Rooting for Dummies

Rooting for Dummies– Everything you need to know!

An introduction to rooting your Android phone and the almost possibilities and applications you can do through it.

With Android emerging victorious in almost every fight amongst the Mobile OS, it is hard to ignore the sheer amount of power the OS delivers at the hands of the user. Currently Android is the most popular platform in the world and it has definitely earned it ! If you are new to the terminology like “rooting” and “superuser”, then you have come to the right place. Through the course of this article I will explain what it means to root your phone, but also some of the impossible feats that can be made possible with a rooted android device. Lastly I will explain about the various risks and pitfalls of rooting your android phone.

Rooting

Rooting or gaining superuser permissions, is something most mobile phone users are ignorant of. Rooting your phone or gaining root is simply a process of modifying your OS such that it gives you complete control over it.

Think of it like this - On your desktop, it is possible to use a guest account as well as an admin account. Now, when a phone is unrooted, it behaves just  like the guest account on Windows (Although a guest account is actually a lot less forgiving than an unrooted phone but still :P). You can access the computer, open the internet but your choices are limited. Like, for example -You cannot modify the registry, nor can you access the system files of the computer while in a guest account. However when you gain access to the administrator account, you can do whatever you like and want to do with your PC. Rooting is something quite similar. When you gain Root, you gain the admin account (or according to the Android/Linux terminology – Superuser permissions), which enables a whole set of new functions on your android. By gaining root access, you can circumvent many of the restrictions imposed upon you by the manufacturers and by that we mean that you can go ahead and install a customized version of Android to replace the one that came with your phone.

Sounds complicated right ? Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easy as an every day task.

Performing a simple google search will fetch you information on how to root your specific android phone.

The How ?

Today, rooting is a fairly simple(ish!) process. There are numerous one-click root solutions available. More information about your specific android phone model can be found through a bit of googling. XDA and Androidforums are some of the dedicated forums to android development and registering there will make your life a lot easier when it comes to rooting.

I have shortlisted some of the popular apps/methods for rooting

      1)      Universal Androot

      This is an old but popular app for a hassle free one click root solution. It only supports select phone models, so   make sure to check its description before you install it. Find more about it here.

                                                                  2)    Z4Root

Z4Root

     

     Another One-click root solution. Like Universal Androot, this supports select phone models. More details here.

   

      3)      D00mlords easy rooting toolkit

      A popular toolkit for easy rooting. More details here

      4)      Gingerbreak

      A popular rooting application only for Gingerbread devices. More details here.

The Why ?

These are some of the important advantages  of Rooting your android

Deleting ROM integrated apps is just a click away

Delete Rom integrated apps :- Just bought your shiny new android device only to find that it is littered with carrier/manufacturer infused garbage apps (read crapware) that not only consume memory but also your data plans ? Fret not, as Rooting  enables you to install apps like Titanium backup pro which can remove those pesky ROM integrated crapware for good.

Overclocking is just a tap away

Overclock/Underclock your phone :-  Although indirectly linked with rooting (albeit impossible without it), Overclocking enables you to increase the core clock of your phone’s CPU “by feeding” it with more power (Do the math, that means less battery life for an overclocked CPU !), this not only increases the overall responsiveness of the UI but can also provide a massive improvement in 3D/2D Graphics applications like games. Underclocking on the other hand refers to lowering the core clock of your CPU, thereby providing you with more battery life. Underclocking will result in choppy UI, gaming performance but you will have better battery. Try to find the right balance between battery and performance.

Tethering on Android 2.1 and below :- When Google released android FroYo, it added the much needed tethering feature which enables your smartphone to share its data connection over wifi so that other devices may connect to it, and use its internet facilities like a hotspot. For those unfortunate droids that did not get the froyo update, it is possible to tether your phone after rooting using apps like Easy Tether.

App storage on SD card :-  Another feature introduced in FroYo is moving apps to sd, which unburdens the most precious internal memory. For those still using éclair, it is possible to move apps to sd after rooting. Another interesting fact is that, even if apps are moved to SD card using android 2.2+’s native feature, a small chunk of the app is still left in the internal memory which is stored in the Dalvik Cache. It is possible to completely move apps to SD card using scripts like Link2SD which is possible only after rooting. More on this on a separate article.

ICS theme on a FroYo device

Framework Theming :- Tired of the stock UI of your android ? You might want to give Framework theming a try.  Framework theming refers to modifying the framework-res.apk of your android phone which can alter the appearance of the UI like the statusbar, notification bar icons, GUI button press colour etc. I will write a descriptive tutorial on theming in a separate article.

Custom ROMS :- Android’s open source nature allows users to customize the firmware of the stock android device. This is known as a Custom ROM. The advantages of using  a  custom rom include stability, better performance and/or better UI to name a few. Some of the most popular custom ROMs include Cyanogenmod, MIUI and DarkyROM.

CyanogenMod is a popular aftermarket ROM

Adfree :- Don’t you just hate those pesky ads that pop in everytime you play Angry Birds or some other app ? These consume internet bandwidth as well as slow down your phone. But after rooting, you can install adfree which actually removes the ads permanently.

These are but a few of the endless possibilities you can accomplish after you have rooted your phone.

Pitfalls

Rooting involves modifying the OS of your phone and hence there are various risks associated with it. Most mobile phone carriers/manufacturers do not support rooting, and try to patch the exploits that help in rooting. Although phones such as Nexus one, Nexus S,  Galaxy Nexus are pre-rooted and have manufacturer support in rooting and developing custom roms. These phones are thus called Developer Phones.

Warranty Void :- When you root your phone, you go against the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) provided to you by your phone’s manufacturer and hence, you void your phone’s warranty. Technically however, if you unroot your phone at the time of submission at the service center, there is no possible way for manufacturers to find that you had rooted your phone. However,  it is always better to play safe and so, if  you need your phone’s warranty – then it is advisable to not root your phone.

OTA Updates :- After Rooting, the Over The Air updates that your manufacturer releases for your phone will be unavailable to you. But then again,  you probably dont even want them as custom roms for your phone are a far better alternative to the stock updates for your phone.

Chance of Bricking:- Although Rooting is a simple process, there are chances that you might brick your phone if something goes wrong. Bricking refers to the condition in which your phone becomes non responsive to every possible input you can give to your phone. It is very hard and/or expensive to recover a bricked device. So, before rooting do your homework – No one will be responsible for bricking your device, but you.

Verdict

Rooting may have pitfalls but it is certainly something that opens the horizons of endless possibilities on your android. It all comes down to you – whether you want to go down the rooting lane and experience the many perks associated with it or not. Just make sure to do a fair bit of research about your phone and you should be fine (Remember Google is Power J).