One of the biggest perks of owning an open-source operating system like Android is the plethora of customizations and tweaks that it beholds. For instance, you have the option to choose from a plethora of icon packs, custom launchers, themes, fingerprint animations, and font styles, among others.
While this might be enough to checkmark the prerequisites for the masses, there’s a small subset of users that might want to take it a step further and extract the maximum potential from this open-source ecosystem. This subset of users are tech enthusiasts and the advanced level tweak that they are usually inclined towards is the ability to gain administrative-level privileges aka root.
But is rooting an Android device worth it in 2024? In this guide, we will be addressing this query, weighing in all the perks and drawbacks involved in this process. So without any further ado, let’s get started.
What is Rooting in Android
Rooting refers to the ability to gain access to the system partition on your device. Using this elevated permission, you can access, read, and write the files in the root directory. Apart from that, you can also carry out numerous system-level tweaks and hence add new functionalities to it, as explained below.
Furthermore, there exist three different methods through which you can carry out this process- via Magisk, KernelSU, and APatch. While Magisk uses the boot/init_boot, the latter two take the kernel approach. Another major difference between them is the fact that Magisk automatically brings up the SuperUser prompt as soon as you launch the app.
You can then tap on Grant or Deny to give root access to that app. This is in stark contrast to KernelSU and APatch, both of which require you to manually give SuperUser permissions via the said section of the app. So with this, you would have got a decent idea regarding root, let’s now make you aware of the perks and risks involved in carrying out this process.
Why You Should Root Your Android Device
This is perhaps the single most asked question that has been asked to us: “Why should we, as a user, root our device”. In other words, what’s in store for them and what will they gain after stepping into such technicalities? Let’s find out:
Magisk Modules
One of the biggest reasons why users prefer to root their devices is to flash modules of their choice. Depending on the mod you install, it could add new and intriguing features, change the UI/UX and the theme, or even tweak the system settings are per your requirement.
LSPosed Framework
The repository of all mods, this is the one-stop place from wherein you can get hold of the desired modules, along with the description and direct download links from GitHub.
Custom Kernels
Once rooted, you can flash custom kernels onto your device, thereby giving you the opportunity to overclock or underclock the device’s CPU and choose a custom CPU Governor profile, such as giving more weightage to performance over the battery and so on.
While all this does make up for a good argument in favor of rooting an Android device, however, this is just half the story. You shouldn’t make the decision until you make yourself aware of the drawbacks that rooting brings in itself.
Why Rooting Might Do More Harm than Good
Here are some of the biggest caveats associated with rooting that might make you think twice before you proceed ahead and root your device.
Unlock Bootloader
The first requirement for rooting involves unlocking the bootloader on your device. Not only will this delete all the data on your device but might also nullify the warranty. on Samsung devices, the Knox will be tripped and you wouldn’t be able to use many Samsung apps even if you remove the root and relock the bootloader.
Play Integrity
Rooting your device will also result in the failing of the Play Integrity Test. As a result of this, you wouldn’t be able to use any banking and payment apps. Although we do have the option to pass this test, but Google is patching all the custom fingerprints/build.prop settings used to pass the test. So it’s only a matter of time before all the combinations get exhausted.
WideVine Downgrade
Rooting will also result in the downgrade of WideVine Certification from L1 to L3. As a result of this, you wouldn’t be able to stream any DRM-protected content [Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, etc] in Full HD.
Concluding Remarks: Rooting is on a Downward Spiral
So with this, you are now very well aware of the risks as well as the benefits involved in rooting your device. So the perfect response to the query whether “Rooting an Android Device Still Worth it in 2024” is that it completely depends on the individual itself. I know many users who used to root their device right out of the box, but have since maintained a safe distance from it due to the complexities involved.
And this subset of users is constantly rising with each passing day. With that said, a small proportion of tech enthusiasts are still ready to take a plunge into this risky ecosystem and traverse the road less taken, though this number has been in a downward spiral as of late, and there is no sign of any revival in the foreseeable future, all thanks to the stringent measures implemented by the tech giant.
On that note, we round off this guide. What are your views about rooting? Are you still willing to gain access to the system partition and enjoy elevated permissions or do the drawbacks involved in this process outweigh the benefits accrued? Do share your valuable opinions with us in the comments section below.
