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Root thunderbolt rooting methods(updated 8-24-2011)

scotty85

Extreme Android User
Jul 25, 2010
11,131
7,412
edit: this thread is being unstickied so i can start a new one to clean it up. please see the new thread here: http://androidforums.com/thunderbol...-methods-updated-9-23-2011-a.html#post3242725

if the last few pages are of any interest feel free to comment,but otherwise please do not bring this thread back to the top with root questions. please post a new thread,or in the new stickied thread at the top of the forum. thanks! :)


this thread is dedicated to the current known methods of rooting the thunderbolt.

i will do my best to change this post as these methods are modified or become outdated,and keep the best,current methods here.

after root see the Thunderbolt ROM list for a list of roms,kernels and mods :cool:

for some extra info and "how to"s of rooting see http://androidforums.com/thunderbolt-all-things-root/352729-how-some-root-terminology.html

if youre reading this and considering rooting your device,a word of warning:
DO NOT ever attempt to accept an OTA while rooted and running a custom recovery.
an official OTA update needs the stock recovery to apply it. attempting to take an OTA without the stock recovery can result in a failed harmless attempt,a fixable bootloop,or even a brick. so please... dont do it.

and now,on with the info. enjoy :)

Revolutionary
a new method has just become available that does not wipe your data. this is 100% the best,and most reccomended way to root your thunderbolt at this time.

see this page for info:
Revolutionary

and a video from nate mills:
How to Root - HTC Thunderbolt (No Data Wipe! Newest & Fastest) - YouTube

_________________________________________________________________
how to unroot
the revolutionary method of rooting uses a sneeky hboot exploit,and replaces your stock 1.04.0000 or 1.05.0000 bootloader with a modified permanent hboot. it not only gives you all the same fashboot flash abilities as the original engineering bootloader,but it very effectively blocks other hboots for overwriting it. its good,as you will remain s-off if you accidentally flash a full RUU,or accept an OTA,but makes it a little trickier to remove.

for the time being, removal requires ADB to be set up and running and some commands entered in "fastboot" to to allow the permanent hboot to be overwritten. once an "s-on" tool is release,ill take th is part of this guide down.

if you rooted the old skool manual way and have adb setup and working,you can use this guide to remove the permanent hboot.

with Revolutionary,will come a new wave of rooters that have no clue what adb,or fastboot even are. for you folks, Sele and the crew in the "rescue sguad" at HTC Thunderbolt Forum have come up with a really clever way to get the adb basics,and the eng bootloader to flash,with minimal setup and confusion. with their permission,im borrowing it for our guide here.

*WARNING* no siginture or file checks will be done flashing the new bootloader in hboot or fastboot.fastboot will literally flash "lets golf" as a bootloader if you tell it to. DO NOT mess with your hboot unless absolutely neccessary to return to stock for warranty purposes. if youre just tired of being rooted,flash the mr2 ruu to get back to unrooted firmware and factory recovery. leaving the revolutionary s-off bootloader in place is the safest,and best option,and will not affect your ability to recieve OTAs.

*AGAIN- if youre just following this procedure because youre tired of being rooted,skip this next section and leave the permanent hboot in place. jump to "Putting current stock firmware and s-on back onto the phone" and flash only the first "PG05IMG_1.70.605.0_nohboot.zip" file(you can flash the 2nd file too if you want,but the permanent hboot will block it ;))

