How to Root and Flash ClockworkMod Recovery on the HTC Evo Shift 4G

Since the release of the Evo Shift 4G on Sprint in January last year, devs have had a lot of time to fine tune things and thanks to their hard work, we can now easily root and flash ClockworkMod Recovery on this device.  The below guide will show you how to do that exactly, so you can move on to flashing custom ROMs.

I.  Before You Begin

1.  You must have ADB set up before you proceed; look to our guide on how to do this here.

2.  Back up your data; this is not mandatory but do so to be on the safer side.

3.  This is a Windows-based solution; so make sure that you either have a Windows XP or Windows 7-based PC before you proceed.

II.  Downloading the Necessary Files

Shift Root and Recovery

III.  Rooting the Evo Shift 4G

1. Extract ShiftRR.rar that you downloaded above to a folder on your desktop.

2.  From the folder you extracted above, double-click on ShiftRR.exe to run the tool.

3.  Enable USB Debugging on your device.  You can do this by heading to Settings > Applications > USB Debugging and checking the tickbox next to it.

4.  Connect the device to your Windows-based PC.  You should see the message ‘HTC Shift Found!’ at the bottom of the application window like you see in the picture below:

5.  Click on Root.

6.  The tool will pop up a dialog box asking if you have ENG HBoot installed already.  Click ‘No’ (this will install HBoot and then root your device).  If you already have HBoot installed, click ‘Yes’.

7.  If you clicked ‘No’ in the previous dialog box, the tool will install HBoot and give you confirmation to reboot your phone as you see below.  Reboot the device now

8.  Once your device has rebooted and is on the homescreen, click on Root again.  This time, click on ‘Yes’ as you will have installed ENG HBoot in the previous step.

9.  Once the process is over, you should see Shift Root and Recovery tool flash a message saying ‘Root Success’.

10.  Reboot your device.

11.  Once the device is booted and on the homescreen, click on ‘Check Root’ and on the device, select Accept or Allow.

Your Evo Shift 4G should now be permanently rooted!!

IV.  Flashing ClockworkMod Recovery

1.  Make sure that your device has USB Debugging enabled, connected to the computer and is on the homescreen.

2.  Run the Shift Root and Recovery tool again.

3.  Under the Recovery section, click on the browse button.  Navigate to the folder you extracted in the preceding section and select shift_clockwork_recovery.img from the ShiftRR/recovery folder.

4.  Click on ‘Install’.

Once the process is complete, your phone should reboot directly to the newly flashed ClockworkMod Recovery!!

All thanks go to amoamare on XDA for creating this wonderful tool!! You can say thanks or even donate if you like on this XDA thread!!

This is part of our Android How To’s. We have how to’s on rooting, loading ROMs, and tons of other tips and tricks for your specific device or for Android devices in general! For all of our Android How To’s, head here.