[kwlug-disc] Android: rooting and carrier locking

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

On Mon, Jul 30, 2012 at 8:06 PM, Adam Glauser <adamglauser at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Despite all the chatter and the excellent presentation recently, I'm still
> unclear as to how rooting and carrier locks work together.
>

Two totally independent things.

Carrier locking means that you can't do the following:

- Switch carriers and use the same handset with the new carrier's SIM car.

- Travel abroad, and use the same handset with a local carrier for cheaper
local calls and data rates.

Is it possible to have a rooted device which is still locked to a carrier?


Yes.


> If so, is unlocking as simple as rooting (supposing I pick an easily
> rootable and/or very popular device).


No relation of one to the other.

Rooting allows you to run some class of apps that is not possible
otherwise. If you don't need one of those apps, then rooting is not a
necessity.

Are there any downsides to unlocking a phone?
>

No.
-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and
wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
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