Android

It's worth discussing at least. I used to be a big fan of flashing custom software, kernels, recoveries, etc.

At some point though, it started becoming more and more of a hassle to get a phone with an unlockable bootloader to work with my mobile network operator. Limited choices of I even had one.

Then all the banking and p2p apps stopped being easy to use while rooted, so we had to hide root from those apps. Then that got harder and harder.

Meanwhile the custom features that I used to want became mostly standard within Android.

At this point, I don't really bother with rooting anymore because there's little that I need it for but lots of hassle involved in having it. Now Google is blocking RCS messages from being delivered to rooted phones.

So if Android is now basically iOS with how much it's locked down from modification, why not just get an iPhone with better features I care about (their cameras and photo software) and better long-term updates? What is it that Google is even aiming for with Android now? If they're going to be hostile to users owning their own hardware, then maybe the OS should see more than a single line item change for a major version (android 14). I don't feel like Google has made any meaningful additions to the OS in a decade+ now.

When I was rooting/flashing custom ROMs I was spending a lot of time tinkering or debugging issues. I could deal with forgoing bank apps, Netflix, etc but I stopped in the end after cyanogenmod had an issue that meant emergency calls would soft reboot the phone. It made me realise my phone was an appliance not a hobby, I need to be able to rely on it and not be wondering if something won't work because of the ROM I have installed or because it's rooted.

Custom ROM: yes, rooted: no

Still, google shouldn't be blocking a messaging functionality just because something is rooted. That's fucked.

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

I have root on this phone I'm using to post. I'm also running LineageOS 21.

The reason I do this is because this is my phone and I'll be in control of it. Also I want to keep my phone running as long as possible. I'm still using a Pixel 2 XL.

Spite mostly. I have small QoL improvements, but mostly because Google says I can't do what I want with my device.

Specific reasons:

• AdAway - ad blocking, can't live without
• SnapEnhance - ad blocking & other tweaks to make SC more usable
• Revanced (w/o microgapps) - YouTube mod w/ sponsorblock & returned dislikes
• PixelExpert - misc UI tweaks like separate WiFi & mobile data tiles, as well as a 3 wide qs panel
• SmartSpacer - Custom complications on my at a glance screen. Can do useful things like show me my gas rewards card when in range of a gas stations WiFi, notifications for missed calls, texts, and emails that I might have dismissed from my tray
• MACsposed - let's me spoof my MAC address. Used it to snag free WiFi on planes
• Swift Backup - backs my phone up to my server every night
• GAppsMod - enable call recording & other features on Google dialer & messages
• DarkTricks - additional misc toggles, some overlap with PixelExpert but occasionally has better implementations (power button flashlight, volume keys to skip tracks, etc)

No longer working:

• Xposed edge pro - let you bind a bunch of gestures to different actions or fly outs from any screen. Hasn't been functional in Android 14 and it seems like the dev has dipped. I genuinely miss having an app fly out (but not enough to buy a Samsung)

No root, no fun, I always go with custom ROMs and a bunch of modules, LSposed services and apps with root services.

Currently in Magisk I have the following modules:

Play Integrity Fix and Playcurl both to pass Safety Net and device integrity.

REX YT and REX YT music I found it faster and easier to handle with said modules than using a revanced app manager (especially because I change custom ROMs often and I hate ticking stuff often LMAO).

Systemless Hosts for AdAway.

Zygisk LSposed for a bunch of other services.

Zygisk Detach to have a sane way to avoid auto update per app in the Google Play Store.

In LSposed I have currently on the following apps:

Classic Power Menu which gives me quick access to my Google Home gadgets, even from the LS.

Discovery Killer to get rid of Google Discovery, or better yet, take advantage of it and replace it with a better app, like Feeder.

Lucky Patcher to get coins and stuff for the old game "Nimble Quest" which I had to side load because it is no longer possible to download it from the Playstore, nor buy stuff "legally" (yey freedom!).

Twifucker for getting rid of Twitter ads and some other perks which I don't think I use (I also use Instander for the same subject).

Regarding the apps I granted root permissions to work nice:

AdAway to block ads systemwide with the host file without wasting the DNS/VPN spots nor draining Battery.

App Manager to manage apps (duh).

Battery Guru to manage the battery (I'm still amazed iOS has more transparency than android in this regard, at least in A14 with my phone I'm not able to see the battery health of my hardware).

BBS, I used to use it to check wakelocks, but Guru does it too, I have it on, but the app is frozen.

Classic Power Menu

Discovery Killer

Droidify (the only sane way to auto update apps without manual interaction, I think).

Force Doze, to save battery, allegedly.

Fp Downloader to spoof my fingerprint when Google bans it, just open the app and that's it.

FKM to manage my kernel, install other kernels, backup boot and dtbo images etc.

Hail to froze apps as I like.

Horizon Kernel Flasher to flash other kernels (I found it faster than FKM).

IceBox, similar to Hail, I found it first but I could just use Hail alone.

Swift Backup to have a sane system backup, again, iOS does this way better than Google, with Swift Backup at least you get a way to backup all the relevant stuff of your info and it also support plenty of cloud services.

Termux to manage detach and some other stuff.

I wouldn't say I'm a power user, but I like complete freedom of using my phone as I please, and as a former jailbreak user I won't let Google get rid of that fun for me.

