Rooting the Motorola Droid Maxx

So, to put it all together in one little place, I’m going to borrow pieces and parts from different websites and the firmware and programs that go with it, and put where you can find it…

 

First Root your droid:      From DroidRazrRoot.com

(You may not be able to root your droid using this method if you have already accepted OTA (Over The Air) updates…  You may have to use RSD (see below) to return to a previous version of firmware prior to rooting… then preserve root (again, see below), and update from there.)

Step 1. Go to Settings->Applications->Development and make sure USB Debugging is checked on.

Step 2. Connect your micro-USB cable to your Droid Razr and computer then make sure USB Mode is set to “Charge Only”.

Step 3. Make sure you have Droid Razr Windows drivers installed.  Download the Driver Here and run the EXE program to install.  (You can verify you have Droid Razr drivers installed by going to Control Panel->Hardware and Sound->Device Manager and seeing Android USB Device.

Step 4. Download DroidRazrRoot.zip and unzip/uncompress, you will get a file folder called DroidRazrRoot.

Step 5. Run the file runme.bat in the folder.  In a few minutes, your Droid Razr should be rooted.  You can verify your Droid Razr has been rooted if you have SuperUser app and run a rooted app like Titanium Backup app (available for free on the Market) to double-check

Congratulations!  You’ve rooted your Droid Razr!

Install SafeStrap Next:     From DroidRazrRoot.com

Step 1. If you’ve rooted your Droid Razr using our rooting guide at DroidRazrRoot.com then you will want to uninstall Bootstrap app.  Make sure you uninstall the Bootstrap app otherwise you can end up bricking your phone!

To un-install Bootstrap app, hit Menu button then hit “Settings”.

Step 2. Next choose “Applications”.

Step 3. Choose “Manage applications”.

Step 4. Press on “Bionic Bootstrap” app.

Step 5. Choose “Uninstall” to uninstall the app.

Step 6. Next, download the new SafeStrap on your computer then copy over to your Droid Razr’s internal storage or SD card.  You can do this by downloading SafeStrap file then connecting your Droid Razr to your computer via a micro-USB cable.  Then copy the downloaded file over to your internal storage or SD card.

Step 7. Next open up the Files app or any kind of file explorer app like ES File Explorer.

Step 8. If you copied the file in Step 6 to your internal storage, select “Internal phone storage”, otherwise select “SD Card” for SD Card.

Step 9. Select “RAZRSafestrap-1.0.apk” file, this is the file you copied over in Step 6.

Step 10. If you get “Install blocked” message, hit “Settings”.  Then make sure “Unknown sources” is checked ON.

Step 11. Open RAZRSafestrap-1.0.apk file again and hit “Install”.

Step 12. When the app finishes installing, hit “Open” to open the app.

Step 13. When Superuser Request pops up, choose “Allow”.

Step 14. Choose “Install Recovery”.

Step 15. Once you’ve installed Recovery (also called Clockwork Recovery), you are good to go.  Here’s how to get into Clockwork Recovery.  Turn off your Droid Razr.

Step 16. Now when your Droid Razr reboots, you should get the following menu after splash screen, simply press Menu button (left most button) to get into Recovery.

Step 17. Congratulations, you’ve successfully installed SafeStrap!  Now go tell your friends about it.

Now, before allowing any OTA updates to the OS/Firmware, see the Rootkeeper section below!!!

Back-Up Your Rooted Stock ROM:

Step 1. I assume you’ve installed SafeStrap, if you didn’t go install SafeStrap first.  Next, turn off your phone and reboot.  You should come to the SafeStrap menu where you should press the Menu button to enter Recovery.

Step 2. Make sure “Safe System” is DISABLED.

Step 3. Choose “backup and restore”.

Step 4. Choose “Backup”.

Step 5. Choose “Internal SD card” or “External SD card”, you can backup to your internal storage or SD card, choice is yours.

Step 6. Choose “Yes”. (or No if you don’t want to include webtop)

Step 7. Once backup is complete, you are good to go.

Step 8. Anytime you want to restore, simply get back into Recovery->backup and restore then choose “Restore”.  Backups are saved in folders with timestamp and you can rename them using File Explorer app if you want to make it more memorable.

Restore your phone to factory new condition     From Droidrzr.com

You may have to do this step if you can no longer obtain Root or are having trouble updating to new firmware, or are not on the current OTA (Over The Air) update schedule.

YOU WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE IF YOU HAVE LESS THEN 50% BATTERY PRIOR TO DOING THIS.

Step 1.  Download these three files if you don’t have them already:  RSDLite    MotoHelper Drivers     VRZ_XT912…

Step 2.  Install the MotoHelper Drivers if you haven’t yet.

