Okay, so you know “how” to Root your phone… but why do it? What exactly can you get out of a Droid that has been rooted?
Well, aside from being cool and geeky, there are a few real benefits. Think of you Droid as a supercar. If you drive it only in subdivision streets, you aren’t really pushing it to its capabilities. However, if you take it to a track or maybe the Autobahn, you can open her up and unleash its power. Obtaining root is like taking your car to the Autobahn, except nerdier!
Enough of the analogies! Show me what I can do.
Most people want to root their phones for one reason: loading custom ROMs. A ROM, when it is applied to smartphone operating systems, is a fully customized image that alters the function and form of the device. For instance, a ROM could be a port of the HTC SenseUI found on Android phones like the Eris and the Hero. A person with root could potentially take this port, if made available, and put it on their Droid. At this time, there are no real custom ROMs for the Droid, though advancements are being made every week.
Another benefit of obtaining Root is the use of Root-only applications. Some applications require Superuser permissions in order to operate. You can think of “Superuser” as a limitless administrative role for the Android OS. It is given full control over what can be done on the software level. Superuser requires Root, and thus, so do certain apps. You can download Terminal apps which allow you to enter Android OS code to communicate with the system, Drocap2 which can take screengrabs anywhere on the phone, Adfree which disables advertisements on the web and in other apps, etc… There are many very cool programs being created specific to Root users!
One of the richest abilities given to Root users is scripting and customization. Given a mix of apps, the SDK, and scripts, Root users can change the way their phone feels and operates. Things like skinning every aspect of the OS, upgrading features that aren’t yet released, and creating all new functionality altogether could not be possible without Root. There is so much capability at such an early phase (remember, the Droid was first rooted only a few weeks ago), it’s an awesome time to be a part of the Root community. There will be groundbreaking discoveries and releases that will completely change the way you think about your Droid.
Rooting your phone is a fun, educational, and useful way of getting the most out of your device. But as always, there are risks involved every step of the way. Just be smart and careful, and don’t get ahead of yourself. I created this site as a guide for the average Joe, but even a plain-English guide can seem daunting for the more advanced operations. You need to keep in mind that by Rooting your Droid, you are most definitely going against the Verizon TOS and will be breaking your warranty. Though there are ways to revert back to a completely Root-free device, I can’t assure you this will not get you into trouble in the future.

If you have read about the new brick scale, perhaps you are wondering why you would even attempt to follow one of these guides- -why would anyone in their right mind put such an expensive device at risk of becoming a paper weight?
The answer is: if you simply take your time and do things right, you can eliminate much- -if not all- -of that risk!
Obviously, our goal around here isn’t to pile as many non-working Droid’s into landfills as possible. We want you to successfully enhance the ability of your phone! So here are a few tips to help keep you from the dreaded brick…

• Follow directions carefully, making sure to read through them before beginning.
• Go slow and take your time on every detail.
• Research the action you are about to perform; if you don’t know much about it, become educated.
• Trust your instinct. If you are unsure about something, perhaps you shouldn’t try.
• Follow instructions fully. If you forget a step or quit before you’re done, there may be problems.

So happy rooting! And remember, as always, we are not responsible for your mistakes.

One feature RootYourDroid will offer is a quick look at how at risk your phone is with a certain action performed to it. Since the universal term for a broken phone is called a brick, we shall use the brick scale. The more at risk your phone is to becoming a brick, the higher amount of bricks it is scored (0-5). If you are a beginner, you may want to stick with the guides that have minimal risk to your Droid.
Remember, regardless of brick scale, your phone is still vulnerable to failure. We are not responsible for bricked devices and/or voided warranties. Please read more on our disclaimer page: RootYourDroid Disclaimer
Here is an example of the brick scale: (3.5/5)
This would mean a mid-high level of risk. In other words:
(0/5) would equal no feasible risk to your phone while:
(5/5) would mean only advanced Root users should attempt such an action.

