Root Rooting the Droid on Mac OS X

[mallard]

I'm very much a noob at the whole rooting procedure, but I've done my homework and understand the basics, unfortunately I am using a Mac and my options seem limited. (and yes, I've searched the forums, and I haven't found any satisfactory answer to my question)

Here it is: is there a way to root to 2.1 (I am using a motorola droid with unrooted 2.1), WITHOUT having to use crossover/vmware, etc. to access windows files?

It seems crazy to me that nobody would have figured out how to do this yet, but I simply can't find any method online for doing so (and I've spent literally hours researching it and meticulously reading tutorials).

The only reason I want to root my droid is so I can use wi-fi hotspot (I was going to wait for the 2.2 update but I heard they will no longer be including wi-fi tethering). The fact that there seems to be no way to do this without hours of downloading and complicated technical tinkering is honestly making me consider ditching android altogether. Somebody give me another option, as I really like my droid!

 

[nstallion]

The motorola image flashing software (RSD Lite) is windows only. That's all there is to it.

The fact that you are considering ditching Android because software that the end user is not even supposed to be using in the first place is not OS X compatible is ridiculous.

Installing a virtual machine is not hard. I own a MacBook Pro and installed Windows 7 on here with Boot Camp the day I got it. I can also run it as a virtual machine with VMWare from within OS X. Being able to have both operating systems is immensely handy and I don't know why you wouldn't do it.

 

[shoyo]

You should be able to use the MAC version of the Android sdk and use adb to push the files directly to the Droid. they're both *nix systems. Just remember to add
./
In front of each command you run. E.g,

./adb flash_update....

Helped my bro root his MOTO cliq this way. Also, make sure your MAC doesn't auto extract zip files. It introduced problems when he tried to flash the recovery update.

 

[mallard]

shoyo: which files would I be pushing exactly?

and where would I enter such commands? sorry, like I said, I'm pretty new to this. if there's a good tutorial to learn about "sdk" and "adb" i'd be interested in looking at it.

also, you mentioned the cliq, but are you positive this method would work for the droid?

nstallion: i hear what your saying, but for me it isn't really a moral matter; it's just practicality. if i had an iphone, i could jailbreak it in literally three seconds flat with the push of one button, and have instant access to wi-fi tethering. now, i personally like my droid a lot and don't really want to resort to that, which is why it would be nice if there was at least a somewhat easy way to root it. if there isn't, i'll probably switch over when my contract is up, because it's a really important feature for me.

 

[shoyo]

http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-droid/82742-all-new-guide-all-things-root-related.html

The method in the first post only requires putting the update.zip file on the SD card. Did you try that?

There was a version of rooting with the sdk. Can't seem to find it now...

It's actually in the custom recovery section. that's when you install sprecovery . Whenever you have to use the adb command, you'll have to type
./adb
if one if the commands don't work, affix ./ to the whole thing. You won't need drivers, but you do need to be in the androidsdk/tools directory.

 

[nstallion]

http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-droid/82742-all-new-guide-all-things-root-related.html

The method in the first post only requires putting the update.zip file on the SD card. Did you try that?

There was a version of rooting with the sdk. Can't seem to find it now...

It's actually in the custom recovery section. that's when you install sprecovery . Whenever you have to use the adb command, you'll have to type
./adb
if one if the commands don't work, affix ./ to the whole thing. You won't need drivers, but you do need to be in the androidsdk/tools directory.

If he's running 2.1, the ONLY way to root is to flash a .sbf file which requires RSD Lite and that is a Windows-only program.

This question has been asked several times. You need a Windows computer to flash the .sbf and after that everything can be done with a Mac and in fact might be easier because it is a native UNIX platform and has the terminal software already.

I first rooted on 2.0.1 which is what that update.zip method is referring to so I never had to use Windows or RSD Lite. Unfortunately with the upgrade to 2.1 that no longer worked and there hasn't been reason enough to find a root vulnerability in 2.1 so if you have the official 2.1 release you have to use a .sbf.

 

[shoyo]

If he's running 2.1, the ONLY way to root is to flash a .sbf file which requires RSD Lite and that is a Windows-only program.

This question has been asked several times. You need a Windows computer to flash the .sbf and after that everything can be done with a Mac and in fact might be easier because it is a native UNIX platform and has the terminal software already.

I first rooted on 2.0.1 which is what that update.zip method is referring to so I never had to use Windows or RSD Lite. Unfortunately with the upgrade to 2.1 that no longer worked and there hasn't been reason enough to find a root vulnerability in 2.1 so if you have the official 2.1 release you have to use a .sbf.

