Hey everyone, somebody asked me to make a thread about rooting a while ago so I decided to give it a shot. I just rooted my GS4, and now it boots much faster, has a lot more free space for apps, and has over 1.2 GB of RAM free after booting. Feel free to ask questions, correct me on any mistakes, or add any input. Also, is somebody wants to chip in about backups, such as Titanium Backup, that would be great as I barely know anything about that. Terminology <span style="font-size:14px;">There is a lot of specific language used when talking about rooting.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">Rooting- The process of gaining Superuser access. Explained in next section.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">Flashing- Installing a new ROM.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">ROM- The phones operating system. I'm sure you've heard of Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. That's similar to Windows Vista, Windows 7, then Windows 8. Many custom made ROMS exist. I will go into detail later.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">Bloatware- All those shitty apps that have no use and can't be uninstalled. The only reason they're on your phone is because the phone manufacturers and wireless carriers get paid to annoy you with apps. Fucking retarded.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">UI- User interface. Menus and shit.</span> Rooting- What exactly is it? <span style="font-size:14px;">Common question. Most Android users don't even know what rooting is, and are blissfully unaware that their phone's true potential is being withheld from them.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">The easiest way to explain root is by using an analogy. When a phone is rooted, it give the user Superuser access. Superuser for Android is like Admin for Windows; they can edit system files, remove programs that normally can't be removed, change CPU clock speeds, and much, much more.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;">Be warned though, there is a risk associated with doing this. Failing to follow the correct process can lead to glitches, software bugs, uninstalled programs, the phone not booting, hours upon hours of frustration (trust me...), and even bricking (ruining) your phone permanently. </span> WARNING: ROOTING YOUR PHONE WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY. IF YOU DECIDE TO ROOT THEN YOU ARE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY. I, NOR ANYBODY ON THIS THREAD OR WEBSITE, EXCEPT FOR YOURSELF IS RESPONSIBLE IF YOU MESS UP YOUR PHONE. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SOMETHING IS, THEN DON'T MESS WITH IT UNTIL YOU ARE CERTAIN. <span style="font-size:14px;">Having said that, most guides are relatively straightforward, and if you read them properly and follow directions you will be fine.</span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;">Ok, so how do I get started?</span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Every phone's hardware and software is a bit different, but it's all relatively similar. The easiest way is to Google search "How to root (your phone name and model here) (your wireless carrier here)."</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can find your phone's model under:</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">System settings--->About Phone--->Model Number</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">This is very important. A lot of phones have different models (For example, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has a few; one version has an 8 core CPU and one has a quad core. They have different rooting processes) and if you don't have the correct one you can seriously mess up your phone.</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Some great websites to help you root your phone are forums dedicated to phones. XDA developers is a great website, many people there are very helpful.</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">To root most phones, you'll have to enter developer options and enable USB Debugging. Also, make sure you have the proper drivers installed (With Windows 7 that means plugging your phone into your PC's USB port and just waiting a few minutes).</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You may have to flash a new ROM or image, basically you're putting on a new or slightly tweaked operating system. <span style="font-size:18px;">THIS IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE PROCESS. MAKE SURE WHATEVER GUIDE YOU ARE READING, THAT YOU READ IT OVER ONCE MORE, THEN AGAIN SO THAT YOU'RE 100% POSITIVE YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT.</span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;">I'm rooted- Now what?</span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Now you can take advantage of your phone. You can download an app called NoBloat Free and uninstall all that shit the phone companies stick on there, like NFL Mobile, Yahoo BS, or other stupid, pointless shit that takes up space. I'll go into detail about this later.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can enable wifi tethering for free- be warned, you will still get data charges if you go over your plan, however.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can backup your entire ROM, flash another one to try it out, then go back. I don't know too much about this, but this is some really cool stuff. If your phone has an upcoming update, a lot of the time it will get leaked early. I was running ICS on my old phone, a Droid Bionic, a full six months before the update was actually released (Shame on you Motorola). There are many custom made ROMs (Cyanogen Mod is a popular one) that you can flash instead of the stock one. Android is open source, so that means that phone companies take the ROM and edit it in any way they want- Usually adding fancy UI's and apps and some other crap that you probably don't need. However, the beauty of Android is that anybody can edit the stock Android ROMs. There are many teams of developers who do this for a living. They usually don't put any bloatware on, and emphasize customizability. I could write forever about this, you can literally have an entirely different phone if you flash a new ROM.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can edit any files you want. Many file managers have root access under their options. This allows you to go anywhere in the phone's files, and edit or delete anything you want. Be careful though, if you don't know what something is then don't mess with it.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can overclock or underclock your processor- That means changing the speed at which it operates to either: A. Speeding up your phone at the cost of a bit ore battery, or B. slowing down your phone to have more battery life. Most processors downclock themselves when needed, so I don't really recommend underclocking. This is for advanced users only, it is very, very easy to mess something up while trying to overclock. Again, trust me, I learned from experience.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Moving apps to external SD card- Apps that you normally can't move can be put on an SD card to save space.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Improved battery life- By disabling all those pesky bloatware apps, your phone is doing less work and staying asleep longer when the screen is off. This can lead to greatly increased battery life.