Howdy all. I'm still wishing I could root my damn phone and it's starting to look like a one-touch job that will retain my settings and configurations is never going to happen.
I'm not hyped about putting a bunch of far out, stripped down ROMs on my phone. I think I want to just go ahead and stick with Sense (albeit debloated).
My question is - what happens when an update occurs such as the one that is about to come out any day now? Yeah, that's a patch. What about when a major update like 2.3 comes out?
I can handle everything getting wiped ONE TIME, but there is no way in hell I'm going to reinstall everything and set up all the configurations every time I want to install an update manually because I'm rooted.
How does this work?
Thanks.
To start, I am pretty sure there is no root method that will retain your current data on the phone. Rooting this phone requirs wiping the handheld completely and basically reinstalling the OS with the root. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure theres no way to get around that.
Aside from that regarding the update. I have a rooted Thunderbolt, with stock ROM (SenseUI). I do know that any OTA the udpate will probably fail if you rooted your phone and if you that concerned with OTA the updates you will need to unroot your phone to properly update.
However, the great poeple on this forum as well as XDA usually come out with ROMS that are based on big OTA udpates (like CM7 which will be a Gingerbread Based ROM). Basically it all comes down to what you want to do. Personally I love the stock Sense UI so I just rooted my phone to get rid of the bloatware. Once CM7 comes out for the TB, I will consider that but until then, rooting to remove bloat is probably your best bet if you don't want to play around with ROMs. If you read the guides on here and XDA they are easy to follow and not complicated at all, but it is your device and no one can tell you what you would rather do.
Edit:
I was like you about rooting/roms a couple months ago when I had my Fascinate. Once I decided to root that and put a ROM on it, I never looked back to running full stock. When you root your phone, you unlock the full potential of the device. Look at it this way... stock phone without root, you are like a Guest user on a computer. With root access, you are an admin on a computer. Yes there is a small chance to brick your phone but if you follow directions and take your time, you will be fine and you will enjoy your device even more.
In regards to the data wiping, I don't think there is anything you can do about that. If it doesnt wipe data usually it causes problems with the phone that will make it intolerable to use like constant reboots. In the end, its almost like you are reinstalling Windows on a desktop, it will clean everything off and gives you a fresh start. With programs like Titanium Backup, you can put all your apps/settings right back on the phone.