I have taken the plunge and gotten this awesome slate. I root EVERYTHING ALWAYS. The one thing I am wondering is whether anyone has ran into serious stability issues or loss of functionality with rooting? Also, what ROMS do you recommend as a daily driver?
I appreciate it, I realize I am little late to the game here, but this was the tablet I wanted all along.
Value is subjective . . . it is worth it to me though . . I root every device that I buy as soon as I can . .
As for stability, I don't believe in root destroying stability . . but rather that instability of rooted devices being a function of what the user has done to the device after root was achieved. The exception to this would be a device already having inherent instabilities that would otherwise be addressed in a future update that a rooted user would avoid for the sake of retaining root. Of course I could argue with someone about this with no way to prove to them just how stable my device is any more than I can disprove their claim that root is the cause of their instabilities . . . . it is what it is . .
muzzy996 said:
Value is subjective . . . it is worth it to me though . . I root every device that I buy as soon as I can . .
As for stability, I don't believe in root destroying stability . . but rather that instability of rooted devices being a function of what the user has done to the device after root was achieved. The exception to this would be a device already having inherent instabilities that would otherwise be addressed in a future update that a rooted user would avoid for the sake of retaining root. Of course I could argue with someone about this with no way to prove to them just how stable my device is any more than I can disprove their claim that root is the cause of their instabilities . . . . it is what it is . .
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Click to collapse
Agreed. I love root and making my device work the way I want it to. Thanks for talking me off the ledge.
For me rooting this tablet opened the doors to functionality the stock rom didn't offer, and allowed me a level of control and privacy that wasn't otherwise available. Stabilty in a ROM often seems to follow how old it is. That is to say, the first release will often have minor bugs that by the 4th or 5th release have been addressed. This isn't always the case, but often times the developer will come right out and tell you what is and isn't working in their notes or changelogs. It's rare that a stock rom is not available, so you can always go back if you are unsatisfied with the performace of a custom rom.
Related
Hello All,
I am new to the forum. And the more I read on this forum and others re: rooting, the less I feel I understand. I'm decent on computers but tech speak (as I call it) somewhat eludes me. I posted this on another forum and no one has really answered my questions. Hopefully you all can give me succinct and simple answers/advice.
I have a G2 that I adore. The only thing I hate is the bloatware that came on it. I want to get rid of the crap. In searching methods to do so I learned about rooting. So now I am on the fence as to whether or not I want to root or not.
I have heard that someone people experience better performance when they root, but not many go into specifics on what kind of enhanced performance they noticed (eg. internet speed, call clarity, battery life, etc.). If I could get rid of the bloatware, get faster performance (especially when web browsing), and other benefits I wouldn't mind figuring out how to root. What kind of benefits do you notice with rooting? Is it worth rooting since it has been announced that a new version (gingerbread) is supposed to be coming out soon, or is this new version not that much of a big deal?
Is there a program or app (hopefully in the market) that will root for me? If so can it also unroot and bring me back to my original state? Is rooting that easy?
Also what is a ROM, and what does it mean to flash? I semi understand what this is. I'm not confident in my understanding of it though. I understand it to be a file or app that can alter phone settings once rooted. I do think the actual meaning and purpose of ROMs go deeper than that, but a little clarity would be helpful.
Lastly, what does clocking out mean? I have seen a few charts, and people throwing out numbers and saying they are impressive but no one describes what clocking out means. It seem to be something involving speed, but speed in what aspect (eg. web browsing?).
I have never rooted a phone before, but I am willing to try it out if the rewards and enhancements are that much greater. And I also like to tinker with and fully utilize and understand my favorite gadgets from time to time.
Android is a Linux OS. Having root access is like having admin access in Windows. You can modify the system in any way you want. You can do temp root on the G2 but with temp root, all the bloatware you have will come back after a reboot (to my understanding, please correct me if I'm wrong.)
There are plenty of guides to doing a full complete root. It includes flashing an HBOOT (the screen you get when you turn the phone on by pressing the back arrow) and that can brick your phone if done wrong. READ! READ! READ!
Flashing a ROM is like installing an OS on a computer. There are plenty of Fro-Yo (2.2 ROMS) Fro-Yo with HTC Sense on top or even Gingerbread ROMs (like CyanogenMod 7 nightlies.) You can install any of them but make sure the ROM comes from the G2 section of the forum to avoid any problems.
In my experience, Custom ROMs are MUCH faster than stock. All those extra things that they tweak/add really makes a difference. I rooted two android phones before and Custom ROMs always make the phone much more enjoyable.
Overclocking or clocking is setting the speed of the CPU. Every phone (even if they are the same phone) has a slight difference in the CPU. Some can clock higher than others and remain stable. Overclocking helps in CPU intensive apps like web browsing, and games. It makes the experience much smoother. The side effect is decreased battery life (since you are over clocking past the factory settings).
