Discussion on:

Rooting your Android phone: Balancing risk with freedom

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A different take on the value of rooting Android devices.

Even though I don't have a smart phone, I still enjoy learning new things. Your articles are very interesting and well written. Thanks

What about The EFF suing to allow iPhone(tm) jail breaking?
https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26

Does this force the hand of the vendors to allow it?

Thanks for the compliment. William and I seem to be a good team. I have the big mouth, he has the smarts.

Perchance did you check to see if you have that setting I mentioned?

I guess that warranty is not really on my mind.

Heck I still have a flip phone.
I work at a place that requires us to turn our phones and other electronics off in the facility. Unlike the rest of the "Enlightened World". Though I'd love to write a phone app for robot interfacing, security concerns keep me from doing so.

There are days, when one wishes for a really dumb phone.

Apple is making things worse. Android is somewhat "hacker friendly", but Apple will aggressively issue updates to close up the holes that the guys are using to jailbreak. Jailbreaking an iPhone is a much more complicated process than rooting an Android phone. You have to be careful to save certain things so that your phone can be authenticated through iTunes. Even iTunes itself is becoming a problem. You need to save an older version of it. I cannot upgrade to iOS 5 without losing my jailbreak and some things are no longer working because I am not on iOS 5.

It's become a royal pain in the butt. I'm not working right now due to an accident and I'm playing with things like this to keep myself occupied. If I had a job, I wouldn't have time for it.

My point is, I bought and paid for that phone. As long as I am not doing something that is interfering with my service provider's network, I should be able to do what I want with my own property.

Appreciate your comments. Also, hope you get better soon.

To get root access on my phone I copied one file to the device. It's the "su" binary. At this point the phone is "rooted" although nothing has changed. There is no harm in the existence of this SuperUser command but how it's used that is dangerous. I don't recommend installing a custom ROM because it will surely void your warranty and some features may no longer work. My phone will not be able to operate in 4G mode without the stock ROM.

I originally installed the super user powers because there was an annoying sound that I could not stop. I looked through all the menus and did some research only to find that there is no way to turn the sound off. So I went in with my SuperUser powers and I deleted the sound file itself. The phone still tries to play it but there is nothing to play.

I think that a savvy user should have full rights to change all parts of their device. This is a big factor in my choice to buy in to the Android platform. If it wasn't so free and open I might not be interested anymore.

So, thank you for providing one answer.

My original question was: When you root a phone, is it always operating in a root/admin/superuser mode? Because that does seem a little, erm, risky.

I certainly would tend to use your method for a phone for which the SU binary or a similar method was available. (But, for the love of tech, not sudo. .)

I mean, it'd be easier to fit a phone into a sudo wrestler, than the other way around... and in either case, that's just too icky.

Wait... that's not how it's spelled...

With a rooted phone, apps that are going to run with root rights, will prompt a dialogue first and only after an OK will the apps install or run. But I stand corrected when the apps themselves are insecure (unknown sources) and hence no dialogue will appear and there - you've a malware infected phone that may perhaps 'do anything' the hacker wanted it to do.

That also happens with a non-rooted phone to a certain extent. William and I were able to alter permissions without the user knowing:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/smartphones/does-androids-permission-system-really-work/3546

I have had a rooted Moto Droid from day 1 (warranty scares are just lame), am currently running CM7 for the Android 2.3.7 I was told wouldnt install on my device.
All applications that require root access - from market or otherwise - prompt you for SU permission unless you select teh "remember this answer" check box. Even then, like with the wired tether app - it STILL produces a notification that the application was granted SU rights when it loads AND unloads

And as far as rooting - I love it. Not rooting is like owning a car that you cant pop the hood on. Also, If you dont know what you're doing "under the hood" stay out or get someone that does...

I remember reading about that and I believe that is what most rooting apps do.

Perchance did you check to see if you have that setting I mentioned?

In Australia, rooting, is a slang word, for having sex
How do you have sex, with a phone

phone sex is what you pay $6.95 a minute for.

"It's a good root!"

I tried to come up with something pithy, but as you can see, failed miserably.

"X is a good root", if I recall correctly is translatable with "X is a good lay"

I have to ask, what is "it" called in Australia? Is jailbreaking used?

If the phone is rooted, does this mean that I-the-user have the option of using it with root privileges, or does it mean that presto, my phone is now always in superuser mode?

Are privilege escalation a concern with mobile OSes as with desktop OSes? Would it make sense to de-root oneself after modding the phone?

In fact, the unroot a phone button is right beside the ROOT IT button. So there you go, it does make sense what you say and does work like desktop privilege escalation.

