Database Users

Is rooting the S5 recommended this early on?

Samsung is a new device. Running 4.4.2 KikKat and having the best mobile processor in the market meaning that most (if not all) of you will exploit this bad boy in many different ways. The most popular way is obviously gonna be rooting.
Now, im fairly new to rooting. (Having only rooted my v2.1 Galaxy S Vibrant) Meaning I have no idea (or experience for that matter) in rooting new phones.
Most of you know that Sammy implanted new Knox security, and rooting an S5 early on will void it's warranty.
My question is: Is it recommended to root an S5? Aside from the cancelation of the warranty will the phone suffer any other consequences? And lastly, are there any actual mods that will make rooting an S5 beneficial? Or are all the mods just aesthetical?

Difficult question to answer imho. I'm no leet phone user or maybe not the best person to ask, but I rooted because of droidwall, xposed network and xprivacy (basically because I want a access to iptables and decide which items can use which data, etc. I also like to customise and freeze unwanted stuff in titanium backup. But if the positive side supersedes the negative side I don't know. Must be up to you to decide. If you are into to protect your own privacy policy root is must. Cheers
Sent from my SM-G900F using xda app-developers app

Im also not leet phone user or anything but to answer your question about if there is any useful mods...
well firstly if you're rooted you can remove all of the bloatware... this will typically extends your phone battery by 15 - 40% depending on how you use it... but for sure its 15% better (samsung is known for putting a lot of bloatware and some of them runs in the background and you cant turn them off -> the only way is to freeze or delete them)... secondly is that if you have some specific things you want on your phone, rooting and flashing mods/roms will help you achieve them, for example: I like to have my "sound+vibration/vibration" options on the notification but stockrom has "sound/vibration/mute", and so far that I've noticed the "sound" option doesn't force vibration so if you just restarted the phone and put on the "sound" option it won't vibrate until you go to settings and set it to do so... so without rooting I won't ever be able to mod the notification toggles to do what I want.... there will also be mods that makes your phone more responsive (faster)... the lists of things you can do with root is just too much to be listed lol...
now to answer your main question "Is rooting the S5 recommended this early on?", now this is all my opinion so take it with a bit of salt... I would say no...
there isn't much of roms around (not much of choices atm, you can check like s2/s3/s4 to get an idea of how much of choices you can expect once the device has been out for 6 months+), so if you root right now, you pretty much have to do all of the modding by yourself and etc... so why root and lose warranty? just play it cool and wait for a better time XD the decision that you wait 1 - 6 months before root might saves your phone ass, if something happens... and I seriously doubt you gona gain that much if you root now... unless you're uber modder/rom cooker
Don't get me wrong though, I personally recommend every android user to root lol... Android without root is like iPhone... what is the point of the ability to pretty much modify everything but you dont use it? (dont get mad now iphone fans... Im on android just coz of the customization, not of brand or specs)

[Q] Why people root there devices this days

So My question is as simple as that:
Why you rooted your phone ?
I`m an Linux administrator so I know what root account mean back in the days i rooted my phone because my android version was 2.1 and it wasn`t the most supported android version so I needed root in order to change the rom to 2.3 however I find CM really ugly and I know Samsung software is not the best possible but for me it works great.
So why you rooted your phone ? Is there a special reason why you want to skip OTA updates, To wait on Custom Rom developers to finally make your camera work as on the stock rom and your 3G to actually work ? Is CM rom really worth all the efforts in order to root your device ?
So why you rooted your phone ?

bnight said:
So My question is as simple as that:
Why you rooted your phone ?
I`m an Linux administrator so I know what root account mean back in the days i rooted my phone because my android version was 2.1 and it wasn`t the most supported android version so I needed root in order to change the rom to 2.3 however I find CM really ugly and I know Samsung software is not the best possible but for me it works great.
So why you rooted your phone ? Is there a special reason why you want to skip OTA updates, To wait on Custom Rom developers to finally make your camera work as on the stock rom and your 3G to actually work ? Is CM rom really worth all the efforts in order to root your device ?
So why you rooted your phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. To be freedom
2. To remove all craps that we don't want and have a complete backup/restore solution
3. To tweak the phone, make it work faster and smoother
4. Add more features that is only done by rooting devices such as Adblocks (both web & apps), underclock...
4. To use CM/AOSP sources that have much longer support than Samsung (Think about 18 months later, Will SamSung still support your devices like Apple or Microsoft?)

