Upgrading to official OTA with Root

[KGCATCH22]

Hello All,

First time posting. I tried searching but couldn't find a specific answer to my question.

When you upgrade to an official OTA release and you have root access is there anything that I have to do in order to keep my root access? Anything I should do before I upgrade or can I proceed as normal?

Thanks!

 

[terpitude71]

if you are doing an official OTA, youre going to lose root. i dont know of any way around that if you are doing the update on the phone

 

[anon(19758)]

OK, I know this is different because I used the leaked root... but when I upgraded to that, the guide I followed had me move su to the xbin folder before upgrading, and that preserved root access. So...

1) I assume from your butt-kicking Ghostbuster avatar that you know what you're talking about, but I just want to verify: this wouldn't preserve root?

2) When the update.zip file shows up, would using THAT to update preserve root?

Thanks for your help. This is my first Android toy =)

 

[roberte1342]

Unless you have an actual working crystal ball that can see the future there is no way to know what will happen after the ota. Best to just lay low and not update until results are posted in the forums. AFIK updates are not forced, you can choose to install it later.

 

[KGCATCH22]

As much as I want FROYO I don't think I could live without wireless tether. If anyone has any other advice I would greatly associate it.

Thanks!

KG

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

No way of knowing until the official update hits and someone confirms it permanently kills root. That would be.... man, what a blow.

 

[derpudel]

Would that be enough reason for you to sell your X and get something else?

 

[derpudel]

Something I don't understand about this Motorola wanting to keep us from rooting on the X, is we all know super phones don't stay in the limelight for long these days, thus why would they care in the long run?

 

[ylimehajile]

Something I don't understand about this Motorola wanting to keep us from rooting on the X, is we all know super phones don't stay in the limelight for long these days, thus why would they care in the long run?

Because they have a relationship with Verizon and Verizon doesn't want you to have root.

 

[derpudel]

Yes, but what about the HTC and Samsung phones? Are you saying that Verizon has a different attitude about rooting just with Moto?

 

[.46caliber]

Yes, but what about the HTC and Samsung phones? Are you saying that Verizon has a different attitude about rooting just with Moto?

Why do you think the Nexus never was produced with CDMA compatibility for Sprint or VZW? They have the same attitude, it's just that Verizon and Moto have gotten particularly close in the bed. Like AT&T and Apple. Fortunately for us, HTC and Samsung are plenty big and sell so much around the world they don't have to bend over quite as far.

"Dear HTC,

We at Verizon/Sprint would like you to build us a phone, with similar specs to the Nexus One that does not run stock Android. We want you to install a bunch of non-removable bloatware. We do not want root access readily available.

You will do this because without us, you would miss out on a very sizeable consumer base."

The result was HTC built the phones and didn't provide root, but they didn't lock it down as hard as Moto either. Verizon gets Moto flagship phones exclusively here in the states. You don't see a Milestone being released on AT&T, they got a Backflop.

VZW and all the other carriers do not want customers to have root access for a number of reasons. Some of the larger ones would be WiFi tethering that they have decided to charge an additional $30 a month for. They also do not want to replace a ton of phones for their customers who have no business messing with root, but would if it was readily available.

I'm sure there are a plethora of reasons, but the over-arching reason is money. They can save money and even make more by not providing or even making root access difficult.



With all that said, I have every confidence that even if root is removed by the OTA 2.2 update for the Droid X, we will have root again very shortly after release. It took just under a week the first time around with the brand new device and UI. The Droid 2 with 2.2, very similar in hardware and firmware to the X, was rooted very quickly as well.

Root is very achievable. The only thing that has significantly slowed our hacker friends has been this bootloader lock. I however, will put my money on the hackers. In my opinion, they are like novacaine. It always works, just give it time.

 

[derpudel]

Very thoughtful reply, and I appreciate the time you took to lay it all out. It does make business sense what you have stated.
It occured to me that one reason it was taking a bit longer for Verizon/Moto to roll out the OTA 2.2 could be working on the update in an effort to further complicate the root for Froyo on the X. It might have even been planned that way from the beginning, before launch of the X. Sort of a "let's launch it without 2.2, see what the hackers do with it, and then close those holes, and THEN release 2.2"....(maybe I'm wrong..but bet I'm not).

 

[.46caliber]

There could be a million different reasons why the update has been slow, anywhere from new guy spilling a cup of coffee on a server and setting them back 2 weeks to an accountant arguing with BlockBuster over what percentage Verizon gets for making it mandatory bloatware.

Amidst all this gloom and doom, our hacker friends are starting another fire.

We all saw the clip of the Sapphire ROM being booted on what appears to be a developer X. I believe word was spread on Sunday. Within the last 48 hours birdman, the guy that gave us root first, has got a ROM available in ROM manager for a Droid X. From what I read, it's pretty basic. He created a ROM minus the bloatware and added the foundation work for what would need to be available in the future.

ROMs are coming. The bootloader is starting to give.

 

[derpudel]

Yes, I've been following the ROM postings carefully. Those people must live and breathe the challenges presented to them!
My hats off to them all
And you are right, the delay for 2.2 could be any number of reasons.

 

[derpudel]

Yes, I've been following the ROM postings carefully. Those people must live and breathe the challenges presented to them!
My hats off to them all
And you are right, the delay for 2.2 could be any number of reasons.

 

[.46caliber]

I like the new guy spilling something on a server. It makes me chuckle every time I picture it. Stupid new guy.

 

[derpudel]

Yes, that scenario you painted was my personal favorite for the delay! lol

 

[GatorPT]

I think i will just wait to instal 2.2 until i find out if i keep my ROOT ability. but if i did want to move SU to Xbin how would i do that?

 

[derpudel]

There is another thread in the forum that explains how to on that. Look in the Hacks area. I saw it there...but have not read it yet.