How To: Root the Motorola Milestone

I. Before You Begin

1. This ONLY works on the Motorola Milestone, NOT the Motorola Droid (you must have a GSM Motorola Milestone).

II. Setup ADB and ADBRecovery

1. Do our How To Setup ADB

How To Setup ADB

2. Once you have done that, come back to this procedure and download ADBRecovery.

ADBRecovery

3. Extract it’s contents to somewhere on your computer.

4. Plug your phone in normally and mount the SD card (so we can transfer files to it from our computer).

5. Copy the just the update.zip file and the folder named “recovery” from inside the ADBRecovery > in_sd_root folder that we extracted earlier to the root of the SD card in your phone (NOT in any folders on the sd card just on the sd card itself).

6. Turn off your phone.

7. Turn the phone back on while holding the Camera button down until the ! screen comes up.

8. Once the ! comes up, let go of the Camera button and then hold down Volume Up and press the Camera button until a menu appears.

9. Choose apply sdcard:update.zip and wait for it to flash the update.

III. Performing a Nandroid Backup Through ADB

1. Leaving your phone in recovery mode after it flashes the update.zip, plug it in to your computer via USB cable.

2. On your computer, open the command prompt (Start >Type in cmd and hit enter).

3. In the command prompt type the following with hitting enter at the end of each line:

cd\
cd AndroidSDK\tools\
adb shell
nandroid-mobile.sh –backup

*the — in the last line above is actually two hyphens side by side

4. Once it is done with the backup, type the following and hit enter:

reboot

5. Let the phone reboot into normal mode.

IV. Load the Custom Android 2.1 ROM w/ Root via Nandroid

1. Plug your phone into the computer via USB cable and mount the SD card (so we can transfer files to it).

2. Search your SD card for the folder “nandroid” and copy it to somewhere on your computer (this is so you can copy it back to your SD card later to unroot if you want).

3. Download the Android 2.1 Nandroid Backup here and save it to your computer.

Android 2.1 Nandroid Backup (EU version)

4. Extract the contents of the Milestone-Android 2.1 w Root .zip file you downloaded above somewhere on your computer. Then copy all the files from inside the extracted folder (just the files like “system.img” “boot.img” etc. NOT the folder itself) into the nandroid > console=ttyS2,115200n8 > Milestone-BbCcDMRS-20100329-2033 folder (your exact names of the folders may be different) on your SD card.  Then hit yes to Copy and Replace on all the files.

5. Unplug the phone once it has finished transferring the files over.

6. Turn off your phone.

7. Turn the phone back on while holding the Camera button down until the ! screen comes up.

8. Once the ! comes up, let go of the Camera button and then hold down Volume Up and press the Camera button until a menu appears.

9. Choose apply sdcard:update.zip and wait for it to flash the update and then plug the phone in to your computer via USB cable.

10. Open the command prompt again and type the following with hitting enter at the end of each line:

cd\
cd AndroidSDK\tools\
adb shell
nandroid-mobile.sh –restore

*the — in the last line above is actually two hyphens side by side

10. Once it is done with the restore, type the following and hit enter:

reboot

11. DONE!

VII. (Optional) Load a Custom ROM via Nandroid

1. Head to our How To Load a Custom ROM on the Motorola Milestone to load a custom ROM on the phone with the nexus launcher, wifi tethering and other features!

Thanks to Expansys!

125 thoughts on “How To: Root the Motorola Milestone”

  1. hey man i don’t know about you but i have heard from my sprint rep. that sprint was releasing updates android 2.1 for their devices on the first or the second week of april now this kind of got my attention because if i recall they do not have any android devices with costume OS like blur so i don’t know….what do you think about it man….

  2. Hi David,

    I was wondering whether or not this gives us access to custom ROMs on a Milestone? I’m considering getting one on Telus up north, but only if I can run Sense 2.1 on it.

    Please advise.

    Cheers,

    James

  3. Sweet! one last question will this work on the TELUS MILESTONE?

    That specific branding of milestone has been a particular pain.

