How-To Full Root of Evo 4G on Mac

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-14-2010, 04:05 PM

So this is same method Toast posted for Linux/PC users on XDA. I figured I'd give a nice walkthrough for Mac users. I haven't tested it out... no Evo. So if someone is willing to be the guinea pig, let me know.

There are a couple of ways to root the Sprint EVO 4G, but to totally get Nandroid to work fully, you will need to do this method.
Items you will need:
Part 1
Mac
USB Cable
Mac SDK available here:
PC36IMG.zip from:
evorecovery from:

Part 2
Mac
USB Cable
Mac SDK (you have it installed, still, right?)
Different PC36IMG.zip from:
(wait until part 2 to download and rename to PC36IMG.zip)
mtd-eng.zip from:
flash_image.zip from:
different recovery.img from:

Part 1:
Step 1: Install the SDK to the appropriate location. for ease, unzip and put it in the Home folder
Like so:

Got it there? Good. Now hook up your phone to the computer and go into Settings--> Applications--> Development and check the USB debugging check box so its checked.
Step 2: Verified the computer is correctly seeing the phone. Open up terminal which is in the Utilities folder of your applications. Once thats up and running, type:

Code:

cd android-sdk-mac_86/tools

you should see :tools yourname$. Then type:

Code:

./adb devices

you should see:
List of decvices attatched
HTXXXXXXXXX device

Thats your Evo Serial Number... so it will be different for everyone. Got that? Good, you may now proceed without closing terminal.

Step 3:
Place the first PC36IMG.zip file in the tools folder of the sdk. You just drag and drop them from the downloads folder or cut/paste. Its needed to be there to properly send to the sdcard through terminal. Once the files are there, type the following if you never closed terminal:

Code:

./adb push PC36IMG.zip /sdcard

you should get a confirmation that xxx bytes were transferred in xxx seconds. You can check by making sure the zip file is on the sd card using a file manager
next:
Power off the phone
Hold down Volume Down while powering on the phone continuing to hold down the volume button until you get a white bootloader screen
Wait... after a few seconds, it should begin to check for files and find the PC36IMG.zip and give you a blue progress bar
When promted if you want to flash, say yes
When finished, it will ask you if you want to reboot, say yes
you’re currently rooted, but not done we need to rename the file so you can reboot into recovery and not have it try to flash it every time. You’re still in terminal, correct? Type:

Code:

./adb shell mv /sdcard/PC36IMG.zip /sdcard/root-PC36IMG.zip

Step 4:
Extract the evorecovery.zip to the desktop of the mac.
in terminal where you were, type:

Code:

./adb shell reboot recovery

when thats in recovery, type:

Code:

cd desktop/evo-recovery
./recovery-mac.sh

Part 2
Step 1:
Perform a nandroid backup. Boot into the custom recovery, scroll down to backup/restore and select nadroid backup. When thats complete, back out

Step 2:
unzip both the flash_image.zip and mtd-eng.zip and place them into the sdcard (root folder), then type in terminal one line at a time:

Code:

./adb shell
cat /sdcard/flash_image > /data/flash_image
chmod 0755 /data/flash_image
/data/flash_image misc /sdcard/mtd-eng.img

now put the PC36IMG.zip (the second one) on the root of the sdcard
Power off the phone

Step 3:
Hold down Volume Down and power the phone on until you get to the white bootloader screen again
It should do the same thing again where it finds the PC36IMG.zip file
Do you want to flash? YES
Do you want to reboot? YES
once rebooted, put the recovery.img file in the root of the sdcard
go back into terminal (assuming its still open) type one at a time:

Code:

./adb shell
cat /sdcard/flash_image > /data/flash_image
chmod 0755 /data/flash_image
/data/flash_image recovery /sdcard/amon-ra-recovery.img
reboot recovery

Once booted into recovery, wipe Data and Dalvik cache
Navigate to nandroid restore and restore the previous backup

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-14-2010, 05:49 PM

Note... When doing Part 1, Step 4, its best to just open another terminal window just for the recovery.

Also, to place files to the sdcard, use the adb method, don't drag and drop, it causes problems
place files to push in tools folder of sdk
open up terminal
cd android-sdk-mac_86/tools
./adb push FILENAME /sdcard/

**trooper54** · 06-14-2010, 07:35 PM

Damn, my widgets don't work.

Long overdue Edit : Everything works like a champ, Rufflez is the man!

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-14-2010, 08:35 PM

Sould your widgets not work afterwards...

Try: Rebooting... helped liquidjesus' phone
or: Settings--> Applications--> Manage Applications--> HTC Sense--> Clear Data

**colecoyates** · 06-14-2010, 10:42 PM

i do not get it after i root it in step 4 am i missing something because everytime i do the recovery and put in the code it just exits out and does not give me the nandroid. any suggesstions?

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-14-2010, 11:52 PM

Thats probably the trickiest part of the rooting process. The key is to have the evorecovery file name correct. On my computer it was called evo-recovery, and someone else's it was EVO-recovery. It also has to be extracted. When you get to it, open up a new terminal and keep the other terminal window working on the sdk/tools level.

**Jerry Hildenbrand** · 06-15-2010, 12:05 AM

Good god man. You're never allowed to leave here. Ever.

