Rooting android device noob

MarkY91

got a samsung s4 mini today..first android phone. ive heard that rooting your phone makes it so much better..being able to uninstall stock apps and helps battery life etc.

first of all..is rooting talk allowed here?
what website/guide do you reccomend?
any disadvantages?

MarkY91

im asking before i attempt anything as i dont want to mess anything up

droidman123

These are your friends

http://www.xda-developers.com/

MarkY91

droidman123 wrote: »

These are your friends

http://www.xda-developers.com/

ive seen "XDA" mentioned in my brief googling of rooting. ill head on over. just out of interest, on the s4 mini, will i likely see better battery time and less lag from less stock apps and other crap on it? not that ive had any lag yet!..except when switching from back to front camera..it freezes for 2 seconds

droidman123

MarkY91 wrote: »

ive seen "XDA" mentioned in my brief googling of rooting. ill head on over. just out of interest, on the s4 mini, will i likely see better battery time and less lag from less stock apps and other crap on it? not that ive had any lag yet!..except when switching from back to front camera..it freezes for 2 seconds

Tbh it depends what you want from rooting.I rooted my first nexus 7,just because I could.there are great launchers and you can pimp up your device no end among other things. Personally its not for me,I don't see great benefits,but that's just me.you can give it a go and you might like the benefits.just make sure you back up and do it to the letter. The guys on XDA and Indeed here will see you right if you run into problems.

RossieMan

I love rooting phones. its a different challenge. however, if you want a better battery life you'll most likely have to switch ROMs. there is plenty of specific guides if you head over to XDA. as long as you understand the steps, you'll be fine.

lfc2000

MarkY91 wrote: »

got a samsung s4 mini today..first android phone. ive heard that rooting your phone makes it so much better..being able to uninstall stock apps and helps battery life etc.

first of all..is rooting talk allowed here?
what website/guide do you reccomend?
any disadvantages?

The lads are right with xda. All u need to know will be there. You should try YouTube for step by step. I found it and xda to be perfect. If u find a vid on YouTube it will show u step by step and what files u will need in the description.

_Whimsical_

I have rooted my phone and use a stock rom. With apps like Greenify you can definitely increase your battery life without installing a new rom.

One disadvantage to consider is that if you're rooted you can no longer receive updates for your phone from your carrier or directly from Samsung if you're sim free. You need to flash a rom if you want the latest and greatest OS.

Another thing is that some apps don't work on a rooted phone. These include some streaming apps like 4od and some banking apps I believe but am not sure of that. There are work arounds for some but not others. It's only a small amount of apps but if one of your favourites is among them you won't be too happy.

MarkY91

im gonna try root my phone now. if i end up not liking it, its reversable right? the main thing is getting rid of the so much "bloatware"


i dont use banking apps or 4od so i should be fine. ill let yous know how rooting goes.

MarkY91

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2364980

used that guide there and it was straightforward enough. still clueless as what to do now though with the phone lol

MarkY91

figured out how to remove the bloatware. had to install a couple of apps. ill get to learn more as time goes on!