* Cellphone carriers levy extra charges when users access the Internet from devices such as tablets, PCs and game stations by connecting through their mobile phones to networks such as (Verizon) or HSPA (AT&T). Aptly named , a user can install an app that provides this same mobile broadband access for other devices through a rooted phone for free, though this violates the carrier's terms of service because they want to preserve tethering as an a la carte feature. [Also see: ""]

* Reflashing an Android phone means replacing the stock version of Android with another version compiled independently from the phone manufacturer. The installation of independent Android versions referred to as ROMs was declared "legal" by the U.S. copyright office on April 10, 2011. Although the reason rooted phone users do this varies, the most common reason is that phones are anticipated to have a short useful life, so most manufacturers and carriers infrequently make bug fixes and new versions of Android available. Rooted users can update to a more current or feature-rich version of Android with one of these ROMs. Common user goals for reflashing are access to custom ROMs like , which provide such additional features as lockscreen gestures and browser incognito mode, and support for themes and ROMS like , which deliver features such as greater stability and increased battery life. [Also see: ""]

* With a rooted phone the user can tweak the CPU clock to improve performance or increase battery life and tweak the GPU to decrease graphics depth to improve game performance. Another big tweak is to remove carrier-installed apps generally referred to as "bloatware" that the user is uninterested in running.

* Users concerned about privacy can limit the amount of personal information exposed to carriers and Web services companies, and can install apps that block ads.

Of course, rooting voids the carrier/manufacturer warranty. If the phone can't be reverted to the stock version of Android that it shipped with, the carrier or manufacturer will often deny a warranty claim. The greatest hazard of flashing a custom ROM is that a novice might "brick' the phone so that it won't bootup.