Database Users

Why Root?

Hi, all.
I am completely new here, and have heard many users talking about how **update** only works on rooted devices. I would like to know what the advantages and disadvantages of rooting my phone would be, considering I have a phone with warranty and insurance from the supplier.
Thanks in advance to all users who can help.
Andy

Tethering, Custom ROMs with optimised performance, Take Screenshots of your phone... are the usual reponses you will get.
Personally, none of these are really important to me. The main reason I rooted is the fact that one day HTC will stop producing official updates for your phone (it seems 2.1 is the last for Hero users). But with root, you can soon flash on Android 2.2 (CyanogenMod 6).
If you dont want to void your warranty just yet... wait til you are desparate for 2.2

Thanks for the reply, but seen as it seems the only disadvantage is voiding the warranty, surely it is a good idea to root as I have insurance, which should cover all things covered in the warranty?
EDIT: Does rooting keep the sense UI?

Hey Andyt95.
As mobydeek has pointed out, there is definately a reason to root your Hero and rooting will only enhance your device. I'm not sure about this (somebody else will have to clarify for me)..But even if you was to root your device, you could, in essence, revalidate your warranty by flashing back to an older ROM (RUU) which in essence resets your entire phone back to how it was.
Anyway, before I confuse you - Rooting more or less means gaining full access to your phone..that's it pretty much, meaning that nothing else changes apart from the fact you can do more with it if you so desire.
Once your phone is 'rooted', you'll be able to 'flash' custom ROM's which will get the most out of your phone..including overclocking! (if you wish to, not compulsary).
Alot of the people from around these parts root their devices the same day they buy them. It's definately a plus thing and something that I definately recommend doing if you wish to see the better side to your Hero.
If at all you do wish to progress, there are plenty of people that will be more than happy to guide you along the way - including myself. Take a look around, see what you think and go from there.

To root or not to root?

I know most people are gonna tell me I should root my phone, but just hear me out really quickly...
I just got my Samsung Vibrant and I truly love the phone. It's a huge upgrade from my G1 in pretty much every way I can think of. I had my G1 rooted since like the second week I had it. I started off with JesusFreke's ROMs and then made my way to Cyanogen's ROMs with a few others that I tried here and there. I tried a bunch of different themes and I used quite a few root apps. I know my way around the rooted Android scene (or at least the rooted G1 scene) pretty well, but I'm not entirely sure if I want to root my Vibrant and here's why:
I'm afraid of voiding my warranty.
There's not really anything that I want to do with the phone that it can't already do (for example, it has plenty of space for apps without the need for A2SD).
I don't want to risk losing things like my text messages over and over again from switching to different ROMs (this happened to me quite a bit with my G1).
My G1's battery and overall performance were much much worse than my friends' G1s which were not rooted. I don't want this happening with my Vibrant.
Some people will think that these reasons are either unimportant or nonexistent, but I disagree. Again, before people start saying "these are the risks of rooting, deal with it or leave," I want to stress that I'm not a newbie at this.
Anyway, the main reason that I DO want to root the phone, regardless of the fact that I told myself I wouldn't, is because of all this junkware that T-Mobile preinstalled the phone. I didn't know the phone came with this crap (like GoGo, TeleNav GPS, Slacker, etc.). We all know that you can't remove this stuff without rooting...I've counted 11 apps that I want to remove from the phone because they're effectively advertisements and I don't want them. So before I make a decision, I'd like to ask some questions...
Would you root the phone if you were ME?
Is it possible to root the Vibrant, remove the apps, and then unroot it, thus leaving the apps gone?
If not ^^, then is it possible to root the Vibrant and keep the stock ROM? I really don't want any custom ROMs...I just want to remove the junkware.
I'm sorry if similar questions have been asked before, but I feel like my specific needs and concerns probably aren't shared by most of the XDA community so I created my own post...
Thanks,
Gerard

actually I think what most are going to say is search the forum... There are several threads on the topic.
You don't have to add any roms if you're rooted. Yes you can remove the bloatware with root. Yes its easy to take your phone out of root, but with the bloatware missing its not hard to see that you have had root at one point.

I actually did root my phone just to remove the junkware....and then used titanium backup to remove what I didn't want....it took me 3 mins to root compared to the 15 mins it took for my nexus....i say its worth it....you can't even tell its rooted so I'm pretty sure the warehouse will never catch it if a exchange is ever needed.....you ll personally make up ur mind as soon as u see the cyanogen 2.2 rom come out hopefully that will be soon....I SAY GO FOR IT
Sent from my Samsung™ Vibrant using XDA App

I'm not bothering to root while I can still return the phone (1st 30 days) and not all the HW issues are know. Once a decent custom ROM is available I'll start looking into rooting, customer recovery, etc. The only thing I'm missing a bit from not being rooted is my Wifi tethering...

