Android noob question - what is rooting? Why do it? Good places for app suggestions?

[bovinda]

1. Just got a Samsung Captivate, and I love it for the one day I've had it. So what is rooting, and why do it? I keep hearing about it. Quick searches don't turn up anything definitive.

I'm sure there are detailed threads on what, why, and how. Please feel free to just direct me to them if you don't want to answer, I just didn't find them on a quick pass-through.

2. Also, where's a good place to go for recommended or reviewed apps? Or what are some must-have apps?

3. Anything else I should do or consider as a new android/captivate user?

 

[Bateluer]

1. Just got a Samsung Captivate, and I love it for the one day I've had it. So what is rooting, and why do it? I keep hearing about it. Quick searches don't turn up anything definitive.
Rooting refers to gaining access to the root account, effectively granting you full read/write access to the entire file system of the OS.


I'm sure there are detailed threads on what, why, and how. Please feel free to just direct me to them if you don't want to answer, I just didn't find them on a quick pass-through.

I do not know the root process for the Galaxy S phones, I believe its an easy one click app, but I'd look at XDA Developers.

2. Also, where's a good place to go for recommended or reviewed apps? Or what are some must-have apps?

What do you want your phone to do? Again, I've found a number of great apps through XDA as well as various 'show cases' from Droid Life and Android Police.

3. Anything else I should do or consider as a new android/captivate user?

Switch to a non AT&T carrier to get better Android options, be wary about buying Samsung phones in the future. They don't support them particularly well.

 

[murphy55d]

Main reason for people who aren't developing for it is to install custom ROMs. Does Rom Manager support that device, anyone know?

 

[bovinda]

Thanks guys. The XDA Developer's site looks like it has all the information I'd probably need as to the how.

So it looks like the main reasons are to allow us to install custom programs? Or newer versions of the Android OS (i.e. Froyo)?

Anyone here who's rooted their phone? If so, what do you do with it?

 

[Bateluer]

Thanks guys. The XDA Developer's site looks like it has all the information I'd probably need as to the how.

So it looks like the main reasons are to allow us to install custom programs? Or newer versions of the Android OS (i.e. Froyo)?People root to do two main things. 1) Remove carrier/manufacturer installed applications they won't need or want, or those that bog down the phone. 2) Install custom builds of Android, either tweaked stock builds or full builds compiled from source. This allows devs to tweak the OS as they wish, correcting bugs, adding features, and boosting performance.

Anyone here who's rooted their phone? If so, what do you do with it?

My Droid 1 has been rooted since early March 2010 and I've never looked back. I usually switch between Sapphire or Cyanogenmod, but in general, my phone's performance is markedly improved from stock and my battery life easily pushes the 40hr mark. Closer to 72hrs if I kill the 3G radio. It gets hard to remember what stock looked like, and the few times I've had to use a stock phone, its been irritating as all the custom and refined features I'm used to aren't there.

 

[gsaldivar]

Anyone here who's rooted their phone? If so, what do you do with it?

Root apps:

Webkey: Allows me to remote desktop to my phone and control it from my PC without even taking it out of my pocket.

Quick Reboot: One-click reboot, no silly confirmation screens.

Screenshot: Take screenshots quickly and easily.

AdFree: Modifies system to block advertisements.

Root Explorer: Allows live write access to the /system directory without requiring a USB connection to a PC.

SetCPU: Allows me the option to forcibly underclock the CPU to a slower speed when I need to maximize battery life.

 

[YoungGun21]

Rooting gives you the power to customize your phone, as you have probably found out. It is really all about 3 things: performance, appearance, and functionality.

Performace. Custom ROMs and kernels are optimized for speed and efficiency. Suddenly your phone is much faster and gets much better battery life.

Appearance. You can install themes. You can change fonts. You can change you start-up images and animations (and shutdown ones if your phone has them). You can personalize your phone and make it stand out from the crowd.

Functionality. Root apps can allow you to do things you could never do without root (duh!). SetCPU lets you control your processor speed. WiFi tether lets you easily tether an internet connection for free. There are lots and lots more.

 

[s44]

So it looks like the main reasons are to allow us to install custom programs? Or newer versions of the Android OS (i.e. Froyo)?

Yes. Install a Froyo leak, either native Captivate (I suggest Cognition 2.3b3), Vibrant (Axura), or i9000 (many, including an early Cyanogen Mod beta), with i9000M (Bell Vibrant) soon to follow.

