Hi all,

I'm looking at a Chinese phone (Elephone P8), it's got a great spec (seen one already), it run's KitKat - 4.4.2, however it does not seem to have the ability to upgrade the OS like most major phones, which means it would have to be 'rooted'.

Does anyone have experience of doing this on any Android phone?

Grabbit

Have done it on my Samsungs loads of times, but it's specific to the model .

I did find this.

Many android devices never receive OEM OS updates. If it's not broke, they may say, why fix it?

Manufacturers will sometimes send out updates to fix a glitch or patch security but don't count on them delivering the next OS version.

Google recently made changes that allows many service-level 'upgrades' to be done through the Play Store.

ROOTING is done to get 'write' access to the OS.

If you're interested in seeing if others are tweaking the OS on your phone, check out the forums at xda-developers.

and the following xda- link: Elephone P8 MTK6592 1.7GHz Octa Core 5.7 Inch FHD 1920x1080

Look here

Elephone P8 MTK6592 Octa-Core Smart Phone ROOT Tool and Method

I don't do such search, just happen to find a guide on what you want here: How to Root Your Android Phones?

Um... hmm. Where do I start?

Not all smartphones are rooted the same way. The link displayed talks about htc equipment.

Many smartphones contain security countermeasures to prevent changes. Not knowing about their existence can really mess up your phone.

I would suggest that ANYBODY seeking to modify the firmware of their smartphone seek out QUALIFIED advice from major user forums.

The amount of seemingly helpful (and free) 3rd-party tools containing trojan spyware is scary. Always, always, always seek out the tools from the respected forum sites.