Difference between revisions of "Why Root My Android"

Revision as of 18:15, 4 February 2014

Google, the maker of the Android Operating System for mobile devices, and device manufacturers, such as Samsung for example, provide you with a powerful device that is basically a tiny personal computer. However, unlike the personal computer you purchased, these companies do not give you full access to your Android device. They have the device locked down so that there are only limited things you can do, and limited things you can see on the device. It is your device! You paid for it! Why let big companies control something that you own? It is like Big Brother Government controlling your life, which is fine for some folks (like liberals) but for the rest of us, we want the power and control left in our hands. Well, if you root your Android, you are taking back control and gaining access to the entire file system, and all of the capabilities possible with it.

By gaining root access you can modify the device's software on the very deepest level. So, to be fair, we can take a closer look at why your Android has been locked down with limitations, unlike your PC. These limitations are said to be safety mechanisms put in place for security and to ensure that (inexperienced) users don’t mess up their devices. On a Microsoft Windows XP computer, if you have Administrator privleges you can delete your c:\windows directory and render your computer inoperable until services (by reinstalling the OS).

Relatively smart individuals, and those even semi techie find these limitations a nuisance. They obviously 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 necessarily how the manufacturer wants them to.

When you root the Android device, you gain what is known as "Super User Privileges." Once you root your device, you will be able to use software that is more powerful than the stock apps and in the process you will have much more control of your device than you would without rooting.

Rooting is basically achieved by exploiting a security flaw or glitch in the Android software and installing a special application to manage requests for elevated permissions. It is similar to using the 'sudo' command in a Linux/Unix environment. The manufacturers consider root access a major security issue, as it practically opens the door to unwanted access, data leaks and theft, hardware failure and so on, if the developer has malicious intent. This is because the user can unknowingly allow a rogue app to gain permission to the operating system in a way that exposes the user's data. The user can avoid this by understanding and knowing what is going on, and not accepting permission requests without knowing for sure what those requests are for.

Root + Naive User = Disaster

Most manufactures will void the warranty if you root the device. This isn't to say that you are guaranteed to not have your device covered by warranty just because you rooted it, but it is to say that if the manufacture knows you rooted your device, you will likely have to kiss your warranty goodbye. Most of the root processes out there offer a backup and restore capability, so you can "unroot" your device (if everything goes correctly.) Also, a device that fails in such a way that no one can tell what is on it, rooted or not, can help keep your secret, that is, that you rooted it.

Rooting is not for everyone.