DROID Bionic Can Already Be Rooted, Here's How

Motorola's latest high-end smartphone, the DROID Bionic, hit Verizon's shelves on Thursday, and it already got rooted, the latest reports on the matter suggest.

Apparently, this is the same rooting process that was used for some other Motorola handsets that landed on shelves this year, including the DROID 3 or the DROID X2, or older handsets.

There are two ways to root your freshly acquired Motorola DROID Bionic, though you should know right from the beginning that you'll be doing so at your own risk.

As soon as the device has been rooted, the warranty will be void, and you will be responsible for any issues that might emerge during the process.

Motorola did promise unlocked bootloaders for their devices, but that does not mean that the company is actually encouraging you to perform the process to your handsets.

With that settled, we should also note that the rooting process can be performed both via Windows PCs, as well as on Linux computers, and on Macs.

One the one hand, there is a one-click solution to gain root access on youe new DROID Bionic, available for all three OSes, while on the other, there is a plain old rooting process that enthusiasts can get through.

Manual root (the old method)

Starting with the latter, we should note that it is based on an exploit found on DROID 3 only about two months ago, and which is reportedly applicable to the new DROID Bionic as well.

To root using this method, users will need to type commands on their own, and they should be careful not to miss one step of the process, otherwise they might end up damaging the device.

After logging to the device using “adb shell,” users will have to type the following commands:

mv /data/local/12m /data/local/12m.bak
ln -s /data /data/local/12m

After that, they would need to reboot the handset by pressing the power button, log using “adb shell” when it wakes up, and type more commands:

rm /data/local/12m
mv /data/local/12m.bak /data/local/12m
mv /data/local.prop /data/local.prop.bak
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_netmon_usb=0" > /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_netmon_ih=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_res_core=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_res_panic=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_all_adb=1" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_all_core=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_efem=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_bp_log=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_ap_mot_log=0" >> /data/local.prop
echo "ro.sys.atvc_allow_gki_log=0" >> /data/local.prop

The handset will be rebooted again, and users should log into it again with “adb shell.” As soon as they do so, a root prompt will emerge, and they will enjoy full access to the phone.

One-click root

In addition to this, there is a one-click rooting method available for the owners of a Motorola DROID Bionic interested in gaining superuser privileges on their devices.

It involves the use of Motorola Root Tools from psouza4, and offers features like root, unroot, restore to factory, and re-enable ADB temp root. The same as the previous method, it was created for the DROID 3 smartphone, but it is said to work on the new DROID Bionic as well.

On Windows PCs, users interested in rooting should do the following:

1. Make sure you have Motorola drivers installed - x64 drivers (64-bit) or x86 drivers (32-bit)
2. Download and unzip 'MotorolaOneClickRoot_psouza4' (download link)
3. On your phone: Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging(check box)
4. Plug phone into computer and select 'Charge Only' mode
5. Navigate to 'MotorolaOneClickRoot_psouza4' folder and run 'MotorolaOneClickRoot.exe'
6. Now just follow the instructions in the command window and unlock the phone after each reboot.

On Linux and OS X, the rooting process involves the same actions as on Windows PCs:

1. Download and Fully Unzip 'Droid3_Easy_Root_v7d' - (download link)
2. On your phone: Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging(check box)
3. Plug phone into computer and select 'Charge Only' mode
4. Navigate to wherever you extracted it and run the file 'run_to_root_your_droid3.sh'
5. Now just follow the instructions in the command window and unlock the phone after each reboot.

Keep in mind that you will be rooting the new Motorola DROID Bionic at your own risk. You can find additional info on both rooting methods on rootzwiki here.