[How To] Gain Root Access To HTC EVO 4G

The Evo 4G was rooted some days ago, we have the instructions and it couldn't be easier. If you're new to this, we suggest you read through the thread at XDA Developers and then read through it again. After you think you don't have any more questions, read through it one more time. (Note: THIS WILL WIPE YOUR PHONE.) For the advanced, it's this simple:

1. Download this file (PC36IMG.zip). Move it to the root (as in top level) of the Evo's storage card.

2. Turn the phone off. Once it is, hold down the volume button and the power button until you get a white screen and some text. You're now in the bootloader. It should automatically start checking the PC36IMG.zip file you put on the card.

3. Once it's done, it'll list all the images on the card and ask if you want to flash. (Last chance to stop the whole procedure.) Say yes, and we're on our way. It'll look like this as it's going:

4. After it's done, it'll ask if you want to reboot. Do it.

That's it. You have a rooted ROM. You'll want to rename or delete the PC36IMG.zip image file that you put on the card, so that next time you enter the bootloader it won't try to automatically update again. You can do that by plugging in the phone, choosing "HTC Sync" and going to your favorite command line prompt and typing:

adb shell mv /sdcard/PC36IMG.zip /sdcard/root-PC36IMG.zip

Leave the phone plugged in if you want to go on to the next section and load the custom recovery otherwise, you're done.

Flashing recovery for custom ROMs

If you're going to want custom ROMs on the Evo, you need to flash the recovery image. Here's how you do that.

1. Download this file (evorecovery) to your desktop. Then unzip it.

2. Return to your favorite command line prompt and type "adb reboot recovery" (without quotes). This will reboot the phone into recovery mode. It looks like this:

3. Once it's in recovery mode, go back to your computer. Find the evo-recovery file that you unzipped. Inside are a series of files. For Windows, double-click "recovery-windows.bat." (If you're running Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click it first and choose "Run as administrator." Let it do it's thing, and you'll now have the custom recovery module so you can back up the phone, flash custom ROMs, etc.

That's everything. Props to the folks at XDA and everybody who worked on this project. Once you're done here, head on over there and be sure to thank them for all that they have done!