To Root or Not To Root?

[arkwright]

Hi guys

I have recently bought a Nexus 7 and it's my first ever Android device. I keep seeing mention of 'Rooting' but can't seem to work out exactly why I would want to root my device.

Out of the box the device appears to work flawlessly and I have no complaints about it whatsoever.

However, I'm always keen to improve things if things can be improved and would like to know whether 'rooting'is just something people do because they can or because it actually provides some benefits to what I already think is a great piece of kit.

All opinions gratefully received....

[bjs229]

Welcome to the forums.
 Rooting isn't the latest fad. If you would like to take the handcuffs off  and have administrative control of your Nexus7, Please search the forums for a bunch of reasons why rooting is beneficial. For me, there were some things I couldn't do file wise and it led me to rooting. The ability to write and designate apps to USB storage was enough for me. Depends on what your needs are. Stock this thing rocks.
There are a many members here that are rooted and flying this wonderful device to it's limits.
Glad to have you here and look forward to seeing you around.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[bjs229]

Prime did an amazing job with this post. It led me thru the woods when I was lost and knew nothing.  There are folks here that will pretty much take a bullet for you if you show some effort.
http://www.Nexus7Forum.com/index.php?topic=367.0
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[arkwright]

Welcome to the forums.
 Rooting isn't the latest fad. If you would like to take the handcuffs off  and have administrative control of your Nexus7, Please search the forums for a bunch of reasons why rooting is beneficial. For me, there were some things I couldn't do file wise and it led me to rooting. The ability to write and designate apps to USB storage was enough for me. Depends on what your needs are. Stock this thing rocks.
There are a many members here that are rooted and flying this wonderful device to it's limits.
Glad to have you here and look forward to seeing you around.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for your comments and warm welcome bjs...

From my limited research I note one of the main reasons for rooting was to allow access to SD cards via an OTG cable. However,I now discover that an app is available that enables this without root.Had the app not been available, I would probably have rooted just to have this facility as I have a huge amount of films ( 1,487 to date ) stored on a multitude of SD cards and being able to access them via usb is important to me.

I have also come across a couple of articles talking about custom ROMS. Am I to assume a custom ROM is an alternative OS to the stock Android system that comes preloaded or have I misunderstood entirely?

If it is an alternative to the preloaded OS, then would it be any better than the stock system that comes with the Nexus 7? I understand why someone may want to upload a different ROM if you have a non Google hardware product running Android, but isn't the OS on the Nexus 7 supposed to be 'pure' because it's a Google device (all be it manufactured by Asus)

Sorry for all the questions, but just trying to do some lengthy research before deciding whether or not to root.

Many thanks in advance for all and any advice.

[bjs229]

Again glad to have you here.  You sound like someone that is into tech.. that's a lot of video! You can use Nexus Media converter but you cannot write...  Root...  and Stickmount is at your disposal. More control. That's what rooting is about in a nutshell. Ah yes.. roms. Exactly right. Talk about control?  You can change the very being of your Nexus and there are many developers out there sharing their warez.  I go with the stock rom. There are many here that play with roms and will surely be here to advise. I use a launcher app to freshen things up sometimes when I get bored.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[bjs229]

Not sure what you are using to view your Vids but I suggest looking into BSplayer, MXplayer and VLC ..there are many others as well.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[JayJ]

Custom ROM's are based on AOSP or stock Android, there are occasionally alternatives to Android developed like Ubuntu is being developed to run on the Galaxy Nexus at other moment but mostly custom ROM's are Android based.
MIUI is an Android ROM but very different to the Holo Android UI, personally it's not to my taste but it is an alternative.

The most popular custom ROM's are the ones that bring more to the Android experience, they have even more customisation than Android has which can be surprising to new comers to Android when Android is in itself so customisable compared to other mobile OS's.

Popular custom ROM's include CyanogenMod 10.1, AOKP JB Build , Paranoid Android and MIUI amongst other. None of these custom ROM's would be where they are without AOSP and Linux and the Open source nature of Android and Linux.

If your interested in flashing a custom ROM, either have a look around our forums or ask because there are lots that will help.

Sent from my 32GB Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[ibolski]

Hi guys

I have recently bought a Nexus 7 and it's my first ever Android device. I keep seeing mention of 'Rooting' but can't seem to work out exactly why I would want to root my device.

For awhile, I didn't root my Nexus 7 (although my Droid RAZR is a different matter). However, after awhile, I wanted to transfer some apps and games onto my Nexus 7 that I had been using on my phone. I use Titanium Backup Pro to  regularly  backup the data on my phone and push them up to my Box account so that way I have the backups stored safely away in case something happens to my phone.

The problem is, you cannot backup application data (since  some apps store it on the /data partition which requires root access to read and write to). Therefore, in order to restore my apps and their settings, I had to root my Nexus 7.

