I have a couple friends that have purchased an Apple iPad. The current flavor does not support 3G. The soon to be released 3G model will cost more than the Wifi models and will require purchasing a separate data plan. So I asked myself, is it possible to use a Droid as a Wifi Hotspot
In my initial looking around, I found a program called PDANet that can share a 3G connection; however it only works with a USB tether or Bluetooth. I installed PDANet and tried to connect an iPad. The iPad does not support using Bluetooth as a Network Adapter.
I checked around more and every application I found required root access to the Droid. I had considered “rooting” my Droid a few months ago, purely for the experience of doing it, but the process was very messy and I saw lots of people who bricked their phone. I use my phone for work and did not want to take the chance. I decided to look around and see if the process had evolved into something relatively safe, and to my surprise it had.
The safest route seemed to revert back to Android 2.0.1 and then apply a root update. Here we go…
So, the high level steps are:
- Disclaimer
- Downgrade from Android 2.1 to 2.0.1
- Apply 2.1 update with patched root capability
- Disable OTA (Over The Air) updates.
Step 1: Disclaimer
As always, please read my disclaimer.
Well, if you’re still here – Good Luck!
Step 2: Downgrade to Android 2.0.1
Giving credit where it’s due: These instructions are based on a set written by a member of the AllDroid Forums named ikithme.
Important Note: This process will completely wipe your Droid (like a factory reset). You will need to reactivate your phone after you complete downgrade. (Although, all of my applications were still installed after I activated)
What you will need:
1. Android 2.0.1 SBF file – This is used to downgrade the phone to version 2.0.1
Download Location: http://www.mediafire.com/?2nojyrkfznj
The file name I downloaded was: VZW_A855_ESD56_QSC6085BP_C_01.3E.01P_SW_UPDATE_03.sbf
2. RSD Lite 4.6 – This is the application you will use to write the SBF to your phone.
Download Location: http://www.mediafire.com/?c2tibonomyn
3. Motorola USB Drivers – Used for connectivity to the Droid.
32 Bit Download Location: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BPPIP5FG
64 Bit Download Location: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BMTSJZI5
Instructions
First, download all of the files above including the 32-bit OR 64-bit Motorola USB Drivers. Make sure you get them all; you don’t want to get halfway through a downgrade and hit a dead link.
Install RSD Lite 4.6. It’s pretty straight forward. The install took about 5 minutes to complete.
Determine if you need the 32-bit or 64-bit Motorola USB Drivers and install the correct drivers for your processor.
Turn your phone off, and then connect it to the USB, which should also be connected to your computer. Power your phone on and hold “up” on your DPAD while the phone is powering on. You should eventually see some white text on a black screen. Your computer may also tell you its installing device drivers; let it finish doing that before you continue.
Launch RSD Lite. If you are running Vista or Windows 7, you may need to run the program as Administrator.
Click the … next to the filename box and browse to where you saved the sbf file and double click the sbf file. Click start and below it should give you completion progress. The process took 5-10 minutes to complete on my phone. Be patient, it could take longer and disconnecting will cause you problems.
Once your phone is done being flashed it will reboot and you will be back at stock 2.0.1.
Your phone should automatically take you through the activation process.
Step 3: Apply 2.1 update with patched root capability
Giving credit where it’s due, again, the instructions I used were on Android Community.
Important note: Proceed with caution, rooting your phone can void your warranty and leave you with a very expensive paper weight if something goes wrong.
What you will need:
1. Android 2.1 Update
Download Location: http://android.clients.google.com/updates/voles/signed-voles-ESE81-from-ESD56.fa406da6.zip
2. Download the root update for Android 2.1. This file is an attachment to the first post, you will need to register with AllDroid to download it. When you save it, make sure you rename it to: droid-ESE81-update-2.zip
Location: http://alldroid.org/threads/16714-2.0.1-stock-to-2.1-with-root!
Instructions
Open command prompt and change to the directory where you saved the files. (They should be in the same directory)
Run the following command to combine the files into one update.
copy /b signed-voles-ESE81-from-ESD56.fa406da6.zip+droid-ESE81-update-2.zip update.zip
Copy the new update.zip file to your sdcard.
Reboot the phone into Recovery mode. To do this, power the phone on while pressing the X key. You should see a triangle with an exclamation point in it.
Once you are in recovery, press the Volume + (volume louder) and the Camera button at the same time. You should then see a menu on screen.
Use the DPAD to select Apply update.zip Press the enter key when you have the command highlighted.
When it completes, use the DPAD to select restart phone now, and press the enter key to reboot your phone.
If all went well, your Droid should now be running Android 2.1 has been rooted successfully.
Worst Case: If something went wrong, you can try the instructions in Step 2, to get your phone back up and running.
Step 4: Disable OTA Updates
This step is not necessary. If you don’t do it, you will be periodically prompted to install an update; selecting install will remove your rooted capabilities. So all this does is break the phones ability to receive Over The Air updates.
What you need:
You will need to install the Android SDK before proceeding.
Download Location: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Instructions
Connect Droid to PC using the USB cable.
Activate USB debugging. On your Droid, go into Settings->Applications->Development
Check the box next to USB Debugging. I’d also suggest checking the box next to Stay awake.
This change affects the network settings, so it’s a good idea to go into Airplane Mode. You should have a little airplane in your status bar if you are in Airplane Mode.
Once you have done the above, everything is set to make the change.
Open a command prompt and type:
adb shell
Once the shell comes up, switch to superuser mode
su
Depending on your configuration, you the shell may appear to hang. Look at your Droid’s screen. It may be asking you to allow the activity. Select Allow and the shell will continue.
Ready the mtdblock4 and System filesystems.
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
Change to the security directory on the Droid
cd /etc/security
Rename the cert file.
mv otacerts.zip otacerts.zip.bak
If you ever want to undo this process, just change the above command to:
mv otacerts.zip.bak otacerts.zip
Now exit from the shell.
exit (enter) 3 times.
You can now uncheck USB Debugging and Stay awake.
Next Post… Droid as a Wifi HotSpot
Change Log:
4/11/2010 – Reformatted to make instructions easier to read.
I tried this. When flashing back to 2.0.1 I get an error in RSD Lite 4.6.
The error is 0x700F
The log file contains:
13:19:16, April 09, 2010
Line: 473
ERROR: Not enough image files created
File: X:\test_dev_usb\flash\code\flashdll\pst_fp_flashfi lemi.cpp
Device ID: 0
13:19:16, April 09, 2010
Line: 542
ERROR: Error processing flash file.
File: X:\test_dev_usb\flash\code\flashdll\FlashHdlr.cpp
Device ID: 0
What version of Windows? 32bit or 64bit?
Where did you save the files you downloaded?
Worked great! Thanks for the easy to follow step by step guide.
unzip the driver package and install first then install the rsd lite. I spent 4 hours trying to get it to work…..
Not sure what you mean? If you install RSD Lite, then install the drivers, it will still work… You just can’t run RSD Lite until you’ve installed the drivers… I think.
When you say reactivate do you mean turn on again or go through the whole process of setting up a new phone. if it needs to be set up could you make a tutorial for that thanks
It’s the same process. The phone will reboot and ask you for your google account info. It will then download your purchased apps, and some free. (not sure why some don’t reinstall automatically)
You’ll then need to redo your settings.