Droid 2 Global ROOT, CUSTOM RECOVERY & SIM UNLOCK Tutorial

[leobg]

tntc.tig, have you altered anything in /system? Like freezing/deleting stock apps? If yes - you need to restore them or update won't work. Root is not the problem.

You were absolutely right. I completely forgot that I had renamed /system/app/Blockbuster.apk to Blockbuster.apk.bak and Quickoffice.apk to Quickoffice.apk.bak. Restoring those allowed me to complete the update normally. I had to re-root with z4root, but that worked out just fine.

I ended up using Root Explorer to do all the renaming. Works perfect, and now I don't have Blockbuster or the non-purchased version of QuickOffice on my screen.

It was a very wise decision of yours to rename them instead deleting them. Effect is the same as deleting (they get uninstalled), but shall you need them back - you get them up in no time. You can always rename them again after the update if you like it this way (uninstalled).

 

[tntc.tig]

It was a very wise decision of yours to rename them instead deleting them. Effect is the same as deleting (they get uninstalled), but shall you need them back - you get them up in no time. You can always rename them again after the update if you like it this way (uninstalled).

Yeah, the tutorial on removing them was here and suggested renaming them. I went with renaming them to <Appname>.apk.bak rather than <Appname>.bak as the tutorial suggested because returning to normal means deleting the .bak portion. I might write an app for this eventually. Get a list of apks in the root directory, and rename them in a batch. Get a list of .baks in a directory, and trim the .bak portion off.

 

[blairekc]

i just got the droid 2, two days ago and i had wifi on the whole day (which is most likely why my battery was gone in 2 hours) but if i root it, does it improve battery life since it gets rid of bloatware and all that crap? i guess im just trying to decide if rooting it is going be a big advantage to me.

 

[ragner4u]

Need some help

Map price is 599.99 plus tax a cent more from any verizon store will be in trouble and get fined by verizon
I paid 647.26

I just got a new D2G from the motorola store and its locked with the preinstalled Verizon SIM. I'am not going to use the phone in the US and i bought it for a friend in India. But the SIM seems to have a lock - the GSM network i not detected. And when i call Verizon or Motorola they say i need to get a plan before they activate it - whatever it means!

What should i do?

 

[patfactorx]

Greatest thread evar

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums App

 

[zero7404]

Map price is 599.99 plus tax a cent more from any verizon store will be in trouble and get fined by verizon
I paid 647.26

I just got a new D2G from the motorola store and its locked with the preinstalled Verizon SIM. I'am not going to use the phone in the US and i bought it for a friend in India. But the SIM seems to have a lock - the GSM network i not detected. And when i call Verizon or Motorola they say i need to get a plan before they activate it - whatever it means!

What should i do?

be careful here ... you don't have a contract with vzw, so they don't have to provide you with an unlock code.

it's known fact that some of these droid 2 globals and droid pros are either defective (hardware) or simply permanently locked. either it's truly a defect with the sim part of the phone or deliberate on motorola's part.

my first d2g would not let me unlock with a foreign sim card and the correct unlock code(s) (there are 2 for each device). so i returned the phone for another one, and had global support on the phone @ the store to unlock the new one on the spot.

if you don't have a vzw contract, u need to find an unlocking service that will get you the codes, but you're going to pay for it. try to do this within the 30 days you bought the device, because if it's unlockable and you try to return after, you're out of luck.

i think vzw tried the same stunt in the past with the blackberry storm. i had bought one and was able to unlock it (a few years ago) ... but i didn't have a vzw account, so i paid retail for the phone and paid to get it unlocked.

 

[rscinc]

SGMD1.... after 2 days of searching and trying.... thank you for a Droid 2 Global root that works...

 

[Dc Boy]

quick q...using D1 and just got my D2G yesterday..(well its passed midnight so 2 days ago) and not gonna switch over b4 i root cause of Ti....but I'm a big fan of rooting w/ the sdk and command line using the adb (i tend to make a lot of typos on the device keyboard)....so is there some reason I cant just use the old method i used to root my D1 since they both run 2.2 froyo....or is there a issue w/ the different build's???
________________________________________

but wasn't part of the number portability act (or another part of the agreement) supposed to be about you taking your phone with you to your next carrier so long as the radios worked? I mean if it has US GMS and CDMA you should be legally allowed to do it especially if you pay retail or pay the ETF.

This could very well become a complaint to the FCC and/or the FTC as there is no technical reason to lock the radios, just a financial one for Verizon.

I know one of the big things about that act was you are now allowed to transfer your # between providers I'm not sure if it covered hardware though...I'm having Christmas dinner with a family friend who works for the FCC tomorrow(well actually today... past midnight and all) I'll ask him and see what he knows....

But if it is a violation of the act try calling Verizon and mentioning it...then mention "by not letting me unlock the antenna your committing a federal offence" it may work....

Technically it would only be a civil case.... But most customer service representatives are not that smart.... and will immediately hand you off to a manager @ the sound of those words.... Who are typically also not that smart.... and may cave

PS. I didn't just join this second I forgot my username/password and which email I registered it to so I created a new account....not truly a noob...

