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[Q] new to smartphones/android, a couple of questions: data plans, root access, UI

Hello, I recently got a Motorola Defy for renewing my contact.
This is my first Smartphone and the first time I seriously try to understand connection standards, data plans and avoid hidden costs.
I don't have a data plan, and I don't intend to get one. I don't need to be online on the go and I'd rather avoid the costs. I neither want nor need all the social networking and internet apps and I'll uninstall them after rooting it anyway.
So:
Which of the connections (GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi, 3G should be all) will cost me extra? As far as I understand it, it only costs me when my phone tries to connect to the Internet via 3G, correct? So I can use my home wifi to access the internet without paying any off-plan fees, right?
And if that's true, can I just disable that somewhere (i.e. something like settings > network > only use wifi for internet) or do I have to deny every program 3G-internet access individually?
What about programs that use GPS (planetarium programs, navigational programs, etc)?
I figure that you'd need a internet connection to download updates, maps, etc. but do I need to pay for the positioning service itself?
And for my second question:
As I mentioned, I plan to root (already debranded it) my phone and install a shell. I already did some research on the forums and generally know what to do.
However due to security reasons I'd like to be just a normal user in day-to-day use.
How do I achieve this at best? just unroot with z4root and re-root when needed? could malware access z4root and give itself root privileges? Or can I use sudo with a password prompt as default user instead of su?
Oh and another little question, can I install programs manually with "install xyz.apk" from a shell on the phone or can I only do that from a remote machine with adb? and can I find the "apps" online in apk format? Because I'd prefer to avoid official marketplaces, app shops and whatnot.
Thirdly, the UI:
The Motorola Defy came with motoblur (at least I think that's the UI) and it's not exactly great. What do I look for when I want alternatives? Are the different "launchers" the UI? Or are they something else?
Thanks in advance,
Ligatur

Excuse me, but a smartphone without data is like a car without wheels. Still useful i'm sure but you're missing a lot of functionality!
Would it be worth selling the smartphone? If you got it for free then it's a decent profit, especially if you have an older device that you could use instead.
EDIT: Analogy changed to protect the innocent

Sure, I'll miss some things, but Android is more "open" and closer to a classical computer than standard cellphone OS environments. Additionally the developer/hacking community is larger than for individual phones and for me, that's worth a lot.
More than the money I'd get from selling it.
Besides, I still use some functions (GPS, compass) and I only needed it because my old phone kicked the bucket.
And I still can get apps, offline maps, etc from my home wifi.
For the sake of the easily offended, I don't think I will perpetuate your analogy, though .

[Q] Creating restricted accounts

Hello all, i have the need to restrict usage of some Android phones .
What i would like is the possibility to create limited accounts, like in windows for example, where you have admin, guests, normal users , power users.
Are you aware of any specifica app for that? Is it even possible in you opinion or should i give up searching?
thanks for any idea provided

No ideas?

What do you need to restrict users to?
Could you not use something like switch me

switchme is a good tool, but requires root privileges that i cannot grant on all devices since its voiding the warranty, and would require a lot of work since im going to do it on at least 50 phones
what i need to do is restricting the users from installing games, for example, or other non.company related tools

Maybe you know already, but with Google Apps you can check what apps are installed on each phone. No way to uninstall apps but you can kick the phone out.

This is good to know but i need to implement something stronger, but i suppose Android is not that much Business oriented to allow me that, isn't it?

Android Should Let Users Choose Notification Privileges.

First of all, I know if I say something bad about Android, I get negative replies and maybe the thread is closed. That was what I got when I posted some criticism about Android's application uninstall interface. I am not a troll, I have 3 Android devices, it is just I want it to get better. I also use Apple products, and recently I bought a Logitech mouse and couldn't get the back/forward button on my Macbook, so I searched Apple user forum, and I found some user had asked/complained about it. I was shocked at that the other user's response was something like 'why use forward/backward button, how difficult is it to press the back button on the screen'. Apparently for some people, when they are in love with something, they just cannot find anything bad about it.
Anyways, back to the main story, we all admire Android for its freedom. But it seems to me, that the freedom of developer is much larger than that of users. I often receive junk notifications from apps I have installed. One app sent a notification at 2 or 3 AM. You may say, "uninstall it then", but what if I have bought it and I need to use it?
iOS solves this problem by letting users disable notifications per application. I don't know if I can do similar thing by adding custom modification or using a custom ROM, but think about 'normal' people, they don't know how to do such things and they have not much time to spend their weekends doing that kind of things.
Freedom is a good thing, but there should be a mechanism to prevent its misuse, like laws in real life. And I think the user should have an easy access to such mechanisms. I mean 'easy', not installing custom ROM or through rooting.

