Motorola Droid: Unroot for Froyo? Root Before Froyo?

As the release of Android 2.2 becomes more of a reality on the Motorola Droid, there are a couple of questions that are asked quite frequently from both rooted and non-rooted users.  The first is, “Should I un-root before Froyo?”  The second is, “Should I root before Froyo is released?”  Both excellent questions, and two that I probably should have answered a week or so ago.  Let’s get to it…

1.  “Should I un-root my Droid before Froyo is released?”

Should you un-root?  My initial reaction is to say, “Oh heck no!”  My second reaction is, “Wait…why would you un-root if you’ve already rooted in the past?”  I say that simply because with the release of a new Android OS, we see a flurry of rooted users frantically figuring out a way to get the update as soon as it’s released.  Can’t blame them right?  Who doesn’t want new goodies?  The problem is, that immediately after unrooting and installing an update, they can no longer overclock, take screen shots, install custom ROMs, or do anything that drew them into rooting in the first place.  And what happens when they realize all of that?  They want to root their device again.

It should be pointed out that the 2.1-Update1 has still never been rooted in a similar way to 2.0.1 and we can assume that 2.2 could follow in its predecessor’s footsteps.  Remember the process that we outlined for rooting 2.1?  Not fun right?

And lastly, there is a growing concern in the Droid community that we will see Motorola start to lock down their devices when future OTA updates are released.  You thought 2.1 was tough to root, just wait until we reach Motorola Milestone bootloader status.

So should you “un-root” for Froyo?  I would say that holding off is your best bet.  Once we see some Froyo source code, you can expect 2.2 ROMs to be released long before an OTA update is even sniffed by your device.

2.  “Should I root my Droid before Froyo is released?”

Should you root?  This is a much tougher question than the previous one.  First, you should ask yourself, “Why do I want to root my Droid?”  If you are struggling for answers, check out this poll we ran a while back asking users to give us their top reasons.  If you read through the comments there and decide you still want to root, then I say now is a much better time to take on the process than after 2.2 is released.

And along the same lines as the answer to the previous question, you’ve got to consider the fact that the rooting process for Android 2.2 could be much more difficult than it was for 2.1.  In fact, it might be almost impossible.  We really don’t know at this time.

I’ll also point out that I have yet to hear of a person doing any permanent damage to their device while going through the process we have put together.  Is it still risky?  Of course it is.  Do your research, check out our “Root/Unlock” section, and ask questions around the site before proceeding.

So should you “root” before Froyo is released?  Weigh the pluses and minuses and if you are still interested, hit up our “Guide to Rooting Android 2.1.”

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I’d also like to ask our rooted crowd for their opinions on these subjects as I know many of you have far deeper knowledge than even I do.  Thanks!