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Root Help Root the Droid!

ajm144k

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2009
115
2

What's Rooting?

---see: here or here

Benefits of Rooting:

---save applications to your SD card
---move caches to SD card
---remove unwanted applications
---flash custom ROMs (possibly with HTC Sense or MotoBlur)
---possibility to install a full Linux distro, i.e. Debian
---tether via 3G/WiFi without using 3rd party applications (PDAnet)
---get multi-touch everywhere (and pinch-and-zoom)
---overclock/underclock your processor (but overclocking can be dangerous)
---customize your bootup splash screen
---change your phones theme (colors and look, etc)
(Some of the benefits aren't simply automatic. For example, to save applications to your SD card, you need to "unlock" it by going through a documented process. Having your phone rooted will give you the "permission" on your phone to do this process.)


Dangers of Rooting:

---if the rooting process is done wrong (by YOU), it can 'brick' your phone (i.e. you have a VERY expensive, shiny paperweight)
---if you have flashed a custom ROM, you will no longer able to receive the automatic OTA updates (but the ROM creator should supply you with updates)
---voided warranty


Links:
---Droid Rooting Wiki (A (non-AF-supported) donation fund has been established here with the intention of whoever figures out how to root the Droid first will receive all of the donations)
---AllDroid.org Droid Development (Threads regarding development topics such as attempted exploits for rooting the Droid, Droid system dump, etc.)
 
yevar said:
I do have a spare Droid that I bought before the ETF fee went way up. I am planning on returning it, however if we could raise the money to pay the ETF and for the phone (Total expenses at $425: $150 phone cost + $175 ETF + $70 first month service + $35 activation) I could take it apart and reverse engineer the extra connectors to find JTAG and serial. If we find JTAG we can get a dump of the whole NAND, probe the bootstrap pins and change NAND/RAM to let us have root access.

This is why he needs $425.
 
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Haha so why does he want $450? The ETF is $350 and it goes down $10 every month not $5. When people were trying to gain root access to the G1 they didn't ask for some crazy amount of cash, sounds like someone is just trying to make a quick buck. Real dev community don't do it for the cash.


true....If you wanna do it, just do it..... don't try to scam people...Yes, I said scam.
 
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So....why you googling anything for me? You reply is irreverent to my post...

umm, because you said the ETF was $350 and it was only $175. You could have easily found that out if you searched before you posted, so I was just lending a helping hand to show I wasn't just making it up about the new ETF.

so it was actually completely relevant to your misinformed post.

true....If you wanna do it, just do it..... don't try to scam people...Yes, I said scam.
ugh, man. if money grew on trees...



anyways...
 
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I didn't know rooting wasn't backed by the Android team. I always thought since it was an open platform... Hm...

It may be backed by the Android team BUT not by Motorola, and it is thier device which they have to offer support for which becomes increasingly difficult when anyone can have super user access.
 
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Couple of questions on behalf of the non-techies here. First, what's the value of rooting the device? Does it open doors in terms of functionality or customizability or trans-network service? And on top of all that... what does "root" mean?

Thanks, from the bottom of my noob heart.


I would give a stab at the answers but I am sure someone on a pedestal will be along soon....
 
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Couple of questions on behalf of the non-techies here. First, what's the value of rooting the device? Does it open doors in terms of functionality or customizability or trans-network service? And on top of all that... what does "root" mean?

Thanks, from the bottom of my noob heart.
"Rooting" is essentially the Android's version of "jailbreaking." Although it's already an open platform, there are certain areas of the phone that is locked to prevent tampering and withhold the "integrity" to the manufacturer's "standards." Rooting the phone allows one to flash the ROM, run a different OS, run a different UI build, run a custom build, unlock features locked away for one reason or another, and/or even install fixes by third party developers instead of waiting for official updates by the manufacturer.

That's my understanding anyway, I may be wrong.
 
Upvote 0
"Rooting" is essentially the Android's version of "jailbreaking." Although it's already an open platform, there are certain areas of the phone that is locked to prevent tampering and withhold the "integrity" to the manufacturer's "standards." Rooting the phone allows one to flash the ROM, run a different OS, run a different UI build, run a custom build, unlock features locked away for one reason or another, and/or even install fixes by third party developers instead of waiting for official updates by the manufacturer.

That's my understanding anyway, I may be wrong.

Well put. I'm just curious as to whether or not rooting the phone voids any type of warranties.
 
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If I read the attached image of the "exploit", it's just a potential way of presenting a new bootloader?

It's not specifically a way to root the droid, but a method to get access to potentially root it!

I've only poked around, where is the password file? Give it to me and I'll launch servers on the hash to break it down ASAP!

I am new to droid, is this a way to get access to the OS, but not necessarily the user account known as "root"?
 
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There is no 'god' account on the phone that needs to be cracked, we are trying to get root level access on a phone that is designed to keep all apps at user level access so to speak. The only thing that we might be able to be brute forced in the future is the Motorola private key that is used to sign new patches/roms. Have to wait for the first patch to even get the public key that would need to be cracked.
 
Upvote 0
"Rooting" is essentially the Android's version of "jailbreaking." Although it's already an open platform, there are certain areas of the phone that is locked to prevent tampering and withhold the "integrity" to the manufacturer's "standards." Rooting the phone allows one to flash the ROM, run a different OS, run a different UI build, run a custom build, unlock features locked away for one reason or another, and/or even install fixes by third party developers instead of waiting for official updates by the manufacturer.

That's my understanding anyway, I may be wrong.

I'm not sure what other OS you could run, besides something based on Linux like Debian.
 
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A few more potential uses for rooting:


  • creating viruses
  • hacking secured information like passwords and personal info
  • hijacking other people's phone service
  • overdriving the hardware, making potentially dangerous devices
  • making it worthwhile to steal droids (high black market value)
  • etc
It sure would be nice to see some of these smart people use their time and energy on more worthwhile pursuits.
 
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