reason to root for the average user

IrishSkyBoxer

Hi guys,
recently got a samsung s2 galaxy.

Been reading a lot about rooting.
Is there any reason to rooting for the average user?
I'm not computer illiterate but neither am I an android fanboy, I know very little of what benefits rooting would provide apart from 'superuser' access.

I use my phone for the basics - whatsapp, fb, twitter, phone calls and that's about it.

The battery life isn't great that's probably the only gripe I have atm.

any advice. It's out of warranty, I've read enough to think I'd be able to complete the process without any great trouble.

Sonics2k

For an older phone like your own, the big advantage would be being able to add a new ROM to it, such as Cyanogenmod.

This would up your Android version to 4.3 or even 4.4 and bring a tonne of new features, Google Now and a better layout etc.

Certainly worth checking out, just make sure you back it up and read some guides on it.

jgbyr

IrishSkyBoxer wrote: »

Hi guys,
recently got a samsung s2 galaxy.

Been reading a lot about rooting.
Is there any reason to rooting for the average user?
I'm not computer illiterate but neither am I an android fanboy, I know very little of what benefits rooting would provide apart from 'superuser' access.

I use my phone for the basics - whatsapp, fb, twitter, phone calls and that's about it.

The battery life isn't great that's probably the only gripe I have atm.

any advice. It's out of warranty, I've read enough to think I'd be able to complete the process without any great trouble.

The main reason I rooted was so I could create an image of my phone incase anything went wrong.
Also I can create backups of my apps & data.
The other main reason was to install an ad blocker.

waynegalway

Sonics2k wrote: »

For an older phone like your own, the big advantage would be being able to add a new ROM to it, such as Cyanogenmod.

This would up your Android version to 4.3 or even 4.4 and bring a tonne of new features, Google Now and a better layout etc.

Certainly worth checking out, just make sure you back it up and read some guides on it.

+1

I'd say it's well worth doing it on an older device like an S2. Otherwise you'll not be able to get latest version of android.

I had an S3 before, and it was very simple to root and put custom ROMs on it, follow the guides on the XDA Developers website and you nearly can't go wrong.

Apart from custom ROMs, rooting will let you turn off the bloat that Samsung build into Touchwiz, even if you don't go down the road of a custom ROM.

Some custom ROMs will improve battery life, others don't. I tried shedloads of them, and to be honest, the improvements were negligible enough. I suggest that if battery is a big issue for your S2, get yourself a spare one.

IrishSkyBoxer

alright I rooted it, have cyanogen mod 10.2 running.
google now is pretty cool.
and the interface is much better, a bit slicker and cooler.
not sure what else to do with it now tbh!
any good apps??!

waynegalway

IrishSkyBoxer wrote: »

alright I rooted it, have cyanogen mod 10.2 running.
google now is pretty cool.
and the interface is much better, a bit slicker and cooler.
not sure what else to do with it now tbh!
any good apps??!

Titanium and Greenify are goods ones for app management. Also, have a look at AutomateIT. It's very useful....some of what it does will work on non rooted phones, but rooted ones get more features.

In terms of games, rooting isn't going to make much difference, so the apps that people will suggest to you will be more "utility" type stuff.

White Heart Loon

Reason to root; adblock

HellboundIRL

Adaway is the main reason I root now, I tried going without it and I pay for 95% of my apps but the ads still bug me without using a blocker.

Greenify, Better Battery Stats and Wakelock Detector are also good reasons to do it.