Root does NOT void your warranty

Enough people have been asking or confused about this that I've decided to make a post about it. Understand that rooting your device is not grounds for voiding all or part of your warranty.

Contrary to what most people think and what carriers want you to believe, rooting your device does not affect your warranty at all. If you do something that causes damage to your device, whether hardware or software, then that wouldn't be covered. For example, the action of dropping your phone does not change the warranty. However, if you drop it and crack the display, that result of the action wouldn't be covered, as it's your fault, not the OEM's.

It's the same thing with software. If you root your phone or unlock it, then your warranty is still fine. If you root and mess with the wrong thing and end up bricking it, then that's your fault and isn't covered, since you're the one that did the damage, not the OEM.

Hopefully that makes sense. There are plenty of guides available that make it incredibly simple to do as long as you follow directions and understand what you're doing. Don't mess with things you don't understand and you're fine.

Rooting alone does not have any bearing on your warranty. In the US (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) and most other countries, the OEM or warranty holder must be able to prove that the warranty does not cover damage due to an issue caused by the user in order to refuse to honor it. The purpose of the warranty is to protect you, the consumer, against any defects that the OEM may have overlooked. It is not a safety net for you to screw up your device and demand a new one. Just be careful, read the guides, and ask questions when you don't understand something.

If the Wiki here is over your head, please feel free to ask questions about it. If it is too simple a guide for you, then head on over to XDA for more advanced stuff. Just know what you're doing before you do it. Don't just skip to the download links.

This does not mean you need to root your phone. Some people have no need to do so, and some simply don't want to for their own reasons. That's perfectly fine. I like rocky road ice cream, but you might not. There's nothing wrong with liking one thing or another. This post is for those who do want to root their device but are worried about voiding the warranty from doing so.