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Rooting: Are there any benefits other than running custom apps?

I didnt know where to search for this answer. I had a nexus one and sold it and i wanted another so i just bought one on ebay. What are other advantages to rooting if i have no interest in custom ROMs. i searched and found bits and pieces of an answer to my question but what i am looking for is a consolidated concise answer from you knowledgeable forum members.
Thanks
P.S. if this question has already been answered, please direct me that way

tarusdg said:
I didnt know where to search for this answer. I had a nexus one and sold it and i wanted another so i just bought one on ebay. What are other advantages to rooting if i have no interest in custom ROMs. i searched and found bits and pieces of an answer to my question but what i am looking for is a consolidated concise answer from you knowledgeable forum members.
Thanks
P.S. if this question has already been answered, please direct me that way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you search, you can direct yourself.

I would consider pointless and a waste of the warranty. There aren't a lot of mods in the dev section that will work on a stock (non-custom rom), so you wouldn't really be gaining anything there.

david1171 said:
I would consider pointless and a waste of the warranty. There aren't a lot of mods in the dev section that will work on a stock (non-custom rom), so you wouldn't really be gaining anything there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your honest answer

tarusdg said:
thanks for your honest answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry man, just saw that I said would work, what I meant was wouldn't work. A lot of the mods are built from source code that isn't compatible with stock ROMs.

Themes, Trackball Notification colors, Trackball Wake, Updated Launcher... Those are a few I can think of, off the top of my head.
Oh oh, you can install "WaveSecure" as a System application. Thus making it more difficult to remove from the phone. (Can't just go visit the market to remove )
Edit:
Screenshots via ShootMe, N1 Torch (Hey... I did have to use this when my workplace hallways were lacking power... Otherwise I'd consider it a novelty)

Why do you not want a custom ROM? if you are worried about the UI, cyanogen mod is identical to the stock UI (minus a few colour changes), but adds a whole lot more functionality and memory. The only advantage i can see having a rooted phone with stock over cyanogen is that you will still recieve OTA updates.

liam.lah said:
.. . The only advantage i can see having a rooted phone with stock over cyanogen is that you will still recieve OTA updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... of which are usually leaked well beforehand and integrated into a ROM, before the official OTA goes out.
Personally, it was the CyanogenROM that made the risk of rooting worth it. There's plenty of great apps and utils out there that require root, but none (even cumulatively) worth risking $530 to get.
If you're not interested in the ROMs, then take the blue pill.

being able to push the track ball to turn the phone on was plenty reason for me ;o

The decision to root was a hard one for me also, but let me go down the reasons why I loved that I did it.
1) Auto-Rotating launcher. Landscape view is pretty friggin sweet. Plus all my iphone friends get so jelous when I want to show them something so i just flip my phone and my screen rotates 180 degrees. Coolest thing ever...
2) Colored trackball notifications. I don't know about you, but i like that i know what a notification is before i ever take the time to turn the screen on.
3) SetCPU. I made a profile so that when my screen is off, my processor runs slower, thus giving me more battery life.
4) N1 Torch. Turns the N1 into a great flash light.
5) Launcher with shortcuts. I didn't really have a problem with the dots, but having 4 shortcuts to apps there so that they are on every homescreen is very nice.
6) I now have a black notification bar at the top rather than a grey one. This makes the phone alot sexier...
7) Modifcations to HTC_IME. I love the transparent background. This only words if clicker.apk and htc_ime.apk are in the system/app/ folder which you can only modifiy with root access.
8) nandroid backup. very nice.
9) Wake screen on trackball push. Good little shortcut which makes things a little easier.
10) *most important reason* The overall speed of my phone is so much faster... On the stock rom is was plenty fast and i had no complaints, but now it is even more so. The bakedgoods rom is like putting a supercharger in your phone.
The decision to root was a hard one for me, but looking back, I have only 1 regret. Not doing it sooner

