There are lots of reasons why people get android phone and one is, its power and ability to customize the heck out of it. But that doesn’t mean that other platform are not good and customizable. Android offers users the ability to tweak its overall look just with the use of Widgets, Home Screen Launcher and other features which you can download from Google Play Store.
But sometimes these features get failed to provide deeper customization and this is where “rooting” comes in. If you are Android phone users then I’m sure that you’ve read about this term over web on a different website. But if you are a new Android user and still don’t know the exact meaning of rooting in android, then this article is surely your cup of tea. In this article we are going to discuss about the meaning of rooting and unrooting in android.
What is Rooting?
Rooting is a process allowing users of Smartphone’s, tablets, and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as “root access”) within Android’s subsystem. Basically rooting is performed to overcome the limitation that wireless service providers and hardware manufacture of android phone put on some devices. If your android mobile is rooted that means you are super users on your android cell phone and you got ability to customize or replace system application and setting the way you want to do. This little word rooting provide you power to run specialized apps that require administrator-level permissions and perform another operation which are inaccessible to a normal android.
Rooting is analogous to jailbreaking devices running the Apple iOS operating system or the Sony PlayStation 3
Why is it called Rooting?
Basically “root” term comes from the Unix/Linux world which is used to describe a user who has “superusers” rights or permission to all the files and programs in the Android OS.
What is Unrooting
Unrooting is the reverse process of rooting in which you unroot your phone and return it to stock. This process gives your warranty back which gets void after your rooted your android mobile
Advantages of Rooting Android Mobile
Many people are unaware about rooting, they don’t even know what they can do with rooting android mobile. Below are going to share with you some of advantages which you are going to get after your device get rooted.
1. Custom Software (ROM’s)
If you have superusers rights means you can install Custom ROM’s on your android cell phone. Basically custom Rom is own version of Android, a new Operating System which is developed by developers. Using these ROM’s you can alter your Smartphone experience, it changes the color of your icons, app dock, an app menu etc. With custom rooms you can uncap the full potential of your Smartphone which a normal user can’t get.
2. Custom Themes
After rooting your android device you get a full ability to customize every graphic on your device. There are hundreds of custom themes over the web which you can load to completely change the look and feel of your device.
3. Cool Applications
There are a number of applications which work only on a rooted android device like screenshot apps, Overlocking apps, ROM Manager, Wireless Tether for Root Users, Root Explorer, Titanium Backup and many more
4. Speed and Performance
We all know that kernels are behind the performance of the processor of your Smartphone. So if you change the kernel version, you can change your processor and that will also improve the speed and performance of your Smartphone.
5. Increasing Battery life.
There are many apps specially made for rooted devices which access system settings and increase the device’s battery life by optimizing it to a great extent.
6. Installing Unsupported apps
There are lots of apps which are not supported by your device, but after rooting your Smartphone you can install them by editing your build.prop file.
7. Backing Up your device.
After rooting your Smartphone you can also install a custom bootloader and perform a nandroid backup of your device. It is a backup which when restored, restores your device to the same state as it was during performing the backup.
So these are the advantages and benefits which you are going to get when you root your Android Smartphone. But if you feel I missed any good advantage then feel free to share with us.
Disadvantages of rooting Android Phone
But if rooting a device has advantages, it also has some disadvantages which you can read below
1. Bricking
The number one reason not to root your device is the potential risk of “bricking” it. As mentioned earlier, “bricking” your device means screwing up your phone software so badly that your phone can no longer function properly and is pretty much as useless as a brick.
2. Loose Warranty
You would likely need to purchase a new Android device from the manufacturer of your device will void the warranty after any attempts at rooting. But you can get your guarantee back by restoring (reinstall) a stock build recovery and to un-root
3. Malicious Software
There is an increased risk of unknowingly installing malicious software when you root an Android device. That means worms, viruses, spyware and Trojans can infect the rooted Android software if it’s not protected by effective mobile antivirus for Android.
So now it’s all up to you whether you want to root your Android phone or you want to stick with inbuilt ROM. If you have any query or suggestion related this topic please share with us in the comment section
