root - 21/28 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Exploit Found Allowing Permanent Deletion Of Files On G2's /system Partition (NAND Memory)

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Desire Z (Vision), G2 (Vision), HTC, News

You're probably aware of one of the slightly more irksome facets of the G2 that is stymying attempts at custom ROMs, namely the locked down /system partition, where the OS is kept. Heretofore it has been impossible to tinker with this internal memory in a permanent fashion. All alterations were reverted on the next boot, leading to solutions like Paul O'Brien's VISIONary soft-root.

Well, Mr. O'Brien isn't the kind of fellow you can restrain with NAND lockdowns, and with a flourish today he unveiled his latest hack. His program, G2 Google Goggles Remover, is a proof of concept which he says will permanently delete the Google Goggles application from your G2.

Nov

[Update: Root No Longer Needed] Angry Aviary Lets You Share Multiple Angry Birds Profiles On The Same Device

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Games, News

Update: root is no longer required to use this app.

As an Angry Birds lover, I have always been slightly disappointed by the fact that when both me and my wife share the same phone to play the game, we never know who set the highest score in every level. Short of splurging the green for a new phone (she is still under contract with her crappy Pre), we now have another option - a small utility wittily called Angry Aviary.

Angry Aviary ~~utilizes its elevated privileges (your phone needs to be rooted)~~ to swap Angry Birds profiles around on the fly, thus letting multiple people go through the game at their own pace.

Oct

[How-To] Motorola Droid 2 Overclocked To 1.2-1.3GHz; T-Mobile G2 Says "Welcome To The Party"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Droid 2, Motorola

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Today must be some sort of national overclocking day - first the T-Mobile G2 went down to the force of xda-developers, and it looks like Motorola's Droid 2 is next up in line (albeit getting its treatment from the AndroidForums). While the speeds aren't quite as impressive (users have only been able to achieve 1.2-1.3GHz from 1GHz as opposed to G2's 1.4GHz from 800MHz), the improvement will still be very much welcomed by Droid 2 owners, especially since the instructions are so straightforward (they really are):

You need to be rooted before proceeding.

Oct

MoDaCo's Paul O'Brien Releases VISIONary - One-Click Soft Root For The T-Mobile G2 With Autorun-On-Boot

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Applications, Development, G2 (Vision), HTC, News

With the G2 already getting a non-persistent "soft-root" solution, it was only a matter of time before someone combined it into a nice, user-friendly package. Stepping up to the plate (or rather, the crease) is Paul O'Brien, the founder of UK smartphone website MoDaCo, well known for a myriad of clever hacks.

^{Superusers, you can haz them}

Deriving its name from the HTC Vision device codename, VISIONary is a simple one-click temporary root app for the T-Mobile G2. The application installs itself to /data/app, and a version that will run automatically on boot is also available. VISIONary can also be set to run a visionary.sh script immediately after rooting, allowing you to automate any root commands you might usually do by inserting them into the .sh file.

Oct

Meet SuperOneClick: Easily Root Nearly Any Android Device, Including Froyo-Rockin' Samsung Captivate

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, AT&T, Captivate, Development, Devices By Manufacturer, Epic 4G, Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, Vibrant

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

A few days ago, a new version of Universal Androot was released with support for Froyo, but a number of devices were still incompatible.

Oct

Motorola Flipout For AT&T Rooted; All Five People Who Plan On Buying It Are Overjoyed

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Flipout / Twist, Motorola

Last Updated: January 23rd, 2011

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Android hackers have definitely come a long way since first rooting the T-Mobile G1 - it is no longer a surprise to see a device rooted on or even before launch day.

Oct

HTC Desire Z Partial, Temporary Root Accomplished

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Desire Z (Vision), Development, G2 (Vision), News

Seems like the HTC phones are really taking up the lions share of Android news lately, doesn't it? First the G2 was rooted, and shortly after we learned that HTC did its best to prevent perma-rooting. And just this morning, we heard word that the Desire HD and Z are both being delayed. Quite a mouthful, we know - but now that you're up to speed: an enterprising individual by the name of kholk over at XDA-Devs has come up with a root method for the HTC Desire Z.

The method is very similar to the G2 method mentioned above - the process involves dropping a package on your SD Card and executing a few scripts.

Oct

T-Mobile On HTC G2: No Root For You

Posted by Adam Litke in G2 (Vision), News, T-Mobile

In case you have been living under a rock, you might not have heard that T-Mobiles HTC G2 was rooted - but only temporarily. After root was gained, it was discovered that HTC included a fail safe measure into the phone that removes root access upon reboot. This blatant attempt to stop users from rooting their phones is being called a "security measure" by HTC. T-Mobile sent the following response to Androinica after they posted an article about the inability to permanently root the G2.

As pioneers in Android-powered mobile devices, T-Mobile and HTC strive to support innovation. The T-Mobile G2 is a powerful and highly customizable Android-powered smartphone, which customers can personalize and make their own, from the look of their home screen to adding their favorite applications and more.

Oct

Universal Androot Hits The Market, Now Supports One-Click Rooting Of 23 Android Phones

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Droid (Sholes), G1 (Dream), Hero, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), Milestone, Milestone XT720, myTouch Slide (Espresso), News, Nexus One (Passion), Streak, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

Last Updated: October 16th, 2010

Update: As Artation has pointed out in the comments below, Universal Androot has since been removed from the Market for unknown reasons. If you're still heartbent on using it though, you can download it it from here.

If you can think back to the time Universal Androot was released, you'll recall the then small xda-developers startup that allowed for one-click rooting of a very limited number of phones, all of which had to be running Android 2.1 Eclair or lower.

Now, the app has hit the Market and is ready for prime time with support for a multitude phones, including devices running Android 2.2 FroYo (though, only limited to Nexus One before 2.2.1 and an older FRG01B Droid build), 2.1 Eclair, 1.6 Donut, and even phones stuck on 1.5 Cupcake, like the HTC Magic.

Oct

Re-Map The Buttons On EVO's HTC Sense To Make Them Do Your Bidding

Posted by Brad Ganley in Development, News

There is talk of rooting in this post. If you have no idea what that is or why you should do it, check out our primer: Rooting Explained And The Top Benefits

xda-developers forum member JsChiSurf has figured something out that I've been longing for since the day I went out and bought my shiny new HTC EVO 4G: how to change the buttons on the bottom of the HTC Sense homescreen. It never made sense (no pun intended) to me that the phone button be huge and in the center or that the "Add" button to even be wasting space on the launcher and, evidently, he shares that sentiment with me.