Is rooting android smartphone safe?

Martinsx1 Level 1

November 5, 2018, 3:05 am

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I have been told about the benefits of rooting one's android smartphone but I'm not 100% convinced that it doesn't come with side effects which may even damage one's phone permanently.

For those who are very familiar with phone rooting, I would like to know if it's absolutely safe to do so.

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amelia88

amelia88

For the uneducated of us out there who have iPhones, what does android phone rooting involve? I've never heard the term before so I'm curious, now. I'm looking at getting an android after my contract for my iPhone is up, so it's something I may need to know in the future.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

From the little knowledge I have about phone rooting, it's more or less restructuring the operating system of the device with another in order to have it access the features of the new operating system installed in the device. This is all I can tell you about phone rooting at the moment as I'm not an expert on the field.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

@Martinsx1 I think it sounds like the same as what is called jailbreaking a phone here in the US. I think I get it now - it sounds like it may just be different terminology used in different places! Is rooting android smartphone safe?

Is rooting android smartphone safe?

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Yea you can call it jailbreaking but you stand a chance of contacting virus while doing that and it will harm your device.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Yea you got it correct with what you have said but you didn't add that it is harmful to the device.

8 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

Well, there are a lot of things you can do if you root your phone, tho rooting your phone can make your warranty voided.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Yea thats the first thing that happens when you root your device.

8 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

As an Android user, rooting for me is actually a process where you attain root access to the Android operating system code which gives you the privilege to install apps that is normally prohibited by the manufacturers.
On the other hand, as a non-iPhone user with friends and family members who uses one, rooting for me is when your phone is bought with a specific network subscription which makes you unable to use sim cards/services from other networks and so, to get the privilege to access other network providers and use their services an iPhone user must root his/her phone or in another term 'to unlock or to open line'.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Wow that was a good briefing especially the first paragraph, for Android phone which gives you the right to install app which the manufacturer does not approve.

8 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

Thanks. Rooting is actually a bit dangerous process and it's very hard to do, so it's better to ask help from a professional/someone who's mastered the process so that you won't get in to trouble. But, it's totally a very helpful thing especially for people who wants to have apps that are prohibited by the manufacturers. Which leads me to what my phone settings asked when I pressed the advanced settings button "Are you sure you want to access this setting?" because actually, only experts are allowed to access and do those type of things.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

I will advise you not to root you Android device when you get one later because its not wise.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

I messed up the rooting of my smartphone device one time when I accidentally deleted one of software files used to root it.

It automatically rendered the device useless.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

HappyLady

As far as I understand it it will void any phone guarantee, but allow you to get rid of all those annoying apps you never wanted and cannot uninstall. You can pay to have your phone unlocked, which I think is different and that will allow you to use any operator rather than the one you got the phone from. (Or buy an unlocked phone in the first place. I found a fair amount of information on youtube when thinking of doing this. Worth searching on there to get a better understanding.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

I did similar research on my own but later changed my mind not do it again because it would not favour me for a long run.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

Rooting looks like a good way to clear your android smart phone of unwanted apps but is it really worth the trouble? But if there is an error that the rooting may not properly be conducted then what would happen to the phone? To be honest with the rooting, it is very technical and it is scary to do that because of a possible error that can lock the phone. Perhaps I would just let the apps have their way on my phone.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

From my experience with rooting android smartphone devices, it's beneficial input are of short term value and useless on a long term basis.

If you have long term use of your smartphone, it's better not to root it.

8 years ago

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anyone01

anyone01

Rooting makes your smartphone greater at risk of hacking. Once you root your smartphone, you benefit all of the administrative privileges which in a single experience is good and in other sense is terrible. Say in case your smartphone gets hacked through a few Trojan, the far flung hacker can also have get entry to the whole thing and might also be capable of inject some undesirable modifications to your systems.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

I never knew that, about it increasing the likelihood of hacking. That's a good word of warning to anyone who is planning to go down the route of rooting their android. I think I'd prefer to keep the operating system as it is, to keep my phone safer.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Yea thats was the main reason I changed my mind at the first place.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

It give hackers more advantage because those app the manufacturer are prohibiting your from installation may have strong Trojan to hack a device.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Seriously, it's very annoying having your smartphone device getting hacked. You could lose everything important to you as a result of the hack.

I have never experienced any phone hack and I don't want to experience any of it at all.