That's only possible in Android 4.1 Jellybean. If you have a way to update your device, do it

RoberGalarga said:
That's only possible in Android 4.1 Jellybean. If you have a way to update your device, do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^This
Unfortunately most of us are stuck running something older. Personally I think unwanted notifications from apps is a bad idea, and I will usually uninstall an app that does this just because I don't support devs that do this. Check to see if the app can have the notifications disabled in its settings.

Ok....i give...need some solid information.

I have googled and searched my fingertips to the bone. Whenever i ask a technical question, i get answers from the clueless and the blind. I am beginning to hate this game.
So here we go. Stock android 4.4.2 ....rooted. How do you control which apps autostart and load in the background? Right now I have been trying to kill the Music app. Nothing works. It always restarts. So that means there is a sticky setting in some file somewhere in the system that needs to be edited that more than likely can not properrly be controlled from the childish controls android offers. In windows this is controlled in the registry and the startup process. Where is this in android? Why does no one share this information?
Yes i know it's dangerous. Yes i know not to putts around in the operating system. But if youre rooted, give us the data to control things.
So i await a learned response that probaly only one of the "developers" can answer. Because it sure as s€£%t ain't out there to be found.
Signed, royally frustrated

I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

muzzy996 said:
I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry. I did not intentionally want to come off as charged or spraying vinegar. Quite the opposite. But I have found, after reading tons of post, that we are living in the land of the blind and hardly anyone with sight is actually participating or for that matter even providing a modicum of usefull data. Beginning to think that I don't blame them.
It seems, after deep searching and research that children are actually in charge. What other explanation can you give for an operating system that is struggling with "basic" features found in DOS or windows 3.1 from 20 years ago. Similar to the slow evolution of linux, itself which only now, barely, is win xp like in its features after decades as a skeletal nightmare to load and setup.
You may not have caught the news a few months ago, but Samsung was floating the idea of abandoning android for a flavored and skinned version of linux for future devices, both phones and tablets.p, starting with the China market.
Tell me that Microsoft did not head that off by providing reciprocal licensing to Samsung for windows 10 to abandoning linux. Would not be suprised if we start seeing win10 handsets in the near future here.
Once android looses support from major manufacturers, then it is DEAD.
Read every other post and you will see the lament about the quality of google store apps.
So when I ask a specific, technical question requiring a precise answer.....which requires actual proframming skill.....which has yet to appear...you can see how the lack of response to that colors the situation.
If I offended anyone, I apologize. I get excited sometimes. Repeatedly slamming ones head against the wall, figuratively tends to make you anxious.
At this rate, my raw participation on these boards may be curtailed if I continue with this sense of useless effort.
Sorry to make anyone upset. You can let the kids back in the room. I think there is ice cream.

Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?

ShadowLea said:
Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.

mjkurke said:
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?

Options like freezing in Titanium or using Greenify have already been addressed. Tasker is good for starting things but not so good at keeping things killed, not the proper tool to use for the job of keeping apps from loading.
My strategy:
1) Freeze anything that's safe to freeze that I know I'll never use in Titanium first. That way they never pre-cache into memory.
2) Greenify applications that I rarely use so that they don't pre-cache, taking care not to greenify applications that need to stay loaded to operate properly (like email clients, weather apps or messaging apps).
In the end on a clean boot my application/precache list is full of my commonly used apps. I worry not about how much free RAM I have, as long as the list of apps in RAM/cache is populated with the stuff that I commonly use.
NOW, all of that said if you're looking for something that works like windows startup manager then installing Xposed Framework and then BootManager is the way to go. I've done this in the past but find that employing freezing and greenify is good enough for my own needs so I've stopped.

globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am starting to suspect you have greatly misunderstood the meaning of root access. From what it sounds like, you seem to think it miraculously gives you access to settings and functions that non-rooted users can't see. Which is why you can't seem to get the answers you seek.
There is no such thing as a root-menu. Android does not have that functionality build into its GUI.
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.