This is all I can explain to you. Hope someone else who is more experienced in Android helps you.
Thank you so much! A lot of what you said just helped make everything I have been reading make a little more sense. Thank you soo much! Here is another question what is S-Off? I have seen it in a ton of places now since researching further into rooting.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=789498
i have got a samsung omnia7 and was thinking about using the sammy rainbow custom rom, what are the pro's and cons doing this?
atm i have interop unlocked it but as i am still under warranty was curious of the effects.
advice would be grateful
It varies heavily ROM to ROM. However, there are a few common things.
Advantages:
More device control. With the policy system disabled, you can modify almost anything.
More homebrew apps, and more powerful ones (things like bazaar).
Native homebrew apps and ported WinMo apps.
Install XAPs directly (such as from IE), instead of using a PC.
If you find a bug, you can directly talk to the devs about fixing it (or possibly fix it yourself).
You may get updates before your carrier would provide them normally.
Disadvantages:
Higher risk of bugs since the ROMs get a lot less testing than official ones.
Updates may come later because you have to wait for a custom packaging of the update.
Not all custom ROMs are updatable; you might need to replace it with a new version which means you'll lose all your data.
Turning off the policy system increases your risk of malware if you arent' careful what you install.
Custom ROMs may have malware built in (not saying any of them do, but it's a risk).
Currently, I'd suggest waiting a little while to see where the Samsung ROM scene goes, what bugs are found and how quickly they're fixed, what features are available and how useful they are. However, it's pretty much always possible to go back to a stock ROM (unless you somehow really badly mess up your phone) so if you want to experiment or be an early adopter, go ahead. Otherwise, I think it'll be pretty clear what ROMs are good and where the custom ROM scene is going (support- and feature-wise) within a month or so.
so i would be safer to wait and see what the dev of the roms is going to do in the case of bugs.
thanks
That's my take. Note that I'm a dev working very hard on hacks that works with stock ROMs though - somebody who spends their time developing custom ROMs may well give completley different advice. There are certainly lots of advantages to going with custom ROMs, even at this relatively early point (it helps that a lot of the experience from HTC custom WP7 ROMs carries over to Samsung ROMs as well).
it seems as though the custom roms for omnia 7 are coming on leaps and bounds, what with MIRO's ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1499102
there seems to be very little on the way of bugs with his atm so i think i will give that one a shot. i know i am new at this but if you don't ask then you never find out things right
thanks for your advice and input....much appreciated
ROM developers have been doing a great job over the years to provide newer ROM's for older phones that have been left SOL by carriers/manufacturers/google and for a great price. $0. And I want to thank them for that.
I have personally rooted all sorts of devices from the original iphone/mytouch/gtablet/nook etc. But, I have noticed that once I root them, I could never use them as my daily driver and even though they provide great performance and speed. Stability remains the holy grail for rooted device and understandably so, since developers have a day job and a busy life to provide complete support for all devices.
So am I wrong in saying devices with stock ROM's have greater stability than rooted ones?
Well if your the type needing stability over anything else, then yes stay with stock. Out of my personal experience, ARHD is the most stable ROM I've ever had. I can't remember a time it had a random reboot or something didn't work.
I do a lot of important things on my phone, so the protection is number the #1 thing for me.
All my previous 5 - 6 android smartphones were rooted by me.
The main reason for rooting was to improve security and confidence in the phone - good firewall, de -bloating, control of privilegies.
But now with S8+ I am having second thought about if rooting really protects vs exposes.
1) Lots of original protection features will be gone after rooting, like DM-verity
2) Automated system updates and therefore related security patches will be gone too. I am not a big fan of regular manual downloads and updates. So my once rooted system will become dated soon.
3) Fingerprint or iris readers be one more vulnerable to errors and manipulations
Am I taking it right?
Do a good firewall and control of priviligies outweigth the new risks that rooting could bring to S8+?
Thanks for you thoughts
Apparently now if you have a rooted S8, Netflix won't work anymore
aulamens said:
I do a lot of important things on my phone, so the protection is number the #1 thing for me.
All my previous 5 - 6 android smartphones were rooted by me.
The main reason for rooting was to improve security and confidence in the phone - good firewall, de -bloating, control of privilegies.
But now with S8+ I am having second thought about if rooting really protects vs exposes.
1) Lots of original protection features will be gone after rooting, like DM-verity
2) Automated system updates and therefore related security patches will be gone too. I am not a big fan of regular manual downloads and updates. So my once rooted system will become dated soon.
3) Fingerprint or iris readers be one more vulnerable to errors and manipulations
Am I taking it right?
Do a good firewall and control of priviligies outweigth the new risks that rooting could bring to S8+?
Thanks for you thoughts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will get custom roms brother once you rooted , better than stock roms.