bnight said:
So My question is as simple as that:
So why you rooted your phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple answer is I want to control my phone, I don't want it to be controlled by my service provide.
I get my S5 in two weeks and it will be rooted, the o2 rom replace with a generic BTU rom (not bothered about knox), all previous phones I have had have been rooted, current S3, previous S2 and xperia X10.
There is more freedom, ability to customise it your way, replace ugly stock theme with your own theme, unlock features that are locked by Samsung or the service provider, removing unnecessary bloat ware.
Added functionality in root apps such as Titanium Backup, Root Explorer and improve battery life.
Root gives you freedom to do as you like with your device.

I use root for the following: ad blocking, removing camera sounds, Titanium backup, EFS backup (in some rare cases even with stock updates EFS problems arose), move apps to external SD card, mod some UI stuff (like the S Find/Quick Connect bar) and some less important stuff. So, that is a pretty extensive list if you ask me

greenify ..

Ad blocker. And most of the time u can run a newer version of android then what the phone came with.
sent from my thumbs

jaymccoubrey said:
Ad blocker. And most of the time u can run a newer version of android then what the phone came with.
sent from my thumbs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but not all the functions of your phone work that way.
Ad blocker sounds like a good idea for your data plan however I have 1 GB of data per month and unlimited after that but with lower speed and my actual data usage is like 200-300 MB per month with ads so this is not something that I really need and the apps that I use needs this ads in order to support them self.
About backup when my S4 mini LCD screen goes black I still had the ability to move my data via usb cable and Kies so when I take my S5 I spend probably 30 minutes to download back my backup from the S4 Mini and the only thing that I needed was to install my applications because of the newer android version of the S5.
However I do think that a lot of stuff is not working as it should be on custom roms.

The question should be: Why root a NEW Phone? As phones get older, manufacturer support ceases, one roots the phone to install new custom firmware.

xposed framework.
And with this new root method I don't have to worry about tripping KNOX and losing warranty.

bnight said:
To wait on Custom Rom developers to finally make your camera work as on the stock rom and your 3G to actually work ? Is CM rom really worth all the efforts in order to root your device ?
So why you rooted your phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why oh why do people always just talk about cm based rom's. I root my device to provide custom rom's comparable to cm in terms of customisation whilst keeping everything Samsung based working.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Goldie said:
Why oh why do people always just talk about cm based rom's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because this is the most mainstream custom rom available.
As I say when I buy my phone I spend some time with his UI if I don`t like it I don`t buy the phone.

X-Note team rooted the galaxy s5 to have floating windows and note 3 features, multi dpi and a unique look
here the screenshots eh eh http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2724138
Inviato dal mio SM-G900F utilizzando Tapatalk

bnight said:
Yes but not all the functions of your phone work that way.
Ad blocker sounds like a good idea for your data plan however I have 1 GB of data per month and unlimited after that but with lower speed and my actual data usage is like 200-300 MB per month with ads so this is not something that I really need and the apps that I use needs this ads in order to support them self.
About backup when my S4 mini LCD screen goes black I still had the ability to move my data via usb cable and Kies so when I take my S5 I spend probably 30 minutes to download back my backup from the S4 Mini and the only thing that I needed was to install my applications because of the newer android version of the S5.
However I do think that a lot of stuff is not working as it should be on custom roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are custom roms with everything working, to say otherwise with no experience is untrue.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

bnight said:
Because this is the most mainstream custom rom available.
As I say when I buy my phone I spend some time with his UI if I don`t like it I don`t buy the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my point. Maybe I should rephrase. Custom rom's aren't all source built.
As you say you spend a lot of time with its UI. This is why we made you able to change every aspect of that should you desire rather than just one or two preset themes.
All whilst keeping the Sammy S5 stuff and adding some extra cool stuff like hardware key mapping etc...
You should try it... It will give you the freedom to style your UI how you like whilst still keeping touchwiz and without breaking the stuff you mention. You don't even have to install xposed
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