ShadowLea said:
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right and even with a custom ROM you can't run away from using 3rd party utilities to make the tweaks. Custom is usually a good start though as they are typically debloated. Civato's is good for lightly modified stock with xposed baked in.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.

globalsearch said:
Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.

firefly6240 said:
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thought I would clarify a bit here, I know how confusing it can be coming from windows, I made the switch myself not so many years ago and had a lot of the same questions.
to explain root, the closest comparison I have imperfect as it may be is that root access is similar to windows admin access.
the noticeable difference in a lot of cases is what comes pre-installed.
for example in windows if you have an admin account it automatically unlocks access to the command prompt which was already pre-installed.
in android root access gives you the option to use a terminal but often one is not pre-installed, in fact even a file manager is often not included.
this is actually not a limitation of android so much as a limitation put in place by the specific device manufacturer as to what comes pre-installed.
for example a lot of cheap android tablets running google AOSP (Android open source Project) code actually do come with terminal apps and in some cases even come pre-loaded with root access.
in comparison a lot of more well known devices do not come with this pre-loaded to prevent people from breaking things. (For a windows comparison, its hard to delete the system32 folder without admin access, a file browser and command prompt right?)
As far as samsung abandonment, its a bit trickier there.
Basically what you would normally be used to is the Microsoft scenario.
1. Microsoft - Microsoft makes the OS but it runs on hardware made by others.
a. hardware issues go to the hardware manufacturer for as long as they support it.
b. OS updates are handled by Microsoft, they have more or less full control of the OS as it is closed source.
2. the Samsung Scenario - The hardware is made by the manufacturer, the bootloaders are locked, the OS is made by Google and then tweaked by the manufacturer.
a. all official updates come through the manufacturer (In this case Samsung) after google releases the open source code, samsung then alters it as they like and then they release an update.
b. Samsung is the sole support for the hardware and software as google no longer supports the software for the most part after its been altered.
c. it takes a lot of time and work for samsung to develop an update and push it out and then deal with all of the issues that come with updating the OS.
d. its often easier to leave a device that comparatively very few people bought on an OS that they knew was usable rather than spend all the time and money updating it and dealing with all of the related issues.
With that in mind this tablet has been out for about 2 years now which is a huge amount of time for this type of hardware.
All that being said Samsung very recently released the update to android 5.1.1 for this tablet
so it is definitely not abandoned yet, in fact its had more attention than even other devices by the same manufacturer but I suspect 5.1.1 will be the last official update we see.
if you have one of the note variants with an unlockable bootloader as well as a bit of time on your hands I would very much recommend trying a custom rom if you are worried about samsung abandonment.
you may have to try several different ones though, as you'll find a mix of roms that may seem almost half baked, more alpha release style but are cutting edge (I like those ones myself) to roms that are even more stable than the original.
My apologies if some of this is redundant information, I just thought I would throw in my two cents in case it helps

Two points . . for what its worth . . 1) the use of package manager's disable command effectively does the same thing that freezing in Titanium does, the main difference being that you're using a GUI to do it (there can be differences in how the apps are flagged though and using the pm command means not having to rely on yet another app); 2) disabling/freezing means you'll be unable to ever launch said application unless you enable the app again manually (using the package manager PM commands or Titanium).
Main reason in my initial response I didn't go straight to freezing/disabling apps is because that approach isn't exactly the same thing as managing startup in the context of the example given about managing what apps start up on boot in Windows (i.e. msconfig command and unchecking startup options). When someone takes an app out of startup in Windows the software isn't permanently disabled (unavailable) it is merely prevented from preloading when the system is started. So . . in reference to the music app referred to in the original post, if the goal is to be able to use the stock music app but just not have it load itself into memory on its own then the solution isnt disabling it or freezing it, its to hibernate it with something like Greenify or prevent it from starting using something like Boot Manager and Xposed Framework.

Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420

globalsearch said:
Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK good, then I misunderstood the question. Hibernation has its place, it's just not what you wanted, you wanted complete uninstallation basically.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

like it or not, OEMs, even Google cannot just give the public ready-made controls to such things because the way a lot of (non-essential but) pre-installed apps are designed they depends on other apps being present and/or running.
AppOps was a classic example cuz once ppl found it and made public how to take advantage, a lot of dependant apps and services were affected and people called in to their OEMs complaining of broken phones when it was simply tinkered permissions.
there is no mobile OS more robust than android. all have their forms of depth, appeal, features and restrictions but none embrace admin access & leaving open the ability to do it more than android (just need the carrier and sometimes OEM to leave the bootloader the hell alone lol)
if you want a smartphone with admin privileges out-of-the-box and full control of all system services etc, I would recommend an Ubuntu phone. they're about a year into commercial availability which is still kinda fringe but stable and will lack certain major perks of owning either iOS (yuck!) or Android. there is a couple Ubuntu/android dual boot phones out there too, and that comes with the issue of storage space after holding 2 OS's
in another year or 2 Ubuntu phones should be more plentiful and bring over some popular apps and active development but I don't anticipate seeing it take off quite like other mobile OS's cuz when it comes to feeding the masses, more options and less restrictions can have the same effect as asking an 80 year old to put in an address on your navigation in the car while you're on the highway. it's a learning curve simple to some that seems too simple not to understand but can be bad for business.
I think android and iOS beat this problem initially because when they started, there weren't any other well-established alternatives. BlackBerry and some fringe PDAs were about it...

