Database Users

For those holding out on root & awaiting "Official 2.2 OTA", DON'T!! -> read w/in ->>

For those holding out on root & awaiting "Official 2.2 OTA", DON'T!! -> read w/in ->>
When I got my Evo, I wanted to wait for the official Sprint ROM/OTA upgrades because I wanted to keep my phone stock. I didn't want root to affect my phone's ability to OTA upgrade and get the latest and greatest from Sprint.
After many advice from others, I decided to root. This is where you will see the repeating theme - "I rooted and loaded a ROM and have never looked back", or "I rooted and upgraded the ROM from the dev section and have never been happier". I certainly agree.
The fact is, when (now IF) the official 2.2 comes out, you will get the EXACT OTA content here just as quickly (probably faster) and be able to flash to that if you wish. Most likely, at that time, you will want an enhanced version such as deodexed. It is not worth holding out on root just because you want the OTA.
With root, you are opening new options such as forcing the phone to roam only, make real/full backups, modify your phone both visually and functionally, and so much more. After root, battery life can certainly be improved by tweaking your phone (remove bloatware, keep unwanted services from starting, etc.)
When I got my Epic, I rooted immediately. I have been running DK28 since it dropped and enjoying what 2.2 has to offer. If/when the official comes out, I will upgrade. There is simply no risk of missing out.
So for you who are on the line, I encourge you to root and move forward. You will have a new world of options and enjoy your phone so much more.
Cheers.

It's true, and we're not that far from seeing a true Gingerbread port too.

Not to mention, with Odin, this phone is extremely hard to FUBAR and very easy to revert back to stock if needed. One click root makes the rooting process brainless...
I was in the same boat a few months ago. I viewed "rooting" as a hack or purposely "damaging" the phone. Eventually, I caved in; everything is hindsight from that point. Now, I will NEVER use a stock ROM again. Having access to the system allows me to take control of the device that I OWN; not Sprint or Samsung. If I don't want and application on the phone, I simply remove it. If I want to change the appearance, I install a theme.
Honestly, if you own an Epic, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't root the phone. Heck, I'm not even using 2.2 for the lack of a stable GPS lock...

OregonLAN said:
Not to mention, with Odin, this phone is extremely hard to FUBAR and very easy to revert back to stock if needed. One click root makes the rooting process brainless...
I was in the same boat a few months ago. I viewed "rooting" as a hack or purposely "damaging" the phone. Eventually, I caved in; everything is hindsight from that point. Now, I will NEVER use a stock ROM again. Having access to the system allows me to take control of the device that I OWN; not Sprint or Samsung. If I don't want and application on the phone, I simply remove it. If I want to change the appearance, I install a theme.
Honestly, if you own an Epic, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't root the phone. Heck, I'm not even using 2.2 for the lack of a stable GPS lock...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with most of this. But from my point of view, I don't even use it for the control, I use it cause it works better. Oh, and the themes. I just hope the devs and themers stick around a while, cause I have this phone for another 20 months :/

new devs and themers will come along. the cdma touch pro 2 is approching 18 months in age and when i stop by that forum, its just as busy as ever, and i dont even recognize the names of roms people are talking about, because the chefs that were cooking when i was rocking that have moved along, but new ones are stepping up in their place.

Installed TrulyEpic 1.2 last night in just a few minutes. No problems at all. GPS is fantastic (I thought it was working before, but now - ) Is it just me, or does the stock ROM limit the display brightness? I think it actually LOOKS better but YMMV.
It's comforting to know that I now have a phone that will probably never be truly obsolete for the next couple years as long as there are ROM builders out there.

but i tried to root using the one click and recovery and had issues it would tell me permission denied at the end after it reboooted, i used z4 to root and it worked fine, tried to use it again and still same thing, then installed rom manager and then try clockwork, nogo. so i took it all off and will jsut deal with it when it comes ota