OP has a valid point - these days top tier smartphones are rather well-designed and tested.
I had to exchange 2 Samsung Galaxy Note 3's due to hardware failure. If I have rooted than I would have incurred a major loss due to void warranty. Now I am using an S5 and have no longer have the intention to root.
Having the privilege to exchange/take back your device is critical due to the hundreds of components in your device that could potentially malfunction.

bnight said:
So My question is as simple as that:
Why you rooted your phone ?
I`m an Linux administrator so I know what root account mean back in the days i rooted my phone because my android version was 2.1 and it wasn`t the most supported android version so I needed root in order to change the rom to 2.3 however I find CM really ugly and I know Samsung software is not the best possible but for me it works great.
So why you rooted your phone ? Is there a special reason why you want to skip OTA updates, To wait on Custom Rom developers to finally make your camera work as on the stock rom and your 3G to actually work ? Is CM rom really worth all the efforts in order to root your device ?
So why you rooted your phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, I'm a little surprised by this question considering you are a Linux admin. You should know full well the benefits root provides in terms of being able to do anything you need to configure the OS to suit your needs.
I was perfectly happy with the S5 without root, however I am very happy to now have it. It allows me to do simple, yet helpful things such as unlock the tethering features for unlimited users, changing soft key configurations, enabling writing to the SD card by 3rd party apps, and eliminating annoying pop ups such as the headphone volume notification. Among many many more things. Bottom line, as others have stated, it lets you use your phone as you please. Simply a better experience.
ROMs aren't even part of the equation when we are talking specifically about root.

mediumsteak said:
OP has a valid point - these days top tier smartphones are rather well-designed and tested.
I had to exchange 2 Samsung Galaxy Note 3's due to hardware failure. If I have rooted than I would have incurred a major loss due to void warranty. Now I am using an S5 and have no longer have the intention to root.
Having the privilege to exchange/take back your device is critical due to the hundreds of components in your device that could potentially malfunction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your paying for insurance yes, no reason why the phone couldn't have been lost or stolen. Fixing your voiding warranty issue
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app

Goldie said:
Why oh why do people always just talk about cm based rom's. I root my device to provide custom rom's comparable to cm in terms of customisation whilst keeping everything Samsung based working.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because they are the most popular type of ROM

1. To restore/backup apps and their saved data when changing new phone or after factory reset. So I dont need to play the games from zero again. I use titanium backup
2. To allow/disallow which app can access internet. I use android firewall.
3. To block annoying adds from app. I use Addaway
4. To see battery statistic, checking which app causing battery drain, wakelock, wakeup. I use betterbatterystats or wakelock detector
5. To modify some xml system parameter or modify theme/look. Example: cannot write to external sd card just modify the xml.
6. Too change minimum cpu frequency or other features.
Maybe there is more. Root is very important to me.
Sent from GT-I9500

dragon135 said:
1. To restore/backup apps and their saved data when changing new phone or after factory reset. So I dont need to play the games from zero again. I use titanium backup
2. To allow/disallow which app can access internet. I use android firewall.
3. To block annoying adds from app. I use Addaway
4. To see battery statistic, checking which app causing battery drain, wakelock, wakeup. I use betterbatterystats or wakelock detector
5. To modify some xml system parameter or modify theme/look. Example: cannot write to external sd card just modify the xml.
6. Too change minimum cpu frequency or other features.
Maybe there is more. Root is very important to me.
Sent from GT-I9500
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For your first point did you try to use KIES for taking backup of your phone or there was a new application in the S5 called smartswitch which I didn`t used just because i migrated from S4 Mini and used my KIES backup.
Blocking adds is good idea if you are on a limited data plan (I`m not) but this brings the other question for what exactly people use more then 1GB of mobile data ?
For me the battery life of the S5 is really good lately I put a software that drain my battery as hell but I usually keep the number of apps to minimum and even with all functions like network access and stuff turned on battery easy last a day or two so no issue there.
Changing some of the system bhaviour like writing to SD Card is actually important as for example my file manager is not working as it should be now but besides that don`t really see the reason to root your device.
I have tethering as a function on my phone but I doubt I will use it ever for more then 2-3 devices at a time and I think the current limitation is 8 devices.

