Does my insurance cover a bricked phone from a root?

[rootinghelp]

rooting note 3 questions

Hello everyone. I've never rooted a phone before, but I'm sick of touchwiz and really want to give it a try. From what I've read, Samsung has a way of knowing when you root your phone thanks to the Knox counter. I understand people have ways around it, but frankly, I understand why Samsung does it and don't mind losing my warranty.

My questions are: Does the insurance cover a bricked phone from root?

Also, if I do root, can I get stock Android 5.0?

finally, I have read about all these different ways to root, and it's really confusing. I have a note 3 running 4.4.2, and people have said that it can be dangerous because you're letting people hack your phone like with towelroot etc. Could someone please give me a link to a good guide on rooting?

 

[Rukbat]

Re: rooting note 3 questions

Hello everyone. I've never rooted a phone before, but I'm sick of touchwiz and really want to give it a try.

So install another launcher. (TouchWiz is just the launcher. You don't have to be rooted to install launchers.)

From what I've read, Samsung has a way of knowing when you root your phone thanks to the Knox counter.

Not if you do it right. They can tell just by the fact that the phone is rooted. It's like looking for burn marks on the tree limb to determine whether there's a swing hanging from it, when you can just look at the swing. ANY manufacturer (or knowledgeable user) can look and see the file (and there's only 1 actually needed) that allows apps to obtain root.

My questions are: Does the insurance cover a bricked phone from root?

No. Once you root the phone, unless you flash a stock ROM, or the phone is so dead that no one can determine what used to be in the ROM, it's not covered for anything. (Except for HTC - evidently they actually have knowledgeable people working for them, and they only void the part of the warranty covering what you broke. If you root their phones or flash a ROM, and the earphone jack goes bad, it's covered. If you somehow damage the motherboard electrically by flashing a ROM, it's not covered.)

Also, if I do root, can I get stock Android 5.0?

Not until you flash a stock ROM. Either rooting the stock ROM or flashing a custom ROM stops the update, since continuing can brick the phone.

finally, I have read about all these different ways to root, and it's really confusing. I have a note 3 running 4.4.2, and people have said that it can be dangerous because you're letting people hack your phone like with towelroot etc. Could someone please give me a link to a good guide on rooting?

Towel Root works in a very simple (not simple to have figured out - it was a little short of genius) way, it doesn't hack the phone, it just causes Linux (which is the OS in Android phones) to crash and come back temporarily rooted - and that's all you need to install su, the file that roots the phone. (The existence of su means that the phone is rooted.)

Trust me, if anything "hacked" my phone, I'd know about it as it was happening and pull the battery. I've been running Linux since way before version 1, so I kind of have an idea of what's going on in there. Not like some of the ladies on Linuxchix (some of those women should be certified as unbelievably brilliant), but enough to trust Geohot and Towel Root. (To the point that I wouldn't update from 4.3 until Towel Root became available.) But that's just because a) running Linux without su is like running a car with a little D-cell-powered motor and b) I don't want to run a phone without Safestrap or something like it again (and that requires root).

 

[rootinghelp]

Re: rooting note 3 questions

I should have been more clear. I've tried plenty of launchers, but I want stock android. There are things that I don't like about touchwiz that a launcher can't fix. IE the dialer app, the notification drop down and the general look and feel of their overlay. I much prefer android 5.0. That's ultimately what I want.

I think you might be thinking I mean losing a warranty. I'm talking about the insurance that I pay for monthly with Verizon. Basically, they cover if I drop my phone etc etc. I was wondering if they would cover a rooted phone. I don't really see why not, as it seems to cover anything I do to the phone.

Is there a rom for the verizon note 3 that works? I see there is the CM 12 for tmobile note 3, but I can't find anything on the Verizon one.

Awesome! I will probably try towel root then.

Thank you for your help btw. I'm not trying to complain by asking more questions. This is just very very new to me, and I don't want to damage my phone.