[PaulOBrien]

Note: This application is no longer being updated and is only recommended for use on Froyo builds.

VISIONary (so named because it was originally an application designed for the T-Mobile G2 / HTC Vision) is an application you install on your device that allows you to Temproot or optionally Permroot your device, using the 'rageagainstthecage' exploit.

How do I use it?

It's pretty simple really. The options appear as follows:

• Temproot on boot - use this to automatically Temproot on each boot (I suggest Temprooting manually first to confirm all is well before enabling this)
  
• Run visionary.sh after root - this allows you to run a script (as root) after rooting. The script file is /data/local/visionary.sh
  
• Set system r/w after root - this allows you to leave the /system partition read/write after root
  
• Temproot now - root temporarily (the root wil be lost after reboot)
  
• Attempt permroot now - attempt to apply a permanent root (please read the safety information below before doing this!)
  
• Unroot now - this will unroot your device

Safety information!

You use VISIONary at your own risk! Although we test it as much as possible, we are unable to guarantee that weird things won't happen.

As a rule, the 'Temproot' option of VISIONary should be completely safe. It installs an application (Superuser) in the conventional way and then sets up a 'ramdisk' for the other parts, which is wiped on boot. As such, no changes are made to the system partition of your device, hence it is considered a 'safe options'.

Permroot on the other hand is inherently more risky. Permroot does make changes to the /system partition of your device. Technically speaking the only change that is made is the installation of a small file to /system/xbin, but any system partition change comes with risks. If you try to permroot, be aware that you might get into a situation where your device will not boot. For this reason, we recommend you have a 'safety net'.

In general, the best 'safety net' for going ahead and doing a Permroot is ensuring that you have a copy of the stock ROM to reinstall should things go wrong. This should be an original update EXE or zip from your device manufacturer / provider which matches the software version currently installed on your device. Bear in mind that flashing older versions is often not possible, so if your device has been updated over-the-air, an update may not yet be available in this form. Hence, you may not be able to find a 'safety net' and attempting to Permroot would be inherently risky. For HTC devices at least, one option would be to Temproot, edit the MISC partition to revert the 'mainver' to an older version, thereby allowing you to flash an update older than the currently installed version should things go wrong. That option is currently outside the scope of this post, although I will provide details on how to accomplish this in another post.

Got your safety net? Aware of the risks? The download is below.

Download

• r14 - (see changelog below for details) - DOWNLOAD (ROMraid) - MD5: abc88d92524a6eeebda1f8908f1e0725

The download is in APK format (if it is downloaded with a 'zip' extension simply rename). Copy to your device and click to install (or run 'adb install -r com.modaco.visionaryplus.r14.apk' if you have the SDK installed).

NOTE: USB DEBUGGING MUST BE ENABLED FOR VISIONARY TO WORK!

And finally

If you would like to support VISIONary (and other MoDaCo work), please consider signing up for a MoDaCo Ad Free / MoDaCo Plus account.

Enjoy!

P

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[PaulOBrien]

Changelog

r14

• Minor fixes, wider release version
  
• Information post updated

r13 [limited test version]

• Test release is now the default

r12 [test version]

• Temproot is now the default
  
• Added option to try to Permroot (test on Desire HD, Desire Z and G2)
  
• After permroot, required kernel module is placed in /data/local for your convenience
  
• Added option to unroot
  
• Note: this does NOT rewrite your hboot - you will need to do this manually to get S-OFF.

r11

• Added option to mount system r/w on boot (subject to the usual NAND / eMMC lock limitations)
  
• Added option to enable / disable visionary.sh on boot

r10

• Now permanent rather than temp on non NAND/EMMC locked devices
  
• Default launch now loads preference screen, where 'run on boot' can be configured
  
• Other minor fixes

r9

• Much faster - thanks lilHermit for your help with the native code

r8

• More optimisations - please re-read inital post for an update.

r7

• Far more reliable root sequence

r6

• Optimisations

r5 - MAJOR UPDATE!

• Process is now faster and ultra reliable!
  
• Run on boot can now be toggled from the main screen
  
• Application will no longer let you root if you're already rooted

r4

• Changes for Market compability (regular download not updated).

r3

• Application now warns if USB debugging is not enabled

r2

• Added run-on-boot version
  
• Now using tmpfs for reliability (thanks disconn3ct)
  
• Superuser.apk now lives on /data/app so settings persist (thanks disconn3ct)

r1

• Initial Release

[joninatl]

Genius!

