Do we really need to dispense a warning about knowing what you’re doing before you continue? You don’t really want a $600 paperweight, do you?

Download the Motorola WiFi Xoom Root Zip file and unzip it. (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZJ8HAF79)
You’ll need fastboot – get it here http://developer.htc.com/adp.html
Place the files in the SDK Tools folder.

If rebooting works…
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot oem unlock
adb reboot bootloader

If stuck at “Dual Core Technology”
Hold VolUp and power to restart Xoom
Hold VolDown will booting unit for fastboot mode

fastboot flash boot boot.img (Tiamat 1.1.6 boot.img - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=978013)
fastboot reboot
adb remount
adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko #WiFi Kernel
adb push cifs.ko /system/lib/modules/cifs.ko #Windows Sharing
adb push tun.ko /system/lib/modules/tun.ko #VPN Setup
adb push scsi_wait_scan.ko /system/lib/modules/scsi_wait_scan.ko
adb push su /system/bin
adb shell ln -s /system/bin/su /system/xbin/su
adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
adb push Superuser.apk /system/app
adb push vold.fstab /system/etc/vold.fstab #USB Mounting
adb reboot
adb shell

[via AndroidPolice]

Requirements:
Windows PC
ADB installed and working
 
Download The Following
http://www.mediafire.com/?fcjnvrmae6ccm9k flash_image.zip
http://www.multiupload.com/YLP39EICOP recovery-RA-GNM-thunderc-s-1.1.0.img.zip
http://www.multiupload.com/WGF93RR90X SuperOneClick
http://www.multiupload.com/7KCGPF6RBF Virgin Drivers
http://www.multiupload.com/SL4MFB928T Stock Rom Rooted and De Odexed minus Bloat
 
1. Extract the Drivers Zip to a folder on the desktop
Click on the installation file and install the Optimus drivers
 
2. On your phone (must be activated), Go to settings, then to Applications, then Development and enable USB debugging.
 

3. Unzip Super One Click to the same folder and run it. Click shell root.
 

4. Unzip the flash_image.zip and recovery-RA-GNM-thunderc-s-1.1.0.img.zip to the root of your phone’s SD Card. Also Place Stock Rooted and Optimized.zip at the root (KEEP IN ZIP).
 

5. a. Open CMD.exe and navigate to the folder adb.exe exists in.
b. Type:

adb shell
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system
cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak
mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system
flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-GNM-thunderc-s-1.1.0.img
reboot recovery

 

Your phone will now reboot into the custom recovery
 

6. Go to “Backup” (navigate with volume rocker and click with Home) , and click “backup nand” .
 

7. When It is finished, click back until you are at the main menu again. Click Flash zip from sdcard and flash Stock Rooted and Optimized.zip
 

8. IMPORTANT, return to main menu, navigate to Wipe. Click Wipe data/factory reset.
ONLY WIPE/FACTORY RESET IN RECOVERY. DO NOT USE THE PHONE WIPE
 

Note: Re-flash required as I could not maintain root after reboot.
Button Combo for recovery is Home+Down Vol.+Power. Hold these until recovery loads.

What’s the first thing you wanna do when you get a new Android tablet? Tear it apart of course. Well, at least that’s how the guys at one Vietnamese blog felt. Good thing they show us on video and pictures so you don’t have to tear yours apart once you get one.

Doesn’t that battery just seem tiny next to the Galaxy Tab battery?

Here’s the full teardown video. You might wanna turn down the sound unless you’re a huge fan of Asian pop music.

[via Engadget]

Inevitably when a new piece of hardware comes out, there’s always a few things people don’t like about it. And sometimes a brave few do something about it. In this case the problem was the slick plastic battery cover on the Nexus S and how it collects fingerprints. And the solution for xda-developers member mhaedo was give it a couple thin coats of spray-on PlastiDip. He used black, but if you’re feeling frisky, you could try their red or yellow colors. And of course this isn’t limited to the Nexus S, this could be done on almost any other phone. It should also be noted that you can peel off the PlastiDip if you get bored of it or wish to sell the phone.

Hit the link for more pictures and full instructions on how he did it.

