.2 scheme and app drawer. However these are the main differences. Everything else is very similar just with added functionality. You can manipulate every aspect of the UI including the power widget on the notification bar (my personal favorite). You can also overclock your cpu to squeeze some more performance out (up to 1.8ghz but I hear 1.4 is safer). You can also use your current data plan for tethering instead of having to pay extra.
But all in all if you don't require or need this functionality, just stay stock. The stock experience is excellent. I come from the G1 culture where we rooted just so we could stay relevant and get some decent speed on our long forgotten phones. That was the only reason I rooted before and quite possibly the only reason I'll root in the future.
I went back to stock to get my quick office back and I really don't mind the loss of functionality (for now) however I do miss the cool radio tuner.

Quickoffice is in CyanogenMod...
Anyway, root your phone and flash CyanogenMod. The stock experience is great and all but so many things just work better with CyanogenMod.
When you root, you obtain so many more capabilities. How would you like to remove every single advertisement you see? Well you can't do it unless you root.
There are so many more things but I just can't get into it. You'll sit here all day reading my post. Just take me word for it and root. You won't go wrong but READ READ READ all instructions and understand them before you do anything.
Yes, it is risky but only if you're stupid and/or rushing. Make sure you have the correct files and always make a backup. I keep them in a special place on me computer. I still have my stock backed up for if I ever have a problem.
It's a fun thing to get into. You learn a lot and will continue to learn. If you don't find out something new everyday with your G2, there's really no reason to have it, IMHO...
Sent from me CM7 Nightly HTC Vision using XDA App that needs a thanks button implemented

Cyanogen is stock 2.3.2 with tons of extra features and extremely stable. Stock is 2.2.1 with a ton of bloat and no extra features. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Root and flash cyanogen mod, awesome decision.

I am coming from a rooted G1 and I got my G2 from the free promotion and I rooted because I can't do without it. Once you have root, you won't ever want to go back. I rooted my G2 in the first 30 minutes that it was out of the box. Only down side that I can think of is that you can't have an inteligent conversation with a service rep. xD
You can get root and stay on the stock software/ROM but I don't recemend it, the whole Android experiance changes the moment you install a custom ROM.
The manufacturer and carrier has locked the phone down so much that they basically own the phone, they locked down the potential of the device so much that once you have root you'll be amazed about how much stuff you can now do on it.
YOU bought the phone, its YOURS, NOT the carrier's, NOT the manufacturer's but YOURS, why not make it so?
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I would also recommend that you check out some of the Desire Z/Sense ports (I'm using Virtuous). They're quite clean in terms of bloatware, but you get alot of extras, such as a superior camera/music player app, plugins (Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc), and more. You can still use ADW Launcher or Launcher Pro for your homescreen/app drawer.

root. install cyanogen. Obtain FM Radio = win

btate0121 said:
root. install cyanogen. Obtain FM Radio = win
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got mine last Friday and I rooted just to get rid of the bloatware and for overclock.
The FM radio is a bonus... that's sweet.

Does rooting still void the warranty?
I waited until my warranty had run out with my G1 before I rooted it. Just afraid the phone'll break or so and I wont have any options.

metamet said:
Does rooting still void the warranty?
I waited until my warranty had run out with my G1 before I rooted it. Just afraid the phone'll break or so and I wont have any options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically, yes. However, it's pretty easy to flash a stock ROM back on if you break something.

I preordered my G2 after a long, rooted 2 years on the G1. When I first got the G2, I said I wouldn't root because it didn't need it. My G2 did everything the G1 did but much, much faster. Then I got tired of not having full control of my phone. I had apps I would never use running in the background plus numerous other things that I just had no control over. Then, the brilliant developers found root and I haven't looked back.
I have a lot of people with unrooted android devices around me and they are always blown away by what I can do with my G2. For me, rooting turned my smartPHONE into tiny PC that does calls.
I have a guy I work with who just picked up the new nexus. He was showing it to me and commented on the GB light when you hit the bottom of a page. Well he griped that he wanted the overscroll bounce back. I then showed him that with root and cyan, you can have both. He wasn't ammused as he is afraid to root.
I say read up on everything that is involved with rooting and flashing custom bits. When you feel comfy with it. Unlock that bish and make that G2 your own.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

[Q] loading a gingerbread rom

I'm new to rooting and I'm a middle-aged lady, so go easy
Having said that, I'm quite proud that I followed these instructions for rooting, and it worked first time and I got the magical S=off and bootloader version 0.86.0000.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995549
I guess that was just step one. I have two key questions:
1. Even before I consider installing another ROM, I thought once I was rooted I could uninstall the TMO bloatware. However, when I go to manage apps, it's the same situation as pre-root where the uninstall option is disabled. Am I missing something (some steps).
2. What is the easiest (least techie way) to install a ROM. Is it ROM Manager from the marketplace? I don't mind the more rigorous techie approach if required but I'd just as soon keep this easy as I'm probably going to try some different ROMs until I settle on one I like.
3. Finally, thoughts on the best gingerbread ROM. Important things to me are battery life, push email, and your standard business applications. I'm not a gamer at all so could care less about overclocking.
I'm loving my Nexus S with 2.3.4 now (just manually updated) but would like to get comparable functionality on a 4G phone instead of a 3G phone.
THANKS IN ADVANCE for any tips.

