What does it mean to be a root user and what advantages does it have

We have all heard or seen somewhere the term 'root' or 'root' a mobile. More and more people are talking about and carrying out this process. Even so, being the root user of a mobile phone is still a mystery for many people, who do not know what the term refers to or do not understand the advantages and disadvantages that this practice entails. Therefore, we will try to explain as clearly as possible what it means to be root user and what it entails.

What does it mean to be a root user

The first question that arises when not knowing anything about this practice is: What does it mean to be a root user or to have a rooted phone? Rooting is a special process for devices with an Android system, which aims to obtain full access to our terminal. This practice is carried out because both some telephone operators and a manufacturer limit the customization and the options that we can access on our device. Basically, rooting a mobile allows us to overcome those limitations. An example of these limitations is the control over the applications installed by default. If we have access to the root or superuser user, it is possible to uninstall these apps.

Still, we should not confuse this term with the famous Jailbreak for Apple mobiles. Jailbreak is mainly done to install applications on an iPhone externally to the App Store. For its part, Android does not need any extra access to the system to install apps external to Google Play. However, both practices imply the loss of the device's warranty, so they must be carried out with extreme caution; In addition to being aware of what we are doing at all times, as a mistake could be fatal.

Advantages and disadvantages of rooting a mobile

As we have mentioned before, a phone with root access has no limitations. This implies a myriad of possible uses and benefits. Having a rooted mobile allows us to remove applications from the system or replace them with others. Superuser access also allows us to delete files from the system, or even delete the entire system, if what we want is to install a different one or use a more recent version.

But rooting does not grant permissions to the phone user only. There are numerous apps, mostly customization ones, that have the requirement to run on a rooted terminal. By granting superuser access, the app will be able to modify the system files it needs to function properly.

Even so, we have also spoken lightly about the dangers of rooting a mobile. The simple fact of carrying out this process leads to the automatic loss of the guarantee of our device, since rooting a mobile implies altering the factory state of the terminal in an unofficial way. This practice can also lead to the disablement of the mobile. If the steps are not followed to the letter when rooting a phone, it may remain in a 'brick' state. That is, it will be useless at all. This state can also be reached if, once we have accessed the superuser, we alter a key system file without knowing what we are doing.

How to root a phone

By now many will be thinking about how to access the superuser, and what is the most comfortable and definitive method. Unfortunately, there is no single method, as each manufacturer builds their terminals in their own way. Also, there is a big loophole when it comes to rooting a phone, since it is not clear if it violates any laws on protected content. For this reason, the most advisable thing is to first find out about the current law (which is different for each country).