After the last OTA a couple of months back, the root method Revolutionary.io produced no longer worked for the HTC EVO 4G. This left any new EVO 4G owners, or people who got a replacement EVO 4G, without an easy one-click root option.
Fortunately it does not leave them without the ability to gain root access.
The steps are as follow:
- Get ADB/Fastboot working
- Sign up for an account at HTCDev.com
- Unlock the bootloader via HTCDev's method and choosing "all other supported devices"
- Flash a custom recovery
- Install the superuser binary
- Install superuser from the Market
I'll go more into detail on each of these below.
Step 1: Get ADB/Fastboot working
You can learn some basics of ADB and how to install it here.
Step 2: Sign up for an account at HTCDev.com
You'll need an account there that is linked to a working email in order to unlock the bootloader. HTC is the manufacturer of your phone, and currently they support unlocking the bootloader, which will enable you to flash custom ROMs.
Step 3: Unlock the bootloader
On HTCDev's site you should see an option that says "unlock bootloader." Choose that, and on the pulldown menu on the right choose "all other supported devices" if they haven't put the HTC EVO 4G up by the time you're reading this.
Follow their step-by-step guide to unlock the bootloader.
Step 4: Flash a custom recovery (updated)
For the HTC EVO 4G I'm going to suggest using Amon Ra or Clockworkmod (formerly suggested Team Win's TWRP 1.1.1 but it's failing for some,) though feel free to use whatever recovery you want. Download the IMAGE version of recovery, make sure it's named PC36IMG.zip, and copy it to your SD card in the top level directory.
If you don't see the ".zip" extension on the file you've downloaded, this probably means your operating system is set to hide the extensions of known file types; that is, t will claim the file name is (for example) PC36IMG-twrp-supersonic-1.1.1 and the file type is compressed. If that is the case, rename the file to PC36IMG without the .zip (you would be renaming the file to PC36IMG.zip.zip if you can't see the extension to begin with).
Using ADB, which you should have working, you can enter the command "ADB reboot bootloader" (without the quotes) and then choose to flash the recovery image you placed on the phone. Or if you don't feel like going the ADB route, you can power off the phone, hold vol-down + power, and it should boot into bootloader and ask if you want to flash the PC36IMG.zip. execute the command "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img" where "recovery.img" is the name of the recovery you downloaded.
If you can't get into the bootloader, you might have to turn off fast boot from your phone. It's generally at home > menu > settings > power or applications > uncheck fast boot.
Step 5: Install the Superuser binary
Download the latest superuser binary from AndroidSU.com. Place it in the top level directory of your SD card.
Reboot into recovery. You can accomplish this by either using the ADB command "ADB reboot recovery" or powering off your phone, then powering on with vol-down + power, then choosing recovery. Note: if the bootloader attempts to flash the recovery again, simply remove the PC36IMG.zip from the root directory or rename it something else.
In recovery you should be presented with a menu. Find the flash zip option; you can navigate to the file with the vol up or down keys and select it using the power button.
Flash the superuser binary file you downloaded, then reboot the phone.
Step 6: Install Superuser from the Market
Everything is now in place for you to be rooted, so go to the Android Market and install Superuser.
At this point you are now rooted, your bootloader is unlocked, and you are S-ON. The HTCdev method does not allow you to turn S-OFF, which allows for flashing radios and potentially bricking your phone, but we'll post a "How to obtain S-OFF" piece at some point in the future.
Should you wish to continue to S-OFF right now, our friend JJsax has a tutorial that will get you there.
EVO 3D Sprint. According to HTCDEV.com, this process will erase all apps and data. Does anyone know if there is a way to get root access without loosing data and apps? Titanium Backup Pro will only work if rooted.
Check out Fr3vo – might offer what you need
XDA has info on how to get temproot for HBOOT 1.5. Just look for it should be easy to find.
Could I do this without adb and just do the power off and volume down to flash the files ??
The TWP 1.1.1 doesn’t seem to work for my EVO. Get a version is out of date message (or something like that) and don’t get an update option. Any suggestions?
no, because you won’t be able to htc unlock
I was able to get the Amon_RA recovery to work.
How do you flach the SuperUser binary to an HTC View? As far as I can tell there is no provision for an SD Card.
http://www.htc.com/us/support/evoview-sprint/help/storage-card it appears there is a storage card (sorry, I do not have a view to play with)
unless you’re meaning something else
this thread has a great tool to root, install revolutionary and Super User to your View, as well as answer many of your questions…
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1418258
I think this was featured a while back here, but the tool has come a long way and the dev is very helpful.
I see what you are referring to, but can’t see how the case opens. It’s not like my Evo 4G. The manual does not refer to the sd card at all either, which seems strange.
Thanks
Evo 4g. lost my first one and now stuck with this replacement evo 4g with hboot 2.18, currently at step 8 of htcdev unlock, with this message after entering fastboot oem get_identifier_token “waiting for device”.