So far, no issues and it runs like a champ. But, if  you aren't into flashing new ROMs or running a custom  recovery to flash the ROMs and  other modifications, then rooting probably isn't something you really need to do.

It's definitely not required to fully enjoy your Nexus 7. Stock out of the box configuration is great.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[JayJ]

Nicely put ibolski, Android/Nexus 7 doesn't require root to be enjoyed out of the box but it does have it's advantages...

Sent from my 32GB Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[WonderWoofy]

I rooted my device within a couple days of getting it. This is my first android device, but I am an uber Linux nerd, so not having superuser access to the filesystem was driving me nuts!

The part of your system you can modify is mounted read/write. But a majority of the system is mounted read only. Thus in order to get at most of it and actually be able to modify things, you need superuser (root) access to remount r/w and save it. That said this can be super dangerous if you don't know what the heck you're doing, but to me not having that control was infuriating.

One of the functions the common user can get from rooting (besides real backups as mentioned above) is access to the hosts file. This file is the last word in your systems resolution of IP addresses. So you can modify it so that ad addresses are no longer resolved by Google DNS, but rather /etc/hosts to (usually) 127.0.0.1, which is your localhost or your machine/device. Ergo, bye bye ads. This is how adfree and adaway work.

I am definitely the type of user to try things like new ROMs as well. Know that if you go through the process of unlocking your bootloader and flashing a custom recovery, rooting may not be necessary if you plan on installing an alternate ROM. This is because you would be flashing a whole new /system onto you N7 which typically includes the root binary.

There are a whole bunch of other advantages that root access can give you. I also frequently use a samba server or sftp server to make my device's filesystem accessable via my computer. Thus making the transfer of files to and from my computer super easy (though I have those things set up on my Linux machines anyway, but it makes it convenient from other peoples computers or devices).

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[S.Prime]

Linux certainly removes the file transfer limitations designed into the Windows MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), which is now the standard for Android devices.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD

[greatwyrmm]

Hi guys

I have recently bought a Nexus 7 and it's my first ever Android device. I keep seeing mention of 'Rooting' but can't seem to work out exactly why I would want to root my device.

Out of the box the device appears to work flawlessly and I have no complaints about it whatsoever.

However, I'm always keen to improve things if things can be improved and would like to know whether 'rooting'is just something people do because they can or because it actually provides some benefits to what I already think is a great piece of kit.

All opinions gratefully received....

WELCOME!!!!
If this is your first android device, I would recommend you really put it through some long heavy use to see exactly what the devices capabilities are and whether or not the stock locked device holds up to your level of use. Once you figure out where your relationship to the device stands you will be closer to being able to make an informed and educated decision on whether applying root to your device is a sound decision or not. If you do decide to apply root, I recommend looking into the Nexus Root Toolkit by Wugfresh. Unlocking and rooting has never been put into a more user friendly and intuitive format. Last but not least, read read read the forums and read them again. Educating yourself beforehand will make you quite a bit more comfortable with the process before you begin. Take care and have fun with the best tablet on the market!!!!! 

[bjs229]

Hi guys

I have recently bought a Nexus 7 and it's my first ever Android device. I keep seeing mention of 'Rooting' but can't seem to work out exactly why I would want to root my device.

Out of the box the device appears to work flawlessly and I have no complaints about it whatsoever.

However, I'm always keen to improve things if things can be improved and would like to know whether 'rooting'is just something people do because they can or because it actually provides some benefits to what I already think is a great piece of kit.

All opinions gratefully received....

WELCOME!!!!
If this is your first android device, I would recommend you really put it through some long heavy use to see exactly what the devices capabilities are and whether or not the stock locked device holds up to your level of use. Once you figure out where your relationship to the device stands you will be closer to being able to make an informed and educated decision on whether applying root to your device is a sound decision or not. If you do decide to apply root, I recommend looking into the Nexus Root Toolkit by Wugfresh. Unlocking and rooting has never been put into a more user friendly and intuitive format. Last but not least, read read read the forums and read them again. Educating yourself beforehand will make you quite a bit more comfortable with the process before you begin. Take care and have fun with the best tablet on the market!!!!! 

Well stated.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[nexusNovice]

Would someone discuss the security risks of rooting?

I don't mean risk of bricking or messing up. I mean the risks of running a rooted device connected to the outside world if the user is concerned with privacy, does not sync, and is not yet an expert in android.

If so, what protections should such a person consider.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[S.Prime]

Would someone discuss the security risks of rooting?

I don't mean risk of bricking or messing up. I mean the risks of running a rooted device connected to the outside world if the user is concerned with privacy, does not sync, and is not yet an expert in android.

If so, what protections should such a person consider.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

I think your answer was posted in this topic.

http://www.Nexus7Forum.com/index.php?topic=2395.0
Temporary root and security


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD