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Root HTC Vivid Rooting for Dummies?

H

hsjnlssmith

Newbie
I have read through several threads on the forum regarding rooting of an HTC Vivid. I tried to go to a link provided in one of the threads to access the HTC Vivid All-In-One Toolkit but found no download link.

I have moved from the US to Holland and am tired of not being able to access many US apps. I have read that rooting the phone will get me passed this issue. However, I have not found any "Simple and Clear" tutorial that navigate someone like me (not a phone tech) through to a successful rooting.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Henry
 
hsjnlssmith said:
I have read through several threads on the forum regarding rooting of an HTC Vivid. I tried to go to a link provided in one of the threads to access the HTC Vivid All-In-One Toolkit but found no download link.

I have moved from the US to Holland and am tired of not being able to access many US apps. I have read that rooting the phone will get me passed this issue. However, I have not found any "Simple and Clear" tutorial that navigate someone like me (not a phone tech) through to a successful rooting.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Henry
Click to expand...

help is here my friend. here is a guide you can use to root the device!
---> How to Root Your HTC Vivid - Android Authority

its pretty straight forward, just download the files it mentions and everything pretty much runs itself haha. Ill be on for a while, lemme know if you need any help (or if something isnt working properly.)
 
Hey KJ,

Thanks for your quick reply.

The link you directed me to was one of the attempts I made previously. It was indeed one of the better ones to follow since it did kind of have step-by-step instructions. I went ahead and did the whole thing again as follows:

1. I fully charged my phone

2. I made sure that USB Debugging was checked (although this check box was actually located in "Settings" under "Develop Option" on my phone).

3. I did not bother with backing up files since this is a spare phone of mine. Not sure if this matters, but there is no SIM chip currently in the phone. It accesses internet through WI-FI only.

4. I then downloaded the USB drivers, which for HTC seems now to be HTC Sync software package. IS that right?

5. Next, I downloaded the rooting software ZIP file and un-zipped it into a directory of its own.

6. Plugged in my phone to the computer and made sure that "Charge Only" was selected when the screen popped up on the phone.

7. Ran the RUNME.bat file from the rooting software and the following happened

8. Answered "Y" to the question to confirm that I was sure I wanted to continue at my own risk

9. A bunch of text came up then and then the question: "Does the last line show something similar to "uid=0"?"

10. The last line that is referenced in the above was as follows: "[-] Not a 2.2/2.3 Android ...
uid=2000(shell) gid=2000(shell) groups=1003(graphics),1004(input),1007(log),1009
(mount),1011(adb),1015(sdcard_rw),3001(net_bt_admin),3002(net_bt),3003(inet),300
6(net_bw_stats)"

11. I answered "Y" yes to the question in 9 above thinking that while it was not exactly the same, there was some similarity with the "uid=..."

12. Then a bunch more text flashed on the screen and then disappered. I dod not get any confirmation that the rooting was successful.

13. I then rebooted my phone and ran an app called "Root Checker". It told me that the phone was not rooted.

So, does the message from the rooting program that states that mine is not 2.2/2.3 Android mean anything? Help...
 
KJ,

A few more things,

14. the version of Android I am running is 4.03
15. the full text that came up on step 9 in previous post is as follows: "Please plug in your phone if it is not currently.
Waiting for device
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
Device connected
Clearing old temporary files
Copying zergRush to device temporary folder
1441 KB/s (23056 bytes in 0.015s)
Running zergRush

[**] Zerg rush - Android 2.2/2.3 local root
[**] (C) 2011 Revolutionary. All rights reserved.

[**] Parts of code from Gingerbreak, (C) 2010-2011 The Android Exploid Crew.

[-] Not a 2.2/2.3 Android ...
uid=2000(shell) gid=2000(shell) groups=1003(graphics),1004(input),1007(log),1009
(mount),1011(adb),1015(sdcard_rw),3001(net_bt_admin),3002(net_bt),3003(inet),300
6(net_bw_stats)

zergRush Finished
Does the last line show something similar to "uid=0"?
Y/N:

16. When I reboot the phone, it always does a full re-boot and goes through an "Android Upgrade" and optimization of applications.

HSS
 
try this method instead
---> How to Root and Install ClockworkMod Recovery on HTC Vivid Smartphone - TheUnlockr TheUnlockr

to confirm i just tried on my friends vivid on 4.0.3 and it went perfect. Just download the required files from the above link and follow these steps:

1. Extract files from Fastboot as well as Recovery Image ZIP archives to your Desktop.

2. Turn OFF your smartphone using the Power key.

3. Reboot your phone into the bootloader mode. To do so, press and hold Volume DOWN+Power keys together.

4. Choose fastboot mode from the options that appear on your screen.

5. Connect your phone to your PC using the USB cable.

6. While the phone is connected to PC, open a Command Prompt Window on your Desktop and type in the following commands:

fastboot flash recovery recovery-beta2.img

7. It will begin flashing custom recovery on your phone.

8. When it has done flashing custom recovery on your phone, disconnect it from your PC.

This will install the custom recovery on your phone, once this is done you will have to flash the root package through the recovery menu.