OregonLAN said:
Not to mention, with Odin, this phone is extremely hard to FUBAR and very easy to revert back to stock if needed. One click root makes the rooting process brainless...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd agree with you, except that I've had all kinds of issues rooting my Epic, ranging from USB drivers that fail to install, various one click root scripts that error out, a cruddy usb cable from Samsung, and an inability to get Odin to even look at my phone crosseyed.
I'm not brainless ... but nothing about rooting and flashing my phone has been straightforward. After wasting hours wading through (volunteer-written, open source, karmically-blessed) inconsistent instructions, I've lost patience. I just want an official, OTA copy of Froyo that isn't going to brick my phone or waste my time.

boominz28 said:
but i tried to root using the one click and recovery and had issues it would tell me permission denied at the end after it reboooted, i used z4 to root and it worked fine, tried to use it again and still same thing, then installed rom manager and then try clockwork, nogo. so i took it all off and will jsut deal with it when it comes ota
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had this problem. There must be something wrong and it isn't the one click. Could be your USB cable. Make sure your phone is in debugging mode. The OP is 100% right. Why use any stock ROM? If we do ever get the OTA, our devs will make it better and in about 100 different flavors.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

I have been holding out but even my patience is tested...
It was tested even more today trying to find a way to root without a PC (as I don't own a PC... well I have one that runs Win2K and no internet at home... yeah.) I did download z4root but it never got past the first screen...it literally loaded for an 1hr the 1st time and 35mins the second before I got ticked and just uninstalled. I may be new to the android scene (long time winmob user that fled after testing a wp7 craptastic phone) but something just isn't right here X/ I mean really.... I simply want flash (outside of skyfire) and to wirelessly tether without having to pay ANOTHER $30 a month.... ...
So yeah, /rant
Ota can come ANY DAY NOW *looks angrily at the sky*
Epic is as Epic does

rygran87 said:
I've never had this problem. There must be something wrong and it isn't the one click. Could be your USB cable. Make sure your phone is in debugging mode. The OP is 100% right. Why use any stock ROM? If we do ever get the OTA, our devs will make it better and in about 100 different flavors.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea it was set to debug , its the original cable that came with it. i have not tried it on a diff pc, it could be a vista issue

Good point. But unless Samsung or sprint announce the update is out. Somebody has to be stock just incase they quietly release the update.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

yep. Im staying on stock for the simple fact that my phone aint broke why try and fix it lol.

I recently flashed DK28, then converted to ext4 and the bonsai mod. Froyo means I can view more webpages and download the froyo apps from the market place. ADW lancher was slow on 2.2, but lancher pro works fine. Also I wasn't getting great battery life but it's back to normal after I set my screen brightness to automatic. Overall I'm happy with my decision.

I too was one that didn't want to root and I was paying for the sprint hotspot :-\ but once I got the first bill for $130 I quickly youtube how to videos on rooting the epic and never looked back. 2.2 runs great with my only bug being, on some calls out I couldn't hear the other person unless I put it speaker phone. I worked my way around this bug by just hitting the speaker button before every call then quickly hit it again to shut off the speaker. It takes very little effort and I'm happier than ever with my epic and I don't give a rats ass about the OTA 2.2

The reason i first rooted was for wireless tether and to get rid of all the bloatware. After that i found all these awesome root apps like ADFREE and ShootME titatanium back up and many others and i can now not live with out adfree its the best app ever!!
After trying wireless tether it was ok then mobile ap came along and i love it. And for this reason alone im staying stock and honestly this is the first phone that does everything i need and doesnt give me any issues even on stock rom. I did get a custom kernal i flashed a good amount of the 2.1 roms and didnt really care for any of them besides noobnls rom. i mean i like custom roms that are blank of extra bloatware and what not.
But yes i agree dont wait to root, you get so many added benefits to make your phone run fast and get many free apps that are ad supported but because of ad free they are like the real one.
Best decision to root.
And for any reason i need to go back to stock to take the phone in i have all the stock flashables on my sd card so i just flash them and its easy as pie.
One click root never gave me any issues with the samsung cord or with any other cords i have.

