Yesterday, Dan Rosenberg published the first Motorola bootloader unlock method in history. It was an epic moment for the rooting and development community on Android, as no one had been able to accomplish anything close to this for what seems like an eternity on a Motorola device since they started locking them down back in 2010. There was one problem though, the bootloader unlock worked on devices like the DROID RAZR HD, RAZR M, and Atrix HD as long as you were rooted before you updated to Android 4.1.2. For many of you, especially those with a RAZR HD or RAZR MAXX HD who received the most recent 4.1.2 update, you were out of luck. 

Well, Dan has returned again with another present – root for Android 4.1.2 and more. This method not only works on the RAZR HD, RAZR M and Atrix HD, but it should work on a variety of Motorola devices (until Moto patches it). So for those of you who were unable to unlock bootloaders yesterday, you now have the option to.

Keep in mind there is all sorts of risk involved, namely in relation to warranties. If you unlock the bootloader of your phone, your warranty is gone.

The instructions were posted up at DroidRzr.com, but we have included them below for you as well.

Instructions:

1. Download this file to your PC.
2. Extract the entire contents of the zip file.
3. If you are using Windows, ensure you have installed the latest Motorola USB drivers available for your phone.
4. Ensure USB Debugging mode is enabled on your device.
5. If you are using Windows, navigate to the extracted directory and execute “run.bat”. If you are using Linux or OS X, navigate to the extracted directory in a terminal and execute “./run.sh”.

On a related note, Dan has announced that he is done trying to find exploits in Motorola devices as they have become increasingly difficult and time consuming. He urges you to consider your future purchasing decisions based upon the dev-friendliness of phones rather than waiting or expecting methods like his to be released by the community.

Via:  DroidRzr

Root Method Released for DROID RAZR HD Running Android 4.1.2, Other Devices Too is a post from: Droid Life

Yesterday, news broke that Dan Rosenberg (@djrbliss) had unlocked bootloaders for a handful of Motorola devices including the DROID RAZR HD, RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR M, and Atrix HD, all of which are powered by Qualcomm chipsets. Today, he has released that same unlock tool so that you can free your phone from Motorola and Verizon’s clutches.

We should point out that you cannot re-lock the phone after using this tool (at this point), and it does indeed void your warranty. Also, Motorola can more than likely patch this in a software update, so you may want to weigh your options here before long. It’s risky from a warranty and replacement standpoint to say the least. As always, proceed with caution.

You definitely need to be rooted ahead of time, prior to using this tool. For those with a RAZR HD running Android 4.1.2 (the newest update), root has not been gained yet so you are out of luck for now. I can’t imagine that this won’t ever be rooted, but again as of today, there is no root method.

Update:  Dan released a root method for Android 4.1.2 that can be found here.

As we mentioned yesterday, this method does not work on OMAP powered phones, including the original RAZR, Bionic, and DROID 4. Do not attempt to use this on any of those phones.

Below, we have the basic instructions and notes from Dan. 

A couple of warnings:

1. You understand that using this tool will permanently, irreversibly void your device’s warranty.
2. You understand that it may not be possible to “relock” your device’s bootloader after unlocking using this tool. A side effect of this is that if you lose your device and you are not using disk encryption, a malicious party who acquires your phone may be able to extract all personal data from the device regardless of any lock screen.
3. You agree that I am in no way responsible for any damage to your device as a result of using this tool.

Instructions:

*It requires that your device has been rooted and that the “su” binary has been properly installed.

1. Download this file to your computer.
2. Extract the entire contents of the zip file.
3. If you are using Windows, ensure you have installed the latest Motorola USB drivers available for your phone.
4. Ensure your device has been rooted and you have a working installation of “su”.
5. Ensure USB Debugging mode is enabled on your device.
6. If you are using Windows, navigate to the extracted directory and execute “run.bat”. If you are using Linux or OS X, navigate to the extracted directory in a terminal and execute “./run.sh”.

Note – If you are interested in reading exactly how Dan managed to find this exploit (all of the technical madness), he has written up an entire post about it over at Azimuth Security.

Via:  Vulnfactory

Motorola RAZR HD, RAZR M, and Atrix HD Bootloader Unlock Released (Updated) is a post from: Droid Life

This is not a joke, nor is it April Fools’ Day 2.0. Dan Rosenberg, aka @djrbliss (the man that roots all things Moto), has apparently unlocked the bootloaders of many of Motorola’s recent releases, including the RAZR HD (MAXX HD too), Atrix HD, and RAZR M. We heard this was coming down the pipeline, but he’s asked a couple of testers over at DroidRzr.com to give his method a shot. Sure enough, at least two confirmed unlocked bootloaders have happened (pictured above and below).