jz9833 said:
The decision to root was a hard one for me also, but let me go down the reasons why I loved that I did it.
1) Auto-Rotating launcher. Landscape view is pretty friggin sweet. Plus all my iphone friends get so jelous when I want to show them something so i just flip my phone and my screen rotates 180 degrees. Coolest thing ever...
2) Colored trackball notifications. I don't know about you, but i like that i know what a notification is before i ever take the time to turn the screen on.
3) SetCPU. I made a profile so that when my screen is off, my processor runs slower, thus giving me more battery life.
4) N1 Torch. Turns the N1 into a great flash light.
5) Launcher with shortcuts. I didn't really have a problem with the dots, but having 4 shortcuts to apps there so that they are on every homescreen is very nice.
6) I now have a black notification bar at the top rather than a grey one. This makes the phone alot sexier...
7) Modifcations to HTC_IME. I love the transparent background. This only words if clicker.apk and htc_ime.apk are in the system/app/ folder which you can only modifiy with root access.
8) nandroid backup. very nice.
9) Wake screen on trackball push. Good little shortcut which makes things a little easier.
10) *most important reason* The overall speed of my phone is so much faster... On the stock rom is was plenty fast and i had no complaints, but now it is even more so. The bakedgoods rom is like putting a supercharger in your phone.
The decision to root was a hard one for me, but looking back, I have only 1 regret. Not doing it sooner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the benefits you just mentioned require custom ROMs if I'm not mistaken. The thread only wanna stick with stock ROM. I'm noob btw.

EdwardUong said:
Most of the benefits you just mentioned require custom ROMs if I'm not mistaken. The thread only wanna stick with stock ROM. I'm noob btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
only reason 10 requires a custom rom.

WiFi TETHERING!!!!!!!

apps on the sd. I still ran out if memory installing the apps I use regularly. That is the main reason for me. Enabling all the phones memory was a big reason too. Plus who needs a warranty with insurance?

if you have no interest in custom ROMS, i think it would be a waste of warranty... unless you want to install any apps which require root access (like N1 Torch)... or the several modded/developed system apps that require rw access to the system partition which you can only get using insecure boot... so make ur choice... the N1 stock is great... the N1 cooked... wayyy better than the best!!!

Its in my sig now

I think its funny how people complained that the MT3g, cliq...yadda yadda didnt have enough speed..SO they put in a snapdragon...and people are still not happy. Voiding your warranty is certainly good enough to keep me from rooting my phone for a flashlight, or a trackball color change...Whoop dee doo. When we rooted the mytouch...etc, they had legit reasons. Mutli touch, speed, space saver, cool themes, and tether. They only thing that the nexus doesnt have now is tether. So In due time I will def go back to the rooting field, but not at the cost of voiding my warranty.
But then again the HTC warranty is a joke. I am not sending you my phone and waiting for you to fix a problem that shouldn't have been there in the first place, then wait for you to send it back. Screw that, I would rather pay my deductible and get a refurb.
Contradicting..
But everyone has their own opionon. Oh and just an FYI, from experience HTC can tell if its been rooted

spazoid said:
I think its funny how people complained that the MT3g, cliq...yadda yadda didnt have enough speed..SO they put in a snapdragon...and people are still not happy. Voiding your warranty is certainly good enough to keep me from rooting my phone for a flashlight, or a trackball color change...Whoop dee doo. When we rooted the mytouch...etc, they had legit reasons. Mutli touch, speed, space saver, cool themes, and tether. They only thing that the nexus doesnt have now is tether. So In due time I will def go back to the rooting field, but not at the cost of voiding my warranty.
But then again the HTC warranty is a joke. I am not sending you my phone and waiting for you to fix a problem that shouldn't have been there in the first place, then wait for you to send it back. Screw that, I would rather pay my deductible and get a refurb.
Contradicting..
But everyone has their own opionon. Oh and just an FYI, from experience HTC can tell if its been rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like this post It's like you speak my thought out loud
I'm still sticking with my stock setup until I get bored and wait til the time comes
I'll be playing with custom ROMs and hack the heck out of my Nexus

