What is Rooting?

Rooting 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") within Android's sub-system.

Rooting is often performed with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on some devices. Thus, rooting gives the ability (or permission) to alter or replace system applications and settings, run specialized apps that require administrator-level permissions, or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android user. On Android, rooting can also facilitate the complete removal and replacement of the device's operating system, usually with a more recent release of its current operating system.

As Android derives from the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access administrative permissions as on Linux or any other Unix-like operating system such asFreeBSD or OS X.

Root access is sometimes compared to jailbreaking devices running the Apple iOS operating system. However, these are different concepts. Jailbreaking describes the bypass of several types of Apple prohibitions for the end user: modifying the operating system (enforced by a "locked bootloader"), installing non-officially approved apps via sideloading, and granting the user elevated administration-level privileges. Only a minority of Android devices lock their bootloaders—and many vendors such as HTC, Sony, Asus and Googleexplicitly provide the ability to unlock devices, and even replace the operating system entirely.^[1][2][3] Similarly, the ability to sideload apps is typically permissible on Android devices without root permissions. Thus, it is primarily the third aspect of iOS jailbreaking relating to giving users superuser administrative privileges that most directly correlates to Android rooting.

Many people hear smartphone geeks throwing around terminology that they seem to think everyone understands, and yet most people are left totally baffled. This is something of which I, myself, am guilty--on a daily basis, even! The biggest term that you may have heard being thrown around on cell phone blogs, or news sites, or forums, is "Rooting." What does that mean, and why would you ever want to do something to your phone that sounds like the horrible torture your mother used to inflict on unsuspecting weeds in the garden? That's what we're going to discuss.

At its most basic, "rooting" is the term widely used among computer and cell phone technicians alike to refer to the process by which one gains access to the administrative commands and functions of an operating system. 

If you're thinking, "Hey that's no help, I'm still confused," that's normal. Even a simple definition of rooting seems complex at first. What it means when you root an Android phone, is that you give yourself, rather than Sprint/Verizon/T-Mobile/AT&T's software, the permission to act like the administrator of the phone. There are a ton of reasons why people want to do this--the biggest being either to install an updated version of the operating system, or to save battery life. The two more often than not go hand-in-hand. 

There are other benefits of rooting, as well. When you gain access to administrative phone functions, it is simpler to freeze system processes that drain battery life. "V-Cast Music?" Verizon users probably have "Google Music" downloaded, or find the stock music player works just as well. "Sprint NFL Zone?" Thanks, Sprint, but I'm a 24-year-old female. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this app, but I don't need it sucking up my battery life. Among the smartphone geek crowd, applications like these are referred to as "bloatware:" they do nothing but bloat the software by existing as unnecessary applications. 

Having a rooted Android phone is also beneficial because there are several Android applications which are extremely useful and also require root menu access. "Titanium Backup" is my personal favorite of these. It allows you to back up all your applications with their data on a regular basis, so that if you do install a new version of the operating system, or if you have to factory reset your phone, you don't have to go back and start Angry Birds all over again from Level 1. (And trust me, I've been there. I've felt that pain.) Other applications allow you to uninstall bloatware entirely, and so on, and so forth, from basic functions to extremely technical on a level that even I fail to entirely understand.

But like Uncle Ben Parker said in Spider-Man: "With great power, comes great responsibility." Benefits of rooting an android phone to gain access to the functions and menus normally inaccessible to the typical cell phone user are many, but rooting is not a process that should be taken on halfheartedly. These benefits come at a cost-- almost all manufacturers' warranties become void once you root your phone. So, either be prepared to accept that, or learn how to "un-root" in case of an emergency. 

Do plenty of research--there are a ton of sites with how-to videos and device-specific instructions, because no two phones are rooted the same way. Ask plenty of questions--never assume you know what you're doing, because it's the best way to end up with a phone that's as useful as a paperweight. 

Those are the benefits of rooting, from a Geek-Femme who understands what you're going through.