Rooting is one of the things that came with smartphones but it is something one must do by will. You have probably found out that your phone has already been rooted and you are asking yourself; “how did my phone get rooted?”. That might sound like a question you can never find an answer to but trust me, you will get your answer right away.
Rooting is something that you could also do mistakenly or should I say; “Unintentionally” since there are apps these days that could root your phone with a single click.
What is rooting?
Rooting in smartphone terminologies simply means tempering with the root files of your smartphone by exploring some bugs in the files so you can get full privileges to your phone. You can also say it is a way of modifying your Android OS so you can get full access to your hardware.
Usually, Android smartphones come with some of the privileges locked away. You could use the phone fine without unblocking these security locks. But there are some things you might want to do that your phone will not allow because of the stock security settings.
Root, on the other hand, will help you break free from these security locks. It gives you what is called “SuperUser” access. This will help you install some unapproved files and also gives you access to utilise the full power of your hardware.
How to check if your phone has been rooted
Checking whether your phone has been rooted is very simple. There are also many different ways to do that.
Checking with app
- The most common and basic way to do this is to check the root access with an app. Simply head to the Google Play Store and download Root Checker.
- After installing the app, open and click on “Verify Root”. This will try to check if your device has root access installed.
- If your Android phone is not rooted, you will see a message that reads; “Sorry! Root access is not properly installed on this device”.
This means your device has no root access. A different line of the message will appear if you have root access.
Checking from phone settings
This method might not work for all devices but it is worth trying. It is the best way to check if your device has been rooted without installing any extra applications.
- Simply navigate to ‘Settings’.
- Go to ‘About phone’
- Click on ‘Status information’
- Check ‘Phone status’
If you see ‘Official’ it means your phone has not been rooted. Anything else means your phone has been rooted.
How Did My Phone Get Rooted?
Sometimes, you might check only to find out your Android phone already has superuser access. This doesn’t come as a stock setting. It must have someone tampering with it.
There are many possible ways your phone could get root access.
Rooting is not an easy task, especially on top brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Google Pixel, etc. These phones come with security locks to deter you from trying them. However, there is still the possibility of having root access on the phone you just bought.
How is that possible?
It is easy to have root access on a slightly used phone you just purchased. Maybe the owner already rooted the device before you purchased it.
Then there is the possibility that you installed an app that aided the rooting. That one is also possible since there are apps these days that give you one-click rooting.
Rooting is not really bad so if you have it, it should not raise any concerns at all.
If you want to learn the process of rooting, then check our previous article about How to root your Android device. The article explains all the possible ways you can root your device.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Rooting might be the solution if your phone does not give you access to certain things. But what you must know first is the fact that there are advantages and disadvantages of rooting your device.
Advantages of getting your phone rooted
- You have full control and that is the main reason why we root our devices in the first place. You have control over everything including the theme, the speed, etc.
- Being able to install any app on your phone is a great feeling. Rooting gives you access to install any app even if the stores clearly state that your phone does not support them.
- You can uninstall any app you deem unnecessary. You can bear within me that there are some apps on the phone that seems to only consume more space but does not do anything much on the phone. With root access, you can uninstall all of them.
- The rooting is fully about command and modification so you have the ability to do anything you want on your phone.
Disadvantages of getting your phone rooted
- You void your warranty as soon as you root your phone since it involves mostly changing to custom ROMs.
- Rooting can cause stability issues most of the time.
- You could brick your phone in the process. Bricking your phone is very common especially if you are yet to root your device without any previous knowledge.