USB Debugging is a common procedure used in Rooting and hacking the Droid. Simply said, it allows the Android Debugging Bridge to work its magic by allowing a seamless handshake between Droid and PC. We use this mode for copying data between the Droid and PC, installing apps, reviewing phone data, and for development purposes. It is very easy to setup, requiring only a system setting to be enabled.
Begin by connecting your Droid to a PC via USB. Go into the Droid settings and select Applications.


Select Development.


Ensure “USB debugging” is checked. You will be asked if you want to enable debugging, select yes.


And that is all there is to it. You now have a direct connection with ADB and your PC. We will do this to our phones most every time we need to transfer files via ADB.
Sometimes, people will have incompatible preloaded drivers on their computers. This may result in a “Device Not Found” error when following some guides. To remedy this, please refer to the USB Debugging Drivers guide.

Since your MicroSD card is buried underneath your battery, it is silly to remove it and use a card reader every time you want to copy files over to it. Fortunately, the Droid allows you to easily mount the MicroSD card as a mass storage device, similar to a USB Thumbdrive. Though we may also use ADB to copy files from our PC to our MicroSD card, this requires no Command Prompt or code use.

Mounting the MicroSD Card:
Connect your Droid to a PC via USB. You will be notified that there is a USB connection. Drag down the notification shade and select “USB connected.”


You will now see an option to mount your phone; do so at this time by selecting “Mount.”


This will turn your Droid into a mass storage device. Your computer should automatically recognize it and an autorun popup should appear on your desktop.


Browse the files so that you see the contents of your SD card. You are now ready to upload files onto the MicroSD card.
Turning Off MicroSD Mounting:
Slide down the notification shade and select “Turn off USB storage.”


An option will popup allowing you to “Turn Off”–select this now.


If you haven’t closed the SD Card folder on your computer, the window should close automatically once you turn off USB storage.

The Droid is a highly hackable device, and much of this is due to the rich developer support directly from Google. As many of you know, the Droid runs the Android operating system which has been developed and pushed by Google. Not only do they provide the end-user OS you use on the phone, but they have created a full-featured SDK for private developers.
An SDK, or Software Developer’s Kit, is a collection of scripts, code, programs, and knowledge bases that assist people in creating Android apps and working inside the OS. It is a completely free package and is absolutely essential for higher level mods. You can read more about the SDK and download it from here:
Android SDK | Android Developers
There is also an in-depth installation guide. It does not matter where on your computer the SDK folder is located and installed to. Follow the install guide before proceeding.
Inside of the SDK is the cornerstone of most Android mods: Android Debug Bridge. It is located within the tools folder (android-sdk-windows/tools) and can be accessed through Windows Command Prompt. This small application is a bridge between your computer and the Android OS on your phone. It allows you to push, pull, copy, and delete files as well as advanced scripts that perform specific tasks directly on your phone. You can think of it as an interface which extends your computer’s keyboard and files to your Droid.
In most of the upcoming Root Your Droid guides, you will see me reference the use of ADB, command prompt, Superuser permissions, and Linux code. This will all center around the SDK and Android Debug Bridge. But before you can use it, it’s important to learn what it is you’re doing.
How to access ADB through your Windows computer:
The first thing to know is how you access ADB to be able to use it. If you notice, double clicking on adb.exe in the tools folder does not open or run anything. In order to run ADB, we must do it through the Command Prompt.
To do this, go to your Start Menu and select “Run…”.


A Run dialogue will pop up; type “cmd” and hit OK.


This will open a new window called Windows Command Prompt.


This program is similar to DOS in that it allows you to input text-based commands in order to perform tasks. From here, we need to navigate to the tools folder inside of the Android SDK folder (where adb.exe is located). To do this, we need to know the exact file path of the tools folder. Open up the tools folder and at the top of the Windows Explorer window is the address, or file path, of the folder.


For instance, my tools folder is on the Desktop of my XP machine. Thus, the full file path of the folder is:
C:\Documents and Settings\user\Desktop\android-sdk-windows\tools
Where “user” is the username of your computer. Copy your file path for use in the Command Prompt.
Back to the Command Prompt, we now need to point to the file path we copied. To do this, we need to type: “cd” for change directory, then add a space. This will preceed the file path of the folder. Right click inside Command Prompt and select Paste. You cannot use a keyboard shortcut to paste into Command Prompt, this will simply type out the keystrokes you used. Once we have typed in “cd ” and then pasted the file path, your Command Prompt should look like this:


Press enter and you will notice that where “c:\” use to be is now replaced with the full file path of the tools folder.


