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Has anyone ever "rooted" a smartphone?

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WolverineMike

WolverineMike

Head Coach
I recently purchased an LG Optimus F3 and the internal memory on this thing leaves quite a bit to be desired. I'm already low and hardly have downloaded any APPS. I've done some googling and it seems that "rooting" your phone is one way to get more memory, but I've never done it. Just curious if anyone has, is it worth it, is it difficult. Apparantly it also voids any warranty on the phone as well.

Thanks
 
Depends what model you have (I don't know anything about your phone specifically), but I've successfully rooted two Motorola Droids and a Galaxy Nexus. There are so many step-by-step videos/guides/tutorials/etc. that it's almost impossible to mess it up. Plus, Droids are made for this kind of stuff. If I were you, I would do it now since it's a new phone and play with some custom ROMs until you find one that works the way you want it to. But, if that's too much, just root it, stay on the stock ROM, and delete all of the bloatware. Hope this helps.
 
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Haha okay. So every phone has an interface that comes installed on it. 1st party developers (Samsung, HTC, LG, etc.) put a lot of time into them to make sure they run "well." Rooting your phone allows you to change this interface, which is why phone companies aren't too keen on allowing users to root their phones. Essentially, 3rd party developers have made ROMs that are faster and more battery-friendly than the stock ROMs. Bloatware comes pre-installed on pretty much every phone and allows carriers to get information from you since the apps have access to EVERYTHING. All it does on the user end is slow down your phone and eat at your battery life.

tl;dr: Bloatware slows down your phone. Custom ROMs remove bloatware. Rooting without installing a custom ROM is essentially worthless.
 
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CentralMOBuck said:
I would say that if you aren't computer savy (can't install an OS or troubleshoot problems yourself) you shouldn't attempt this. I've rooted a few phones and my nexus 7 tablet.

Edit: I did not see your phone on XDA-Developers device list.
Click to expand...

If it's not listed, I probably wouldn't touch it either. Just in case, though, here is a step-by-step guide. If any of that looks like gibberish, I would shy away in fear of bricking it or find someone who knows what they're doing.
 
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all right. I'll probably just grin and bear it for awhile and then just upgrade to a phone with better internal memory. This being my first smartphone, I didn't really know just how much I would need. 1.27 GB doesn't go very far.
 
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