The method has not yet been released, but likely will before long, maybe even before the day is up. This method will not work on OMAP phones like the Bionic or original RAZR.

After years of failed attempts at cracking Motorola’s encryption, the time may have arrived. Stick with us, we’ll be following this closely. 

Update:  Our buddy Matt Groff sent over this video to show proof that his Atrix HD is indeed unlocked now. Also, we’ve been told that the public release likely won’t happen until tomorrow.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 2:  I’ll just leave this here.

Update 3:  The bootloader unlock tool has been released.

Via:  DroidRzr

Cheers M!

Bootloader Reportedly Unlocked on the DROID RAZR HD, RAZR M, and More (Updated) is a post from: Droid Life

This morning, Motorola has announced their plans to release an Atrix HD Developer Edition device for everyone who needs this phone with an unlockable bootloader. Of course, Moto is very upfront about the dangers and risks of unlocking the device and mention that it will most certainly void your warranty. No word on price or exact launch date yet, if you were even curious.

To be first in line for the device once it is released, sign up for updates here.

Via: Motorola

Motorola Announces Atrix HD Developer Edition, Unlockable Bootloader is a Go is a post from: Droid Life

I have had the Motorola Atrix HD in my possession since early July, but since the Galaxy S3 launched at a similar time, it had to be put aside for a while. Now that things in the Android world have cooled off, it seemed like a great time to revisit the third edition of AT&T’s semi-successful Atrix line. By no means do Motorola or AT&T expect this phone to blow minds and take over the game, however, there are some interesting new features that stick out that we felt were necessary to talk about, knowing that Motorola and Verizon have something special planned for September 5. 

The Good:

• Specs:  The specs for the Atrix HD are impressive for the most part. It sports a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (assuming it’s a Snapdragon S4), 4G LTE, a 4.5″ HD ColorBoost LCD display, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, expandable storage to 32GB, and it runs Ice Cream Sandwich. On paper, it should be one of Motorola’s most powerful and impressive devices to date. Unfortunately, I can’t brag about how great the performance is, something I’ll touch on down below.
• Display:  This is by far, the best display we have seen from Motorola in a couple of years. It’s HD, not PenTile, has a crazy high 330ppi, and looks fantastic with this ColorBoost technology. There are no shared pixels, something you can see in the macro shot below. I also compared it at full brightness to the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S3 to show you the difference in tech. Bright colors seem to really pop on the LCD HD of the Atrix, a descriptive term we usually reserve for Super AMOLED displays. When looking at something with much more naturally coloring though, the device to me, seems to tone it back down.

• Build:  Motorola has always built some of the higher quality phones on the market. The Atrix HD is no different, in fact, it feels just like the DROID RAZR which was another solid phone. Buttons are all placed well (lock switch on the side, thank you!), the soft-touch kevlar backing is their best yet, and there aren’t any creaky noises when using it, unlike the Incredible 4G LTE. I wouldn’t say that this design is going to win any awards, as it has become sort of tired, but again, it feels just as good as any other Moto phone.
• Camera:  The 8MP camera on the Atrix HD is solid. Depending on the lighting, some of the photos I took appear a bit washed out, but for the most part, I thought they came out looking decent. In low light, things get a tad grainy, but on what smart phone do they not? The shutter itself is incredibly fast. Motorola gives you their standard set of options, however, it does appear to be missing a macro option, which is disappointing. Overall though, the camera in the Atrix was as good, if not better than those that were in any of Motorola’s previous phones.

• Newest MotoBlur:  In the latest version of MotoBlur (skin on top of Android), Motorola has changed it up quite a bit. It still looks mostly like stock Ice Cream Sandwich aside from the new way that Moto has chosen to organize home screens. When you first boot the phone up, you only have one home screen to play with. If you want more, you swipe to the right and are greeted with a page that asks what kind of page you would like to create. From here, you will find pre-set pages to choose from or you can simply go with a blank one. It’s a move I’m a big fan of. Gone are the days when Motorola would load up 7 home screens with spam and bloatware that could potentially overwhelm customers – in is the minimal goodness. Motorola also created interactive icons with previews. If you check out this post, you’ll understand what we mean and why we are fans. Blur has quickly become one of our favorite Android skins after being in the doghouse for so long.