  4. Hey!!! I really admire the work you guys are doing and how convenient you guys are making it for us with these tutorials on rooting the milestone…I have a question…I recently bought a stock milestone running on android 2.1 and the obvious question that follows is whether it is possible to root the phone and install custom roms like the sense 2.1 ui…

  5. Nice!!!! one more thing….I reside in india and i bought the milestone from a retail store located in india….Is the EU firmware provided by you guys still compatible and afer rooting my phone, will the overclocking, apps2sd and custom roms be possible on the milestone…
    Thanks in advance!!! 😀

  6. hey, i’ve a problem when flashing the update.zip. at the recovery mode, after i select apply sdcard:update.zip, i get the following after it verifies update packaging:

    E:EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD
    E:signature verification failed
    Installation aborted.

    please advise on what i should do. thanks

  7. Hi guys,

    I just wanted to check if this could be done on a Mac?

    I mean, are the commands the same when I hook my milestone onto the mac (in terminal) or are these instructions strictly windows only?

    Thanks alot!

    Leeks

  8. Johannes Sujendro

    I have the same problem with Epicality ..
    please help..
    when in the recovery mode – i got
    E:Can’t open /cache/recovery/command
    then when i flash update.zip, i get :
    E:EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD
    E:signature verification failed
    Installation aborted.

    Please can anyone help?
    thanks.

  9. Johannes Sujendro

    I found out the reason for the “EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD” error
    the loophole that allows update from update.zip has been closed in the recovery that is part of the newer firmware versions. (RAMLDR 90.78 that comes with Android 2.1 does not allow this)

    so, you need to flash the recovery first.

    thanks.

  10. Hey David,

    I just went through the whole process (a little twist since I was on a mac), but I can say, my milestone’s officially UNROOTED.

    Many thanks, I was just wondering if do you take paypal donations (or I could buy your products), because this simple and understandable guide was really enlightening!

    Thanks again!

    1. Leeks,

      Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed them, I was thinking of putting the Donation link back up on the site, I’ll do that this week. You don’t have to donate though, just happy to help!

  11. hey guys, thanks for the tutorial, i am stuck at rebooting my milestone……

    i have set up adb, downloaded ADBRecovery and copied the folders on the root of my sd card. after switching it off, i go for restarting it….

    I hold the camera button first then the power button and the motorola logo pops up, after a few seconds i get ‘android’ instead of ! screen, what am i doing wrong???

    i have the Milestone in India, its already running 2.1, just wanted to root it……

  12. Johannes Sujendro

    hi Prathamesh;

    depends on your phone, you might try to hold the ‘x’ on your keypad (instead of the camera button) and then the power button to get into Recovery ..

    🙂

  13. What is rooting? Is it the ability to install any apps into /system/app? Or to install my own images? I’ve a Motorola Milestone bought in India, with firmware 2.1-update1 with bootloader 90.78 and build number shols_u2_02.31.0. Can somebody help me how can I install apps into this device and if/how can I get fastboot screen at bootloader to flash my own images (I’ve eclairs source code built for product sholes – so, I’ve boot.img & system.img)?

    Thanks.

    1. Sateesh,

      Rooting is the the process of enabling us root access. You can do a lot of different things, including all you mentioned, plus custom roms, themes, wifi tethering, over clocking, etc.

  14. Thanks TheUnlockr. I’ve seen a lot of instructions on how to update to 2.1 combined with rooting. Could you please tell me how can I enable rooting for my Milestone (which has 2.1 update1 with bootloader 90.78)?

  15. Hi there, I have 2 questions before I attempt this:
    1. will I lose my personal data & settings? Will it revert to “factory default?”
    2. Can I mess up my phone beyond recovery? I mean during the rooting, I know I can afterwards with root access 🙂 I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, but I never fiddled with mobiles before, computers are my thing and there if something goes wrong on the software part you can always reinstall or mount the HDD elsewhere and recover data.

