Rooting Android Evo 4G

From charlesreid1

I picked up an Android HTC Evo 4G for about $15, couldn't pass that up, so I wanted to figure out how to root it.

The summary of steps is as follows:

  • Unlock bootloader on phone
  • Download script to root phone

Yup, so here's the breakdown of those steps:

Unlock Bootloader

You can start by getting an account and instructions at http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/unlock-instructions. They'll provide some binaries that you'll need too.

Step 1: Turn off Fast Rebooting

Step 1 is to turn off fast rebooting. This was in Settings > Applications > Fast Rebooting (uncheck it).

Step 2: Download Fastboot Binary

Step 2 is to download the fastboot binary. See the HTC developers website for the binary - they provide it.

Step 3: Run Fastboot

Step 3 is to run fastboot on your Mac. You'll tell it to listen for a device and get an identification token, basically a fingerprint for your device: 

./fastboot-mac oem get_identifier_token

This will sit and wait for a device until it finds one, then it'll print the ID token to the screen.

Step 4: Reboot into Boot Loader

Step 4 is to reboot into the boot loader menu by turning off the phone, and then turning it on while holding down the "Volume Down" button.

Sequence: (Turn off phone.) (Hold down the Volume Down button.) (Power on the phone.)

You should now see a white android boot loader screen:

AndroidRootBootloader.jpg

If you use the power button to select "Fastboot USB", you should see a dump of information on the screen where you ran the fastboot command. 

<<<< Identifier Token Start >>>>
ED5D284CF59A7747615E7487CA511419
FDBAE245F8910567A34142D436E00153
ED5D284CF59A7747615E7487CA511419
FDBAE245F8910567A34142D436E00153
ED5D284CF59A7747615E7487CA511419
FDBAE245F8910567A34142D436E00153
ED5D284CF59A7747615E7487CA511419
FDBAE245F8910567A34142D436E00153
ED5D284CF59A7747615E7487CA511419
FDBAE245F8910567A34142D436E00153
<<<<< Identifier Token End >>>>>

you'll copy and paste that whole block into the HTC developers website, and they'll email you a key that you use to unlock the phone and put firmware onto it.

Step 5: Using the Emailed Key

When I checked my email after submitting my device token, I found a .bin file attached to the email. Download it. Now run the following to get an unlock token using this key: 

fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin

You'll see a screen like this, confirming you want to unlock the bootloader and void your warranty:

AndroidRootBootloaderVerify.jpg

Use the Volume Up to pick yes, and Power to select it. The Android phone will restart, and go through a new account setup. This is a brand-new install, everything is wiped clean.

Oh yeah, did I mention you should back up your stuff?

Ready to Root

Once you do all this, you'll finally be done... and ready to actually root the phone.

Rooting It

Following the instructions here

In case the link to their zip file dies, here is a mirror

Step 1: Settings

Since unlocking the bootloader reset the system, we lost all our settings. Sooo.....

First, disable fast boot again. Settings > Applications > Fast boot (uncheck it).

Second, enable USB debugging again. Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging (check it).

Now we can restart into the boot loader menu again.

Step 2: Restart into Boot Loader

Power down, then power on while holding the volume down button.

Use volume down to pick bootloader and the power button to pick it.

Get the phone to be in fastboot mode, and waiting for the computer to do something.

Step 3: Flash the Phone

Now you'll use the fastboot binary and the image provided here to flash the phone, with this command: 

./fastboot-mac flash recovery ./openrecovery-twrp-2.1.8-jewel.img

The img file comes from the link above.

Intermission: Let the Battery Charge

Make sure and do this process with a full battery, because the battery does not charge while the phone is plugged in. I started the whole process with 10% battery and had to end up stopping here to recharge the battery for a bit.

Still working off of this guide.

Step 4: Restart Into Fastboot

Now you'll do the usual, reboot into the bootloader menu by holding down volume when you power the Android on. enable fastboot mode by picking it with the volume up/down keys and pressing the power button. It will then wait for the computer to do something.

A note on listing the devices available:

You can list devices from both adb (android debugger) and fastboot. But depending on the mode that that phone is in, the phone will only show up to one or the other program. If you have booted the phone into the bootloader menu and selected fastboot mode, the device will show up to fastboot: 

$ ./adb-mac devices
List of devices attached

$ ./fastboot-mac devices
HT17JHL04387	fastboot

whereas if we had rebooted the phone normally, we would see this: 

$ ./adb-mac devices
List of devices attached
HT17JHL04387	device

$ ./fastboot-mac devices

Use Fastboot to Flash

The next step is to flash with the recovery image. I used a Cyanogen Mod image.

The Clockwork Mod ROM from Cyanogen: http://clockworkmod.com/rommanager

This worked: 

$ ./fastboot-mac flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.2-supersonic.img
sending 'recovery' (3120 KB)... OKAY
writing 'recovery'... OKAY

You've successfully flashed the image.

Put Rootkit Zip File Onto Phone

Now you'll have a zip file that you need to get onto the SD card, which you'll apply as an update and use it to get root access.

I started with a fresh 8 GB micro SD card.

Wiping it clean, mounting it on Mac, and putting the zip file onto the micro SD card.

Then inserting the micro SD card into the phone.

Then booting into the Bootloader menu.

Then picking recovery to boot into the Cyanogen Mod menu.

Then apply zip from SD card.

Then choose zip from sd card.

Then choose CWM-SuperSU-v0.87.zip.

Then confirm install.

Then it will start installing.

AndroidRootInstalling.jpg

Restart

I restarted the phone from the Cyanogen Mod menu.

When you restart and open the phone's applications, you should see one called "SuperSU".

AndroidRootSuperSU.jpg

References

Bunch of junk:

This is the most ridiculous bunch of horse shit I've ever shoveled.

This image actually works.

More References

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