• Price:  At $99 on a 2-year contract, AT&T priced this phone right. It has almost all of the goodies you could ask for in a new smartphone, including a beautiful HD screen. It should get you through two years without slowing down into a massive pile of junk. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this phone was discounted to FREE before too long, especially now that the HTC One X, a superior phone, is sitting at the same $99 price point.
• Storage:  Motorola only tossed in 8GB of internal storage, but they also gave you a microSD slot so that you can add removable storage, should you need more. Google and their Nexus devices have gone away from the microSD slot movement, so we are always pleased when we see other OEMs stick to them. This day and age, you can fill up storage pretty quickly with high-res photos, HD videos, and music collections.
• On-screen Navigation Buttons:  Thank you, Motorola! We have loved on-screen navigation buttons ever since Google introduced them with the Galaxy Nexus last year, so to see other OEMs finally start to make them standard, makes us happy. Sure, they tend to take up a few pixels while navigating around, but they hide during important screen usage, aka while watching videos. They also helped shorten up the chin on this device when compared to something like the DROID RAZR.

The Not-so-Good:

• Performance:  As I mentioned earlier, the Atrix HD has all of the specs to be able to perform with the best of them. Unfortunately, during my time with it, it failed to live up to my expectations. The Snapdragon S4 is the processor that has taken over the world this year because of its power and efficiency, however, I notice stuttering and jitters on this phone all of the time. Swiping between screens is fluid for the most part, but even when swiping through pages in the app drawer, I noticed a jerky experience. It’s also slow to load apps, switch tasks, and sometimes requires multiple presses on icons before anything will happen because it’s processing other things in the background. In 2012, with the amount of power at a smartphone maker’s fingertips, there should be no lag. The Atrix HD did not pass the test.
• Battery Life:  The battery life on the Atrix HD has been all over the board. It sports a 1780mAh battery, so it’s not the 3300mAh beast that is in the RAZR MAXX. On my first couple of charges, I was unable to get through an entire day, as you can see in the screenshot below. After setting the phone down for a month and picking it back up yesterday, I’ve noticed a slight improvement, but nothing to write home about. In fact, the phone completely died overnight, even though I left it with about 40-50% of a charge. When it comes to a smartphone, I want one that manages power much better than this.

• Design:  This design is old and tired. It was interesting and sort of cutting edge with the DROID RAZR on Verizon, last year, but it’s not impressing anyone this year. HTC and Samsung continue to impress with their phone designs skills – Motorola, not so much.
• Keyboards:  Both keyboards on the Atrix HD are two of the worst I have ever used. It comes loaded with a slightly tweaked stock Android keyboard (basically has been elongated) and Swype, both of which struggle at all times. The stock keyboard can’t keep up with quick typing, plus the elongated buttons make it a challenge if you are coming from another phone. Swype on the other hand, works well if you like to swipe words, however, as always, it can’t keep up with quick typers. I personally, would ditch both and invest in Swiftkey immediately, should I ever find myself stuck with the Atrix HD.

• No NFC:  If you were hoping to get into the NFC and mobile payments game with your next smartphone, skip the Atrix HD, as it does not contain an NFC chip. It’s unfortunate, especially as we near the end of 2012 and mobile payments are bound to be our future. They had to cut somewhere to keep the price down, right?

Unboxing and Quick Look:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gallery:

The Verdict:

The Atrix HD is a solid mid-range phone. At $99, it’s priced right, however, with the HTC One X now selling for that same $99, it would be hard for me to recommend this to anyone on AT&T. The One X remains one of the top 5 Android phones on the planet, while the Atrix HD was never going to hit that status. Again, it’s a fairly polished phone, but there are others at this price point that can beat it.

Motorola Atrix HD Review is a post from: Droid Life

The clock widget from the Atrix HD that we featured yesterday, has apparently been pulled from a device and is available for you to download. The clock itself is interactive, showing you time, weather in multiple cities, and your battery and data plan percentages. It’s easily one of the better clock widgets we have seen in some time. If it sounds like something you would love to have on your device, then jump at the download link below. 

*We should point out that in order to use this clock widget, you have to install the home launcher from the Atrix HD. You also have to use the home launcher from the device to or the clock will error out.

Download:  AtrixHDWidgets.zip

Instructions:

1.  Unzip the .apk files from the .zip.
2.  Install all three apps.
3.  Launch the Atrix HD launcher and add the circle clock as a widget.

Via:  DroidRzr

Cheers Guanhao and Matt!

Clock Widget From Atrix HD Pulled, Installable on Your Device is a post from: Droid Life

Motorola’s first HD phone for the U.S. market, the Atrix HD, has arrived at our doorstep. Launching in stores on July 15, you can pick one up for $99 on 2-year contract. With its 4.5″ HD ColorBoost display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP camera, and 4G LTE radio, that sounds like a steal to me. The look is clearly reminiscent of the RAZR series from Motorola, but since it has on-screen navigation keys, that HD display, and a Snapdragon processor, it performs quite a bit differently. 