If Command Prompt alerts you that “The system cannot find the path specified”, you probably have not pasted the correct or full path of the folder.

Tip: Windows Vista and 7 users may go into their tools folder, highlight the full address and simply replace it with “cmd”. Press enter and Command Prompt will open and will be pointed at the folder.

Once you have pointed Command Prompt to your tools folder, you may test to see if you have everything in order by typing “adb” and hitting enter.
If all went well, Command Prompt should display a long list off available commands and descriptions. Here is an explanation for the most commonly used ADB commands:

• adb push – Copies a file from the computer onto the Droid.
• adb pull – Copies a file from the Droid to the computer.
• adb shell – Emulates Unix terminal so that you may issue Unix Commands from the Command Prompt. (Learn more about Unix Commands for Droid modding)
• adb reboot – Reboots the Droid.

There are many more commands as you can see from the list Command Prompt gave you. These are simply the most common commands used in these guides. The guides will go more in depth as you go along. To use these commands, you must ensure your directory in Command Prompt is pointed to your tools folder.
You must be made aware that when accessing your Rooted phone through ADB, that you may be prompted to accept a Superuser Permission. To avoid seeing this in the future, simply select “Always” when this pops up. If you do not accept the permission, it will fail ADB.

While working with a Rooted Droid and ADB, you will notice that there is an extensive use of code. Much of this code may be unfamiliar to you, but it shouldn’t be scary.
When you see lines such as:

su
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
sync

You may feel like you are in over your head. But it’s a lot simpler than it looks!What you see above is called Unix commands. These commands are recognized by the base Linux kernel which controls the Android OS. Linux is an open source computer operating system; Google uses it to create Android. So these Unix commands are similar to the Windows Command Prompt commands we learned about in the Android Debug Bridge guide except they are used for different systems.
When using Unix commands in future guides, it is important to read through them carefully and copy them exactly. Though a mistake will most likely return an error message and cause no harm, it is possible to miss a character and do some damage. Caution and deliberation is key! Here are a few common Unix commands used for Droid modding purposes. These certainly aren’t all of them, and all commands will be described within individual guides.

• su – (Substitute User) Used to change to “root user” to perform Superuser Permission commands.
• mount – Readies a file system for use; allows the user to perform commands to a directory.
• cd – (Change Directory) Changes to the proceeding directory.
• chmod – (Change Mode) Changes the mode of files and directories; commonly used to change permissions.
• mkdir – (Make Directory) Makes a new directory for files.
• mv – (Move) Moves a file or directory from one place to another.
• sync – Synchronizes all data which has been scheduled for writing.

As I’ve stated, there are many more commands which may be used while sending commands to your phone. Don’t fret; they will be described fully as you go along.
One important consideration to make is that after EACH line of Unix commands, you must hit enter to run the command before going on to the next line. You may not copy and paste multiple lines into Command Prompt at once.
I bet you’d never guessed you would be learning a new programming language while working on your Droid! Though you are far from mastering the Unix system, I hope this has familiarized you with some of the necessary commands needed for advanced root-related functions.

Some people are having problems with getting their Droids to connect to ADB after enabling USB Debugging. The reason for this problem may be incompatible USB drivers. To manually install the correct Droid USB Debugging drivers, please go to this link:
Motorola USB Drivers
Simply download the Windows drivers that pertain to your system (32 or 64 bit), extract the installer, and install the drivers. Then, reconnect the Droid via USB and enable USB Debugging.
This will solve some of the “Device Not Found” problems people are having.

Sometimes we want to install an app that has not been downloaded from the market. When we download an app from a developer or website directly, this is called an “Unsigned App”. Sometimes while hacking, we need to use an app that isn’t in the market. For this reason, we need to enable the installation from unknown sources.
Begin by connecting your Droid to a PC via USB. Go into the Droid settings and select Applications.

