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We
love Android, but rooting your phone can give you the opportunity to do
so much more than your phone can do out of the box—whether it's
wireless tethering, speeding it up with overclocking, or customizing the
look of your phone with themes. Here's what you need to know about the
rooting process, and where to find a guide for your phone.
Update:
This used to be our always up-to-date rooting guide, which proved to be
too large an undertaking for us to keep up. It was a nice try, but
seeing as we only have a few Android phones to test, we couldn't
reliably keep it up to date. So, we've changed this guide into more of a
general resource for those of you that want to get into rooting (though
many of the old comments still remain).
Check
out the glossary below to get acquainted with important rooting terms,
then check out the FAQ for more info on your burning questions. When
you're ready, check out the last section for resources on your specific
device. We can't give you the instructions ourselves, but hopefully we
can give you a push in the right direction and make the process easier
for you.
What Is Rooting, Exactly?
Rooting,
for those of you that don't know, means giving yourself root
permissions on your phone. It's similar running programs as
administrators in Windows, or running a command with
sudo in Linux. With a rooted phone, you can run apps that require access to certain system settings, as well as flash custom ROMs to your phone, which add all sorts of extra features. If you're on the fence about rooting, check out our top 10 reasons to root your Android phone for some motivation.
There
are a ton of different Android phones out there, and while some rooting
methods might work for multiple phones, there is no one-size-fits-all
guide for rooting every phone out there. But, there are a lot of things
you should know about rooting before you start, and this guide should
help you out.
Glossary of Rooting Terms
As
you learn more about the rooting process, you'll probably run into a
bunch of terms that can be confusing. Here are some of the most
important ones and what they mean.
If there are any other terms you think we should add, let us know and we'll put them in!
- Root: Rooting means you have root access to your device—that is, it can run the
sudocommand, and has enhanced privileges allowing it to run apps like Wireless Tether or SetCPU. You can root either by installing the Superuser application or by flashing a custom ROM that includes root access. - ROM: A ROM is a modified version of Android. It may contain extra features, a different look, speed enhancements, or even a version of Android that hasn't been released for your phone yet. We won't discuss ROMs in depth here, but if you want to use one once you're rooted, you can read more about doing that here.
- Kernel: A kernel is the component of your operating system that manages communications between your software and hardware. There are a lot of custom kernels out there for most phones, many of which can speed up your phone and increase your battery life, among other things. Be careful with kernels, though, as a bad one can cause serious problems with your phone and possibly even brick it.
- Radio: Radios are part of your phone's firmware. Your radio controls your cellular data, GPS, Wi-Fi, and other things like that. You can sometimes find custom radios for your phone that you can flash yourself, but beware as sometimes these can cause problems.
- Flash: Flashing essentially means installing something on your device, whether it be a ROM, a kernel, or a recovery (see below) that comes in the form of a ZIP file. Sometimes the rooting process requires flashing a ZIP file, sometimes it doesn't.
- Brick: To brick your phone is to break it during flashing or other acts. There is always a small risk with flashing, and if your phone becomes unable to function—that is, it basically becomes a brick—you've bricked your phone. The risk is very small, however, and more often than not people say "brick" when they really mean "it turns on but doesn't boot properly," which is a very fixable problem. See the FAQ below for more information.
- Bootloader: Your bootloader is the lowest level of software on your phone, running all the code that's necessary to start your operating system. Most bootloaders come locked, meaning you can't flash custom recoveries or ROMs. Unlocking your bootloader doesn't root your phone directly, but it does allow you to root and/or flash custom ROMs if you so desire.
- Recovery: Your recovery is the software on your phone that lets you make backups, flash ROMs, and perform other system-level tasks. The default recovery on your phone can't do much, but you can flash a custom recovery—like ClockworkMod or TWRP—after you've unlocked your bootloader that will give you much more control over your device. This is often an integral part of the rooting process.
- Nandroid: From most third-party recovery modules, you can make backups of your phone called nandroid backups. It's essentially a system image of your phone: Everything exactly how it is right now. That way, if you flash something that breaks your phone, you can just flash back to your most recent nandroid backup to return everything to normal. This is different from using an app like Titanium Backup that just backs up apps and/or settings—nandroid backups backup the entire system as one image. Titanium backups are best when switching between ROMs or phones.
- ADB: ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, and it's a command line tool for your computer that can communicate with an Android device you've connected to it. It's part of the Android Software Developers Kit (SDK). Many of the root tools you'll find use ADB, whether you're typing the commands yourself or not. Unless the instructions call for installing the SDK and running ADB commands, you won't need to mess with it—you'll just need to know that it's what most of the tools use to root your phone.
