5:16 am
Get Root
Until fairly recently, rooting Android was a messy process that required
installing the Android Debug Bridge and hacking the phone from a
command line. Fortunately, some industrious hackers have produced a few
simple apps that can root your device in seconds with the tap of a
finger. In this tutorial, I'll discuss two such apps--Easy Root (for the Motorola Droid, Droid X, and Milestone, and the HTC/Google Nexus One) and Unrevoked (which supports a variety of HTC handsets).
It's important to note here that although these one-click root apps are
easy to use, they aren't completely trouble-free. For instance, as of
this writing the developer of Unrevoked 3 is reviewing it to solve a
problem with the HTC EVO 4G (but Unrevoked 2 is still available). And
the latest version of Android, 2.2 (aka Froyo),
will present new challenges for root users as carriers and phone
manufacturers continue to try to block users from hacking their
handsets. These obstacles are a basic reality for anyone attempting to
root their device, just as Apple iPhone users must constantly adapt to
Apple's efforts to block people from jailbreaking the iPhone.
Even though Easy Root and Unrevoked don't work on all Android phones,
they do cover a broad swath of the Android universe. If you're
interested in rooting a Samsung Galaxy or another device, however, you
still have options--they're just not as easy. Because the state of
Android hacking is constantly in flux, your best bet for phones not
covered in this tutorial is to google "root" and the name of your phone,
or to keep an eye on the discussions about your phone on a good Android
forum, such as AllDroid.org.
Step 1: Download a Rooting App
Step 1: Download a Rooting App
To get started rooting your phone, you need the appropriate app for your
device. If you're using a Droid, Droid X, Milestone, or Nexus One,
you'll want Easy Root. HTC users with an Aria, Desire, Droid Incredible, EVO 4G, Hero, or Wildfire/Buzz will want to use Unrevoked.
With either of these apps, your first step is to download the app
directly from the developer's Website and put it in the root folder of
your phone's SD Card.
Easy Root downloads as an APK file that's ready to run from the phone,
so you could just download it straight onto the device and tap it in
your file manager app to run it.
Unrevoked downloads as a zipped file with several files inside it. If
you have an unzip utility on your phone, you can download and unzip it
directly on your device. Otherwise, you'll need to unzip it on a PC and
copy the appropriate file to the phone. Because Unrevoked comes in a few
phone-specific files, it's generally best just to copy the correct file
from your PC in the first place. The documentation on the Unrevoked
site clearly explains which file to use for your particular phone.
Step 2: Install the App
Once you've placed the APK file for your rooting app onto your phone's SD Card, locate it with a file-management app such as Astro File Manager
and tap it to start the installation. Follow the prompts to allow the
installation. Once this finishes, the rooting app will appear in the
phone's App Drawer. Launch it.
Step 3: Root It
Easy Root's interface is as simple as it gets. Tap 'ROOT ME!' to root your phone.This
is the moment of truth. With your newly installed rooting app launched,
tap the option to root the phone. (You may first have to tap past a
warning or disclaimer screen.) Once you tap the button to root your
phone, the app will spend a few seconds running a script that alters the
system's user permissions to allow superuser access and install a
customized recovery image on your phone's System partition. It will then
present you with a screen that says you have root.
In some instances, running Easy Root or Unrevoked on a supported device and following all the instructions exactly can still result in an unrooted phone. If this happens to you, don't lose heart. The developers of these apps are highly responsive to user questions and feedback, and if you take care to document everything you did and all of the relevant settings on your device, you stand a good chance of getting the help you need to root your handset. Or, at the very least, you could provide valuable information that the developer can use to update the app and make it work on phones like yours. Just remember: Rooting is a precarious business for everyone involved, and these developers have put a lot of work into their projects with very little promise of reward. So be nice, even if you're frustrated.
In some instances, running Easy Root or Unrevoked on a supported device and following all the instructions exactly can still result in an unrooted phone. If this happens to you, don't lose heart. The developers of these apps are highly responsive to user questions and feedback, and if you take care to document everything you did and all of the relevant settings on your device, you stand a good chance of getting the help you need to root your handset. Or, at the very least, you could provide valuable information that the developer can use to update the app and make it work on phones like yours. Just remember: Rooting is a precarious business for everyone involved, and these developers have put a lot of work into their projects with very little promise of reward. So be nice, even if you're frustrated.
Step 4: Reboot
Restart your phone to enable the new root permissions on your device. Congratulations--your handset should now be rooted.
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