XDA Developers' Android Hacker's Toolkit
The Complete Guide to Rooting, ROMs and Theming

Are you eager to make your Android device your own but you're not sure where to start? Then this is the book for you. XDA is the world's most popular resource for Android hacking enthusiasts, and a huge community has grown around customizing Android devices with XDA. XDA's Android Hacker's Toolkit gives you the tools you need to customize your devices by hacking or rooting the android operating system.

Providing a solid understanding of the internal workings of the Android operating system, this book walks you through the terminology and functions of the android operating system from the major nodes of the file system to basic OS operations. As you learn the fundamentals of Android hacking that can be used regardless of any new releases, you'll discover exciting ways to take complete control over your device.

• Teaches theory, preparation and practice, and understanding of the OS
• Explains the distinction between ROMing and theming
• Provides step-by-step instructions for Droid, Xoom, Galaxy Tab, LG Optimus, and more
• Identifies the right tools for various jobs
• Contains new models enabling you to root and customize your phone
• Offers incomparable information that has been tried and tested by the amazing XDA community of hackers, gadgeteers, and technicians

XDA's Android Hacker's Toolkit is a simple, one-stop resource on hacking techniques for beginners.

Foreword xv

Introduction 1

First Things First: What Is XDA? 1

The Dragons that Lie Ahead 3

Who This Book Is For 6

What This Book Covers 6

How This Book Is Structured 6

What You Need to Use This Book 7

Part I: What You Need to Know 9

Chapter 1: Android OS Internals: Understanding How Your Device Starts 11

The Penguin Down Below 12

How Your Android Device Starts 13

Bootstrapping 13

Adding a Custom Bootloader 15

Understanding the Bootloader Process 15

Custom Recoveries: The Holy Grail 17

Chapter 2: Rooting Your Android Device 21

Why Should You Root? 22

Increasing the Service Life of the Device 22

Fixing OEM Defects 23

Increasing Capability 24

Customizing the Device 25

Backing Up Data 26

Contact Information 26

Applications and Their Data 27

Data on the SD Card 27

How You Can Root and Leave Your OEM’s Control 28

OEM Flash Software 28

Exploits 30

Native Fastboot Flash 31

Scripted and One-Click Methods 31

Rooting Two Devices 32

Nexus One 32

HTC Thunderbolt 33

The Root of It All 34

Chapter 3: The Right Tool for the Job 37

Ready, Set, . . . Wait I Have to Have What? 38

Connecting a Phone to a Computer 38

Hacking Tools 38

USB Cables 39

USB Debugging 40

What’s Driving This Thing? 41

Using the Android Debug Bridge 42

Checking Device Connectivity 43

Restarting the ADB Service 44

Copying Files to and from Your Device 45

Rebooting a Device 48

The Power of Fastboot 49

Unlocking a Device 50

Updating a Device 50

Flashing a Device 50

Rebooting a Device 51

Harnessing the Power of the Penguin with ADB Shell 51

File System Navigation 52

File Management 54

File Access Permissions 57

Redirection and Piping 60

Concatenation 60

BusyBox: Giving the Penguin Back Its Power 61

The dd Command 61

The echo Command 62

The md5sum Command 62

Chapter 4: Rooting and Installing a Custom Recovery 63

How to Use Exploits 64

Exploit Scripts 64

Exploit Applications 65

Using a Script or Application on a Device 66

Hacking Utilities 68

OEM Tools 68

Developer Utilities 68

Image Files 68

Recovery Mode 69

What Is Recovery Mode? 69

Make It All So Easy: Get A Custom Recovery! 70

Using ClockworkMod Recovery 71

Rebooting the Device 72

Updating a Device from the SD Card 72

Resetting a Device to Factory Condition 74

Wiping the Cache 74

Installing a Zip File from the SD Card 74

Backing Up and Restoring a Device 76

