rooting android - DPChallenge Forums

01/29/2013 12:27:20 PM · #1

im about with ATT bullcrap. i'm tired of waiting for jellybean from them, everyone else in the world with my phone has it yet they refuse to release it (or announce a release).

has anyone done this? are the roms reliable? i dont want my phone acting up like a piece of crap after i do this.

01/29/2013 01:05:14 PM · #2

I've done it. Everything depends on what phone you have, and whether the bootloader is unlocked or not, but there are roots for pretty much every phone (or there will be soon). You can usually find everything you need on XDA-Developers. If you're handy with computers (especially if you know anything about Linux), you should be able to follow the instructions and get it done. Before you do it, though, I would suggest researching how to bring the phone back to stock, in case you don't like the results. My experience with custom ROMs is that they can have some nice features, but they tend to be buggier than the stock ROM that comes with your phone.

My opinion, as a computer security person, about whether you should actually do this, however....personally, I don't root my phone. Running a rooted phone increases your level of security risk, because then you're always running as the root user, which makes it much easier for malware to do its thing.

MarkB

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/29/2013 01:22:21 PM · #3

+1 on the XDA site.

I have rooted and run custom roms on a few ATT phones and to date haven't bricked one.

Cognition and Cyanogen are two that I have found that are stable.

Message edited by author 2013-01-29 13:22:31.

01/29/2013 01:52:06 PM · #4

Originally posted by MarkB:

+1 on the XDA site.

I have rooted and run custom roms on a few ATT phones and to date haven't bricked one.

Cognition and Cyanogen are two that I have found that are stable.

Yeah, everyone warns you about bricking your phone, but it's actually pretty hard to completely brick a phone. You're essentially doing the same thing as installing a new operating system on a computer. The only time I've seen a phone properly bricked was when we were sending random GPS signals to a phone inside a faraday cage. We left it running overnight, and by morning, the phone was completely dead.

Stiger

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/29/2013 02:10:50 PM · #5

Another +1 for XDA

I got tired of waiting for Verizon to update the Bionic, so I rooted a few weeks ago. Installed the latest Icarus HD rom and I love it. It was a very easy process once I did all my research and decided to make the jump.

01/29/2013 02:17:12 PM · #6

about how long does the entire process take?

01/29/2013 02:22:00 PM · #7

Originally posted by mike_311:

about how long does the entire process take?

If you already know what you're doing, about 20 minutes, but 10 of those are to find the micro sdcard reader that's buried in the bottom of the junk drawer.

If you've never done it before, set aside a couple of hours.

edit to add....I sold a phone to someone who wanted it rooted, and I did the root in a Starbucks while her husband was standing in line waiting to order. I spent 15 minutes preparing the sdcard at home before I went over there, though.

Message edited by author 2013-01-29 14:25:45.

Stiger

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/29/2013 02:26:16 PM · #8

I'm guessing it took me about 30 minutes. It was my first time with the phone, but I've rooted and flashed several roms on my Transformer tablet over the last year or so. So even though it was a new experience, I at least had a basic understanding of what was taking place.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/29/2013 02:31:07 PM · #9

I'm not really familiar with exactly what you're doing, but there's a new law making it illegal to "unlock" your phone without the provider's permission ...

EFF clarifies laws behind unlocking and jailbreaking phones

pgirish007

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 24-70 2.8L II

01/29/2013 02:37:24 PM · #10

Originally posted by mike_311:

about how long does the entire process take?

what phone do you have?

01/29/2013 02:37:41 PM · #11

Originally posted by GeneralE:

now that has got the be the dumbest law ever passed.

MarkB

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/29/2013 02:47:45 PM · #12

Rooting is still allowed and different than unlocking.

01/29/2013 02:52:57 PM · #13

Originally posted by MarkB:

Rooting is still allowed and different than unlocking.

what type of unlocking are they talking about? carrier unlocking or boot loader unlocking?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/29/2013 03:22:49 PM · #14

Originally posted by mike_311:

Originally posted by MarkB:
Rooting is still allowed and different than unlocking.

what type of unlocking are they talking about? carrier unlocking or boot loader unlocking?

Rooting is still legal. What's not legal is unlocking your phone so that it can be used on a different carrier.

bmatt17

Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel

01/30/2013 12:58:04 AM · #15

Originally posted by Ann:

Running a rooted phone increases your level of security risk, because then you're always running as the root user, which makes it much easier for malware to do its thing.

I don't run a custom rom, just the stock HTC rooted, but this doesn't sound like it's correct. Even rooted, you have to allow an app root access via superuser. How is that any different than "running as admin" in Windows, or using the root password in Linux when you want. Everything except what you specifically allow only has standard non root access, right?

01/30/2013 12:12:34 PM · #16

Originally posted by bmatt17:

Originally posted by Ann:
Running a rooted phone increases your level of security risk, because then you're always running as the root user, which makes it much easier for malware to do its thing.

I don't run a custom rom, just the stock HTC rooted, but this doesn't sound like it's correct. Even rooted, you have to allow an app root access via superuser. How is that any different than "running as admin" in Windows, or using the root password in Linux when you want. Everything except what you specifically allow only has standard non root access, right?

This is basically true, but there are two problems. The first is the rooting process itself. Depending on what kind of phone you have, you will have to do one of two things to root the phone. If the phone has an unlocked bootloader, you're luckier. You just load the new ROM on a sdcard, reboot, and you're got a rooted phone with a custom rom. If the bootloader is locked, however, you have to run a piece of malware on the phone to unlock it. Are you really sure that the malware that you've just downloaded from some dubious place *just* roots the phone? How would you know? And in either of the cases, does the custom ROM have any malware? Usually the developers of custom ROMs have the best of intentions, but their security practices aren't the best.

The second problem is after you've rooted. When you allow any app to run as root, you don't actually know what that app is doing unless you've examined the code yourself. So the app may say it needs root to do tethering, for example. But when it gets root, it may do something else entirely.

Frankly, running as Admin in Windows has its dangers, too.