Glossary Android - bibanon/android-development-codex GitHub Wiki

General Android Terms

  • Rooting - Gaining the ability to use the superuser account (root), which can read and make changes to system files.

  • ROM - An installable image containing the operating system to be installed to your phone.

  • Radio - An installable image containing proprietary firmware for the cell phone chip.

  • Custom ROMs - Installable operating system images modified by ROM builders.

  • Custom Recovery - Software that allows users to flash ROMs directly from the device without need for RUUs. A livesaver in case of bad ROMs.

  • SDCard - A storage card used by some Android phones.

  • NAND - The smartphone's internal flash memory. Contains the operating system software that makes the phone tick.

  • Brick(ing) - A state in which your phone is rendered unusable, or "as useful as a brick." Divided into two severities:

    • Soft Brick - Bricked at the software level (e.g. bootlooping). Usually repairable using software, by flashing another ROM or radio using a bootloader or recovery.
    • Hard Brick - Bricked at the hardware level, usually in the BIOS. Very difficult or impossible to fix without hardware replacement.
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