Android rooting: what it's all about

If you want to get everything imaginable out of your Android smartphone, you can't avoid rooting. We explain to you what it is all about and what advantages and disadvantages a rooted smartphone brings.

What are the benefits of rooting?

When rooting, you get the highest possible access rights via your Android device and can either apply them yourself or transfer them to apps that need these rights. Rooting therefore offers an advantage especially if the personalization options of Android are not enough for you and you want to adapt the design of your smartphone to the utmost. And if you don't like the installed Android, you can even play your own custom ROM on your smartphone.

Root access is also used in other areas of application:

• Preinstalled apps cannot always be uninstalled: In some cases, the manufacturer prevents the deletion of apps that have already been installed, even if you do not use some of the apps at all. With root rights you can get rid of these senseless applications.
• Thanks to root access, complete backups of the smartphone can be created. It is not just a matter of backing up the most important data, such as contacts, installed apps and photos, but of complete system backups. When reactivating this back-up, the smartphone behaves exactly as it did when the back-up was carried out, including the app data.
• Rooting also offers security-related advantages: You can see in real time which apps use which authorization, when and why. If necessary, it is also easier to revoke certain permissions from an app.

What are the disadvantages of rooting?

As nice as the potential advantages of a rooted smartphone may sound, they don't come without side effects. First of all, it is important that you thoroughly study the topic before rooting. Rooting itself is not always easy and if something goes wrong, the smartphone is unusable in the worst case. This condition is also called "hard brick". But even if the root process runs smoothly, there are a few things to consider:

1. Almost all manufacturers indicate in their terms and conditions that the warranty on the smartphone expires after a root process. Rooting is an intrusion into the depths of the system, which is not entirely harmless for the smartphone. The manufacturer therefore withdraws from the guarantee promise if you root the smartphone.
2. Even though rooting can offer security advantages, rooted smartphones are often easier to fall victim to a virus or malware attack on. Integrated security systems (eg "Knox" at Samsung) are deactivated during the root process and can no longer be activated afterwards. As a result, they can no longer guarantee the safety of the device.
3. Some apps use the SafetyNet license of the system for the execution. The app thus wants to activate security when it is used. Banking apps or Google Pay are particularly affected. Rooting changes the SafetyNet license or signals to the affected apps that the smartphone is rooted. Many of these apps that use this license will no longer work or will only function to a limited extent. The root method with "Magisk" integrates a function that tries to hide root access from apps. This often works, but app updates can sometimes outsmart this function. In this case, the app will not work until Magisk updates again. If you want to use a reliably functioning smartphone, you should think twice about root access.
4. System updates can always turn out to be a complicated matter after root access. In most cases, the smartphone no longer receives automatic updates ("OTA" updates) after a root process. This is a security mechanism that prevents a newer version of Android from no longer compatible with the current root and this combination makes the smartphone unusable. To install updates on a rooted smartphone, you need to flash them manually. The process does not take too long, but with every published update it is effort that can be saved without root. If you are rooting anyway to play a different operating system on your smartphone, you can ignore this disadvantage: While some custom ROMs do not receive OTA updates anyway, the manufacturers of other custom ROMs usually adapt the operating system so that it is compatible with root.

Root Android: You need it

If you want to benefit from the advantages of root access and accept the disadvantages, then there is (almost) nothing standing in the way of rooting. To root, you usually need a computer, a smartphone and a cable to connect both devices.

Depending on the manufacturer, you need your own software or root the device via the command prompt. In the case of a Samsung smartphone to be rooted, for example, you need the "Odin" software, which is very helpful when rooting.

You also need the respective root software.

• As a rule, they simply flash a suitable root kit via a custom recovery.
• The SuperSU package, which works on almost all devices, is relatively well known.
• A practical alternative is Magisk. This service has the advantage above that it tries to hide root access from certain apps.
• If you don't trust the two methods mentioned, in some cases you can also use "One-Click-Root" apps like KingRoot or TowelRoot, which you only have to install to root your smartphone. However, in most cases this type of rooting does not work at all or does not work properly. You also accept a higher risk that the app will cause permanent damage to your smartphone. Furthermore, these root alternatives often do not offer you the same range of options as a manual root.

Have you read the entire article, weighed up the pros and cons in detail and now want to try it anyway? In this case, we recommend our more detailed instructions on how to root your Android smartphone.