How to root HTC Desire (Froyo 2.2) without putting in a custom ROM (flashing)?

Question

for research purposes I'd need to root a HTC Desire phone without flashing it. I did it already on the HTC Hero, where it was quite simple.

Basically all I would need is to get r/w access to the /system/app folder for copying my custom apk file there. Obviously this needs root access.

Is there a way to easily root the Desire without the need to completely flash and place a custom ROM on it?

Some details about the phone:

Thx for your help

See also: How to root a HTC Desire running official Android 2.3? — Izzy, Feb 06 '13 at 17:19

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 16 '10 at 15:50

3

Unrevoked 3 will root the HTC Desire without replacing the ROM, however it does reflash the recovery ROM: http://unrevoked.com/#desire

answered Dec 16 '10 at 15:50

Matt

What does it mean it does reflash the recovery ROM? – Juri Dec 17 '10 at 09:31
Does Unrevoked 3 wipe the phone during the process? Will I require to install and use a backup app before I do the rooting? – Alastair Dec 17 '10 at 10:37
@Alastair Yes, apparently it wipes the phone and installs Android v2.1-update1 – Juri Dec 19 '10 at 20:00
@Matt I got root access on my Desire, however also after successfully mounting /system with rw, when I copy an apk there, I get "cannot create /system/app/myapp.apk: not enough memory". Do you happen to know a possible solution to this? Booting in recovery and copying there just works fine... – Juri Dec 19 '10 at 20:21
Sorry Juri, I'm stumped. Post it as a new question and hopefully some of the more savvy users will be able to help. – Matt Dec 19 '10 at 20:27
@Matt nop, posted it here (as future reference for others): http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3852/copy-apk-file-to-system-app-getting-not-enough-space – Juri Dec 20 '10 at 07:26
HTC phones have an extra protection for /system – Prof. Falken Jun 02 '12 at 06:48

1 Answers1