• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root [International] The HTC One root thread

scotty85

Extreme Android User
Jul 25, 2010
11,131
7,412
this thread is intended to be a "one stop shop" for rooting any variation of the HTC One.

currently,the known method of rooting is to unlock the bootloader via htcdev,then use a custom recovery to install superuser root files. htcdev's directions can be a lil confusing,so hopefully this will clear it up if youve never rooted a phone,worked with the command window,or are just confused about how to set things up with your PC/mac/linux machine.

PLEASE NOTE that the unlock process will erase your personal data. this was done purposely,for your protection.

the general steps are simple:
1)unlock the bootloader (for non-developer editions)
2)either temporarily or permantly install a custom recovery
3)use that custom recovery to install "superuser" root files.

for your convenience,a general index of this thread:
-brief explanation of what you're going to do and what your options are post #1
-tips and tricks to backup data pre-root post #5
-unlock and install recovery with windows post #2
-unlock and install recovery with linux post #3
-unlock and install recovery with a mac post #4
-tips and tricks to backup data post root post #6

before you start download a couple of files
-miniadb
-supersu from this thread (the download link you want is about halfway down the page,and labled UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.25.zip)
-go to HTCdev - Unlock Bootloader and register an account
 
set up adb and prepair to root

-install drivers: if you have htc sync installed,you should allready have drivers. if not,you can install htc sync,or install these modified htc drivers from revolutionary (driver mirror)
-unzip your miniadb_v1031.zip file. this is native funtionality in windows 7. you otherwise may need a utility such as "7-zip" to extract,or unzip it. place the unzipped folder onto the root of your C drive on your PC. root means the top level,not inside any folders. so just copy and paste,or drag and drop the folder onto C with everything else that is there. you may want to rename it to "miniadb_m7" since youll be putting some device specific files in here.
-open a command window. on windows 7,click the start bubble in the lower left and type "command" in the search box. xp i believe is similar or the same. doing this should open a small black command window.
-change to your miniadb_m7 directory. type the following at the prompt in your cmd window:

cd c:\miniadb_m7

your command promt should change to "c:miniadb_m7>" provided you: 1)unzipped the miniadb_v1031 zip file,and 2)put the folder on your c drive,and 3)entered the name of the folder correctly ("miniadb_m7" in this case)

-now make sure usb debugging is checked in developer options(you will need to turn it on first),and plug your phone into your PC with a usb cable
-make sure your phone is being recognized- type:

adb devices

if your drivers are installed correctly,this should return your phones serial number. you should hear the "found device" noises when you plug your phone in. if it starts installing drivers,wait for it to finish before typing the adb devices command.

if you get your serial number back,then enter this command:
adb reboot bootloader

this should take your phone to the "fastboot" screen,wich is white with colored letters. this is one mode of your bootloaders interactive modes. at the top youll see fastboot devices as confirmation youre in fastboot.

now enter:
fastboot devices
again,this should return your phones serial number. you should hear the "found device" noises when you plug your phone in. if it starts installing drivers,wait for it to finish before typing the adb devices command.

if you get your serial number back,you can enter the following to boot back to the phones OS:
fastboot reboot

and now,youve installed adb/fastboot and tested youre phones drivers. if at either spot,you have trouble and dont get your serial number back,there is some sort of connection issue. use these steps to troubleshoot:
troubleshooting connectivity issues:
-try a reboot of the PC
-try different usb cables and ports
-dont use a usb hub
-dont use usb 3.0
-make sure nothing capable of comunicating with the phone is enabled and running. htc sync,pdanet,easy tether,and even itunes have all been known to cause issues.
-windows 8 has been known to have issues. try a windows 7 or older machine

failing the above,
-i use these drivers for fastboot and adb(donwload and run as admin): http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe (mirror)

failing that,try manually updating the drivers in the following manner:
-put the phone in fastboot mode(select fastboot from the hboot menu)
-open device manager on the PC
-plug in phone,watch for it to pop up in device manager.
-update drivers with device manager,pointing the wizard to the extracted
driver download folder from above

note that you can check the connectivity of the phone,and make sure drivers are working by in the following manner:
-open cmd window. change to directory containing adb/fastboot utilities

-adb with the phone in the booted OS,usb debug enabled,enter:
adb devices in a cmd window

-fastboot with phone in fastboot,enter:
fastboot devices in cmd window

in either case,a properly connected phone with working drivers installed should report back the phones serial number.

this process,in your cmd window,should look something like this:
Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Scott>[COLOR="red"]cd c:\miniadb_m7[/COLOR]

c:\miniadb_m7>adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
FAxxxxxxxxxx    device


c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb reboot bootloader[/COLOR]

c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
FAxxxxxxxxxx    fastboot

c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot reboot[/COLOR]
rebooting...

finished. total time: 0.037s

c:\miniadb_m7>

you are now ready to unlock your bootloader!