Ensure “Unknown Sources” is checked. You will be asked if you want to enable debugging, select yes.

You have now allowed your Droid to install apps not downloaded from the market.

Obtaining Root access to your Droid is a great way to extend the benefits and usefulness of your phone. It is one of the easiest hacks, though, it is not without it’s risk. Go slowly and read through the entire guide before starting. It should take you no longer than 10 minutes. Happy rooting!
To learn more as to why you might want to Root your Droid, please read this article: Benefits of Root
As always, before you dive into any of our guides, please review our disclaimer. We are not responsible for the outcome of performing any task on this website. (0.5/5)
Prerequisites: (Please be familiar with the following)

• MicroSD Mounting

Requirements:

• Micro SD Card that is inserted into the Droid
• update.zip
• USB Data Cable

Step 1: PC Connection

Using the method found in the MicroSD Mounting guide, connect your Droid to a PC via USB and mount your MicroSD card.




Step 2: Uploading the Update Package
Download the Droid Root Update Package (update.zip). This is a customized version of the update.zip your phone receives when it gets an Over The Air Android update from Google and Verizon. It has the dirty work built in so all the hard work is taken care of.
Once you have downloaded “update.zip” drag it onto the MicroSD card folder you opened on your computer. After the file has transferred to your MicroSD card, you must unmount your Droid. You are now ready to apply the update package.


Step 3: Preparing the Droid for Root
Once you have unmounted the phone, it is now time to prepare the Droid to receive the Root files. You will be accessing Recovery Mode to do this, a special Android console which can be used to manually recover and install updates. Start by powering down the phone completely.
While holding “X” on the physical keyboard, hold the power button to turn on the phone. You may let go of the power button, but do not let go of X.


After a few seconds, an Exclamation Mark icon will appear. You may now let go of X. To access Recovery Mode from the exclamation mark icon, hold the volume up button and then press the camera button.




Step 4: Rooting the Droid

You will then open a text menu with four options. You will only concern yourself with “apply sdcard:update.zip”. Using the directional pad, navigate to “apply sdcard:update.zip” and push the gold, center button to select it.


The update process will begin immediately and should take no longer than a minute or two. It will let you know when the process is complete.


From here, navigate to “reboot system now” and select it. Your phone will shut off and reboot. Your Droid is now officially rooted. To check and see if all went well, go into your Application Drawer and search for an app called Superuser Permissions with a ninja icon.


Upon opening this app, you will notice a blank screen. This is normal as the app has not created permissions yet. This will be populated as you use Root-specific apps and continue to hack! You have now completed the Obtaining Root guide!

Busybox is a useful tool; a package of applets which provides additional Unix tools that are otherwise missing from the Android shell. That may not make a lot of sense, but here’s what it does for you. Busybox allows you to perform more advanced root-related functions on your Droid. That’s good, right? Yes it is, and for some guides, it is absolutely necessary.
As always, before you dive into any of our guides, please review our disclaimer. We are not responsible for the outcome of performing any task on this website.
(2/5)
Prerequisites: (Please be familiar with the following)

• Android Debug Bridge
• Unix Commands
• USB Debugging
• USB Debugging Drivers

Requirements:

• Root
• Micro SD Card that is inserted into the Droid
• busybox.zip
• USB Data Cable

Step 1: PC Connection

Using the method found in the USB Debugging guide, connect your Droid to a PC via USB and enable USB Debugging.


Step 2: Prepare Busybox Files
Download busybox.zip and extract it to your Android SDK tools folder. Make sure file busybox is in the same folder as “adb.exe”.