Questions regarding the Note 4

Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)

Rooting restriction is carrier based. Some carriers lock down from rooting, others dont.
Knox is a one way trip. Once tripped it stays that way. It is effectively a fuse.
Had my N4 for two weeks and am loving it. Came from a rooted S4. Not really missing root that much. Wish I could still turn GPS on and off with Tasker and wish I had better access to the SD card. Not big deals though. There is another thread here about non-rooted solutions to many things people want root for.
Might become more an issue in a couple years if Samsung/Verizon fails to do timely updates.
Best advice to new N4 users is learn to use the S Pen. It is what makes the N4 stand out.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

1. No it doesnt allow rooting. get a 910U - so far it seems the least hassle.
2. no rooting.
3. yes once you try to root your warranty is void. for all purposes assume you will never get root. then again, you dont need root. in fact having no root and knox is much better. you can have a dual personality phone which works very well.
4. irrelevant. if you get the note 4 expect to run factory.
5. no. you cant have root.
6. you need a full case to hold it. its a thin glass panel. ive got an iblason armorbox for it. also would recommend buying the wireless back and wireless chargers. cables are too much of a hassle on this phone.

My recommendation would be little biased towards Samsung given my last four phones were all galaxy. I never had to root Note 3 but I rooted Note 4 in few days of owning it. Google must have thought let's give some punch to Samsung by disabling write access to external SD giving excuse of security as Samsung is the only high end phone manufacturer that still has it. And one of the most used function that was very important to me was copying files off network share to SD which no longer worked. Only for this I rooted.
I buy Note series not for amoled or big screen or good battery life or running AOSPs. I buy for SPen. I snap, print screen, doodle and write catchy text and share, adds that special touch. And that Microsoft One Note supported inking in android, I am loving it even more.
Note 4

Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated!
While it seems most of you use the note 4 for its main purpose of being a multitasking phone. I on the other end just need the good camera, screen and battery. Everything else is gimmicks (for me atleast). However, this opinion of mine could be due to the fact that ive never owned a note before.
I did see some guides of being able to root the SM-N910W8 with CF auto root, as well as a way of bringing devices back to stock as i can see form this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/general/ref-stock-firmware-kernel-modem-recovery-t2920452
Now, is that really the case or is there somehting im not seeing?

you can NEVER bring it back to stock. the efuse blows once you root. Do NOT root a note 4 until youre familiar enough with knox to make the choice

By stock i dont mean resetting the knox fuse. I mean, if I am on a cusotm rom, i can bring it back to stock for warranty purposes (which I know after the knox fuse is blown, is a hit and miss)
So my question still stands, will I be able to root my phone based on the thread i mentioned above and be able to return it to stock afterwards, or is there something im not seeing there.

qwertyman007 said:
Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Note 4 with Bell so to answer your questions:
1) Yes. This is true for all Canadian carriers AFAIK.
2,4) Should be sufficient with just a root. I haven't been around for a week so I haven't caught up on new developments yet. I didn't see much in the way of AOSP last I looked.
3) This I can't answer but I know for example there is an XPosed module that will allow applications like GOOD to continue to work even with KNOX tripped/removed.
5) The W8 is similar to the 910T. I'm actually running DynamicKat with the KTNote4 Kernel. When you install DK part of the install script checks if your phone is a 910T or a 910W8 and installs the correct kernel. I had an issue with my initial flash of it bootlooping but I used the Stockish kernel from twistedumbrella that I had flashed when I still running stock rooted and backed up the boot image so I restored that boot image and it booted, then I flashed KTNote4 myself. Check here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/development and here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/orig-development for roms/kernels.
6) Yes you can just flash a stock rom (should be floating around somewhere) but Knox will still be tripped.
7) Overall I'm absolutely loving it. I came from an S3 that I was running CM11 on with KT's kernel (seriously, his kernels are amazing!) and I liked it for a really long time but it started to get really sluggish and it just can't handle multitasking the way I'd like it. I do still notice slow downs, and the phone does still get pretty hot sometimes, but that's the price you pay for multi-tasking. KTs kernel certainly isn't perfected (granted I'm on a build from 2 weeks ago) and sometimes it will randomly reboot and bootloop at the splash screen but once I clear cache it boots right up. Usually only does this once it's been pretty hot for a while. I love the multitasking windows, that's exactly what I want. The one thing that threw me off the most was the DPI. It's a big phone, I don't need everything on it to be gigantic. So I did end up using the XPosed module App Settings to scale the DPI down to 480 from 640. There are a couple quirks when doing that, like the task switcher is smaller (since it was designed for 640 DPI) and there are a couple apps that you have to set back to 640 as well like the camera but you can always fix those as you find them.
I'm a firm believer that Android is a dev's playground. I could not use this phone happily without root. In fact, I rooted it the same night I got it within a couple hours. I bought the phone outright since I would have had to change my plan if I wanted to early upgrade and my plan is too good to do that. Happy modding!