Thanks for the replies, guys (and/or girl(s) it looks like lol). I'm glad I wasn't destroyed by people telling me to search the forums...
I'll probably end up doing root sooner or later with very few modifications (if any). I'll wait it out a bit, though. My questions have been answered.
Thanks again!
Gerard

[Q] Intro and a uple ??s

Hi people,
I am a noob as far as Android goes, but I am pretty good at PC stuff. I run a 3D CAD department and I've been the "unofficial" tech guy at every job I've had in the last 10 years.
That being said, I just got the HTC Hero from Sprint last weekend, Android 2.1, update 1. I have always wanted to play with Linux but have never really had the time. So, this is my first encounter with Android or Linux.
So ..... , as much as I'd love to root the phone, I'm afraid to brick it. Is there any way to get rid of all the bloatware without rooting my phone? Also, what are the chances of bricking the phone? I've read a couple "how to root" articles on the net and it doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but I LOVE this phone so far (other than battery life) and I honestly can't afford to go buy a new one at full price if I end up killing my phone.
Another question; I've seen a few people in other posts who have the HTC Hero and say they're running 2.2. How is this done? Is this something else that I would need to root the phone to accomplish?
Also, I just ordered an 8GB microSD card. My laptop has a card slot, so I'm figuring I can put the new card in the slot, connect my phone via USB, and copy everything on the phone to the new 8GB card, then just swapping the cards.
Am I correct thinking this should be as simple as it sounds, or is there more involved?
I appreciate you taking the time to read my post, and I look forward to reading/posting here on a regular basis.
Thanks,
Eric Mortenson

Hey, welcome to XDA!
It is VERY HARD to brick this phone, so don't worry....about the only way we've seen that is by flashing a GSM radio to it, so just don't do that and you'll be fine trying anything else.
There are a couple rooting methods here, and there won't be any problems at all as long as you follow the instructions. It's not as daunting as it may first seem. You do have to root to get rid of bloatware, it can't be done without rooting. I recommend this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=694572 although there are 'one-click' and 'universal' methods out there too.
The ones running Android 2.2 are doing it through a custom ROM called Cyanogenmod. Check out the Development section to find it. It doesn't have the HTC Sense UI though, so it will look and feel different than your stock 2.1. But lots of people here are using it and loving it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=755795
And yes, you should just be able to swap out the SD cards with no problems.

chromiumleaf
Thanks for the quick and helpful reply. It is greatly appreciated.
I think I am going to try to root my phone. Pre-installed "bloatware" on PCs is one of my biggest pet peeves. So, the biggest reason I have right now for rooting my phone is to get rid of the stuff I don't want/need/use.
I will probably leave the 2.1 on the phone because I love the phone so far and if as you say, it will look and feel different. Maybe I'll keep digging through the site and change my mind later. Thanks for the "heads up".
Please do me one favor, and I hate to sound ignorant (I did say earlier I was new at this), but what does "flashing a GSM radio to it" mean, and is it something I could do my mistake?
Sorry, tried doing a search so I wouldn't have to bother you but I'm just not sure.
Thanks again.
Eric

Eric_1966_FXE said:
...what does "flashing a GSM radio to it" mean, and is it something I could do my mistake?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To "flash" some code means to burn it into your phone's read-only memory. A number of things can be flashed to your phone's memory, including the radio operating code, high-level operating system code, and "kernel" (system "core") code.
What the poster meant by "flashing a GSM radio" is "downloading the code that operates the phone's radio". Our Sprint Hero phones have what is called CDMA radio hardware, while European Hero phones have GSM radio hardware. The two different radios are not compatible with each other's operating code. So if you ever download ("flash") the wrong radio code (GSM code) into your CDMA phone, that will render your radio inoperative, which will effectively brick your phone.
With that in mind, just read carefully any information relating to any system code you're considering flashing to your phone, and make SURE it's for a CDMA phone, and you'll be fine.

I loved sense and was all against even trying an aosp rom( vanilla/ stock android), but once I flashed CM6 and found beautiful widgets and launcher pro plus and dialer one I haven't looked back. The speed of my phone and the overall appearance is far better than Sense UI. Rooting the 2.1 is far easier than it was when I got mine. You had to download and type in a whole bunch of crap, now its as easy as installing an app and running it.

Thanks
Thank you to all three of you for your quick (and more importantly useful) answers.
You guys are awesome.