spazoid said:
I think its funny how people complained that the MT3g, cliq...yadda yadda didnt have enough speed..SO they put in a snapdragon...and people are still not happy. Voiding your warranty is certainly good enough to keep me from rooting my phone for a flashlight, or a trackball color change...Whoop dee doo. When we rooted the mytouch...etc, they had legit reasons. Mutli touch, speed, space saver, cool themes, and tether. They only thing that the nexus doesnt have now is tether. So In due time I will def go back to the rooting field, but not at the cost of voiding my warranty.
But then again the HTC warranty is a joke. I am not sending you my phone and waiting for you to fix a problem that shouldn't have been there in the first place, then wait for you to send it back. Screw that, I would rather pay my deductible and get a refurb.
Contradicting..
But everyone has their own opionon. Oh and just an FYI, from experience HTC can tell if its been rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, HTC is smart and like any other company, would like to avoid warranty claims. So I believe they do check every phone to make sure it's not rooted.
I see you point, but I just don't quite agreed with it... but hey, that's my opinion vs. yours and no one's gonna win this battle ;-p).0 But quite frankly, I don't think I'd enjoy my N1 half as much if it was not rooted... I like the stuff Cyanogen ,Enomther, Paul & the other amazing devs have done... I like to fiddle around with the phone... try out new stuff... experiment... the same thing I would do with any linux box... even did it on the Motorola Linux phone I previously had...
So it all boils down to opinion... if you like to fiddle around, root it... if you like the mods, root it... else stick with stock...

craigacgomez said:
Yes, HTC is smart and like any other company, would like to avoid warranty claims. So I believe they do check every phone to make sure it's not rooted.
I see you point, but I just don't quite agreed with it... but hey, that's my opinion vs. yours and no one's gonna win this battle ;-p).0 But quite frankly, I don't think I'd enjoy my N1 half as much if it was not rooted... I like the stuff Cyanogen ,Enomther, Paul & the other amazing devs have done... I like to fiddle around with the phone... try out new stuff... experiment... the same thing I would do with any linux box... even did it on the Motorola Linux phone I previously had...
So it all boils down to opinion... if you like to fiddle around, root it... if you like the mods, root it... else stick with stock...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love to expiriment and root just not this early.

New Here

So I finally am getting a Nexus sometime this week. ^_^ I am so so so so so so so so SO excited. I had a couple question of course I am a BIG XDA head so I read a lot of stuff. But I was wondering from experience..
1: What is the BEST rom out? I am looking for
- Stability
- Good Battery life
- Little to no bugs.
(I imagine Froyo still being buggy and stuff?, idk give me more info on this I would like a FROYO rom.)
2: I bought the handset from a someone online, so do you think I can still get warranty if I call google?
3: What do you guys like best about the Nexus? I had a G1, MT3G, and now soon a Nexus One. :] I am so excited to hear what you guys think about it, and I am hoping the battery is better then the G1/MT3G? Of course I know with multitasking/ and rooting the kernal drains battery and such but whats your experience?

o_o
(10chars)

G1-evolve said:
So I finally am getting a Nexus sometime this week. ^_^ I am so so so so so so so so SO excited. I had a couple question of course I am a BIG XDA head so I read a lot of stuff. But I was wondering from experience..
1: What is the BEST rom out? I am looking for
- Stability
- Good Battery life
- Little to no bugs.
(I imagine Froyo still being buggy and stuff?, idk give me more info on this I would like a FROYO rom.)
2: I bought the handset from a someone online, so do you think I can still get warranty if I call google?
3: What do you guys like best about the Nexus? I had a G1, MT3G, and now soon a Nexus One. :] I am so excited to hear what you guys think about it, and I am hoping the battery is better then the G1/MT3G? Of course I know with multitasking/ and rooting the kernal drains battery and such but whats your experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. most roms are already stable. just search or while youre reading around look at sigs to see what people have flashed.
2. the warantee is connected with the original buyer and when you call they ask for the google checkout account that bought it. But Ive read a few people getting lucky and got replacements.
3. SPEED. insane speed compared to other phones/OSes. With root you can do anything you want and apple isnt around to lock down porn apps and flash. IMO battery life is mostly to do with usage. some people claim insane battery life and call themselves heavy users but I surely dont get close to what they get :\ but it will definitely last you through a day once you stop playing with it too much.