You can use Titanium Backup, but make a backup of you're rom before you start removing, so I would just freeze the app in TB and go from there, also Installing any Rom its better to do it in recovery then it is to use Rom Manager, you will need Rom Manager to flash the recovery but other then that, most people use recovery to install Roms, I am not sure about the Rom, I use 2.2.1 still but theres alot of info on Roms here, just do a search or go here myTouch 4G Android Development

Also, you should seriously consider flashing the engineering bootloader...makes life much easier in the case of a soft brick...
EDIT: Just saw the last part of the question...I am on RoyalGinger and get amazing battery life...no need to overclock because it is fast and smooth right out the gate. Battery life cannot be judged within the first couple days of running the ROM...make sure to calibrate your battery.

thanks for the responses, this is going to be exciting. Like I said, not messing with my Nexus S, but wanted to try different ROMs on the mytouch 4G.
Re: >>>Also, you should seriously consider flashing the engineering bootloader...makes life much easier in the case of a soft brick...<<<
please can you point me to the xda link with instructions to do this.
Re: using Recovery mode to install ROMs, please can you also send me that xda link. Is it similar to running manual updates on the Nexus S? I do that in recovery mode. I copy the zip to the root of the sdcard and run install from recovery mode.
My husband thinks I'm crazy, but jokes that my "mobile tinkering" is cheaper than if I were interested in jewelry ;-)

fionalindberg said:
I'm new to rooting and I'm a middle-aged lady, so go easy
Having said that, I'm quite proud that I followed these instructions for rooting, and it worked first time and I got the magical S=off and bootloader version 0.86.0000.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995549
I guess that was just step one. I have two key questions:
1. Even before I consider installing another ROM, I thought once I was rooted I could uninstall the TMO bloatware. However, when I go to manage apps, it's the same situation as pre-root where the uninstall option is disabled. Am I missing something (some steps).
2. What is the easiest (least techie way) to install a ROM. Is it ROM Manager from the marketplace? I don't mind the more rigorous techie approach if required but I'd just as soon keep this easy as I'm probably going to try some different ROMs until I settle on one I like.
3. Finally, thoughts on the best gingerbread ROM. Important things to me are battery life, push email, and your standard business applications. I'm not a gamer at all so could care less about overclocking.
I'm loving my Nexus S with 2.3.4 now (just manually updated) but would like to get comparable functionality on a 4G phone instead of a 3G phone.
THANKS IN ADVANCE for any tips.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. you can only freeze apps on the stock rom you cant uninstall them even if your rooted. you'd have to download a bloatware removed MT4G rom there are a few floating around. (basically the stock rom with a the bloat removed and zip-aligned.
2. Rom manager is an ok way of installing roms but your best is to use rom manager to boot into recovery and install the roms from there. luckily its pretty easy from CWM 3.0.2.4.
3. it seems like for your case the 2.3.3 sense roms would work the best since they are more business oriented. though there arent any right now that are running super stable. though there was a leak today of thw 2.6.35 kernel which should bring about new stuff for all the GB sense roms soon. otherwise CM7 works really well.

A few follow-on questions. I want to understand where I'm at before I proceed with installing ROMs.
So, I've been running numerous speed-tests post-root. Wow, horrible. Averaging 2 mbps down, about 1 mbps up. I admit its been a few months since I used the MT4G since I got the Nexus S, but I'm routinely getting 3-5 mbps down and 1-1.5 mbps up on the NS and that's only a 3G phone. However, I do know 2.3.3 and 2.3.4 both patched the radio so maybe that is partly why it's better than the MT4G
Any chance anything in the root process could have impacted the radio? It's actually been on Edge a few times this afternoon too.
Conversely, any ROMs that patch the radio and improve speeds?

on the MT4g the radio hasnt really been touched at all by the forums. i only noticed today that we had a choice between 3 different radios. those havent been tested so we dont know what the pluses and negatives are yet. though i can tell you that your speed will vary. where i am i get about 4 mbps on a normal basis though maybe a bit less depending on signal. i also want to ask what speed tester your using. if your using speedtest.net then i suggest you try something else cause you might want a secondary source to test from.

Installed RoyalGinger 1.06. Loving it so far. Will see how it goes at the office without charging it during the day. I installed it about 8 hours ago and batt life seems much better than native espresso from TMO. I even streamed music from Amazon cloud player for about an hour and batt barely budged. Still a bit concerned about the radios but I'll retest speeds from the office where I usually get better speeds. I did get a few download speeds of 4mbps but upload still worse than Nexus S. Not even getting 1 mbps upload!