Monday 2 August 2010

How To: ROOT your Mini / Mini Pro ANDROID 1.6 (Newbie-friendly guide) exploid method

UPDATE 3: If you are running Android 2.1 please see these instructions for root instead

UPDATE 2: Refer to this post for a SIMPLER root for your Android 1.6 Mini X10

UPDATE 1: I have cleaned up the instructions + formatting

First and foremost, full credit to exploid and source.

If you have struggled to follow the steps found elsewhere then I am writing up these altered version of the steps with you in mind, hopefully you can smoothly ROOT your Mini Pro now.

Please follow each step carefully. These steps are to be carried out on a Windows XP, 2000, Vista or 7 computer (32/64 bit).

Note:
You are advised to have about 50% charge on the battery minimum, ideally much higher if not fully charged.
  1. Download exploid_x10mini.zip
    a.    Extract the ZIP file contents to C:\exploid_x10mini
  2. Download the Android SDK here
    a.   Open up the downloaded file and browse inside it to android-sdk-windows\tools\ -- now extract the entire contents of this folder to C:\exploid_x10mini

    IMPORTANT: Make sure the files have extracted properly, sometimes you may accidently end up extracting them to C:\exploid_x10mini\android-sdk-windows\tools\ - if this happens go in to C:\exploid_x10mini\android-sdk-windows\tools\ and move the entire contents to C:\exploid_x10mini\
  3. Download the Sony Ericsson PC Companion – do NOT plug the USB cable to your Mini Pro when it prompts
  4. On your Xperia Mini you need to enable USB Debugging:
    a.   Go to Settings > Applications > Development
    b.   Tick to enable: USB Debugging
    c.   Tick to enable: Stay awake
  5. You need the Power Control Widget enabled on a home screen for a later step, doing this now is best:
    a.   On the Home Screen press the Menu button (left button)
    b.   Select on Arrange Widgets
    c.   Find and select Power Control
    d.   Press the Back button to return to the home screen, you should be on the page displaying the widget
    e.   On this widget do a quick test, touch the left icon for wifi to enable/disable it to make sure it is working
    f.   ALTERNATIVE: Download a WIFI on/off widget and use that instead for the later stepg.

    IMPORTANT:
    Leave the WIFI turned ON – doesn’t matter if you are connected to an AP or not
  6. Plug the USB cable between computer and the Mini Pro. Windows should show a driver installation notification but ignore the state of the Sony Ericsson PC Companion, leave it running in the background
  7. Click on START and type CMD and press Enter. Alternatively Press the FLAG button + R and type CMD and press Enter.
  8. At the CMD command line type in all the RED TEXT as displayed below, the text in white should be similar to what you see happening after you type the red text and press Enter.


    C:
    cd c:\exploid_x10mini
    C:\exploid_x10mini>adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk
    * daemon not running. starting it now *
    * daemon started successfully *
    315 KB/s (38823 bytes in 0.120s)
    C:\exploid_x10mini>adb push su /sdcard/su
    1080 KB/s (22120 bytes in 0.020s)
    C:\exploid_x10mini>adb push exploid /sqlite_stmt_journals/exploid
    1049 KB/s (9672 bytes in 0.009s)
    C:\exploid_x10mini>adb push busybox /sqlite_stmt_journals/busybox
    1901 KB/s (1709832 bytes in 0.878s)
    C:\exploid_x10mini>adb shell
    $
    cd sqlite_stmt_journals
    cd sqlite_stmt_journals
    $
    chmod 755 exploid
    chmod 755 exploid
    $
    chmod 755 busybox
    chmod 755 busybox

    IMPORTANT: Immediately after the next command, you will need to disable and enable the wi-fi using the power control widget (from step 5) on the phone

    $ ./exploid
    ./exploid
    [*] Android local root exploid (C) The Android Exploid Crew
    [*] Modified by birdman for the DroidX
    [+] Using basedir=/sqlite_stmt_journals, path=/sqlite_stmt_journals/exploid
    [+] opening NETLINK_KOBJECT_UEVENT socket
    [+] sending add message ...
    [*] Try to invoke hotplug now, clicking at the wireless
    [*] settings, plugin USB key etc.
    [*] You succeeded if you find /system/bin/rootshell.
    [*] GUI might hang/restart meanwhile so be patient.


    Now turn Wifi OFF and back ON
  9. Now type in rootshell and press Enter
    a.   Enter this password rootnowb.   The prompt will change to # … you now have ROOT!
  10. Type the following commands, pressing Enter on the keyboard after each line:
    ./busybox cp /sdcard/Superuser.apk /system/app/
    ./busybox cp /sdcard/su /system/bin/
    ./busybox cp busybox /system/bin/
    chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
    rm /system/bin/rootshell
  11. Type exit – this will exit out of rootshell
  12. Type exit again – this will exit out of adb shell

    Your device is now rooted but lets verify this now:
  13. Type in adb shell and press Enter
  14. Type in su and press Enter – look at your Xperia Mini Pro screen – Superuser.apk should run on the phone and will ask whether to allow the root permission.Feel free to leave questions in comments if you get stuck or do not understand any of the steps.

83 comments:

  1. very elegant and much easier to follow than the original one. (although it seems i managed to do that one too ;) )

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  2. Fantastic, many thanks for the guide!