In just the short amount of time that I’ve had with it today, I can say that this phone feels amazing in hand. When I first booted up, I almost didn’t think it had a battery inside because of the light weight. The on-screen navigation keys are also a bonus for Android enthusiasts, but the true star here is the display. I’ve already taken a macro shot of it which I’ll post up in a bit. The colors just seem extra vibrant even though it’s not an AMOLED display. We are still waiting to find out all of the details behind this ColorBoost technology, but so far I can admit that I’m a fan.

The device runs Android 4.0.4 and has a new version of MotoBlur on it that has already shown us a couple of surprises. Again, I have only had the phone in hand for about an hour, but I’m liking what I’m seeing.

Unboxing and First Look:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gallery:

Motorola Atrix HD Unboxing and First Look is a post from: Droid Life

The Motorola Atrix HD is in our hands (unboxing is on the way) and ready for us to take it for a spin. The device itself is running Android 4.0.4, but of course, has Moto’s custom Blur skin on top of it. While many of you have expressed your colorful opinions over Blur, we noticed immediately with this version on the Atrix HD, that there are some new goodies that were worth sharing. 

First up is the new clock widget that is fully interactive. We have seen other widgets copy this skin to mimic the look, but if you have yet to play with the real thing on a Motorola device, then you probably didn’t know that it’s live at all times. You can actually flip each circle to see a different clock, weather from additional cities, your data plan, and even battery life.

Second, can you see the little arrows next to some of the icons in the screenshot on the left? Those are live icons (at least that’s what I’m calling them) that allow you interact with them. With a simple swipe up or down, they display a preview from the app. For example, with the phone icon, a swipe gets you a preview of your most recently missed or placed calls. If you swipe the email icon, you get a preview of your inbox. Swipe the text message or browser icon and you also get live previews.

We are still diving into this new Blur and the Atrix HD, so stay tuned as we will undoubtedly have more.

Click here to view the embedded video.

New MotoBlur on Atrix HD Introduces Live Icons and an Awesome Clock Widget is a post from: Droid Life

Motorola has been promising a tool for developers to unlock the bootloaders on their phones for a long time now. So long in fact, that we have pretty much given up hope of ever seeing another Moto phone like the OG Droid which was the hacker’s paradise. Anyone who was hoping that the new AT&T Atrix HD would have an unlockable bootloader is going to be sadly let down, it’s locked and encrypted like all the other ones, but Moto took to Twitter to say that it might not be locked for long or that they potentially have an option on the way. 

It’s been almost a year and a half since Motorola originally said they would partner with developers to work out some kind of solution and still we have nothing. HTC has been doing fantastic things with their HTCDev website and that just serves to show how backwards Moto is being about the whole thing. Do you think we will ever see this developer unlocking tool? Or is it too late for Moto to catch up?

Via: Android Police

Motorola Still Promising Bootloader Unlock Tool, This Time With AT&T’s Atrix HD is a post from: Droid Life

This morning, Motorola made the Atrix HD official, a phone that was prematurely outed on their own website last week. As expected, the Atrix HD sports a 4.5″ HD display with ColorBoost technology, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, 1GB RAM, 1780mAh battery, 8GB internal storage, expandable storage up to 32GB, runs Ice Cream Sandwich and AT&T’s LTE all in a slim 8.4mm body.

As we mentioned after first reporting the landing page for it that popped up on Motorola’s site, the Atrix HD is by no means a top tier phone nor do they expect it to be. This is clearly directed at the “price conscious” crowd that still wants a powerful phone. It’s like a regular DROID RAZR, but with an HD screen. The big dog from Motorola is still yet to come.

Atrix HD will be available on July 15 at AT&T for $99 on 2-year contract.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Motorola Announces the Atrix HD – 4.5″ HD Display and LTE Headed to AT&T for $99 on Contract is a post from: Droid Life

Sooooo, yeah. Motorola apparently thought it was time to post up the Atrix HD in all its glory on their official website. We are a little confused because we can’t recall seeing an actual announcement for the phone, however, the mobile and full landing pages for it are live right now, if you are interested in checking it out.

According to Motorola’s own site, it is definitely headed to AT&T with an LTE radio inside (logo on front), has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera, 1.3MP front camera, 4.5″ HD LCD display with ColorBoost, on-screen navigation keys, 1780mAh battery, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, up to 32GB of external storage, is 8.4mm thick, and runs Ice Cream Sandwich.

The model number is listed as MB886. For those not familiar with Motorola’s model number naming scheme, anything in the 900s has been reserved for their top tier line in the past. That doesn’t necessarily mean that this phone is some slouch, being in the 800s and all.

Via:  Motorola [2]

Cheers Antony!

Motorola Atrix HD Landing Page Pops Up, Gives Us the Full Spec List is a post from: Droid Life