Rooting HTC Explorer Android : Step by Step Tutorial

Tutorial 2 Exploring HTC Explorer :Rooting Your HTC Explorer (HTC Pico)

Before beginning this step, I hope you are familiar with the term 'Rooting'. If not, click here.

Note: Rooting your HTC Explorer (Pico) will void your warranty. HTC will no longer be responsible for any dysfunction in your phone. If you wish to continue, it's your own wish. Rooting incorrectly may also brick you phone. You cannot hold me responsible for any kind of damages.

Note: Rooting process will NOT change anything in your phone, it just make root access possible, if you want overclock and ext-2/3/4 partitions possible you will have to flash (install) a custom ROM once you finish rooting with this tutorial.

Prime Requisites :

• Take Backup of your HTC Explorer phone contacts, your apps and your accounts associated with it. Also backup your sd card.
• Make sure Your Android phone is atleast 50-60 % charged so that it can’t get switched off during the rooting process.
• Download  A310e recovery.zip and  extract it in any window on your PC (ie: C:\HTC). This will work for HTC explorer, for other HTC phones, try finding the recovery.zip on xda-developers.com
• Download Superuser.zip and place it in your sd card prior to starting the rooting process.
• Disable Anti virus and other tools in your computer
• Enable USB debugging on your phone by setting >> applications >> development >> check USB debugging and Stay awake too.

Now lets begin with the rooting of your HTC Explorer.

Step 1. Install latest version of HTC Sync on your PC

I hope you have completed this step in unlocking the bootloader for HTC Explorer (Pico). You can download it from: www.htc.com/www/help/htc-explorer/#download
( it is needed so that computer recognizes commands properly)

Step 2. Unlock the phone's bootloader

- I hope you have done this one too. If not, follow the steps in my first tutorial. 

Note: HTC Explorer isn´t listed in the device list on htcdev.com but I have tested this myself and it works perfectly. Choose "all other supported models" when selecting your phone.

Step 3. Add a recovery to your phone 

(Adding recovery will prove useful later on in the case you want to install/flash custom .zip ROMs on your phone)


- I hope you have downloaded A310E Recovery.zip by now.
- extract it in any window on your PC (ie: C:\HTC)

-put the phone in fastboot mode ( after removing-inserting the battery and pressing "volume down" and "power" buttons simultaneously, select fastboot from the menu ) and connect it with your PC via usb cable.  See images below

- open the directory where you extracted the A310e recovery.zip and run the recovery.bat (on your computer) with the phone in fastboot mode and connected vis USB cable. See image below.

Done! You got the recovery installed if no errors occurs, you can now install any compatible .zip ROM or app on your phone.

Step 4. ROOT your phone

Now, disconnect your phone from the computer. power it down from the menu. Remove-insert battery, press volume down+power buttons simultaneously and select 'Recovery' from the menu.

- I hope you had placed the Superuser.zip file somewhere in the microSD card earlier.

- Now after getting into Recovery menu install Superuser.zip with the option "install .zip from sd >> choose zip from sd >> select superuser.zip" from the recovery menu. Once done, you will receive the message on screen of your phone that it has been rooted.

Congratulations, your HTC Explorer (Pico) is now ROOTED !! 

Note: after rooting do not press 'restore to factory setting' if you don´t want to end up in a bootloop.

Readers are requested to leave their feedback/comments/queries. This will help me in improving the blog

Unlocking Bootloader on HTC Explorer Android

Tutorial 1 Exploring HTC Explorer : Unlocking Your Bootloader

Hello, HTC Explorer (htc pico) users, this tutorial explains how to unlock the bootloader of your htc explorer android device prior to rooting it. Yes, you read it correctly, unlocking the bootloader is the first step if you want to root your htc explorer. I prepared this tutorial keeping in mind that you are a new user and therefore, I have explained each and every action in very simple form. I suggest you to read every instruction carefully before proceeding.

For understanding the terminology used in this blogs' tutorials, read here

This article applies to HTC phones only. I tried it on my htc explorer (codename pico). This is the first process to root your phone. 