I agree, I just got tired of it and rooted and installed a custom ROM (Trulyepic 1.2). It's definitely nice. It's also nice to feel free from the shenanigans of corporations trying to do as little as possible to make money off you while maintaining PR.
I admit, it's a bit scary to do with your phone. I'm lucky in that I've gotten familiar with rooting with my Viewsonic Gtablet, but I have to admit that I was pretty nervous the first time.

iggybug said:
I'd agree with you, except that I've had all kinds of issues rooting my Epic, ranging from USB drivers that fail to install, various one click root scripts that error out, a cruddy usb cable from Samsung, and an inability to get Odin to even look at my phone crosseyed.
I'm not brainless ... but nothing about rooting and flashing my phone has been straightforward. After wasting hours wading through (volunteer-written, open source, karmically-blessed) inconsistent instructions, I've lost patience. I just want an official, OTA copy of Froyo that isn't going to brick my phone or waste my time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey dude, i haven't rooted my phone and I have the 2.2. rom on my computer... it was super easy to install. If you want the update without having to root, just pm me if you want it, and ill upload it and send u a link. with instructions.

I did the update and my GPS was fubar. I had to flash back to stock and now I'm scared to flash back to 2.2 for fear of losing GPS again. How is your GPS because I really liked froyo but don't want to jeopardize my GPS.

normb8s said:
I did the update and my GPS was fubar. I had to flash back to stock and now I'm scared to flash back to 2.2 for fear of losing GPS again. How is your GPS because I really liked froyo but don't want to jeopardize my GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My GPS was actually fixed by going to FroYo...but I had some miscellaneous issues, so I flashed back to DI18 and am on SyndicateROM with the Xtreme Kernel. I have to get rid of setCPU soon...1.2 GHz overclock is killing my battery

EB13 Froyo - is that it for now?

I am just wondering if a newer official ROM looks like it might be released in March to address some of peoples' issues, or if I should just continue my research and preparation to flash what I assume is still available OTW although not OTA. Only thing really holding me back is the prep and the desire to hopefully not do anything riskier than necessary if something else is around the corner (I would do a total Samsung tool flash, by the way to hopefully start clean).

I can't speak for others, but flashing, and Odin, and roms and kernels use to scare the hell out of me. With that said, I used Odin and flashed a clean froyo, did the camera lag kernel fix and my phone is EXCELLENT now. Not a single thing wrong with it. Its fast, the GPS works, and now, I feel comfortable with ODIN.
Before, I was terrified to even start up odin, scared to even put my phone in download mode. Now, I've flashed to Froyo, messed that up, flashed back to Eclair, then flashed to Froyo again, and not a single hiccup along the way. For me, Froyo is worlds better than Eclair.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Unfortunately the relationship of my Epic to my computer is like a woman's freaking menstrual cycle. I don't even know how I managed to root months ago and clockworkmod never even ended up on there and I have no idea why. So I have to really read, read read this place and do things very methodically before taking the leap. I just saw that there is supposedly yet another Froyo build on Sprint's site today but waiting for another may be pointless right now or close to it.

my last phone was a g1. i thought it was easy to load a custom rom on there, but the process for the epic is downright fool-proof.
you probably didn't get permanent root back on di18, but now they have a pre-rooted eb13 rom you can load through recovery after updating and using the same one click 2.5.5 method. nothing to fear!

v3rk said:
my last phone was a g1. i thought it was easy to load a custom rom on there, but the process for the epic is downright fool-proof.
you probably didn't get permanent root back on di18, but now they have a pre-rooted eb13 rom you can load through recovery after updating and using the same one click 2.5.5 method. nothing to fear!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted, and am very grateful for the many benefits of it. However this involves much more than rooting--it involves data backup and restore, flashing, etc. so even if it's easier on Android phones than say that old ugly Windows Mobile, it still requires some skill and smarts. XDA is a heck of a tech crew though!