USB debugging is checked and HTC Sync is not installed. SDK Manager etc is installed. Done this like ten times already and still wont give me the friggin code. HELP!
you just stated that you do not have sync installed and is needed. also you have to take off the battery and reinstall it and then press the down v… and power for a sec and it should start.
please help
I flashed the PC36IMG.zip, changed the file name after being prompted a second time to flash, and am still met with the same red triangle when i try to boot into recovery to make my nandroid backup. I’m at a loss here, but I do NOT want to end up bricking my phone!!!
oh yeah, it KILLS everything. its the same as a factory reset.
well…i guess everyone kind of dusted themselves off and walked away from this one? i have fone “unlocked” from htc but S-on. can not boot into custom boot. and above pc36img.zip is “older than stated version” so it wont load it. what now? as of now this article is a fail without more info please assist
Download Amon Ra, the 7th comment in has that… the day I was writing this the amon ra link I had was bad, I used twrp’s link, amon ra’s back up
do you have ADB access? IE does adb reboot bootloader work for you?
Try installing HTC sync
Also, nobody’s walked away from this one, it’s Friday at 1:40am where I’m at. G&E’s main crowd comments during the day.
ok, verify something if you would. Go into bootloader, make sure it says “unlocked”
also, try a different recovery such as Amon Ra… evidently the TWRP 1.1.1 is throwing errors for some people and not flashing properly.
Can’t seem to find a PC36IMG.zip file that will work for me. I do not see what you mean by the 7th comment in, but I downloaded the PC36img.zip files from UNREVOKED’s website. One gives me the error about being too old, the other just sits are “Parsing…PC36IMG.zip” without doing anything. Would you mind posting the link you have for Amon Ra’s recovery again? Any other suggestions for me?
7th comment down in this thread is about TWRP 1.1.1 not working / amon ra working. However, here are the pc36img zips of Clockworkmod and Amon Ra – either one should work
Clockworkmod recovery pc36img: http://goo-inside.me/stock/supersonic/clockworkmod/5.0.2.2/PC36IMG.zip
Amon Ra recovery: http://goo-inside.me/stock/supersonic/amon_ra/2.3.0/PC36IMG.zip
Here is one I haven’t read yet. When I went to HTC Del unlock and did all the steps to the letter, it returns an error msg that my identifer is to long or my phone is not supported. Any ideas?
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It’s saying that what you’re pasting has too many charactersAs tedious as this might seem, cut it, paste it into notepad, and make sure there are no leading or trailing characters on it (assuming the website is telling you this). Lot of people have been having issues… failing that, email or post your unlock code and I’ll take a look at it.
Same problem here. Tried both the Amon Ra and Clockworkmod but neither works. I have a two week old (refurbished replacement) device. Are our devices just too new and the only option is to wait for the next update from Amon Ra or Clockworkmod? Or have I maybe done something wrong along the way without realizing it?
By the way, thanks for all the great info, Paul. Seems some people feel entitled to have other people act like their android slaves.
This thread over at XDA worked for me: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1473373
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Yup, fastboot flash recovery… rassafrassa… I tell you, the past week has taken my brain and turned it into mush… can’t believe I skipped the flash for the old pc36img… rrrr…thanks
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Not quite great info, going to edit the piece now to reflect the correct flashing method… thanks for linking me later to the right method…
Paul, thanks as always for your help, great website. I believe a step by step guide to install ADB would be very helpful don’t you think?
already have one… I believe it’s linked on the EVO Root link up top.
i keep getting an error from adb saying “cannot load recovery.img” ive tried amon ra and clockworkmod. am I doing something wrong? i saved the recovery to the sd card.
download the recovery image…
place in the same folder as fastboot/adb, or at least know where it’s at. For example:
fastboot flash recovery c:userspauldownloadsrecovery.img
that will push the recovery off of your computer onto your phone.
I’m having a problem with step 5:installing the superuser binary. i downloaded the latest version but the SU file is no showing up when i go to recovery on the phone. if i open the SD card when it’s connected to my computer, i can see its right there? what’s the deal?
my phone reboots after about an hour of usage and then after that it gets rebooting soon after it goes to the main home screen. i have to remove the battery and wait few hours and will do the same thing again. i rooted the phone and is a replacement phone hboot 2.18. any ideas
kernel issue sounds like – what rom/kernel are you using?
After unlocking my Evo with HTCdev and installing superuser binary and market app. If I wanted to truly return it to bone stock (not relocked, but full locked) is there a way?
Thanks
Sean
Htcdev site is so lame, i can’t move forward to step 8, the page doesn’t load. Do any one have any other link where it shows the steps besides htc dev to unlock?
Sorry to post this here. I switched to Amon Ra recovery and then tried to flash a new rom. My phone is stuck on the splash screen and when I try to recover the back up there are no files in the dirictory. Any ideas??
Rob
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You made a nandroid with another recovery. Amon RA doesnt recognize it. ClockworkMOD Amon Ra use different formats. Just flash the recovery you did the backup for. On the 3D its as simple as typing fastboot boot recovery.img where recovery.img is whatever your recovery is.
htc evo hacks has a very good video tutorial…just saying
http://htcevohacks.com/htc-evo-hacks/how-to-root-htc-evo-4g-on-hboot-2-18-with-s-off/
These are in fact impressive ideas in about blogging.
You have touched some good factors here. Any way keep up
wrinting.