Note: Rooting your phone will void your warranty. HTC will no longer be responsible for any dysfunction in your phone. Rooting your phone incorrectly may also brick your htc explorer. If you wish to continue, it's                       your own wish. You cannot hold me responsible for any kind of damages.

To root your htc explorer, you will first need to unlock the bootloader. Bootloader is the basic programme that loads the custom, HTC provided operating software in your phone. Unlocking the bootloader will give you the ability to root your phone and install ROMs other than the stock OS thereby increasing the capabilities of your phone.

Required resources prior to unlocking- You will need the following software packages so as to unlock the bootloader.

Please make sure all these items are installed and updated.

.

Google Android SDK zip:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

install the latest version provided as installer_r18-windows.exe (when this blog entry was written). Then open the SDK manager from the directory where you installed the exe file. (It might be C://program files/android-sdk/) Check against Android SDK tools, Android SDK platform tools, google USB driver and click on install packages. It will be needed later.

Java Runtime Environment:

http://java.com

you can get the java package from the java site for offline installation if you are unable to get an online installation from http://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp  Click on windows offline link in the table given to download the package and install it later.

HTC Sync (Windows Only):

www.htc.com/www/help/htc-explorer/#download

Get the latest version of htc sync by selecting your phone from the menu.

Now you are ready to unlock your bootloader. 

Go to www.htcdev.com/bootloader and register yourself. Then select your phone from the drop down list. If your phone is not listed, then select 'All other supported phones'. After this follow the onscreen instructions. 

Note: when it asks you to copy the code from terminal window to htcdev site, it is written there that to copy, you need to right click >> mark>>select that area>> right click>> copy. But on right clicking again, the marked area will get unmarked, so after selecting the area, simply press Enter and it will be copied.


Readers are requested to leave their feedback/comments/queries. This will help me in improving the blog

Rooting, Custom ROM and Other Terms

Understanding Rooting and Custom ROMs

This is the basic tutorial and explains each term related to android funplay. I suggest that if you are a new user, you should go through these terms for better understanding.

What's Rooting?

Getting root or rooting your phone is the process of modifying the operating system that shipped with your device to grant you complete control over it.

This means you can overcome limitations that the carriers and manufacturers put on your phone, extend system functionality, and even upgrade it to a custom flavor of Android.

The name root comes from the Linux operating system world, where the most privileged user on the system (otherwise known as Administrator on Windows) is called root.

Rooting does NOT mean installing a custom ROM (a ROM is a modified, "aftermarket" android OS).

Installing a ROM may require rooting first, but just rooting can be usually done in only a few minutes, keeping your stock OS (original one) otherwise completely intact.

Now an obligatory warning: rooting your phone does run the risk of potentially bricking it (i.e. your phone could become nonfunctional) – so do your homework before attempting anything.

Rooting essentially means giving yourself root permissions on your phone. It's the equivalent of running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with "sudo" in Linux. There are a number of great reasons to root your Android phone, highest among them being speed (through custom ROMs and through overclocking), tethering, and installing apps and widgets from other builds. Once rooted, you can make your phone run faster, tether it to your computer, tweak hidden settings to your liking, and more.

What's a ROM?

One of the best things about the openness of the Android platform is that if you're unhappy with the stock OS, you can install one of many modified versions of Android (called ROMs) on your device. There are various developers who have made custom OS from android source code. These operating system are free from manufacturers restrictions and increase the functionality and boost your phone's capabilities.

You can install a custom ROM after rooting your phone. Custom ROMs for your phone can be found on sites like www.xda-developers.com

What's bootloader?

Bootloader is the basic programme that loads the manufacturer provided operating software in your phone. Unlocking the bootloader will give you the ability to root your phone and install ROMs other than the stock OS.

What's Bricking?

Bricking your phone is failure to flash any ROM into it. The phone will not start by any means and will become as useful as a brick. Rooting and applying custom ROM runs the risk of bricking the phone. But this is a rare event, so you dont' need to panic.

What's flashing?

Flashing a ROM means installing it from the sd card.