*** NOTE ***
The forum software won't allow me to post links, and obviously it corrupts text links. So if there appears a space within a link, you have to remove it for the link to work.
Ok, I've successfully performed the root now by creating a custom firmware which includes su, busybox and Superuser.
I've uploaded the firmware here:
mediafire.com/?aaqs7vt7aavv3
To flash the firmware, you will need the "U8850 Upgrade Tool V1.8.4" from here:
ww*.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/downloadCenter.do?method=toDownloadFile&flay=software&softid=NDQwNjQ=
This will erase all of your user data, so save anything before you do this. And of course I'm
not responsible if anything bad happens to your phone, all I can say is that it worked for me.
The firmware is based on a Slovenian one found here:
johnnyparanoia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Huawei%20U8850
I've labelled this method the "Russian Root", because I found the initial instructions on a Russian forum. I've translated the instructions and added anything missing to it.
See below for a detailed instruction on how to create a custom rooted firmware for yourself.
/**
* Russian Root
* Gaining root permissions on the Huawei Vision U8850 with Android version 2.3.7
* Originally posted at 4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=257207&st=1700#entry14246750
* Translated into English, re-arranged items and added some stuff
* I've also replaced the Russian based firmware with a Slovenian, because it was newer
* Discussion Thread: ww*.handy-faq.de/forum/huawei_u8850_vision_forum/227127-huawei_u8850_vision_root_rooten.html
* Credits go to Sanaes & freedroid
*/
You'll need both Windows and Linux to perform this update (e.g. a second computer, multiboot or a virtual machine).
In Windows:
1) Download the "U8850 Upgrade Tool V1.8.4" from here:
ww*.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/technicaIndex.do?method=gotoProductSupport&productId=3812&tb=0
2) Download the "U8850 (Android 2.3.7)V100R001C279B244SP22(Slovenia TUS Mobil)" firmware from johnnyparanoia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Huawei%20U8850 or madmodder.co.uk/huawei/u8850/huawei-u8850-firmware-list.htm and extract the contained firmware (we need the SFC-244M-0-8025-A03.nb0 file)
3) Download nb0-utils.jar from yadisk.cc/d/MbFUvzN6bic
4) Download busybox from yadisk.cc/d/JIWwvYPNblL
5) Download su from yadisk.cc/d/XtZXIL9rble
6) Download Superuser.apk from yadisk.cc/d/7TQNlhsFbm1
The following steps need to be performed under Linux:
7) Create and navigate to the folder where you want copy the downloaded files to (e.g. "sudo mkdir /home/username/u8850/")
8) Create a folder where you want the firmware to extract to: (e.g. "sudo mkdir /home/username/u8850/extracted/")
9) Copy the downloaded files to the folder you just created in step 7), using a usb flash drive or whatever means you have (e.g. "sudo cp /path/where/they/are/saved/*.* /home/username/u8850/")
10) Go to that folder: "cd /home/username/u8850/"
11) Unpack the downloaded firmware into the "extracted" folder, using the following command: "sudo java -Xmx512m -jar nb0-utils.jar unpack SFC-244M-0-8025-A03.nb0 /home/username/u8850/extracted"
- Note #1: if this doesn't work, try to install Java first: "sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre"
- Note #2: extracting the firmware requires quite a lot of RAM, hence we added the "-Xmx512m" flag which allows Java to use up to 512 MB of RAM. Make sure your Linux machine has this much RAM available!
12) The extracted file "SF8-0-244M-0002-system.img.ext3" contains the Android file system, so we need to mount this file.
- To mount it, we first need to create a folder in /media/: "sudo mkdir /media/android"
- And then we mount the file to that location: "sudo mount /home/username/u8850/extracted/SF8-0-244M-0002-system.img.ext3 /media/android/"
13) Copy the previously downloaded "busybox" file to /media/android/xbin/: "sudo cp /home/username/u8850/busybox /media/android/xbin/"
14) Change the file permissions to 755: "sudo chmod 755 /media/android/xbin/busybox"
15) Copy the previously downloaded "su" file to /media/android/bin/: "sudo cp /home/username/u8850/su /media/android/bin/"
16) Change the owner and group of that file to root: "sudo chown root /media/android/bin/su" and "sudo chgrp root /media/android/bin/su"
17) And the rights to 6755: "sudo chmod 6755 /media/android/bin/su"
18) Copy the previously downloaded "Superuser.apk" file to /media/android/app/: "sudo cp /home/username/u8850/su /media/android/app/"
19) And change the permissions to 644: "sudo chmod 644 /media/android/app/Superuser.apk"
20) Now unmount the image file again: "sudo umount /media/android"
21) And pack the firmware again into a .nb0 file: "sudo java -Xmx512m -jar nb0-utils.jar pack /home/username/u8850/firmware_rooted.nb0 /home/username/u8850/extracted/"
Now we're finished in Linux, the actual flashing has to be done in Windows.
22) Somehow transfer the newly created firmware_rooted.nb0 file to Windows (e.g. with a USB stick).
23) Unpack and install the "U8850 Upgrade Tool V1.8.4". This will install a "SUT L3" program ("Software Update Tool") and the USB drivers for the U8850 Vision.
24) Connect your phone with a USB cable and use the Software Updater to flash the firmware_rooted.nb0 to the phone.
Don't get (too) nervous during the flashing and booting procedure, it does take quite a while.
After completion, all of your data will be reset and the phone should now be rooted. To check, use e.g. "Root Checker" from the market or any app that needs root rights.
Alternative (original) nb0-utils.jar download location:
dl.dropbox.com/u/1134234/AndroidTeam/utils/nb0-utils.jar
