Easy Root for Bionic Stock 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

[marty45714]

4th Update 5/2/2013 - Found a bug... Nothing that would affect the overall functionality, but it could cause some users to think that their phone is successfully connected via USB debugging, when it really isn't.

Update: 5/2/2013 - Per user requests, adding link to VirtualBox download site on the original post.

3rd Update 5/1/2013 - I changed the code that 'finds' the exploit file to make sure it get executed successfully. It's now using the "PATH" environment to do this. This is more reliable than the actual Linux 'find' command I was using before. Also added some additional instructions to clarify some steps based on feedback from users. Finally, added code to detect if the network adapter is not configured correctly. It will alert the user to configure the network adapter properly in the VirtualBox application.

2nd Update 5/1/2013 - I added some lines to the script to stress the importance of pressing one of the three hardware buttons on the phone (Volume up, Volume Down, or Power) once the exploit has been executed. After discussing this with the author of the exploit, this is an important step to obtaining root.

UPDATE 5/1/2013 - New and improved .ova file. Contains improved logic in the exploit script to help with some of the problems that have been encountered by users.
If you've had trouble rooting, please download the new version and try again!

Hey folks, I'm a UNIX admin by profession, so I took the challenge over the weekend to come up with an easy root process for Bionic stock Jelly Bean, specifically for those who aren't familiar with Linux.

I decided to build a Linux VM under Oracle VirtualBox on my Windows PC. This seemed like the logical choice since VirtualBox is free, a relatively small download, is easy to install and it's easy to import VMs.

My first attempt was using CentOS Linux. It worked, but the file required for users to download was over 450MB... Back to the drawing board!

Started looking for very small Linux distros and found Tiny Core Linux. This worked well. The file required for download is 50 MB.

Everything you need to root the Bionic is here and it is automatic. The process will walk you through connecting to the Samba file share, connecting the phone in USB debugging mode, and OF COURSE, it will run the process to root the phone.

Here are the steps:

1) Install Sun VirtualBox on your Windows PC.
http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.2.12/VirtualBox-4.2.12-84980-Win.exe

Note: We've had one report that this file also works with VMWare Workstation and VMWare Player. If you don't want to install VirtualBox feel free try the file with VMWare.

2) Download the VirtualBox .ova file containing the Linux VM from one of the following links:
http://www.knite.net/Bionic/Root_Bionic_JB_20130501-4.ova

http://www.mediafire.com/?a2i6forosp77xrd

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s...fhiAIiSwc0jD1AdVFNY27QdoeKP9ot_7IdDetSvw&dl=1

3) Import the .ova file into VirtualBox. (Click "File" then "Import Appliance".)

4) Start the imported VM in VirtualBox (Click the big "Start" Button. It has a green arrow icon.)

5) Follow the instructions on the Linux console.

That should do it. If you need help I will be monitoring this thread.

 

[cakessi]

Willing Tester

I am not familiar with Linux but I am familiar with root, supersuser, recovery, and fxz/rsd lite. I am up for a new phone next month so I am willing to try this on my Bionic. This doesn't sound too hard....(famous last words). Will try on my Windows 7 laptop.

Will report if this works. Won't be able to until later today.

Thank you OP!

 

[marty45714]

Found a problem with the script. Should work now. Download and import again, if you've already downloaded. I also managed to get the download down to 46MB by defragging and compacting the .vmdk file.

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bb53ayj5c3nd5ie/Root_Bionic_JB.ova?token_hash=AAGSOYfPuDXTur_e9qlYl2JRERovPyfMwe-2xNzHXg4Lxg&dl=1

 

[cakessi]

Downloading new link now. Haven't tried to root yet. I'm at work right now.

Do you have any other suggestions before I start? I don't have to be completely stock do I...? (all stock apps, no superuser, etc.) I am on stock jelly bean 4.2.1, ver. 98.72.22.XT875.Verizon.en.US, stock recovery...but I did use OTA Rootkeeper so I have a (semi-functioning) superuser install. Do you suggest starting fresh with fxz?

I will be home in a couple hours to give it a try.

 

[TechnoHippie]

Well....my problem is that I can get my phone to connect to the share. My guess is that its due to a network thing on my laptop. Is the phone supposed to be connected via USB when I try that?

 

[lc75]

Awesome! I've got root again thanks to this. Was very easy to follow your instructions, great job!

 

[marty45714]

Great, I just wanted to do something to make it easier for everyone, since so many seemed to be struggling with Linux.

Awesome! I've got root again thanks to this. Was very easy to follow your instructions, great job!

 

[marty45714]

So, in order for the phone to connect to the share, your phone needs to be connected by wi-fi to the same network as the computer that is running VirtualBox and the VM.

Well....my problem is that I can get my phone to connect to the share. My guess is that its due to a network thing on my laptop. Is the phone supposed to be connected via USB when I try that?

 

[TechnoHippie]

So, in order for the phone to connect to the share, your phone needs to be connected by wi-fi to the same network as the computer that is running VirtualBox and the VM.

Ok that's gonna be my problem then ...I'll give it a shot when I get home and I'm not connected to my office network.

 

[cakessi]

USB 3.0?

My laptop only has USB 3.0 ports. Is that why I am having trouble connecting to the VMbox? SMB share connected over WIFI no problem. USB fails every time.

 

[caskieadam]

I am struggling with the directions and feeling dumb about it... Not sure what to put for the "Host IP Address"

EDIT: Restarted the virtual machine and it gave me the information I needed. The first time around the field was blank.

I appear to still lack root because the SU app wants to update the binary and fails to do so.

 

[marty45714]

I'm not sure, but one thing you can check. When the Linux console is up in the VirtualBox window, there is a section in the lower, right hand corner of that window that shows a bunch of icons. Click the USB icon and very that you see your Bionic as an option for hardware that is connected to your laptop.

Also, I'm making an assumption that you have the Motorola UBS drivers already loaded on your Windows system before you even started this whole process. Maybe I shouldn't make that assumption???

My laptop only has USB 3.0 ports. Is that why I am having trouble connecting to the VMbox? SMB share connected over WIFI no problem. USB fails every time.

 

[MNEman13]

First of all, thank you very much for creating a easy root tool for those of us who thought the previous methods were too daunting.

I've got a 32bit Windows PC and followed the instructions as you listed them. The problem I kept encountering was that my phone would not accept the IP address or group name suggested by the VirtualBox. When I looked up IP address of the VirtualBox my computer (cmd/ipconfig) I noticed it conflicted with the address that the box was telling me to enter into my Bionic. I wonder if this is the cause of the connectivity issue, and I have a hunch it's because my router is set to give dynamic IPs to the devices on my home network (which is larger with multiple routers and devices).

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[marty45714]

You can test the connectivity to the SMB share from your Windows PC first. That's what I suggest.

In your Windows PC, go to My Computer and type in:
\\192.168.1.11\share
where 192.168.1.11 represents the IP address that the Linux server is telling you to use.

You can also go to the windows command line (cmd) and type:
telnet 192.168.1.11 445
which will show if your windows computer can connect to port 445 (SMB).

If these are successful, you probably have an issue that your phone and computer are not connected to the same network.
If you believe they are, you may want to see if your router is set up to not bridge the wireless and LAN traffic, which would mean that the computers on the LAN segment cannot communicate with the computers on the WI-FI segment.

Hopefully something here will help you out.

Please post your results.

Also, make sure when you are typing in names, passwords, groups and IP addresses, that you are not leaving trailing spaces on the ends of things.

First of all, thank you very much for creating a easy root tool for those of us who thought the previous methods were too daunting.

I've got a 32bit Windows PC and followed the instructions as you listed them. The problem I kept encountering was that my phone would not accept the IP address or group name suggested by the VirtualBox. When I looked up IP address of the VirtualBox my computer (cmd/ipconfig) I noticed it conflicted with the address that the box was telling me to enter into my Bionic. I wonder if this is the cause of the connectivity issue, and I have a hunch it's because my router is set to give dynamic IPs to the devices on my home network (which is larger with multiple routers and devices).

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dcmcc99]

Any way we can get another link for this. I'm really wanting to try this out.


Error (509)
This account's public links are generating too much traffic and have been temporarily disabled!

 

[marty45714]

New link. See original post. I have it on Mediafire now.

Any way we can get another link for this. I'm really wanting to try this out.


Error (509)
This account's public links are generating too much traffic and have been temporarily disabled!

 

[MNEman13]

You can test the connectivity to the SMB share from your Windows PC first. That's what I suggest.

In your Windows PC, go to My Computer and type in:
\\192.168.1.11\share
where 192.168.1.11 represents the IP address that the Linux server is telling you to use.

You can also go to the windows command line (cmd) and type:
telnet 192.168.1.11 445
which will show if your windows computer can connect to port 445 (SMB).