Note pro 12.2
I was/am dealing with the Note Pro 12.2 specifically. Not other handsets. This device is coming up on two years and support has been waning. When I bought it all was well. Less than a few months later the damned KitKat update came and suddenly I found myself without proper access to the external sd card, that had worked perfectly when i purchased the unit. I was furious. Especially when we where being told that it was for our own good and google was pushing internal memory over external. Damn them. I bought samsung BECAUSE it had the sd slot. And when Samsung did not provide the fix to the platform.xml file I was livid. 5.01 came out and Samsung destoyed support for most external blue tooth keyboards. And so it goes, one stupid blunder after another. Their updates destroyed my workflow.
So yes, damned right I want full control of my device, because they have shown they have NO regard for our needs and DO NOT ADDRESS our concerns. Just buy our stuff and shut up. Well in this case, i was sold a product that they later incapacitated.
I can not abide with that. I tried so hard not to root, for a year and a half. I shut off automatic updates on EVERYTHING because even updates from google play would sometimes destroy a goid priducy. I started saving apks from versions of apps that worked. I stayed stock 4.4.2 because everything worked but the sd write. How many threads do we have here where people upgraded to marshmellow and then begged to get back to kitkat? Last week after reading thread after thread of problems and convoluted fixes and a gazillion rom versions each of which has its own imperfections and then reading that the new samsung tablet was released windows 10. I knew it was over.
At that moment the decision was inevitable. I rooted and IMMEDIATELY fixed the sd write issue. And i unrooted. Two days of random reboots and i roited again, this time to take the bull by the hirns and control this thing. I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of displayed technical knowledge here at xda and the tons pf advice from also clueless posters. I tried everything. Even got scolded by an admin who has been here less time than me. (Follow the rules, follow the rules...don't you dare to ask the important questions)
Not till the reply from firefly6240. Now he knows something. And he shared a little with me. Which i greatly appreciated. I have a direction now. And the tweaks I have done have increased my battery tije, the screen reojse time and overall improvement of the environment. All on 4.4.2.
I still have some minor issues, but google and android code monkeys WILL NO LONGER CONTROL MY DEVICE, MY PROPERTY.
It is time people take control of the ELECTRONIC items which we purchase with OUR hard earned money and stop letting manufacturers turn those devices into nothing more than sales portals to make more money and deny us control or the ability to JUST SAY NO.

Why do we need root?

So i've been recently thinking, why do we honestly need to root our G5?
(sorry for clickbait title but its true lol)
What spurred this thought for me was that my friend who had an S6 and S7 kept telling me i won't need to root.
And i'm starting to believe him.
I was able to almost completly theme my phone to black and white with icon packs and other apps that offer custom theme options with little problem.
I was able to change the DPI without root. What i'm unable to do without root so far is changing the ugly LG system emojis to Android or some other standard emojis.
Obviously we also lack the granular control root allows for, but even without root, tasker can do alot.
Pros:
Xposed Framework
More control in general
Cons:
Android Pay will cease to work
Discuss below why you think you need root for the G5.
Do the pros outweigh the cons?

2 main reason I root
To change the system icon with default launcher and to change my font all around system wide.
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

Adaway
Remove some unwanted app in /system
Custom data backup/restore

Free hotspot, uninstall system apps (not freeze), ads, disable startup apps, disable system running services.
I have only one app running in background that consumes data the rest is blocked.

silly question but i'll entertain it.
For the same reason you want personal freedom in the world in which you live.

I bypass the tethering reporting with the non-root method below so I can use more than 7 GB a month. (This phone and my wife's IS our only internet connection) But for me I would like it for my data partition control. Plus I used systemless root on my N6 before this, had busybox, AND was able to use Android pay.... cause I didn't jack with the system partition. So, it is handy, but I CAN live without if needed.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-lg-g3/general/lollipop-tethering-t3071188

I need it to test an unlocking method...otherwise, it really doesn't matter to me much outside of just messing with aosp.
---------- Post added at 04:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
And for the tethering bypass, simply use pdanet, via usb that is and change your browser ua to safari or a mobile device (using ssl webpages also helps), also you can simply get a proxy like Charles proxy and change the entire system ua to null or a mobile device or safari as mentioned before.
Not hijacking your thread, just offering a tip I've been using for years with absolutely no issues.

I need root to delete T-MOBILE spyware, bloatware, and basically control MY device the way MY device should be configured MY way.
I like using Titanium Backup Pro, Terminal Emulator, and the various apps that require root.