1. Connect your phone to your PC using the USB cable.

2. Transfer the Superuser ZIP file to your phone
 
I think i'm having an issue with bootloader. I was able to download all the files and put them in the correct location on computer. I powered off the phone and then powered up using Vol Down and Power buttons at same time. The phone booted up to home page quickly but i never received an option menu with a fastboot mode. I tried to run the command line and it got stuck at "waiting for device".
 
hsjnlssmith said:
its late here so I'll pick up again tomorrow. Thanks for your help thus far.
Click to expand...

as per the instructions in that last link i posted, the method requires an unlocked bootloader. Its a pretty simple procedure, and HTC walks you through the process from start to finish.

---> HTCdev - Unlock Bootloader

You will need fastboot drivers which can be found from the link i gave you before or you can grab the entire sdk/adb package here:

---> Android SDK | Android Developers

Here's a guide to getting it setup properly if you didn't already have it:

---> How To Install and Use ADB, the Android Debug Bridge Utility


Once the bootloader is unlocked, you will be able to continue with the guide/instructions i posted for you. Good Luck , and ill be on for a while if you have any issues.
 
KJ,

Thanks for all of your help!!!! I was able to unlock the bootloader (took a bit at first) and now I have completed the steps and have root access on my Vivid! I will now investigate how to get US apps (region locked) on my phone while living here in The Netherlands.

Cheers and Thanks,

HSS
 
KJ,

One last question:

I have been searching for help on getting US (region blocked) apps onto my phone here in Holland. They all recommended MarketEnabler but I not able ot get it from Play Store. I have found the APK file but am not sure how to install it correctly. CAn you point me in the right direction to another forum thread or if you have step by steps.

Is there another method for getting these type apps from other regions?

Thanks,

HSS
 
hsjnlssmith said:
KJ,

One last question:

I have been searching for help on getting US (region blocked) apps onto my phone here in Holland. They all recommended MarketEnabler but I not able ot get it from Play Store. I have found the APK file but am not sure how to install it correctly. CAn you point me in the right direction to another forum thread or if you have step by steps.

Is there another method for getting these type apps from other regions?

Thanks,

HSS
Click to expand...

here's one method that allows you to temporarily change the region, (you need root, but you have it so it should work) :

---> Want to Install Android Apps from Different Regions? | The Alaric Sphere

or.... if you got the android sdk/adb installed on your computer you can actually push/install the .apk from there:

adb install *.apk *=the name of the app

It will appear "Success" when finish.

or you can copy the apk to sdcard using usb file transfer,
than click to run in your android device's file manager, it will start the installation. (es file explorer works well but there are others.)
 
Hey KJ,

It was good and bad. I was able to install MarketEnabler by copying the APK file to my SD card and running it through ES File Manager like you suggested. I then downloaded VPN Hideman from Play Store. All good.

I ran MarketEnabler and was able to set my carrier to Verizon (US). This then allowed me in Hideman to set my IP to a US IP address. All good.

However, when I went to the Play Store, I was still blocked from any US-region-only Apps. So, no good.

I opened up a new thread a few minutes ago under the Android Lounge forum with this issue as well.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

HSS
 
much like with that application, you can download those apps in .apk form and push/transfer them to your device manually.
 
The Market Unblocker file that I downloaded from your link is an EXE file. My Virus scan software has warned me that the file is infected but there are comments below on the download page that say it is safe. I am not sure what to do with the EXE file. I was expecting an APK file that I could just transfer over to the phone SD card and then run with the file manager. Does this work the same way with an EXE file?

Thanks,

HSS
 
KJ,

I followed up on your other note about just locating the apk files and transfering them to the SD card and installing them through the file manager. I found an APK downloaded that finds the APK files for any free app and this has worked out quite well.

The amazing thing is that I did not even need to go through rooting my phone to do this and could have just installed the APK files to my unrooted phone. I could have avoided a bunch of stress! :-)

The only thing I wish I could now do is find a way to get Play Store to recognize that I have installed these apps so that I don't have to re-install the APK file if I change phones or get additional phones.

Cheers,

Henry
 
hey kj, im new to rooting and followed you post from nov. 20, 2013. im stuck on the command window, i type in "fastboot flash recover recovery-beta2.ing" and it says "fastboot" is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or blatch file.
 
I've tried a few times to root my phone no luck.
Is there know issues about rooting a smartphone (HTC vivid) using win 8.1?
 
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