Does rooting void warranty?

[Haswellx86]

Took me some time really realize that Android is literally just Linux. With the tech geek I am, I am trying to hold back my temptation to gain root access on my phone. Is it true that rooting your device can void the warranty? And what about unrooting it later?

[RONOTHAN##]

17 minutes ago, Haswellx86 said:

Is it true that rooting your device can void the warranty?

Depends on the device, but for the most part yeah. For most devices nowadays, in order to unlock the bootloader (the first step to rooting the device in most scenarios) you must register your device with the manufacturer so that they can void your warranty. There are a few that aren't like that (Pixels are the first to come to mind, though I do believe there's a couple others), and with those as long as you flash the original non-rooted ROM and lock the bootloader again the warranty won't be voided. 

 

Nowadays though there really isn't too much reason to root your phone, most of the features you gain are prebaked into stock Android nowadays let alone the manufacturer skins from Samsung for instance, so unless you need something specific or just want to do something silly like change the boot animation, I probably wouldn't bother. 

[GalaxyStudios]

Disclaimer! You can absolutely root some phones without voiding warranty, @RONOTHAN## is right about that. But just be aware that rooting you phone will break payment and banking apps as well as pose security threats to your device. You can do what you want with your phone, but I wouldn't recommend rooting your primary device.

[thevictor390]

49 minutes ago, GalaxyStudios said:

Disclaimer! You can absolutely root some phones without voiding warranty, @RONOTHAN## is right about that. But just be aware that rooting you phone will break payment and banking apps as well as pose security threats to your device. You can do what you want with your phone, but I wouldn't recommend rooting your primary device.

Every Mac or Windows PC is rooted from the factory. The banking app thing is important to know but it's BS on their side.

[Kilrah]

23 minutes ago, thevictor390 said:

Every Mac or Windows PC is rooted from the factory. The banking app thing is important to know but it's BS on their side.

Sure is, but it's important to know that if you root your phone a bunch of apps you're used to using might not work anymore. Best to check what people say about any of them.

 

3 hours ago, Haswellx86 said:

Is it true that rooting your device can void the warranty? And what about unrooting it later?

As mentioned most manufacturers lock bootloader these days without an unlock procedure available, and if you're lucky enough that there is one there is usually a permanent trace left of doing so that the manufacturer could try to use as a way out of having to cover any issue.

[OhioYJ]

Every single Android device I've owned, has always been unlocked / rooted. Only ever needed to warranty one of them. It wasn't an issue at all.

 

I rarely use it, in fact I never even install it unless I need to deposit a check, but my banking app works on my rooted phone, or tablet.

 

Personally I'm not going to let a possible warranty hassle, prevent me from enjoying my device.