- S-OFF: HTC phones use a feature called Signature Verification in HBOOT, their bootloader. By default, your phone has S-ON, which means it blocks you from flashing radio images—the code that manages your data, Wi-Fi, and GPS connections. Switching your phone to S-OFF lets you flash new radios. Rooting doesn't require S-OFF, but many rooting tools will give you S-OFF in addition to root access, which is nice.
- RUU, SBF, and OPS: ROM Upgrade Utilities (for HTC phones), System Boot Files (for Motorola phones), and OPS and PIT files (for Samsung phones) are files direct from the manufacturer that change the software on your phone. RUU and SBF files are how the manufacturers deliver your over-the-air upgrades, and modders often post leaked RUU and SBF files for flashing when the updates haven't been released yet. They're also handy when downgrading your phone, if a rooting method isn't available for the newest software version yet. You can flash RUUs right from your HTC phone, but Motorola users will need a Windows program called RSD Lite to flash SBF files, and Samsung users will need a tool called Odin to flash OPS and PIT files (note there is a specific version of Odin for each device).
Frequently Asked Rooting Questions
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People
have a lot of questions about rooting, and we hear them all the time.
Here are some of the most frequently asked, laid out so you don't have
to ask someone else.
What's the difference between rooting, unlocking, and flashing a ROM?
This can be confusing, since the three practices are often performed at
the same time. We've detailed some of this above, but briefly:
Unlocking your bootloader is usually the first step in the process and
allows you to flash a custom recovery. From there, you can then give
yourself root access or flash a ROM. Root access isn't required to flash
a ROM, but almost all custom ROMs will come with root access built-in.
Note
that when we say "unlock" in this guide, we mean unlocking your
bootloader—not unlocking your phone to use a different carrier, which is
a completely different thing and doesn't always require hacking (since you can often purchase carrier-unlocked phones directly from Google or elsewhere).
Can I unroot my phone?
Yes. If you decide you don't like being rooted, you can often find
instructions on unrooting your phone as well. Usually it involves
flashing an RUU, SBF, or something similar to return the phone to truly
stock settings.
Is rooting illegal? No. Technically, it once was, but exceptions to the DCMA
have made it legal for most phones (but not necessarily tablets).
Either way, it's hard to imagine anyone actually enforcing this rule
(much like ripping DVDs for your own personal use).
Will rooting void my warranty?
Yes. Unlocking your bootloader will void the warranty on your phone,
even if your manufacturer provides a way for you to do it. That said, if
you need warranty service for a hardware issue, you can sometimes
unroot your phone and take it in for service with no one the wiser.
However, some phones have a digital "switch" that flips when you unlock
your phone that is very difficult or impossible to revert, so do your
research before unlocking if you want to preserve your warranty.
Could rooting brick my phone? It's
possible, but pretty unlikely. As long as you follow instructions well,
you probably won't brick anything (but we're not responsible yadda
yadda yadda). Flashing custom kernels and radios is a little riskier
than just rooting or flashing ROMs, but again, if you follow directions
you should be okay. Keep in mind that bricking means your phone means it
won't turn on or function at all—if you're stuck in a boot loop or boot
straight to recovery, your phone is not bricked, and it can be fixed.
Are any phones unrootable?
This is a tough question. In the past, many manufacturers have tried to
make "unrootable" phones with harsher protections (like the Droid X),
but they're usually still rootable in some way, shape, or form. The more
likely scenario is that, if you get a new phone or a phone that had a
recent update, that a root exploit isn't available yet. In that case,
you may have to wait a few months before you're able to root it. This is
one of the reasons we recommend buying a Nexus.
Will I still get over-the-air (OTA) updates? Will downloading them break my root? If
you root your phone without flashing a custom ROM, then you will likely
still get OTA updates from your carrier, and they will break your root.
We highly recommend against downloading these updates, since
you may not be able to re-root your phone for awhile after updating.
Alternatively, you can use an app like OTA Rootkeeper that will help you keep your root access (though it doesn't work with every version of Android).
If
you flash a custom ROM, you will not get OTA updates from your carrier.
You may, howaever, get notifications for updates to your specific ROM.
Those are safe to download.
Will rooting speed up my phone? Not on its own—all rooting does is give you root access. However, it does open up the possibility for other tweaks that can speed up an old phone.
Can you tell me how to root my [insert phone model here]?
NO. Please don't email us asking this. We only own a few phones and
thus probably don't know how to root yours. Check out the section below
to find out where to find information on how to root your phone.
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