It appears to me that those who wiped everything and started fresh don't have problems. Those that tried to preserve their things are having issues.

dmanwithnoname said:
It appears to me that those who wiped everything and started fresh don't have problems. Those that tried to preserve their things are having issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What we have been trying to say is that ODIN or Heimdall is the way to go for changing OS's around. You can always get your contact data back through the OS. Your call data and SMS data is easy to get back with Backup to Gmail. Your programs are easily restored with Titanium Backup ($ version) or MyBackup Pro (just don't restore any system data).

Top Nurse said:
What we have been trying to say is that ODIN or Heimdall is the way to go for changing OS's around. You can always get your contact data back through the OS. Your call data and SMS data is easy to get back with Backup to Gmail. Your programs are easily restored with Titanium Backup ($ version) or MyBackup Pro (just don't restore any system data).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please precisely define "system data" and why it shouldn't be restored? I use MyBackup Root and they claim that everything it backs up can be restored pretty much trouble free, even across different ROMs. I'd also like to use CWM and Nandroid (so all eggs aren't in one basket) but have to manage to get the things working first.

DroidApprentice said:
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Unfortunately the relationship of my Epic to my computer is like a woman's freaking menstrual cycle. I don't even know how I managed to root months ago and clockworkmod never even ended up on there and I have no idea why. So I have to really read, read read this place and do things very methodically before taking the leap. I just saw that there is supposedly yet another Froyo build on Sprint's site today but waiting for another may be pointless right now or close to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"amen to that BROTHA!" lol
ehh things can be tricky at timkes, but they always seem to work out. unless you have a problem like this.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvosH8UZrWw

a system app is anything that you didnt install yourself. its all the apps in /system/app folder. if you download something from the market it gets saved to /data/app. hope that helps. btw is eb13 considered our official froyo? did they finish pushing it ota?

So, maybe some of us are just tired of the burnout from waiting for the now-"discontinued" Froyo. But is there any word on a possible "ECxx"? I'm almost afraid to ask, heheh.

@dog316
I agree froyo is great but im just woundering if your browser dosnt get the checker box when your trying to pinch to zoom. That's the only problem I have with it, but I think it kinda a big problem
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

castro08 said:
@dog316
I agree froyo is great but im just woundering if your browser dosnt get the checker box when your trying to pinch to zoom. That's the only problem I have with it, but I think it kinda a big problem
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I am glad that I am not the only one to run across that problem. I thought that was an 'upgrade'. I am looking at several different browsers right now as most of the time I can't read the tiny type.
George

Yeah that's the only/biggest problem I have
And well have you tried dolphin brower?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

Yes - that is the one I like the best right now
George
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

What's the big deal with odin. I flashed two epics at ones to eb13 on my 4 year old sony vaio its my workhores laptop I flash everthing with my sony, subaru ecus, hondas, phones, any thing I'm moding with custom FW hacks.
The only time it did not work for me was a asus p4c800-e dx mobo's front usb ports
Sent from my ComBadge..

[Q] Rooting Direct from Gingerbread

Hi I know this has been brought up before. Has anyone found a way to successfully root the Droid X if you are running the official OTA of Gingerbread? I really don't want to SBF back as I don't have a way to backup my application data without root currently.

Here you go,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1108449

That is all fine and dandy. My fear is that it has been given up being there is the archaic method of rolling back then rooting and moving forward. That thread is over a month old. It has never taken that long to root a device.

Verizon/moto did a good job fixing the exploits we use to root. I wouldn't count on a method being found to root without moving back to froyo first.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

mjmellin said:
That is all fine and dandy. My fear is that it has been given up being there is the archaic method of rolling back then rooting and moving forward. That thread is over a month old. It has never taken that long to root a device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep my stickies up to date .
You have to keep in mind that there is constantly diminishing interest on this series of moto phones as newer ones come to market. We may never get root for the gb ota. On the other hand, who cares? We now have CyanogenMod and you can still get to a rooted 'stock' gingerbread. I'd say things are looking better than ever.

first rule of xda.... thou shall not ota.
second rule of xda.... root immediately.
my dx came with ota already on it. i sbfd the minute i got it. now on cm7 nightlies couldnt be happier
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

The issue for a lot of us who use phones in general is that we have enterprise solutions on our phones which are a ***** to reset once you install new Roms and such.
So the idea here is to get a stable and fairly reliable build (probably not what cm7 is now) and it be rooted.
I OTA'ed to gb, but ended up sbfing back to froyo and had to redo all the stuff with my IT department, a real pain. And since the keys are like rsd keys, if I use titanium backup, it doesn't work. Even anandroid's won't work.
So...in regards to changing Rom's, going backwards, wiping the phone etc, not a good option.
Anyhow, I'm back on froyo for the tethering and what not. I might move to cm7 one day, who knows.

your work should be providing that for you. its cost of business. i know it sucks i guess its different for me cuz i am the it dept. my boss ended up buying me an iphone which ive learned to hate more.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

socalracer said:
your work should be providing that for you. its cost of business. i know it sucks i guess its different for me cuz i am the it dept. my boss ended up buying me an iphone which ive learned to hate more.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing pays for the inconvenience of having to re-install and sync enterprise solutions onto your phone.
My work pays for my phone; however, I'm allowed to do whatever I want with it as long as the enterprise stuff works without any loss of security.
The issue is that installing another rom or backstepping to prior releases causes me to have to redo all those programs and it's a serious hassle.

Might root

What disadvantages do I have by rooting? Had my n4 since friday
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Have you unlocked the bootloader yet?
There are no disadvantages to root, think of it like having admin permission of your system.
Unlocking the bootloader will wipe your device, as a safety feature. On a nexus, since it's only one command to unlock, it's recommended to do that straight away if you even think you might start down the road to custom town in the future.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda premium

Yup...as far as I'm concerned, everyone should ALWAYS root. A - it's part of what's truly awesome about Android, B - it will more than likely come in handy at some point and C - there really isn't any reason NOT to do it.
Just do it soon after getting the device (I had my N4 for about 30 min before I started the process...within an hr of getting it, the bootloader was unlocked, it was rooted, had a custom kernel and it was ROMd) since, as stated, a wipe is usually required. And, even still, some know how with titanium can even soften that blow.

Disadvantages? Potentially void your warranty, less secure device (malicious apps that ask for SU permission), rom flashing addiction, spending too much time on XDA.

The occasional app won't run rooted - TWC TV, for example.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

So what happens if I don't root right away? That's what makes me nervous
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

ridearoundsolo said:
So what happens if I don't root right away? That's what makes me nervous
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, nothing. It's not a requirement.
You won't be able to use apps that need SU permission, that's all.
Unlocking your bootloader is not the same as rooting, you should do that asap if you plan on ever mucking around with your device.

lwfb said:
Well, nothing. It's not a requirement.
You won't be able to use apps that need SU permission, that's all.
Unlocking your bootloader is not the same as rooting, you should do that asap if you plan on ever mucking around with your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is required to unlock asap? I know about rooting its just the first time I've heard to unlock boot loader asap like does something get ruined if I hold off on unlocking the bootloader?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

ridearoundsolo said:
Why is required to unlock asap? I know about rooting its just the first time I've heard to unlock boot loader asap like does something get ruined if I hold off on unlocking the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not required to do it asap.
Some just recommend doing it quick because unlocking the bootloader wipes the phone. So you lose the data on there.
Story time:
Personally I always use the device for a while before I go near rooting and all the fun that comes with it, just to make sure I have a good product and stable device.
I had a Desire Z before, and had the motherboard replaced once because it had failed. When I got it back I tried it for maybe a day or two. I noticed it was a bit unstable and blamed it on the HTC software just being crap. So I rooted and flashed CM to it.
That turned out to be unstable as wel... Phone would just randomly reboot.
Unrooting and returning that Z to stock was a bit of a challenge. A guy on IRC helped me out tremendously and I'm still thankful for it, because together we succeeded.
And I could RMA once more...
So that's why I tend to wait a bit and confirm my device is solid before I go rooting.

