How to Root the Droid 3

[Cory Streater]

Rooting the Droid 3 with 32-bit versions of Windows Desktop or Windows 2003 server

1. If your D3 is plugged into your PC unplug it now.
2. Press the menu capacitive button then select settings > applications > development > check USB debugging > then click Ok.
3. Download & extract the contents of the attached 32bitDroid3Root.zip to your desktop.
4. Double click Motorola_End_User_Driver_Installation_5.2.0_32bit.msi to install the Motorola phone drivers.
5. Once installed plug your Droid 3 into your computer.
6. Select the option to Charge Only.
7. Double click MotorolaOneClickRoot.exe to launch the root app.
8. Follow the steps in the command window to root.

Rooting the Droid 3 with 64-bit versions of Windows Desktop or Windows 2003 server

1. If your D3 is plugged into your PC unplug it now.
2. Press the menu capacitive button then select settings > applications > development > check USB debugging > then click Ok.
3. Download & extract the contents of the attached 64bitDroid3Root.zip to your desktop.
4. Double click Motorola_End_User_Driver_Installation_5.2.0_64bit.msi to install the Motorola phone drivers.
5. Once installed plug your Bionic into your computer.
6. Select the option to Charge Only.
7. Double click MotorolaOneClickRoot.exe to launch the root app.
8. Follow the steps in the command window to root.

Credits:

• Pete aka psouza4 at XDA for writing the One Click program used in this procedure. The attached zip includes version 1.06 fo this program.
• Dan Rosenburg aka djrbliss at XDA for his discovery of the vulnerability and for sharing the exploit process used in the One Click Root the Pete developed. You can learn more about his work here.

 

[Cory Streater]

Droid Bionic Root FAQ's

A few FAQ's about Rooting in general:

Q: What is Root?
A: Root, is super user access of your phones operating system. Think of your phone as a desktop computer. Right now you are logged on as a guest account. you can browse things and use applications but if you really want to change anything in your system you can't. What gaining root does is it gives you superuser permission to alter files that you could not before; again thinking of it as a computer you now have an Administrator account.

Q:Does rooting void my warranty?
A:Yes and no. If you walk into your carriers store with a phone that has Root access and they actually check it they have the right to say this phone was tampered with. But for those of you in the know, there are methods to unroot your phone first.

Q: Does rooting slow down my phone or drain battery.
A: NO, root is not an application or a running process, gaining root does not do anything but give you permissions that you normally would not have. Basically all you did during the rooting process was move files around. Its what you do with this new found permission that changes things. But as far as just rooting it does not make a difference.

Q: Will i lose any apps or data during the rooting process?
A: No, for the same reason as above. Rooting is basically just moving some files around. Of course there is always a risk of something happening in any process. I would say chances are of causing serious problems is slim to non. Its what you do with this new found permission that changes things. But as far as just rooting it does not make a difference.

Q: I lost root during an update, am i doomed?
A: No, what happend was the file containing your super user access was over written. Just re-attempt gaining root and you will be fine.

 

[jsteinmiller]

These appear to be the instructions for the Bionic ("If your Bionic is plugged in...") so I just want to make sure that these are also the correct steps and files for the Droid3.
Thanks

 

[jenlucas415]

Hmm... It didn't work on my Droid R2D2.

 

[singhshsr]

Re: Droid Bionic Root FAQ's

is this for the bionic or droid 3?

 

[cjdock]

The root app just errors out after I run it, saying it can't find some file specified. Then continue or quit. Since it errored out, I click quit. Any ideas? I have a droid 3.

 

[SellnCLT85]

The root app just errors out after I run it, saying it can't find some file specified. Then continue or quit. Since it errored out, I click quit. Any ideas? I have a droid 3.

