How to Root the HTC First

HTC First is one of the HTC’s Android smartphones that runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. If you happen to own this device, and are interested in rooting it, this guide is all you need. It teaches how you can flash a custom recovery and then gain root-access on your device. Here you go:

Rooting is the process of gaining administrative rights on your Android device.  Once we root our Android device, we can then make changes to it to customize it well beyond what it normally can do.

Once you have root access on your HTC First, you’ll be able to:

  • Remove apps that were preinstalled by your carrier/manufacturer from your device.
  • Free up storage space (because of the above benefit).
  • Increase battery life (apps that might have been running constantly can be removed).
  • Increase performance (after removing apps that are always running, the device will be less bogged down and run smoother).
  • Update to a new version of Android (by flashing a custom recovery/ROM, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).
  • Tons of other customizations when you use your new found administrative rights to flash a custom ROM (again, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).

Interested? Here’s how to root your HTC First:

I. Before You Begin

1. This will void the warranty of your device. We won’t be held responsible if your device goes haywire after doing this procedure. Do it at your own risk.

2. You must’ve unlocked your bootloader. If you haven’t done so yet, go ahead and do it on the HTCDev website right now.

3. This should flash a custom recovery as well.

4. This only works on Windows based PCs.

II. Downloading Required Files

1. Download WinDroid Toolkit and save it to your desktop.

WinDroid Toolkit (Download link’s given in the first post)

III. Flashing a Custom Recovery on the HTC First

1. Double-click on WinDroid Toolkit executable and it’ll launch.

2. Enable USB debugging on your device by going to Menu > Settings > Developer options > USB debugging.

3. Plug in your device to your PC via USB cable.

4. In the toolkit, click on TWRP under the Flash Recovery section.

5. Follow the on-screen instructions to flash TWRP on your device.

6. When it’s done, reboot your device.

7. You’re done!

Great! You’ve successfully flashed a custom recovery on your HTC First. Let’s see how you can root your device:

IV. Rooting the HTC First

1. Ensure that USB debugging is enabled on your device and your device is connected to your PC.

2. Launch WinDroid Toolkit by double-clicking on its executable file.

3. Click on Flash Superuser under the heading Gain Root.

4. Follow the on-screen instructions for flashing Superuser on your device.

5. When it’s flashed, reboot your device.

6. You’re done!

Congrats! Your HTC First is now rooted and is flashed with a custom recovery. If you were eager to flash a custom ROM on your device, now is the perfect time to do so.

You can click here to find all of the HTC First How To’s.

You can also find all of the HTC First ROMs we have here.

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1 thought on “How to Root the HTC First”

  1. had to do the SuperUser part twice. the first time it pushed the .zip file over and rebooted but just came back up regular. It didn’t go into TWRP or whatever. So i did it again and this time it booted into that mode. Odd. Anyhow, works awesome, thank you!!

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