    I’ll include my software versions and ask a 3rd question – is this phone root-able with the above method? I’m thinking maybe you have some info that it doesn’t work beyond ver xx

    firmware: 2.1-update1
    firmware cfg: GAS_EMEA_USASHLS00RTINT_P012
    baseband: 3GSMEPU91A_U_91.07.4EI (I suppose 91.97 is bootloader)
    baseband cfg: UCASHLSMR2EMEAB1B805C.0R
    build: SHOLS_U2_02.31.0

    1. Dan,

      1. Yes, but your contacts etc should be synced with Google so those will just come back after you sync.
      2. Won’t say you can’t, but I have yet to see an Android phone that couldn’t be fixed. And this method is pretty straight forward (unlike some other devices). You can always use our How To Unroot the Motorola Milestone Procedure and get back to factory spec (great for sending in for warranty or just starting from scratch). Also rooting allows you to make full backups of your current state, one of the many benefits (called Nandroid in your recovery screen) so once you do one of the backups your pretty safe regardless of what you do…
      Good luck!

  16. EVERYONE WHO KEEPS SAYING THE BOOTLOADER IS LOCKED,

    We are well aware of that, but the bootloader isn’t the only way to flash a ROM… After you root your phone with this method, head over to our How To Load a Custom ROM linked at the bottom of the page and you’ll see how to flash a custom ROM using Nandroid…
    Good luck!

  17. Thanks for the guide, but I have a problem running ‘adb shell’ in section III. adb gives me a ‘device not found’ error, but all the references to this error online are because USB Debugging is not enabled. I’m in recovery mode though, so that isn’t the problem.

    If a start up in recovery mode then connect the USB cable, Windows says “USB device not recognised”

    Any help would be appreciated

    Thanks

    sev

  18. I had installed the drivers already, but I had only copied the update.zip file to the SD card, not the recovery directory.

    I should read the instructions properly before asking questions 🙂

    sev

  19. I have the Motorola Milestone from Telus with version 2.0.1 as stock. Keep in mind, this isn’t my first time rooting an Android OS phone. I completed the ADB process, twice, and then proceeded to copy the latest ADB Recovery file from the link here. I extracted the ZIP file, then went into the “in-root” folder, copied both recovery and update folders and placed them on the root of the micro-SD card on the phone just like the video tutorial. When I went to “apply-update…”, it displays an error within this message…

    — Install from sdcard…
    Finding update package…
    Opening update package…
    Verifying update package…
    E :EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD
    E :signature verification failed
    Installation aborted.

    PLEASE HELP!!

  20. im new on this, so i want to know what does root my Milestone mean??
    i purchased a milestone that lacks the Market App :(..
    can this help getting it?

  21. I`m having the same problem as androidboi1. I am also using Milestone with Telus preset with version 2.0.1. I have everything necessary to install this update as I`m not a noob as far as rooting phones goes. I`ve rooted my Dream and Magic and have flashed dozens of roms on both of them. I`ve searched the internet through and through and have come up with nothing that works to root my Milestone. I know you know what you`re doing and have only come here as a last resort. If you could help us out that would be great and if not then my quest will continue. Thanks

  22. Is there a U.S. version available? The EU version that you have changes the $ sign to a pound sign.

    Thanks!!!

  23. I’m having the same trouble as androidboi1 and Chris K, I recently bought an unlocked telus motorola milestone.

  24. Also the “EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD” error.

    What Recovery needs to be flashed as Johannes Sujendro is mentioning?? THNX!

  25. able to root and install Pulsar 1.2.1 custom rom after upgrading to 2.1?

    I’ve got 2.1 running on my UK Milestone. I came across the pulsar 1.2.1 custom rom and want to try it, but it’s not working. Is it because my milestone is now UNrooted and therefore I can’t install roms on it now?

  26. Dear David,

    i started the procedure to upgrade, but the “ADBRecovery” link (in step:2 of item-ii)is not working!! Can you help on alternative…?

    Thanks in advance,
    Masud.

  27. Unlockr I still have problems getting the update.zip file to work. basically the same problem as androidboi.

    please can you tell me what it going wrong.

  28. Hello,

    Please help me with EU version of 2.1 Nandroid back-up.. If anybody has already downloaded, please share with me…

    Thank You,
    Masud.

  29. I’ve bought my Milestone with the 2.1 stock and cannot get into the recovery menu. I keep holding the camera and power buttons, but it just boots all the way. Any ideas on this?

  30. yah, i think the new telus milestone’s have a bootloader that will only accept signed updates… have you knowledge of this unlockr?

  31. Hi guys!

    I’ve got the following – EVEN AFTER flashing vulnerable recovery!