I'd do it if I didn't lose access to Google Pay, banking apps and RCS. AKA, be sent back to 2011

I don't want bloatware and Google services on my phone. I want to install magisk modules and use root. If a phone doesn't allow unlocking bootloader and doesn't have decent custom rom (or GSI) support, there's no way I'm buying it.

I just go with lineage on every phone. It's easier to already be on lineage when security updates stop instead of reaching that point and then having to reset my phone and jump ship to stay updated.

My old Pixel 2 had been out of official security updates for a long time and Google only guaranteed security updates to pixel 5 until last year. I'll probably still be on pixel 5 for a few more years since every new one past that seems to be even bigger.

• Hosts file adblocking (I suppose DNS-based adblocking is good enough now though)
• ACCA (battery charge limiter)
• Now that my primary device isn't getting official updates, I need root for safetynet fix on LineageOS
• It's my bloody device, not the manufacturer's or OS vendor's; I don't want to be locked out of it "for my own good"

I stopped running custom ROMs when two things came together:

1. I stopped buying Samsung stuff with their then-godawful UI. I still don't like their current one, but hey, they improved a lot, I give them that.
2. Cyanogen self-destructed a wee bit, and it took some time for Lineage to take up many devices I had around.

Once I had dropped off, I just could not be arsed picking it up any more. Too much hassle with Netflix and shit, too much effort for ~0 gain. I just need my phone to work, it's a tool not a religion.

Rooted yes, custom rom no (pixel 7). But on previous phones, custom rom once the manufacturers stops providing updates. Using Magisk, all my banking, Netflix, McDonald's, etc still works because I have it hidden from those apps. Root apps I use are things like adaway, wireguard module (not using android vpn), sshfs, 3c toolbox, tasker. And generally having root shell access to do whatever I want to do.

Why not? For AdAway, AFWall, Xposed (mainly XPrivacy), Backups, IPv6 scripts and more...

I haven't rooted and rommed since the days of Paranoid Android and Franco kernel on the Nexus 5. I went to a Samsung phone after that which I would have rooted if I could, but after a couple samsungs I went to Pixels and felt no need to root or ROM.

i root solely for adblocking and for hiding my custom rom from the annoying apps that don't like it.

I root my phone so I can record my calls. That's about it. I do other things with root but they aren't the reason.

Why do I want to record my calls? Because my memory is shit and it's nice to just be and to go back to a recording lol

Just because fuck you google

It's simply a risk. Android is designed how it is for a purpose.

I still use a custom ROM, GrapheneOS - which also strongly recommends not to root your device!

I have been rooting my phones since android 7. I like rooting my phone because

• it allows me to block ads without a VPN or a DNS (AdAway)
• I can install apps from fdroid like I am installing from google play store, I don't have to manually install an app.
• I use NeoBackup to backup apps with app data. *I use revanced (I know I can use the non-root version but why install an extra app (microg) that runs in background).
• I can disable tracking/telemetry of individual apps by disabling their activity component.

So, I would say rooting is a big deal for me and banking apps still works.

My priorities:

1. Blocking ads and protecting privacy.

2. Being able to accomplish the task on my phone.

Literally every phone has its priorities out of whack and I have to fix it myself.

My old phones always end up getting rooted out of boredom just to see what it can do and stuff, but I don't really fuck with my daily driver just in case something fucks up and I don't want to worry about my phone not working for some reason.

I always rooted but I stopped cuz it's such a hassle these days. All my apps stop working and magisk is not as good as it used to be since the guy went to work for Google.

I use rooted Lineage OS. Why?:

• Viper4android
• Iconify
• Neobackup
• replace webview(you could do it with ADB but there's a module so it's easier after resetting phone)
• DRM disabler

I don’t root my phones all the time. For the most part I leave it unrooted so I can use streaming apps and such.

However when I’m upgrading my from one version of Android to another, I root my device to backup my apps, so I don’t need to set everything up again. Browser book marks, playlists etc.

Sucks that most apps won’t allow you to export this to a file, but at least there is some ways to backup my apps.

I used to root and use a custom ROM just because I needed to have separate ringer and notification volumes. Google removed that feature over a decade ago for unexplained reasons. They finally brought it back in the latest update, so I no longer feel the need to root anymore.

because it's goddamn usefull. To theme my phone,block ads, have an iptables based firewall and bypass cencorship with (dpi tunnel ). I can't imagine using an unrooted phone. I was never a fan of immutable distros anyway

I still root my android phone because I use an iPhone as my main phone. That way I can do whatever the fuck I want to my android phone and not care.

I stopped tinkering with ROMs a long time ago and I’ve just stuck with Nexus and Pixel devices so I don’t feel the need for a ROM.

File explorer mostly.

I haven't since my S5, but with the constant regressive changed Google is making, it's becoming more and more tempting to do it again.

Would be nice if App developers would stop blocking use of their apps if you have a rooted device, though.

I dont use root anymore. My daily driver is a Pixel 6 with GrapheneOS which works out of the box really well for me.

Custom build of (rooted post-buildtime) GrapheneOS.

I understand all the reasons not to root GrapheneOS but I enjoy the control and options over my device that I'd otherwise not have if it wasn't for rooting