Mounting Partitions and Managing Storage 79

Advanced Functions 79

Backup and Disaster Recovery 81

Precautions for Success and Data Recovery 82

Backing Up Applications 83

Backing Up Through a Recovery Process 83

Backing Up Through an Application 84

What Happens If It Goes Really Wrong? 84

Chapter 5: Theming: Digital Cosmetic Surgery 87

Changing the Look and Feel of Android 88

Theming the Launcher 89

Theming with an Add-on Launcher 89

Tools Used in Theming 89

APKManager 89

Android SDK 90

Eclipse 90

A ROM of Your Choice 91

7-Zip 91

Paint.NET 91

Update.zip Creator 91

Amend2Edify 92

The Editing Process 92

Walkthrough for Creating Theme Files 92

Walkthrough for Creating a Flashable ZIP File 97

Chapter 6: You’ve Become Superuser: Now What? 99

Popular Multi-Device Custom ROMs 100

CyanogenMod 100

Android Open Kang Project 101

VillainROM 101

Kernel Tweaks 101

Backlight Notifications 101

Voodoo Enhancements 102

Performance and Battery Life Tweaks 103

Root Applications 103

SetCPU 103

Adfree Android 104

Chainfire 3D 104

Titanium Backup 105

Part II: Manufacturer Guidelines and Device-specific Guides 107

Chapter 7: HTC EVO 3D: A Locked Device 109

Obtaining Temporary Root 110

Using S-OFF and Permanent Root Requirements 111

Running the Revolutionary Tool 112

Installing a Custom Recovery 115

Installing the Superuser Binary 116

Installing a SuperUser Application 117

Chapter 8: Nexus One: An Unlockable Device 119

Root Methods Available 120

Resources Required for This Walkthrough 120

Walkthrough 121

Placing the Nexus One in Fastboot Mode 122

Flashing a Boot Partition 123

Getting Full Root Access 124

Installing a Custom Recovery 125

Chapter 9: HTC ThunderBolt: A Tightly Locked Device 127

Root Methods Available 128

Resources Required for This Walkthrough 128

Walkthrough 129

Pushing Files to the Device 129

Gaining Temporary Root 130

Checking a File’s MD5 Signature 131

Writing the Temporary Bootloader 131

Downgrading the Firmware 132

Gaining Temporary Root to Unlock the mmc 133

Rewriting the Bootloader 134

Upgrading the Firmware 135

Chapter 10: Droid Charge: Flashing with ODIN 137

Resources Required for This Walkthrough 138

Walkthrough 138

Connecting the Device to ODIN 138

Flashing the Device 139

Troubleshooting 140

Chapter 11: Nexus S: An Unlocked Device 143

Connecting the Device to a PC 144

Resources Required for This Walkthrough 144

Walkthrough 144

Unlocking the Device 144

Flashing the Device with a Recovery 145

Flashing the Device with the SuperUser Application 146

Chapter 12: Motorola Xoom: An Unlocked Honeycomb Tablet 147

Resources Required for This Walkthrough 148

Walkthrough 148

Pushing the Root File to the SD Card 148

Unlocking the Xoom 148

Flashing the Device with a Recovery 149

Flashing the Device with a Universal Root 150

Chapter 13: Nook Color: Rooting with a Bootable SD Card 153

Resources Required for This Walkthrough 154

Walkthrough 154

Creating a Bootable SD Card 155

Booting the Device from the SD Card 155

Making the Device More Usable 156

Appendix A: Setting Up Android SDK and ADB Tools 159

Installing the Java Development Kit 160

Installing the Android SDK 161

Installing the Platform Tools 162

Setting Up Windows Environment Variables 163

Index 165

Jason Tyler has been an IT instructor and is currently Director of Technology for Typefrag.com. An avid Android hacker, Jason has been rooting and ROMing every Android phone he can get his hands on since the OG Droid.

Will Verduzco is a Johns Hopkins University graduate in neuroscience and is now currently studying to become a physician. He is also Portal Administrator for XDA-Developers, and has been addicted to mobile technology since the HTC Wizard. Starting with the Nexus One, however, his gadget love affair has shifted to Google's little green robot.