Last we heard, Moto Droid X was unhackable, because of a system protection technology known as eFuse. However, developers and hackers found a way around it and managed to root the device, gaining superuser permissions on Verizon’s handset.
No trace of custom ROMs on the phone just yet and also it would be good to have a custom recovery image for the Motorola superphone, in order to flash a non-factory ROM. Using the root on the new Droid, you’ll be able to get rid of the preinstalled Verizon apps and install third party software
The method to root the device is available below, courtesy of AllDroid, but we wary that you might brick your smartphone in the process… In order to get the root going, you’ll need to have ADB set up, which XDA Developers details here. Here’s the root guide:
” 1. Download the attached archive and expand it to a folder you can find (eg. c:\DroidXRoot_v2)
2. Set up ADB (Step-by-step guide for Windows Vista/7 )
3. On the phone: Home, Menu Button, Settings, Applications, Development: Make sure the “USB debugging” option is enabled/checked.
4. Status bar, USB connection: Make sure “PC Mode” is selected.
5. Open a command prompt (Windows: Start, Run, “cmd”, OK; Linux: Terminal)
6. Run “adb devices”. If you don’t see your device listed under “List of devices attached”, return to step 2 and follow the link to setup ADB (use that topic for support) and return here when “adb devices” lists your X.
7. Run “CD c:\DroidXRoot” (or where ever you expanded the archive)
8. Run “adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk“
9. Run “adb push su /sdcard/su“
10. Run “adb push busybox /sdcard/busybox“
11. Run “adb push exploid /sqlite_stmt_journals/exploid“
12. Run “adb shell“
13. Run “cd sqlite_stmt_journals“
14. Run “chmod 755 exploid“
15. On your phone, navigate to a screen where you can switch wifi/bluetooth on/off easily (settings, or a home screen with a widget)
16. IMMEDIATELY after executing the next step, toggle wifi or bluetooth off and back on
17. Run “./exploid” and follow directions on screen. Once this completes you’ll be back at a shell prompt.
18. Run “rootshell“. You’ll be prompted for a password.
19. Type in password “secretlol” and press Enter then you are root! (You’ll know because your prompt will now be a “#” instead of “$”)
20. Run “cp /sdcard/Superuser.apk /system/app/Superuser.apk“
21. Run “cp /sdcard/su /system/bin/su“
22. Run “cp /sdcard/busybox /system/bin/busybox“
23. Run “chmod 4755 /system/bin/su“
24. Run “chmod 4755 /system/bin/busybox“
25. Run “rm /system/bin/rootshell“
26. Run “exit” to drop from root to a non-root user shell (on phone still)
27. Run “exit” to drop back to your machine command prompt (instead of phone)
To Confirm root is established:
1. Run “adb shell“
2. Run “su” (now you should see the # sign which indicates you are root)
3. Watch your screen so you can allow Superuser root access. ”
[via IntoMobile]
