Rooting has been the thing in “android tech” vogue for a while now. Between the IMEI tweaking in a bid to steal free browsing from MTN,GLO,ETISALAT or AIRTEL and flashing of custom ROM, there comes an increasing need to root your android device. I’m not saying that it is wrong to root that phone or tablet, but there are somethings needed to be consider before you do such. For the benefit of those that don’t know what rooting is, I’ll explain briefly..
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ROOTING is the process of allowing users of smartphones, tablets and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems. As Android uses the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access to administrative (superuser) permissions as on Linux . Rooting is often performed with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on the devices.
Thus, rooting gives the ability (or permission) to alter or replace system applications and settings, run apps that require administrator-level permissions, or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android user. Rooting can also facilitate the complete removal and replacement of the device’s operating system, usually with a more recent release of its current operating system (Stock ROM). Now that you know,let’s jump to the main topic
You can Kiss that warranty good bye.
Manufacturers are not particularly keen on honoring warranty claims for devices, especially for those modified by their customers. That includes both hardware and software modifications, the latter of which includes root. Rooting an android device automatically render your warranty void. To make matters worse, Android makers also go to great lengths to know whether your device has been rooted. Specs
You might brick your device.
Bricking essentially means a device has turned into a brick. It may be an electronic device worth hundreds of dollars, but it’s now as useful as a brick. A bricked device won’t power on and function normally. A bricked device cannot be fixed through normal means. For example, if Windows won’t boot on your computer, your computer isn’t “bricked” because you can still install another operating system on it. However, if you tried to power your computer on and it didn’t work properly at all, making it impossible to install an operating system, you could consider the computer bricked. Bricking a rooted android device with void warranty would be a disastrous.
Kiss your device updates good bye.
There are two main issues related to rooting Android and performing updates. First, after applying the update the root will most likely be removed and users will have to go through the risky process again. And two, updates may fail to install due to software modifications that occurred while the distribution has been rooted (either because of user alterations or due to the root access itself). So where does this leave you? If your device is flashed with a custom rom, you will no longer receive device updates all together. The exception to this is Techno, Infinix, Dodgee and many other Chinese or Korean phones that don’t receive updates to start with.
Kiss your security good bye.
By gaining root access, you get total control over the entire system. With the right skills and tools, you can read and modify almost any parameter on your device. This is the reason why some apps, as as SuperSU, require root access in order to work properly. However, this type of access is a double edged sword as with root access nothing is there to prevent malicious applications from wreaking havoc on your system: system files can be corrupted or deleted, personal information can be skimmed, and you could even soft brick your device However, the silver lining to all this is that the user has to allow an application access to root privileges before they can gain the access, so it is always a good idea to do some research on applications that are asking for root permission. Mishandling root access is a major security issue, as it practically opens the door to unwanted access, data leaks and theft, hardware failure and so on, if the developer has malicious intent. It is also worth noting that root is especially a security risk in corporate environments, where dealing with sensitive data is involved.To top it all off, CyanogenMod founder Steve Kondik, the man behind one of the most popular custom Android distributions, believes that rooting Android 4.3 “might severely compromise the security of the system”.
Android is a great mobile OS.
Yes, that is also a reason. The most important reason, if you ask me. Annual upgrade of operating system, which brings some thing new to the table every time and timely updates. Android affords as much freedom as any average user requires. There is really no need to root, unless you really want to tweak that IMEI to steal data access from MTN,GLO,ETISALAT or AIRTEL. I have just three words for you, Go and subscribe. However, if you insist on rooting your device, write the model of your DEVICE in the comment box, and I might just tell you how to do it.
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