I have spent 30 years writing software, having written many many lines of code. I have done assembler on Intel, Motorola and the IBM S/370 CPUs. I have modified a boot BIOS on a network card, re-burned it and successfully loaded Windows off a network server for a diskless PC. But I have some trouble understanding what exactly this rooting for Android is.

Android is open source. So isn't everything naked and available? Is the design of Android that unconventional? You don't have to root a PC to take total control. You don't have to root a server to take total control. You don't have to root a mainframe to take total control. What you need is just an administrator's password. Why is Android so special?

Perhaps an article to solve this puzzle for me and the few other posters here would be useful. Thanks.

Android is Linux and Linux "is" Unix.
For unix, to have superuser access is to have root access... i.e. have read/write access to the heart of the OS, the /root directory. You need to have /root access to change core settings.
Think of it as a Windows login. You log in as Administrator to change certain settings. Similarly, a *nix user can log in as root or as a regular user.
Now, Android doesn't give users /root access by default (that's as unsound as giving windows users Admin rights by default - they don't need them most of the time). But there are times when /root access might be called for, especially when the carrier gets involved, so phones that don't already have a /root option can have it added, that's what "rooting" is.

@AnsuGisalas

Exactly. I don't have to conduct a risky surreptitious operation in order to gain root access to a Unix server. All I need is the root password.

And if I want to do anything that the original Unix cannot do, I ADD those features, even if I don't have the source code to the original version. I definitely don't have to wipe out the original version just to be able to add telnet to my server.

Android is open source. I have not seen the source, but it should be there.

Android at it's base is open source, but there are multiple variations used by downstream sources such as manufacturers and even carriers if I understand correctly. That fragmentation is not always open.

It's the root+mod that can brick the phone... flashing ROMs is never done lightly, on desktop computers either.
If the bloatware you want to get rid of is part of the ROM, that can mean you have to mod it to get it out of there.

But it's like the William and Michael uncovered in the article, the vocabulary root VS root+mod is mixed up.

Rooting is a sinch, thanks to the dev's that pump countless hours into letting us be able to administar our devices as we see fit

Once rooted, you can remove any application you like, and you do not HAVE to have a custom ROM to remove bloatware, just some Linux know-how (or be able to read and follow instructions)

And you have to have root access to put on a custom mod, but you dont have to have a custom ROM to root...

As Spitfire_Sysop noted above, all you really need to do on an Android device is to get su installed. (Assuming one can side-load the su binary easily on any Android device.) Other phone OSes may require a lot more work.

You have to root the phone as there is no normal method by which a user can take system privileges.

Naive question: would a rooted phone give the (super)user the opportunity to install a later version of an OS? For instance, Ice Cream sandwich won't be made available on some phones - could they be upgraded in a similar (conceptual) way that Windows7 can be installed on many PCs running WXP?

If you have the means to change its ROM, then that would mean being able to change its OS... to any degree that ROM space allows.

Making it work... that's a different matter. But since it's open-source, odds aren't completely hopeless.

@gjm123

Yes and no. You have the ability to install a new OS. But who is writing that new OS? Every phone manufacturer takes the stock Android from Google and then make modifications. The drivers definitely need to be customized. But phone makers want to put in other fanciful stuff to differentiate their phones. Without these, they would be fighting on price alone. But all these customized stuff have a very serious penalty, fatal most of the time. Every port will require big time testing, hundreds if not thousands or tens of thousands of man-days, each time when Google releases each new version.

So, unless a model is sold by the tens of millions, forget about getting upgrades. The cost is just prohibitive. The primary factor for choosing any phone: safety in numbers. Don't go near any phone that you don't see selling like hot cakes.

I replied to your earlier comment with much the same information. Sorry, I see it was not needed.

William will be able to go into more detail. But, that is one of the major reasons to root the phone. Carriers are slow in pushing updates as there is no financial incentive.

You could actually make a case that carriers might even have a financial disincentive to update their phones. Some users might be more likely to update to a new phone if their old phone still has older software. That is precisely what Apple does to their users. They upgrade older phones with some of the newer features, but if you want everything, you have to buy a new phone. Many people say that the iPhone 4 could handle all of the new features of the iPhone 4s (including Siri) but Apple doesn't it give it to older phones so that you'll buy a new phone.

One wonders why the telcos aren't following the model developed by the PC world. But, you may have hit upon the reason.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my enquiry.

"On the other hand, I can think of many reasons why a carrier might engage in this ??? all motivated by greed. Remember, the carrier has last contact with the operating system before it goes to your phone. It doesn???t take much imagination to realize the power that gives them
QUOTE Francis.

Mmm. The word "greed" again; back to the "Occupy" park for you!
(After having quit your day job of course!)