[xda-developers via AndroidCommunity]

If you’ve ever read any guides on rooting your Android phone or how to sideload applications on restricted devices, there’s no doubt you’ve come across the term ADB. ADB, short for Android Debug Bridge is a tool that is part of the Android SDK, and is a very powerful way to communicate between your computer and your phone or tablet. Being a command line tool, most novice users shy away from ADB and opt for the GUI or one-click solutions to root their phone or perform other tasks. But with the right instruction, and a little patience, you’ll have complete control over your Android phone in no time. Some users over at xda-developers have written some fantastic guides to using ADB. A general guide, Windows oriented, you can find here. And here’s one to get setup with your Mac. I recommend Mac users also read the first guide, as it is more in-depth, the command line arguments will all be nearly the same.

[via xda-developers blog]

The PocketBook IQ is an Android powered ebook reader with modest specs and a very cheap pricetag starting around $150 or so. Got one of these and want to root it? Well here’s how:

• First, install LauncherPro, since the PocketBook doesn’t have access to the Android Market, get the APK from LauncherPro’s website.
• Longpress the homescreen untill you get the ‘Add to Home screen’ window.
• Choose: Shortcuts->Activities->Settings->Development (com.android.settings.DevelopmentSettings)
• Lauch the newly created Development shortcut and check USB debugging
• Install z4root.1.3.0.apk and use it to get full root access

[MobileRead Forums]

The upgrade to Froyo for the latest Android tablets is only a few days old and already the hackers have come up with a way to install the Android Market. It was previously possible on the 2.1 firmware, but a new .apk file is required to work with Froyo. The process is simple, just download the modified Market .apk from here. Transfer it onto your Archos, then select it using the built in file manager, run the installation process and reboot. Now you have access to all the normal Market apps, not just limited to the ones in the Archos marketplace.

[via Archos Fans]

The Motorola Defy has been rooted giving owners of the rugged handset superuser access and the ability to do things like install custom ROMS, take screenshots and other normally blocked options.

The easy option for rooting is to download z4root from the Android Market which is a one-click application to gain root. It’s been reported that it may not work on all handsets or for all users, so xda-developers has a manual method of rooting using Android Debug Bridge, or adb. I take no credit for this guide, just reposting here, all credit goes to the original post. If you are not familiar with adb or Android hacking, I suggest you do some research first, get started here. For those of you comfortable with hacking your phone, let’s get started:

1. Put the phone in Debug Mode: Go to Settings > Applications > Development and check USB debugging box.

2. Extract the files from the zip below, connect the phone via USB, and copy them to the phone via ADB like this:

Code:

adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk
adb push su /sdcard/su
adb push busybox /sdcard/busybox
adb push exploit.bin /data/local/tmp/exploit.bin

3. Now we enter the phone’s internal shell, also using ADB:

Code:

adb shell

4. Then we take advantage of the “fake” root exploit:

Code:

cd /data/local/tmp
chmod 0755 exploit.bin
./exploit.bin

5. Now after that last command you should be back to your normal console, not the phone one, so we need to connect to it again, and doing so we should now see that we have root permissions since the “#” symbol is displayed instead of “$”.

Code:

adb shell

6. Now we mount the /system partition as writable and copy the necessary files there, and set them with the right permissions:

Code:

mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
cp /sdcard/Superuser.apk /system/app/Superuser.apk
cp /sdcard/su /system/bin/su
cp /sdcard/busybox /system/bin/busybox
chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
chmod 4755 /system/bin/busybox
mount -o ro,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
exit

7. Restart the phone and check if you have ROOT in a terminal by typing the “su” command, or by installing any other app that requires ROOT, and seeing it the SuperUser app pops up.

Rooting.zip > http://www.mediafire.com/?kjee8aj22j9m5zj
Contains the fake root exploit, SuperUser version 2.3.6.1 and busybox

Android on the iPhone isn’t a new idea, but now it’s even easier. An application called Bootlace 2.1 can install Android 2.2 on your jailbroken iPhone with only a few clicks. It currently only works on the iPhone 2G or 3G, but I’m sure they’re hard at work on getting the 3GS and 4 to work. Full instructions are available over at FunSpaceMonkey.

[via Engadget]

Sure, a lot of Android phones come with stereo headphones with buttons to control the music, but what if you’re feeding the output of your phone into your car? Apparently there’s a shortage of AUX cables that have similar controls, so one ambitious DIYer, Rich Kappmeier, took it upon himself to build a custom cable to control the music coming from his Nexus One. Hit the link for a full in-depth article on how it works, and how to do it yourself.

My only question is, why not use the on screen controls? Although I can see a few other applications where this type of control can be useful.

[WiseBread]