Just use Autoinput. Can trigger GPS.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

Shocker! I'm considering not rooting

I've rooted my last 3 phones, and for the longest time, considered it an essential step in the true Android experience.
But let's be honest, rooting is a bit of a PITA. You risk destroying your warranty, which worries me with a phone that I got on launch day. You have issues with OTA updates. If you load a custom ROM, you're blowing away all your settings each time you load an update. There's more, but I won't keep going.
Of course, there are a LOT of benefits, too. Most of them, however, are ways around annoying little nits that I have, and with this phone, I find fewer of those nits, and far fewer items that are larger than nits. With the improvements in Android and with a good launcher, I can completely hide away all of the annoying Sprint and Samsung apps.
If I rooted this phone, these are the benefits that I think I could realize are: Getting rid of the volume warning (nit), changing my boot animation (nit), Titanium backup (which I don't really need if I'm not constantly loading a new ROM), better ad blocking (nit), the ability to remove unwanted apps (bit of a nit, but it would be beneficial to reclaim the ram and storage space), and probably the biggest - wifi hotspot (which I rarely use, but I will miss if I don't have it).
I'm curious if anyone else thinks this same way about this phone. Are there other serial rooters who are not rooting the S6?

well, first thing I did with my S6 was to load custom recovery and custom ROM

Still on the same boat, don't want to trip knox by installing a custom recovery or custom kernel and not knowing what ping-pong root really does is a little worrisome.

When considering whether to root or not your S6, remember that there is a debloat method which doesn't require root: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/safe-to-debloat-s6-threads-t3090383.
I agree with OP: as time passes by and Android evolves there are less and less "serious" reasons to root a phone.

Pingpong is pretty safe(warranty wise) and it's easy to reflash your stock rom. I usually never root on first day but now I saw no reason not to.

Having had a rooted phone since the days of cupcake I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I got my Xperia Z2 before it was rootable with a locked bootloader and in those few months I discovered I could live without titanium backup if I wasn't flashing roms left right and centre but I hadn't realised how pervasive ads had become in the mobile world and it was something that really bugged me, as the non-root blocking methods didn't give me much joy, so when root was finally achieved I knew I couldn't live without ad-blocking.
Fast-forward a year and I was holding off the S6 for the precise reason of not being able to root without tripping knox (which given the track record of my S2, S3 & S4 all needing to be repaired under warranty I cannot afford to do), but I ended up getting it thanks to breaking my Z2, with the hope of something like pingpong coming soon enough. This time again I found it painful dealing with the ads again but to add to that there's the frankly rubbish battery in this phone compared with my old Z2, and I was having little joy zapping all the wakelocks until I got root and greenify.
So TLDR, can't live without proper ad-blocking and greenify is essential for the S6 if you actually want to have a reasonable amount of functionality without carrying around a charger.

As for me, I like rooting so I can remove bloat, freezing an app is not the same as removing it and I can't stand ads. Do what you like, I have never had issues with warranties even with knox tripped. I have had the S, S3, S4, and now the S6 and I have never had to use the warranty, which expires after the first year anyway.

ipaq_101 said:
As for me, I like rooting so I can remove bloat, freezing an app is not the same as removing it and I can't stand ads. Do what you like, I have never had issues with warranties even with knox tripped. I have had the S, S3, S4, and now the S6 and I have never had to use the warranty, which expires after the first year anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, Samsung offers 2 years warranty, here in Europe anyway.

