Is your smart-device device rooted? Are you going to be rooting your new smartphone or Kindle Fire HD any time soon? Exactly what is rooting a device all about?Rooting is a term that is more associated with Android devices than any other mobile operating system and can be likened to jail-breaking an Apple device (iPhone, iPad etc.) to a certain extent, but what is it?
Well, when you buy a smartphone or tablet (we'll be focusing more on Android), there are certain things you're allowed to do and a whole lot more that is locked away to protect the device from you "breaking" it by tampering with files and settings that the manufacturer believes you should just let be and while they may be right to a certain extent, these restriction will also keep you from doing "simple, fun things" like backing up your device or changing the boot-animation or even deleting some of the bloatware apps that the device comes with. This is where rooting comes in:
Rooting is a form of software hacking which is done to your device in order to obtain access to system files.
When a device is rooted, the user and certain apps (like Titanium backup for Android) gets to interact with the very core or "root" files of the OS which naturally gives the user the power to now change whatever he/she wants as far as the software is concerned (referred to as having superuser permission). The user can now write, modify, or change system files - this is NOT ALLOWED without rooting.
Two things you should know before taking the plunge:
- Rooting your device will most likely void your device's factory and/or service provider warranty which means should something go wrong with the device you'll be on your own.
- If the rooting process is not completed correctly it could damage the core software or OS on the device which can cause the device to not boot up for instance - soft brick.
You should also consider reading my posts on the bootloader and on flashing.
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