Sunday, October 2, 2016

Best Phones for Rooting and Modding

Tinker to your heart's content with these Android phones.

Best overall

Nexus 5X

See at Amazon

If you're not content with the software some company decided you are allowed to use and are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it, the Nexus 5X is the best phone to do it with.

Because it's a phone directly from Google, the bootloader is easy to unlock using tools and directions Google gives you, and you'll have no restrictions on the software you can install. If you keep going until the phone just stops working getting back to the factory software is just as easy, and Google provides a downloadable image you can use to restore.

Just as important is the price. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a phone to enjoy modding it, and the Nexus 5X's low price has made it a popular favorite. You'll find a large online community of people doing the same things with their Nexus 5X that you're interested in doing.

Bottom line: The value-priced Nexus 5X has a large development community and there are no restrictions on what you can do on the software side.

Why best

The Nexus 5X is open and affordable.

Phones direct from Google all share one common trait — they are easy to root and mod the software. The reason we think the Nexus 5X is the best is because the low price means the community is huge.

Most things that can be done on one Google phone can also be done to the others, but every once in a while a device-specific issue arises and when that happens, the best thing you can have is a large group of people that act as a support channel. Routinely checking in under $200 USD, the 5X is also a great phone to get if you're looking for a second device to play around with while you use your primary phone to hold all your personal data without compromising its security.

Whether you're new to phone modding or an old hat, we can't help but recommend the Nexus 5X as the best phone to do any of it.

A higher-spec option

OnePlus 3

See at OnePlus

OnePlus phones have been a fan favorite among Android enthusiasts since the company was started, but the OnePlus 3 is different — it's the first phone from them you can buy without an invite.

It's easy to unlock the bootloader and install alternative software, and like the Nexus 5X, the relatively low price makes for a large development community. A strange positive is that issues with the factory software mean that more people are interested in modding the OnePlus 3, which makes a large community even larger.

If you are willing to spend more and get better internals on the phone you intend to break open, the OnePlus 3 is worth looking at.

Bottom line: High-end specs and a budget price make the OnePlus 3 a contender. Easy modifications and a large community also make it an excellent choice for rooting and modding.

The flagship option

Nexus 6P

See at Amazon

If you love tinkering and modding your phone enough to spend serious money, you'll love the Nexus 6P. Poised as the Android platform reference model in 2016, the Nexus 6P can handle any task thrown at it for when you need it to work as intended, and the open nature that comes with being a phone direct from Google means you're free to do whatever you like with the software.

Just like the Nexus 5X above, everything you need to modify, break, then get things working again for the Nexus 6P is available from Google, who actively encourages and participates with the people doing the software development for third-party Nexus 6P ROMs and mods.

Paying more for a phone you intend to alter right out of the gate may sound a bit silly, but for many the experience can't be beaten.

Bottom line: Everything you want or need to do is possible with the Nexus 6P, but the price is higher than the others on the list. This is definitely not the value choice.

Conclusion

You can root and mod almost every Android phone. We tend to focus on the ones you can't because they are outliers. But being able to do it through an exploit or other sometimes difficult process isn't ideal.

If you're looking ahead and know you'll want to change something on your next phone that requires custom software or root access, these phones are the best options.

Best overall

Nexus 5X

See at Amazon

If you're not content with the software some company decided you are allowed to use and are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it, the Nexus 5X is the best phone to do it with.

Because it's a phone directly from Google, the bootloader is easy to unlock using tools and directions Google gives you, and you'll have no restrictions on the software you can install. If you keep going until the phone just stops working getting back to the factory software is just as easy, and Google provides a downloadable image you can use to restore.

Just as important is the price. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a phone to enjoy modding it, and the Nexus 5X's low price has made it a popular favorite. You'll find a large online community of people doing the same things with their Nexus 5X that you're interested in doing.

Bottom line: The value-priced Nexus 5X has a large development community and there are no restrictions on what you can do on the software side.



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