Should I unlock the boot loader on my future s3?

[xxx420]

I'm new to android. I'm a long time apple fan boy that has seen the error of my ways and I will soon jump ship and get my first android phone ever. So I'm new to all this and am trying to learn about the pros and cons of this stuff. I've long been jail breaking my iPhones and I've decided I'll definitely be rooting my new s3 but can't seem to find good info on what are the benefits of unlocking the boot loader. So please share any insights you guys may have on this. Thanks guys.

 

[Captian4Phones]

Unlocking the bootloader allows you to flash custom roms and kernels. Unless you're hardcore into modding your device then you'll have a great time being stock. Battery life does improve but on the gs3 you already have great battery life so that's not really an issue. It's the difference between the 1420 mAh battery on the iPhone and the 2100 mAh battery on the gs3. I'm my opinion I would give your gs3 a couple weeks before you decide to root. There are a bunch of things you can do with a stock android device that the iPhone can't do with a jailbreak.

Sent from Razorback Country.

 

[xxx420]

Thanks for the reply. That's good info and good advice. Yeah I'm not that big into flashing custom roms because I'm one of those rare people that actually likes touchwiz so I'll be running a rooted stock os, at least for a while anyway. But I was under the impression that you could flash custom roms while just being rooted, not necessarily with unlocked boot loader. Is that wrong? If so, then what are the real benefits of rooting?

 

[Captian4Phones]

I had an infuse and never had to unlock the bootloader. On my current phone (htc vivid) I did have to unlock it. I haven't had my hands on the gs3 but you van prolly just put it in download mode and use Odin3 to flash a stock rooted Rom. At least that's how I rooted my Samsung infuse. No bootloader action at all.

Sent from Razorback Country.

 

[jneusch]

Thanks for the reply. That's good info and good advice. Yeah I'm not that big into flashing custom roms because I'm one of those rare people that actually likes touchwiz so I'll be running a rooted stock os, at least for a while anyway. But I was under the impression that you could flash custom roms while just being rooted, not necessarily with unlocked boot loader. Is that wrong? If so, then what are the real benefits of rooting?

I am rooted with my boot loader still locked. I flashed the rooted stock rom. Once that was done I installed Titanium BU and froze a lot of the bloat ware.

My next step is going to be installing a recovery, then unlocking the boot loader so I can install Clean ROM. I have seen a video of it and it looks really nice.

 

[Srambo217]

Unless you plan on flashing modified kernels and adjusting your CPU or want to try out early builds of JB then you're fine running stock until you see something you like.

On the other hand it's not dangerous or hard to do. Just be brave and read

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[Captian4Phones]

Unless you plan on flashing modified kernels and adjusting your CPU or want to try out early builds of JB then you're fine running stock until you see something you like.

On the other hand it's not dangerous or hard to do. Just be brave and read

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

Good advice. But not only should you read but also understand what you're reading. One small mis?step and you could loose you're whole device. If you don't understand something take the time to Google it or consult the forums. Don't be in a hurry. Just take you're time and be cautious.

Sent from Razorback Country.

 

[xxx420]

I am rooted with my boot loader still locked. I flashed the rooted stock rom. Once that was done I installed Titanium BU and froze a lot of the bloat ware.

My next step is going to be installing a recovery, then unlocking the boot loader so I can install Clean ROM. I have seen a video of it and it looks really nice.

Same here. Clean rom looks great and I hear it performs really well too. I'll be flashing that and adding google now to it as well. Thanks for the input guys, good info that cleared up my confusion.

 

[534n]

There is a lot more to unlocking that just modding and custom OS. Unlocking allows recovery images to be flashed which have a lot of functionality if you know your way around linux (or can find someone who does). You can backup entire system images, split into partitions such that you can uninstall any system apps you want to, and if you screw up or want some back later that you can't restore with a root installer, you just recover that particular image (or partition). Recoveries also allow you to easily "unbrick" your phone and also get into the phone's adb server without getting a full boot.

I use the stock ROM, but have CWM touch in case something breaks or I decide to return the phone to stock. I also use it because it transfers files faster (~4400 pictures) via adb without anything else using the internal flash memory.

You can also symlink an internal folder to the SD card slot if you need to flash an image in emergency when you cannot boot your phone.

There is a lot more you can do, but I won't ramble on anymore.

Unlocking is great, and you can always go back with a little knowledge. I had to return my first S3, and was able to get the device status to return from "modified" to "normal" so that no questions were asked. (FYI my issue was the ear piece had terribly low volume and tinny sound).

 

[Srambo217]

There is a lot more to unlocking that just modding and custom OS. Unlocking allows recovery images to be flashed which have a lot of functionality if you know your way around linux (or can find someone who does). You can backup entire system images, split into partitions such that you can uninstall any system apps you want to, and if you screw up or want some back later that you can't restore with a root installer, you just recover that particular image (or partition). Recoveries also allow you to easily "unbrick" your phone and also get into the phone's adb server without getting a full boot.

I use the stock ROM, but have CWM touch in case something breaks or I decide to return the phone to stock. I also use it because it transfers files faster (~4400 pictures) via adb without anything else using the internal flash memory.

You can also symlink an internal folder to the SD card slot if you need to flash an image in emergency when you cannot boot your phone.

There is a lot more you can do, but I won't ramble on anymore.

Unlocking is great, and you can always go back with a little knowledge. I had to return my first S3, and was able to get the device status to return from "modified" to "normal" so that no questions were asked. (FYI my issue was the ear piece had terribly low volume and tinny sound).

Lol, did you miss the part where he said he was 'new to Android'?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[534n]

Lol, did you miss the part where he said he was 'new to Android'?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

No, I was expanding on the comments regarding flashing new OS's and modding. What I said is not hard to do at all and is mostly automated.

The only difficult one is the symlink for broken recoveries but it is really just a copy-paste solution.