Setting up adb and removing the permanent hboot if youve never used adb before
1)if you no longer have the htc drivers that you installed when rooting with revolutionary,download them again from here on revolutionarys website.
2)next download this file to somewhere convenient that youll be able to find it,like your desktop,or a "downloads" folder. it contains the old eng 1.40.2000 s-off hboot,and the bare minumum tools to install it.
3)the following directions were using windows 7 and chrome browser. other OS may be slightly different-the end result is you want unzipped,inside tbolt folder to be on the root of your C: drive.
-find the tbolt.zipdownload
-click on tbolt.zip download and open it.
-inside tbolt.zip,there is a folder labled tbolt. drag it to the root of C:. inside tbolt is the unpermanent hboot and some adb tools.
4) charge your Thunderbolt to 100%
5)click on then "start" bubble in the lower left corner of your screen. type "command" in the search window and hit enter. this will open a small black command window.
6)enter the following command(by typing or copy/paste):
Code:
cd c:\tbolt
you should see your promt in the window change to: c:\tbolt>
7)enter the follwing command:
Code:
md5sums hbooteng.nb0
check the output on the command window. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. the command must equal exactly 6991368ee2deaf182048a3ed9d3c0fcb if it does not,STOP!. delete the tbolt.zip download,and the unzipped tbolt folder from C:,re download and try it again. again,do not procede if the output in your command number does not equal it exactly.
8)once the number matches,you can continue. copy and paste the following codes into the command window:
Code:
adb devices
the output should be your phones serial number

now enter:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
this will cause your phone to boot into FASTBOOT mode,wich is a white screen with colored letters.

now enter:
Code:
fastboot devices
the result again,should be your phones serial number.

9) now youre ready to enter the command to unlock the permanent hboot and flash the new,non permanent one.
to unlock,enter:
Code:
fastboot oem mw 8d08ac54 1 31302E30
write the new hboot:
Code:
fastboot flash hboot hbooteng.nb0

if you select bootloader at this point from the fastboot menu, youll still see the permanent s-off hboot,so select reboot with the volume rocker and power button and let the phone reboot. after it boots,you can adb reboot bootloader again,or power off, then power on/vol down and check that your pink "UNLOCKED" or "REVOLUTIONARY" is gone and you have the old 1.49.2000 bootloader.

here is what you should see in the command window,the red are my inputs:
Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Scott>[COLOR="Red"]cd c:\tbolt[/COLOR]

c:\tbolt>[COLOR="red"]md5sums hbooteng.nb0[/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:\tbolt\]
hbooteng.nb0                                   6991368ee2deaf182048a3ed9d3c0fcb

c:\tbolt>[COLOR="red"][COLOR="red"]adb devices[/COLOR][/COLOR]
* daemon not running. starting it now *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
HT126S005970    device


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

c:\tbolt>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
HT126S005970    fastboot
c:\tbolt>[COLOR="red"]fastboot oem mw 8d08ac54 1 31302E30[/COLOR]
...
OKAY [  0.006s]
finished. total time: 0.006s

c:\tbolt>[COLOR="red"]fastboot flash hboot hbooteng.nb0[/COLOR]
sending 'hboot' (1024 KB)...
OKAY [  0.183s]
writing 'hboot'...
OKAY [  0.219s]
finished. total time: 0.403s

c:\tbolt>

Putting current stock firmware and s-on back onto the phone

after getting the bootloader back to the original s-off,engineering 1.04.2000 hboot download these 2 files:
1)PG05IMG_1.70.605.0_nohboot.zip
md5: c2c61df561e8a74cd103f0b9b89d81d6
and
2)PG05IMG_hboot_only_1.04.0000
md5: 584a4cdc12658835cb2a7885e8e44fd2

rename PG05IMG_1.70.605.0_nohboot.zip to "PG05IMG",move to your sd card,and flash in hboot.

this is important! you must flash the PG05IMG_1.70.605.0_nohboot.zip first

after successfully flashing that,you will be on unrooted mr2 with an eng s-off bootloader. delete the PG05IMG file from your sd card. now place the PG05IMG_hboot_only_1.04.0000 on your sd card. check the md5. once youve verified it matches,you can rename PG05IMG and flash it.

again, only flash the hboot file after you have successfully flashed the rom.

now you are 100% stock on latest firmware. unrooted MR2(1.70.605.0),with s-on 1.04.0000 bootloader.

as always,be as cautious as possible doing hboot flashes,and follow directions in the http://androidforums.com/thunderbolt-all-things-root/353591-how-some-root-terminology.html to flash these files if youre unfamiliar with hboot flashing.