Nice, anyone else with inputs on there experience? I think I will go with the latest Cyanogen ROM.

Welcome to XDA and the android family, however if you replace the ROM, it will void any warranty you might have.

well once you do have root you can test all 3 roms in about an hour. all you need to do is run nandroid and have titantium/mybackup pro. it will move your apps and keep their data. you might not get all the system data moved because the roms are a little different but switching roms doesnt take too much effort
i would try the desire rom for lolz, cm to see the hype, and maybe another like enom to see what others are doing.

Im not new to XDA or android I know hot to root and all that just to clear up.. lol. I hate SENSE so that is out of the way, I know what Cyanogen can do.. I just wish benbuchacher could have a N1 so he can make his kernal.. Er... I just will have CM though.

[Q]Captivate's flaws

For the last 5 months I've been an Xperia x10 user.
After quite a bit of frustration I'm considering moving to Captivate.
Are there any flaws which I should know of?
Closed bootloader? camera issues? gps issues? signal? lack of support from samsung?
I know that it's a bit hard to answer honestly in a loving community but I don't really want to make the same mistake as I did with the x10.
So any little frustration you know of, I'll be glad to hear.
So far I've been browsing the forums and it seems a LOT easier to brick your phone and most of the ROMs and kernels are modified i9000.
Anything else?
Thank you for your patience.

alexsupreme said:
For the last 5 months I've been an Xperia x10 user.
After quite a bit of frustration I'm considering moving to Captivate.
Are there any flaws which I should know of?
Closed bootloader? camera issues? gps issues? signal? lack of support from samsung?
I know that it's a bit hard to answer honestly in a loving community but I don't really want to make the same mistake as I did with the x10.
So any little frustration you know of, I'll be glad to hear.
So far I've been browsing the forums and it seems a LOT easier to brick your phone and most of the ROMs and kernels are modified i9000.
Anything else?
Thank you for your patience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
No.
No.
Yes.
Sometimes.
Yes, but that's why you're here.
Make or buy yourself a jig and learn how to flash.
Last thought, read the stickies many times.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Well honestly its all about opinion because each persons captivate is different the bootloaders are not locked its pretty hard to brick if you have any sense at all and read the directions. The gps is questionable by that I mean its a toss up it might work excellent or it might be crap the camera is alright I like it but once again its opinion there is tons of support in this community which means a whole lot of great roms to try. But honestly the descesion comes down to what do you want I've had my cappy since September last year and I love it I think its amazing. Just watch and read a bunch of reveiws and comparisons just to see if its the phone for you I hope I helped a little bit and good luck
Sent from my cappy using XDA Premium App

What is the jig for? kinda didn't get it.

alexsupreme said:
What is the jig for? kinda didn't get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The jig is a tool that connects pins 4 and 5 of the USB jack to force the phone into download mode from almost any state. It's useful when you need to get to a low-level state to fix problems that can't be fixed any other way, and when you can't use button combinations or software to get there.

jmtheiss said:
The jig is a tool that connects pins 4 and 5 of the USB jack to force the phone into download mode from almost any state. It's useful when you need to get to a low-level state to fix problems that can't be fixed any other way, and when you can't use button combinations or software to get there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for the answers.
So far the community looks really supportive although I'm still torn between captivate and atrix.

The jig cost me $1.19 + tax at radio shack. Took about 3 minutes to make. Used a little scotch tape and BLOW!, almost no risk of bricking your phone.

I'm pretty new to Android and XDA, but have been very impressed with the Captivate community. I'm running Continuum 4.0 and have had very few problems, but you should note that after flashing custom ROMs with a new kernel and modem, it will take a few recharge cycles (2-3) to give you an accurate picture of battery performance.

[Q] Getting an IS tomorrow or on monday...

