which guide to root note 2?

[DezzNutzz]

just bought the phone, I'm just having trouble with finding which guide to follow. Can someone chime in and help me?

 

[universeand]

First, because you have the Verizon specific gn2 you shouldn't follow most of the web or video guides found on the web that purport to tell you how to root a gn2. You have two basic options that I can think of. 1) flash a stock rom that has root capabilities with the Odin tool. The best rom for this is "root66", which can be found in Section 1b here: [GUIDE][VZW Edition]How to Root/Rom/Return to Stock the VZW Galaxy Note II! - xda-developers. 2) root and at the same time unlock your phone's bootloader. The bootloader allows roms to run or not run. Verizon encrypts the gn2 bootloader to allow only the latest Verizon stock rom to run. However if you want to run rooted custom roms that have features you like and that allow you to theme and add features to your phone then you'll need to unlock the bootloader. You can also run stock rooted roms with an unlocked bootloader. These kind of stock rooted roms are easier to improve and personalize versus the Verizon stock rom and they keep your bootloader unlocked so that you are free to flash a custom rom anytime you want. There may come a time when a Verizon update makes it impossible to unlock the bootloader so even if you run a stock rooted rom if your bootloader is already unlocked then you are protected. The guide for unlocking your bootloader is here: [Jailbreak][Root][Recovery] No You Verizon -VRAMC3 --update 10MAY13 - xda-developers. Beanstown106 (or "Beans") makes one of the most popular rooted custom roms called "Jellybeans" (because he customized the Google Android Jelly Bean version rom) which can be picked up here: ★☞ [Rom] Jelly'Beans' - Build 17 [05/18/13][Aroma][Fully Customizable][I605VRAMC3] ☜★ - xda-developers. Beans also created 2 versions of popular stock rooted roms (an odex and a deodex version; deodex is easier to personlize) that are here: ★ [Rom][I605VRAMC3][4.1.2] Stock Root Odex/Deodex [05/02/13]★ - xda-developers. I flashed his Jellybeans custom rom but because it was incompatible with one app I like (Lightflow) I flashed his deodex rooted stock rom over it. I couldn't be more satisfied. Note that flashing a rom doesn't change the software running your phone's cellular radio, listed as "Baseband" in Settings->About phone. To get the latest VRAMC3 radio go here: VRAMC3_radio.zip | by imnuts for Galaxy Note 2. If you decide on option #2, rooting and at the same time unlocking your bootloader, you should only use the TWRP recovery that the unlock process installs on your phone when you want to flash custom roms or the kind of stock rooted rom that Beans created. Otherwise you could easily brick your phone. (You can also replace TWRP recovery with the CWM recovery if flashing some rom requires it, but I wouldn't just do it. TWRP is way cooler). After unlocking your bootloader you should only use the Odin tool if you want to return your phone to stock like when you bought it, or if you want to flash the root66 rom. If you are new to this stuff, I recommend that you read and search Android Central and XDA for 2 or 3 weeks even a month until you're sure about what you want to do and know all the steps you need to do to make it happen. Ask questions on the forums. Tip: always verify downloads using md5 or sha. Last thing, donate to the devs for their hard work and the great tools, roms and recoverys that make your smartphone more useful and enjoyable.