Despite the relative openness and flexibility of the OS, a smartphone running Google Android isn't as powerful and customisable as it could be. However, we show you how to root your handset and unlock all of its potential.
Google's Android has surged in popularity since its appearance in 2008. In fact, by the end of 2010 it's expected to overtake RIM's BlackBerry as America's leading smartphone platform.
However, despite the relative openness and flexibility of the OS, your Android phone still isn't as powerful and customisable as it could be. To unlock all of your phone's potential, you'll need to root it.
WARNING: Rooting - adding superuser capabilities to your phone by altering its system permissions - is an advanced technique that the inexperienced or faint of heart should NEVER ATTEMPT.
It's hacking and if done improperly it can destroy your phone. Do not follow any of the instructions in this guide or on any of the linked sites unless you are comfortable with the very real risk of turning your phone into an expensive brick. As of this writing, rooting is not supported by any carrier or manufacturer, and will most likely void your phone's warranty. In short: This stuff is for big kids only. No whining if things don't go your way.
Why root?
With that very real and important caveat out of the way, there are a few really good reasons to root your Android phone. The simplest reason is that rooting your handset allows for some cool features that probably ought to be enabled in Android by default, such as on-the-fly screen capture, tethering capabilities (even on phones whose carriers don't allow it), and advanced firewall apps.
Rooting Android gives you superuser access to your phone's OS, letting you do more than you'd be able to with a stock Android installation. Rooting also lets you install custom ROMs that eliminate the annoying crapware many manufacturers and carriers include by default. In addition, custom ROMs can give you the latest version of Android weeks - or even months - ahead of the carriers' sluggish update schedules.
Rooted phones can take advantage of some great performance tweaks - such as CPU overclocking and improved cache management - that can dramatically speed up Android. You can take advantage of these options either by installing a ROM that includes them or by downloading apps from the Android Market that will automatically tweak settings on your rooted phone for you.
It would be a stretch to say that rooting Android is a necessary project for most users. In fact, most people should never even try it on their phones, just as most PC users probably shouldn't attempt to overclock their processors. But if you're an advanced user (or an intermediate user with a taste for adventure) and you know the risks, rooting can help you get a lot more fun and function out of your Android device.
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Comments
Roberto said: Is possible to do root in the Motorola Dext or Quench
Txtraveler said: Shonangreg is right automatic updates will not happen for rooted phones I have a rooted Nexus - bought it that way Still the hacker team that works the Nexus provided a ROM update that is superior to the over-the-air update within a couple weeks of the FROYO release in my case Many others are probably the same They also provided the ability to reinstall the manufacturer supplied apps if I want It is imperative that you learn about this stuff first though I got lucky because its not for the faint of heart
shonangreg said: Isnt it true that once a phone is rooted you will no longer get automatic over-the-air updates And that you would lose some apps like SONY Ericssons Timescape If so this article is unbalanced for not mentioning the tradeoffs involved in rooting I consider rooting but I want to know all the drawbacks