Is it worth rooting my M8?

[petvas72]

What are the benefits of rooting my HTC One M8? What are the risks if I do that?
How easy is it?
I have found this: http://www.droid-life.com/2014/03/31/one-click-root-method-released-for-htc-one-m8-on-verizon/

Does it apply to the european version of the M8?

 

[zedorda]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czTkHe7-lXw

 

[ffejjj]

Rooting voids warranty.

I used to root all my phones till my M7 but with so many customizing apps out now like Zooper, UCCW, Themer... I can do a lot already

Being new to android I would suggest exhausting all the customizations available first and root later

Sent from my HTCONE using AC Forums mobile app

 

[kbp08tls]

What are the benefits of rooting my HTC One M8? What are the risks if I do that?
How easy is it?
I have found this: http://www.droid-life.com/2014/03/31/one-click-root-method-released-for-htc-one-m8-on-verizon/

Does it apply to the european version of the M8?

I rooted and got s-off within a couple of hours of getting my phone. Mainly for Titanium Backup with the ability to Freeze and/or uninstall a lot of the Sprint bloat that came with my phone, and make a couple of other minor tweaks (horizontal quick-settings in the notification shade, and to disable some of the icons that crowd the top of the phone).

Not sure if the method you linked is Verizon-specific or not. Your best bet is to search around the M8 forums on XDA here: HTC One (M8) - xda-developers.

Keep in mind that when you HTC-Dev unlock, it will factory-reset the phone (wiping any apps you have installed), so you'll probably want to backup your phone before beginning. Other than that, the process is fairly simple.

 

[petvas72]

Thanks for the video. This guy has some issues

 

[petvas72]

Thanks. I know what root means. I work in the IT industry
I was just looking for some practical examples where root access is beneficial.

 

[danmaytee]

If you're new to Android I wouldn't recommend it. I've just made the switch from iPhone and I rooted it within a couple of days of getting the M8. I mainly wanted to do it to get rid of the bloatware and to be able to store App data onto the SD card. Once I had done it I regretted it instantly. I realized after I wouldn't be able to install official updates as you normally would, and it also voided my warranty (not too fusses about that). Anyway I spent hours and hours trying to get it back to stock. After a few days and quite a lot of hours of getting stressed I've finally managed to get it back to how it was.

Maybe in the future once I've learned more about Android I'll reroot the phone but for now I'd rather keep it as stock.

 

[zedorda]

Thanks. I know what root means. I work in the IT industry
I was just looking for some practical examples where root access is beneficial.

Imo rooting is less about having root access and more about having control of root access.

Near the end of the video he explains for the least reason to root for basic security because if a malicious app uses the same weakness to get root without you knowing your screwed. With root you will at least have that weakness covered and SU there to control access.

I personally don't root without a proven exit plan to return to an unrooted factory stock image before even starting the root process. And I advise everyone to do the same.

As long as you return your device with a factory image and the reason for the return is not related to rooting your warranty will be honored. I have tested this 4 times without issue.

 

[kbp08tls]

If you're new to Android I wouldn't recommend it. I've just made the switch from iPhone and I rooted it within a couple of days of getting the M8. I mainly wanted to do it to get rid of the bloatware and to be able to store App data onto the SD card. Once I had done it I regretted it instantly. I realized after I wouldn't be able to install official updates as you normally would, and it also voided my warranty (not too fusses about that). Anyway I spent hours and hours trying to get it back to stock. After a few days and quite a lot of hours of getting stressed I've finally managed to get it back to how it was.

Maybe in the future once I've learned more about Android I'll reroot the phone but for now I'd rather keep it as stock.

That is true in the sense that you won't be able to receive official updates OTA as you would normally. It is my experience though, that a stock rooted ROM based on the OTA will be posted within hours of the OTA coming out. Simply flash the updated ROM. Done and done.

Once HTC publishes an RUU (ROM Update Utility) for the M8, returning to stock will be much easier.

 

[kbp08tls]

Thanks. I know what root means. I work in the IT industry
I was just looking for some practical examples where root access is beneficial.

As I alluded to earlier - using Titanium Backup to remove bloatware. You can't remove /system apps otherwise. Also great for backing up your apps and data.
Using a root-enabled file explorer to freely move files between internal and external storage.
A couple of quick .xml file edits to enable horizontal quick settings and disable some of the more annoying persistent notifications (I'm looking at you, NFC!).
Enable native Tethering.
Flash custom ROMs, if you're into that.

 

[raziel]

It's not as necessary to root as it was a year or two ago. However I've unlocked the bootloader, rooted my T-Mobile M8 and installed the Android Revolution ROM and could not be happier. You can totally improve the user experience but for most people, they can use the phone fine without rooting.

 

[buckifvr]

I use to root and rom to enhance the phones performance, but the performance on the M8 is so good I just don't feel that I need to jump through those hoops anymore. Though it was kinda fun.

Sent from my HTC One M8 using Tapatalk

 

[kronosqq]

I have yet to root my M8, although I plan to once the custom ROM selection is larger. For me it's about being able to customize anything I want to on my phone, remove things I don't want, and unlock features that aren't available on stock, tethering for instance.
On the warranty front I've never seen that as an issue. If the phone ends up breaking, either from rooting and flashing stuff (which is really hard to do these days), nobody's going to be able to tell it was rooted. If it still works, it's able to be unrooted, relocked, or flashed back to stock and again nobody will be able to tell it was ever rooted. Plus most carrier reps and probably most HTC reps aren't going to care much even if they can tell.

