Remote Control
Turn root on or off on your Cloud Phone
How to enable or disable root on your Cloud Phone from the viewer: the three states of the Root row, the Apply & Reboot button, and what happens next.
4 min read
Your Cloud Phone lets you decide whether root is on or off, straight from the viewer, with nothing extra to install. This page covers the three states of the Root row, how to switch between them, and the one thing to know before you click: changing root reboots the device.
Where to find it
In the Actions list of the control panel, the Root row sits directly under Change device info. On the mobile viewer it is a tile in the Actions tab. Typing root into the search box above the list gets you there too.
No Root row? Nothing is broken. The row only appears when your Cloud Phone supports switching root on and off. Some older devices in the fleet don't, so the row is hidden completely. Rent a different device and it will be there.
The three states of the Root row
The label tracks what the device actually reports, so a glance tells you where you stand:
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Root: checking | The system is asking the device whether root is on. The row shows a spinner and can't be clicked yet |
| Root enabled | Root is currently on |
| Root disabled | Root is currently off |
"Root: checking" normally flashes by within a few seconds of the viewer connecting. Wait a moment and the label settles on enabled or disabled, and becomes clickable.
The Root window
Click the row and the Root window opens with the subtitle "Enable or disable root on this device."
Inside is the Enable root switch. Flipping it changes nothing on the device yet; it is only a local draft inside the window. The device only changes when you apply.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reset | Discards the draft and snaps back to what the device is running |
| Apply | Confirms and changes root. Greyed out until you've actually changed something |
If the Cloud Phone you have open belongs to a sync group of two or more devices, the window adds an Apply to all synced devices checkbox with the hint "The same root status is set on every synced device." Note that only devices in the group that support root will take the change; the rest are skipped.
Changing root reboots the device
Clicking Apply restarts the device. Root and its modules only mount or unmount at boot, so there is no way to make the change without a reboot. Anything running on the device is interrupted: your AFK game session, automation, downloads, unsaved logins. Wrap up your work before you change root.
That's why the confirm button says Apply & Reboot rather than just "Apply". Click Apply and a confirmation appears, titled Enable root? or Disable root? depending on which way you're going, warning you that the device will restart. Click Apply & Reboot to go ahead, or Cancel to back out.
What happens after you apply
The moment you confirm, the video disappears and the Root window closes itself.
The video cutting out and the window closing is normal, not a viewer bug. The device really is restarting. The viewer switches to the "Device is restarting…" status screen and tells you this usually takes at least 3 minutes. Leave the viewer open; the picture comes back on its own once the device is up.
If the device doesn't respond within about 8 seconds, the viewer assumes the command never landed: the video comes straight back and you get the toast "Failed to change root". In that case root is unchanged and the device is not rebooting. Check the viewer is still connected (the ms figure over the video), then try again.
When to turn it on or off
Reasons to turn root off
Some games and apps check for root and either refuse to launch or run with pieces missing. If your app throws that kind of error or closes on startup, turning root off and trying again is the first thing worth doing.
Reasons to turn root on
Some tools need root privileges to work at all. If those are what you came for, switch root on.
Every root change costs you at least 3 minutes of boot time, so if you plan to change root and change device info as well, do both in one sitting rather than triggering two reboots back to back.