Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Out of all the customizing options you have with your Android operating system, none are more infamous than rooting it. When you hear about root Android, you are hearing about unlocking the operating system so there are no more restrictions in place that would typically [prevent you from installing the things that you want to install. Since the world of the mobile operating system gets things done with apps, that is almost always referring to the applications.
Simply put, rooting the Android operating system that is running on the OnePlus 3T smartphone is going to allow you to install more applications and those applications are going to enable you to do more things.
There is always lots of talk as to why Android developers don’t offer the Android operating system ‘rooted’out of the box, and in truth, there are probably many reasons and not just one. However, some of the reasons are pretty obvious. Over the history of Android to date, rooting was disliked because it gave the chance for users to remove the system apps. Those are the apps installed on the system partition and permanently on your device if it is not rooted. They did offer ways for you to disable the apps, but that is not a proper solution if you want to stop them from using up the memory on the device.
As we’ve moved forward in time, the newest reason for them not wanting you to have root access is security. When your device is not rooted, it is technically more challenging for you to end up with malware. While that is true, it’s also possible to use your rooted Android operating system and easily have it free of malware too; all it takes is a little know-how by yourself, and you will be fine. That is why we always suggest that rooting the Android operating system is best reserved for the experienced and advanced Android users.
If you are getting root access by installing the SuperSU application from the custom recovery image, then your Android operating system is technically as secure as it was before you installed the SuperSU. The reason that is true is that the SuperSU blocks everything in its path, so no malware gets through. The only time malware can get past SuperSU is when SuperSU prompts you with a message asking if you would like to let it through. That is the time when you need to know what you are installing. An advanced Android user knows what is a trusted application and what is not, and therefore never runs into any trouble with malware since they are only ever installing trusted apps.
Files We Need
- You need to have a custom recovery image installed on the OnePlus 3T smartphone before you can follow this guide.
Rooting the OnePlus 3T smartphone running on the Android 7.0 Nougat software updates
1. Download the latest version of Chainfire’s SuperSU to the computer and then open up the Downloads folder on the computer to find it.
2. Connect the OnePlus 3T smartphone to the same computer with the USB cable.
3. Navigate to the Downloads folder and then copy the SuperSU file and paste it in the internal storage SD card folder that is available on the computer when your phone is connected to it.
4. Unplug the OnePlus 3T smartphone from the computer and its USB cable.
5. Reboot the OnePlus 3T handset into its Recovery Mode by pressing the hardware button combination for that mode.
6. Take a NANDroid Backup by tapping on the “Backup” button from the Recovery menu if you have not taken a backup of your data recently.
7. From the main TWRP screen, tap on the “Install” button and then follow the guidelines to install the SuperSU from the SD card.
8. Once done, tap on the “Reboot” and then “System” option from the menu to get your OnePlus 3T back into the normal mode.
Your OnePlus 3T smartphone now has the bootloader unlocked, a custom recovery installed and has root access to it so you can install installing custom ROMs and all the root applications that you desire. You might even be lucky enough to find some custom kernels available for you to use in the future too, which gives you the hardware clocked at different speeds compared to the factory version if you prefer heading in that direction with your modding. You can find your kernels, ROMs and other custom developments for the OnePlus 3T smartphone from this XDA-Developers forum page.
As far as root access goes, it’s all about what new apps you can install. Most applications out there for you to install will install on the device naturally. However, thousands of other apps will not run on your device until it knows you have root access. That’s because they are the applications that need access to the deeper levels of the internal system before they can do what is being asked of them.
If you don’t know what root apps you want to install, you can check out our list of the best root apps to install on your Android operating system. The list comes complete with descriptions and download links.
Even if you wanted to have root access on the OnePlus 3T smartphone so you could start installing any of the extra apps that you couldn’t without root access, that doesn’t mean you can’t still install a new ROM. A new ROM can give you new features and design, and something that you prefer using over the version of the Android operating system that you are using now. What’s more, you can use those root applications on the new ROM also. We’ve written up a list of the best custom ROMs you can install on the OnePlus 3T smartphone that you can install now and will continue to update the article in the future when new ROMs are available.