Step 3.  Extract the FastBoot .zip (VRZ_XT912…) file to a folder.

Step 4.  Install RSD Lite, let it finish, then run it.

Step 5.  Choose the extracted FastBoot .xml file from earlier.

Step 6.  Turn off your phone.  If your phone is frozen then hold down the Power + Volume down buttons for 8 seconds and it will turn itself off.

Step 7.  Hold down both Volumes buttons + the Power button and it will boot into a black screen with white text.  Choose AP Fastboot using the on-screen instructions.

(The Volume Up button selects and your Volume Down button moves down, for those who cannot read the on-screen instructions.)

Special Note: If your device says anything other than “Device is LOCKED. Status Code: 0″ then Private Message me. If it says Device is LOCKED. Status Code: 0 then that is normal! Proceed.

Plug your phone into your Windows computer’s USB port.  Your phone should show up on the first line of the RSD program.

Step 8.  Hit ‘Start’.

Step 9.  Take a breath, be patient, take a walk.  There are 18 steps to go through…  after it has rebooted and is finished, you may unplug it.

Step 10.  OPTIONAL: Go back into Moto Recovery but this time choose Recovery. When you get to the “Triangle” with the Android press both Volume Buttons. Choose “Wipe Data/Factory Reset” (This will make sure you are COMPLETELY stock 6.11.744 with no personal data on the system. (Anything in your SD card should be safe, but apps/app data/contacts/etc. will be cleared if you do this).

Restoring to Original Firmware (pre-updates)     From Droidrzr.com

Step 1: Prerequisite step basically. You must be running stock (current ota updated version to 6.11.748) and still have all your 748 bloat intact etc etc. Anything that you couldn’t uninstall without root needs to be on the phone. This includes things like editing the swype files so that you could install betas. If you are not in this boat, chances are extremely good that you are going to fail the current system verification phase and the update will not install. Also, make sure you have 50+% battery. MD5 of the update package (Blur_Version.6.11.748.XT912.Verizon.en.US.zip) should be aa7fe6290c0d3a60253922bac413da02. You’ve been made aware. (This is where the RSD procedure above may come in handy)

Step 2: Disable Safestrap via the app. You do not have to remove the apk itself, but the system needs to be disabled.

VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT…  PRIOR TO ALLOWING ANY OTA UPDATES TO THE OS/FIRMWARE…  UTILIZE THE ROOTKEEPER!!!!!

Step 3: Install Voodoo OTA Rootkeeper (free from the market). Open it and hit protect su (all the boxes should be checked green at this point). IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS STEP, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ROOT ON THE NEW BUILD. CURRENT ROOT METHODS DO NOT WORK ON ANDROID 2.3.6+. If you are not currently rooted and want/need to be, you need to root at this point with voodoo protecting root before you proceed.

Step 4: Drop the update file Blur_Version.6.11.748.XT912.Verizon.en.US.zip on your EXTERNAL SD card. File can be downloaded here.

Step 5: Turn off your phone

Step 6: Hold all 3 buttons (power and both vol keys) to turn it back on and select recovery from the menu that pops up (use vol down to scroll, vol up to select)

Step 7: Press Vol+ and – simultaneously to get the on screen menu. This menu behaves like CWM/SS for navigation.

Step 8: Install the update file on your card. It takes a while. It’s going to verify both the file and your current system before it proceeds. If your phone fails the current system check (most common) that means something isn’t factory in your phone’s system files and you’ll probably have to use RSD to fix it. (See my FAQ post for the link to how to use that. I’m too lazy to explain that here, or I will be ninja edited to give a link to the Fast boot thread: http://www.droidrzr….fastboot-files/).

Step 9: When the system reboots load up the voodoo app. You’ll notice that you no longer have root. Hit restore su.

Step 10: Open Safestrap and enable it again.

Grats. You’re rooted/safestrapped and running the most current publicly leaked build 6.12.173.XT912. There’s a file that can be used to roll back to 6.11.748 (to get back on the normal upgrade path) in the main thread if you want to return back to whence you came. (Link for Restoring to .748 (normal upgrade path) is here.)

Now, the reason you rooted in the first place:

WiFi Hotspot

Go to the Market and search for Opengarden WiFi Hotspot, it seems to work pretty well.  There are others, but I have not tried them.

Freeze the Bloatware with Titanium Backup Pro

Again, go to the Market and search for Titanium Backup.  Nicely organized and easy to understand.  Instantly freezes and defrosts the apps.  Don’t remove, delete, or uninstall the apps….  this will make it a pain in the rear (following the steps listed above) to receive the OTA updates.  If you just freeze the app, it will allow you to defrost the app at any time and update (after you utilize the Rootkeeper from above), then you can freeze them again!

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