 

[silver6054]

quick q...using D1 and just got my D2G yesterday..(well its passed midnight so 2 days ago) and not gonna switch over b4 i root cause of Ti....but I'm a big fan of rooting w/ the sdk and command line using the adb (i tend to make a lot of typos on the device keyboard)....so is there some reason I cant just use the old method i used to root my D1 since they both run 2.2 froyo....or is there a issue w/ the different build's???
________________________________________

but wasn't part of the number portability act (or another part of the agreement) supposed to be about you taking your phone with you to your next carrier so long as the radios worked? I mean if it has US GMS and CDMA you should be legally allowed to do it especially if you pay retail or pay the ETF.

This could very well become a complaint to the FCC and/or the FTC as there is no technical reason to lock the radios, just a financial one for Verizon.

I know one of the big things about that act was you are now allowed to transfer your # between providers I'm not sure if it covered hardware though...I'm having Christmas dinner with a family friend who works for the FCC tomorrow(well actually today... past midnight and all) I'll ask him and see what he knows....

But if it is a violation of the act try calling Verizon and mentioning it...then mention "by not letting me unlock the antenna your committing a federal offence" it may work....

Technically it would only be a civil case.... But most customer service representatives are not that smart.... and will immediately hand you off to a manager @ the sound of those words.... Who are typically also not that smart.... and may cave

PS. I didn't just join this second I forgot my username/password and which email I registered it to so I created a new account....not truly a noob...

Yes, but you are missing the next step. A scared manager agrees with you and..... I doubt there is an "OK, unlock the radios" command in the Customer Service systems!

 

[Dc Boy]

Yes, but you are missing the next step. A scared manager agrees with you and..... I doubt there is an "OK, unlock the radios" command in the Customer Service systems!

True but i'm guessing s/he would have access to some sort of technical support database that may shed some light on the method used.....

I was saying it as more of a way to find information that might help dev's create a workaround than a definite solution.....

Sry 4 the confusion :/

 

[silver6054]

So, now that there is in fact an update, does z4root still work? Or did the update break it? I know you said you would post if one does, but still...

I'm not sure as I'm out of the country at the moment and not using VZW's network. If someone could report on this and let me know so I can update the first post that'd be great

z4root worked... but I had to do it like 3 times before I knew for sure I was re-rooted.

--IslesFan

I got the update pushed while in the UK (wasn't expecting it till I got back). "Fortunately" it started downloading at GPRS speed, which gave me time to unfreeze the bloatware and to unroot. The update then installed fine. I was then able to z4root, but, like the poster said, it took a few times, whereas with the original system version, it worked fine first time.

 

[geoff812]

How long should z4root take?..

Quick question- about how long should z4root take to work? 5 mins? 10 mins? Longer?

Everything from the first post has worked fine right up into the blue background screen with the message "Running exploit in order to obtain root access..." displayed. I've been on this screen for awhile now...

Verizon
Gingerbread
Android v2.2.1


Thanks!

 

[leobg]

Quick question- about how long should z4root take to work? 5 mins? 10 mins? Longer?

Everything from the first post has worked fine right up into the blue background screen with the message "Running exploit in order to obtain root access..." displayed. I've been on this screen for awhile now...

Verizon
Gingerbread
Android v2.2.1


Thanks!

If it keeps trying for more than 2 -3 minutes, stop it and start it again. Make sure debugging is enabled, but phone is not connected via USB cable to computer. It usually takes less than a minute to exploit. Don't worry - same happened to me too.

 

[silver6054]

All tutorials below are working as of 12/10/2010. You will only need one file to root, which is included at the bottom of this post.



CUSTOM RECOVERY TUTORIAL (Courtesy of Koushik Dutta aka Koush)

1. Download the Droid2Bootstrap.apk file (make sure it saves as an .apk, NOT a .zip) and place the file on /sdcard.

2. Go to the "Files" app, locate the Droid2Bootstrap.apk on /sdcard, install it, and open it. (Select "allow" when asked whether to grant the app superuser permissions)

3. Click "Bootstrap Recovery" and wait for the "success" notification. Then click "Reboot Recovery" and you're done! This will boot you into recovery where you can make nandroid backups, install from .zips, etc (do a search on the forums for more about custom recovery if you aren't familiar with it)

4. DO NOT delete the Droid 2 Bootstrap app once you have completed step 2, as this is the only surefire way to access the custom recovery. Holding "X" + "Power" will take you into the normal recovery.

For the first time I did the Custom Recovery. Now I always get sent to the menu and have to click Reboot Now to get into normal mode. So, since I might need to send the phone back to VZ, is there a way to remove this. Uninstalling the app isn't enough!

Thanks

 

[silver6054]

Has anyone traveled to Europe for example with a rooted Droid 2 Global and tried if the Data (GSM) works? Before I do this, would like to know if my data will still work on other systems.

Thanks

Wes

Just saw this, yes. GSM data works fine in the UK with a non-VZ SIM on the rooted phone. Not sure why root would make a difference here.