For a normal user, Android looks straightforward and simple. However, most users may not be aware that rooting is a process in Android which allows users to attain privileged control over various Android subsystems. To simplify, rooting is a prison break in Android which gives the user control over the device. With this control, akin to administrative rights, one can customize an entire Android OS on the device, based on requirements.
Advantages:
- Rooting can help in achieving great power for speeding up a device and can also boost battery power. It is definitely advantageous if the right apps are installed, i.e. certain apps that can actually automate hibernation of unused apps which are running in background.
- It can also be used to block ads. There are possibilities of apps which display ads and these ads access and drain mobile data without one’s knowledge.
- If a phone is stuck with outdated OS and manufacturers have no plans to upgrade or they take ages to send update via OTA, my advise is to get it rooted as there are various groups of ROM developers, ready to launch latest updates as fast as possible. These ROMs can provide from basic to high-end levels of customization in Android.
- Rooting can have customized ROM running in devices which can change the complete look and feel of the device, enhance user interface and offer better features. This in turn can help to discard existing boring UI and transform it into rich UI. For instance, the regular keyboard which you get in a device can be given a theme of your choice, you can boost up the scrolling speed. To summarise, you can do anything and everything imaginable in terms of customizing. One of the most popular ROMs today is called CyanogenModbe, found in OnePlus devices .
- Most of the phones these days come up with many unwanted and unused apps, which might be using more space and/or are not that great with UI. For those of you who have low memory space on the device, rooting will be of great help as it can transfer the apps from internal to SD card. However there are some apps that can provide you with the option to move to SD card without getting it rooted.
Disadvantages:
- If rooted, there is a high risk of missing over-the-air (OTA) updates for the device. And, in case if you find any notification for OTA update its better to not upgrade as you might lose your power in root access.
- Rooting your device is perfectly legal, but in most cases it is going to mean that your phone is no longer covered by its warranty. Thus, if you need to get your device serviced, you will need to un-root your device. However, you would be wise to check on this before embarking on your journey.
- There is a huge risk in the device getting bricked, which means the device will have lesser functionalities though this might not harm the device. It is always better to do a soft-brick of device, so that it can be completely recovered in case of any error in rooting. Hard brick is not recoverable.
- You might run the risk of inviting malware into the device, as acquiring root access can easily breach the security placed by Android OS. If an antivirus is not installed onto the device there are chances of gettingthe root infected with spyware, trojan, worms and viruses. You might thus end up losing your private data, be it your contact list, text messages or email. This can even go up to the level of losing confidential data such as credit card information, password and username.
Conclusion:
To summarize, you can definitely get more from rooting but it comes with a price. Now that you have an idea on what rooting does to your phone it is up to you to decide. If you think that rooting the phone to run special applications and custom ROM is worth it, go ahead. If you think it is not worth the hassle, then my advise is, `don’t take the risk!’. At the end of the day, it depends on your usage and what you want from your phone. It is always recommended to proceed with caution. A backup plan is also advisable, no matter how high your level of expertise!
