What does, 'rooted' mean.....

[stephec]

....in relation to an android tablet?

Not being the brightest at IT I don't really have a clue what it is.

 

[Dangermouse]

It means it has had the original operating system removed probably Android jelly bean and then re flashed (rooted) with an aftermarket one, less bloatware and probably runs much better but official updates are no longer available.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Android rooting is the process of allowing users of smartphones, tablets, and other devices running the Android mobile operating system to attain privileged control (known as "root access") within Android's subsystem.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

It means it has had the original operating system removed probably Android jelly bean and then re flashed (rooted) with an aftermarket one, less bloatware and probably runs much better but official updates are no longer available.

This is not correct, you do not need to remove the default ROM to root an android phone, you can do it with the default installation of any Android phone.. the rooting purely gives you administrative access (root) to enable to complete tasks such as modifying the OS and permitting the installing a custom ROM should you wish to.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

The advantage of rooting a phone is it gives you access to the entire operating system of the phone so that you can change it to suit your needs.

Think of your Android Tablet like a Windows PC.. Some people do not like Internet Explorer. So they install Mozilla Firefox along side it and are happy to do so.
Some power hungry users do not even want Internet Explorer on their computers as it takes up space and resources as they do not use it. Removing this from Windows is a nightmare and you need specific privileges to be able to do it.

The same situation exists for Android users, I for example do not use Google hangouts, G++, Exchange Email, Facebook. I also want to underclock my phone for increased battery life as I do not play games on it.
I want the functionality of a command like SSH terminal and other applications, I do not like the default launcher, I want the very latest OS upgrades and I do not want to wait for them. I want my phone to back itself up and all its data nightly to my cloud account..... Rooting enables you to have full control of your device and ability to do all these things and so much more.
Get it wrong and you can end up with a non functioning device known as bricked

 

[ColinJ]

And some apps apparently will not run on rooted devices, iPlayer, for example.

 

[stephec]

And some apps apparently will not run on rooted devices, iPlayer, for example.

That explains something then.

The reason I asked was I have a cheap Versus tablet, and when I installed AVG free anti virus it came up with a warning that it was in high privilege mode, by the sound of it though it shouldn't be a problem to me.


Thanks to all for the replies.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

That explains something then.
The reason I asked was I have a cheap Versus tablet, and when I installed AVG free anti virus it came up with a warning that it was in high privilege mode, by the sound of it though it shouldn't be a problem to me.

Thanks to all for the replies.

The iPlayer app works perfectly fine on my rooted Nexus 4 phone, Nexus 7 tablet and rooted Motorolla Xoom Tablet.
The only apps at this time I am aware of that do not like root is :-
1. The Sky TV app
2. Barclays Bank app

High Privilege mode is not the same as rooted, but you will not have any issues.
AV on a smart phone is pretty pointless though, your just going to eat system resources and gain very little at all

http://www.informationweek.com/secu...re-really-protect-smartphones/d/d-id/1106727?

 

[Over The Hill]

I really do not understand the question.....

...or the answers!

 

[stephec]

Is it the same as the Australian verb to have a root?

Well I'm not doing that to my tablet.

 

[Pale Rider]

Well I'm not doing that to my tablet.

Although you can get tablets to help you do it.

 

[stephec]

Although you can get tablets to help you do it.

Whatever my wife's been saying isn't true.

 

[ColinJ]

The iPlayer app works perfectly fine on my rooted Nexus 4 phone, Nexus 7 tablet and rooted Motorolla Xoom Tablet.
The only apps at this time I am aware of that do not like root is :-
1. The Sky TV app
2. Barclays Bank app

I could have sworn I saw that in the documentation last week, but I can't find it now ...

PS Ah - sorry, the no-root restriction was for the 4OD app!

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Ahh I never use 4od so would not know, but its good to be aware of such things

 

[ColinJ]

Ahh I never use 4od so would not know, but its good to be aware of such things

I was going to install it but discovered that Ch4 do not have the rights to allow replay of US shows, and those were the ones that I wanted to catch up on! (AFAIK that restriction also applies to most shows on the other 'players' too.)