The Basics Of Rooting

[th.dubach]

In this guide I will not tell you how to root your phone, because every phone is a bit different. But I will tell you where to look for a guide and what to watch out for. I will explain root, the advantages, disadvantages and dangers. I will show a few examples on what you can do with root. Please try to remember the underlined terms, I will explain them once and then continue using them during the post. Of course I am grateful for others posting other things you can do and mistakes I made (please with corrections), because I don't know everything. I will then try updating this post as soon as possible.
 
So let's begin:
First of all rooting is for Android. Not for iOS. It's comparable to jailbreaking, but much more.
 
The basic principle:
You gain root access! This means you get priviliged controls within the Android system. Meaning you can go deeper within the device, being able to access about everything within the Android OS. This gives you administrative rights.

Well now what? Can't I already customize Android to the full extent? Don't I have access to everything I need? What's the point?
 
Well if you're asking these question you don't know that Android's possibilities go far beyond what you get out of the box. But first to why it doesn't come rooted out of the box:
 
It can be dangerous! Don't hold me responsible for what you do with your device. Suddenly you have access to the core of the OS. You are now able to read and write to every part of your phone. First of all this means malicious things can be written into the system, where they would have access to everything and second of all you are now able to delete key files of the OS, potentially the whole thing. When stuff like this happens and you can't boot up your phone anymore, then your phone is "bricked". The official meaning of bricked is that your phone won't boot up what so ever. Mostly I'm going to us it as a way of expressing that your still able to access the recovery, more on that later.
 
But I'm not trying to keep you from rooting your phone, cause rooting is freakin' awesome. You just have to be aware of the dangers. And there are a few guidelines one should follow to prevent bricking. This leads us to the next two topics: Superuser and Custom Recovery. These are the two essential things of root.
 
Superuser
Superuser should automatically be installed when rooting your phone. If not it should be the first thing you download from the Play Store after rooting:
Superuser
 
What Superuser does is basic, but utterly important. It overlooks the root access. If an application asks for root access it will prompt you asking if it should allow. This means you can be sure that only applications that you trust and need root will get it. This is barrier for malicious applications. You can choose if it shall prompt again or not.
 
Custom Recovery
The Custom Recovery is the last place you can go when your device is bricked and it is the place on the phone where seemingly everything is possible.
Every Android phone comes with a recovery. Booting into it from a shutdown phone is different from device to device. Try looking for yours here, else google it.
 
When your phone is bricked you can Factory Reset it from there. But that's no fun because everything will be lost...
That's where the custom recovery comes in. Many root installation come with a custom recovery, but I recommend downloading the latest. The easiest way this is done is over an app you can download from the Play Store. ROM Manager
 
From here you can flash (install, do once) and boot into ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM Recovery), one of the most popular custom recoveries.
 
Navigation through the recovery is done through the hardware keys (exception touch recoveries). Usually volume up is up, volume down is down, power is select.

 
What I want to talk about now is backup and restore:
This option will open a submenu where you can either backup, restore or delete. And some more advanced options which will leave out.
So backup creates a Nandroid Backup, that means it'll create a full backup of the current system, a way of preventing bricking or better to say undoing it. So when everything is lost, you can restore to a previous state of the phone. So before tinkering around with root stuff, especially flashing, more on that later, always preform a Nandroid Backup, you will be grateful for it, I definitely was. The backup will be saved on your sdcard in a folder called clockworkmod and usually the file (which actually is a folder) is named after date and time. Under restore you can select a file to restore and the phone will be perfectly restored to that state. Under delete you can delete previous backups you don't need anymore. Then after backup or restore reboot. Now we continue to installing zips, which is called:
 
Flashing
This is one of the biggest advantages of root. What it is? It's putting something onto the Android system. The technical details are irrelevant. I'll just give you an example: Say you want to customize your notification bar. You can download the file from somewhere and then flash the new bar over the old one. Basically with flashing you can do pretty much anything on you're phone.
Now the files you flash are zips. You can download zips from over all the web, but the best place to go looking is:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ (XDA)
Depending on the zip, you have to do stuff before flashing it. But most of all: Backup!
Sometimes you have to wipe the cache, sometimes the data/factory reset. These are all options under the CWM Recovery. What you have to do for a specific zip should be explained where you download it. That is why I recommend XDA because they provide step-by-step information on most of their zips.
There are two main flashable zip types: ROMs and MODs
ROMs:
Every android phone is running a stock ROM. This is kinda like the "OS" of the phone. It's what you normally see and feel when your using your phone. Touchwiz is a ROM, stock android is a ROM. You can change your ROM by flashing another one. This almost always requires a data wipe. One of the most known custom ROMs is CyanogenMod, it is based on stock android:
http://www.cyanogenmod.org/
MODs
are modifications you can make to an individual ROM. These don't require a data wipe, but can a cache wipe so read the description. This includes stuff like visual customization.
 
Root Apps
Root apps are apps that require root permission. There are thousands of these that can do many different things expanding the horizon of android. First of all you might need something called BusyBox for some root apps. BusyBox is a set of additional commands not native to android. Some root apps require these commands. ""
Here to install BusyBox.
 
So here some of my favorite root apps (post more):
 
ROM Manager: This is already mentioned, but beyond installing and booting CWM, you can install zips and manage your backups...
 
