To root or not to root? This is one of the easiest questions to answer because Android devices are powerful and customizable from the get-go, tho rooting can be risky.
But it’s not that risky to root . And if you want to really unlock the full potential of your device—if you want to be able to control everything, backup everything, customize everything, and do all sorts of fun things like install custom ROMs and get Android Marshmallow ahead of the pack—you’ll need to root your phone.
According to Wikipedia : Rooting ( root ) is the process of allowing users of smartphones, tablets and other devices running the Android mobile 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 or any other Unix-like operating system such as FreeBSD or OS X.
But today we want to walk you through 5 fantastic reasons to root your phone in 2016, but as always, we must remind you that rooting does come with some risks, so be sure you know about them too before you proceed.
1) You Rule Your World
This is the best of all reasons to root your phone. You bought it with your hard-earned money, and don’t want to be told what to do and should not do on your android device.
Android, by its very nature, is a free system born from the idea of creating an ecosystem of independent software and hardware that is open to everyone.
Getting root permission, will make you the ”real” owner of your smartphone, giving you complete control, albeit with some risks, of customizing basically anything you want to, exactly how you want it. And this is perhaps the best part of rooting your Android.
2) Automate Everything
Many of you already know the application Tasker, which allows us to automate almost every aspect of our Android devices. For those who don’t know, on the basis of an event (such as the insertion of the headphones, our specific location, a particular time of day etc) we can match an action to it (launch apps, send text messages, play a song) – all managed by this application. It also works without root permissions, but with root access, we will be able to access the full power of this awesome application , such as activation of the internet, GPS, screen control, CPU speed, and much more.
3) Install Custom ROM
A custom ROM or firmware is basically a custom version of Android, and it truly changes how you use your phone. Some merely bring a stock version of Android to non-stock phones, or later versions of Android to phones that don’t have it yet. Some add a few handy features, some add lots of really unique features, and some change your operating system from head to toe.
No matter what phone you have—even if it’s a Nexus—we highly recommend checking out the custom ROMs out there. They are pretty cool as they might be faster than your smartphone’s stock firmware. Installing one, however, has its prerequisites, and having a rooted handset is one of them, while having an unlocked bootloader is the other.
That is because only root can remove and replace files belonging to the operating system.
4) Uninstall Bloatware Apps
You can also uninstall those annoying, battery-sucking, space-consuming and irrelevant crapware that comes preinstalled on your android phone, and, sadly, this feature requires root. Delete them completely to free up that space, and you will be left surprised with the amount of space most of these manufacturers default apps take. I’m sure you won’t regret it
5) Increased CPU Speed and Battery Life
Contrary to what many smartphones manufacturer want you to believe, you android phone can be way faster than it is currently at the moment (especially if it is not rooted), even with so many apps on Google Play Store that claim to increase your smartphone speed and battery , just few are really up to the tasks and 90% of them requires root access.
For example, with an app like SetCPU you can overclock your phone for better performance, or underclock it for better battery life. You can also use an app like Greenify to automatically hibernate apps you aren’t using—perfect for those apps that always want to run in the background when you’re not looking.
Bonus: The process is reversible
One of the best thing about ‘rooting’ is that if at any time you decide you prefer to go on as before, before you got root permission, you can do this with ease.
This means you can return to the original firmware of your device. All of this can be achieved through the use of a special tool kit or just by reflashing the original firmware with Odin or another flash tool. So that completes the circle!
If these reasons have convinced you that root is for you, first: read, read, read some more. Knowledge is power: that’s the best way to avoid any hiccups!