Motorola informed the world last night via Twitter that the first update for the XOOM (HRI66) would start rolling out today, and with this being a developer device, they were also kind enough to release files to get everyone back to stock who had rooted and unlocked.  Remember, this update is minor, but it prepares your XOOM for Flash 10.2 which we now know is being released on March 18.  Yay Android.  

Say hello to your Motorola XOOM safety net.  Yep, the official stock SBF file is available, but who knows for how long.  A friend of ours sent this over last night and since it looks like it has made its way into the open, we better share the goodness before it disappears.

Download Link

For those not familiar with SBFs, just know that this is a file that will help get you back to stock for that 4G LTE upgrade.  It’s a good thing to have.

Cheers Legion!

Yesterday we put together our guide on how to wireless tether your DROID X to your Motorola XOOM, but wanted to make sure we covered all of the original DROID members out there as well.  And since the original DROID creates an ad-hoc spot rather than infrastructure like the DX or various other phones, a standard wireless tether won’t work, so we have to go with Bluetooth instead.  Luckily, the Wireless Tethering app from the market has a Bluetooth option, and that’s exactly what we’ll be using here.  I should also point out that this method does require that you root your original DROID, but for those of you with a DX, D2 or Pro, you can apparently do this without rooting.  

Many of you probably already know how to tether your phone to your brand new Motorola XOOM, but we wanted to make sure that the whole community was covered and whipped up this quick guide.  It doesn’t get much easier than this, folks.     

Well, that sure didn’t take long.  The Motorola XOOM has been overclocked to 1.5GHz, is apparently pretty stable at that speed, and is pumping out some of the most impressive benchmarks we’ve ever seen on a tablet or really any device for that matter.  And thanks to the amazing members of the XDA forums (coolbho3000), this is something that you can also enjoy right away if you’ve unlocked and rooted your device.  Haven’t done either of those yet?  Instructions after the break.  

Time to root that brand new Motorola XOOM of yours (Thanks @Koush!).  We aren’t going to dig into a bunch of background on what “rooting” means, but if you are new, just understand that this will void your warranty just like unlocking the bootloader will.  Only proceed if you are willing to accept that fact.

*NOTE – If you have the WiFi-only version of the XOOM, you have different instructions. [Here]

*BEFORE YOU ROOT, YOU’LL WANT TO UNLOCK THE BOOTLOADER. [Instructions]

Instructions:

1.  One last reminder.  Unlock your bootloader first.  [Instructions]
2.  Download this file to your computer:  xoomroot.zip
3.  Extract the contents into your Android SDK Tools folder.
4.  Open a command prompt from within your Android SDK Tools folder.

*Make sure nothing is selected and hold SHIFT+Right click – select “Open command window here.”

5.  Type:  adb reboot bootloader
6.  Type:  fastboot flash boot rootboot.img
7.  Type:  fastboot reboot
8.  Wait for your device to reboot all the way.
9.  Type:  adb remount
10.  Type:  adb push su /system/bin
11.  Type:  adb shell ln –s /system/bin/su /system/xbin/su
12.  Type:  adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
13.  And now this next step you have a couple of options.

Option A:  Push Superuser.apk in adb.  Type:  adb push Superuser.apk /system/app

Option B:  Exit adb and download Superuser app from the market.

14. Enjoy being rooted!

All credit to @Koush for this magic.  Hat tip to @PeterAlfonso for some 1-on-1 help.

The Motorola XOOM bootloader has been easily unlocked using “fastboot oem unlock” and thanks to a bit of help from some key players (Koush, Pete, and Charlie) in the Android community, we’ve put together this simple guide for you.  If you run into issues, be sure to drop them in the comments.

Instructions:

*Warning 1* – This will void the warranty on your brand new XOOM.  It also means that you may not be able to upgrade to 4G LTE, but I can’t confirm that.

*Warning 2* – This will completely wipe and format your XOOM.  Many of you have had yours for a full day now, but it’s probably a good idea to do this now than after  you’ve had it for a month.

*Note* – This uses adb.  If you are into hacking on your Android devices at all, it’s time you learn at least some basic commands.  Not everything in this world is a 1-click breeze.

1.  Get the latest Motorola USB drivers.
2.  Get the newest Android SDK and install it.

*They’ve changed the location of some files from the Tools folder and placed them in Platform Tools.  Go into Platform Tools, copy everything, and paste it all in your Tools folder.

3.  Open a command prompt from within your Android SDK Tools folder.

*Make sure nothing is selected and hold SHIFT+Right click – select “Open command window here.”

4.  Type:  adb reboot bootloader
5.  Your XOOM will reboot into the bootloader showing “Starting Fastboot Protocol Support.”
6.  Type:  fastboot oem unlock
7.  Read the warning on your XOOM’s screen.
8.  You may have to tap Volume Down to switch it to “Accept.”
9.  Then press Volume Up to actually “Accept.”
10.  Once you accept, your XOOM will be unlocked and formatted.
11.  And now on to rooting instructions:  How to:  Root the Motorola XOOM.

+1 Motorola XOOM.