[biomanz]

I just got my first Android, a Note 2 and rooted it with stock firmware. There was an available update in the settings menu that popped but failed to apply after downloading and rebooting the phone. It seem like any rooting won't apply these official ("OTA"?) updates, and read that I need to roll back to unrooted stock rom, or wipe the phone, or wait for standalone patch as a .zip or .apk? Further reading suggested it's just not worth applying these minor patches and may even cause glitches on a rooted rom.

I'm just going to ignore the update for now - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - but what if there's a bigger update in the future that I need to install? Would there be standalone patches to download and flash, or would I need to wipe/reinstall my phone? I read some roms will update along with official updates, sometimes sooner, but I'm still using the stock rom. The only "intrusive" apps I use are Titanium Backup, Rom Manager (which I only use to backup my rom), Multi-Window Manager, Gallery Lock, and Smart App Protector.

[VDub2174]

What some devs do is supply us with an updated stock ROM. That way, you can keep your phone looking stock but still get the benefits of all the updates.

I honestly haven't seen an update notifications for any of my phones in a long time since I tend to follow a dev I really like and update to their latest ROM. As you've read, sometimes they come out with ne updates before it's oficially released to everyone else.

[biomanz]

So the best choice is probably to look for an updated stock Touchwiz Rom to install? That will still require a wipe/format of the phone?

[srkmagnus]

Try staying up to date with what is included in device updates and if necessary download a stock, rooted ROM based on the update. Often updates may have security fixes to close exploits and its worth doing those updates to stay secure. Try not accepting downloads from the device. Doing so could cause you to lose root and may take a while to re-root if Samsung closed a known exploit to gain root access

Note 2 Forums

[VDub2174]

So the best choice is probably to look for an updated stock Touchwiz Rom to install? That will still require a wipe/format of the phone?

Yeah, you would still need to wipe the phone but apps like ROM Toolbox Pro back up your apps and data so it's not too bad. Also, if you stick with the same dev, you sometimes don't need to wipe anything except cache/dalvik which will keep everything on your phone.