8 years ago

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mosesoscar

mosesoscar

There are many features a rooted device have that can make one want to root his/her android. When you root a smartphone, for instance, you gain access to every part of the phone which otherwise you do not have access to. You can restructure system apps, delete cartain files and all that. Infact, when you root your device, you're taking sole responsibility for it, how you want it to look like, how you protect it and how you make it run. And there're many ways to root a device. However, on the down side, if you root your device, you lose it's warrantee, and Google has no business again of protecting your phone against hacks and apps that have the capacity to make your device malfunction. This is a huge 'downside', as it make your device vulnerable to hacking and malicious apps. In addition, when you root your device, it will be hard to upgrade such a device as upgrading a rooted device can crash the device.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Thanks for the info because others can learn from it.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I actually just knew that rooting your device is not helpful. What I didn't know is how it would greatly affect the system's structure. Thank you.

8 years ago

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mosesoscar

mosesoscar

I once thought about rooting my phone; because of that I had to research the pros and the cons. I weighed the both and I realized i can't risk it

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Losing one's warranty is a very heavy benefits to give up simply because one desires to enjoy some of the benefits of rooting their smartphone.

I have done it before but I'm never going to try it again. It's not worth it.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

The limitations imposed by the people who manufactured your phone once bypassed because you think something isn't user-friendly, could create more problems for you.

Even if you installed antivirus software on your device odds are malware can breach this defense. When this happens there isn't much you can use your phone for unless you want some hacker to collect all your passwords and personal info which they'll use or sell to people who are as bad as them.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

I agree as well the risk is too high and you lose all grounds for compensation once you have rooted the phone as you interfere with the basic infrastructure from the manufacturer. The one huge problem is that you are never assured of the security and safety of the whole process.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

The one huge problem is that you are never assured of the security and safety of the whole process.

And there is the possibility everything could go wrong and you'd be left with a dead phone as it has already been mentioned.

There are many people on the net who talk about all the benefits of rooting but the potential risks and probable negative outcomes far outweigh what you'll gain. Better to be safe than sorry. Best to customize your phone only to the limit your manufacturers set and let it be.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

I agree it is always best to be left with the manufacturer's version that can be repaired easily and you have the option of getting it repaired by the manufacturer.

8 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Exactly, thats if the process goes successful because the phone can crash during this process and require maintainace.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Phones are always vulnerable and crashes can occur due to numerous reasons especially if you are a surfer on the deep web or a heavy gamer.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Back then, I was a good advocator of rooting smartphone devices because I actually didn't know everything about its advantages and disadvantages as well.

I was merely focused on the good part of rooting smartphone which isn't really the best.

Don't root your smartphone if you still love your phone.

8 years ago

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ajahcuizon

ajahcuizon

As far as I know, rooting will give you a wider access to you phone's system. I've done some research before as I also planned to root my android phone. Going back, it gives you access to your phone like making you as the administrator itself. You can uninstall applications which are already in your phone even before buying it from the store. Another thing, you can have access to your phone running software, like there are some data that will appear to your screen while using it. Showing how much ram will be used with every click you would do. I also saw some rooted phone that they could make their volume higher than the phone that is not rooted. The negative side is that there is no guarantee that the performance will be the same. You will have a wider access but you should still be ready on its consequence.

8 years ago

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mark8625

mark8625

Nothing wrong to root your phone. It will help your phone updated and at the same time it will come back to as brand new when it comes to the performance. I did it many times and my phone still working well.

8 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

Well, if you know how to repair a phone when it's bricked, then it's fine for you to root it. Because rooting your phone is not 100% safe, it can be 50% fail and 50% success. And rooting your phone can void the warranty of your phone, so I suggest that if you are not that techie, just leave your phone as it is, as long as its doing its job.

8 years ago

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mark8625

mark8625

Good thing that I know to repair it just it case something happened to my phone. As long as you know how to do it then do it but if its not so dont do something that you dont know because in the end you might regret to what you did.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

It is a risk that one takes for themselves knowing that it makes their warrant to be null and void and I could only do it if I had no other option and my phone was damaged to some extent that the technicians cannot be able to restore it. It is the last course and I have seen several friends complain after doing it hence I would not be so eager to do it.

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

There is this friend that got I to the issue of suffering battery issues after he got his phone rooted. He told me categorically that it was a bad move that he made and there is no need for me to be doing that kind of thing when I have a new phone.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Yeah they always regret later on and in most cases, they end up purchasing new phones when they could have easily avoided the whole fracas by maintaining the old softwares. I cannot make such a mistake.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I actually don't know that there is an accompanying risk in rooting your device. I'm glad that I know it and relieved that I didn't choose to do it before. Until now, I'm still curious about what it would do to my Android phone if ever I opted it.