Root App Delete: This app allows you to uninstall preinstalled applications
 
AdAway: This app will make sure you don't see any ads
 
TriangleAway: For Samsung Devices. This app will reset your flash counter, a counter that counts how many times you flashed custom zips.
 
There are many more things you can do with root like:
-Overclocking
-Flashing a Kernel
-Edit preinstalled apps
-Unlock SIM Card
-And much more...
But for this basic guide I will leave it at this, maybe there will be more to come... And you can always go surfing around at the XDA Developer Forum.
 
Guides to Rooting
You will also find most guides on the XDA Develepor Forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/
You may also google it...
You must watch out that you find a guide for exactly your device model. For example Samsung has about 5 different S3's, so make sure that the model number is exactly the same.
You can find your model number under settings -> about device/info.

[911^NEmeSis]

Very helpful guide, will follow one day and hopefully I wont destory my phone like my mate did.  :D

[limetech]

There are tons of guides in the internet regarding rooting an Android, but I will consider this when I get my first Android device soon.

 

Thanks!

[th.dubach]

There are tons of guides in the internet regarding rooting an Android, but I will consider this when I get my first Android device soon.

 

Thanks!

Your welcome!

[SpamBrie]

Great tutorial! Been meaning to root my HTC One X for a while now

[th.dubach]

Great tutorial! Been meaning to root my HTC One X for a while now

Something I can only recommend!

[W-Junk]

Nice guide :) good luck all new rooter's and custom ROMer's, You won't regret it ;)  

[codytappen]

You just have to be aware of the dangers and there are a few things that you should do that will prevent your device form being bricked

 

You need to change the form in the sentence above to from. Also great to see someone write something so meaty and helpful on the forums. Also, I run an HTC One X Evita with a Cyanogenmod 10.1 nightly on it (or was it Cyanogenmod 10? Hmmm).

[dylandylandylan]

I absolutely love having my Samsung Galaxy S2 rooted, It speeds it up and gets rid of all the crap bloatware, I was quite hesitant at first, but didn't realize it was easier than flashing a PSP! I highly recommend it.

 

I've noticed huge increases in battery life, customization is crazy good, everything runs a lot smoother, and access to root only apps rock!

The only downside to the ROM I'm using at the moment (Rootbox) is the camera sometime fails to boot, but it only happens, like once in a blue moon.

[bradscoolio]

Good guide! I'll refer this to people who need to root, I already know how ;)

[joelthezombie15]

I have been scared to root my phone and i have a really good warrenty so i dont think i will void it by doing this but i wish i would

[th.dubach]

I have been scared to root my phone and i have a really good warrenty so i dont think i will void it by doing this but i wish i would

According to this article rooting is legal and shouldn't void your warranty. And there are ways to hide the fact that you've rooted.

[th.dubach]

You need to change the form in the sentence above to from. Also great to see someone write something so meaty and helpful on the forums. Also, I run an HTC One X Evita with a Cyanogenmod 10.1 nightly on it (or was it Cyanogenmod 10? Hmmm).

Hope it's better now...

And Cyanogenmod is awesome!

[joelthezombie15]

According to this article rooting is legal and shouldn't void your warranty. And there are ways to hide the fact that you've rooted.

legal and voiding your warranty are two different things. my warranty says you cant so i wont because i need my warranty

[th.dubach]

legal and voiding your warranty are two different things. my warranty says you cant so i wont because i need my warranty

Well if your warranty statement says it'll void it then it will. But for example on the Galaxy SIII there's an application that enables you to reset your device fully. With no traces of root.

[joelthezombie15]

Well if your warranty statement says it'll void it then it will. But for example on the Galaxy SIII there's an application that enables you to reset your device fully. With no traces of root.

i know i just dont want to just in case im a moron and i brick it

[bartekxx12]

The micro USB port broke recently in my S3, I contacted Samsung and they picked it up from me and I received it fixed 2 days later. The phone was rooted, with a custom ROM and a custom kernel and they didn't say anything. They did however flash it back to stock and included a note of the repairs that have been done which included "Installing the newest Samsung software". Oh yes, they also didn't replace just the USB port but the entire front of the phone including the screen. 

Did I mention the USB port broke because I spilled pepsi on it while it was charging? No? Well I certainly didn't mention that when submitting the RMA ticket :P 

[kirashi]

Whether it actually voids your warranty or not is almost entirely up to the manufacturer usually AFTER they receive your device. HTC clearly states this when you unlock the bootloader using their devtools. They do not directly say it will void your warranty, just as installing Windows on a Mac won't invalidate AppleCare, but if rooting your device causes it to brick, or causes physical damage, they may invalidate it. I know first hand because I rooted my HTC Sensation 4G and everything was peachy. As the OP stated, rooting definitely can increase performance depending on the ROM you choose, and it gets rid of those pesky pre-installed crapps that you may or may not use.

Anyway, a few months AFTER I had rooted and everything was fine, I was using the mapping application to track a journey up our local Island Skihill, when my phone just shutoff, black screen and all. Nothing would revive it; not pulling battery, connecting to PC, nothing. Took it into where I bought it, sent it off, HTC repaired it no questions asked, even though they would be able to read the bootloader and find out I had unlocked it and rooted. I suspect it was an overheat issue as they completely replaced the board and doubled the thermal compound but, I digress.

 

Rooting your phone is kind of like installing an aftermarket stereo in your car; both will give you some great kicks!

[dOug]

Nice guide.