Project Treble: Google's new system for making updates easier on manufacturers has a neat side-effect for modders: Because Project Treble separates the vendor implementation from the underlying system framework, developers can make custom ROMs that simply replace the system partition.

This is why it's important that you can easily download the stock firmware for your model, which would allow you to restore things to working order. Stock Firmware: When you're rooting and modding a phone, there's always a risk that things could go awry, leaving you with a soft-bricked device.

Some phone makers allow you to reset this fuse and restore full warranty coverage, while other manufacturers keep track of its status by recording whether or not your account registered for a bootloader-unlock code. If you ever need to send your phone in for faulty hardware, the manufacturer will read the state of this fuse, and likely deny warranty coverage if it's been tripped. Tamper Fuse: Most phones these days have a tamper fuse or flag that gets tripped when you modify the stock firmware in any way.The manufacturer code method is fairly simple, but it has one major downside - your OEM will know when you've unlocked your bootloader, so you'll probably lose warranty coverage. Some phones allow you to unlock the bootloader with a single Fastboot command, while others may require you to get a code from the manufacturer's website beforehand. Bootloader Unlock Method: Traditional root methods rely on an unlocked bootloader, and you can't use TWRP custom recovery without one.Image by Jon Knight/Gadget Hacks Key Comparison Points Don't Miss: All the Reasons You Should Root Your Phone.So we sorted through some of the most popular devices on the market today and created this list of the four best phones for rooting. If you're a modder, or if you just want the option of tinkering with your device, it's important that your next phone is easily rootable and has an active development community. For many folks, this level of customization is why they chose an Android device in the first place. Yet people still find ways around these hurdles, because rooting allows them to uninstall bloatware, block ads, and apply cool system-level mods and tweaks, among other things. Many manufacturers lock their device bootloaders and add extra layers of security to prevent users from rooting and installing a custom recovery. Superuser status isn't always easy to achieve, though. That may not sound like a lot, but with over 2 billion Android devices out there, the math works out to over 150 million rooted phones - more than the total population of Russia, Mexico, or Japan - so root nation is an important demographic that deserves being catered to. According to a study done by Kaspersky, 7.6% of Android users root their phones.

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