[How-To] Root LG Optimus T

I rooted my Optimus T the day after I got it with SuperOneClick (Z4Root is easier to use now) and uninstalled all demo/pay-to-use (TeleNav) apps and received the OTA update a couple of days later with no issues. When I work on the phone I enable RW permissions and restore the RO permissions when I'm done. Rooting or uninstalling games and added programs apparently doesn't affect the OTA update. Perhaps leaving the RW permissions is what causes the problems? Could be deleting a system app that must run for the update.

I also periodically replace the apps in the /system/app folder with the updated ones in the /data/app folder so if I restore my device I don't have to re-download the updates. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUT IN THE /SYSTEM/APP FOLDER, ONE PROGRAM MADE MY PHONE GO CRAZY WHEN INSTALLED IN /SYSTEM/APP, BUT NOT IN /DATA/APP.

P.S. Response to previous post:"all my installed apps are at the bottom under 'downloads', forcing me to scroll down every time or put everything on the home screen" Try Zeam it sorts all programs aphabetically regardless if system or downloaded.
 
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cd /data/local/tmp
./rageagainstthecage (let things sit a couple minutes (2), your phone will disconnect from the computer and you'll be removed from your ADB session)
adb shell This should return a "#" symbol instead of a "$" symbol. If it does you're good. If not go back and start from the beginning of step 4
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
....

I'm stuck from here. When I typed in ./rageagainstthecage , my phone will disconnect from the computer. So how can I get it conencted back? Or did you do anything else? Or just leave it 2mins as you said. Cuz from what happened to my phone, I can't even keep going. CMD just said no devices :(
 
WARNING - This is a cat and mouse game we play with manufacturers. I guarantee you an update will come from LG that patches this exploit and will prevent people from rooting. It will also close your root access if you've already rooted using this method. Long story short, NEVER ACCEPT OTA UPDATES FROM THE CARRIER OR MANUFACTURER.

Notice: There is now an application available called z4root which roots your phone using the same method detailed below. This has been confirmed to work on the Optimus line. Click THIS for more information. I feel the knowledge gained by doing this process yourself rather than a 1-click method will prove to be invaluable down the road if/when you encounter any issues but either way works.

For those who learn visually, iamlilysdad has put together an awesome walkthrough video of this process which you can find HERE

What You'll Need:
- Sun JRE, FOUND HERE
- The Android SDK, FOUND HERE. Install this on the root of your computer so the path is C:/android
- Drivers for the LG phone installed on your computer. Instructions can be FOUND HERE courtesy of our favorite android hacker, modder, developer, blogger (jack of all trades) gbhil
- And the file I have attached to this post. Download it, unzip it, and put the 3 files inside in your android-sdk-windows\tools folder created from installing the SDK.

/\You need to have installed/done all of the stuff in the "what you'll need" section. From this point on I'll assume you've done that./\

Ready?:
Step 1: Plug your phone into your PC with the USB cable.

Step 2: Make sure the phone is charge only (don't mount as USB drive) and USB debugging is enabled. Menu > Settings > Applications > Development > check mark USB debugging

Step 3: Launch the SDK manager, should be something like C:/Android-sdk-windows SDK Manager

Step 4: Open a CMD window and type the following:
cd c:\wherever-your-sdk-tools-folder-is (mine for example is C:\android\tools however in the new SDK the correct directory would be "Platform Tools", and not just "tools". See what you have on your directory)
adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage
adb push su /data/local/tmp/
adb push busybox /data/local/tmp/
adb shell
chmod 4755 /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage
chmod 4755 /data/local/tmp/busybox
cd /data/local/tmp
./rageagainstthecage (let things sit a couple minutes (2), your phone will disconnect from the computer and you'll be removed from your ADB session)
adb shell This should return a "#" symbol instead of a "$" symbol. If it does you're good. If not go back and start from the beginning of step 4
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
cd /data/local/tmp
./busybox cp su /system/bin
./busybox cp busybox /system/bin
cd /system/bin
chmod 4755 su
chmod 4755 busybox
busybox --install /system/bin
exit
exit

If you get to this step "busybox --install /system/bin" you get an error, do this:

4-A) Download superuser (free) from chainsDD in the market (this is step 5 below)
4-B) Download titanium backup (free) in the market
4-C) Launch titanium. You should get a request to give it root permissions select always allow. Now in titanium, hit the "problems" button and let it install busybox
4-D) Reboot phone and enjoy

Some phones are having a problem on that step while others are not.

Step 5: Go to the android market on your phone and download "Superuser"(free). The developer will be listed as ChainsDD.

