Rooting A Device - What Should You Know?

Rooting A Device - What Should You Know?

CHECK: It is very important to know what rooting is before you attempt it. If you already do, skip to; How To Root Your Device; but if you do not yet, do not skip this article.


If you've researched anything about Android on the internet, you've probably seen and read about "rooting" it. There was a time when many of the Android phones available didn't live up to their potential, and root was the answer. Horrible software was the norm, applications that you would never use ran amok and wasted data and battery life, and the experience was bad all around.

Because every Android phone is running the Linux kernel and middleware very similar to a Linux distribution you would install on a computer under the hood, rooting them was the way to allow us to try and fix them our own way. Rooting is how you get complete access to everything in the operating system, and those permissions allow you to change it all. Modern Androids are quite a bit better than they used to be. Even the most inexpensive phone or tablet you can buy at the present will do more and perform better than the best Android phones available just a few years ago. But many of us still want to root our phones and are looking for more information.

What exactly is root?

When you root your Android, you're simply adding a standard Linux function that was removed.

Root, at least the way we're talking about it here, is the superuser. Your Android phone uses Linux permissions and file-system ownership. You are a user when you sign in, and you are allowed to do certain things based on your user permissions. Apps you install are also given a type of user ID, and they all have permissions to do certain things in certain folders with certain files. Root is also a user. The difference is the root user (superuser) has permission to do anything to any file anywhere in the system. This includes things we want to do, like uninstall application forced on us, or things we don't want to do that can put your Android in an unusable state. When you're doing things with superuser permissions, you have the power to do anything.

When you root your Android, you're simply adding a standard Linux function that was removed. A small file called su is placed in the system and given permissions so that another user can run it. It stands for Switch User, and if you run the file without any other parameters it switches your credentials and permissions from a normal user to that of the superuser. You are then in complete control and can add anything, remove anything and access functions on your phone or tablet that you couldn't reach before. This is pretty important, and something you should think about before you begin.

Should I root my Android?

Yes. No. Maybe. All three answers are perfectly valid. People have different reasons to want to root their devices. Some do it just because they can — they paid for the hardware and think they should be able to do anything they like. Others want to be able to add things that aren't there, like internet servers or be able to "fix" services that are there but don't work the way they would like them to work. People might buy a phone because they like the hardware, but hate the software and want to change it. Mostly, people root their phones because they simply want to get rid of the extra things on it that they don't want. Every one of these reasons — as well as any reason you might have that aren't mentioned here — are the right reasons.

Before you do any preparation to root your phone, you need to remember that it changes everything about the inherent security from Google and the company that built it. As soon as you add this capability, you are responsible for the security and integrity of the operating system and every application on it.

- AndroidCentral.com

If you know rooting your device is what you need, then proceed to the article; How to Root Your Device.

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