1)unlock using htcdev
*note if you were fortunate enuff to grab a developer edition htc One,it came with an ***unlocked*** bootloader allready,so skip to step 2 to install a recovery :)

PLEASE NOTE that the unlock process will erase your personal data. this was done purposely,for your protection.

-open a cmd window,change to miniadb_m7 directory,and plug in your phone as described above.
-go to HTCdev - Unlock Bootloader and sign in to your account.chose "All Other Supported Models" from the
-----select your device-----
box,and click the green "begin unlock bootloader" button underneath.
-click yes to procede,then read the warnings before checking the boxes and clicking yes to continue,as they are basically explaining that your warranty is now void,and any repairs that your phone needs that may have been a result of unlocking your bootloader and messing with your phones operating system may no longer be covered under mfgr warranty
- have the htcdev site open,as you follow this guide,youll need to interact with it to submit your token.

-steps 1-4 are describing how to get your phone into bootloader mode and connect it to your PC. ignore these steps and simply type in your cmd window:

adb reboot bootloader
your phone will boot to fastboot.

fastboot devices
to make sure its connected

-click the green procede to step 5 bubble.
-steps 5-7 are telling you how to find the files and utilities inside your mini-adb folder. you have them,so ignore steps 5-7.
-click the green procede to step 8 bubble.
-heres where steps are important,steps 8-10 are telling you how to get your unlock token,and send it to htc. its phone specific(so they prolly know your serial number,meid,etc) so no,you cant use your buddys unlock token and not have htc know that youve unlocked your bootloader. ;) copy this line either from below,or from step 8,and paste it into the prompt in your cmd window. you have to right click to paste in cmd,you cannot control/v :

fastboot oem get_identifier_token

-after you hit enter,you will get a bunch of letters that are your identifier token. not much i can say,other than follow the directions in steps 9 and 10 to copy and submit your identifier token to HTC. make sure you get the characters as shown in the pic,with no extra lines or letters. note that you can also hit the "enter" key on your PC to copy,as well as right clicking.
-click the green submit button. wait patiently for an email containing your unlock code. (dont worry,it should come pretty fast :p )
-save the unlock_code.bin that htc sends you directly to your miniadb_m7 folder(if your PC automatically downloads somewhere else,no biggie. just move the unlock code to miniadb_m7 folder)
-click the link in your email to get the rest of the unlock instructions
-step 12 is where them magic happens :D copy from below,or from htc dev:

fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin

-youll see the purdy screen pictured in step 13. use the vol rocker to chose "yes unlock bootloader" and select it with the power button. your phone will reboot,performaing a factory data reset in the process. your data is gone,sorry :( this boot may take a bit longer than they normally do,dont freak out this is normal

heres what it will look like in your command window:
Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:UsersScott>[COLOR="Red"]cd c:\miniadb_m7[/COLOR]


c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb devices[/COLOR]
List of devices attached
HTxxxxxxxxxx    device


c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb reboot bootloader[/COLOR]

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
HTxxxxxxxxxx    fastboot

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot oem get_identifier_token[/COLOR]
                              ... INFO
INFO< Please cut following message >
INFO<<<< Identifier Token Start >>>>
INFO2ADC7C0C0F1BAF92074BAE9B0035CB6A
INFO021839BFA7465CD0788664688DCCFDEA
INFO33A2FD2C96C7308DD3C57A517DBA8E14
INFO8048F98A9FEA06B8F2AD05D4D3497CFE
INFO6FCCC1DC4E31E0C6F54CEA18D9A80C82
INFO27C33E209D472E6C11753E9D7BCBCE6D
INFO90D9F226E827B6C26165A029B6F7DFF2
INFO63E382B4C82F9F6D866C01B9823ED1BC
INFO0EEFA859327E6B5AC4C24533C9DFA7AF
INFODBD70D55E4666B4B41828B76FFBD010C
INFO1B916E350EFF199EA5B096FF3337FE19
INFO40E6CA9E7F1DD5B33D8D4780DD775289
INFO953404686AEC4C3CB6F1BBB9DC69BA13
INFO8738C00DAFF280ECF02D0C7A66E13855
INFO1D756616732FF47915EAD551A6933E08
INFO10C541C7RD02C14991E83CC49FCA4B92
INFO<<<<< Identifier Token End >>>>>
OKAY [  0.069s]
finished. total time: 0.070s

