what is the difference between rooting and unlocking bootloader?

Question

Hey there,
I've been an android user for a while now, but I never was into the rooting and modding stuff, cuz I really like my phones to be stock .. I got a new nexus 5 and I had a problem with its low sound ...

I have seen however a way to boost the sound by installing a zip file in the recovery mode (i dont know what that is) ... Do I have to root the phone to install such files? can I just unlock the bootloader without rooting (cuz I dont want to mess a lot with my new phone) ... should I install a custom bootloader ??

thanks for your help
cheers

Answer 1

You need to unlock the bootloader in order to install a custom recovery image. Rooting the device will give you more access to the hardware and system than a standard user would have. There are advantages to both. In order to flash a zip file, you need to unlock the bootloader and install a customer recovery image. You don't need to root the device, but rooting it won't hurt anything, and there are certain apps that you can install that only work if you're root.



So the decision is do I want to unlock and root to install this app or not?



At least, read this thread forum at XDA to see what the required steps will be.



http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/guide-nexus-5-how-to-unlock-bootloader-t2507905

Answer 2

unlocking bootloader gives full access to bootloader. rooting gives full access to operating system files.



so when you unlock bootloader, you can flash custom recoveries and roms. you do these at different boot modes (like fast boot,flash mode, download mode, recovery mode, hboot).



when you root your device you (and other apps) can access system files and modify them to suit your needs. you do these when your phone is on.

Answer 3

If you don't know what these things are, you shouldn't be doing them.