Database Users

Root Now or Later?

Hey all,
I'm going to ordering a Nexus One is the next few days and was wondering whether I should root the device now or wait.
What I'm really wanting is to update the phone once a European flavour of the ROM is available to get multi touch support in Google Maps and the browser, as a UK version of Google Navigation (if it becomes available).
I'm a real newbie, so I may be missing something, e.g. Google Navigation for the UK could be an app on the Android Market if it becomes available.
What I really don't want to do is loose text messages, etc. By rooting the device later on. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

There's no real instant-gratification reason to root now, IMO.
The problem with not rooting now, knowing you will root later, is that you'll wipe your phone (reinstall apps, readjust settings, lose messages, lose call logs). You're going to have to start fresh after you root.
IMO, if you know you're going to root at some point down the road, do it earlier rather than later.
I rooted my G1, but only to get A2SD. There's enough space in this phone that I don't foresee it being an issue in the near future. Plus, after a few months, my SD card kept wiping itself; I assume that's due to too much use of it. I don't expect to root my N1, but who knows, Cyanogen could come out with a superfast ROM, but the phone is so fast as it is that it seems unnecessary.
If you're a true nerd (which I am ironically ashamed to admit that I must not be) you want to root your phone ASAP, otherwise I think you can wait.
There's probably an app out there somewhere that lets you backup your texts. I know there's a Backup program for Rooted phones (Backup for root users) that is a lifesaver, but only if you have a rooted phone.
As of now, I don't think there are enough pro's to warrant rooting, but that's based on my usage -- others really want/need tethering, but that's about all you can get from rooting as of now.

SMS Backup on the Marketplace.
Done.

Just get it over with! However, if you're worried about hardware infant mortality, then, maybe wait 30-60 days. But, remember, when you flash the image to root, you'll have to wipe everything.

Thanks for the advice on the backup software.
Does anyone know if there's any chance that Google Navigation for the UK will be an app or will it be a ROM update for that as well?

The only way I think I will root my phone is if they figure out how to relock it. Im not gonna risk rooting it and then something happening and having a $560 paper weight. I paid wayyy to much for this phone to risk breaking it. If I could "un-root" the phone like you could on the G1/MT, then I would have rooted it right away.

Hold off the on rooting IMO. There aren't any real big reasons why you should want to root quite yet. No super-awesome ROMs or programs out for the N1 ATM. Give it a month and then it'll prolly be a lot more desirable.

I was an avid flasher on the g1! I paid full price on this puppy so I'm holding off. Mainly because I don't want to lose functionality.because we all know with flashing something gets broken! I don't want to lose camera or proximity sensor for a couple of seconds of speed. No offense out there to any of the great devs! I loved all the new roms but I'm gonna play safe for a while!

Nothing worth it right now.
Going to be awhile before it gets to the same point of G1 where so many good roms are out and pluses are clear.

I rooted mine as soon as I got home. Mainly because I wanted to have a poke about and have a look around.
SC

The only way I think I will root my phone is if they figure out how to relock it. Im not gonna risk rooting it and then something happening and having a $560 paper weight. I paid wayyy to much for this phone to risk breaking it. If I could "un-root" the phone like you could on the G1/MT, then I would have rooted it right away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was gonna make a new post, but this seems more appropriate since it's on the same subject.
Is anyone working on the process of relocking / unrooting it? I know from the "How to Root Nexus One" sticky at the beginning of this area they started talking about it like they were in process, but I didn't see much else come of it before the thread got locked.
I'm very likely buying the Nexus when it hits Verizon, unless this whole Bravo / Incredible mystery unfolds and a better or more appealing option exists at or around the same time. I didn't know anything about the whole rooting business until I started looking into the Nexus and Android, so I did enough research just to sort of understand the benefits of it and kind of get what it is.
I also agree that right now it probably isn't of much use, other than obviously not wanting to have to wipe out all your stuff later on. However, I do see the benefit later on once some really good ROMs are out that cover all bases to keep original functionality and add full multi-touch, more precision to the bottom buttons sensors, maybe even more speed, etc.... I'm with who I quoted though on the fact that I'd like it to be possible to definitely put it back to original factory settings (un-rooted), incase you need warranty work done. That would be the main thing stopping me.

I hate the way stock android looks. I rooted mine so I could theme it to how I want it to look. Mine was rooted about an hour after getting it. 30 minutes longer then I was going to wait because I had a phone call.

WaveSecure is my fav app at the moment- let's you back up messages and call logs - and best of all - let's you remote wipe or kill your phone if it's stolen
Mybackup is a good one for everything including sms and bookmarks.
Astro File Manager let's you back up apps but you have to pay for the full version
I guess the biggest thing is - whether they are trusted or just pirates stealing your info ... like the Banking app scam a few weeks ago ...
I just don't know anymore...

Really hard decision

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

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

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

I rooted mine from day one

within 1 hour of receiving the phone..

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

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

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

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

wifi tether?

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

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

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

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

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.

Cyanogen or froyo stock?

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

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

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

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

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

Root and flash cyanogen mod, awesome decision.

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

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

root. install cyanogen. Obtain FM Radio = win

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

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

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

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