stejoo said:
It is not required to do it asap.
Some just recommend doing it quick because unlocking the bootloader wipes the phone. So you lose the data on there.
Story time:
Personally I always use the device for a while before I go near rooting and all the fun that comes with it, just to make sure I have a good product and stable device.
I had a Desire Z before, and had the motherboard replaced once because it had failed. When I got it back I tried it for maybe a day or two. I noticed it was a bit unstable and blamed it on the HTC software just being crap. So I rooted and flashed CM to it.
That turned out to be unstable as wel... Phone would just randomly reboot.
Unrooting and returning that Z to stock was a bit of a challenge. A guy on IRC helped me out tremendously and I'm still thankful for it, because together we succeeded.
And I could RMA once more...
So that's why I tend to wait a bit and confirm my device is solid before I go rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree about testing the device to see if it can hold on its own before rooting, my last phone the HTC one s was a nightmare with rooting and flashing, but I know this is much easier because I own a nexus 7 which is rooted and running codefirex
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Hello I just receive my Nexus 4 and I Rooted 5 minutes later
Now I have a question If the Nexus 4 is Rooted it will continue receiving Android Os Updates directly from Google?
Thanks

Marioaguado said:
Hello I just receive my Nexus 4 and I Rooted 5 minutes later
Now I have a question If the Nexus 4 is Rooted it will continue receiving Android Os Updates directly from Google?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes as long as it is stock and the kernel is stock you can receive OTA (over the air) updates. You might/will probably lose root though when the update is installed but that is not a problem, just reflash it.

Yea...you will possibly void the warranty. You can usually flash back to stock if need be and, if you break your screen or something and just want to use insurance or something, just dip it in water for an hr or so...they'll never know what you did to it other than dip it in water.
And yes, you do open the door to malware, possibly. Gotta be careful about what you install and what you grant permissions to.
The reason I say to do it soon, as was said, unlocking, (sometimes) rooting and romming will usually wipe your device. If you do all this as soon as you get the device, it doesn't matter. If you use the phone for however long, you'll lose all that data. That's the logic behind it.

I've had the phone for little over a month now and I just rooted it yesterday. I had no intention of rooting, but I got myself a Moga controller and to get the most out of that controller, it requires root.
Of course, by that time I already had all my apps & such configured exactly as I like them, so it was a bummer to have to re-download and reconfigure everything. ESPECIALLY the internal "sdcard"s contents. I was used to being able to restore and wipe without losing my personal files because all my prior phones had sdcard slots. It completely slipped my mind that the Nexus 4 "sdcard" is pretty much just its internal memory so I lost a handful of pics and other things. For these reasons, I would recommend that even if you thitnk you MIGHT want to root in the future, you might as well do it now and save yourself the time of further redownloading and reconfiguring everything a month from now.

This was a question I had so the responses have been interesting. I've rooted my previous non-Nexus devices (Mytouch 4G, HTC Sensation 4G) mostly so I could get an aosp like ROM. I had a Nexus One but never rooted it. Still trying to decide if I'm going to root my Nexus 4 because I haven't really experienced a ROM that comes without minor issues (Picasa, GPS/Navigation, etc.) The custom ROMs do have a lot of cool features though.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