But, where should I start?
Is it really necessery to flash a custom ROM, or is this phone snappy enough with Sense (but I'll probably use GoLauncher or LauncherPro, I only use 1 homescreen...)?
Which tweaks are really necessery to make the phone's battery survive for more than 24 hours, when texting pretty much?
Perhaps the phone's battery survives even though I text a lot (between 100-500 texts/day, depending on how bored I am)?
How's the vibrator in this phone, can I have it in silent mode and have it in my pocket and actually notice when I get a text?
My current phone's vibrator is pretty crappy.
I've been browsing this forum for some time now but haven't found anything that answers my questions... I come from an Acer Liquid A1, without CM7 or MIUI that phone is probably one of the worst phones ever done. But, I sure hope this community is just as active as the one the Liquid had, and still have
(lol, "is this a question?" eh, it's many questions... )
oh, and one more thing; is this device brickable? or can you always reset it to default, like with the liquid? if something f...s up you can always boot into bootloader and reflash a *.bin
Help a newbie to get started, and flashing things and stuff is nothing new. Only the way to root it is new for me... :/
Regards,
Me
(hopefully I haven't missed a thread that answers all my questions, but of what I've found I haven't found anything that actually helps me. if I've missed it, just link to it and remove this thread )

Splux said:
But, where should I start?
Is it really necessery to flash a custom ROM, or is this phone snappy enough with Sense (but I'll probably use GoLauncher or LauncherPro, I only use 1 homescreen...)?
Which tweaks are really necessery to make the phone's battery survive for more than 24 hours, when texting pretty much?
Perhaps the phone's battery survives even though I text a lot (between 100-500 texts/day, depending on how bored I am)?
How's the vibrator in this phone, can I have it in silent mode and have it in my pocket and actually notice when I get a text?
My current phone's vibrator is pretty crappy.
I've been browsing this forum for some time now but haven't found anything that answers my questions... I come from an Acer Liquid A1, without CM7 or MIUI that phone is probably one of the worst phones ever done. But, I sure hope this community is just as active as the one the Liquid had, and still have
(lol, "is this a question?" eh, it's many questions... )
oh, and one more thing; is this device brickable? or can you always reset it to default, like with the liquid? if something f...s up you can always boot into bootloader and reflash a *.bin
Help a newbie to get started, and flashing things and stuff is nothing new. Only the way to root it is new for me... :/
Regards,
Me
(hopefully I haven't missed a thread that answers all my questions, but of what I've found I haven't found anything that actually helps me. if I've missed it, just link to it and remove this thread )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you need a custom ROM. See if the battery is good enough for your needs. Remember to drain the battery completely multiple times to "train" it.
On another note, why get such an expensive phone, just for texting? It's going to drain a lot of battery while you are looking at the screen. Might as well go for a feature phone imo.

You should easily get 24 + hours if all you do is text mainly. Just remember to turn data off. It will help make your battery last longer.
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA Premium App

sdxda said:
I don't think you need a custom ROM. See if the battery is good enough for your needs. Remember to drain the battery completely multiple times to "train" it.
On another note, why get such an expensive phone, just for texting? It's going to drain a lot of battery while you are looking at the screen. Might as well go for a feature phone imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, my current phone dies pretty quickly when texting a lot. Today it went from 60% down to 5%, and I woke for 11hours ago and have been texting ppl since then.
And I'm buying a new phone since my 4 touch-buttons on this one is getting really weird, they only work sometimes and yesterday they all died so I was stuck in a conversation and had to reboot to get out of it.
And sending texts and stuff is what I mainly do, of course I browse the Internet, play games and everything. During school and such I only text people, and a lot. So I pretty much needs the phone to make more than 24hours without charging it, even though I text a lot and listen to music.
@NardVa;
Won't be a problem. Already thought of that
Thanks for the replies

sdxda said:
I don't think you need a custom ROM. See if the battery is good enough for your needs. Remember to drain the battery completely multiple times to "train" it.
On another note, why get such an expensive phone, just for texting? It's going to drain a lot of battery while you are looking at the screen. Might as well go for a feature phone imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to suggest flashing, the stock rom is garbage for battery life. Android Revolution HD seems to be one of the more popular choices, but of course Cyanogen Mod is there if you decide the Sense UI isn't your thing

swatsor said:
I was going to suggest flashing, the stock rom is garbage for battery life. Android Revolution HD seems to be one of the more popular choices, but of course Cyanogen Mod is there if you decide the Sense UI isn't your thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've made up my mind now, I'll use the official GB ROM for a couple of days/weeks/months (basically untill I'm tired of Sense 2.1) and then flash a Sense 3.0 ROM and hopefully I can understand which one of all those RUU's that's made for Europe too when I'm bored of Sense 2.1
You don't happen to know how it is with bricking this phone? Can you always reset it to stock, or can you actually brick it for real so it's 100% unusable?