*please start a new thread before attempting this if any part of this confuses you. without a bootloader your phone is a paperweight,so we want to help you prior to making any mistakes ;)
_________________________________________________________________


*make sure you read this:
[WARNING] Do not downgrade to 1.0xxxxx after root

*last and not least the standard discalaimer. i take no credit for anything listed in this post,i am only responsible for placing the information here in one spot. please do your research before attempting to modify your phone,i take no responsibility if any of the methods listed above aid you in turning yout thunderbolt into an expensive paperweight.

heres a link to the old manual rooting methods thread,for anyone interested: http://androidforums.com/thunderbol...ting-methods-archived-outdated-8-14-11-a.html
 
My current phone is a stock TB non-rooted. I searched for the answer to my question, but can't seem to find answer.
I installed the 2.10.605.1 GB update.exe file on Saturday. the update upgraded the hboot version 1.04.000 to hboot version 1.05.000 and installed the GB update. I haven't had any problems and battery life is great.

I would like to downgrade back to the original MR2. Is this possible?

I was dumb and didn't back-up the original ROM before upgrading.
 
Upvote 0
I would reccomend leaving the permanent hboot,unless you need to turn the phone in for warranty.

Its advantages far outweigh any of removing it.

but yes,if you really want or need to,those directions can be used to remove the permanent hboot and replace with a stock s-on hboot.
 
Upvote 0
welcome to androif forums :) i answered your post on xda as well,hope it told you what you needed to know.

did you allow revolutionary to install clockwork recovery? if so all youll need to do is download and flash superuser in clockwork recovery if you want to be fully rooted.

if you didnt allow clockwork to be installed,you just need to pick a recovery from this thread (id reccomend clockwork 4.0.1.5 or TWRP) and flash it in hboot.

id also reccomend checking out http://androidforums.com/thunderbolt-all-things-root/353591-how-some-root-terminology.html lots of info there.

afterwards,just post up if you have any questions.

last and not least,i like your avitar... it looks alot like my meeko :)
meeko1small.jpg
 
Upvote 0
Thank you Scotty. Awesome looking dog you have! I have always had German Shepherds, but always liked the Husky/Malamute look too.

I appreciate you help and knowledge, as I am new to this. The revolutionary tool worked smoothly, but I stopped before installing Clockwork. In my beginning stages here, I do not yet understand the recovery piece of the puzzle. What I was looking for at this point in my learning process was the ability to test out leaks and flash back to stock if wanted.

Do I need to flash a different recovery at this point? Or am I ok with the stock recovery for now?
 
Upvote 0
a custom recovery is what allows you to change software on a rooted android phone. within it,you can make backups,restore backups,and flash new roms.

official software from htc comes in 3 basic ways:
1)an OTA update
2)an hboot flashable RUU(flashed by renaming the download PG05IMG and installing in hboot,wich is the while screen with colored letters,where it says revolutionary and s-off)
3)an RUU/installer that is run on your computer.

all 3 of these are possible with the stock recovery, but only #1 requires it. if you want to install OTAs you MUST run a stock recovery. trying to accept an OTA whith a custom recovery installed can lead to a potentially un-recoverable bootloop. so try and avoid that at all costs.

all 3 are also technially possible with an s-on hboot. so why did i strongly reccomend running revolutionary to get their s-off? :eek: in a nutshell: a stock s-on hboot will ONLY allow firmware approved by htc to be flashed,and it will only let you go forward in versions. so if you flash a leak and stay s-on,you cant go back to where you before,you can only go forward to the next leak.

with the permanent patch revolutionary hboot,s-off will remain no matter what you do. this means no htc siginiture checks,and you can flash pretty much whatever you want,backwards and forwards,and you can flash only parts-only a recovery,or only radios.(s-off means "security off" if you werent allready aware)

technically,you do not need to flash a recovery if all you really want to do is flash leaked RUUs. you can flash the leaks,and then flash back to the offical mr2 with no issues,with no custom recovery.

