To root or not the root...the $500 question

[drdeath91]

Okay ladies and gentlemen, I have an OG stock Evo 4G, and I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and root it. Basically, I'm not sure if the risk of bricking the device is worth the rewards. I'm looking for some guidance, encouragement, and even horror stories to help make my decision. I'm also looking for recommendations for custom roms (and why you feel they are better than the rest). I've read through the stickies and they don't seem that complicated, but I'd like to hear how truly easy it is or is not (especially from first time rooters).

As to the reason of why I am so hesitant, I'm a WebOS defector. My Pre was modded six ways from Sunday (custom overclocking kernel doubling the speed, app drawer layouts, themes, etc). The difference is, modding a Pre was mere child's play. Developer access was as easy as typing in the Konomi code. After which, you uploaded an apk that allowed for modifications. The great thing was, it was nearly impossible to brick a Pre (aside from potentially melting the processor from overclocking). If something went horribly wrong, Palm provided an OS installer that allowed for the reflashing of the software. After reading everything, I see that there is no real safety net for Android. To top things off, I do know that rooting voids the warranty (also something that was not an issue for WebOS). I'm going to have this phone for a while (until I can get out of Sprint and jump ship to VZW thanks to my wife's employee plan), so I want to maximize its potential. So any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

PS, please avoid the ubiquitous posts of "just do it". I'm really on the fence about doing this, but I need solid reasons of either it being the best thing ever or the worst idea of all time...

 

[HalizDad]

Okay ladies and gentlemen, I have an OG stock Evo 4G, and I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and root it. Basically, I'm not sure if the risk of bricking the device is worth the rewards. I'm looking for some guidance, encouragement, and even horror stories to help make my decision. I'm also looking for recommendations for custom roms (and why you feel they are better than the rest). I've read through the stickies and they don't seem that complicated, but I'd like to hear how truly easy it is or is not (especially from first time rooters).

As to the reason of why I am so hesitant, I'm a WebOS defector. My Pre was modded six ways from Sunday (custom overclocking kernel doubling the speed, app drawer layouts, themes, etc). The difference is, modding a Pre was mere child's play. Developer access was as easy as typing in the Konomi code. After which, you uploaded an apk that allowed for modifications. The great thing was, it was nearly impossible to brick a Pre (aside from potentially melting the processor from overclocking). If something went horribly wrong, Palm provided an OS installer that allowed for the reflashing of the software. After reading everything, I see that there is no real safety net for Android. To top things off, I do know that rooting voids the warranty (also something that was not an issue for WebOS). I'm going to have this phone for a while (until I can get out of Sprint and jump ship to VZW thanks to my wife's employee plan), so I want to maximize its potential. So any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

PS, please avoid the ubiquitous posts of "just do it". I'm really on the fence about doing this, but I need solid reasons of either it being the best thing ever or the worst idea of all time...

Just do it....

It's the same as rooting the Pre. You will upload a zip file and flash it just like when you uploaded a .apk on the Pre. While you CAN brick one (only 2 people on here say you can't) it is damn near impossible, so I'm confused why you haven't done it before.

As far as ROM's go, that's up to you. Everyone likes their choice. I shake my head at some choices made, and others do the same at my choice. I doubt you'll bate many into another "Which ROM is best?" thread

 

[dizzle16]

Okay ladies and gentlemen, I have an OG stock Evo 4G, and I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and root it. Basically, I'm not sure if the risk of bricking the device is worth the rewards. I'm looking for some guidance, encouragement, and even horror stories to help make my decision. I'm also looking for recommendations for custom roms (and why you feel they are better than the rest). I've read through the stickies and they don't seem that complicated, but I'd like to hear how truly easy it is or is not (especially from first time rooters).