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin[/COLOR]
  sending 'unlocktoken' (0 KB)... OKAY [  0.143s]
         writing 'unlocktoken'... INFOunlock token check successfully
OKAY [  0.011s]
finished. total time: 0.156s

c:miniadb_m7>

2)flash a recovery
question: what is the difference between temporary and permanent recovery?

the temporary recovery is just that. it is NOT permantly installed on your phone,it is just booted directly into the phones memory so you can use it. the stock recovery is still in place,in your phones recovery partition. as soon as you reboot from the temporary recovery,its gone. you wont see it again until you launch it again.

a permanent recovery is just that. it is permantly installed on your phone,in place of the stock recovery. it is always there,and you can boot to it at any time,wether connected to a PC or not

question: wich option should i pick?

*important note: the temporary recovery is only working with 1.44.0000 hboots. so if your device is running a newer hboot,your decision is easy,you must permantly install recovery. in most cases,a stock recovery can be re-installed later if you wish to recieve OTAs. please ask about this if there are further quewstions.


if youre still on hboot 1.44.0000:
if all you need is root access to run a couple of root-requiring apps,consider leaving the stock recovery in place. in some cases,this will allow OTAs to occur naturally. YES,the OTA will break root. its no big deal. one good thing about htcdev is that you will always be able to reroot after,simply by following steps 2 and 3 again to launch recovery,flash superser.

if you want to flash roms,or mod your stock rom heavily,the most common option is to go ahead and permantly install your recovery. that way you wont always have to hook it to a PC to boot to it,and do some things.

if you want to mod your device,and/or flash custom roms,a good option is to do both :) permantly install recovcery on your phone. however,if you need to restore a backup or flash a rom,launch the temporary recovery instead of booting to your permanent one :)

however,there are disadvantages to the permant recovery. most notably, it CANNOT INSTALL KERNELS. therefore,restoring backups and flashing roms will require a seperate flash of the kernel,aka the boot image.

first thing youll need to do is download a recovery image for your particular variation:

-sprint: twrp recovery sprint
md5: openrecovery-twrp-2.5.0.0-m7wls.img e59a5e15556a9ddbad7e89d7902ed093

-international,AT&T,T-Mobile,developer edition: twrp recovery all GSM
md5: openrecovery-twrp-2.5.0.0-m7.img 3c568f1b53aaae266b75f6649d0372ab

*important note: DO NOT use sprint recovery on other models,or vice versa

once youve either skipped past all the setup,or have re-set up and are ready to root,chose either of the following options to either permantly or termporarily install a recovery:

1)temporary recovery:
-move the recovery image file from the zip file you downloaded above and place it into the miniadb_m7 folder. rename the image to simply "recovery" if its is something else.
-put the superuser zip file onto your phones sd card
-enable usb debugging once again,as above. open a cmd window,if its not still open from unlocking.
-if you had to re-open a cmd window,dont forget to change back to your miniadb_m7 directory:

cd c:\miniadb_m7

-make sure youre connected by typing:

adb devices

-should return serial number
-check the md5 of your recovery image:

md5sums recovery.img

**make sure the resulting md5 matches the one listed for your device**

-boot to bootloader:

adb reboot bootloader

-check for connectivity:

fastboot devices

-should return serial number
-temporarily launch your recovery to phone memory:

fastboot boot recovery.img

-youll see a (really fast) green status bar on the top right as your PC sends the recovery to your phone. youll then see the HTC splash screen,then your recovery.

in your command window you will see(red are my inputs):
Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:UsersScott>[COLOR="Red"]cd c:\miniadb_m7[/COLOR]

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="Red"]adb devices[/COLOR]
List of devices attached
HTxxxxxxxxxx    device


c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]md5sums recovery.img[/COLOR]

MD5sums 1.2 freeware for Win9x/ME/NT/2000/XP+
Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Jem Berkes - http://www.pc-tools.net/
Type md5sums -h for help

[Path] / filename                              MD5 sum
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[c:miniadb_m7]
recovery.img                 915d5e3cb662076f36f3d6e54759e951

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb reboot bootloader[/COLOR]