**colecoyates** · 06-15-2010, 12:05 AM

if you could define extracted for me because i have the file on my desktop and i have followed it to recovery mode. its the code i put in after the recovery mode that gets me because the code on here looks like its lined and i dont know how to line it without hitting enter and then it exiting out.

**trooper54** · 06-15-2010, 01:59 AM

i went through this with rufflez today, this was probably the most tedious processes ever. Make sure everything is named correctly, and pathed correctly. I recommend keeping everything on you local drive, c:\ for example.

**Saepak** · 06-15-2010, 02:09 AM

@Rufflez man you have to get you and EVO. You are helping everyone else out and you don't even have this wonderful device. Thanks for this walk-through.

**willy900wonka** · 06-15-2010, 10:45 AM

Great write up.
Toast's stuff (evo-recovery) uses the recovery-mac.sh which loads a busybox and calls adb-mac a bsd adb proc.
It has references to a bunch of stuff ( though they probably aren't called). I asked Toast for the source to it, cause I do look a gift horse in the mouth.
No answer yet. DO you know it? Can you help?

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-15-2010, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by colecoyates

if you could define extracted for me because i have the file on my desktop and i have followed it to recovery mode. its the code i put in after the recovery mode that gets me because the code on here looks like its lined and i dont know how to line it without hitting enter and then it exiting out.

Sure:

The file needs to look like the one on the left, the one on the right isn't usable. If you don't have an extracting software on your mac, download it with safari, it automatically unzips files, then take it out of downloads and put it on the desktop.

**colecoyates** · 06-15-2010, 06:22 PM

The file needs to look like the one on the left, the one on the right isn't usable. If you don't have an extracting software on your mac, download it with safari, it automatically unzips files, then take it out of downloads and put it on the desktop

thanks man appreciate it. One more question. as for typing in the code while it in recovery mode do i type the exit as well because it just seems to just exit me out every time. i am new to the whole andriod thing as you can see sir.

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-15-2010, 07:15 PM

I changed it, no need to type exit. My fault.

**everfine** · 06-15-2010, 08:51 PM

Now how do you unroot?

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-15-2010, 09:11 PM

With a Windows PC and the RUU. You will lose all your data.

**cd5love96** · 06-15-2010, 09:17 PM

Damn this is so complicated just to root this thing. I'm stuck here:

new-host:tools gQ$ ./adb push PC36IMG.zip /sdcard
failed to copy 'PC36IMG.zip' to '/sdcard/PC36IMG.zip': Read-only file system
new-host:tools gQ$

I have the correct PC34IMG.zip downloaded and just to play it safe I deleted it and downloaded it again from the link in the OP's post. I don't know what the hell is going on. I do have a password on my hackintosh should I disable it?

I have debugging on and the phone is in Disk Mode when plugged into my laptop. What should I try?

**everfine** · 06-15-2010, 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by rufflez

With a Windows PC and the RUU. You will lose all your data.

I am in the process of doing this but it keeps saying connection error after it tries to verify my information on my android phone? Do I enable disk drive, charge only, htc sync, or what? I backed up all my data with MyBackup Pro

**cd5love96** · 06-15-2010, 09:49 PM

I figured my above post out. I had to put it in Charge mode. Now I'm stuck on flashing recovery. My file is named "evo-recovery" and when I type:

./adb shell reboot recovery

it says:

new-host:tools gQ$ cd desktop/evo-recovery
-bash: cd: desktop/evo-recovery: No such file or directory

I extracted it to the desktop and it won't work. On the evo there is a picture of a phone with a red triangle with an exclamation point.

**everfine** · 06-15-2010, 10:05 PM

I had to install HTC Sync. Now it worked. Dumb dumb dumb dum dum...

**cd5love96** · 06-15-2010, 10:38 PM

OO EMM GEEE I finally did it. Holy crap. I'm exhausted it was harder than I thought because I had to keep telling it to go back to ./adb. That's what I get for closing terminal after every try. Nice write up

Now that it's all said and done. How do I verify it's rooted? Am I supposed to see a special icon in the apps?

**Andrew Ruffolo** · 06-16-2010, 03:41 AM

Originally Posted by cd5love96

OO EMM GEEE I finally did it. Holy crap. I'm exhausted it was harder than I thought because I had to keep telling it to go back to ./adb. That's what I get for closing terminal after every try. Nice write up

Now that it's all said and done. How do I verify it's rooted? Am I supposed to see a special icon in the apps?

connect to your mac
open terminal
cd android-sdk-mac/tools
./adb shell

you should get a # which is root. If you weren't rooted, you'd get $
root does nothing more than give you access to /system/ on the phone. We needed this in order to flash a new recovery image (which would be another way to verify root). Now you can run custom ROMs, delete bloatware, run root only apps like wifi tether....

**cd5love96** · 06-16-2010, 10:16 AM

Ok. I verified that I'm rooted.

Does this allow me to remove apps from within the OS or do I have to be in recovery?

How do I remove bloatware?

**trooper54** · 06-16-2010, 10:31 AM

the easiest way would be to flash the RvU ROM, its built in permissions let you do a simple uninstall many of the bloatware apps. Details listed in the thread. Other wise you have to do it manually, and carefully not to delete anything you don't know.

**cd5love96** · 06-16-2010, 12:24 PM

What is RvU? I'm on XDA and just signed up here to post on this thread. I don't want to flash any roms yet but I wanted to remove some bloatware. I'll wait until later to flash.