Should I root my Droid 4?

[Kas84]

Hey guys, never rooted a phone before but since a lot of people seem to recommend it, I was contemplating on giving it a shot. Would you guys recommend it? What are the advantages/disadvantages of doing so and is it easy to mess up? Thanks for the help.

Sent from my DROID4 using DroidForums

 

[JSM9872]

You will probably get a lot of people telling you that rooting is the way to go but it is super important to remember that it is your decision and yours alone. Android devices are great on their own and I recommend using any new device for a while before rooting it. And the best thing to do is a lot of research before hand.

On that note rooting gives you the ability to freeze/remove apps you otherwise would not be able to, it allows you to load custom ROMs, among other things. But honestly this early in the life of the D4 there will not be a lot of options yet.

 

[tdpolo26]

I defintely would advise to do it .....BUT......I would wait till we see some fast boot files. When that happens go to town. Just wondering what do you want to do with a rooted phone. What advantage do you see for yourself. I only ask because if you are rooting just to root then there is no real point. If you want to load roms and play with other feature on your phone then you are heading down the right path.
Goood luck

 

[r314bd]

Yes you should root! You can use apps that block ads, give you wireless tethering for free, freeze bloatware, install custom operating system versions, etc.

Rooting the D4 is super easy too, takes about a minute.

 

[orangechoochoo]

No one has mentioned the disadvantage. You will have the ability to modify/customize your phone but if you make a mistake because you don't know what you're doing and especially since we don't have the ability to return it to stock, you can brick your phone (make $200 "brick" since it will be useless).

So if this is your first time doing this and since you spent a pretty penny buying it I would leave it alone until fastboot files (ability to return to stock should you f-up) are available.

 

[Kas84]

No one has mentioned the disadvantage. You will have the ability to modify/customize your phone but if you make a mistake because you don't know what you're doing and especially since we don't have the ability to return it to stock, you can brick your phone (make $200 "brick" since it will be useless).

So if this is your first time doing this and since you spent a pretty penny buying it I would leave it alone until fastboot files (ability to return to stock should you f-up) are available.

Thank you for the advice. I will wait.

 

[ezeddiekun]

Just becareful when you root. Its a pain in the butt when you encounter errors during the process. I nearly broke my last Android on my first attempt, soft brick.

Sent from my DROID4 using DroidForums

 

[r314bd]

I don't think there's any need to wait OP. The root tool for the D4 is incredibly easy to use. It's essentially a one-click, one minute process. You will not screw up your phone just by obtaining root or installing a root-requiring app; it's the things like uninstalling a system app or trying to install an alpha build custom ROM that could cause problems.

If you root just to get wifi tether/ad blocker/freeze bloatware/etc., your chances of screwing something up are next to zero.

 

[Sohcahtoa]

As SGMD1 said, there's very little risk in bricking your phone just by rooting it. Its what you do after that that carries the risk. Uninstalling bloatware is harmless as long as you're not uninstalling something that the phone actually needs to work. A 150 megabyte demo of a golf game and 226 megabyte football game? Yeah those are safe to remove.

There aren't any custom ROMs for Droid 4 yet, AFAIK, so there's no risk involved there, but that will probably change. But when it does, I'm sure someone will have found a way to unbrick a phone and re-install the stock ROM.

 

[TC_Mits]

I'm voting caution. The lack of sbf, return to stock, ability *is* a big deal -- IMO. If you have warranty issues, for example, will vzw want to accept your rooted D4?

Also, there's a chill wind blowing. I understand the latest DX OTA is built to brick the phone if you sbf to back it out. Is the missing XML file (with return to stock tools) that has always popped out quickly before, because that same bricking booby-trap is built into the D4? I don't think anybody knows that for sure. Vzw may be fighting back against rooting.

Another factor is that with the hardwired battery in the D4 you can't do a battery-pull reset on this phone.

Caution.


Perspective instantiates reality.
( By DX w/DF app. )

 

[r314bd]

The lack of sbf, return to stock, ability *is* a big deal -- IMO.

You can return to stock with the Droid 4 Utility:

 

[amishdude01]

If you root your phone, does it not allow you to download some apps? I rooted my dx and installed liberty rom on it and i wasnt able to download some apps .. for example, words with friends. Was it the root that screwed me over or was it the custom rom?

 

[r314bd]

If you root your phone, does it not allow you to download some apps? I rooted my dx and installed liberty rom on it and i wasnt able to download some apps .. for example, words with friends. Was it the root that screwed me over or was it the custom rom?

Must've been the custom ROM. When you say you weren't able to download them, do you mean a.) they didn't show up in the market, b.) they wouldn't download/install, or c.) they installed but wouldn't work correctly?

 

[amishdude01]

Must've been the custom ROM. When you say you weren't able to download them, do you mean a.) they didn't show up in the market, b.) they wouldn't download/install, or c.) they installed but wouldn't work correctly?

They just wouldn't show up in the market. And when i tried to download them from the android market from the pc to my Droid X I would get an error saying it wasn't compatible with my phone. I think you're right. It is probably because of the rom.

 

[hellmonkey]

They just wouldn't show up in the market. And when i tried to download them from the android market from the pc to my Droid X I would get an error saying it wasn't compatible with my phone. I think you're right. It is probably because of the rom.

That is becase google decided try and force people to upgrade and change device compatibility for a lot fo apps. I was quite updset until I found a work around in this thread.
[Q] Tricking Android Market and avoiding Incompatible App message - Page 2 - xda-developers