root - 23/28 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

Samsung Galaxy Tab Rooted A Month Before Launch

Posted by Brad Ganley in Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung

This article mentions rooting and flashing of custom ROMs. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

The Galaxy Tab: It has been hyped as the first serious Android tablet. It is now seriously rooted.

Sera-Apps, the group responsible for cracking the Motorola Milestone wide-open, have been up to their antics again. This time, they've set their crosshairs on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The result? Headshot. Even though the device is not set to launch for about another month, you can rest assured that your warranty won't even have enough time to start feeling safe.

Aug

Move Over EVO - Sprint's 2nd 4G Phone, Samsung Epic 4G, Now Available

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Epic 4G, News, Samsung, Sprint

It's August 31st and like clockwork, the first CDMA Galaxy S counterpart of the T-Mobile Vibrant and AT&T Captivate, the Epic 4G is finally available both online and in stores.

If you've been following our Epic 4G coverage, you would know that:

we were very excited about this phone when our own Ian Douglas reviewed the Epic in detail last week
we were not alone - other reviewers were just as excited
it has already been rooted, before even hitting the general population
you can shave an extra $50 off that hefty $250 price tag that Sprint decided the Epic was worth by ordering through Amazon, as we discussed here.

Aug

Motorola Charm Rooted Via Universal Androot

Posted by Brian O'Toole in CHARM, Development, News

Good news for the 12 people who have managed to get a Motorola Charm - Universal Androot works perfectly well. For the uninitiated, Universal Androot is exactly what it sounds like: an app that can root a whole slew of Android devices (disclaimer: it doesn't unlock /system on all of them, though). Instructions are pretty simple:

Download the latest version of the program from this XDA post to your computer.

Copy the file to your SD card.

Find and install it with your file browser of choice (I choose Android Mate in the market, or you can use Astro). Don’t forget that this ability is only enabled if you check the Settings > Applications > Unknown sources option.

Aug

Root Available For the Epic 4G You Don't Even Have Yet

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Epic 4G, News

That was quick - the Sprint's Epic 4G has already been rooted by the crew over at SDX-devs. In other words, now you can root that phone you don't have yet. It's a method requiring adb (Android Device Bridge) commands and thus desktop connectivity, but a one-click solution will probably emerge sooner rather than later. Note: it says EVO root, but the method works on this phone as well, don't let the filename fool you. Instructions below:

download this file
http://evo4g.me/downloads/evo-root.zip

run these commands thru adb
adb push c:\downloads\rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp
adb shell
chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
cd /data/local/tmp
./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin

exit out of the adb shell, and type adb shell again.

Aug

Motorola Droid 2 Rooted

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Droid 2, News, Verizon Wireless

Looks like a dev over at XDA-Devs (where else?) has managed to root the Motorola Droid 2. As this is the device's first root and it was just released, it's not surprising that the method is still dependant on manually typing a number of commands. The process requires adb and Motorola drivers to be installed, and involves pushing and executing the root file with ADB. While it doesn't look overly complex, it's probably not something suitable for more novice rooters.

Setup:
- Install adb (here) and Motorola drivers (here)
- Download attached archive
- Extract to a directory, I used c:\Droid2Root
- Make sure you have USB degugging enabled
- Change connection to PC Mode

Process:
- Open command prompt
- cd c:/wherever-your-sdk-tools-folder-is
- adb devices (to verify the connection)
- cd c:/Droid2Root
- adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
- adb shell
- cd data/local/tmp
- chmod 0755 rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
- ./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin

- let the process run until it returns you to c:/Droid2Root
- cd c:/wherever-your-sdk-tools-folder-is
- adb devices (to verify the connection)
- adb shell (you should now have a # prompt)
- exit

- cd c:/Droid2Root
- adb push Superuser.apk /system/app/Superuser.apk
- adb push su /system/bin/su
- adb push busybox /system/bin/busybox
- adb shell
- chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
- chmod 4755 /system/bin/busybox
- exit

I'm sure there are certain steps that could be streamlined or eliminated, so please feel free to make a suggestion and I'll edit the post.

Aug

HTC Wildfire Gets Access To Root-Only Apps With Soft Root

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Development, HTC, News, Wildfire (Buzz)

It may have taken a little longer than other HTC phones, but the Wildfire has finally been rooted… in a way. This method doesn’t unlock NAND on the phone (which means you can't remove stock apps or install custom ROMs), but it does allow running applications that require root (here are 8 great root-only applications if you need inspiration).

XDA user MartinEve, who accomplished the soft root, is already in talks with the developers of unrEVOked to make a more permanent solution, but until then, you can follow the instructions below to root your Wildfire (to find the most up-to-date instructions, hit the source link).

Aug

EXCLUSIVE: enTourage Releases Kernel Source For The eDGe - AndroidPolice & Co Release Root Instructions

Posted by Justin Case in Development, eDGe, enTourage, Exclusives, Tips & Tutorials, Videos

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

Those of you who actually managed to get your hands on an enTourage eDGe dualbook ebook reader/tablet/notepad device thingy (it's been in low supply lately) and have been waiting for it to be rooted just got your wish. Colin O'Dell and myself with the help of Sean and Jamezelle were able to root the eDGe, with full adb access.

How We Did It

No exploit or hack was needed. We were able to decipher the developer's debug password and use it to enable adb, which just so happens to be running as root.

What It Achieves

This root finally opens the eDGe to developers, enabling the debug bridge and allowing root apps to be used.

Aug

Universal Androot App Offers One-Click Root On A Multitude Of Devices (G1, Nexus One, Droid, Droid X, Hero, X10, Streak, And More)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Droid (Sholes), Droid X (Shadow), G1 (Dream), Hero, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), Magic, News, Nexus One (Passion), Streak, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

Looking for an easy way to root your Android Device? Universal Androot may just be what the doctor ordered. The one-click root fad seems to be catching on and Universal Androot is an app that covers multiple Android devices, making it easier for those who may be reluctant experience the mighty wonders of root.

Universal Androot is the simplest root/unroot method I have seen to date and probably the safest - it has been confirmed as working by multiple users (apparently it uses the same exploit used to 1-click root the Motorola Droid X).

Note: This application just gives you root and does not unlock the /system partition or the boot loader on those devices that have them locked, such as the Droid X.

Aug

Samsung Captivate/Vibrant Now Rootable With One Click™

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Captivate, Development, Vibrant

Android dev TGA_Gunnman has been added to Amazon’s hit list for this latest in a litany of single-click phone unlocking methods. In spite of the impending lawsuit (not really), his Samsung Galaxy S One-Click Root program does exactly what it says on the, err, titlebar.

There are separate versions for the Captivate and Vibrant, so make sure you get the right one. All users have to do is download the program - currently Windows only - run it, and click the One Click Root button with their Captivate/Vibrant connected up to USB. Now all you have left is to sit back and wait for the custom ROMs to start rolling in (since there aren’t any yet).

Aug

Motorola DROID X Gets Single-Click Root — On PC Or On Phone, It’s Your Choice

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Development, Droid X (Shadow)

A common complaint leveled against Android is that it’s too technical or too difficult to use. This is especially the case when it comes to hacking around on your phone. While the command line may be the interface of choice for some Android users, it’s not exactly the most user friendly of solutions. Enter one-click rooting, something that iPhone jailbreakers should already be familiar with. One click. Can’t get easier than that, right? All it takes is downloading a simple Windows application, a click of a button, and BOOM (to use an Apple phrase) you’re all SuperUser-y.