How to Root the LG Optimus Zone

The LG Optimus Zone runs on Android 2.3.6 out of the box, which might seem an older version of Android, but it still works great. And you can now root your LG Optimus Zone device. With root and a custom recovery on your device, you’ll be able to upgrade your Android version which is something you may have been looking to do. Here’s how:

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 LG Optimus Zone, 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 LG Optimus Zone:

I. Before You Begin

1. This will void the warranty of your device. We won’t be held responsible if you end-up bricking your device. Do it at your own risk.

2. This should only work on Windows based PCs.

3. You should’ve appropriate drivers installed on your PC. If you haven’t, you can download and install the latest drivers from here.

4. This should flash a custom recovery as well.

II. Downloading Required Files

1. Download Root Package and save it to your desktop.

Root Package (Download link’s given in the first post)

2. Download CWM Recovery and save it to your desktop.

CWM Recovery (Download link’s available in the first post)

III. Rooting the LG Optimus Zone

1. Extract files from Root Package to your desktop by right-clicking on it and selecting Extract here.

2. Enable USB debugging on your device by heading to Menu > Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging.

3. Plug in your device to your PC using the USB cable.

4. Double-click on SuperOneClick executable and it’ll launch.

5. Select rageagainstthecage from the exploit dropdown menu.

6. Click on Root.

7. It’ll start rooting your device.

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

9. Head over to the Google Play store and search for Superuser. Tap on it and update it.

10. You’re done!

Congratulations! Your LG Optimus Zone is now rooted. You can confirm it by installing Root Checker from the Google Play store.

If you wish to further customize your device, you can flash a custom recovery and it’ll then let you flash a custom ROM on your device. Here’s how to flash a custom recovery on your Optimus Zone:

IV. Flashing a Custom Recovery on the LG Optimus Zone

1. Extract files from CWM Recovery to your desktop by right-clicking on it and selecting Extract here.

2. Plug in your device to your PC using the USB cable.

3. Copy recovery.img from your desktop over to the root of your internal storage.

4. When it’s copied, unplug your device from your PC.

5. Head over to the Google Play store and download and install Terminal Emulator on your device.

6. Launch Terminal Emulator from your App Drawer.

7. Type in following commands into Terminal Emulator:

su
dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p17

8. It should flash the recovery on your device.

9. When it’s done, type in following command and you’ll reboot into the newly installed recovery mode.

reboot recovery

10. You’re done!

Excellent! You’ve successfully flashed a custom recovery on your LG Optimus Zone. Your device can now be flashed with the custom ROMs of your choice.

You can click here to find all of the LG Optimus Zone How To’s.

You can also find all of the LG Optimus Zone ROMs we have here.