How to Root the HTC One A9

Somewhere between the One M8 and the One M7 lies the HTC’s latest smartphone called the One A9. The device became very popular in a short period of time and developers produce a root method and a custom recovery shortly thereafter. If you happen to have this device, you are welcome to follow the following guide and gain root on your One A9 and then flash a custom recovery on it.

Root access should let you install all of your favorite root-only apps on your device –apps that help you customize your device in ways you previously couldn’t with a stock system. From being able to edit system-files and remove bloatware to replacing the entire OS with a different OS, rooting can enable you to take your customizations to the next level.

So, if you’re ready, here’s how to root your HTC One A9:

I. Before You Begin

1. This could void the warranty of your device. We won’t be held responsible for anything that happens from doing this tutorial so please proceed at your own risk.

2. You must have a Windows based PC to do this procedure.

3. You should have ADB drivers installed on your PC. If you don’t, your PC won’t be able to recognize your device.

4. This should erase all the data stored on your device, so please backup everything that you’ll need later on.

5. This should also flash a custom recovery on your device.

How to Root the HTC One A9

To root the device, you’ll first unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recovery, and then install the Superuser app on the device. Here’s how:

II. Downloading Required Files

1. Download Fastboot and save it to your desktop.

Fastboot

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

Custom Recovery (Download link’s given in the first post)

3. Download SU and save it to your desktop.

SU (It’s attached in the first post)

4. Download Superuser and save it to your desktop.

Superuser (It’s attached in the first post)

5. Download Boot Image for your device model and save it to your desktop.

Boot Image (It’s attached in the first post)

III. Unlocking the Bootloader on the HTC One A9

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

2. Head over to the HTCDev Bootloader website and follow the instructions for getting an unlock token for your device using which you can unlock the bootloader on your device.

3. Make sure that the unlock token that you’ve received from HTC is named as Unlock_code.bin.

4. Turn off your device.

5. Turn your device back on in fastboot mode. To do that, hold down Volume DOWN and Power buttons together for a few seconds.

6. Select fastboot from the bootloader menu appearing on your device.

7. Plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.

8. Launch a Command Prompt Window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting Open command window here.

9. Type in the following command into the Command Prompt Window and hit Enter:

fastboot devices

10. Your device should show up in the list.

11. Type in the following command and hit Enter:

fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin

12. Confirm the prompt on your device and your bootloader will be unlocked.

Now that your bootloader is unlocked, let’s flash the boot image that will then allow you to root your device. Here’s how:

IV. Flashing a Boot Image on the HTC One A9

1. Extract files from Boot Image archive over to your desktop by right-clicking on the archive and selecting Extract here.

2. Head to Menu > Settings > About phone on your device and tap on Build number for 7-8 times and it’ll say you’re a developer. That’ll unlock the developer options menu on your device.

3. Head to Menu > Settings > Developer options and turn on USB debugging.

4. Plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.

5. Open a command prompt window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting Open command window here.

6. Type in the following command into the window and hit Enter:

adb devices

7. Your device should show up on the list.

8. Type in the following command and hit Enter:

adb reboot download

9. Your device should reboot into the download mode.

10. Enter in the following command into the command prompt window and press Enter. Make sure to replace bootimage.img with the actual name of the boot image that you have downloaded on your PC.

fastboot flash boot bootimage.img

11. Wait for it to flash the boot image on your device.

12. When the boot image has been flashed, issue the following command to reboot into the bootloader mode:

fastboot reboot-bootloader

13. Select Recovery from the bootloader menu to boot into the recovery mode.

14. Select wipe data/factory reset from the recovery menu.

15. Confirm the prompt and wait for it to factory reset your device.

16. When factory resetting’s done, reboot your device.

The boot image was successfully flashed on your HTC One A9. Here’s how you can go about flashing a custom recovery on your device:

V. Flashing a Custom Recovery on the HTC One A9

1. Right-click on Custom Recovery and select Extract here to extract the recovery file.

2. Turn off your device.

3. Reboot your device into fastboot mode by holding down Volume DOWN and Power buttons together for a few seconds.

4. Choose fastboot from the options appearing on your screen.

5. Plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.

6. Open a command prompt window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting Open command window here.

7. Type in the following command into the command prompt window and hit Enter. Make sure to replace recovery.img with the actual name of the recovery image that you’ve downloaded to your PC.

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

8. Wait for it to flash a custom recovery on your device.

9. When it’s done flashing recovery, reboot your device.

You now have a custom recovery up and running on your HTC One A9. Here’s how you can go about rooting your device:

VI. Rooting the HTC One A9

1. Extract files from both SU and Superuser over to your desktop by right-clicking on each of them and selecting Extract here.

2. Turn off your device.

3. Turn your device back on in custom recovery mode. To do that, hold down Volume DOWN and Power buttons together for a few seconds.

4. Select Recovery from the bootloader menu and you’ll boot into the recovery mode.

5. Open a command prompt window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting Open command window here.

6. Type in the following command into the command prompt window and hit Enter:

mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p62 /data

7. It should mount the /data/ folder to write files.

8. Type in the following command and hit Enter:

adb push su.img /data/su.img

9. It’ll push SU over to the /data/ folder on your device.

10. Reboot your device using the reboot system now option in the recovery menu.

11. Ensure that your device is still plugged in to your PC.

12. Type in the following command into the command prompt window and hit Enter:

adb install superuser.apk

13. It should install the Superuser app on your device.

14. You should now be rooted!

After rooting and flashing a custom recovery, you must be wondering where to start off customizing your device. Well, the first thing you should do is check out the custom ROMs section on our site and see if there’s a custom ROM available for your device. Flashing a custom ROM is the real enjoyment as it’ll wholly change the appearance and functionality of your device by replacing the OS with a custom, and often times more optimized, version.

Let us know how it worked for you in the comments below!