I have rooted pretty much every single android phone I have owned and with the superb debloater app I have zero need for root now and unless Samsung do something which is very invasive I cannot see any reason to root in the future,
That and the fact I have heard of stories of ping pong root tripping knox on some devices is worrying.

I rooted every phone which I had on the first day and never had problems with warranty but the phones hasn't knox. My note 3 was rooted too but there wasn't any reason sending to repair.
Now with the s6 I don't need the root.
The Rom is debloated for. There was only Microsoft and Vodafone apps. I use them both so no reason to debloat.

Thread cleaned, please keep it nice and friendly
Whiskey
Forum Moderator

I haven't and wont root this phone. I use adblock browser which gives me a perfect ad free browsing experience. I use zero apps which bombard me with annoying ads I can't ignore, I have plenty of space on my phone, and custom Rom's won't make it faster or more stable or improve battery life so personally there's no point.

I go back and forth with the idea of rooting. Right now, there's no method for my build - so, I want to root. Previously, when there was a method for build - I didn't root. I'm kinda of the similar thought as the OP...is there really a need to root anymore? The majority of the reasons/features we rooted our phones for in the first place are now part of Android. If I do root, it will be to get the maximum benefit out of using Greenify and TB.

I've rooted all my previous android devices and this is the first phone that I don't feel like I need rooting. I did go through the process with PingPong-root so that I could clean up some apps but after I couldn't get OTA's I went and restored it to factory settings. With Nova Launcher and the ability to inactivate most of the apps I don't use I don't see the need of rooting it just yet..

I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.

I unrooted a few days ago to fix Google now (I broke it somehow) and am having a hard time redoing it. Other then modding the themes..I can't find another reason. Most of the time I break stuff anyways lol so might be better if I dont!

Sheldor1967 said:
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's the only way I do it. I just root the stock rom and get rid of the ads. Backup my apps with titanium backup. All the usual things that I can't do with a non rooted phone.
With regards,
Beston94

My biggest reason I'd consider rooting is AirAudio -> Airport Express devices.

I need root as I use the automation app tasker an awful lot. I haven't purchased an s6 yet but it is something I am debating. It is between the s6 and N6 but either way I will be rooting whichever I choose
---------- Post added at 04:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
Sheldor1967 said:
I decided that I couldn't live without rooting. Those "Nits" drive crazy and I like the freedom. But I have pretty much decided to not put any custom Roms on. No matter what I end up with bugs that just aren't on the Stock Rom.
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Which method did you opt for with regards to rooting?

Flashed TWRP and the rooted from there. Knox is tripped - O-Well. I did it before the other methods were available...

Is Galaxy S6 worth rooting?

Hi guys!
I'm writing this thread to anyone who is considering rooting his own S6. Well I wasn't sure for 5 month because I was afraid of losing my warranty. Like 3 days ago I decided to end with bloatware. This was one of the best thing I did in my life with my phone. Flashed XtreStoLite and custom kernel (arter97) and this device is now crazy fast... Damn I didn't expect these results. Also my battery is now much improved than it was before.
I know it's XDA forum, but maybe there are people like me, who are still waiting to root their phones. This thread will help them to take their decision.
Also you guys with rooted phones - write your feelings when you did it.

I've always rooted my phones and used custom ROMs, but I've become more and more reliant on my mobile banking apps recently. As they don't work on rooted phones, my S6 is staying unrooted.

Is Samsung Pay the only function you lose when rooting and/or installing a custom TW ROM?

HKSpeed said:
Is Samsung Pay the only function you lose when rooting and/or installing a custom TW ROM?
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Hmmm... In my country Samsung pay is not available yet. So I don't care about this one. Also I don't know about any other disadvantages of root or custom ROM.

HKSpeed said:
Is Samsung Pay the only function you lose when rooting and/or installing a custom TW ROM?
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You also lose Knox, warranty (depending upon your country) and OTAs.