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;">So how do I get rid of bloatware?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Download NoBloat Free from the Play Store and install it. It will require Superuser permissions, always allow it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can go through a list of every installed application on your phone, including the ones that manage things you don't see- such as applications that control the phone's hardware, the UI, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You will be able to pick out the bloatware most of the time. For example, on my phone, the app called com.qualcomm.timeservice sounds pretty important. My phone has a Qualcomm processor, so I can deduce that it helps manage the CPU and is necessary.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">However, apps like Google Books that take up 10+ MB are useless to me. That shit gets removed ASAP.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You will see many apps that are kind of iffy. If you don't know what they do, don't mess with them! I can't stress this enough (Once more, learn from my mistakes...). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Most Android applications are described online because many applications are on multiple phones. For example, the application Downloads is on almost every phone. Googling "Android downloads app" may yield some results. Again, the best sites to find answers to these questions are forums. Also, underneath the applications name is the actual name, or the way the phone recognizes it. If you can't find anything by searching for the regular name, try that. The name for Downloads on my phone is com.android.providers.downloads.ui. Googling that would probably show many relevant results.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">You can also use NoBloat to freeze or back up apps. This is useful if you need to factory reset your phone or something. Usually when I'm getting rid of bloatware I freeze the apps first, then wait a day or two to make sure nothing gets messed up. I learned this the hard way, because of my old phone one of the Google apps was tied into the text messaging engine so without it texting on my phone didn't work. I deleted the app and ended up having to re-flash the entire ROM and factory reset. Was a huge pain in the ass.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Once you're 100% certain you don't need the apps, you can delete them. This frees up room, and if you ever need them back you can always re-flash the stock ROM.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> Some more tips and tricks for Android Here are some things I've learned over the past two years on Android. -This might sound obvious, but I know so many people who don't do it. To save battery, turn off wifi AND data when you're not using it. Data can suck literally >50% of your battery when your phone is sleeping if you have a rogue app. You can get many different widgets to manage your wireless connectivity easily. Usually when I leave my house I turn off wifi and data until I need it. -Check for rogue apps. If your battery is dying quickly (when the screen is off) then go into System settings--->Battery and tap the chart. It will show when the phone has signal, is awake, and has the screen on. As a general rule of thumb, if the screen's off the phone should be sleeping. If not, then you have a rogue app. Go back to the Battery section and check each app. If a specific app has a high usage % then you have a problem. If it says Android Service or something like that, then it's a deeper problem. Post here and see if I can help you. Attached is a screenshot of what your battery curve should look like. The blank spots are from when the phone was off for rooting. -Set your phone's screen brightness to Automatic. -Install better apps. Many default browsers, keyboards, and text messaging apps just suck. Download a few and try them out, most apps have 30 day trials. I like Dolphin Free for browsing and SwiftKey for typing. Many of these apps are much more customizable than the stock ones. Feel free to delete the stock apps if you don't need them any more, they can actually take up a lot of space. -Delete shit you don't need. This also seems obvious, but having too many apps, pictures, or files can really slow your phone down. If you haven't used an app in a few weeks, delete it. -Do NOT use a task killer. Task killers are evil, and make money off of your ignorance. Android is great at managing memory, and auto-kills apps when necessary. The whole point of RAM is to keep frequently used apps loaded so they start up quicker. If your RAM is emptied, that means every single app has to re-start, which means using your CPU power, draining your battery, and wasting your time. Usually when I'm done with a RAM intensive app for a while (Such as Pokémon) I will hold the Home button and swipe it away. This essentially kills the app, but only that app. <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="font-size:14px;">This is only the tip of the iceberg, but I've been typing for the better part of an hour so I'm gonna wrap it up. I'll edit this post as necessary.</span></span></span></span></span></span>
Good guide BP, Rooting is the way to go, Root, unlock and rom. I have my Nexus 7 running Paranoid Android right now and its been a big improvement in battery life and speed.
Rooted my phone, open nobloat free, "no root access" i retry and nothing happens... what do? edit: never mind, went into safe mode, did reboot. works now. idk why i never rooted my phone, i jailbroke my ipod touch when you had to use cmd lol. first jailbreak ever.
It's nice when problems can be resolved by something as easy as rebooting lol Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
I know how to root most of samsung and htc devices you know you can also overclock them by installing custom kernels. kernels come for linux in android its communication of hardware and software. by kernels you can double your battery life, overclock a 600mhz to 1.3 ghz (i did it on my htc pico) and many more.
I've actually been wanting to do this, but have no experience. On top of that I don't have a high end phone, but sure is cluster fucked with annoying shit. Also would be great to ram google in the ass and block them from knowinf what I do if that's possible. Well off to do a google search and see if anyone has Rooted the phone I have. Pretty long read, but great. +1 Sent from my X501_USA_Cricket using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Not sure if I should try to root my new S4. I'm pretty new to android. Are there any advantages to rooting and uninstalling all of the bloatware rather than just disabling all of it? I mean I know you'll have more space after uninstalling. Sent from my Galaxy S4
You will get better performance and battery life Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Yes, the difference with my s4 before and after rooting is pretty big. Yesterday under moderate usage, after the entire day I still had 67% battery left. Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
You've done a good job on this man! Although I'm well versed in rooting and flashing new ROMs, I just wanted to show my appreciation. Perhaps the best thing you can get out of rooting, IMO, is the ability to install an ad-blocker. No more annoying push notifications, no more annoying ads in games, and most importantly: no more ads in YouTube!