Is your Android device better with root permissions or without? Rooting can be rewarding in a
number of ways but does the freedom it offers demand a sacrifice? These are some of the questions you most Android users usually ask when considering having their Android device rooted. Here are some of the few downsides of rooting your Android device.
Security Risks
Getting root access, gives you total control over your phone's entire system. Having the right skills and tools such as SuperSu, lets you calibrate almost any part of your Android device as well as circumvent the security restrictions set by the Android operating system. This however is a double edged sword, meaning there is no prevention of viruses, malware, spyware and Trojans from attacking your device system. These types of malware can corrupt or even delete your system files, forward your contacts for cyber exploits, collect your personal data,rack up your phone, not to mention soft brick your device.However, to avoid this, exercise caution before allowing applications to have access to root permissions.
Warranty becomes void
It is totally legal to have your phone rooted, but if you do, it is likely that you have made your warranty void. If you root your device and later on, your phone experiences a malfunction, mostly software related like accidentally soft-bricking your device, it is unlikely that the manufacturer will cover the cover the damages as your warranty will no longer be valid. Some OEMs such as Samsung have even had a flash counter built into their devices which can check if a device's firmware has been tampered with or an unofficial program has been installed, and it still works even if you unroot and lock the phone again.
Device are not created equal
The procedure of rooting Android devices, may vary from one manufacturer to another or even from one device to another. There is no 'official' way of rooting your device. For example, to root Nexus devices, you need to install a tool-set and then to gain access, use the PC command prompt, whereas for many Samsung handsets, to get the same results, you are required to employ an Odin software downloaded on your PC. Rooting often require multiple device specific instructions and at least an adequate understanding of computers, this means increased chances of going wrong which can result in bricking your device, which permanently renders your device unusable.
Problems with updates
Another common occurrence is that automatic updates of the latest firmware being pushed out to your device variant will stop reaching your device. The joy of getting OTA update notifications over Wi-Fi and also being able to properly use management programs such as Samsung Kies, will be a thing of the past. However, the silver lining is that the firmware will still be made available to manually update and flash it on your device, though it can be a somewhat cumbersome procedure to do each time a new firmware version is released.
Your Reasons for Rooting
Gaining root access offers a ton of customizations that were previously out of reach with original Android operating system. But what exactly are you planning to do with all this access? Is it something you can do without root permissions? If the answer is yes and it is a minor thing you want to modify then it may not be necessary or worth it to root.Have you ever rooted your device? What are some of the issues you encountered? Let us know in the comments.
