Rooting your Android phone

What is Rooting?

Rooting an Android phone is similar to jailbreaking an iPhone. Rooting is a process which enables 'su'(Superuser) access to the underlying operating system. If you have used any Linux Distro, you should have known about 'su'. But if not, then compare this to an Administrator account in Windows. A superuser has all the power to do everything he wants with the operating system. So Rooting the phone means, you have more control over the phone and you can do things you weren't able to do before. For examlple, taking screenshots, Wi-Fi tethering etc.

USB Debugging

Well, you'll need it. So read carefully.

Go to "Settings > Applications > Developement" to turn USB Debugging on or off.


How to Root my Phone?

Ok, now come to the point. There is an excellent Windows software called SuperOneClick which lets you root and unroot your phone easily with just a click. No commandlines, no mistakes. But please read the entire tutorial first before doing anything.



# Download SuperOneClick and save it on your desktop.

• Connect your phone to the computer. Don't mount SD card.
• Enable USB Debugging.
• Launch SuperOneClick.exe by double clicking.
• Click on Universal tab on screen if you want to root any Android device like Nexus One, Galaxy S, Droid etc. Click on Samsung Captivate if that’s you phone.
• Now click on "Root" tab and wait for the process to finish.

If it keeps looping, try the following,

• Turn USB Debugging OFF
• Click Root
• When it says: Waiting for Device, Turn USB Debugging ON
• When it says: Starting ADB Server...
• Turn USB Debugging OFF
• Turn USB Debugging ON
• Turn USB Debugging OFF
• All BEFORE it says "Waiting for device..." again

It should work on most devices(See compatibility list).

Compatibility List

• Acer Liquid Metal
• Dell Streak
• HTC Magic (Sapphire) 32B
• HTC Bee
• LG Ally
• Motorola Atrix4G
• Motorola Charm
• Motorola Cliq
• Motorola Droid
• Motorola Flipside
• Motorola Flipout
• Motorola Milestone
• Nexus One
• Samsung Captivate
• Samsung Galaxy 551 (GT-I5510)
• Samsung Galaxy Portal/Spica I5700
• Samsung Galaxy S 4G
• Samsung Galaxy S I9000
• Samsung Galaxy S SCH-I500
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• Samsung Transform M920
• Samsung Vibrant
• Sony Ericsson Xperia E51i X8
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
• Sprint Hero
• Telus Fascinate
• Toshiba Folio 100
• And more untested devices...

Incompatible Phones

• HTC Legend
• My Touch 3G 32A
• T-Mobile (HTC) G2

• Sprint EVO 4G (HTC Supersonic)
• Droid Incredible (HTC Incredible)
• HTC Desire GSM
• HTC Desire CDMA (HTC BravoC)
• HTC Aria
• Droid Eris (HTC DesireC)
• HTC Wildfire (HTC Buzz)

DOWNLOAD here

Attention!

•  rage against thecage is a root exploit via a fork bomb.
  It IS a potentially malicious payload, BUT it is being used with owner's consent to root the phone. 
• The DreamDroid malware use exactly same payload - they are trojans, but this is a helpful tool.
• It IS a dangerous tool in the wrong hands, but this is a root exploit, so you should exercise common sense and a little understanding of what it does and how it works.                                                                                                                                  
• Your antivirus might detect it as virus and delete it. So please turn off your Antivirus first.   
• I, in any sense don't take the responsibility if you do something wrong or if you brick your phone. Though, the process is fairly easy and I, myself tested it, I cannot guarantee it will work for you, though suggestions and queries are welcome. The tools used are not made by me and belong to respective developer

Posted in: rooting your android phone, superuser in android