8 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

I am also a bit uneducated about rooting. The only thing I know about it is that when an iPhone is bought from the states or any other territories and is brought here in the Philippines, a lot of users root it or some seek for the services of experts to unlock their devices in order for their iPhones to function with local sim cards as they are bought with subscription plans from specific network couriers abroad. That's why we don't pay for network subscription plans here before buying a smartphone because all of our phones here are open line.

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

Rooting is simply the way of exposing your mobile device to a lot of risk. I have been watching closely and I have to say that it is never right for anyone to root their devices because it is going to make the phone to start malfunctioning and all that. I prefer to use my device the way it was manufactured and that has always made me enjoy my gadgets.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

I really don't have honestly much ideas about rooting a smartphone since I have never tried it, I just heard that it has a lot risk since it will not guarantee that it will give us some benefits. I still really prefer the used operating system of my smartphone since I don't want to risks anything from doing such rooting activities. It is better to keep safe at all times since I don't want to regret at the end.

8 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I honestly wouldn’t go and try to root your phone if you’re not a very tech savvy person. For one thing, as far as I’m aware, rooting your phone instantly breaks your warranty. If you end up having some sort of unrelated issues with it, your company no longer has you covered.

Besides that, it’s possible to accidentally brick your phone while rooting it. To brick one’s phone means to render it completely incapable of functioning, beyond any hope of repair. I’ve actually done this accidentally to several devices in the past because I didn’t know what I was doing, so I’d personally avoid it.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

Completely understandable! I’d take a big hit financially if I tried doing that to my phone, ruined it completely and then made any warranty null and void in the process. Sometimes it’s not worth it!

8 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

It’s really a risk versus reward thing, and honestly the reward doesn’t pay off in my opinion.

The main reason that a lot of people root their phone is in order to be able to install typically unallowed software which then permits you to use pirated applications. Rarely do people use it to do legal things.

This already brings up a lot of questions regarding ethical standards. I don’t know, I’m just not one of those people who would be okay with stealing software. Maybe as a means of trying something out before you buy it, but not to deprive developers of their hard earned money.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

Yeah, I hear you. I'm not the kind of person that would feel comfortable with doing that anyway. To be honest there are enough free apps out there anyway if you don't want to pay for things, rather than going down the dodgy route of using pirated stuff.

I'd be fuming mad if someone stole my work, so I couldn't imagine how it'd feel to spend a ton of time developing software only to have people try and access it for free.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I haven't tried rooting Android smartphones. Well, I must admit that there were apps that didn't run properly when I opt not to root my device. It is because I really don't have any background about it and I'm also scared of the negative effects, if there are.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I have come across the topic of rooting a phone several times in other forums and from what I understand it is not relevant for an ordinary user like me. Rooting is similar to getting inside the CMOS of the computer that holds the default settings. If you mess up the rooting then the phone may not run properly and worse it may not run at all. So what benefit do we get from rooting the phone, is it commensurate to the risk?

8 years ago

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stbrians

stbrians

We term it in my area as 'flashing'. It resembles flashing water in a toilet. In my country abortion is called flashing too. It is breaking the lock put on a phone so that one uses and is access to a certain sim only. When you flash it accommodates.

Flashing can at other times damage your phone. This is when you use a person whobis not do much conversant with the process

8 years ago

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astraherondale

astraherondale

Not a smartphone geek either, but I do know that rooting voids your warranty and is a risky process that should be done only by tech experts. Rooting is like unlocking your phone's administrative settings and gives you the ability to run custom processes and install custom softwares. However, it is a double-edged sword, because a single wrong move may lead to your phone getting bricked or wiped out. It's best to do this only with an experienced person with you.

8 years ago

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knnon

knnon

I'm against with rooting a phone that I still use mainly because I'm just scared of having to deal with a brick phone. It is useful in some cases as you can use apps and have the options to fully customize your phone, but I'm already happy with the current phone I have now so there's no need for me to try rooting it.

8 years ago

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mhingnhormz

mhingnhormz

Is rooting android smartphone safe: Im not also familiar about the rooting terms but I always read it in many blogs and even in youtube. Some people rooted their phone for hacking purposes like hacking a wifi password and the likes that is base on what I've watched mostly online. But I heard also that it may damage your phone, i don't know how it will be damage but maybe in terms of system. Thank you for those who share their knowledge regarding this topic by this I gain some more idea.

8 years ago

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dzonyfox2

dzonyfox2

Rooting your android phone gives you many benefits. But it is a bit risky, especially if someone who doesn't have the experience with it is doing it. So if you want to root your phone, better let someone with experience to do it. Rooting let's you use the apps that you cannot on fabric non-rooted phone. And these apps are very useful. In my country rooting your phone voids the warranty. So it is a ,,sword with two ends''.

8 years ago

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