New Note 3 and New Gear (Advice needed please)

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natefuhr

Senior Member
Mar 10, 2008
106
4
Southern California
So.... my contract upgrade and Valentines Day fell right on top of each other and my wonderful woman made a new Note 3 and Gear ($150 deal at Best Buy) happen for me (ain't she the best?).

Could someone advise me to the advantages and or disadvantages of not rooting the Note while still rooting and modding the Gear? I am not new to the root/mod world having done so on previous phones (2 previous Evo 4Gs, 2 EvoLTEs, and a few others for friends and family). I basically only needed root for wifi tether and titanium backup but would rather not muck up my new devices with aftermarket roms unless there is distinct benefit in doing so. I do see the advantages of root/modding the gear but what do I lose by not root/modding the Note as well?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
 
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BazzaR22

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2012
54
1
So.... my contract upgrade and Valentines Day fell right on top of each other and my wonderful woman made a new Note 3 and Gear ($150 deal at Best Buy) happen for me (ain't she the best?).

Could someone advise me to the advantages and or disadvantages of not rooting the Note while still rooting and modding the Gear? I am not new to the root/mod world having done so on previous phones (2 previous Evo 4Gs, 2 EvoLTEs, and a few others for friends and family). I basically only needed root for wifi tether and titanium backup but would rather not muck up my new devices with aftermarket roms unless there is distinct benefit in doing so. I do see the advantages of root/modding the gear but what do I lose by not root/modding the Note as well?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Howzit man, congrats on the phone and Gear.
Well I am running stock note 3 and null_21 on the Gear.
I am leaving the note stock for now because dont really have the need or want to root at this stage....but
Rooting the gear definitely has major advantages over stock. Just makes the device so more useful and fun to use. I am enjoying it alot more after root. Read the root guides and watch some video of rooted gears and you will see how much better it becomes
Cheers
 

Gwanatu

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2010
843
102
Apopka, FL
There's a lot of functionality that you're going to be missing out on both devices by not rooting. You don't necessarily need a custom ROM on the Note 3 either to get significantly more enjoyment out of it. Keep in mind that there are some rooting methods out there for the Note 3 that trip the KNOX warranty counter and others that don't, so if you root make sure to pay attention to that. Once you're rooted install Xposed framework and grab some modules like Wanam, Tinted Status Bar, Disable Clear Defaults Dialog, and App Settings. Those are the 4 I use and they are glorious. As for the Gear I'm currently working on rooting/installing a custom ROM on it because I want Google Now, which apparently requires Bluetooth Tethering to be enabled from what I can tell.

If you're not comfortable with doing this just yet give it a few months, you'll likely get the itch to tweak with more stuff and the Xposed/root thing should scratch that for a while. I got my Note 3 at launch and literally installed my first custom ROM yesterday, so it's possible to hold off :cowboy:
 

natefuhr

Senior Member
Mar 10, 2008
106
4
Southern California
I know I'm missing out on both by not rooting. After all of the stuff I've read on tripping Knox I'm wary about rooting the Note. I did notice however that I do already BT tethering as an option on the stock Sprint Note rom. I don't know if it will be limited like the wifi tether would be though. After all of the bugs and glitches and battery life issues I had with my old EvoLTEs I was just resigned to keeping the Note stock and especially now that they have officially confirmed 4.4 coming it's way. I'm planning in holding off on the Note until a root method for 4.4 comes around.

As far as the Gear goes... I am itching to root this thing badly and see what this little doodad from hell can do. I just need to sit down and read all of the tutorials as I have always done so that I don't become forum fodder for asking questions that were already answered.

Long story long... am I going to give up and Gear functionality by not rooting the Note assuming bluetooth tethering functions on the stock note rom or is the Gear root functionality independent of whatever phone I have it attached to?

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