If these are successful, you probably have an issue that your phone and computer are not connected to the same network.
If you believe they are, you may want to see if your router is set up to not bridge the wireless and LAN traffic, which would mean that the computers on the LAN segment cannot communicate with the computers on the WI-FI segment.

Hopefully something here will help you out.

Please post your results.

Also, make sure when you are typing in names, passwords, groups and IP addresses, that you are not leaving trailing spaces on the ends of things.

Thanks for the help and instructions. After a few hours of fiddling around I still cannot get my phone to connect to the SMB. My computer connects successfully and after I connect via \\192.168.1.11\share the VirtualBox even progresses a bit to the point where it asks me to plug in my Bionic, but without my phone's wifi file share the process stalls. I am sure that both phone and PC are connected to the same network, sharing is all on, and firewalls are down. At this point I must assume that my router isn't bridging for some reason. Tonight I'll do some more investigation into the Airport Express settings and see if it will fix this issue.

 

[marty45714]

Alright, you can also verify the network connectivity between the phone and the VM by using the 'ping' command.

Find the IP address of your phone by selecting Settings, then Wi-Fi, then click your left most menu button on the bottom and select Advanced. You will see the IP address of the phone. The first 3 octets of that address (xxx.xxx.xxx) should be the same on both the computer and the phone on MOST networks.

So from the Linux console, if you press Ctrl-c, it will drop you to a Linux prompt, from here you can try to ping the phone:
ping 192.168.1.11

Again, where 192.168.1.11 represents the IP address of your phone, that you just found from the menu.

Also, you can try to ping the Linux VM from your phone. If you've installed the Android Terminal app, you can lauch it and type:
ping 192.168.1.11

Where 192.168.1.11 represents the IP address of the Linux server. This is presented to you by the Linux console when it gives you the information to put into your phone in order to connect to the SMB share.

Thanks for the help and instructions. After a few hours of fiddling around I still cannot get my phone to connect to the SMB. My computer connects successfully and after I connect via \\192.168.1.11\share the VirtualBox even progresses a bit to the point where it asks me to plug in my Bionic, but without my phone's wifi file share the process stalls. I am sure that both phone and PC are connected to the same network, sharing is all on, and firewalls are down. At this point I must assume that my router isn't bridging for some reason. Tonight I'll do some more investigation into the Airport Express settings and see if it will fix this issue.

 

[caskieadam]

I made it all the way through and the exploit said it was successful, but I don't have root. Any thoughts there?

Alright, you can also verify the network connectivity between the phone and the VM by using the 'ping' command.

Find the IP address of your phone by selecting Settings, then Wi-Fi, then click your left most menu button on the bottom and select Advanced. You will see the IP address of the phone. The first 3 octets of that address (xxx.xxx.xxx) should be the same on both the computer and the phone on MOST networks.

So from the Linux console, if you press Ctrl-c, it will drop you to a Linux prompt, from here you can try to ping the phone:
ping 192.168.1.11

Again, where 192.168.1.11 represents the IP address of your phone, that you just found from the menu.

Also, you can try to ping the Linux VM from your phone. If you've installed the Android Terminal app, you can lauch it and type:
ping 192.168.1.11

Where 192.168.1.11 represents the IP address of the Linux server. This is presented to you by the Linux console when it gives you the information to put into your phone in order to connect to the SMB share.

 

[marty45714]

Here are some tips that I posted for someone over on Droid Forums. Hopefully some of this will help us figure out what is going on:

Need you to do some investigation. Run the exploit again. Once your phone is connected to the SMB share and the Linux script verifies the connectivity, press Ctrl-C to break out of the script and return to the Linux command prompt. Make sure your phone is connected to USB. From there execute the following commands and share the output with me:

sudo ash

cd /home/guest/share

./adb.linux shell

(if you execute the above command and DO NOT see this prompt: shell@cdma_targa/ $
then you have USB connectivity issues and need to make sure you get your phone successfully connected
to VirtualBox and the Linux VM)

ls -l /storage/rfs0

I want to see the output of the "ls" command to verify that the SMB share is being mounted to /storage/rfs0
This can cause the exploit to fail is it's not.

If you see no output from that command, run this command:
find /storage -name pwn

If you get that far and this looks good. Can you type:
su -

and see if you get a root prompt? A root prompt means your prompt will end with '#' instead of '$' before the cursor.

If you do get this, it could be that your Superuser app is simply broken and need re-installed.

The command that the exploit runs to root the phone, once you get this far is:
/storage/rfso/pwn 1

You can try running that manually and see what happens.

I made it all the way through and the exploit said it was successful, but I don't have root. Any thoughts there?