Go for it
I have 4 Hero's here at my home on a family plan,and mine is the only one running CM6-RC1 and they are all jealous. Every one that has a Hero at work or a different Android running 2.1 that has seen mine including a few Evo users loves the way mine looks and how fast it is. I thought in the beginning I wouldn't want to loose Sense and feared I would brick my phone as well,but these guys here are great and are a very supportive Hero community and walked me through the process. It is a lot easier now with the universal 1 click method than before,so that was what I did. The nice thing is if you do everything correctly,you can revert right back to you stock phone if you ever have to take it in for service.
Taking your time and researching all of this pretty good before deciding what to do is a good thing,but I can honestly say, there is so much more you can do once you unlock your phone than just downloading apps and bloat ware...you can actually make it work and do what you want it to do.
The chiefs here at XDA are working hard to bring us stable working Roms for everyday use,and I tip my hat to all of them and I certainly am loving how my Hero is now compared to what it was when it was stock.The RC-1 build I am running is awesome and (knock wood) haven't crashed 1x with it where I needed to do anything nor have I had any shutdowns or unexpected forced closed programs that were installed correctly.
So I say... Don't be afraid and just go for it.. you can still have it similar to what it is now,or you can see what aosp is all about like many here have and try it.That's the beauty of Rooting...YOU have the choice of what is on your phone..not someone else.
Good Luck
Mac

Thanks Mac
And Thank you to all who responded.
Like I said in my intro, I am a tech geek when it comes to PCs but this is my first venture into this kind of forum.
You have all been extremely helpful and have made me feel welcome.
I only hope that I can return the favor at some point to others on XDA.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Thanks again,
Eric

Why Root?

I know this topic must have been beaten to a bloody death, but as a former G1/Cyanogenmod user, I'm starting to debate whether or not I should root my G2. My G1 always gave me problems when I was running Cyanogenmod. This is likely due to the now low-end specs of the device, but I have grown wary of custom roms, regardless. I can't help but worry that my device may become unstable or slow like my G1, and that I might have difficulty restoring to factory state if I need to take advantage of my warranty.
One of the primary reasons I wanted a rooted device was to be able to effectively tether. Now that my G2 has this built in, there's one less point for rooting. I don't much ever plan of going out of the country, so I have no need for a SuperCID. I don't yet see any cool toys for G2 root users, like a USB host-enabled driver. Also, my main reason for rooting my G1, apps on the SD card, is now built-in, no partitioning required.
This isn't to say that I don't appreciate all the hard work that's gone in to making this option available. I just don't know how it can apply to me.
So tell me, why do you root, what do you geek out with using root, and what do you most often use your root for?

The simple answer is don't root then. I have rooted and flashed the hell out of every android device I've ever owned, until this one, and to be honest I wouldn't mind having just having root on this, which has now gone since the latest ota, but other than that, I have no intention of flashing anything on it as it seems to be just fine for my use. The root access I want for apps like shoot me and clock sync that I use regularly now. It would be nice to have a phone and just use it, rather than spending all my time setting it back up after each new Rom I've tried on a weekly basis. So, unless you need to, don't.

So cool posts here. I have to agree. I used to geek and tweak and check out ROMs on my TP2, too. I always ended up stock WM6.1(!) because that worked best. Now coming to Android and the DZ I am just shocked how badly this RULEZ. I don't feel like tweaking anything. I wouldn't fear losing warranty, I just don't wanna root yet. Well, I miss my front cam and the qwerty keys could be bigger )
Sent from my HTC Desire Z using XDA App

root/S-OFF is useful for me right now so that I can do a nandroid backup of my phone from time to time (via Recovery Manager/Clockwork). I am very happy with my stock ROM (HTC 1.34), which is a big change from my previous WinMo Touch Pro 2, where the stock ROM sucked big time.
If you don't feel like you need root, then don't do it, simple as that !

Still havent rooted and I seem to be happy with the stock rom of the Desire Z. Still waiting it out but I do miss some of the other apps that require rooting.
I eventually will root my device and get over the fear of bricking my unit. Are there any official updates happening?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

kuplet said:
I eventually will root my device and get over the fear of bricking my unit. Are there any official updates happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a 1.72 OTA update for the Desire Z which is being pushed out. I don't know exactly where you are in the world, but this has certainly been rolled out in Europe. However, be careful, because right now rooting that updated ROM is not possible, and unless you have full radio S-OFF via gfree beforehand, you can't downgrade either once you put it on.

The "RELEASE" versions of Cyanogen have been stable as hell. Running CM 6.1.1 now. So if that's the reason why you're not doing it, take my anecdote for what it's worth.
If you don't want to root or use any of the custom ROMs then don't do it. It's your decision, not ours.

One of my biggest reasons for rooting is SetCPU. Right now, I can get my phone to last about a day and a half with minimal to moderate use. Days of heavy use it'll last at least 12hrs.
I also like having access to the system files in case I feel like messing with them.
Besides, rooting doesn't mean you have to flash a custom ROM. You can have a rooted phone with a stock ROM.

