How to Root Motorola Milestone

Motorola Milestone - the GSM version of Motorola Droid - came with Android 2.1 Éclair, which could be easily rooted using an application that used an exploit to fool the OS into enabling SuperUser rights for many applications. However, if you are looking to customize your device to the fullest and get access to Android features like tethering, screenshots, overclocking or if you need to install Custom ROMs on it, you’ll need to get full root access on your device by using the Vulnerable Recovery Flash method. Below mentioned are the instructions that help you do so:

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Requirements:

• Download and Install Motorola Mobile Phone USB Drivers for Windows 32-Bit / 64-Bit
• Download and Install RSDLite 4.6 [Lower versions are known to have detection issues with Milestone]
• Vulnerable Recovery SBF with Bootloader RAMDLD 90.78 and lower.
• Milestone Root Update.Zip

Instructions:

1. Install the USB Drivers on the your PC.
2. Plug your phone into the PC via USB Cable, let windows install and detect any internal devices on the Milestone.
3. Rename ‘milestone_root.zip’ to ‘update.zip’ and copy it on the root of your SD card.
4. Disconnect the phone, run RSDLite 4.6 on your PC , and connect the phone again. If you pull down the status bar and tap on ‘Select to manage your USB Connection’, you will see that the Milestone is now connected on Portals & Tools. If any other Motorola applications start off, ignore and exit them.
5. RDSLite will show your phone model number ‘A853’ and the status should be ‘Connected’.
6. Press ‘…’ button to browse for the ‘vulnerable_recovery_only_RAMDLD90_78.sbf’ and load it.
7. The ‘Start’ button would now be enabled. Please ensure the USB connection is secure and start the flash.
8. Keep an eye on the status bar, the Milestone will reboot into bootloader, flash the recovery firmware and start back up into RSD Lite showing a ‘Finished’ or ‘PASS’ status.
9. Exit RSDLite and Remove the USB Connection
10. Power off your phone. Press and Hold the ‘X’ button on the device and press the Power button, keep them help until the phone boots into recovery.(screen will show an exclamation mark inside a triangle)
11. Press and hold the Volume Up button and now press the Camera button to go into Android System Recovery.
12. You would be presented with four menu options. Scroll down to ‘Apply Update:update.zip’ using the D-pad and the golden key to enter.
13. Wait for the process to complete and select ‘Reboot System’ to let the phone boot back into Android.

Congratulations! Your Motorola Milestone is now rooted.
There are two methods to confirm your root access, firstly there should be an application newly installed in your app drawer called ‘Superuser Whitelist’, indicating that you have root access. Alternatively, you can download any terminal emulator and enter ‘su’ on it. A popup should appear, asking you to grant superuser right. Once permission is given, the $ sign should change to # confirming the application now has superuser rights on the device.