My previous post regarding Icecream Sandwitch on a Huawei MediaPad left out the part on how to root the device. I tried to avoid this step as long as possible, because root access can lead to some serious security issues, if you are not careful enough. However, it is the only way (up to Android 4 you can use ADB) to secure all your applications including your application settings.
I had some trouble with enabling root access. So I will try to give you a small how to. Please read these instructions careful until the end and decide than if you really want to root your MediaPad.
- First you need a boot.img which enables root on your device. I’ve used the firmware version S7-301u_V100R002C002B008 MediaPad C002B001 ICS Preview 2 Root.zip. Although it’s meant for another ICS beta version, it can be used with this firmware.
- Now boot the MediaPad into the fastboot mode. If you enabled the fast reboot mode in ICS, you will need to deactivate it first.
- Reboot your Device: Push the power button together with the volume button (next to the power button) and hold both buttons until the MediaPad vibrates.
- Release the power button and hold the volume down button.
- The phone should enter the fastboot mode.
- Execute fastboot and flash the downloaded boot.img file (for further details see my last blog post).
fastboot flash boot boot_root.img
- Wait until the command finishes.
fastboot reboot
- The device will now reboot. It is crucial for the next step that you will enable the “MTP option” in your ICS connectivity settings.
- The following commands can only be executed if the MediaPad is in this mode.
- Execute the following commands:
<acronym title="Android Developer Bridge (adb) ist Bestandteil des Android SDK und ermöglicht den Zugriff von einem Computer auf das Androidgerät um Operationen ausführen zu können.">adb </acronym>push su /system/xbin/su<acronym title="Android Developer Bridge (adb) ist Bestandteil des Android SDK und ermöglicht den Zugriff von einem Computer auf das Androidgerät um Operationen ausführen zu können.">adb</acronym>shell chmod 6755 /system/xbin/su
<acronym title="Android Developer Bridge (adb) ist Bestandteil des Android SDK und ermöglicht den Zugriff von einem Computer auf das Androidgerät um Operationen ausführen zu können.">adb</acronym> install <acronym title="Mit dem Rooten bekommt man Superuser-Rechte (su)">Superuser</acronym>.<acronym title="Android Package - Dateiformat von Android-Apps">apk</acronym>
<acronym title="Android Developer Bridge (adb) ist Bestandteil des Android SDK und ermöglicht den Zugriff von einem Computer auf das Androidgerät um Operationen ausführen zu können.">adb reboot</acronym>
Now you will need to execute the superuser app on your device. This application manages all applications that will try to access the su application. After this last step, you are ready to install the Titanium Backup Application available on the Google Play store. This app will allow you to backup all your settings and applications on your SD card.
However, I had some serious issues with this rooted firmware:
- The SD card wasn’t readable any more.
- The power button was not working correctly: if you press it, it won’t shut off and lock the screen! You can only hold it longer and then you can choose to shutdown or to reboot.
- Sometimes the MediaPad just reboots.