[Q] How to identify a "clean" HD2

Hello HD2 forum
I am planning on purchasing a HD2 second hand, to ultimately dual boot windows phone 7 and ICS.
I am buying it from a local trade in store for good prices and warranty, ideally i would like to power it on in store before the purchase to check its clean and ready for me to follow the tutorials available.
Other than identifying that the phone is still running windows mobile, is there any other way for me to check that the phone has not previously been messed with? Something in the settings? Maybe i should check for a secondary mode with certain key combination on boot?
Thanks a lot!

You kinda need to define what you mean by "clean"...I assume you mean stock (and never been modded, but these are 2 different things totally unrelated to each other, more to that in a minute).
IMO the best thing you could do would be to read up on the flashing process. This will tell you what to look for, if you're looking for a stock never-been-modded phone.
But back to your question...the first major sign I'd look for would be HSPL. I'm not going to go into detail about how to find out if it's installed. You'll have to do your own homework. Read every 'how to' and 'newb' (or noob) guide on xda. XDA is an awesome site and the dev's here write awesome documentation. Do them the favor of reading it. I mean, I don't know what you're an expert on but it might get on your nerves if I ask you simple questions about that topic cause I'm too lazy to do the research myself. The research is easy, the reference material is all contained here in various forums, depending on what you want to do. I show my appreciation for that by taking advantage of it, and don't forget to thank the dev's if something is especially helpful...they like that.
As far as checking to ensure that it's still running WinMo...that's gonna be about as effective and informative (about the phone being virgin-stock) as whether or not it's raining that day or not. What's that got to do with anything? Exactly. Nothing. My HD2 is running (at the moment) a WinMo 6.5 build. But it's been flashed more than a hundred times. My daily software is an SD Android build. Before I flashed my HD2 for the first time, I probably spent about 30 hours just reading about the process and trying to understand the process of what I was going to be doing (while reading, I usually had video tutorials playing on my 2nd monitor...I'd give up the reading when it got interesting). So that's it, really...read read read. It's not fail safe. I can't tell you how many times I waited on pins and needles to find out if I had ****-canned my new €400 phone. If you have a heart condition, you just shouldn't ride this ride. ;-)
I just got a SGS2, cause I prefer Android to WinMo. WinMo's a full time job, as is flashing. Something was always not performing the way I wanted it to (efficiency or performance etc), which was why I started flashing, but it gets to be like a drug. Nothing's ever good enough, cause you wind up wanting the best. I'd flash a ROM and install all my **** (manually, one cad file at a time) and then flash a different one and have to reinstall everything again. It was even worse if I had set up my homescreens, and folders the way I wanted them...to that end, I'd highly recommend that you also research mass-installer programs. I can't think of the name of it right now, but you pack all of your cad's in one folder and this program installs all of them (which means like 65% typically, cause invariably about 1/3 will fail for one reason or another).
Even still, looking for HSPL (which is required to flash anything on the HD2) is not very indicative as to whether or not it's been previously modded. When I got my phone it was virgin/stock, of that I'm sure. I bought it from a person, and the person was not capable of performing such tasks (he wasn't so technically inclined). But in your case, you're going to have no idea. It is not only possible but also very easy to return the phone to stock by removing HSPL leaving virtually no trace of it having ever been modded (I say virtually, cause I don't THINK that it can be traced when HSPL has been removed, but I'm not a dev and not a guru). So even the absence of HSPL doesn't even really tell you that it's never been modded, it only says that if it was- then the modder was smart enough to cover his tracks.
Basically, I don't think there's an answer to your question. There are clues that say YES THIS PHONE HAS BEEN MODDED. But there's no definitive sign to look for that say THIS PHONE HAS NEVER BEEN MODDED, and you dunno if someone's gonna lie to you. But I am inviting you to prove me wrong, read the documentation and get back to me.
Good luck flashing, don't **** it up though. You'll be pissed if you brick your ****, which is easy to do. Hell, it's probably a thousand times safer to buy a phone with HSPL installed, then you can flash all you want with no risk. The main risk, is ****ing something up in the HSPL installation process, but there are ways to minimize the risk...which all amount to: read, read, read.
And if you decide you'd be interested in previously modded HD2 (with HSPL already installed), let me know, make me an offer. Mine's just a wifi media device at the moment and I'll probably be marketing it in the near future regardless. It currently has HSPL, and I haven't decided to remove it before sale or not. I saw one on Amazon last week that was at a premium price, cause the seller had Android running on it. It's a great phone if you like WinMo, but I find Android to be much less 'high maintenance' and I used to be a huge WinMo fan (I'm a 10 year WinMo user, if you can believe that!).
Regardless, this is getting long. Those are my 2pence. Be easy.
[EDIT] Hell, if you were closer I'd let you borrow mine for a few weeks to see if you like the phone. I'm a nice guy like that.

There is no way of knowning to be honest, unless you go into bootloader and you see the firmare on it has been tinkered, ( i.e. Hspl, radio, rom ) and depending if it is a eu or tmous version. good luck tho!