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Rooting your phone gives you a certain level of freedom. You can change and customize the software code on the phone. Rooting also permits you to install other software on the device. Your manufacturer will usually not allow such software. The freedom that rooting gives you comes with risks. For instance, do you wonder if rooting your phone will affect your service?
If you are using an Android device, rooting it will not affect service. This is because when you root your phone, you tinker with the software. This does not affect connectivity. That said, before you choose to go the rooting way, it is best to consider the pros and cons of whether to root or not.
Your network provider cannot detect if you have rooted your phone; hence, your service won’t be affected. Sometimes, during rooting, you may mess up your phone and affect connectivity. Your service provider will notice that you have rooted.
Your phone will have to be disabled for them to fix the problem. In the event you are discovered to have rooted your phone without permission, your phone may be disabled.
If you are wondering if your rooted phone can work on any network, then read on. Additionally, I will tell you if rooting a phone can unlock the carrier.
I will also explain to you the difference between an unlocked phone and a rooted phone. You will also get some insightful info on what to expect if you root a locked phone.
Table of Contents
Will A Rooted Phone Work On Any Network?
A rooted phone may have network limitations. Most phones come with a network lock on them that requires a passcode from the network provider.
Your phone may work on some networks but may jam on others. The reason for this is, while rooting can help you unlock networks, some of them don’t unlock automatically.
Such networks will need you to contact the particular service providers for the unlock code. You may also get it online but at a cost. If your phone has a wrong IMEI, you will have no network whatsoever.
For your rooted phone to work on any network, you will have to do more tinkering with it. I would not advise that. It best to unlock a network’s code legitimately.
Even though there are ways you can unlock a rooted phone that is network locked, the procedures are long and tedious.
For instance, your carrier company can unlock the phone for you, but you will have to meet all the requirements stated in their unlock policy.
The danger of illegally connecting to a network using a rooted phone is that your device may be black-listed together with your credit.
Remember that a service provider’s lock will, in most cases, not unlock on any phone, especially rooted ones. You need the correct password/code.
Does Rooting Unlock The Carrier?
A lot of times, rooting a phone will not unlock the carrier. At least, from my own experience.
The fastest way to remove the carrier’s lock is by using the unlock codes from the carriers themselves. You do this by calling them and asking for the unlock codes.
You have to understand that rooting will not change a carrier’s lock. This is due to the fact that the lock is not in the phone.
The carrier has the unlock codes. Unlocking a carrier is done outside the firmware and software of your phone, using a key. The carrier providers provide this key.
Is Unlocked The Same As Rooted?
Many people mistake these two terms to mean the same thing. Unlock is different from rooted. An unlocked phone is different from a rooted phone.
Rooting is sometimes referred to as jailbreaking.
However, jailbreaking is often used to refer to devices such as Apple products. For jailbreaking, you can fix applications from other third-party sources. This process usually involves checking a box in the security settings of your apple device.
Rooting, on the other hand, is well known for describing Linux-based gadgets like Android.
To know the difference between unlocking and rooted, you first have to understand what rooting is and what unlocking is.
When you root a phone, you gain permission to all the software basics of that phone. To illustrate, when you root a phone, you gain unlimited access to the operating system of that phone.
You have privileged control over the various applications on that phone. In simpler terms, rooting is giving yourself express root permission to your phone.
You can liken rooting with running as administrators in Windows. When you root your Android device, you can add a lot of extra features to your phone. Rooting a phone gives you administrator access to the phone, so you can modify the phone’s system and not just the apps.
Besides this, rooting a phone makes you a superuser. This means that you are in complete control of the phone, and you can add or remove any feature you wish. You can also access any function that you were previously not able to access.
I think it is noteworthy to mention that rooting methods differ from one Android device to another. There is no singular method of rooting Android phones. Different phone models require different rooting methods.
Correspondingly, unlocking a phone means simply removing the SIM lock code that prevents it from working on other networks apart from the original one. An unlocked phone is not tied to one specific carrier. With such a phone, you can move from one network to another with no issues.
With an unlocked phone, a simple Simcard swap is all you have to do to move from one network to another. The Simcard is the pass that will enable your device to connect to a particular network.
When you switch to a new carrier, you will have to change the Simcard as well.
When you purchase a new phone through a carrier, it is usually locked to that carrier.
If you wish to have it unlocked, there are certain conditions that you have to meet, which are clearly stated in the carrier’s unlocking policy. You also need to have completed all the necessary payments.
You may be wondering why carriers who sell phones lock them. Well, these carriers usually sell phones at subsidized prices. For them to make a profit, albeit small, they have to lock customers into contracts for a specified period.
Most carriers have year-long contracts.
Customers are therefore required to stick to that specific carrier for the specified amount of time. It also ensures that customers finish making all the necessary phone payments.
Sometimes, customers may want to sell off these phones before paying them off. To curb such issues, carriers lock their phones.
For you to unlock your phone, you have to submit an unlock request to the original carrier. Note that for you to successfully submit an unlock request, the device should be paid off with no balance.
Luckily, there are some carriers that don’t lock phones regardless of whether you have completed payment or not. Some unlock your phone 60 days after the date of purchase.
From the above discussion, you can deduce that unlocking deals with the Simcard/carrier only. Rooting, on the other hand, deals with the phone’s operating system. You can route a phone, but you cannot unlock it unless with a code from the carrier company.
If you don’t want to go through the stress of unlocking your phone, you have the option of purchasing factory unlocked phones. Be prepared to spend more.
Can You Root A Locked Phone?
Of course, you can root a locked phone. However, this will not unlock it. There are various ways to root a locked phone. The most common is unlocking the bootloader and then rooting the phone afterward.
The basis is of rooting a locked phone is gaining root access with a bootloader. This means gaining root access while at the same time preserving your warranty.
Once you gain access to the bootloader, you will be able to root an unlocked phone. Be careful as unlocking the bootloader may wipe the internal storage.
It is easy to unlock your bootloader if you have the requisite tools. You can also run the 2-3 commands in ADB. Unfortunately, unlocking the bootloaders of some phones requires unlock codes that can only be obtained from the manufacturer.
On the downside, unlocking your bootloader is dangerous as you risk losing the warranty of your device. You may also lose some of your data as your device may be wiped clean. For this reason, it is wise if you create a backup before commencing the process.
Thankfully, there are ways you can root your locked phone without necessarily unlocking the bootloader.
Here are a few steps to follow if you wish to root a locked phone
- Turn on the USB Debugging in your device. To do this, go to the settings menu on your phone and choose USB debugging.
- Go online and download the kingroot tool. Remember to decline any prompt from Google that may ask you for permission to check your device for security issues.
- Install the file on your device. You will need to give it time to finish the installation process.
- Decline any Google prompts seeking permission to check your device activity. Most of these prompts are usually spam, so be wary of them.
- Once installed, your phone will automatically root.
If you wish to verify the root access further, you can go to the Play store and download the root checker app.
This method will root your phone without having to unlock it. It is a simple method to follow, especially if you need system-level customization on your Android device.
Conclusion
To sum up, rooting your phone has its advantages. Android phones are relatively efficient and easy to use. However, they usually come with a lot of pre-installed bloatware that can lower your battery life and even waste space in your device. The best way to deal with this is by rooting your phone to remove such features from your phone.