The features and theming is tempting but I'm a bit worried if there's a performance drop, are there Roms that completely surpass stock speed and without bugs?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

phon00b said:
I've had the phone for little over a month now and I just rooted it yesterday. I had no intention of rooting, but I got myself a Moga controller and to get the most out of that controller, it requires root.
Of course, by that time I already had all my apps & such configured exactly as I like them, so it was a bummer to have to re-download and reconfigure everything. ESPECIALLY the internal "sdcard"s contents. I was used to being able to restore and wipe without losing my personal files because all my prior phones had sdcard slots. It completely slipped my mind that the Nexus 4 "sdcard" is pretty much just its internal memory so I lost a handful of pics and other things. For these reasons, I would recommend that even if you thitnk you MIGHT want to root in the future, you might as well do it now and save yourself the time of further redownloading and reconfiguring everything a month from now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Always backup your apps and data with Titanium Backup or with adb before unlocking your bootloader =/
ridearoundsolo said:
The features and theming is tempting but I'm a bit worried if there's a performance drop, are there Roms that completely surpass stock speed and without bugs?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're only worried about performance, CyanogenMod is as stable if not better than stock roms. If you're looking for optimization, I would suggest ParanoidAndroid. Most roms out there are pretty stable, except for a few hiccups, and I think the best advice is that you should try it personally and have a feel at it. :good:

I would say do it if you are interested constantly flashing ROMs. The only reason I've flashed my S2 because of the T-Mobile bloat. But then I messed more until I bricked.
The N4 is very clean and good as it is and I keep it that way.

I rooted my optimus s but all the roms for it sucksuck
Sent from my LS670 using xda app-developers app

So I ended up rooting and tried pa but am liking xylon stable a lot and about to give rasbean a try
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Debating on Rooting the S4

Im a pure n00b. I'm About to buy my first droid phone. Im very knowledgeable about iphones and the jailbreak world but I'm not sure what would be the benefit of rooting a droid phone. I've heard the droid community is pretty wide open without rooting.
What would be some benefits of rooting a phone like the samsung galaxy s4? I did see that it will allow you to tweak bluetooth to connect a ps3 controller to it wirelessly for emulators but is it anything else that XDA could share to help push me in that direction? any cool features?
Thanks in advance.

I'd say the biggest benefit from rooting is getting rid of that crap that both Samsung and AT&T put on the S4

First thing, droid phones are from Motorola. Call all others android phones. It will save some unnecessary flaming.
Pretty much still running the stock rom on mine, but used root to flash a mod that allows free wifi tethering and hot spot, and an extended power menu.
Flashing roms is also a big reason most people root phones. You can pick and choose what you want(touchwiz roms or aosp) and find one you like.
I wouldnt want an android phone without rooting it.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

I mainly rooted for faux's kernel which removed the launcher lag and the messaging lag that occurs sometimes. I also rooted to removed all the bloatware.

Biggest reasons to root, for me personally, are custom roms, custom kernels, debloating, backing up and restoring apps, theming, overclocking, and undervolting. These are just my reasons personally. There are literally hundreds of other things you can do as a root user that you couldnt do otherwise.
The worst case scenario of rooting being, if you really dont find the benefit for yourself personally, its pretty easy to revert back to stock unrooted. These samsung phones now are basically unbrickable and flashing is really easy, especially if youve went through jailbreaking an iphone... lol rooting a samsung device is way easier imo.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

I root for the deep-level backup capabilities, custom kernels that improve speed and battery life, Pie Control (makes navigating & using a large phone much easier), custom ROMs, mods like Hot Spot and custom themes, and deeper level security apps (firewall, find your phone, etc).

Here are the main reasons while people usually root. In no particular order.
1. Ad blocking
2. Remove unwanted apps "bloatware"
3. Custom ROMs/ advanced custom theming
4. Custom kernels and features such as nandroid backups and under/over clocking etc.
5. Tethering/free hot spot
6. Aosp ROMs
Ultimately think of rooting as taking complete control of your device. You can do pretty much anything depending on your knowledge after you are rooted.
Sent from my SPH-L720

thanks
thanks everybody. starting to like the community already. alot of quick helping people here.
I'm grandfathered in with unlimited at ATT. so free hot spot and removing bloatware talked me into it. thanks.

wotandsdwys said:
First thing, droid phones are from Motorola. Call all others android phones. It will save some unnecessary flaming.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
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I was thinking the same thing..lol

How much space are you guys saving when you root and get rid of all the bloatware? How much available space is on your phone before all of your additional aps?

