To Root or Not to Root?

[rvhs03]

I have a bit of a noob question. I see a ton of Android users who have rooted their device. I have also done some researching and have a general understanding of what happens when you gain root. My only other two smartphones were iPhones and I jailbroke both of them. I know this is not the same as rooting. I made the jump from iPhone to a Note 3 a week after it was released and have never looked back. My question is this: what are some of the things I can do once rooted? I see very broad responses to this question all over the net, and would like to ask the users who have experience with this what features they enjoy when they root their devices. I guess I just really want to know if I'm going to be able to do so much more once rooted, that I would be a fool not to. *I absolutely LOVE my phone and the openness of Android and will never go back to crApple!
Thanks!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[iPhonelover69]

Its your choice! Rooting adds more customizability to your phone. :-$

 

[Sonnydigs]

It's a very good question that I to was wondering..
I installed Nova Prime and find that it gave me so much more than the stock OS I'm not sure I will ever root..
It would have to add a lot..
Sonny

 

[randall2580]

Rooting an Android phone is not equal to jail breaking an iPhone. In order to do anything different than stock you need to jailbreak an iPhone. Android phones come much more able to be customized right out of the box they are equal to a jail broken iPhone. As @Sonnydigs says you can change the launcher and change the whole personality of your phone so easily just like installing an app. Additionally the ability to use other app stores is just a check of a box away, just make sure you know what you are doing, this is the most popular way for the bad guys to get access to your phone.

In general the question to "should I root my phone" is no. The most frequent need to root is to change the ROM on your phone. In the past, other ROMs were the first to have many of the features we have on Android now. Jelly Bean and Kit Kat are really big steps forward and I think for the average user, they are more than adequate for their everyday use. There are still things like secure texting in CM that you might want to root to get however.

If you are new to Android I would suggest getting to know your phone and the ways to change it without root before even considering rooting your phone.

 

[rvhs03]

Rooting an Android phone is not equal to jail breaking an iPhone. In order to do anything different than stock you need to jailbreak an iPhone. Android phones come much more able to be customized right out of the box they are equal to a jail broken iPhone. As @Sonnydigs says you can change the launcher and change the whole personality of your phone so easily just like installing an app. Additionally the ability to use other app stores is just a check of a box away, just make sure you know what you are doing, this is the most popular way for the bad guys to get access to your phone.

In general the question to "should I root my phone" is no. The most frequent need to root is to change the ROM on your phone. In the past, other ROMs were the first to have many of the features we have on Android now. Jelly Bean and Kit Kat are really big steps forward and I think for the average user, they are more than adequate for their everyday use. There are still things like secure texting in CM that you might want to root to get however.

If you are new to Android I would suggest getting to know your phone and the ways to change it without root before even considering rooting your phone.

Thank you! This was exactly the type of response I was looking for. I think I will try a launcher and see how I like that before I think about rooting. I see mention everywhere of nova launcher. Is that kind of the go to when it comes to launchers?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[rvhs03]

It's a very good question that I to was wondering..
I installed Nova Prime and find that it gave me so much more than the stock OS I'm not sure I will ever root..
It would have to add a lot..
Sonny

I think I am going to install nova prime as well. Thanks!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[randall2580]

Thank you! This was exactly the type of response I was looking for. I think I will try a launcher and see how I like that before I think about rooting. I see mention everywhere of nova launcher. Is that kind of the go to when it comes to launchers?

Posted via Android Central App

Nova is the first thing I have put on every Android device since ICS I whole heartedly recommend it. You will love how many ways it allows you to customize your experience

Posted via Android Central App

 

[XiphoneUzer]

As @Sonnydigs says you can change the launcher and change the whole personality of your phone so easily just like installing an app.

Hi, you talk of adding this and that, but I am interested in removing this and that, (and you did not address removal).
There are stock apps that many would like to remove.
I would like to NOT have all that advertising that festers in my new phone.

Can you, (or someone) please discuss how to remove this so-called .... "bloatware" ? (do we need to be rooted for removal of junk)?

 

[Sonnydigs]

Here is a thread about the Bloatware..
Hope it helps...

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...e-3/324273-bloatware-apps-you-turned-off.html

 

[randall2580]

Hi, you talk of adding this and that, but I am interested in removing this and that, (and you did not address removal).
There are stock apps that many would like to remove.
I would like to NOT have all that advertising that festers in my new phone.

Can you, (or someone) please discuss how to remove this so-called .... "bloatware" ? (do we need to be rooted for removal of junk)?

Removing the bloatware to the best of my knowledge requires root and apps to remove the bloat, I use Titanium Backup myself but there are other apps that do that job too. None that I know of without root.

I have AT&T and fully understand your frustrations. It's why I rooted my Skyrocket for the first time was to get rid of all the AT&T bloatware, and it appears that every succeeding phone brings more and more.

 

[macguy59]

If you don't have a tethering plan, rooting would allow you to use your phone as a free wifi hotspot. It's also a way to get the newest Android OS before it's released to the general public.

 

[xsibleyx03]

Thanks for posting about nova. I love the feel my phone has now

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Mugen_Cris]

I have a question. Is there a guide on this forum for rooting? I have baseband/build: MJ5 and 3.4.0-1625098 kernel version.

 

[coach_u]

My note 3 is not rooted but here is my question. I had been tethering for years on it because i simply can not get dsl where i live. I got a letter the other day telling me that if i continue to tether with the device then i will lose my unlimited and they would had a tethering plan on my phone that would basically be around 60$ extra a month for 5 gigs. If i root it will i be able to continue to tether without them knowing? or is there another step to this besides just rooting? Or is it not possible to do at all?