Step 3: ADB Commands
Using the method found in the Android Debug Bridge guide, open Command Prompt and point it at your Android SDK tools folder. You will now be entering in the following commands, please read and copy all lines carefully. If you will be copying and pasting, remember to right click inside of Command Prompt and select “paste”, otherwise it will display your keystrokes. After each line, press enter to input the command.

adb push busybox /data/local/busybox

• Copies the busybox.zip file from your tools folder into the Local Data directory on your Droid.

adb shell

• Initiate the Unix terminal emulator so that Unix commands may be sent.

su

• Connect as a “substitute user” to gain permissions for the following commands.

cd /data/local

• Change to the Local Data directory on your Droid.

chmod 755 busybox

• Changes the permissions to the busybox file so that anyone can read/execute but only the owner can write to it.

./busybox

• Executes the Busybox shell script.

mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system

• Readies the mtdblock4 and System filesystems.

mkdir /system/xbin

• Creates a new directory called “xbin” in the system filesystem.

/data/local/busybox cp /data/local/busybox /system/xbin

• Copies Busybox from the Local Data directory to the newly created xbin directory.

/data/local/busybox cp /data/local/busybox /system/bin

• Copies Busybox from the Local Data directory to the System Bin directory.

cd /system/xbin

• Change to the newly created xbin directory on your Droid.

busybox ––install .

• Installs and executes Busybox in xbin.

mount -o ro,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system

• Unmounts the mtdblock4 and System filesystems that are no longer in use.

sync

• Synchronizes all the aforementioned commands to the Droid.

reboot

• Reboots the Droid

You have now successfully installed Busybox and can now utilize its functionality in future hacks!

With great power comes great responsibility. Likewise, with Root, you have access to some very fragile files and settings; some of which may adversely affect your phone (brick!). Sometimes we load custom apps/roms/commands onto our phone and they just don’t work the way we wanted them. Other times we make an error while hacking and completely mess things up. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to have the option of making backups and be able to restore your phone to a working state.
This is where a custom recovery image comes into play. A talented Android hacker, SirPsychoS, has developed his very own Recovery Console which replaces the stock console we used in the Obtaining Root Guide. In addition to some other powerful features, this custom console allows us to make full backups of our phone. What does this mean? Let’s say I try a new hack, but something goes terribly wrong; I brick my phone! Well, if I used SirPsychoS’ Recovery Console, I could have made a backup from before I tried the hack, load the backup, and get my working Droid again. Not only this, but some hacks require this custom image be loaded. Here is how to do it.
Disclaimer
(2/5)
Prerequisites: (Please be familiar with the following)

• Android Debug Bridge
• Unix Commands
• USB Debugging
• USB Debugging Drivers
• MicroSD Mounting

Requirements:

• Root
• Micro SD Card that is inserted into the Droid
• flash_image or flash_image.zip
• recovery-0.99.2b.img
• USB Data Cable

Step 1: PC Connection

Using the method found in the USB Debugging guide, connect your Droid to a PC via USB and enable USB Debugging.


Also, using the method found in the MicroSD Mounting guide, connect your Droid to a PC via USB and mount your MicroSD card.




Step 2: Uploading Recovery Files
Download the flash_image and recovery-0.99.2b.img files. These customized files will be flashed onto your Droid to replace the stock Recovery Console. (If you are having problems downloading the flash image file and it only opens, try downloading the flash_image.zip and unzipping the flash_image. It should NOT have an extension.)
Once you have downloaded both files, drag them onto the MicroSD card folder you opened on your computer. After the file has transferred to your MicroSD card, you must unmount your Droid. You are now ready to install the custom image.


Step 3: Installing Custom Image With ADB
Using the method found in the Android Debug Bridge guide, open Command Prompt and point it at your Android SDK tools folder. You will now be entering in the following commands, please read and copy all lines carefully. If you will be copying and pasting, remember to right click inside of Command Prompt and select “paste”, otherwise it will display your keystrokes. After each line, press enter to input the command.

adb shell

• Initiate the Unix terminal emulator so that Unix commands may be sent.

dd if=/sdcard/flash_image of=/data/local/flash_image

• Copies the flash_image file to the Local Data directory.

chmod 755 /data/local/flash_image

• Changes the permissions to the flash_image file so that anyone can read/execute but only the owner can write to it.

rm /sdcard/flash_image

• Removes flash_image from your MicroSD card.

su

• Connect as a “substitute user” to gain permissions for the following commands.