I've always rooted my phones starting back when the galaxy s fascinate came out, been on this forum a long time and rooted lots of tabs and phones thru here. You can always flash back to stock if you don't like root.

I actually rooted my Nexus 5 but don't feel the need to root my S6. The only thing i used it was to change the dpi on nexus but with the screen grid option i don't even need to on S6. Phone is working perfectly fine and unrooted gives me peace of mind of safety and OTA updates.

Since Adblock Fast is available for M6.0.1, I don't need to root my SGS6. Web advertisements and banners was main reason for rooting my phone, because i was using Adaway, which is "root only" app. Adblock Fast is working like Adaway (except adcvertisements in free apps, of course - i don´t mind of that, I'm willing to pay for good app) and without root. Yes, with root I can have more functionality (exposed framework, tweaking stock apps, ...), but I can live without that. And I'm happy that my Knox is not tripped and have automatic OTAs.

I'm incredibly glad I didn't jump straight into rooting mine... The camera started to occasionally play up after a month, sometimes making a noise when focusing. This progressed over the months to becoming more frequent, and sometimes I'd have to literally shake the phone to get it to focus.
Two months in I handed it in but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Five months in it was so bad that they couldn't deny it and repaired it there and then when I read the newspaper with a coffee (kudos to Samsung: only some stores offer that service).
So yeah, I wouldn't root my phone again within six months for that reason.
I'll still root it though - I'm just waiting for official TWRP compatibility at the moment.
As a side note, I asked the guy who handed my phone back if they check KNOX routinely. He told me yes for software issues, and occasionally for hardware issues (especially for screen issues). He didn't bother checking mine apparently.

2ZE said:
I'm incredibly glad I didn't jump straight into rooting mine... The camera started to occasionally play up after a month, sometimes making a noise when focusing. This progressed over the months to becoming more frequent, and sometimes I'd have to literally shake the phone to get it to focus.
Two months in I handed it in but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Five months in it was so bad that they couldn't deny it and repaired it there and then when I read the newspaper with a coffee (kudos to Samsung: only some stores offer that service).
So yeah, I wouldn't root my phone again within six months for that reason.
I'll still root it though - I'm just waiting for official TWRP compatibility at the moment.
As a side note, I asked the guy who handed my phone back if they check KNOX routinely. He told me yes for software issues, and occasionally for hardware issues (especially for screen issues). He didn't bother checking mine apparently.
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Just so you know there is official twrp support

552eden said:
Just so you know there is official twrp support
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Not for MM bootloader. TWRP on MM at the moment can only be installed via Chainfire's or Arter's modified version

Big_Rich_1983 said:
I've always rooted my phones and used custom ROMs, but I've become more and more reliant on my mobile banking apps recently. As they don't work on rooted phones, my S6 is staying unrooted.
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Rootcloak fixes this.
I rooted mine mainly for adaway and xposed, but I have to say that not getting OTA is annoying - however Samsung is too slow with the updates that I don't care anymore (still no marshmallow in my country).

I had problems with mine I was on 5.1.1 rooted updated to marshmallow my phone came up with emergency calls only back on 5.1.1 after repair funny thing is the repair shop rooted my phone to make sim work again weird

Hi guys (and gals)
I've always rooted my phones because I wanted to have more powerful, flexible device. I did this with my old HTC Wildfire, HTC Desire HD and Nexus 4 but with S6 I don't feel I need this anymore. The device is just as good as-it-is – without root, Xposed, mods and so on. And 6.0.1 update gave it new shine and powers. Of course it's my personal opinion only but I must repeat – Galaxy S6 is the first Android phone I'm pleased to use without any modifications (maybe except for Nova Laucher ).
Have a great day!

I am happier with my marshmallow now that it's 6.0.1 rooted with xposed mods to tweak with it. I'll always root if I can just because I can't stand not messing with it, lol.

Hoccco said:
Rootcloak fixes this.
I rooted mine mainly for adaway and xposed, but I have to say that not getting OTA is annoying - however Samsung is too slow with the updates that I don't care anymore (still no marshmallow in my country).
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I got Marshmallow 6.0.1 about 2-3 weeks ago, and I've had two minor updates (around 13-15Mb each) since then. Can't fault Samsung in my country.