As to the reason of why I am so hesitant, I'm a WebOS defector. My Pre was modded six ways from Sunday (custom overclocking kernel doubling the speed, app drawer layouts, themes, etc). The difference is, modding a Pre was mere child's play. Developer access was as easy as typing in the Konomi code. After which, you uploaded an apk that allowed for modifications. The great thing was, it was nearly impossible to brick a Pre (aside from potentially melting the processor from overclocking). If something went horribly wrong, Palm provided an OS installer that allowed for the reflashing of the software. After reading everything, I see that there is no real safety net for Android. To top things off, I do know that rooting voids the warranty (also something that was not an issue for WebOS). I'm going to have this phone for a while (until I can get out of Sprint and jump ship to VZW thanks to my wife's employee plan), so I want to maximize its potential. So any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

PS, please avoid the ubiquitous posts of "just do it". I'm really on the fence about doing this, but I need solid reasons of either it being the best thing ever or the worst idea of all time...[/QUOTE

Once again...just do it. I will explain why. Bricking? If you FOLLOW DIRECTIONS you will NOT brick. Rooting is a simple process. Takes 10 mins if you know what you're doing and 30 if you don't because you're gonna take your time. This is not something to do if teachers said "(your name) doesn't follow directions well". Why should you do it? Well more internal memory is one reason. Getting better battery life is another depending on what Rom you choose. Free wireless tethering is great. But if you don't already know all this you probably shouldn't be doing this. Idk if rooting voids warranty but do you plan on having problems? Is your EVO less than a year old? Do you have t.e.p.? If so screw a warranty. But once again, it'll be YOUR fault if you brick for not following directions. Its not rocket science @ all. And true "bricking" takes effort. There's not a brick in history that good preparation and focus could not have prevented. As for roms my vote is evolved r3charged. Your choices are many. I think sense 3.0 is a great look and very snappy. The quick settings in status bar, the app shortcuts on lockscreen, the new app drawer, better Widgets, 3d homescreen and I could go on really. Evolved recharged for me is a no brainer. There's other sense 3.0 roms but kinged shooter only leaves 156MB of internal memory, kinged merge is a asop/sense 3.0 blend. Mckg is sense 2.1+3.0. Evolved r3charged is loaded. Plus My battery drains when I use it (no more than on stock Rom) but when its in sleep mode or idle my battery doesn't drain at all (impossible on stock rom). If Im at 70% power and don't use phone for 2 hours and pick it up ill still be @ 70%. Also its fast as $#!+. I only use my 4g for big downloads now. The 3g is crazy fast. Make sure you do all wipes in recovery to avoid force closes. But you should root it. When you do it you open a door where you have many options for your device. Right now you just have the stock sprint experience.

Sent from my Sense 3.0 Evolved R3charged EVO 4G

 

[AlphaTango414]

I'm.tired.of.these.threads so I'm just gonna say, grow some balls, just do.it, and reap the benefits.

Decks rom ftmfw btw

DumpedDuce Approves This Message

 

[HalizDad]

I'm.tired.of.these.threads so I'm just gonna say, grow some balls, just do.it, and reap the benefits.

Decks rom ftmfw btw

DumpedDuce Approves This Message

lol

 

[hbwright]

Once again...just do it. I will explain why. Bricking? If you FOLLOW DIRECTIONS you will NOT brick. Rooting is a simple process. Takes 10 mins if you know what you're doing and 30 if you don't because you're gonna take your time. This is not something to do if teachers said "(your name) doesn't follow directions well". Why should you do it? Well more internal memory is one reason. Getting better battery life is another depending on what Rom you choose. Free wireless tethering is great. But if you don't already know all this you probably shouldn't be doing this. Idk if rooting voids warranty but do you plan on having problems? Is your EVO less than a year old? Do you have t.e.p.? If so screw a warranty. But once again, it'll be YOUR fault if you brick for not following directions. Its not rocket science @ all. And true "bricking" takes effort. There's not a brick in history that good preparation and focus could not have prevented. As for roms my vote is evolved r3charged. Your choices are many. I think sense 3.0 is a great look and very snappy. The quick settings in status bar, the app shortcuts on lockscreen, the new app drawer, better Widgets, 3d homescreen and I could go on really. Evolved recharged for me is a no brainer. There's other sense 3.0 roms but kinged shooter only leaves 156MB of internal memory, kinged merge is a asop/sense 3.0 blend. Mckg is sense 2.1+3.0. Evolved r3charged is loaded. Plus My battery drains when I use it (no more than on stock Rom) but when its in sleep mode or idle my battery doesn't drain at all (impossible on stock rom). If Im at 70% power and don't use phone for 2 hours and pick it up ill still be @ 70%. Also its fast as $#!+. I only use my 4g for big downloads now. The 3g is crazy fast. Make sure you do all wipes in recovery to avoid force closes. But you should root it. When you do it you open a door where you have many options for your device. Right now you just have the stock sprint experience.