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djv3n0m said:
thanks everybody. starting to like the community already. alot of quick helping people here.
I'm grandfathered in with unlimited at ATT. so free hot spot and removing bloatware talked me into it. thanks.
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There is at least one downside to rooting. You can't take the updates w/o breaking root. I've not rooted my S4 yet, but am thinking about it. I always rooted my HTC phones and it would sometimes take several months for a developer to incorporate updates into a ROM. So that makes me a little gunshy with a new phone like this, as I assume there will be a few updates in the first few months. But it seems like the dev's are much more active and on top of it with the Samsung phones, so I'm tempted to go.
Main reasons I want to go are deep backup, ad blocking and being able to tweak my settings to make it so the home button does not wake up the phone. I know, the latter reason seems silly, but it's a big deal to me.
BTW, you do not need to root to be able to tether. Check out the PDANet+ app. That's what I'm using and it works great wired or via bluetooth.

jejb said:
There is at least one downside to rooting. You can't take the updates w/o breaking root. I've not rooted my S4 yet, but am thinking about it. I always rooted my HTC phones and it would sometimes take several months for a developer to incorporate updates into a ROM. So that makes me a little gunshy with a new phone like this, as I assume there will be a few updates in the first few months. But it seems like the dev's are much more active and on top of it with the Samsung phones, so I'm tempted to go.
Main reasons I want to go are deep backup, ad blocking and being able to tweak my settings to make it so the home button does not wake up the phone. I know, the latter reason seems silly, but it's a big deal to me.
BTW, you do not need to root to be able to tether. Check out the PDANet+ app. That's what I'm using and it works great wired or via bluetooth.
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You should be able to take otas if you have stock recovery and are just rooted, this is how it was on the S3 at least and I don't see why you can't. Also on the S3 we always got the leaks right before the otas came out so the ROMs would always have the newest builds out before the otas usually, depending on the developer, some didn't like using leaks. But Sextape would always have a leak right before the otas dropped and we had everything usually within a day or two up to a week. But the development there was amazing on the S3. :thumbup:
Sent from my SPH-L720

GiantJay said:
You should be able to take otas if you have stock recovery and are just rooted, this is how it was on the S3 at least and I don't see why you can't.
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You can take the OTA, it will just break root. There were several threads here stating that fact here when the MDL OTA came out for the S4.

GiantJay said:
You should be able to take otas if you have stock recovery and are just rooted, this is how it was on the S3 at least and I don't see why you can't. Also on the S3 we always got the leaks right before the otas came out so the ROMs would always have the newest builds out before the otas usually, depending on the developer, some didn't like using leaks. But Sextape would always have a leak right before the otas dropped and we had everything usually within a day or two up to a week. But the development there was amazing on the S3. :thumbup:
Sent from my SPH-L720
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Exactly what I was going to say! Sextape always came thru on the e4gt as well. The next update would always be out before the official release. So glad to see him have stuff for the s4 as well.
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jejb said:
You can take the OTA, it will just break root. There were several threads here stating that fact here when the MDL OTA came out for the S4.
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This is generally the case with OTA's, but every year it seems like rooting becomes more straight forwsrd, especially for Samsung. As for MDL it was a specific attribute added by Samsung to tighten up control on deeper root access that broke root, but it was hardly a locked bootloader or anything that severe. Re-rooting was as simple as loading a kernel and then Odining. At this point, most manufacturers are beginning to understand the benefits of the development community. Now if we can just get the carriers to "get it."
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To put it very simple I root my phone to be free and to have my phone the way I wanted it not the way a company wants me to have it
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Once you root your phone and learn all the possibilities that come along with it, you won't go back haha It's a lot of fun after knowing your stuff. reading in this forum is probably one of, if not, the best thing/s you can do