the biggest disadvantage to doing it this way,the fact that the leaks WILL wipe your data. youll have to physically reinstall all your apps,and resetup your phone each time you flash one.

prolly the better way to test new software,is to install a custom recovery. you will then have the ability to make nandroid backups that you can restore,giving you the flexilbility to change back and forth between different ones youve tried by simply restoring backups.

literally minutes after the leaks are announced on the forums,one(or several) of the great developers we have will take the leak,and make it into a version you can flash in your custom recovery. hboot flashing can be dangerous if precautions arent followed,so flashing in recovery is generally considered safer.

installing a custom recovery doesnt neccessarily mean you have to be rooted. you can continue to run non-rooted software if you want,and make backups of it. the recovery flashable roms generally ARE rooted,but just because "superuser access" is there doesnt mean you have to use it ;)

there are alot of perks to being rooted,and alot of useful root-only apps,prolly the most notable of wich is titanium backup. if you get the paid version,you can easily make batch backups of all your apps to make setting up a new rom easier. the advantages of being rooted if you ask most folks far outweigh the advantages of staying stock.

youll hear alot of people say they dont want to root because they want to be able to accept OTAs. with permanent s-off,this is not true. you be running rooted firmware,install your stock recovery,and your phone will update via an OTA just fine.tho,you will lose root in the update process,so youll have to re root after an ota id you want to continue being rooted.

in all honesty,however,there really is no benefit from recieveing an OTA. as youve seen,leeks will surface prior to the update actually being pushed to phones. youll be able to flash the RUUs,or flash the roms in recovery,pretty effectively staying 1 step ahead. :)

anyway,hope that answers your questions... let us know if theres anything else :)
 
Upvote 0
You are already rooted you shouldn't need to reroot using revolutionary. If you don't have a full s-off hboot you can flash that but you won't need to use the revolutionary tool


Thanks figured it was good to confirm my thoughts. :)
So I am using the bootloader that was in the manual procedure can and should I replace it with shadowmites hboot? If I read the thread on hboot and radios sticky thread correctly I would use that to be protected from Verizon garbage updates and less chance of me screwing up phone as I get more comfortable in using roms....
Thanks,
Bryan
 
Upvote 0
So, question for you.

My phone decided to go ahead with the minor OTA while I was asleep night and I've been without a computer for the weekend. I was starting to piece together what to do on Friday but thought I would try to put things together, if possible.

To start, I'm rooted with the Eng S-Off from the manual root process and running that image. I've taken a backup with Titanium Backup but no other backups have been done. Though the more I read, the more I realize I should be doing them.

The goal is to accept (or just upgrade to) the current OTA and root. It sounds like the new method will include the perm S-Off which would seem to be a plus (actually, it sounds like S-Off is the thing and root is just an additional step you can take).

So I would....

1) Put jcase's unroot RUU image on the SD card as PG05IMG.zip.
2) adb reboot bootloader
3) Verify everything went well.
4) Put jcase's unroot bootloader image on the SD card? This is the part that has me confused. The jcase instructions say to flash through the bootloader. I'm assuming this is the same as steps 1 and 2, given the rename of the file once again to PG05IMG.zip?
5) If my assumption on #4 is correct, it's another run of: adb reboot bootloader
6) Accept OTA
7) Use the Revolutionary root/S-Off method
8) Restore from Titanium backup.
9) Profit?

Or did I goof a step or several in there.

I suppose this is what I get for not staying on top of things. Time, perhaps, to look at a ROM that won't bother me with OTAs.
 
Upvote 0
That's correct,sir. If you rooted the manual way and have the original 1.04.2000 Eng s-off hboot,I'd highly reccomend upgrading to shadowmites hboot. Like ibrick said,its like your phone is wrapped in a warm snuggly blanket :p


Ok I have followed all recommendations here why stop now :)
Like warm and snuggly :)
Of course do both data wipes?
Install through hboot?
Will it wipe my phone?
Thanks,
Bryan
 
Upvote 0
So, question for you.