Sent from my Sense 3.0 Evolved R3charged EVO 4G

Is there by chance a R3charged for dummies anywhere. I also came from the Pre and could do anything I wanted on it but haven't had the time to research what to do with the Evo. This sounds like what I want though, especially being able to get more internal memory. Can I delete the sprint bloatware with this and move all the other apps to SD? I have a ton of memory on SD but very little on my internal. This is the main reason for my wanting to root. And, what does the do all wipes in recovery mean. Sorry, maybe stupid questions.

 

[Bon Bons]

Hello, I'm also from webOS. I use the samsung Epic 4g, that I've rooted, but I've rooted my friend's Evo 4g . It wasn't as easy as putting webOS into developer mode, obviously, but it was pretty simple. I didn't know exactly what I was doing, because rooting is always different for each phone, but it only took me about 20 minutes to do. Definitely root. I use the freetether to get internet to my HP Touchpad (not leaving webOS yet ). The only trouble I have is not about rooting, but ROMs. On the Epic forums, all of the ROMs and links to them are listed in a sticky thread. Not the same for the Evo . I'm not sure where to find the evolved r3charged ROM that Dizzle 16 mentioned. One of my friends, and my girlfriend both have Evo's and badly want sense 3.0. Good luck. And may webOS live on.

 

[Major.Malfunction]

I jumped off the Pre bandwagon when the hardware did not match the software. Loved webOS but the Pre was toy like. Switched to the Evo but never rooted until recently simply because I could not find a reason. I recently bought a Toshiba Thrive and needed a way to tether it while on the road. Rooting my Evo and doing ?free? wifi tethering was the simplest answer.

Piece of cake to do and you keep everything as is on your phone in terms of apps, profile, data, etc. But now I can wifi tether and do useful things like move apps to the SDcard, backup the phone through Titanium, and use good file tools like Root Explorer.

I thought hard about taking the root plunge but it turns out the 5days of thinking it over wasn't worth the 5 mintues it took to root it. All phones should be rooted, IMHO!

 

[dizzle16]

No need for a recharged for dummies b/c the thread is on this forum and will tell you all you need to know. You're rooted right? Have recovery right. Well download evolved recharged final zip file and move that joker to root of sd card (by "root" I mean move rom out of downloaded folder and onto main list of sd card folders) power off, hold volume down + power, choose recovery, wipe cache and data/factory reset, install zip from sd card, choose recharged, install it. If you don't have 3g go to page 4 or 5 of the thread on THIS forum and and you'll have your fix for that and ITS A SIMPLE FIX. as for a list of Roms xda is the best place to go. If you Google Roms for this phone you'll get a nice link for a site with a nice list. Use that. Its called alchemist something.com I think lol.

Sent from my Sense 3.0 Evolved R3charged EVO 4G

 

[Bon Bons]

Thanks dizzle16, I found it later last night. But my brother found a newer version from xda. I'll be flashing this on my friend's and girlfriend's phones soon.

 

[daemon#AC]

..... move that joker to root of sd card (by "root" I mean move rom out of downloaded folder and onto main list of sd card folders) ......

Unless I'm mistaken (or it depends on the rom) this step isn't necessary. I've always flashed my roms from the download folder with no probs. Just have to go to the download folder when installing .zip from sd card.

 

[AlphaTango414]

Unless I'm mistaken (or it depends on the rom) this step isn't necessary. I've always flashed my roms from the download folder with no probs. Just have to go to the download folder when installing .zip from sd card.

Only when flashing a pc36img.zip file does it have to be on the root of your SD card. You can flash a rom from within 10000 folders if you were weird enough to try that.

DumpedDuce Approves This Message

 

[giograves]

I'm really in need of a fresh face on my EVO, but I just dont have the time to try, troubleshoot and customize exactly how many available ROMs out there? I wish I did.

I thought maybe Cyanogenmod being the most popular would have been the most rock solid, but just too many reports of flaky 4G and GPS functionality *shrug*. O well.