    E:EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD
    E:signature verification failed
    Installation aborted.

    Is there a way to check, that i was successful with the flashing of the recovery?
    (SW update was complete) :(((

  32. Johannes Sujendro

    The Recovery in Milestone 2.1 will check for signature
    that is why you get the :
    E: signature verification failed
    Installation aborted
    message when you are applying the update.zip file ..

    that is why you need to flash Vulnerable Recovery ..
    (this Recovery is “vulnerable” because it DOES NOT check for signature) .. you can flash this Vulnerable Recovery BECAUSE it IS SIGNED ..

    you can get the files :
    http://www.mediafire.com/?jzzjmmrvwkz

    http://download299.mediafire.com/chn1tyb1xujg/jzzjmmrvwkz/vulnerable_recovery_only_RAMDLD90_78.zip

    the trick is :
    when flashing this Vulnerable Recovery, when your phone started to boot up, press DPAD Up key .. otherwise you will fail in applying this flash ..

    Yes, this works with Tellus Milestone ..
    For those who have (EU) Milestone .. turn off your phone, press X (on the keyboard) while turning the device on .. you will be in the Recovery mode (triangle with the ! sign) .. THEN press the VOL UP and CAMERA BUTTON ..

    1. Hey thanks for this. I tried your suggestion above and downloaded the vulnerable recovery, but when I tried flashing with RSD Lite, the “Start” button is grayed out and won’t let me start the process. It did let me flash to the GOT Telus SBF.

      Any suggestions?

  33. what is the difference between motorola droid and the milestone in providers for e.g. like whcih one is tmobile or sprint or verizon or atnt?

    1. Jibbz,

      Droid is Verizon and is CDMA (so will only work on a few carriers in the world as most are NOT CDMA, i.e. here in the States it will work on Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, and Metro if unlocked).
      Milestone is GSM and uses a SIM card. This is what the majority of the world uses and what T-Mobile and AT&T use here in the States. If you have an unlocked Milestone it will work on any GSM carrier.
      Another thing to check out though are 3G frequencies, T-Mobile has 3G frequencies that no other company in the world uses so it is very rare for phone manufacturers to have that 3G built in but look at the spec sheet for 1700 if you want 3G on T-Mobile. AT&T uses 850 and 1900 so look for those frequencies.

  34. hi everyone, i was hoping someone could help me with this little problem im having, i did everything pretty safe and it all seemed to work but then i decided to add one the french rom running 2.1 an everything went down the drain, my phone is now stuck in an endless loop in the android screen that comes up after the moto sign. if anyone knows how i can reverse the effects of this then please help out. thanks

    1. Needhelpbad,

      If you ever get in a loop just take out the battery and put it back in. Then boot into recovery, wipe data and reflash the ROM (or flash a different one).

  35. hey buddyy! im still new with all this stuff! i got a motorola milestone 2.1 update1. I think this might work for me but then i just wanted to check something first before i carry on with the rooting! how do i know if my phone is GSM or CDMA? please help me 😀 much appreciated!

    1. Ashwin,

      No worries!
      Quickest way to tell. Do you have a SIM card from your phone company in the phone? Or a Verizon logo on the front?
      If you are using a SIM card for service on the phone, you have GSM. If you have the word Verizon on the front of the phone, it’s CDMA (as they are a CDMA carrier).
      Good luck!

      1. i did evrything that said in dis forum but i still cant root my milestone from india, it says E:can’t open/cache/recovery/command. plz help me. thanks in advance

  36. hey man! i got a problem againnn! i copied the recovery and update.zip folder in the root of the sd card. and it gives me the warning of unable to copy adbd and stuff like that. and im not sure with mode of usb to use. portal & tools or memory card access! coz in memory card and access both the file are shown in the sd card while in portal and tools its not shown! so i suppose the files are already transfer. i off my phone and help the camera button and on button together but my phone ons normally. but if i hold X and on button it shows the ! sign after sometimes and gets stuck there no matter what buttons i press. please help me. so sorry to bother you man. thanks alott!