/data/local/flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-0.99.2b.img

• Flashes the image to the recovery partition.

mount -o remount,rw /dev/null /system

• Readies the null and System filesystems.

mv /system/recovery-from-boot.p /system/recovery-from-boot.p.bak

• Renames recovery-from-boot.p to recovery-from-boot.p.bak. FILE MAY NOT EXIST! If your Droid came preloaded from factory with Firmware 2.0.1, these files do not exist. This step is only necessary for Droids which were preloaded from the factory with the original 2.0 Firmware.

mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak

• Renames install-recovery.sh to install-recovery.sh.bak. FILE MAY NOT EXIST! If your Droid came preloaded from factory with Firmware 2.0.1, these files do not exist. This step is only necessary for Droids which were preloaded from the factory with the original 2.0 Firmware.

reboot recovery

• Reboots your Droid into the Recovery Console.

Step 4: Inside the SPRecovery Console
You will see one of two Recovery Consoles: the stock one or the SPRecovery Console created by SirPsychoS. If all went well, you should see a different Recovery Console than what you saw during the Obtaining Root guide. Instead of a large “!” graphic, you should see a greenish-gold Android graphic.




As you can see from the above, we want to see the new “SPRecovery” and not the old stock recovery console. You may use the direction pad or a combination of volume, camera, and power buttons to navigate in this screen. If you see the SPRecovery console, you have successfully completed this guide and are now able to make complete backups and restore points.


Upgrading SPRecovery Console:
The developer, SirPsychoS and Sholes.info release new versions of the SPRecovery custom image often. You may notice that a newer version has been released than the one you have on your Droid. It may not be too big a deal, but some hacks require the latest version and it may also be enticing to upgrade for newer, better features. Upgrading the image is a very easy process and requires minimal commands to execute.
Simply download the latest version from this website (or immediately reflected at sholes.info) and save it to your MicroSD card. You do not need to download the flash_image file again, only the recovery.##.img file. You will then need to load ADB and input the following commands:

adb shell

• Initiate the Unix terminal emulator so that Unix commands may be sent.

flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-0.99.2b.img

• Flashes the new image to the recovery partition.

exit

• Exits ADB Shell

adb reboot recovery

• Reboots your Droid into the Recovery Console.

Once you are in the SPRecovery console, you should see the version number at the top reflect the new recovery image you upgraded to.

OTA, or “over-the-air”, updates are data packages sent by Verizon to update the Droid’s firmware. They add features, fix problems, and speed up the phone. So why would we want to block these updates? Well, with the update comes a wipe of all our hard work–Root and other hacks alike. Also, with the upcoming 2.1 update comes a patch to remove the loophole used to obtain Root. Until Root is achieved on an official Droid 2.1 firmware, it is necessary to block OTA updates if you want to keep Root.
Disclaimer
(2/5)
Prerequisites: (Please be familiar with the following)

• Android Debug Bridge
• Unix Commands
• USB Debugging
• USB Debugging Drivers

Requirements:

• USB Data Cable

Step 1: PC Connection

Using the method found in the USB Debugging guide, connect your Droid to a PC via USB and enable USB Debugging.




Step 2: Enabling Airplane Mode
Because we will be modifying a file that will interact with OTA updates, there is a potential problem if the file receives an update while we are working on this hack. For this reason, we will turn on Airplane mode which disables all wireless communications to and from the Droid. Go into the phone settings.
Select Wireless & Networks.


Ensure that Airplane mode is checked.


You will notice the wireless signal icon in the notification bar now has a small airplane on top. You are now ready to modify the OTA update file.


Step 3: ADB Commands
Using the method found in the Android Debug Bridge guide, open Command Prompt and point it at your Android SDK tools folder. You will now be entering in the following commands, please read and copy all lines carefully. If you will be copying and pasting, remember to right click inside of Command Prompt and select “paste”, otherwise it will display your keystrokes. After each line, press enter to input the command.

adb shell

• Initiate the Unix terminal emulator so that Unix commands may be sent.

su

• Connect as a “substitute user” to gain permissions for the following commands.

mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system

• Readies the mtdblock4 and System filesystems.

cd /etc/security

• Change to the Security directory on your Droid.

mv otacerts.zip otacerts.zip.bak

• Renames otacerts.zip to otacerts.zip.bak.

exit

• Exits su session.

exit

• Exits shell session.

