How to Root the AT&T Pantech Discover

The Pantech Discover, a mid-range device available on AT&T, was released back in January and boasts of features like a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage and best of all, a 12.6MP camera.  The phone comes with Android 4.0.4 ICS on board and while there isn’t much going for it from devs currently, you could very well see a custom ROM pop up running on Jelly Bean in the near future.  To be able to flash a custom ROM though, you’ll need a custom recovery and have root access.  This guide will take care of one of those two things – Rooting the Pantech Discover.

I.  Before You Begin

1.  Back up everything you feel is important before you begin.

2.  Charge your device to 75% or more before you start to avoid unwanted shutdowns.

3.  Install the necessary drivers before you begin.  Try the PdaNet Drivers if you haven’t already done so.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  Android.zip [contains the necessary ADB and fastboot files necessary for the procedure]

2.  recovery-evita.img [Link available in this post under Step #1]

3. Superuser.apk [Link available in this post under Step #2]

4.  su [Link available in this post under Step #2]

III.  Rooting the Pantech Discover

1.  Extract Android.zip to your C: drive [the path to the adb.exe and fastboot.exe files should be C:\Android].

2.  Connect your device and copy the Superuser.apk and su files you downloaded above to the root of your internal SD card [not into any folders].

3.  Move recovery-evita.img to C:\Android.

4.  Power down your device and put it into fastboot mode.  To do this, hold Volume Up + Volume Down + Power buttons until you get into the bootloader, and then select the fastboot option.

5.  Connect your device to your PC in fastboot mode.  PdaNet should install any drivers necessary at this point in case you haven’t already done so.

6.  Open up a command prompt window.  To do this (on Windows 7), type cmd in the search box on the Start menu and hit Enter.

7.  Enter the following commands [Hit Enter on your keyboard at the end of each command]:

cd c:\Android

fastboot devices

This will take you to the Android folder where you have necessary adb and fastboot files, and the recovery-evita.img.  The fastboot devices command should show you your device connected as a series of alphanumeric characters, which means you are good to go.

8.  Next type in the following command:

fastboot boot recovery-evita.img

This will boot your device using the custom recovery image.  Your device’s screen will go blank for a minute or more and then your PC should recognize it again and install drivers if necessary again.

9.  Now type in the following commands exactly as you see them and in the same order [Don’t forget to hit Enter after each command!]:

mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p14 /system

mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p25 /data

mount /data/media /sdcard

cd /sdcard

cp Superuser.apk /system/app/

cp su /system/xbin/

chmod 4755 /system/xbin/su

exit

adb reboot

The last command will reboot your device and once it is done rebooting, you should find the Superuser app installed in your app drawer!  To further verify root access, you can install any root-requiring app from Google Play or Root Checker which is built specifically for this purpose.

If this procedure helped you please thank/donate to the original developers here.

If you need help with this procedure, please ask in the comments below or in the forum.

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.