Rooting and its risks.

[Silent Infiltrator]

Hey all, so for christmas I am getting a Nexus 7 32gb wifi (2013). I am a bit of a coder and pen tester, so I would naturally like root so I can tinker with my device, and install apps I otherwise would not be able to. Now I am new to Android and have never rooted, I wanted to know, rooting directly out of the box, am I playing with fire? Is there much risk of me bricking my tablet? Can I get it repaired if it's bricked? Any help would be appreciated.

Also is it true the nexus 7 comes charged out of the box?

 

[VDub2174]

Hey all, so for christmas I am getting a Nexus 7 32gb wifi (2013). I am a bit of a coder and pen tester, so I would naturally like root so I can tinker with my device, and install apps I otherwise would not be able to. Now I am new to Android and have never rooted, I wanted to know, rooting directly out of the box, am I playing with fire? Is there much risk of me bricking my tablet? Can I get it repaired if it's bricked? Any help would be appreciated.

Also is it true the nexus 7 comes charged out of the box?

Welcome!!

If you're new to the Android world, I would start off by watching videos and reading up on rooting the N7. The risk of bricking your device is always there and only increases if you don't know what you're doing. You can sometimes unbrick devices but when messing with something like this, that should never be an option.

 

[Silent Infiltrator]

Welcome!!

If you're new to the Android world, I would start off by watching videos and reading up on rooting the N7. The risk of bricking your device is always there and only increases if you don't know what you're doing. You can sometimes unbrick devices but when messing with something like this, that should never be an option.

Thanks!

I see, I have seen some people have hardware issues with the n7, so I may wait a week or two before rooting, just to make sure all is good with it. I do want to root it eventually though. For sure.

 

[VDub2174]

Thanks!

I see, I have seen some people have hardware issues with the n7, so I may wait a week or two before rooting, just to make sure all is good with it. I do want to root it eventually though. For sure.

Rooting can honestly go through smoothly as long as you follow the instructions to the T. Even though I've been doing it for years, I still obsessively read and watch videos just in case

 

[Silent Infiltrator]

Rooting can honestly go through smoothly as long as you follow the instructions to the T. Even though I've been doing it for years, I still obsessively read and watch videos just in case

As I imagined. I am an avid linux user, and use it as my main OS so I personally see no risks to rooting, but reading up it seems I was wrong. I don't want to have a chance of bricking my new device, if I knew that if I followed the instructions perfectly it would generate no issues, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[VDub2174]

I've had my two incidents of bricking. One time I had to send in my Galaxy Tab 7 to get fixed (there was a paid service I used for that) and the other time was my Motorola Photon that got messed up before a family party. Luckily I had an upgrade on my account so I just got a new phone. It took me a day or two to get it back to working order

 

[Silent Infiltrator]

I've had my two incidents of bricking. One time I had to send in my Galaxy Tab 7 to get fixed (there was a paid service I used for that) and the other time was my Motorola Photon that got messed up before a family party. Luckily I had an upgrade on my account so I just got a new phone. It took me a day or two to get it back to working order

Hmmm I see, this really puts me off. I may wait 'till I get my new HTC one in feb then, at least if something goes wrong I am not left device-less. The main app I wanted was the DSploit set, they look like great fun.

 

[Haalcyon]

The Nexus 7 is a wildly popular device with multiple methods to root. My personal favorite is Wugfresh's Nexus Root Toolkit because its really easy to use and explains what its doing and what the risks are. I think the developer did an outstanding job and they continue to update with bug fixes, support, and features.

gp8.3

 

[YAYTech]

Generally rooting itself is very safe (depending on method and how well you follow directions). I'd say the danger is what you do *after* gaining root access.

 

[jaj324]

I can't think of a reason to root my Nexus 7. It's not loaded with bloatware and it's running 4.4. What would I want to change?

Sent from my LG-D800 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Haalcyon]

I can't think of a reason to root my Nexus 7. It's not loaded with bloatware and it's running 4.4. What would I want to change?

Sent from my LG-D800 using AC Forums mobile app

If you saw SlimBean it'd answer that question me thinks.

gp8.3

 

[jaj324]

If you saw SlimBean it'd answer that question me thinks.

gp8.3

That good huh?

Sent from my LG-D800 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[anon(577257)]

Ghost touches??? Just saying.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Haalcyon]

That good huh?

Sent from my LG-D800 using AC Forums mobile app

I think so.

Optimus G Pro

 

[pseudoware]

You don't necessarily have to flash a ROM to benefit from having root access. There are several great root-only apps. There are also custom kernels if you want to check that out.

+1 to the WugFresh toolkit. Super easy. Although I don't think rooting a Nexus "manually" is too difficult if someone's comfortable with computers. It's also a good learning experience.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Silent Infiltrator]

See I am getting mixed opinions some people say if you follow the right guide and do the exact things it tells you there is no risk, others reckon it's always a random chance of bricking your phone, if for example I was to brick it via rooting would it be a soft or hard brick? I was told that you can't get a hard brick unless messing with custom ROM's, again that could be a load of rubbish for all I know.

 

[Haalcyon]

See I am getting mixed opinions some people say if you follow the right guide and do the exact things it tells you there is no risk, others reckon it's always a random chance of bricking your phone, if for example I was to brick it via rooting would it be a soft or hard brick? I was told that you can't get a hard brick unless messing with custom ROM's, again that could be a load of rubbish for all I know.

There's always some risk. When you step of a curb there's a risk you could slip, break your neck, and die. How often has that risk kept you from stepping off of a curb?

 

[Silent Infiltrator]

There's always some risk. When you step of a curb there's a risk you could slip, break your neck, and die. How often has that risk kept you from stepping off of a curb?

You're convincing me lol, but to be hoenst this is the only gift Ima get this xmas and my family found it hard to get the money together for presents this year, don't wana tell them 30mins after opening it "yeah I kinda rendered it uselss" ya know? I think I'll go ahead, if it don't work I'll send it back and say I didn't even get to use it lol.

 

[VDub2174]

I hope my story about bricking my devices didn't turn you off to rooting. All of the Ambassadors here know I'm very pro-rooting as I will suggest it to anyone that's willing to try. It's just that I've seen in the past that some people would root a device and it would brick because they flashed the wrong file or did something through ADB that they shouldn't have or deleted something major. I just think that giving someone full disclosure on the root process not only makes them aware of the risks, but makes them go through the process more cautiously.

 

[Silent Infiltrator]

Honestly it sort of did, mainly for the fact I want no risk of f*cking up my device, if I knew that it would succeed if I was to follow the instructions 100% I'd do it straight away.