My phone decided to go ahead with the minor OTA while I was asleep night and I've been without a computer for the weekend. I was starting to piece together what to do on Friday but thought I would try to put things together, if possible.

To start, I'm rooted with the Eng S-Off from the manual root process and running that image. I've taken a backup with Titanium Backup but no other backups have been done. Though the more I read, the more I realize I should be doing them.

The goal is to accept (or just upgrade to) the current OTA and root. It sounds like the new method will include the perm S-Off which would seem to be a plus (actually, it sounds like S-Off is the thing and root is just an additional step you can take).

So I would....

1) Put jcase's unroot RUU image on the SD card as PG05IMG.zip.
2) adb reboot bootloader
3) Verify everything went well.
4) Put jcase's unroot bootloader image on the SD card? This is the part that has me confused. The jcase instructions say to flash through the bootloader. I'm assuming this is the same as steps 1 and 2, given the rename of the file once again to PG05IMG.zip?
5) If my assumption on #4 is correct, it's another run of: adb reboot bootloader
6) Accept OTA
7) Use the Revolutionary root/S-Off method
8) Restore from Titanium backup.
9) Profit?

Or did I goof a step or several in there.

I suppose this is what I get for not staying on top of things. Time, perhaps, to look at a ROM that won't bother me with OTAs.


You can get rooted OTA roms don't bother unrooting and trying to flash ruu files way to much room for something to go wrong. Just get the rooted OTA rom and flash in recovery...or flash a custom rom in recovery


Add: Can this thread be locked? Most the replies would actually be better posted on their own thread, not in a how to thread.
 
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Ok I have followed all recommendations here why stop now :)
Like warm and snuggly :)
Of course do both data wipes?
Install through hboot?
Will it wipe my phone?
Thanks,
Bryan


No wipes,rename pg05img and flash in hboot. Its a small file,super fast flash but charge up anyway,better safe than sorry. Nope,wont wipe any data :)
 
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You can get rooted OTA roms don't bother unrooting and trying to flash ruu files way to much room for something to go wrong. Just get the rooted OTA rom and flash in recovery...or flash a custom rom in recovery


Add: Can this thread be locked? Most the replies would actually be better posted on their own thread, not in a how to thread.


I was going to suggest wait and ill get you an mr1 recovery so you can ota,but yeahha sugggestion will work also. You can flash the shadowmite permanent hboot instead of unrooting and using revolutionary.

I do agree your suggested method utilizes some unneccessary hboot flashing.
 
Upvote 0
I was going to suggest wait and ill get you an mr1 recovery so you can ota,but yeahha sugggestion will work also. You can flash the shadowmite permanent hboot instead of unrooting and using revolutionary.

I do agree your suggested method utilizes some unneccessary hboot flashing.

I'd realized it was a bit of a long way around but wasn't positive on if shortcutting it would be a good thing or not.

Given that, I downloaded [ROM] Official 1.70.605.0 MR2 OTA Deodexed Rooted Busybox Mirrors Added :D - xda-developers which appears to get me a rooted MR2. I'll either take a stab at that tonight or tomorrow depending on time.

I'll have to get ROM Manager and Clockwork installed. Could have sworn I did but didn't see ROM Manager there.
 
Upvote 0
I'd realized it was a bit of a long way around but wasn't positive on if shortcutting it would be a good thing or not.

Given that, I downloaded [ROM] Official 1.70.605.0 MR2 OTA Deodexed Rooted Busybox Mirrors Added :D - xda-developers which appears to get me a rooted MR2. I'll either take a stab at that tonight or tomorrow depending on time.

I'll have to get ROM Manager and Clockwork installed. Could have sworn I did but didn't see ROM Manager there.


That is the right rom for rooted MR2, and it should be fine to flash it isn't taking a shortcut as much as it is taking the shortest path instead of going NY to TX via CA. Not sure about the rom manager comment. I would suggest just learning how to flash without having to use rom manager, I got into a situation today where I couldn't get to my home screens and if I only knew how to flash roms via rom manager I would have been screwed.
 
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