I use root for 'taking back' the device I purchased. It's bad enough that the U.S. not only SIM-Locks your device to the carrier but the bootloader is locked and in most cases (depending on your carrier) the device is carrier branded. It's done out of greed. The great many carriers in Europe for example don't do this. I use root to rid of the bloatware, spyware and tracking T-Mobile and other carriers use. I use it for changing the system wide fonts of MY choosing and also for the apps that allow great flexibility and functionality (Titanium Bkup, TWRP, Xposed Framework). Your device is YOUR device and should be used in any manner you choose (legally, of course).

For the first time in years I can say I'm happy with a phone. A simple root would remove the bloat and give me more control for theming.

uninstall the god damn t-mobile apps and spyware

I actually have not needed root so far. I would have liked root at the beginning when I had this so I could install those $%@^$*% tmo apps sooner but I have removed them all and disabled those I couldn't. Afaik they are no longer running. The only thing I would like root for is to do ad blocking but I can say I'm happy with a phone for the first time.

fatapia said:
I actually have not needed root so far. I would have liked root at the beginning when I had this so I could install those $%@^$*% tmo apps sooner but I have removed them all and disabled those I couldn't. Afaik they are no longer running. The only thing I would like root for is to do ad blocking but I can say I'm happy with a phone for the first time.
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I use this for adblocking. https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases

TWRP backups are nice thou.

sharpknight said:
TWRP backups are nice thou.
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I use helium for that. I do agree however that titanium is more convenient. I usually required root so I could record phone calls. But it worked out of the box in the g5 so ad blocking was the only other real concern for me.

There are many reasons why the LG G5 needs root.
First off, we need to get rid of TMobile bloatware, because android by itself with nothing else open shouldn't use 2GB of RAM. The notion that this is even remotely acceptable is down right idiotic, that's even more bloat than Windows 10, the heaviest OS so far.
Second, we need to be able to completely disable the Nav bar, as it serves no purpose other than to use up screen space, and make it so swipe from bottom gestures aren't possible. Hardware buttons can be remapped to do all the same task, and then there is pi controls, a much faster, fluid alternative to software buttons.
Third, AdAway, enough said.
Forth, inapp and lvl emulation, for cool stuff
Fifth, we need to stop considering a phone as a toy which we cannot control the way we need to, and instead consider it as a little computer that is totally ours in every way we can imagine. You have a powerhouse in your pocket, that is actually better than desktops were in 2006-2007. Why shouldn't you be able to use it as well as you can any other computer, especially considering it is based on a platform whose philosophy is built around software freedom.

Admiral_Face said:
There are many reasons why the LG G5 needs root.
First off, we need to get rid of TMobile bloatware, because android by itself with nothing else open shouldn't use 2GB of RAM. The notion that this is even remotely acceptable is down right idiotic, that's even more bloat than Windows 10, the heaviest OS so far.
Second, we need to be able to completely disable the Nav bar, as it serves no purpose other than to use up screen space, and make it so swipe from bottom gestures aren't possible. Hardware buttons can be remapped to do all the same task, and then there is pi controls, a much faster, fluid alternative to software buttons.
Third, AdAway, enough said.
Forth, inapp and lvl emulation, for cool stuff
Fifth, we need to stop considering a phone as a toy which we cannot control the way we need to, and instead consider it as a little computer that is totally ours in every way we can imagine. You have a powerhouse in your pocket, that is actually better than desktops were in 2006-2007. Why shouldn't you be able to use it as well as you can any other computer, especially considering it is based on a platform whose philosophy is built around software freedom.
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Sixth. Universal data backup/restore which lets you backup/restore/transfer app data among different Android devices

kwkw480 said:
silly question but i'll entertain it.
For the same reason you want personal freedom in the world in which you live.
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And also Adaway

sharpknight said:
What spurred this thought for me was that my friend who had an S6 and S7 kept telling me i won't need to root.
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The S6 allows you to mute the camera shutter sound while leaving your volume on. All Samsung phones that I've used do this. No such option on the G4 or G5 without root. Some terribly incorrect posts say this is some legal requirement. If that's the case then my S6 appears to be above the law. Add this to the list.

pcm2a said:
The S6 allows you to mute the camera shutter sound while leaving your volume on. All Samsung phones that I've used do this. No such option on the G4 or G5 without root. Some terribly incorrect posts say this is some legal requirement. If that's the case then my S6 appears to be above the law. Add this to the list.
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It's the law (at least in Japan) that all cameras/phones have to have an unmutable shutter sound to deter upskirt pervs if I recall correctly.