Why I rooted my Samsung Galaxy Nexus
I’ve been very happy with my stock Android experience, but one of the things that Android prides itself on is the ability to root a device and let you do anything you want to it. For the longest time during my first month with Android, I thought rooting was useless for me. I could do practically anything with my completely-stock build of Ice Cream Sandwich, so I never thought about doing anything extra to it.
Yet here we are: it’s June 15 and I’ve just successfully rooted my Galaxy Nexus. This is really just a testament to how quickly I make decisions about technology. I mean, just yesterday, I said I didn’t want to spend time rooting. But I did anyway.
I did this for one reason and one reason only: WiFi tether. Although I’m only on a 200MB per month plan with AT&T, I still find myself wanting a connection to other devices – specifically my iPad. (Before I go any farther, yes, my iPad is a Verizon-equipped model. To get 2GB a month on a monthly bill, though, it costs $25 – a little too much for another monthly payment.)
Anyway, I decided that the only logical fix to this problem was to root my phone and install WiFi tether. After an hour of switching back and forth between operating systems to root the thing, the task was completed. My bootloader is unlocked and I can also install any app that I want to.
Oddly enough, even though this started out as a simple way to hook up my other devices to a data connection when I’m on-the-go or at an AT&T device-only McDonald’s WiFi location (which was exactly what made me start my rooting journey), I may start to play around with the wonders of rooting and ROM flashing. Many of my colleagues already do this – and I’ve just sat idly by and watched their discoveries without ever thinking that I could do the same thing.
Throughout the next few weeks, I’ll probably play around with ROMs and a lot of root-only apps. If I find anything interesting, I’ll certainly write something up about it.
In the meantime, what is your root story? Had you always planned to root your device, regardless of the version of Android or skin it was running? I’m curious, so please let me know!