  37. I followed the instructions of the tutorial, also flashing the Vulnerable Recovery when I got the signed error. All seemed to go fine until the final reboot of the device with took extra long(stuck on the android graphic) but once the android UI loaded everything seemed normal, plus I had root privalege and the root whitelist, with one large problem. I had no network connection. I tried going into setting and searching for my telus network(or any network for that matter) but it kept giving me an error message while searching. After removing the battery and rebooting a few times I just restored the backed up nandroid files I’d made and my phone is back to normal, minus root.
    Does anyone know what went wrong?

  38. Sorryy about the previous question! i have found a solution to that. how ever i think i am in a need to flash the vulnerable recovery. Mr Unlockr how do i do that? i have already downloaded the file of the vulnerable recovery just do not know how to flash it.
    thankss alot man!

  39. I have a Singapore Milestone that is 3G on 2100mhz and I am in the US if I root and flash a Telus rom
    would that change the 3G freq to 1900mhz ?

  40. I have a canadian Telus milestone, version 2.1. I have tried everything listed here, and NOTHING works. I cannot flash the update file because I still get the same error everyone else does. I have tried using RSDlite, and updateing with the vulnerable backup and it fails as well. HELP ME !!!!!

  41. Quote:
    ohannes Sujendro
    June 9, 2010 at 9:58 pm
    The Recovery in Milestone 2.1 will check for signature
    that is why you get the :
    E: signature verification failed
    Installation aborted
    message when you are applying the update.zip file ..

    that is why you need to flash Vulnerable Recovery ..
    (this Recovery is “vulnerable” because it DOES NOT check for signature) .. you can flash this Vulnerable Recovery BECAUSE it IS SIGNED ..

    you can get the files :
    http://www.mediafire.com/?jzzjmmrvwkz

    http://download299.mediafire.com/chn1tyb1xujg/jzzjmmrvwkz/vulnerable_recovery_only_RAMDLD90_78.zip

    the trick is :
    when flashing this Vulnerable Recovery, when your phone started to boot up, press DPAD Up key .. otherwise you will fail in applying this flash ..

    END QUOTE

    RSD final status was PASS and still I can’t get the signature verification to work.
    Anyone here with the same problem came to a solution?

    TKS!

  42. I’m running 2.1 official, a locked milestone to Telus here in Canada. By flashing to this rooted 2.1 will my phone also be unlocked?

  43. Hi does this work with the uk motorola milestone because it has a locked bootloader and I’m not sure if that would affect the process also can this unlock the bootloader?

      1. thanks for your help, just one more question do you have to downgrade from 2.1 or can you root straight away from 2.1?

  44. Hi there….
    I’m desperate and in need of your help….
    i have a motorola milestone 2.1…
    was messing with it this morning..and noticed there was a system update…
    so i downloaded and the update and got it installed..
    now all i see on my screen is
    “Bootloader 90.78 Err:1A,23,35,23,00” Battery Ok, OK to Program, Connect USB Data Cable…
    Is there anything i can do to ge it working back normally?
    I desperately need my phone as I’m currently offshore (in south china sea) and will only be returning back to civilization mid of sept 2010.

    I’ve tried searching for help online but cant seem to get anything…on the motorola uk page, it advises that we send the unit back for service….

    i’m in dire need to fix this asap as this is my only mode of communication when we are near the port…once we’re back out at sea..the only thing i can do is connect thru wifi..which is essential for me to chat with my family back home on a daily basis…

    any help at all will be very much appreciated….if possible, kindly email me the reply as well….
    thanking you in advance for assistance with this issue…

    jay

      1. thx for the prompt reply…
        looks like i will need to get my hands on a spare phone until I get back to the city to sort it out.
        thanks again for the advice. i will certainly not perform anymore software updates on my own…haha.

        cheers,
        jay

  45. Has anyone performed this rooting with the “tablet” version of the Milestone, e.g. the XT7xx phones (XT720, XT701)? They are running 2.1 but I am skeptical that the Milestone rooting procedure will work the same.

  46. Would this method still work for motorola milestone with stock 2.1 on it ? i just bought it today… It wouls be a waste if it can’t be rooted…

  47. Brilliant guide – thanks a bunch.

    If I can I ask a silly question: My Milestone came shipped with 2.1 (update1), so will these instructions work for me? If so, I’m guessing my phone will be exactly the same except in a rooted state?

