To root or not to root? That is the question.
I myself have rooted a few of the earlier Samsung devices, and it was truly a tedious task, but well worth it at the time, though now it may not be…
Firstly, what is root you may ask? “Root” is essentially gaining access to the file system of a device. It gives a user/app admin-like powers on the device. In android the user and each app have a user ID which grants permissions to do certain things in certain folders, without access to the file system. The root also has a user ID but has permission to do anything in any folder. So when you “root a device” it allows a user or app to switch their user ID to act as the root user (or superuser) giving them access to the file system without any restrictions, so they can add or remove anything that was previously inaccessible, this is like when you select programs to “run as administrator” in Windows PCs (Hildenbrand, 2019).
Why root?
My main reasons were that I didn’t like the fact that all the bloatware was unnecessarily taking up my precious storage space and memory on the device (which didn’t used to be much in those days), and I much preferred to have a clean device where I only had the things that I wanted/needed so that my battery would survive an entire day. I also wasn’t satisfied with the earlier versions of Samsung’s Android implementation and I wanted new/better features, so I decided to install a custom ROM. Other reasons to root a device are getting faster Android updates, ad-blocking for all apps, CPU clocking and improved battery life (Daniels, 2019).
Generally Android device manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, and LG etc. sell their phones with a range of preinstalled apps that regardless if the user wants to use it or not stays on the device taking up storage and memory space. The carriers like Optus, Telstra etc. then also install their range of apps that the user didn’t ask for, which again in most cases cannot be deleted. So before the user even turns on their device, they can already have over a dozen unnecessary apps sitting there and taking up memory and storage space. When a user has root access, these can finally be removed to clear up the storage and memory and increase the battery life too.
The other main advantage of rooting is the possibility to install custom ROMs (custom firmware) on the device. Android is an open source operating system so manufacturers can choose the parts of it that they want to use and then add their own layers of features and behaviours to it. If a user likes the hardware of a phone but not the stock ROM that comes with it, then they can install a custom version of Android to suit their liking. Custom ROMs are great because it allows the user to choose from the most basic and minimal version of the OS to the most feature packed with control over every behaviour/feature.
Google update their Pixel devices as soon as it’s available but other manufacturers are known to be very slow to roll out Android firmware updates to their devices, and depending on the age of the device it might not ever get the update. However, if you have a rooted device you can install the latest version of Android much faster than waiting for the manufacturer, by installing a port of the Pixel firmware. There is a huge community developing custom ROMs and the popular ROMs are usually updated much more frequently than manufacturer firmware, so if there is a bug you won’t have to wait as long for it to be fixed.
Having a rooted device also allows a user to increase or decrease CPU clock speed, so a user can increase the device speed or save battery as they like. With a rooted device a user can also block ads in all apps, although ads generate revenue for developers there could be times which could be useful for ads to be blocked for example to prevent young children from tapping on ads when using the device.
In saying that, there are also risks to rooting your device. The biggest risk is bricking your device, which means to make it completely unusable like a brick. There are multiple ways to brick your device which can take a lot of time to fix but sometimes it might not even be able to be fixed. Rooting a device will also void the warranty of most devices, so if it’s a new phone you might want to hold off until the warranty expires before rooting. There are now also some apps like Google Pay that do not work if it detects the phone has been rooted.
There are also security risks to rooting a device because as the file system can now be accessed by apps, a malicious app will no longer be sandboxed (confined to its isolated environment) and can take full control of the device to see/do whatever it likes.
So unrooted devices are more secure? Rooted devices can be more vulnerable for the reasons stated above, however, if a user wants to they can (and should) implement some extra measures to guard against these risks. Before and after rooting, the user should backup their phone with an app that backs up all their personal data, app data and system data so that if a phone gets bricked then they can recover their device easier. They can also install certain apps that can act as powerful gatekeepers like “SuperSU” which shows a notification to ask the user for permission any time an app requests root access. This way any unknown or suspicious apps can be prevented from gaining root access, so it is up to the user and how informed they are to make the rooted device as safe as an unrooted device (Androidrecovery.com, 2019). To improve security to a level greater than an unrooted device, the user can install a good firewall to prevent unknown or suspicious apps from gaining network access. So rooted or not, good habits are the best way to keep a device secure by only installing known and trusted apps from the Play Store, checking app permissions before installation, and only uninstalling system apps or deleting files if you know exactly what it is.
With the right measures, a rooted device can be just as safe as an unrooted one, but one thing that is sure (depending on device) is that any remaining warranty will be voided if rooted. These days I personally haven’t needed to root my device because the stock ROM has come on leaps and bounds and has everything I need, plus the bloatware is just down to a couple of apps which can be disabled, and the storage, memory and battery capacity has greatly increased. So ultimately it’s up to each individual to decide to root or not.
References:
Hildenbrand, J. (2019). Rooting your Android phone: What you need to know. [online] Android Central. Available at: https://www.androidcentral.com/root [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].
Daniels, S. (2019). 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Rooting Android devices. [online] EDUCBA. Available at: https://www.educba.com/rooting-android/ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].
Androidrecovery.com. (2019). How to Keep Android Phone Safe and Secure after Root. [online] Available at: https://www.androidrecovery.com/blog/keep-android-phone-safe-after-root.html [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].