[asmirm]

Paul, on Oct 14 2010, 08:56, said:

Changelog

r1

• Initial Release

Sir Paul, when I launch the app it just sits there saying "rooting device" and the triangle starts flashing.
Any suggestions? Am I missing a step?
Thank you.

Really glad to see you working on this device.
Thank you for all your work.

[Zeus1022]

Tried it out and works.......had to click it twice *visionary* for superuser to allow root to specific apps

[Zeus1022]

asmirm, on Oct 14 2010, 09:45, said:

Sir Paul, when I launch the app it just sits there saying "rooting device" and the triangle starts flashing.
Any suggestions? Am I missing a step?
Thank you.

Really glad to see you working on this device.
Thank you for all your work.

Suppose to, im guessing.
Mine was the same but after like 15 seconds, it finished. Sent me straight back to my homescreen when it was done

[asmirm]

Zeus1022, on Oct 14 2010, 09:48, said:

Suppose to, im guessing.
Mine was the same but after like 15 seconds, it finished. Sent me straight back to my homescreen when it was done

On mine it just sits there for 20 minutes and eventually I have to kill it. I tried uninstalling the app, still nothing.

[Zeus1022]

asmirm, on Oct 14 2010, 09:53, said:

On mine it just sits there for 20 minutes and eventually I have to kill it. I tried uninstalling the app, still nothing.

I would suggest rebooting your phone and trying again

[PaulOBrien]

What should happen...

• Boot device
  
• Click VISIONary icon
  
• Phase 1 runs
  
• Logo disappears briefly as app reloads
  
• Phase 2 runs
  
• App disappears and root is complete

If this doesn't happen, I suggest rebooting and trying again.

P

[jtyler69]

Paul, on Oct 14 2010, 14:59, said:

What should happen...

• Boot device
  
• Click VISIONary icon
  
• Phase 1 runs
  
• Logo disappears briefly as app reloads
  
• Phase 2 runs
  
• App disappears and root is complete

If this doesn't happen, I suggest rebooting and trying again.

P

the logo just flashes on and off...tried rebooting and launching again....same thing just flashes on and off???

[PaulOBrien]

Perhaps something you have installed is clashing somehow...

Strange... it's failing to get root for some reason.

I will tweak to prevent it keeping looping in that scenario, but it's odd.

P

[dansl]

Yeah, same for me. At first the logo would just keep flashing. So I did a reboot, and tried again, now it looks like it got through phase 1, then wouldn't get past phase 2, just sat there... wait for a couple minutes then gave up and rebooted... I'll try it again later.

[PaulOBrien]

r2 online!

Changelog

r2

• Added run-on-boot version
  
• Now using tmpfs for reliability (thanks disconn3ct)
  
• Superuser.apk now lives on /data/app so settings persist (thanks disconn3ct)

[jtyler69]

Paul, on Oct 14 2010, 15:54, said:

r2 online!

Changelog

r2

• Added run-on-boot version
  
• Now using tmpfs for reliability (thanks disconn3ct)
  
• Superuser.apk now lives on /data/app so settings persist (thanks disconn3ct)

is there a way to verify that it has worked correctly......thanks for all your hard work!!!!!

[jtyler69]

keeps getting stuck in phase 2 it seems....even with the new version

[DanDroidOS]

jtyler69, on Oct 14 2010, 09:39, said:

keeps getting stuck in phase 2 it seems....even with the new version

Not working at all:( have uninstalled and reinstalled and rebooted my device several times but the app just seems to loop over and over:( please help Paul

[pdagal]

r2 is looping for me as well, even after a reboot.

[wrxtc714]

Awesome Little App Paul
I knew you would come through with something first
well you atleast made the temp root method alot easier I'm sure we can expect a full root from you soon.
I had the same issues getting it to work as well. I'm not exactly sure how i fixed it but it's working great
busybox and all
I'm actually using the wifi tether app on my g2 right now connected to my netbook to write this post
super fast
loving the 4g here in irvine,ca over 7000 mbps
once again thanks paul you never let us down

[PaulOBrien]

USB DEBUGGING MUST BE ENABLED FOR VISIONARY TO WORK!

P

[Gormoth]

pdagal, on Oct 14 2010, 13:53, said:

r2 is looping for me as well, even after a reboot.

Same here. Tried 3 times. It even goes back to the Visionary app screen if I navigate elsewhere (like the home screen). Can you think of anything that might be causing this? I have LauncherPro, ASTRO, and a terminal emulator, as well as a bunch of other apps.

EDIT: Hah. You posted about the USB debugging right as I posted. That did it! Thanks.

This post has been edited by Gormoth: 14 October 2010 - 10:26 PM

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