    Thanks in advance.

  48. Ok, this isn’t working for me at all. I keep getting that same EOCD error as everyone else, even after I do the so-called fix by flashing the recovery.

    1. No, wait, nevermind. I got that to work, however, now that my phone is rooted, I have no signal to my phone at all as my APN seems to have been removed….any suggestions?

  49. Joel, how did you get that to work? & Mr Unlockr, i get the same problem too. Is there something that i did wrong in the process or something else? I get the E:EOCD… error. and everything is aborted. Is there anything that i can do so i can get my phone rooted? Need your help terribly please. Thanks.

  50. The easiest way to get root is to flash a vulnerable recovery sbf and then install openrecovery and press root phone 🙂

    vulnerable recovery:
    http://android.doshaska.net/rootable

    OpenRecovery Mod (with Milestone specific customizations):
    http://code.google.com/p/androidiani-openrecovery/

    Another install guide :
    http://modmymobile.com/forums/563-motorola-milestone-roms/531599-open-recovery-v1-44-10-16-2010-a.html

    (You dont have to use the openrecovery that I linked, but the other one dos not have Milestone specific customizations:)

    1. hi, try holding X on the physical keyboard instead of the camera button. I had the same problem. now i have a different problem :(. hope it helped 🙂

  51. Hi i have motorola milestone i try to make the “apply sdcard:update.zip” and its says installation abord every time i try to apply i donne every think about adb and all that stuff but still the same please help..

  52. I have the Alltel Motorola Milestone 2.1 update 1 and I live in the US. What I want to know is whether or not this will work for me. I have already gone through the ADB steps, now I just want to root my phone.

    Another thing, the RapidShare link to the ABD recovery is dead.

  53. i have the motorola milestone a854 after i turn the phone off i hold the camera and the power and it just loads normaly what am i doing wrong i have the file on my sd not in any file and i can see it on the phone help

  54. i have the motorola milestone a854 after i turn the phone off i hold the camera and the power and it just loads normaly what am i doing wrong i have the file on my sd not in any file and i can see it on the phone help

  55. I have a Motorla MIlestone and i have done all the setps but when i restart and hold the camera button it starts up normally, how can i restore this issue ?

  56. I have a Motorla MIlestone and i have done all the setps but when i restart and hold the camera button it starts up normally, how can i restore this issue ?

  57. Everytime I go in to the safe mode and run apply sdcard: update.zip

    It shows an error , which is :

    E:Can’t open /cache/recovery/command

    — Install from sdcard…
    Finding update package…
    Opening update package…
    Verifying update package…
    E:EOCD marker occurs after start of EOCD
    E:signature verification failed.
    Installation Aborted.

    What am i suppose to do in order to surpass this abort failure?

  58. hi soo i am wondering when im doing the cmd it goes perfectly till i get to the command: adb shell it just goes to the number sign and does not do anything what should i doo?????

  59. if this matters but before this step i must manually flash my phone before i start installing it. if i dont i cant update ofcourse soo what is the problem and solution??

  60. if this matters but before this step i must manually flash my phone before i start installing it. if i dont i cant update ofcourse soo what is the problem and solution??

  61. Im having the same issue as Amir is having. I have downloaded the ADBRecovery zip file and have unzipped it but I continue to face the same issue. Pls help as i really need to root my milestone.

    Thanks in advance

  62. Im having the same issue as Amir is having. I have downloaded the ADBRecovery zip file and have unzipped it but I continue to face the same issue. Pls help as i really need to root my milestone.

    Thanks in advance

  63. Hey, i followed your steps 1 to 6 perfectly but when i switch off my milestone and power it back you whist holding the power and camera button fully down, i am not getting the !screen to save my life. I currently have 2.1 software and want to update to 2.3. Please help

    1. you need to hold x on the keypad when you turn on your milestone.. then you’ll get the ! screen and press volume up and the camera button to get to the recovery menu 🙂

  64. hi, after completing all the above, now my milestone cannot start up and display

    ‘The process android.process.acore has stopped unexpectly. Please try again”

    Please advice the solution. Thanks

  65. UGH Milestone is stuck on M logo rebooting, and comuter wont see usb on it now rsd lite on recovery does not see it. HELP

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