Android Rooting: What Is It And Why You Shouldn’t!
Though the world’s first smartphone, codenamed ‘Simon’ by its developers, came out years before the first iPhone, according to an article published by the Business Insider, this burly device was a far cry from the smartphones we use today. The first smartphone to run the Android operating software was released in 2008, after which we never really looked back.
Currently, you’ve got practically billions of mobile phone users globally with mobile phone companies vying for supremacy in the market. Though the last year saw the apple company dominating profits according to the Forbes magazine, what happens in the coming months is anybody’s guess.
What’s Being Discussed?
As a company specializing in mobile app development, one of the things we love to do is stay up-to-date on exactly what is happening in the mobile phone industry. We follow Android, iOS, and everything in between learning about new hardware, devices, software, and trends.
In our ongoing quest for mobile phone enlightenment, we come across answers to our questions but also end up providing answers to the queries of others. Something we found that was being discussed a fair bit of late was a mobile phone or, more specifically android phone rooting. Where many techies know exactly what this is, others may find the term alien. We’re going to talk about android phone rooting and elaborate on some of the reasons why we would avoid the same personally.
What is Smart or Android Phone Rooting?
In a simple sense, rooting is basically hacking a phone. The process allows for access to a bug or backdoor, which enables users to supersede internal phone security protocols in order to obtain total control of the phone’s OS.
The reason this process is called rooting is that the person who roots the phone can operate the device as its root user.
What Does Phone Rooting Do and why do Users Do It?
Phone rooting allows you to gain access to deep levels of your phone’s operating software for the purpose of modification. This is something that users may do for a variety of reasons. Some of these may include advanced app installation, deeper phone modification, the removal of company-set restrictions as well as the removal of unwanted stock applications.
Is Rooting the Same as Jailbreaking?
A lot of people wonder if rooting is the same as jailbreaking. Though both processes do involve gaining advanced access to a devices operating system, they are a little different. According to sources, jailbreaking allows users to push the boundaries of iOS rules. Rooting, on the other hand, allows the rooter to alter pre-set developer rules practically.
Though all this may sound pretty cool, it can all go horribly wrong, something you will learn over the course of this blog.
Is phone rooting illegal?
There are some developers and manufacturers who may allow legal rooting. However, for the most part, rooting is considered illegal. That said, if this doesn’t discourage you from rooting your android device, some of the points below will.
Bye-Bye Warranty
As we said earlier, certain companies such as Google may be alright with users rooting their devices. Such companies may even provide official protocols to help you do the same correctly. At the same time, such companies are far and few. For the most part, companies set a no rooting rule, which means that if you do root a phone, you lose your warranty there and then.
The upshot? If your phone is still under warranty, rooting is an absolute no-no.
Bricking
The word “bricking” is another way to say rendering a mobile device useless. Rooting an android phone might result in you causing software issues, which may result in an inability to function or boot. The reason this is problematic is quite obvious. If you brick or fry your phone like that, you won’t be able to perform a quick fix. You’ll need to replace your device.
Bricking is something that happens a lot more with Android Versions 8 and above as opposed to previous versions. In short, if you’re not an expert, don’t try rooting!
It’s Not a Piece of Cake
If you’re thinking that rooting your phone is an easy process, you’re wrong. You need to link your phone to a laptop or to a PC. You’ll probably need to scour a whole lot of files and recognize those that are relevant. You will also need to have a basic grasp of how to navigate command terminals as well as basic coding commands. To put a cherry on top of all this, the smallest slip, miss-click, or typo could result in the above; your phone becoming a costly brick!
Of course, you have a whole lot of online resources claiming to help you root your device, but we would seriously advise against these. Where a lot of those articles, blogs, and podcasts are not even created by people who are experts in tech, those that are will simply be far too complicated for the everyday person to follow. Why go through the hassle and take such a big risk when you’re not even sure of the outcome, right?
Security Issues
Many argue that rooting allows you to do a lot more with your android device. Sure, if you get everything right, it might, but even at its best, rooting can be problematic. Rooting a device often leaves it exposed to all manner of security breaches, hostile apps, spyware, and so on.
If you feel your device does not contain enough sensitive data for you to worry about, it doesn’t end there. Rooting exposes your device to code modifications from malicious sources. This alteration is clocked by the Google safety net, which flags your device resulting in an inability to download, update, or use certain apps. In other words, your phone usability drops a fair bit.
Updates, Performance, and Bugs
Finally, rooting your Android phone will likely result in your device being cut off from future updates by the Google Company. This means no more security patching, no more phone upgrading, and an eventual but sure loss in phone efficiency.
Apart from this, though rooting is meant to do the opposite, it can often result in the manifestation of different bugs and performance glitches, many of which you will be able to do little or nothing about. In a sense, this also makes rooting simply for the sake of performance enhancement is something that might not make sense all the time.
Is There Ever a Good Time to Root?
As we said earlier, there are reasons why people root their devices. However, in most cases, rooting is reserved for devices that are extremely old or already damaged. Apart from this, anyone rooting a device is probably a lot more than savvy when it comes to tech and will likely have years of experience in the area. It’s not something anyone can just up and do so again, avoid it!
In Conclusion
We’re all for phone modification and optimization, but we’re also about being smart. If you are a phone user who has been considering rooting your device, think about it. Look at the risks above and what could go wrong, then ask yourself, is it really worth all the trouble. If the answer is no, then it is better to leave the job to experts.