Donations:
What I ask is, if this helps you root, please watch this thread and help someone who may be experiencing issue. Yes, I am asking you to donate your time. The same donation I made while writing this so you could root your phone :D

Thanks:
gbhil - as always thanks, you rock rainman lol.
Sebastian Krahmer - Without your exploit many phones would not be rooted today.
iamlilysdad - for making the walkthrough video and sticking around and providing so much support for new users during this process.
i am trying this for the first time i have everything installed but when i try to copy n paste the cmds not reckonized as internal or external cmd, operable program or batch file. plz help me i really want to install linux on my optimus t
 
i am trying this for the first time i have everything installed but when i try to copy n paste the cmds not reckonized as internal or external cmd, operable program or batch file. plz help me i really want to install linux on my optimus t
 
i am trying this for the first time i have everything installed but when i try to copy n paste the cmds not reckonized as internal or external cmd, operable program or batch file. plz help me i really want to install linux on my optimus t

First off Android is a Linux based OS. Your problem with the Command prompt, did you put the 3 files in the SDK platform tool folder? Thats what usually causes that error.

Here is the file that I'm talking about.

Attached Files
http://forum.androidcentral.com/att...9148413-how-root-lg-optimus-t-optimusroot.zip (1.00 MB, 338 views)
 
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So I ran into the 'device not found' error after running ./rageagainstthecage as well.

Further reading in the thread indicates no one has solved this and users have moved on to using z4root.

I think this info should be posted at the beginning of the thread, and save users the frustration. Just my two cents.
 
Has anyone tried the idea of, after rageaginstthecage runs, kill the adb server and restarting it to establish a connection with the phone? Haven't seen it mentioned.

P.S. Anyone getting command not recognized is in the wrong directory. Please re-check your installation of sdk on where adb is. If you have the old sdk it's in tools, if you have the new sdk it's platform tools.
 
Has anyone tried the idea of, after rageaginstthecage runs, kill the adb server and restarting it to establish a connection with the phone?

P.S. Anyone getting command not recognized is in the wrong directory. Please re-check your installation of sdk on where adb is. If you have the old sdk it's in tools, if you have the new sdk it's platform tools.

I'm more than certain that you might not have an actual answer to this, but it never hurts to ask. Do you believe that the issue that is going on could be due to slight error or timing with the inputing of the commands? I personally didn't have this issue when I went through it prior to switching to the new Rom I'm on. Do you think that there could be some minor mistakes being made during one's progress that could be doing this? Could there be an issue with rig configuration? I know you may or may not be able to answer any given question with certainty, but I figure I'd ask anyways... just in case. :);)
 
I'm more than certain that you might not have an actual answer to this, but it never hurts to ask. Do you believe that the issue that is going on could be due to slight error or timing with the inputing of the commands? I personally didn't have this issue when I went through it prior to switching to the new Rom I'm on. Do you think that there could be some minor mistakes being made during one's progress that could be doing this? Could there be an issue with rig configuration? I know you may or may not be able to answer any given question with certainty, but I figure I'd ask anyways... just in case. :);)

Doubtful but anything is possible. As for timing waiting a few seconds after each step should be enough. Time is more important after rageagainstthecage.

Sent from my myTouch 4G
 
My PC will not let me unzip the OptimusRoot.zip file. I am getting "Error:Access is denied. Cannot create C:\program Files\Android\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools\busybox. Administrative privileges may be required." I do have administrative privileges on my computer. Is there something up with the file? Thanks.
 
You're exposed to extract the files with the use of an app like WinRAR or 7zip (free). You could also try redownloading the file since the one you have could quite possibly be corrupted.
 
You're exposed to extract the files with the use of an app like WinRAR or 7zip (free). You could also try redownloading the file since the one you have could quite possibly be corrupted.

You are probably right about the bad Optimusroot.zip file. I read somewhere in the post that the file was corrected but I could not access the link. I am getting device not found errors when I try to push the rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin file, so I think it may be a corrupted file. Any ideas where I can get a good copy of the Optimusroot.zip file?
 
You are probably right about the bad Optimusroot.zip file. I read somewhere in the post that the file was corrected but I could not access the link. I am getting device not found errors when I try to push the rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin file, so I think it may be a corrupted file. Any ideas where I can get a good copy of the Optimusroot.zip file?

I just tested the file from the first post and it's in fine condition. Try another browser or download manager.
 
You are probably right about the bad Optimusroot.zip file. I read somewhere in the post that the file was corrected but I could not access the link. I am getting device not found errors when I try to push the rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin file, so I think it may be a corrupted file. Any ideas where I can get a good copy of the Optimusroot.zip file?

Are you only getting those errors with that one file? Or all of them? If it's just the one then it was probably a bad download.
 
after ./rageagainstthecage, it resets, but then upon waiting two minutes and doing adb shell, I get "error, device not found" ?
 
OK I tried restarting ADB to no avail....rebooting phone while in adb now to see if maybe.....permission denied
 
z4root didnt work either, kept telling me that debugging needed to be on, when it already was....weird
I have a rooted moto cliqxt, so I am a little familiar with the process, not sure why the device not found error is popping on lots of folks
 
Nobody said the process was bullet proof. All I know is that it works when done correctly. If it's not working correctly either 1) something was done incorrectly or 2) you need to try again.

A remote possibility is that you're phone is messed up, but the odds of that are extremely remote.

If you reboot your phone in the middle of the process it will erase the temp stuff you've done. It doesn't get locked in until the end of the process.
 

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