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
HTxxxxxxxxxx    fastboot

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot boot recovery.img[/COLOR]
        downloading 'boot.img'... OKAY [  1.518s]
                       booting... OKAY [  0.005s]
finished. total time: 1.523s
2)permanently install your recovery
-move the recovery image file from the zip file you downloaded above and place it into the miniadb_m7 folder. rename the image to simply "recovery" if its is something else.
-put the superuser zip file onto your phones sd card
-enable usb debugging once again,as above. open a cmd window,if its not still open from unlocking.
-if you had to re-open a cmd window,dont forget to change back to your miniadb_m7 directory:

cd c:\miniadb_m7

-make sure youre connected by typing:

adb devices

-should return serial number
-check the md5 of your recovery image:

md5sums recovery.img

**make sure the resulting md5 matches the one listed for your device**

-boot to bootloader:

adb reboot bootloader

-check for connectivity:

fastboot devices

-should return serial number
-permanently flash your recovery to phones recovery partition:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

-youll see a (really fast) green status bar on the top right as your PC sends the recovery to your phone,then a (really,really fast) red bar as it flashes it. your recovery is now permanently on your phone when you need it.
-reboot your phone with:
fastboot reboot

be aware that you can no longer accept OTAs

-after the phone reboots,you can access recovery from the booted phone with this command:
adb reboot recovery

-youll then see the HTC splash screen,then your recovery.

*note that you can still launch recovery by using the command from scenario 1 above.

and the code:
Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:UsersScott>[COLOR="red"]cd c:\miniadb_m7[/COLOR]

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb devices[/COLOR]
List of devices attached
HTxxxxxxxxxx    device


c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]md5sums recovery.img[/COLOR]

MD5sums 1.2 freeware for Win9x/ME/NT/2000/XP+
Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Jem Berkes - http://www.pc-tools.net/
Type md5sums -h for help

[Path] / filename                              MD5 sum
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[c:miniadb_m7]
recovery.img                 915d5e3cb662076f36f3d6e54759e951

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb reboot bootloader[/COLOR]

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
HTxxxxxxxxxx    fastboot

c:miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot flash recovery recovery.img[/COLOR]
  sending 'recovery' (7074 KB)... OKAY [  1.659s]
            writing 'recovery'... OKAY [  5.179s]
finished. total time: 6.840s

3)flash superuser root files*
there is not much to explain with this one. if booted to recovery from above,use the recovery menu on your phone to:
*make a backup of your stock,unrooted rom. this is NOT an option! please... do it.
-wipe cache
-wipe dalvik cache
-install zip from sd card(chose your superuser file)
-reboot

*congratulations,youre rooted :D

*special notes on superuser i know that the link for supersu says the best way to install superSU is to download from the market. it is refering to rooted devices ALLREADY RUNNING SUPER SU.

an extremely common error is to not follow the above directions to flash the zip file in recovery,but to attempt to download and and install from the market.

THIS WILL NOT WORK

you will need to download the newest superSU from the thread as i describeb in the download section,and use the recovery menus to flash it.
 
Upvote 0
Many thanks for your extremely detailed and comprehensive outline of rooting. You mention sources for image recoveries for Sprint and international. Do you have any idea where to look for other recoveries? I guess I would need one for Telus (Canada).

Thanks,
Richard

canada would fit under "international" so just use that second one(twrp recovery all GSM) :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DonB and Brian706
Upvote 0
Thanks for the detailed guide scotty85.

Something is amiss with my One though.

I'm with Virgin Mobile (AKA Bell Canada).
Can get into bootloader and see UNLOCKED.
Attempting temporary recovery.

Upon running fastboot boot recovery.img my One just restarts and boots up like normal. MD5 sum on image checked out. I tried a few different recovery images as well - can't actually boot into any of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JohnOMcD
Upvote 0
IHave you tried the sprint image? Virgin mobile I believe a cdma carrier,so the gsm images will not likely work. Sorry if the Canada comment above was.confusing(telus is gsm)

A word of warning,some folks(myself included) have had issues flashing superuser from the temporary recovery. The flash appears fine,but upon reboot,no Su in app drawer and root access. :eek:

If you have this same issue,don't beat yourself up trying to get it to work,just go ahead and permantly install it. Here's what I did to have a copy of my stock recovery:
-fastboot boot clockwork(not twrp)
-make a backup. your stock recovery will be in the nandroid
-reboot to bootloader
-install recovery of choice permantly
-reboot
-reboot to recovery
-install superuser
-reboot and have root acess :)

Hope that helps
 
  • Like
Reactions: lordemperor
Upvote 0
IHave you tried the sprint image? Virgin mobile I believe a cdma carrier,so the gsm images will not likely work. Sorry if the Canada comment above was.confusing(telus is gsm)

Quite right, Virgin/Bell is CDMA.