[Q] Need your Advice guys. Thinking of buying the 2x

Hi guys
Basically I've been a windows mobile user for ages now, had the omnia i900 for quite some time now, and i think its time to move on.
I've been thinking allot of buying this phone because it has an excellent value for money. Simplyelectronics.com has it listed for like 300 euros and here in my country(Cyprus) its 550 or something, which is ALLOT. So I've read allot of reviews and everything, but I would like to know what YOU guys think, how it is for everyday use.
Any problems or annoying stuff about it, and also if it's easy to use and easy to carry around, although is that big.
I really appreciate it.
Cheers

I changed to a custom rom almost immediately after I got my phone, so not sure about the stock software. I am using DJDroid rom atm, and I like the battery life and have no problem with everyday use.
It should be the best value for money phone until xiaomi phone arrives.

Hardware good, software bad, customize it and it's a goodun.

I'm also very interested in this phone. This is mainly because of it's killer hardware as well as the poor software as this has caused the price to fall to a reasonable level. Poor software can easily be fixed by flashing a custom Rom/kernel.
I also think it looks very nice

Thanks guys.
You're great.
How bout the feel of the thing. Does it feel bulky, or thick?
What do u think

It is 10.9mm which is slim, even to todays standards.

Just placed my order.
Really great value for money.
You guys have been really helpful, cause i read allot of threads about random reboots and stuff, and i thought they were hardware issues or smthn.
Anyway
Thanks a bunch
Cheers

I would buy the 2x. With the latest stock rom, it's smooth and stable.
I love it!

I dunno what anyone has agaisnt the stock rom with the exception of the bloatware crap that lg bundle in with it i havnt had any issues, no overheating, no random shutdowns or restarts, its been fast and responsive.
Maybe some people just dont know how to use their phone and have to get cyanogen to handle it for them.

Its a good Handy.
You can buy it.

I also think it's a great phone when you look at its price. I am really happy with it

its great if you dont use bluetooth audio and radio. otherwise dont buy it!

deff_ins said:
its great if you dont use bluetooth audio and radio. otherwise dont buy it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BT Audio? Really? Just A2DP or other audio-related profiles?
I was aware of A2DP issues with certain ROMs, but are you aware of any issues with the HSP (headset profile)?

good
im satisfied with my O2X and many developers are supporting this device now including extending battery life and camera quality. I'll say you should go and place the order

lorismarcos said:
Thanks guys.
You're great.
How bout the feel of the thing. Does it feel bulky, or thick?
What do u think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feels good actually, not sure what others are about, been using mine with the rom it came with, has 2.2.2 on it and gets 3 days per charge easy (still over 50% battery at end of 3rd day), and have not had any issues with it.

dmandn said:
Feels good actually, not sure what others are about, been using mine with the rom it came with, has 2.2.2 on it and gets 3 days per charge easy (still over 50% battery at end of 3rd day), and have not had any issues with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you turn off your phone when you don't use it?
I have no idea you get 3 days out of it. I play 3 hours on mine, and battery is gone. What ril, baseband, rom, settings you use?

it's one of the best phone out there.. those said this phone s*cks must never tried to fix, so they given up this phone.. all you need is root, custom ROMs, and there you go.

dmandn said:
Feels good actually, not sure what others are about, been using mine with the rom it came with, has 2.2.2 on it and gets 3 days per charge easy (still over 50% battery at end of 3rd day), and have not had any issues with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what ROM? what RIL? what Baseband? Data Connection Disabled?? Airplane Mode?? Turn-off at night???
can't hardly believe that goes 3 days with 50% lasting battery.. aw..

No offense, but I dont believe it
Sent from my Optimus 2X using Tapatalk