Thanks guys. Netflix is not a concern. But custom ROMs Iam not sure. Are they better protected than stock ROM? At least stock ROM is patched very often as new vulnerabilities are revealed. Not sure custom ROM are updated that quick. Plus automated updates without tye hassle of downloading flashing reinstalling is a big deal.
I would assume stock rom would stay most updated at least. Do stock ROMs offer the convenience of automated updates? ... and the speed and frequency of patches or fixes?
Ofcourse not rooted is more secure, it is silly to even discuss this. Rooting is the SINGLE most dangerous thing you can do. You allow 3rd party apps to modify your system. Yes, there is some sort of SuperUser app which asks for your permission, but it is still less secure than unrooted ROM. And as far as stock vs custom ROMs are concerned, would you trust more a group of enthisiasts that "modify" ROMS without proper knowlegde of inner workings or a company that does this for a living???
We all love CUSTOM ROMS, but in my experience on 5-6 (different) devices none of these are as stable as stock ROM, they cas say whatever they want, it is bull*. Stock is stock. Custom ROMs are used because we get new functionality, customizations, freedoom, maybe sometimes speed. But NEVER stability, I have flashed hundreds of ROMs since days of Desire HD through Note 2 and Nexus tablets, no custom ROM was ever as stable as stock. Period.
Personally i think it's hogwash to even think that rooting will expose you to security risks. I believe that's what most handphone manufacturers wants you to believe.
Just like an other tech you use, you make sure you do not install dubious apps. Rooting, like having admin rights on a PC, comes with certain risks and responsibilities.
Just imagine Microshaft or crapple telling you how to use their OS and how,if you have admin rights, will void your warranty or expose you to security risks, how you should use their bloatware apps or take their advice just because they know best?
Samdung doesn't like people tinkering with their stuff, especially when it outshines or is inherently superior to theirs. Their whole argument about rooting is just their way of scaring you to use their sorry of an excuse bloatware, building castles in the air and making sure you use their phones the"right" way.
Thank you Dalanik,
Then stock it is. I would still miss a good firewall or whole phone backup.
I felt quite secure when I saw new apps not being able to connect before I explicitly whitelist them in firewall.
But if it comes with a greater extent and complexity of exposure then I gave up
Thank you Frostmore,
It is not just about admin rights responsibility.
I saw people reporting fingerreader failures, knox being disabled etc. You lose some features which are designed to protect. There is no admin everyday routine that would compensate for that loss.
I would say if you don't overstand the workings of your device, you will not truly know..
Meanwhile from my experience from carriers, Samsung devices (good example: at&t note 4) is taking the enterprise route, more security for business purposes.
Non root I'd personally say from an amateur (myself) viewpoint (if you don't have the necessary knowledge to do it yourself). If someone wants to get you, they most likely will..
Another example is the location, there's multiple ways some of these apps get your location, clicking it off just seems like a "hide from user" option.
Good question though, don't see too many inquiries!
I m hesitant to root this phone. It will be the only non-rooted android I've owned. I am a developer with some embedded experience but I have become much more security conscious.
I so wish Sammy/Sprint would follow the Google Pixel model. The Pixel came out of the book without one iota of crap-a-ware. So refreshing to NOT be treated like a "mark" at a carnival.
The idea that I am Sprint's customer yet they treat me as a resource to serve up to their sponsors, like broadcast TV.
I run much of my business from this phone. I need VPN, TLS, SSL and all the security. I also develop for this device.
I may root in the future but I am going to stay clear of the bloody cutting edge for the moment. I appreciate you guys on the front line. Been there and done that...
Sent from my Pixel C using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Thanks SpringerRider, I like your idea of postponed rooting. I think Samsung with its pushy policies is becoming more and more hostile and arrogant to their own customers over time.
They degrade the support of their devices at akcelerated speed these days. For instance My 4-year old Samsung Smart TV lost 70% of its original functionality in the last year, because Samsung gradually stripped it from SmartHub via weekly updates. They don't want to support the TV even 4 years later after it was first introduced to the market. I guess the same philosophy would be applied on us, S8+ owners much sooner than we would have expected. I guess in 2-3 years we would on our own. Plus I bet Samsung would start overloading our phones with resource hungry bloatware via updates pushing us to buy newer models.
That would be the right time to root the phone and to cut the ties to Samsung.
So I totally get your idea and I thing it makes a good sense.
Hi just wondering if there's any point to rooting these days?i mean the s8+ pretty much bang on!can rooting offer anything extra?I understand like an iPhone is miles better jailbroken but s8 seems to pretty much to a lot!!any ideas folks
I only rooted because I wanted to remove system app and use Titanium Backup.
But if you don't use or need those 2 apps...not worth rooting.
Matt.
I used to root all of my previous phones, including S2+, S4 and S6. I loved custom roms and additional battery saving tweaks or performance tweaks, overclocking, downclocking etc. The S8+ has a huge battery and a great system, so most of the features that I'd get via rooting on the older phones are already here. Also, if you root you void your warranty, and trust me, you don't know when you'll need it . And let's not forget the amount of times that I've flashed something the wrong way or idk something got corrupted and I had to reflash and lose all my data. Staying stock is the best choice on S8+.
Of course it's worthy. You can improve the camera quality with Zero Camera Mod, get better performance with kernels and get rid of the annoying ads.
IN MY OPINION
No, it's not worth it. There may be some advantages to rooting, but you can do MOST of those things without root. Samsung Internet Browser already blocks ads. There's some nonroot apps that will block and across the phone if you don't mind using a VPN.
You can disable unwanted apps with BK Disabler Pro (I think that's what it's called).
The camera is already great. I can't speak for Zero Camera Mod, but the Pixel camera works great on this phone.
I used to unlock bootloaders on every device I owned. Wouldn't buy one with a locked bootloader. I rooted. I flashed custom ROMs. I used Xposed and customized. Then I stopped customizing everything. Then I stopped flashing custom ROMs. Android finally got the point I was happy with it out of the box. When I got my S8+ I realized Samsung's software wasn't bad at all, and I actually enjoyed it.
Now I just read thread after thread of people bricking and soft bricking their phones after rooting. People having issues going back to stock to take upgrades. Honestly, I just shake my head and chuckle, because it all seems like such a big hassle and headache, that really does nothing more than disable things like Samsung Pay.
So no, to me, it's NOT worth it. I enjoy my S8+ and my Note 8 with no desire to root it. When I want to customize it, I apply a theme. I just use the Samsung themes, but have thought about trying Substratum. There's always Nova Launcher and the Pixel Launcher if you want a different look as well.
That's my opinion, and it's worth about a buck two eighty. Get the phone. Run it stock for a while and see if you REALLY miss root. Then decide.
No, for the 1st time I must say on S8+ on Nougat it is not worth. You can disable all apps you don't need without root, remap bixby button, set permissions to apps, remove ads without VPN (Adhell2) etc.
Oh coarse it's worth it, for many reasons . . . .
. . . . . . . now what were those reasons . . . . . ?
oh yes, it turns the phone into a 'Super' phone.
You didn't know that is where the 'S' comes from in Galaxy 'S' 8, did you?
There isn't much customization to accomplish for rooting/custom recovery at the moment. I, at the moment, have twrp-d G950F and Stock G955U1. Strangely, I found myself using G955U1 more than that rooted G950F. Given that there is only TW based roms atm, fonts-theming can be acquired through substratum or flipfonts, and Adblocking using adhell. I basically rooted my device to test ROMs to maximize battery life but there is only little variation to them that I sincerely think that stock G955-U1 ROM is better than other, though I do adore the new samsung oreo keyboard that can add gifs to almost all apps that I am using, unlike its current nougat counterpart. But again, U1 is pretty clean and slim rom. I tried oreo beta, through that samsung.firmware.science, but there is currently no comparable U1 oreo beta, there is only U roms that will install carrier CSC and its added apps to the phone. It almost made me wanting to root to remove those apps, but given the near release of oreo, i ended up choosing to go back to my stock nougat u1 rom. I heard its possible to flash any stock rom to any s8 family.
Go check out CarHDROM. He has ported a Note 8 ROM for the 8+. Very nice and has built in a number of things you will not find on stock, built-in.
I can agree that initial messing about with rooting, setting up a custom ROM can take a little time, it's hardly more than a stock ROM. Some folks have to re-do things to get it just right, but once done, it can be spectacular. 'Rolling your own' can have it's own 'rewards', as it allows for some creativity beyond the stock ROM, and there are a good number of things you can do with a rooted phone, that you can not with a stock phone.
If you are new to rooting, etc, there is a learning curve that can be tranquilly taken over short hours, to days to weeks. Tranquil. The Samsung Odin software and the how to's are pretty straight forward to follow, and most of the time folks here are available to help, though that is not always 'guaranteed'. Some posts/requests for help sit idle either longer than the OP would like, or just remain static, though that is not an often case.
I ran the same custom ROM on my old iPhones, OnePlus One, G3, and once setup with a nice custom ROM, did not change them out.
CarHDROM is very well established, and version v9 (last Nougat) is very stable and very extended with it's added abilities. Carotix takes a lot of time with the users.
That ROM is now on v10 (Orego beta), and going through it's growing pains.
I have v9. Smooth, trash free, and well thought out.
I think all the versions are available for download/use.
It is worth checking out.
At any rate, either stock or custom, the 8/8+ is a great phone.
In the (motorcycle) biking side of life there is a saying for (legitimate) bike owners: "Ride it like you stole it".
Have fun with your S8.