I just tried the TWRP Sprint recovery and ClockWorkMod Sprint recovery to the same effect - phone just boots into its own OS after the fastboot boot command.
 
Upvote 0
Scotty,

First off, great guide. I am, however, running into a bit of an issue that lordemporer seems to be having as well. When I attempt to flash the recovery image I get the small green line at the top right hand side of the screen and the return is very similar to what you posted. The problem is, that after I reboot the phone normally and attempt to reboot the phone into recovery the phone simply reboots normally.

Here's a copy and paste of what I did. Also, I renamed the recovery file name to twrp.img.


[HIGH]

C:\Users\jason_000\My Documents\mini>md5sums twrp.img

MD5sums 1.2 freeware for Win9x/ME/NT/2000/XP+
Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Jem Berkes -
Type md5sums -h for help

[Path] / filename MD5 sum
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[C:\Users\jason_000\My Documents\mini\]
twrp.img 3c568f1b53aaae266b75f6649d0372ab

C:\Users\jason_000\My Documents\mini>fastboot devices
HT34GW906715 fastboot

C:\Users\jason_000\My Documents\mini>fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
sending 'recovery' (7916 KB)...
OKAY [ 1.151s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 0.648s]
finished. total time: 1.804s
[/HIGH]
 
Upvote 0
I tried a few more things this morning including trying to use a temporary recovery and the permanent recovery. Each and every time the phone reboots it reboots as normal. I also attempted to reboot the phone while in fastboot using the selection option of loading the recovery. That too, did not work. At one point I remember seeing the little red letters at the top of the screen saying the phone was booting into recovery but that flashed very quickly then the normal green HTC logo showed back up again and the phone booted normally.

I've also tried with Fast Booting option on and off in the power settings menu. Neither way worked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty85
Upvote 0
Ok, I got it figured out, finally! When you reboot the phone after you flash the recovery image you want to make sure you HOLD DOWN the power button. Otherwise the phone will reboot as normal. If you HOLD DOWN the power button it'll stick to it's recovery reboot. Luckily this is something I had to do with my old Galaxy S3 so I thought to give it a try.

Thanks again for the guide. Everything is up and working great now!
 
Upvote 0
hi chooched! sorry for my late response,i was going to suggest some basic connectivity checks,as alot of times bad usb cables,things running on the PC,and other small issues can interfere with the image flash,even tho it may look successful.

thanks for sharing your finding,as ive never experienced that on an htc phone before and would not have thot to have you try it :eek: im sure lots of folks may find it useful

just holler if yuo have any more questions :)
 
Upvote 0
I was really hopeful for the power button trick but no avail.

I uninstalled iTunes and HTC Sync, and installed the HTC driver linked above with no effect.
Used a different USB Cable.

Tried repeating the process on my Linux server.

[HIGH]
server user # md5sum recovery.img
e59a5e15556a9ddbad7e89d7902ed093 recovery.img

server user # adb devices
List of devices attached
HT35CW123456 device

server user # adb reboot bootloader
server user # fastboot devices
HT35CW123456 fastboot
server user # fastboot boot recovery.img
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [ 1.209s]
booting...
OKAY [ 0.000s]
finished. total time: 1.209s[/HIGH]

Same result, just boots like normal.
 
Upvote 0
[HIGH](bootloader) version: 0.5
(bootloader) version-bootloader: 1.44.0000
(bootloader) version-baseband: 4A.14.3250.13
(bootloader) version-cpld: None
(bootloader) version-microp: None
(bootloader) version-main: 1.29.666.17
(bootloader) version-misc: PVT SHIP S-ON
(bootloader) serialno: HT35CW654321
(bootloader) imei: 354439052966654
(bootloader) meid: 00000000000000
(bootloader) product: m7_ul
(bootloader) platform: HBOOT-8064
(bootloader) modelid: PN0712000
(bootloader) cidnum: BM___001
(bootloader) battery-status: good
(bootloader) battery-voltage: 3937mV
(bootloader) partition-layout: Generic
(bootloader) security: on
(bootloader) build-mode: SHIP
(bootloader) boot-mode: FASTBOOT
getvar:all FAILED (status read failed (Value too large for defined data type))
finished. total time: 5.041s[/HIGH]
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty85
Upvote 0
hmm. now im even more confused. your phone is being used on a cdma carrier,correct? is it using a sim card?

i would think youd share a model number and and product number with the sprint one(m7_wls)

but... you are m7_ul,and model id 712000,both of wich are consistent with the AT&T version.

best guess at this point,is that maybe your unique configuration does require its own image,i will dig around and see what i can find out :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: lordemperor
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones