[Galaxy Note 3 General] Journyman16:
It does 'damage' the phone by causing an irreversible change to the item purchased. It doesn't prevent people from rooting the device, it just makes it clear someone did.

As for the rooting causing damage issue, that is NOT the case. (or at least, it might be but why most people root is very much NOT to overclock or otherwise push the absolute hardware limits)

If you want to Nandroid backup, use Titanium Backup (or other comprehensive backup program) or use Greenify or similar, your phone has to have root access. These are STANDARD industry actions and software. In other words, Samsung have altered the way any buyer might reasonably expect their phone to work, based on all the other Android devices out there. And they definitely DO NOT make it clear what the limitations of Knox mean. We have to come here to XDA to find out such things.

Nandroid backup is the only way I have seen to be able to get a new phone, run a Restore and have your original setup back in your hands within minutes. Every other method means hours spent trying to get widgets, screens and icons back where they were.

Battery was so-so when I got the phone, and now it is 3 days+ - but to get that I needed root so I could debloat and change some basic set up stuff so my phone will do what I want it to rather than follow some generic set up designed, apparently, for the kind of user I will never be.

And I guarantee there will ALWAYS be more of us than there are of the Corporates wanting sandboxed apps on their BYOD environments.

And you can't even effectively back up your apps/system without root. As for EFS backups, forget it.

I had my phone 3 days and OTA kept wanting me to apply the update. I kept reusing and when I DID apply it, via Odin, the phone soft-bricked. How do I restore this phone without a Nandroid? I have to invest hours trying to get my original ROM back on there, download all my apps again, (because I can't Restore them because Titanium requires root) then go through the laborious screen set up process again. BECAUSE SAMSUNG'S UPDATE FAILED IN ACTION!

If it wasn't for the Devs here I would have been without a phone for the next couple of weeks while it went back to get a fix that took me about 30 minutes after I had the ROM downloaded.

If they had set it so changing the kernel was a flagfall for Knox I probably wouldn't be so concerned - but I WANT a custom recovery. Fixing Permissions, for example is something I have had to do a few times on my S3 when installs have messed with my environment - it's a standard recovery action to get things working. Can't do it without a custom recovery. (or if you can, please tell me how someone. :D)

I love my Note 3. It is wickedly fast and has great battery. It's now rooted so I can run my apps. (Knox = 0x0) I am not planning on doing what I did with my S3 (30+ ROM's tried and dual boot to allow me to keep my environment but also try CM ROM's etc.) because Samsung have this Knox crap. But in a few months when I am sure I am in the bottom-of-the-bathtub-curve I will be saying bugger Samsung and Knox and going for Custom Recovery.

And my next phone will most likely NOT be a Samsung. They misread their customer base I think.