What are the benefits of jailbreaking my new Galaxy S5 Active?

[Happysadhappy]

things might be changing here soon

 

[Tim1954]

Benefits, :the freedom to customise to your hearts content. To control the clock speed of the processor, to kill apps you don't want.... Loads of fun
Get the latest version of software
Risks : you could brick the device. Open it to malware.
You may not get security patches..
It may become buggy and unreliable..
These are just a few, do your research well and back up all, so you can come back to stock if you need to.

 

[Rukbat]

First, "jailbreaking" is a term used with iPhones. With Android phones, you root the ROM - that's just basically adding the file su to one folder.

It allows you superuser access to the operating system that Android is running on (Linux), which allows you to do just about anything - including removing all the files from the phone, turning it into a hand warmer, so I'd advice that you read a lot more about rooted phones before trying it.

It also prevents you from getting any updates (including security patches, but also newer versions of Android, and an S5 may still be lacking the latest version).

Once you root it, even if you revert it to stock, there may still be signs left, and the warranty will be voided.