Basic pre-root questions

[Vance14]

I had an OG Droid that I rooted and ROM'ed because it had serious performance issues if you didn't. But, so far, the only problems I have had with my Nexus is the occasional redraw and, of course, weak data signals.

So, assuming that I have no real desire to try out custom ROM's, what are the benefits with the Nexus of rooting? I know I can use Titanium and that is nice for backups. I don't want to overclock and there is no bloatware to get rid of, and the "tinker" factor does not really appeal to me anymore. And I already had a free wifi hotspot (another reason I loved root on my Droid).

But I am perfectly willing to root if there are specific useful things I can do. What are the highlights of rooting for the Nexus?

 

[zero neck]

I had an OG Droid that I rooted and ROM'ed because it had serious performance issues if you didn't. But, so far, the only problems I have had with my Nexus is the occasional redraw and, of course, weak data signals.

So, assuming that I have no real desire to try out custom ROM's, what are the benefits with the Nexus of rooting? I know I can use Titanium and that is nice for backups. I don't want to overclock and there is no bloatware to get rid of, and the "tinker" factor does not really appeal to me anymore. And I already had a free wifi hotspot (another reason I loved root on my Droid).

But I am perfectly willing to root if there are specific useful things I can do. What are the highlights of rooting for the Nexus?

If you don't want those things, and you don't need any specific root-enabled apps, there isnt much reason to root.

Nandroid backups are nice but if you're just running stock you generally wont need them much. Changing radios is nice but you can just unlock the bootloader for that (which erases your data anyway).

That said, rooting is very easy once you read a bit about it, and you may discover things to do with root/unlocked bootloader that you didnt expect.

 

[dmmarck]

I like it for one reason (well a bunch, but one main reason)--almost complete control over my device.

I'll post the others later when I'm not taking a practice test .

 

[Vance14]

Yes, I do like the IDEA of the control, but I am just wondering whether I would do enough stuff with that control to make it worth the time to put all my stuff back where it goes. I think I am just getting old. :0)

 

[dmmarck]

Yes, I do like the IDEA of the control, but I am just wondering whether I would do enough stuff with that control to make it worth the time to put all my stuff back where it goes. I think I am just getting old. :0)

Heh I hear ya. It's weird for me. People go nuts when they root; crazy amounts of homescreens, overclocking to the wazoo, etc. Me? I have one folder, and maybe I change up the colors and such. I'm very simple in that way. But...I like being able to go in and changing the kernel, the radios, etc. Knowing that if there's an issue, I can probably find a way to fix it.

 

[DenverRalphy]

My GNex is the first Android device where I really don't have much (if any) need to unluck and root. I just did it out of habit when I first got it. Previous devices I was a flashing fool.

Aside from easily being able to upgrade to the VZW 4.0.4 OTA today (which with a few more days of patience I probably would have had anyway), I think the only real use I've had for root is for my custom launcher to accommodate widgets in the app drawer.

But who's to say in 9-12 months from now, some new feature/innovation/service might come about in which I'll be glad I had root? That's why I just do it out of habit these days. I get it out of the way once, and never have to worry about it again.

 

[davey11]

Some would say "ADFREE!!! FTW!!!"

I would tend to agree

Adfree is only one of the many very useful root only apps. Root explorer, Titanium Backup, rom manager come to mind.

Using rooted apps though is just a tiny part of being rooted. Don't get me started on custom roms and themes and such. You can change just about any aspect visually on the phone, like your dialer screen, your softkeys, your data, battery and signal icons up top in your status bar. The list goes on and on.

The point is with rooting, the possibilities are infinite.

This is just what I'm running today. I change stuff up constantly.

 

[Vance14]

Yes, adfree does sound interesting, there was a similar app for the Droid back in the day. And titanium would be useful and, in retrospect, I should have done it right up front before I had my phone loaded the way I want to.

But, I like the stock ICS experience so well that I have no desire to use any ROM's. At least not yet. I may get bored at some point. :0)

 

[zero neck]

Lots of roms are basically the stock experience, just tweaked a little or with additonal features. Bugless beast, aokp, etc.

Same goes for many of the launchers - nova, apex, etc.