Noob Root Question

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OnlySkills

Senior Member
Oct 9, 2012
93
9
Hi all. I want to keep this short and simple. I have the I9020A with 4.1.2, and a couple of days to spare. My phone is running OK and I am happy, but if I could improve the performance or experience it would only be better. How long does it take to root and install a new ROM (or so they call it) like CM 10.1, for a beginner like me? And, very briefly in one sentence, what are the main benefits from rooting and gains I could see from a ROM like CM 10.1?
 
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andrei1015

Senior Member
Sep 19, 2011
769
221
Amsterdam
OnePlus Nord
Do you have any previous experience with rooting?
I got my phone last week (had experience with two previous phones and it took me 30 minutes to have it rooted, cwm-ed and cm10.1-ed. nexusshacks.com helped me very much :)
 

ej8989

Senior Member
Jul 8, 2012
1,751
589
Manila
Hi all. I want to keep this short and simple. I have the I9020A with 4.1.2, and a couple of days to spare. My phone is running OK and I am happy, but if I could improve the performance or experience it would only be better. How long does it take to root and install a new ROM (or so they call it) like CM 10.1, for a beginner like me? And, very briefly in one sentence, what are the main benefits from rooting and gains I could see from a ROM like CM 10.1?

About an hour for an average total beginner to figure out how, then only 10minutes to flash a new pre-rooted rom. Read the changelog of your desired ROM so you know why you're flashing it, read their corresponding threads.
The main reason i first rooted my nexus s is because i heard it was the best-sounding android phone due to its built-in wolfson amplifier, and the only way to unleash it's true power is by rooting and installing voodoo sound app. Another thing is, custom roms provide the feature where you can use the volume buttons to seek music tracks. So for a music lover like me, i really benefit from custom roms.
 

hlxanthus

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2011
1,523
1,177
A few things, the first step you will have to do is unlock the bootloader. That one setup will wipe all partitions back to a factory state (just stock OS of what ever variety you are on). Be prepared, you can back up your sdcard via a PC, and use the new app carbon to backup your user apps and data if you like (it is the only app that can do that for an unrooted user that I know of). There benefits to rooting, but we would have to know what you hope to gain with it to let you know if it is worth it for you. Most of us that root and rom do it for one reason, to get a better user experience. So a boost in performance or battery life. Added user options within android like notification power control buttons or added lockscreen targets.
 

OnlySkills

Senior Member
Oct 9, 2012
93
9
No I actually don't have any previous experience with rooting (the most I've done is manually installed an update). And I am glad to hear that it takes around an hour, I thought it'd take a day. As long as it gives me better performance and a few extra features, I'm down for it!

So after I unlock the bootloader, what do I do next regarding the ROM and kernel? Do I just need a ROM, or do I have to get a new "kernel" too? And how come some ROMS are named after 4.2.2 (or the latest version), whereas others like CM is at version 10.1? I am thinking of getting CM 10.1 because that's the most I hear about, I hope it is stable and good. Any thoughts?
 

andrei1015

Senior Member
Sep 19, 2011
769
221
Amsterdam
OnePlus Nord
Writing from memory (I only did it once, yes it is that simple):

1. Unlock bootloader
2. Install a recovery (Never used anything else than ClockworkMod)
3. Install ROM.

Everything is reversible, in case you need to take it to the service. Also, don't get scared if something goes a bit wrong. For example, the first time I rebooted into recovery, the phone showed a red triangle. But I remained calm, searched about what was happening and I found the solution. Just always be careful to flash only device specific stuff. Be aware: there is nexus s and nexus s 4G!

This is the video that helped me very much, from start to end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4AHucGBZHMQ

Edit: i forgot to mention, do an efs backup. Needless to say i also forgot to make it...
 
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OnlySkills

Senior Member
Oct 9, 2012
93
9
Hi guys. I have successfully rooted my Nexus S now, using this: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1007782&page=3&nocache=1

Also thanks for that video posted above, it helped me in some places. It took a while, I'd say about 2 hours in total because I ran into some issues..(those instructions should really be updated)

Anyways, I have 4.1.2 atm..and on the ROMs under Android Development, they all say [4.2.2] .. does this mean I have to be on 4.2.2 to install these? I thought 4.2.2 wasn't available for the NS..
 

4I-I

Senior Member
Jul 7, 2011
833
132
Stuttgart
AW: Noob Root Question

Hi guys. I have successfully rooted my Nexus S now, using this: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1007782&page=3&nocache=1

Also thanks for that video posted above, it helped me in some places. It took a while, I'd say about 2 hours in total because I ran into some issues..(those instructions should really be updated)

Anyways, I have 4.1.2 atm..and on the ROMs under Android Development, they all say [4.2.2] .. does this mean I have to be on 4.2.2 to install these? I thought 4.2.2 wasn't available for the NS..

It doesnt matter on which version you are on atm, you can flash whatever version you like! ;)

4.2.2 is officially not available for the ns but as you can see we have amazing devs which make it work anyway...
 

OnlySkills

Senior Member
Oct 9, 2012
93
9
It doesnt matter on which version you are on atm, you can flash whatever version you like! ;)

4.2.2 is officially not available for the ns but as you can see we have amazing devs which make it work anyway...

Thank you!! I just flashed CM 10.1 Nightly...loving it atm! It has exactly those features that I wanted..Phone runs overall better too (at least for now).

Thanks everybody..great help!