 

[xSauronx]

Yes. Install a Froyo leak, either native Captivate (I suggest Cognition 2.3b3), Vibrant (Axura), or i9000 (many, including an early Cyanogen Mod beta), with i9000M (Bell Vibrant) soon to follow.

a guy at work has the galaxy s and put the coginition release on it the other day...hes very happy with it

 

[bovinda]

Yes. Install a Froyo leak, either native Captivate (I suggest Cognition 2.3b3), Vibrant (Axura), or i9000 (many, including an early Cyanogen Mod beta), with i9000M (Bell Vibrant) soon to follow.

That's the thing - which one to install? And would I lose all the apps and things I've already installed, as well as their data? (I'm assuming yes.)

Anyway, I'll probably give it a try after reading up on it some more. I'd have no idea which one to go with or why at this point.

 

[ew915]

That's the thing - which one to install? And would I lose all the apps and things I've already installed, as well as their data? (I'm assuming yes.)

Anyway, I'll probably give it a try after reading up on it some more. I'd have no idea which one to go with or why at this point.

just use titanium backup to save all your apps with their data

 

[YoungGun21]

just use titanium backup to save all your apps with their data

To expand on this post a bit for clarity:

Rooting will not cause you to lose data. Installing a custom ROM will cause you to lose data. Here are the steps.

1. Root phone. Not hard. Should take half hour at the most, including all steps (look for a guide on XDA for your specific phone).

2. Once rooted, install Titanium Backup from the market (I'd suggested getting the paid premium version as it is better and only like $1.99).

3. Using Titanium Backup, you can do a backup of all of your apps and app data.

4. Install Custom ROM through ClockWork Modded Recovery which should have been installed in step number 1. You can also install a custom ROM through ROM Manager, also found on the market.

5. After the custom ROM is installed, you will then restore your Titanium Backup of your apps and data.

This is just a short outline to give you a general idea. Like I said before, look on XDA or some other forum for a detailed guide on how to do these things.

Also, if you don't have too many applications, Titanium Backups aren't really worth it IMO.

 

[bovinda]

To expand on this post a bit for clarity:

Rooting will not cause you to lose data. Installing a custom ROM will cause you to lose data. Here are the steps.

1. Root phone. Not hard. Should take half hour at the most, including all steps (look for a guide on XDA for your specific phone).

2. Once rooted, install Titanium Backup from the market (I'd suggested getting the paid premium version as it is better and only like $1.99).

3. Using Titanium Backup, you can do a backup of all of your apps and app data.

4. Install Custom ROM through ClockWork Modded Recovery which should have been installed in step number 1. You can also install a custom ROM through ROM Manager, also found on the market.

5. After the custom ROM is installed, you will then restore your Titanium Backup of your apps and data.

This is just a short outline to give you a general idea. Like I said before, look on XDA or some other forum for a detailed guide on how to do these things.

Also, if you don't have too many applications, Titanium Backups aren't really worth it IMO.

Thanks for this; I'll give this a try soon. It's good to have a general outline on this; the stuff on XDA (at a glance) seems really to focus a lot on the mechanics without the big picture.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

about 17 days ago I went Android. First thing I did was root it and find new ROM for it. I also did the same thing for my friend's DROID 2. As long as there's an automatic program made for the model phone you bought, then it's really easy. I tried to manually root my HTC and it didn't work for some reason. The Unrevoked did it automatically in a few minutes while I just watched.

The most difficult part is finding a ROM that is newer than stock and has what you want. A lot of them are junk, and I don't like the mods they've done. Luckily, for my phone, I found a leaked 2.2 that HTC had modded for HTC Sense already for a new phone that hasn't come out yet, I guess. It also works on the model phone I bought. On the DROID 2, there are a lot of bad ROMs out there, and my friend went through 2 or 3, 2 of them had issues and didn't have the stock features + improvements. That is where buying an HTC phone rocks the hizzy! HTC Sense is the T&A.

For my phone you use clockworkmod. Actually, I think the motorola's use a form of clockworkmod, too, but they are different. Basically when the phone is rooted, you have root access so you can change anything, including defeating the limitations that the carrier puts on the phones for their greedy corporate fiendish reasons. But, also, the clockwordmod software lets you backup, clear caches, reboot, and other low-level stuff.