Ah. Okay. That'll explain why I never used rsd either. Thanks dir clearing that for me.

 

[one4u2nv]

What about running a virtual Windows machine on your mac to use only for rooting? Once that is done you don't really need the virtual machine anymore so you could just delete it. Just in case you're worried about performance or storage space issues.

VirtualBox is a good free one that you could use.

 

[mallard]

Well, it looks like I might just bite the bullet and go the virtual machine route, when i get the time.

can anybody recommend what is the BEST step-by-step walkthrough of the process involved in rooting (one that a mac user rooting noob could easily follow)? i've read through so many now, and i want to know what the very best one is.

 

[cruud]

I ended up just borrowing an XP system when I rooted. Had no trouble with it using the stickied guide.

 

[one4u2nv]

Well, it looks like I might just bite the bullet and go the virtual machine route, when i get the time.

can anybody recommend what is the BEST step-by-step walkthrough of the process involved in rooting (one that a mac user rooting noob could easily follow)? i've read through so many now, and i want to know what the very best one is.

Here's the one I used:

AllDroid.org - How to Root Your Stock 2.1 Moto Droid

Mainly because none of the links in the one here worked. I just did it early last week and it was pretty easy.

 

[mallard]

yeah, that one looks pretty simple. one question though: i'm using vmware fusion; do i still have to install those USB devices or is that only for virtualbox? also, does rsdlite include nandroid or is that a separate download?

 

[one4u2nv]

yeah, that one looks pretty simple. one question though: i'm using vmware fusion; do i still have to install those USB devices or is that only for virtualbox? also, does rsdlite include nandroid or is that a separate download?

Just follow that guide exactly. It wasn't formatted for any certain thing other than a Windows computer (or vmware in your case). You will still have to install all the devices and stuff.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and that top part is for Linux users too. Don't know if you saw that. You will want to skip down to the first red highlighted heading that says "All Users Continue Here" if using 32 bit Windows. The section right above it if using 64bit Windows 7.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong) Nandroid is the software your phone has on it. You make a backup of it in SPRecovery during the rooting process. I always try to make it a habit to make the backups when I get a ROM running well and want to save that config in case I screw something up. (You can worry about this later.)

If you have any more questions I will be glad to help or point you in the right direction if I don't have the answer. I know I sure appreciated it when I first took the plunge and people helped.

 

[mallard]

well, my phone is rooted and running great!

just for clarification, from what I have read VMWare doesn't work with rsd lite. this was my experience, and apparently several other people's as well. it just won't recognize my phone no matter what. apparently bootcamp works fine, though i didn't try it.

fortunately, i was able to borrow a netbook and rooted my phone in under ten minutes. now i'm wi-fi tethering and loving it!

thanks for the help, guys.

 

[growler13]

I rooted my phone through Ubuntu using this method Root Motorola DROID on Android 2.1 Platform Easily | Gadgets DNA. These weren't the exact instructions I found so the command prompts may be different for a mac. I can't find the directions I used but they had specific mac/linux instructions. If you can find it that version it should work fine for you, just wanted to point you in the right direction, or hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about. No need to use windows unless you have to.

*Edit*
Looks like someone already found it already, and looks like the original poster figured it out

 

[binglejellsx2]

Just putting this out there: RSD Lite does work in Parallels VM. My phone locked up one time and wouldn't go into recovery, so RSD was my savior. I only have Macs in the house.

 

[one4u2nv]

well, my phone is rooted and running great!

just for clarification, from what I have read VMWare doesn't work with rsd lite. this was my experience, and apparently several other people's as well. it just won't recognize my phone no matter what. apparently bootcamp works fine, though i didn't try it.

fortunately, i was able to borrow a netbook and rooted my phone in under ten minutes. now i'm wi-fi tethering and loving it!

thanks for the help, guys.

That's awesome. Glad you were able to figure something out with it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do. I didn't even think of bootcamp. Use it every day at work too.

 

[cavitating]

Sorry for the question, but would this procedure not root on a mac?

How to root Motorola Droid on Mac | MacHackPC


If I follow this procedure, would I then be able to put 2.2 on my droid?

 

[nstallion]

Sorry for the question, but would this procedure not root on a mac?

How to root Motorola Droid on Mac | MacHackPC


If I follow this procedure, would I then be able to put 2.2 on my droid?

Nope. If you notice that article is dated Feb 5, before 2.1 came out for the Droid. That is the root process when starting with Android 2.0.1.

You will need access to Windows for the first step when rooting from 2.1. There is no way around that.

http://androidforums.com/all-things...oot-related-currently-under-construction.html