Root or rooting has totally different connotations in Australia. The term in Australia is not unrelated to the word 'rut' which refers to the mating habits of the camel. So if you are rooting someone in Australia it means you are engaged in sexual activities with them. If you are rooting something then it means you are damaging it so that it will never function again.
Of course Australians are not the most classically trained when it comes to language, and therefore the term rut is now commonly spelt root.

I had many reasons to root my phone, the main one was to remove the bloatware that existed in the carriers ROM. I found that apps were running in the background and could not disable them.
Another reason was so I could load a custom ROM and use the latest versions of the software and the features that were not included when the phone was released.
To a certain extent I wanted to have full control over what ran on my phone as well as removing things I know I wouldn't need to free up space and better manage my own apps and performance and remove ads.
The risks are well known, but isn't that what freedom is all about? I am aware of the risks and know what goes on on my handset. I personally feel safer knowing that I have control, not the carrier. We all know that their tactics are financially motivated and who can blame them for that, but we should be able to decide if we want to have a different experience.
I am all for the idea that we should have am 'Administrator' ID that will allow everyone to customize if they want to. The carriers would no doubt add a caveat to their T's and C's to alleviate them of all responsibility if anything goes wrong anyway, so why should they worry.

There should be a switch that allows the user to move to full rights.

I have started reading things online on rooting my phone in the last couple days, so it is funny this came up on TR. My reason for wanting to root my phone and install a new ROM is mostly for battery power. People have reported getting more than double the time out of my phone's battery. Right now, without much use, I get less than 16 hours on a full charge. My carrier hasn't expressed any interest in updating the phone to anything above FroYo either, so if I want Gingerbread, I'll have to root it.

I have multiple android devices - 2 tablets and 2 phones. All are rooted. I find pleasure in tinkering with stuff. Rooting Android is one of those pleasures. That said, I agree that rooting is for those that want to (with the technical prowess), not for the masses. I did find it interesting that carriers will remove or hide standard functions (installation of software from Unknown Sources). And BTW, my Motorola Milestone/Droid did have the option available but I'm in an area where there are very few big name carriers (ATT is the only non-local here). So I doubt my local carrier is putting in much effort to customize the phones other than leaving the same old OS on it for years. That was the main reason for me to root - get Gingerbread. Did you happen to see the iPhone/Android comparison in regards to support & updates? http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support

I rooted my Droid 2 within the first month I had it. I was annoyed with all the bloatware Verizion installed by default, and while I could remove some applications on my own, several others (BlockBuster, CityID, etc.) could not be removed without having root access. Once the phone was rooted, I felt it really was MY Phone, and I immediately removed the bloatware, installed a tethering app, better video apps and modified the features I wanted to control. I also appreciated the option to un-Root the phone as necessary. Unfortunately, now that Verizon has tried to push a Gingerbread update to me (many months after all other phones from my devices' generation were updated), the update fails to load. I have tried to un-root, but this did not work. Haven't yet bricked my device, but may try the Cyanogen Mod as an alternative (I have not yet tried installing any custom ROMS). Still, I am happy I rooted the device because I learned so much in the process.

I root my phone to install a custom Recovery + custom HBOOT + custom ROM. With custom recovery, I get to make a backup image of my phone similar to Norton Ghost/VSS which is really great in case I decide to fall back. Custom HBoot give me access to change my partition table giving me more space on where I need them and less where I don need them. Custom ROM gives me better usability, better customizations, better stability and whatever the OEMers fail to provide.

Interesting about the ability to image the phone OS. I was not too concerned about that, until you mentioned it.

By rooting my phone (an LG Ally that Verizon seemed to forget that they were supporting because I never got OTA updates), I was able to uninstall Verizon crapware, update to a more recent Android build than VZ had released for the phone, and then replace that with an even more custom-designed ROM tailored to best use the Ally's hardware and which came with what the ROM dev team considered the best-of-breed apps for daily functionality. Plus, I was able to install a theme set that implemented the new design elements for Android 4.0. It went from being a good-but-aging phone to a great phone that has improved battery life, more storage, no-cost tethering, easy system mods (I can overclock using scripts through a terminal interface now), and it's supported not by VZ call center drones but by a few real-world experts who know all of the ins and outs of the ROM and the device. I've sent beer money their way as my personal thanks, but this is work that they're doing because it's there and they want to excel. Was there risk involved? Yes, but the install guide walked me through the process and I learned details about how Android works while I was at it.

I want to root my phone because I was attending a funeral service and realized my phone was on. My phone makes the most annoying very loud noise when turning on and off. I researched how to disable this or turn it down. Nothing built-in, and one app that will handle it but needs to run constantly.
I never cared to root my phone before the funeral incident. There are some apps installed that I don't care for, but I don't use them.
All phones, all devices, should come standard with some form of management mode.