How to Root Your Android & 12 Must Have Android Apps

Update: If you like this post, you’re going to love 8 Essential Root Apps To Get The Most Out Of Your Device (Root Required).

(Note: With the popularity of this post, we just revamped the posting with a fresh new update that adds Android 2.2.2 rooting resources, an updated listing of must-have apps, direct links to apps on AppBrain.com and more.)

 Today’s post is dedicated to rooting your Android Device. You’ll find information and links to help get started and some of the best apps to use once you gain root access to your Android device.

While the Android devices are already sleek, sexy and simply awesome, rooting the device will give you superuser access to your device. While becoming a superuser of your device lets you take total control over your Android, it’s important to understand the risks associated if you improperly root your device.

I recently rooted my Droid Bionic (Nov 2011) and it took just 5 minutes.

What is Rooting?

The term Root refers to giving yourself superuser permissions to your device. You can further customize and tweak performance settings that normal users can’t. If you aren’t computer savvy or too good with your Android, I recommend not rooting your phone. If done incorrectly, it can break your phone.

Advantages can be boosting the speed of your device by overclocking, WiFi tethering which would allow a computer or device to use your phone’s internet connection and the ability to further customize your device. Lifehacker, one of my favorite sites published Five Great Reasons to Root Your Android, which details some of the benefits to doing so. Another great article to check out is How to Hack Your Android Phone (and why you should bother) by ReadWriteWeb’s Sarah Perez.

What to do Before Attempting to Root

As previously mentioned, failing to properly root your phone can leave you with a broken phone. Before proceeding, do yourself a favor and follow the guidelines below.

(1) Learn more about rooting and understand the risks. Here is an informative Android Wiki, which explains what you gain and lose when rooting your device. For help, there isn’t a better place to search than Android Forums and Android Community.

(2) Learn the rooting steps and know what you’re doing before beginning

(3) Charge your battery all the way. If your battery died in the middle of the process, your phone may become nothing more than a paper weight.

How to Root

Since I’ve not yet decided to root my device, I haven’t yet attempted these steps, so please use caution. Check out the two articles and YouTube video below to root an Android device running 2.2.2 or lower. YouTube is the greatest rooting resource you’ll find. There are countless videos that will walk you through the entire process.

How to Root Your Droid 2.1

How to Root Your Droid 2.2

Android Apps for Rooted Devices

The following apps require you to have already rooted your Android Device. If you’ve successfully rooted your phone, visit the Android Market to find these top apps below.

Performance Apps

SetCPU for Root Users ($1.99) 4.7 Stars, 16k ratings, >250k downloads

SetCPU is a tool for changing the CPU settings (capable of overclock and underclock) on a rooted Motorola Droid, Nexus One, G1, G2, Samsung Galaxy S, myTouch 4G, Motorola Xoom, or one of many other devices to improve performance or save battery.

SD-Booster (FREE) 4.5 Stars, 900 ratings, 50k – 250k downloads

SD-Booster speeds up your SD-Card (external memory-card) up to 40 times.

History Eraser (FREE) 4.6 Stars, 19k ratings, >250k downloads

This app can erase history data on your Android device, cleanup your phone, delete your search history, del web history,remove your call log, clear all apps’ cache files, delete sms, clean your clipboard, clear frequently callded, and erase market search history.

Easy Uninstaller (FREE) 4.6 Stars, 13k ratings, >250k downloads

Easy Uninstaller is a tool to uninstall apps for android phones. Select multiple apps that you want to uninstall and click “Uninstall Selected Apps” button to uninstall them. Easy Uninstaller also support app search & sort.

OverclockWidget (FREE) 4.4 Stars, 6k ratings, >250k downloads

This app lets you monitor the current speed of your CPU, allows you to increase the speed and save on battery life.

Security Apps

DroidWall - Android Firewall (FREE) 4.6 Stars, 3600 ratings, >250k downloads

Front-end application for the iptables Linux firewall. Allows you to restrict which apps can access the network. This is a solution if you don’t have an unlimited data plan, or just wants to see your battery lasting longer.

Productivity Apps

Spare Parts Plus! (no ads) (FREE) 4.8 Stars, 7k ratings, >250k downloads

Spare Parts Plus! PRO allows you to enable and change some hidden settings of your Android device.

ES File Explorer (FREE) 4.7 Stars, 105k ratings, >250k downloads

ES File Explorer for Android is a free, featured all-in-one file manager & application manager & task killer & dropbox client & ftp client which explores your phone and your computer.

Titanium Backup Root (FREE) 4.8 Stars, 61k ratings, >250k downloads

Titanium Backup can backup, restore, freeze (with Pro) your apps + data + Market links. It fully supports protected apps & system apps. You can do 0-click batch & scheduled backups. You can move any app (or app data) to/from the SD card. PRO version adds 0-click batch restores, multi-user app data, Dropbox sync, etc.

Bluetooth File Transfer (FREE) 4.3 Stars, 76k ratings, >250k downloads

Browse, explore and manage files of any Bluetooth ready device, using File Transfer Profile (FTP) and Object Push Profile (OPP).

Root Explorer (File Manager) ($3.90) 4.8 Stars, 11k ratings, 50k – 250k downloads

This app gives you access to the entire Android’s file system, including the data folder. It includes SQLite database viewer, a text editor, multi-select, zip files, execute scripts, a search function, re-mount, permissions, bookmarks, email and more.

Barnacle WiFi Tether (FREE) 4.3 Stars, 8900 ratings, >250k downloads

This app turns your phone into a Wireless Ad-hoc Access Point. Share your 3G with Windows, Mac/iPod/iPad, Linux, Xbox

While the apps mentioned above will help to enhance your experience with your newly rooted Android phone, protecting your devices with the right cell phone cases is a must. We never expect to drop our phones, but in reality it’s only a matter of time before it happens. Dropping the device typically happens at the most unexpected times.

Here’s another tip that can save you money and the frustration of getting locked into a contract with your carrier. You can grab T-Mobile cell phones prepaid, which include 4G Android devices with a variety of plans to choose from. I may go this route when my current contract with Verizon is up to save some money.