I recently bought an Android phone, just to find out that some applications, like avast! Antivirus, require root access. I had no idea what that meant, so I asked my good friend Google. Getting root access of an Android phone (also called “rooting”) means acquiring full control over the operating system. Among other things, rooting your phone allows you to uninstall any app (even the ones that come pre-installed), back up you entire phone on an SD card, install apps that require a rooted phone, and even install custom ROMs.
Note: rooting your phone voids your warranty. Also be aware that there is a very slight risk that your phone will get “bricked” (potentially unusable) in the process. Only attempt this if you are fully aware of that – you have been warned!!
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Tags: android, root, rooting, superoneclick, superuser, switch user