Hey CJ, welcome to the forums! Understand I am not trying to be a smart*$$, just trying to help. Go to settings>about phone> look for your build #, what is it? Not trying to spam the thread but just did a root for a friend using this link:

[ROOT/UNROOT] Droid 3 root instructions (One Click added for Windows/ Linux/ OSX) - RootzWiki

Usually when an error comes up while rooting, it usually means you might have left something out. Make sure under settings> Development> You have USB Debugging checked. You installed and updated the Moto drivers. Before clicking the one click root, make sure that you have your USB connection under "charge only". If all else fails, I have heard it helps to switch to a different computer. Good luck, if you have any other questions, feel free to post.

 

[Glen4X4]

Thank you for the great thread with easy to use instructions and tools to complete the root

 

[cwbcpa]

I can't find the motorolaoneclickroot.exe file. Where does it save it to? Thanks.

Nevermind. I'm an idiot. I figured it out.

 

[akronevan2]

Says need to download adb.exe. I'm confused, how do I do this?

 

[dcconn]

Hey CJ, welcome to the forums! Understand I am not trying to be a smart*$$, just trying to help. Go to settings>about phone> look for your build #, what is it? Not trying to spam the thread but just did a root for a friend using this link:

[ROOT/UNROOT] Droid 3 root instructions (One Click added for Windows/ Linux/ OSX) - RootzWiki

Usually when an error comes up while rooting, it usually means you might have left something out. Make sure under settings> Development> You have USB Debugging checked. You installed and updated the Moto drivers. Before clicking the one click root, make sure that you have your USB connection under "charge only". If all else fails, I have heard it helps to switch to a different computer. Good luck, if you have any other questions, feel free to post.

 

[dcconn]

Same prob as cj. My build # is 5.5.1_84_DBN-74 . Any help will be appreciated.

 

[doogald]

I think that the easiest way to root the Droid 3 is to use Dan Rosenberg's Motofail method. The web site says that it is for the Droid 4, but I can confirm that it roots the Droid 3 as well.

Pete Souza's method no longer works with the latest Droid 3 OTA update (5.7.906).

Motofail is here: Security Research by Dan Rosenberg

 

[jaycbrf4]

Rooted with Motofail and no problems at all!

 

[axel_isr]

Impossible to root my vzw Droid 3.
I get this error "ERROR: adb could not be granted root access via local.prop method", as instructions say, I checked that my android version is 2.3.4 and tried again but still getting the same error.
Build version: 5.7.906.XT862.Verizon.en.US

 

[doogald]

Impossible to root my vzw Droid 3.
I get this error "ERROR: adb could not be granted root access via local.prop method", as instructions say, I checked that my android version is 2.3.4 and tried again but still getting the same error.
Build version: 5.7.906.XT862.Verizon.en.US

So, can you be more clear about what you are doing?

Which root method have you tried?
PC, Mac or Linux?
Did you enable USB debugging on the phone?

 

[sd_shadow]

Impossible to root my vzw Droid 3.
I get this error "ERROR: adb could not be granted root access via local.prop method", as instructions say, I checked that my android version is 2.3.4 and tried again but still getting the same error.
Build version: 5.7.906.XT862.Verizon.en.US

use MOTOFAIL

 

[Amol Khot]

hi der....
m totally new to this... n total dumbass... so plz help me...
i tried to root my device but it says.......
SEARCHING FOR THE PHONE (connect it now if you haven't yet)... found!
Running exploit step 1 of 3 (setting up symlink)... done!
Rebooting your phone... done!
Running exploit step 2 of 3 (modifying local.prop)... done!
Rebooting your phone... done!
Running exploit step 3 of 3 (adding su, busybox, and superuser.apk)... FAIL!

ERROR: we have root, but couldn't push su

Try un-rooting first, then runnning root...
i done un-rooting... but still culdnt root my device... plz help...

 

[Amol Khot]

use MOTOFAIL

now how to upgrade my android/

 

[sd_shadow]

we have root, but couldn't push su

you are using moto fail from here Security Research by Dan Rosenberg

which system version?
menu/setting/about phone/system version 5.6.890, 5.7.906, or other