This hack is very simple; we are merely renaming a file necessary for OTA updates. When Verizon pushes an update, it will look for this file. Because we renamed it, the update will not be pushed to the Droid. You now no longer need to worry about losing Root! Also, at this time, you may disable Airplane mode.
Fortunately, this process is completely reversible.


Optional: Unblock OTA Updates
If by chance you have a change of heart and would like to accept OTA updates, we can easily reverse our hack. Simply follow everything in Step 3 except when you get to the renaming command. Instead, flip the command to rename the file back:

mv otacerts.zip.bak otacerts.zip

• Renames otacerts.zip.bak to otacerts.zip (the original file name recognized by Verizon OTA updates).

Remember to do everything else in Step 3 exactly.

As you learned in the Custom Recovery Image guide, SPRecovery is a powerful recovery replacement that allows you to make full system backups. What do we mean by “full system backup?” It is a package created by Nandroid, a utility within SPRecovery, that contains all of the data and system information on your phone. In essence, it’s a direct 1-to-1 copy of your Droid’s software. We can take this copy and save it in case something goes wrong. If we don’t like the way our Droid operates after a certain hack or if we brick it completely, we can take this backup and restore our phone to a working state.
It’s a very simple process and does not require a computer at all. I recommend making a Nandroid backup at least once a month and before every major hack you perform on the Droid. You can never be too safe, and it would be a nuisance to backup to an earlier state that does not have your most recent data. Remember, save often; avoid frustration.
Disclaimer
(1/5)
Requirements:

• Root
• SPRecovery with Nandroid

Step 1: Boot into SPRecovery
Power down the Droid completely.
While holding “X” on the physical keyboard, hold the power button to turn on the phone. You may let go of the power button, but do not let go of X.


After a few seconds, a green-gold colored Android logo should appear behind the SPRecovery Console menu.


You may now let go of X and are now ready to perform a Nandroid backup.


Step 2: Perform Backup
From the SPRecovery menu, use the directional pad to navigate to “backup/restore”. Hit the gold, center button to select it. This will open a new menu with 4 options. For now, we will only concern ourselves with the “Simple Nandroid backup”. Select it at this time.


Once the process has begun, do not power off the phone or press any buttons. At the bottom of the screen, you will see a progress bar showing the progress of the system backup. In orange text, you will also see what is currently operating.


After a few minutes, the backup process will be complete. You will see “(done)” towards the bottom.


You have now successfully backed up your Droid’s system. Next, you will learn how to restore a backup you’ve made.


Step 3: Perform Restore
Navigate to the “backup/restore” menu until you see the 4 Nandroid options. This time we will select “Simple Nandroid restore (latest)”.


Once again the process is completely automatic. Just like in the backup, you will see a progress bar and informative text. After a few minutes, the restore process will be complete. You will see “(done)” towards the bottom.
Using “Simple Nandroid restore (latest)” is useful if you simply want to return to your most recent backup. However, if you want to restore to a specific backup out of a group, you will need to select “Advanced Nandroid restore”. The first menu option is “Choose backup”; select this.


You will now be presented with a list of your backups. If you’ve only made one, it will be the only option. Select the backup you’d like to revert to.


It will take you back to the previous menu where you can select and deselect certain areas of the backup to restore. You will also see the chosen backup displayed on the top. Keep the default options of BOOT, DATA, and SYSTEM checked and select “Perform Restore”.


After a few minutes, the backup process will be complete. You will see “(done)” towards the bottom. You have now successfully restored your Droid’s system. When you are ready, press power until you back out to the main SPRecovery menu. Select “reboot system now” to reboot and finish loading your backup. Hopefully you won’t ever need to use this, but if you do, it’s a lifesaver that could help avoid frustration.