Rooting Droid X Questions

[c_m_chance]

Alright! I am a complete newb to to the android world. I just switched about 4 days ago and have a been a long time blackberry fan (and still am, so don't knock them too much.) :byeBB: But I have MUCH respect for the android OS and have been really wanting to get an android phone. So here I am now with the Droid X! WHOOP! dancedroid

With that said, I'm needing some information on rooting. I've done some searches and can't quite find all the information that I need. That could be because I'm not quite sure what rooting is exactly anyway. So I was wanting to ask some of my questions here and see what all you experts have to say.

First things first: bricking my phone. I just switched to Verizon from T-Mobile (big upgrade in my opinion having been with T-Mobile for about 8 years). If I root my Droid X, will Verizon lock up or "brick" my phone? I have read a few different things, but it seems that the final answer is that the phone can only be bricked if you install a new ROM. But rooting isn't actually installing a new ROM is it? It's just giving you superuser access, and ultimately, the ability to install a new ROM if you so desired, right?

Secondly: If I rooted my phone, is there a way to go back and "unroot" my phone without any damage done?

And the last thing to just let you know, I'm simply wanting to root my phone so I can take screen shots with it. It would be nice to delete some of the default apps that verizon put on that I can't delete as well, but the main thing is just wanting to take screen shots. As I find out more about all possibilities from a rooted phone, I might take advantage of some. With that said, do you experts think that rooting is completely reasonable and worth the risk/not very risky at all if that's all I'm wanting to do?

I hope that y'all can help me out!

 

[Droid DOES!!]

Welcome to DroidForums!! Have fun, play nice (respect is #1 here), and enjoy your stay!
I'd love to help you with root (should you decide to) and answer ANY questions that you have about it! I have rooted/helped root countless Droid Xs so it won't be new to me!
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-hacks/632-what-root-means-stop-asking.html
That's your first destination. Sorry about the title, I didn't name it! Haha!
Verizon has NO way to know if you're rooted without actually seeing your phone. Some reps (myself included) don't even care.
I would recommend against deleting ANY apps from your phone, this can cause all sorts of issues! Instead, go get Titanium Backup and Titanium Backup Pro. It will allow you to freeze and thaw out any apps you have painted a target on!
After you've read the info from that link and still want to proceed, let me know. As I said, I'd love to help!

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[JRobzilla]

Rooting your phone voids the warranty, but only if they find out you've done it . Look for the app Z4Root, it runs right from your phone. It also allows you to unroot your phone should the need to return it to Verizon come up. Personally I think this is the least "dangerous" thing you can do to your phone, yet the benefits it yields are well worth it.

Aside from being able to take screen shots, you can use root apps such as titanium backup (for backing up!), root explorer (allows you to set read/write permissions for those sensitive android folders), Droid X Bootstrapper (App you need to do any flashing for the Droid X), Droid X Overclocker app (very nice for overclocking and/or undervolting your phone), and wireless tether programs that allow you to freely share your phones data connection with another device.

As a side note with Verizon-installed apps, with root there are quite a few ways to make them go away as well as roms designed with that purpose in mind so they're gone from initial boot.

Short Version: Rooting rocks!

 

[Droid DOES!!]

Z4root is no longer in the market. I have a link for that too though!
I want the OP to become more familiar with what root is and what it does before deciding if they want to or not.

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[c_m_chance]

Well, that does it! I'm sold! If I have a Verizon rep offering to help me root my Droid X, something tells me it can't be too dangerous! lol I'm ready to root!

Droid DOES!!, do you recommend the app that JRobzilla recommends above? Z4Root?

I had read of quite a handful of other ways to go about rooting, but not sure which is the safest, easiest, best, etc.

(Also, if rooted, do I still get notifications for OS updates like the phone gets without being rooted and can I still run the updates while it's rooted?)

 

[Droid DOES!!]

Nah, rooting itself isn't dangerous, its what's done incorrectly afterwards that has people ending up with a $570 paperweight!
Z4root is by far the easiest method as he said. And it can be found here
http://www.droid-life.com/2010/12/09/z4root-will-root-the-droid-x-2-3-340-update/
As far as OTA updates, you will still receive notifications for updates (unless you install a custom ROM) but they will remove root. Best practice is to freeze the bloatware (preinstalled apps). If a groundbreaking update is released, you can thaw them back out again and unroot to get the update. Be advised that the update could disable rooting with z4 again though. I will personally walk you through everything here or you can add me to Gtalk.

Well, that does it! I'm sold! If I have a Verizon rep offering to help me root my Droid X, something tells me it can't be too dangerous! lol I'm ready to root!

Droid DOES!!, do you recommend the app that JRobzilla recommends above? Z4Root?

I had read of quite a handful of other ways to go about rooting, but not sure which is the safest, easiest, best, etc.

(Also, if rooted, do I still get notifications for OS updates like the phone gets without being rooted and can I still run the updates while it's rooted?)

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[c_m_chance]

Alright! sounds good! How long does the rooting process take? I don't have too much time until some company comes over. Can do it over google but only if I have time for it. Otherwise we can do it over this or another time.

 

[Droid DOES!!]

Rooting is pretty quick. Have you already dl'ded z4 from that site?

Alright! sounds good! How long does the rooting process take? I don't have too much time until some company comes over. Can do it over google but only if I have time for it. Otherwise we can do it over this or another time.

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[Droid DOES!!]

Ok. Got your address so I'd edit your post and remove it now.

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[dgerej]

Aside from being able to take screen shots, you can use root apps such as titanium backup (for backing up!), root explorer (allows you to set read/write permissions for those sensitive android folders), Droid X Bootstrapper (App you need to do any flashing for the Droid X), Droid X Overclocker app (very nice for overclocking and/or undervolting your phone), and wireless tether programs that allow you to freely share your phones data connection with another device.

Thanks for this info