Sent from my 831C using AC Forums mobile app

 

[bupp]

I rooted because I have unlimited Verizon data. This then allows me to pick up an app and use my phone as a hot spot for any device to access the internet. If you aren't on unlimited and already have that ability to use your phone as a hot spot for free then maybe rooting isn't for you.

Do you run on 4.4 kit kat right now? I've been desperately trying to find an alternative to FoxFi for a WiFi tether since upgrading to the new HTC One M8. Would rooting work around the issue?

 

[LindtChocolate]

Never heard it put that way before. Lol

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Because only a real moron would have an opinion like that.

 

[aandrew610]

I think rooting is perfectly fine as long as you know what your doing read up on it 5 times before you do it then 1 more time as your doing it. Know how to fix a soft brick or anything else that could go wrong. It "voids" your warranty but on most devices there's a way to return it completely stock. Rooting allows many applications that weren't available before. If your new to android I'd take baby steps with your m8. You picked an easy device to root

 

[scottysize]

If you're new to Android I wouldn't recommend it. I've just made the switch from iPhone and I rooted it within a couple of days of getting the M8. I mainly wanted to do it to get rid of the bloatware and to be able to store App data onto the SD card. Once I had done it I regretted it instantly. I realized after I wouldn't be able to install official updates as you normally would, and it also voided my warranty (not too fusses about that). Anyway I spent hours and hours trying to get it back to stock. After a few days and quite a lot of hours of getting stressed I've finally managed to get it back to how it was.

Maybe in the future once I've learned more about Android I'll reroot the phone but for now I'd rather keep it as stock.

I am experienced with Android, and have rooted every device I owned in the past including my HTC One Max. With Moto products, it's easy to go back to stock. With HTC products, not so much. In fact, they are difficult as all get out to put back into a stock mode. After struggling for 3 hours to get my HTC One Max back to stock (and finally accomplishing it after being stuck in a bootloop for 2 hours) I decided I'll never root another HTC device.

 

[kronosqq]

I am experienced with Android, and have rooted every device I owned in the past including my HTC One Max. With Moto products, it's easy to go back to stock. With HTC products, not so much. In fact, they are difficult as all get out to put back into a stock mode. After struggling for 3 hours to get my HTC One Max back to stock (and finally accomplishing it after being stuck in a bootloop for 2 hours) I decided I'll never root another HTC device.

What was the procedure for the One Max? I've never had to do it myself, but for every HTC phone I've owned it's been pretty simple and straightforward, in part due to the fact that they don't lock things down like crazy.

Sent from my 831C using AC Forums mobile app

 

[scottysize]

What was the procedure for the One Max? I've never had to do it myself, but for every HTC phone I've owned it's been pretty simple and straightforward, in part due to the fact that they don't lock things down like crazy.

Sent from my 831C using AC Forums mobile app

My problem was the wrong RUU, but after that experience, I don't want to go through it again. I thought my One Max was completely gone. Ya, I know. Rule #1 of playing with Android is, "Don't Panic". After the initial, "Oh crap, Oh crap." I finally found the right RUU and using the adb manual method was able to get it installed and the phone back in operation. It was enough so that I never want to go through it again. No more messing with HTC products for me.

Also, if you search for VZW (or Verizon) RUU One Max, good luck trying to find it. Everything I ran across said that Verizon wasn't supported. Even several XDA posts said, not VZW. Finally after freaking out, I found the right XDA link and was able to get the Max restored and out of the bootloop. But the initial "easy" method didn't work. You load it on the SD Card, name it something (I forgot), then load that file from the bootloader. It's supposed to restore the phone to stock. It didn't work for me, so I had to setup an ADB folder on my computer, then perform the instructions from a command prompt with the correct file and it finally did work after 3 attempts.

 

[sniffs]

This is typical for any forum I know of. Someone says sth insulting and then it all starts. At the end nobody gets something from the thread...
Why can't we stay on the subject and stop calling people words? It would be nice for a change, don't you all think?

The original question was, what the benefits of rooting are, and what the dangers. Thanks.

The benefits are basically about control and about what you can do with that control. As that XDA mod mentioned in the video, there's tons of malicious apps that can do some pretty bad things.. most of these you won't find on the play store for a number of reasons, is against Google's ToS, is against the law, etc.. that wifikill app he mentions, it floods routers with de-auth signals and drops every single person from a router and prevents anyone from connecting back to it.

The downsides of root are apps you install also have full control over the root partitions, and if you install apps that aren't on the Google play store, you could in theory be installing an app that says it does one thing, but winds up completely messing up your system. Or you could install an app that turns your phone into part of a botnet, chewing threw data.. or you could install viruses, or steals your pics and uploads them to a server in China. Any number of known things could happen.

If you don't plan on being malicious, or going to heavily mod the android framework you shouldn't need root. Even if you want to backup your data, you don't need root. You can use Koush's Helium app.

The #1 reason I rooted in the past(I no longer do) is for Ad-block plus. Imagine how much data you save by not seeing ads(You can opt to still see non-intrusive/non-annoying ads)? Problem is I think Google's rendered the app useless with Kitkat 4.4 as it no longer seems to work..