Why should I root my device

[Jeffrey]

Why Should I Root My Android device?

Despite being such an “open” mobile operating system, all Android phones in the market today come with a few limitations. These are actually safety mechanisms put in place for more security and to ensure that (inexperienced) users don’t mess up their devices. For enthusiasts, though, these safety mechanisms are limitations. Limitations that limit how they get to use a device they own.

Rooting is how users can lift these limitations and use the device the way they want to and not how the manufacturer wants them to.

By definition, gaining superuser permissions or, as it is more popularly known, rooting your Android smartphone/tablet is the process by which you bypass the limitations put in pace by your device manufacturer to become the true master of your device.

Didn’t get that? Well, all you basically need to know is that once you root your device, you will be able to;
- Use software that is more powerful than the “non-root” software and in the process of doing so
- Have a whole lot more control on your device than you would without rooting.

How exactly? Well, you’ll have to read past the break for that!

Advantages

One of the chief reasons to root your device two years back was to get access to missing features such as multi-touch, Wi-Fi-tethering and Apps2SD. Ever since Google included these features in Android itself, rooting has lost some of its charm but certainly not all of it.

Crazy-Powerful Apps

Currently, the greatest advantage that rooting provides is the ability to install powerful applications that require more-than-usual privileges to your device. Examples of this:

Root Explorer which lets you access and edit/system on your memory
SetCPU which lets you speed up or slow down your chip for more performance/battery life
ProxyDroid to connect to Wi-Fi networks which have proxy settings,
Market Enabler to access Google Play in other countries (for specific apps)
GooManager to manage custom ROMs
Chainfire3D to run NVIDIA Tegra games on other, unsupported phones
and tons more! Just search for root on Google Play to see some of the root-only apps.

Better Backup And Restore

Android’s built-in backup and restore functionality is pretty weak. Third-party alternatives do a much, much better backup and restoring, but the best ones require root access e.g.

Titanium Backup lets you backup all of your apps and settings locally as well as on Dropbox and
ClockworkMod Recovery lets you take nandroid backups which are complete images of each and everything on your device. Restoring a nandroid backup means going back to your previous configuration with nothing lost.

Ability To Flash Custom ROMs

Not satisfied with the stock configuration of your device? Don’t like Samsung’s colorful, iOS-like TouchWiz UX? Don’t like apps from T-Mobile/Verizon?

Fret not! After rooting your device, you can flash a custom ROM. These are heavily-modified versions of Android which offer more features, better performance and even all new user-experiences.

May damage your phone if managed improperly

This is the quote that comes to mind after rooting your device. Gaining root access opens your device to a whole new world of powerful options. Powerful options that can, if used improperly, wreak havoc, mostly on your own phone.

Yes, if you install the wrong app or not properly follow instructions when rooting your device or flashing a new ROM, you may “brick” your device. Bricking, to be honest, is rare in the Android community but does happen so you have to be really, really careful.

Now, in the case that you do damage your phone, you take it to your local retailer and they find out that your phone was rooted, then they will probably not repair your device even if you’re not out of the warranty period yet. Rooting voids your warranty. You are responsible to take care of your device if you root it.


Check this out for little more details on "What is Rooting on Android? The Advantages and Disadvantages"

Source: Note 2 Forums

Stolen From: Astrix

[Astrix]

This will make me root my device soon

[Jeffrey]

This will make me root my device soon

Don't forget to: http://www.transformerforums.com/for...highlight=pimp it as well

[janner43]

And for a view from the other side of the debate - away from the evangelical rooting types - readers could take a look at...
Rooting yes/no/maybe/why
and
http://www.transformerforums.com/for...stom-roms.html
(Which I started way before joining the mod team here)

[leeshor]

Yes, the link you referenced mentions bricking and boot loops. Had to say that.

[janner43]

Yes, the link you referenced mentions bricking and boot loops. Had to say that.

Well it was written by someone with an excellent reputation, of course.

[zAlbee]

Good guide. I would emphasize that rooting and custom ROMs are two separate things. You can root without installing custom ROMs, and you can install custom ROMs without rooting. No need to jump into both at once.

They are similar in that both require a custom recovery (CWM or TWRP) running first. Getting that installed is where most people mess up, e.g. installing an incompatible version and getting bootloops, or not following instructions and wiping the wrong partition. Once recovery is installed, it's relatively painless and risk-free to root. After all, root is simply an added binary file that gives you elevated permissions when run (plus the Superuser app that asks your permission). Delete the binary and done - you are "unrooted". (You might still have CWM, but you sure don't have root anymore :P)

Also, ROM Manager is not recommended for the Transformer series. Not sure if this has changed, but last I checked, it installs a bad version of CWM which causes boot loops on Transformer devices.

[Jeffrey]

Also, ROM Manager is not recommended for the Transformer series. Not sure if this has changed, but last I checked, it installs a bad version of CWM which causes boot loops on Transformer devices.

Excellent point... OP updated to GooManager

[Elliot]

Thanks for the valuable information. That's great.