# Why would I want to "root" a new Android phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995 "2015-06-08T18:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/21 "2015-06-11T14:50:16Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > There’s also some interesting apps you can run that require a rooted phone, that require lower-level access to the network capabilities that aren’t available to non-rooted phones. > > I had one that took advantage of a login security flaw on many sites, and whenever someone logged into some places like Yahoo Mail or Facebook on my network, it gave me full access to their accounts. I didn’t do anything with it, and uninstalled the app since it may have been illegal. And don’t ask what app it was, I do not remember nor would I mention it here since it’s likely against board rules. Plus, I would hope those flaws are fixed by now. I don’t need to know details, but I just want to understand – was this about getting access to these accounts of the people who used your phone to log in? Like some kind of specialized keystroke register? ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/22 "2015-06-11T15:23:33Z")
I must say, if you plan on putting a custom rom on your phone, be absolutely 100% sure that the one you’re getting is for your specific model. I once had a Samsung Galaxy S2 that I wanted to install the latest cyanogenmod on. Well I downloaded the version for european phones instead of US phones, and it failed and soft bricked my phone due to the mismatch. In my poor attempts to unbrick I messed with PIT files thinking it was no big deal. Never mess with PIT files unless you really know what you’re doing or you’re willing to lose the phone entirely. I hard bricked my phone to the point of no return - basically screwed up the BIOS, maybe even wiped the motherboard clean. Still sold it for a pretty penny since the rest of the hardware itself was good. Anyway. Read instructions three times and make 100% sure the stuff you’re downloading and reading is for your model. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/23 "2015-06-11T15:41:58Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > Anyway. Read instructions three times and make 100% sure the stuff you’re downloading and reading is for your model. This 110%! Do your research! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/24 "2015-06-12T02:26:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I don’t need to know details, but I just want to understand – was this about getting access to these accounts of the people who used your phone to log in? Like some kind of specialized keystroke register? No, all people had to do was log in to their accounts on the same network, they didn’t have to use my phone. Somehow the session was being hijacked. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/25 "2015-06-12T02:46:54Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > There’s also some interesting apps you can run that require a rooted phone, that require lower-level access to the network capabilities that aren’t available to non-rooted phones. On the flip side, a small number of apps will refuse to run if they detect that a phone is rooted. The Australian Netflix-style service, Stan, has locked rooted phones out of running their app, and I’m sure there are others. As a side note, “root” has the same meaning as “fuck” in Australian English, though is a slightly milder way of saying it. When people say something is “rooted”, they usually mean it’s broken beyond fixing. It’s very disconcerting as an Aussie to look up instructions on how to root your new phone. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/26 "2015-06-12T07:30:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m about to get a new phone, and I found [a YouTube video on how to “root” the phone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPWb27fsMNA). > > There is no narrative and the only explanation on the web page is that by rooting it, I can be a “Super user.” > > 2 questions: 1. What will I be able to do that I couldn’t do before? What are the odds that doing this will fuck up my phone somehow? I’m an experienced software engineer. I have owned the droid and the iPhone. I’m capable of rooting either of these phones, but I’ve never done it. Because to me that’s something which is unsupported and the most important thing a cell phone can do is be used during an emergency. I can’t think of a good reason why I would want to put communications in jeopardy just so I can be Super User on a phone to muck-up what the fine engineers who designed it. I’m for the user’s own protection. I’m Super User on many servers, and the thrill is overrated. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/27 "2015-06-12T07:35:44Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I paid someone to put cyanogenmod on my old phone, and it was great. It has wifi sharing built in, so you can be a hotspot for others. Of course, it helps to have a great data plan. > > It was great, and then the phone stopped recognizing the data signal, and I couldn’t get G Maps to work. I went back to the stock OS, and then there was some update kind of notice, and I pressed OK before I realized what it was, and it stopped responding at all, and put the whole screen display in an area about 1/10 the normal size. > > But if I had a backup phone, I would definitely consider running Cyanogenmod again. It’s a leader in features. But I’m happy enough with Kit Kat for now. I think what you are describing is the _Personal Hot Spot_ feature on the iPhone. The droid doesn’t have this feature now out-of-the-box to use? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/28 "2015-06-12T11:55:30Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > On the flip side, a small number of apps will refuse to run if they detect that a phone is rooted. The Australian Netflix-style service, Stan, has locked rooted phones out of running their app, and I’m sure there are others. > > As a side note, “root” has the same meaning as “fuck” in Australian English, though is a slightly milder way of saying it. When people say something is “rooted”, they usually mean it’s broken beyond fixing. It’s very disconcerting as an Aussie to look up instructions on how to root your new phone. Every time this comes up, some Australian has to remind everybody of this. I don’t know why. Android uses a Linux foundation, and in the Unix (and Unix-like) world, “root” is the name for the super user account which has privileges to do _anything_ on the system. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/29 "2015-06-12T12:33:51Z")
