Is it safe to buy a rooted android?

[greencell]

I was hoping someone could help me. I'm new to smartphones and I found a samsung galaxy nexus android I want to purchase. The only thing is, it's rooted. I seem to read a lot of pro's and con's about this. My main concern is security and the ability to get software updates. Is it a bad idea to buy a used rooted phone? If the person who's selling it to me wasn't careful with their security after they rooted the phone, could I end up with malicious malware on my phone? And is there any way I can unroot the phone?

Any help on this is much appreciated.

 

[dezymond]

If you are asking about a Verizon Galaxy Nexus, I wouldn't worry about updates, that phone wasn't supported very well even during its life cycle. I've sold many and bought a few rooted phones and never had any issues. I root every phone I have as well for specific apps, but never had any issues with my information being compromised. Majority of the time people factory reset their phone before selling it as well.

As for malicious software, it does exist, but it's not very common on phones. A factory reset should take care of anything as well. And yes, there are plenty of ways to unroot the phone, but root itself shouldn't interfere with anything except for updates, which the Galaxy Nexus never really had support for in the first place.

 

[greencell]

Thanks Dezy, is the factory reset something I could do fairly easy with no extra cost? I'm a true novice with phones.

 

[dezymond]

Thanks Dezy, is the factory reset something I could do fairly easy with no extra cost? I'm a true novice with phones.

A factory reset can easily be done at no charge. On your own and as many times as you'd like. It just returns the phone to how it came from the box, but rooted as well in this case.

A tip, I always get deals done at a Verizon store so they could check the IMEI# to make sure it's clean and not on their blacklist. If a phone is on their blacklist, they won't activate the phone. I'm sure one of the reps there would help you factory reset it there as well if you ask.

 

[greencell]

A tip, I always get deals done at a Verizon store so they could check the IMEI# to make sure it's clean and not on their blacklist. If a phone is on their blacklist, they won't activate the phone. I'm sure one of the reps there would help you factory reset it there as well if you ask.

Do you think I should ask the online seller for the IMEI# prior to purchase? There's a 14-day return policy so I figure I'd find out either way.

 

[clintro]

Swappa.com is a good a place to buy. The check the IMEI to make sure it is good.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

Yep, rooted phones are safe. Just wipe it like Dezy said if you're concerned.

 

[dezymond]

Do you think I should ask the online seller for the IMEI# prior to purchase? There's a 14-day return policy so I figure I'd find out either way.

No harm in asking for it and unless the phone is blacklisted then the seller shouldn't have any problems giving you the number.

 

[AECRADIO]

This has nothing to do with rooting, but if you are looking to buy, my suggestion is to stay away from 'Allthatcellular' of NYC, they do not work with customers, and my defect was under a 14 day refusal, and they never responded to my several calls, Emails or anything, LOUSY business practices, ignore the customer when you have issues with their devices(mine was bleeding screen).
They bill as wireless connections, but I have 15 calls/texts/MMS messages that were never responded to, the machine answers, but you NEVER get a live person!
Stay away from this 'business'...a shame really, as we have made several purchases in the past, but when the defect arose, they ignored us.
We also noted that what they offered, is not what you bought. We were sold a pair of Droid 2, A956 GLOBAL devices, and what we received were the A955 version.
We brushed it off and forgot about it, until the final problem with a leaky Droid X. This is when they began ignoring our calls, and I finally posted their information on my FB page so others would know of their practices.

As for rooting issues, there are generally none, you can root and unroot all day long, as Dezyond states, and you can easily reset the device back to factory, from the phones settings menu.
If you have no need for root access to your phone's file structure, or feel unsure about using such capabilities, then you should hold off until you are certain you can properly use this function.
And I also agree with Dezymond on Swappa, also.