Rooting, ROMS, etc.

[llasch]

I am considering rooting eventually even though I'm not real sure of what it does. I jailbroke the original iPod touch back in the day and I would assume its similar to that. But can some of you rooters post screen shots of what your rooted phone/ROM(?) looks like?? Maybe list some cool that rooting can do as well? Thanks for helping a nub out fellas

 

[greydarrah]

Rooting just gives you access to parts of the phone that otherwise locked up. For me, the important effects of that are:

I can run Titanium Backup to keep my apps and there data backed up.

I can run RomManager to get a complete backup (nandroid backup) of my phone to include all apps, all settings/contact ringtones/everything.

I can run free wireless tether.

I can install custom ROMs.

Right now I'm running Axiom 2.3 ROM (there are a number of other great ones to choose from), but because I'm not running a theme or any MODs on top of the ROM, my screen shots would look the same as yours. The phone is just faster and smoother. The ROMs are also running Android 2.0.3, which by the time Google releases it to Verizon,and they release it to you, the ROMs will probably already be on 2.0.4.

Whether you choose to install ROMs or not, if you're going to root your GN (which must also include unlocking your bootloader), the sooner you do it the easier it is. This is because to unlock the bootlaoder (you only do that one time), it wipes everything from your phone, including anything you have on your sd card. At least what the GN sees as your sd card...the directories you see when you plug your phone into your pc, like pictures and music. Great instructions can be found here:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...ock-bootloader-root-verizon-galaxy-nexus.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...backup-restore-install-roms-galaxy-nexus.html

 

[chevyguy8893]

I am considering rooting eventually even though I'm not real sure of what it does. I jailbroke the original iPod touch back in the day and I would assume its similar to that. But can some of you rooters post screen shots of what your rooted phone/ROM(?) looks like?? Maybe list some cool that rooting can do as well? Thanks for helping a nub out fellas

Rooting can allow you to run certain apps that are useful to some people. For example titanium backup will allow you to make a backup of apps and settings on the phone. For me it makes it easier when I switch ROM's since changing ROM's requires data to be wiped. Also, adblock is great for blocking those annoying little ads that are in some apps. Although, running these programs only requires your phone to be rooted. You can unlock the bootloader on your phone and root it while running the stock software on the phone and be able to update the phone as they are rolled out. If the phone is updated while rooted it will break the root and you will have to start over again.

The difference between jail-breaking an iPod (or other apple product) and rooting is the custom ROM's. The ROM's are made by developers to tweak the phone to run smoother, take care of bugs, and change things to fit what you may want. I am running AXI0M 2.3 and while it looks very similar to stock ICS it is much smoother and is based off of the unreleased android 4.0.3. There are also mods that can be installed to change how the layout is. I do not have the search bar at the top anymore, but it is now usable space for widgets or other shortcuts. Also, with custom ROM's you can install different kernels that can overclock (or underclock) the CPU or allow you to change CPU voltages to allow undervolting to save battery power. In my case I get better battery life, my phone is faster, and I can add themes or change other things throughout the phone depending on the ROM. Custom ROM's or rooting isn't for everyone, but some have fun with it. The phone is great left alone, but changes can be fun. I'm sure I am missing something, my mind is running on empty.

The picture doesn't show much, but this is a blue softkey mod with a battery circle and percentage. All my other changes have been through overclocking and undervolting. The screen space is a 4x5 area without the search bar. Here is a list of ROM's for the CDMA nexus, all of them are different so if you choose to do it find one that will work for you. [CDMA] Galaxy Nexus Developer Forum - RootzWiki The rooting section of this forum has very helpful how to threads also.