It seems that the new version of Android, “M,” has some impressive [security and battery](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZvqQ4xK1R8) improvements. My personal phone is from HTC’s flagship “One” series ([M7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_(2013))) which came out 2 years ago (in March 2013) but **will not** be receiving an Android 5.1 (improved “lollipop”) update. However, since it is a famous/flagship phone, development isn’t completely dead; I just need to turn to the [modding community](http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one) to root it then flash an update. I’ll probably get to update to “M” when it comes out for the [M8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_(M8)) or [M9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_M9) in the coming months. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/30 "2015-06-12T18:56:34Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > As a side note, “root” has the same meaning as “fuck” in Australian English, though is a slightly milder way of saying it. When people say something is “rooted”, they usually mean it’s broken beyond fixing. It’s very disconcerting as an Aussie to look up instructions on how to root your new phone. Ha, I’m going to think of that now every time I hear about someone rooting their phone! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/31 "2015-06-13T22:47:34Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Every time this comes up, some Australian has to remind everybody of this. I don’t know why. Android uses a Linux foundation, and in the Unix (and Unix-like) world, “root” is the name for the super user account which has privileges to do _anything_ on the system. As regional differences are being eroded by modern communication and accents are becoming homogenized, we’re making a play to promote Australian English as the predominant element so eventually every English speaker around the world will sound like Crocodile Dundee. It’s a long shot, we admit, but we’ve already successfully infected California with “No worries”. Next target in the Aussification agenda: root. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/32 "2015-06-14T01:36:38Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > As regional differences are being eroded by modern communication and accents are becoming homogenized, we’re making a play to promote Australian English as the predominant element so eventually every English speaker around the world will sound like Crocodile Dundee. It’s a long shot, we admit, but we’ve already successfully infected California with “No worries”. Next target in the Aussification agenda: root. ah, I can see you’ve played “knifey-spoony” before. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/33 "2015-06-14T02:29:39Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > ah, I can see you’ve played “knifey-spoony” before. Bee-eer. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/34 "2015-06-14T03:26:22Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > I’m an experienced software engineer. I have owned the droid and the iPhone. I’m capable of rooting either of these phones, but I’ve never done it. Because to me that’s something which is unsupported and the most important thing a cell phone can do is be used during an emergency. I can’t think of a good reason why I would want to put communications in jeopardy just so I can be Super User on a phone to muck-up what the fine engineers who designed it. I’m for the user’s own protection. I’m Super User on many servers, and the thrill is overrated. The software engineers may be fine as you say, but in many cases they impose constraints on the finished product to satisfy requirements that may not be applicable to a particular end-user’s circumstance. Take for example the camera shutter noise I mentioned. In my country it is not unlawful to use a silent shutter, and I sure as hell don’t want that ridiculously loud SHEEEE-FWHUCK-_BEEP_ noise coming out of my phone when I’m photographing some interior architectural detail and don’t want to distract and annoy everyone else in the vicinity. However, most Android phones sold these days have disabled the silent shutter option because it is unlawful in some other countries. With my last two Android phones, I needed to root in order to silence the shutter. With the present one, I’m not sure: the modifications I used last time weren’t an option, although my S5 is rooted. To get around it, I downloaded an app, but I’m not entirely sure that this app would work right if the phone weren’t rooted–hence my uncertainty. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/35 "2015-06-14T04:34:38Z")
LG G4 H81010e 5.1 Android AT&T Zero choice due to location. We do alright here. ☹ Can make shutter very very low… \ Not legal to totally turn it off in the USA I/m told. 😃 Power – unlock – usage manager – close all apps. Also a person can go through the list of installed apps and FORCE STOP them, clear cash or clear data… It is way smarter than I so I am not going to fix it because for me, it ain’t broke. 😉 My Mama din raise no fool… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/36 "2015-06-14T04:37:48Z")
Cuz freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/37 "2015-06-14T04:55:38Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > LG G4 H81010e > > 5.1 Android > > AT&T Zero choice due to location. We do alright here. ☹ > > Can make shutter very very low… \ Not legal to totally turn it off in the USA I/m told. 😃 I’d be very surprised if there’s a federal law about this, but it’s certainly possible that some states do have such a law. And yes, there are certainly supposed to be tricks you can use, like turning off the ringer, but I have always found those to be the quintessence of unreliability. They work when you first do it–e.g., silence the ringer, but then when you want the camera later in the day, forget it. It’s SHEEEE-FWHUCK-BEEP again, in all its glory. If it were just a discrete “click” like old fashioned analog cameras it wouldn’t be an issue. But digital cams, including phones, go out of their way to tell the world LOOK EVERYONE, THIS PERSON IS TAKING A PICTURE!! I respect the right of people not to be photographed. But by the same token, I expect the right to photograph inanimate subjects, without announcing that fact to everyone in the area–unless, of course, it violates an institutional rule, as in a gym or school. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995/38 "2015-06-14T06:07:15Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > It seems that the new version of Android, “M,” has some impressive [security and battery](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZvqQ4xK1R8) improvements. > > My personal phone is from HTC’s flagship “One” series ([M7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_(2013))) which came out 2 years ago (in March 2013) but **will not** be receiving an Android 5.1 (improved “lollipop”) update. However, since it is a famous/flagship phone, development isn’t completely dead; I just need to turn to the [modding community](http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one) to root it then flash an update. > > I’ll probably get to update to “M” when it comes out for the [M8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_(M8)) or [M9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_M9) in the coming months. With any luck the GPE version of the M7 will get an M update quickly. I’ve got my carrier-supplied M7 so close to the GPE version that I get Google OTA updates (that fail because Clockwork Mod recovery, so I have to wait for a GPE rom to pop up on XDA). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-to-root-a-new-android-phone/721995.md?page=1)