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  3. Is it possible to install Android V 2.2 on the X10 Mini (and Pro) after Rooting the phone?

    Thanks very much

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  4. When I run this command
    C:\x10mini\exploid_x10mini>adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk

    I get "Error: device not found"

    any ideas?

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  5. Thanks for the guide.
    As I told you in xda forums, I continue with the same problem. I follow all the steps and everything seams to go ok, but when I try it with su I get the "Permission denied" message, and the Superuser.apk doesn't run on my x10 mini.

    I have the Superuser.apk application installed in my phone, because I can see it in the apps menu, but it doesn't ask me for authorization when I use "su", and I get the "Permision denied"

    Thanks for the help and congrats for the blog.

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  6. everytime i try this it keeps saying that adb is not recognized as an internal or external command why is this ??????

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  7. "Is it possible to install Android V 2.2 on the X10 Mini (and Pro) after Rooting the phone?"

    -- Currently not possible with THIS rooting method. See another blog post I submitted after this tutorial, which explains more.



    "Error: device not found"

    -- Make sure you did step 3 and 4 properly, also you might want to check if your USB cable works, can you normally connect your phone to your computer and perhaps browse its contents?


    ""Permission denied" message, and the Superuser.apk doesn't run on my x10 mini."

    -- Have you enabled third-party apps on your phone? Have you tried doing the steps by copying and pasting the commands in to CMD? If not, try it - perhaps there is a typo you did accidentally.

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  8. "everytime i try this it keeps saying that adb is not recognized as an internal or external command why is this ??????"

    -- Check carefully for step 1 and 2, I think you may have extracted the adb files to the wrong place, they all need to be in the SAME folder as C:\exploid_x10mini

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. Thanks, I finally succeded. I restarted the phone to factory state (using PC COMPANION), then I followed the steps of the guide and I succeded. thanks for the help

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  11. Did everything right up to step 14, but it doesn't allow me to uninstall pre-installed apps like Edge, Peggle, Wisepilot. It says that it couldn't complete the uninstall process.

    Did everything a 2nd time but step 14 did nothing at all.

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  12. how can I do this on a Mac?

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  13. To MyName
    I will post a separate entry going over how to remove apps such as the pre-installed game demos, etc - it is done through the command prompt and not using the uninstall function from the Android menus.

    To iMac
    Why don't you try using DOSBOX if it works on your Mac? Perhaps setup a basic Windows XP virtual machine using VirtualBox or VMware? The tricky part my friend is that you need the SE PC Companion software for the drivers, so you kind of need the Windows environment to pull this off. Good luck.

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  14. Ok, I got through XDA:

    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=740338

    Piece of cake!

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  15. Nice and easy to follow. it worked great.

    Note: i did however do the whole thing without installing PC companion under vista x86. ???

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  16. Has anyone managed to do this on a x10 mini from Vodafone UK? -
    Seems pretty straight forward but i'm a bit nervous as the phone is only a week old.
    If it all goes wrong is there a way to reset to the factory defaults?
    Thanks in advance

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  17. some one help i get stuck at adb push exploid and all these other options come up

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  18. ok i got it to work thought you didnt type in the white part after but now when i get upto rootnow it never says you have been rooted and its been on # for 20 minutes now , what do i do now? help please

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  19. ok i didnt know # ment you had root lol i thought it changes. im done now thanks for the guide!!

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  20. Great blog, will follow all developments :)

    Have you had a chance to test this out yet?
    http://techie-buzz.com/mobile-news/x10-root-universal-androot.html

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  21. NEW & EASY WAY TO ROOT X10 MINI:)
    DOWNLOAD FROM
    http://www.mediafire.com/?572zc2x66st4prv

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  22. Great guide! Thanks!

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  23. help me please!!! I was trying to root my phone and everything went ok until the step in which i had to put "$ ./exploid" in the command line, after that i got amessage of "permission denied" after that i had to leave so I put exit twice until my command window closed. the phone was working as always but I turned it off that night. now it wont boot up. it does nothing, it doesnt charge, or display anything. if i press the power button for a couple seconds it vibrates slightly a sudden shock really. and thats it nothing else. please help!!!!!!

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  24. To jl.mendieta

    I have read a few others experiencing something similar. Leave the charger in your phone for about an hour, plugged to the wall socket and not a computers' USB port. Also you might want to try a factory reset by holding the Home button down and then turning the phone on. I cannot see what would have caused the phone to behave like this by just trying the root method unless you accidentally removed the USB cable at the wrong moment or something else affected the device. Try this for now and let us know how you get on.

    To HAR & Anonymous:
    I have tried this method to ROOT and it appears to work! Brilliant.

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  25. Worked like a charm.
    One thing though - you should color the second line of the 'adb push exploid' and 'adb push busybox' red as well.

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  26. FOR newbies & n00bs
    Do not try exploid method or FOTA method unless u know what ur doing
    Try Universal root from
    http://www.mediafire.com/?572zc2x66st4prv

    Flashing ROMS IS STILL UNDER PROCESS SO DONT TRY OUT ON UR OWN OTHERWISE U WILL END UP F***IN UP UR FONE!!
    BETTER METHODS FOR FLASHING R THEIR WAY!!!!!!!

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  27. Hi, all rooted fine. Great guide thanks!

    However, my reason for rooting was that I was hoping to see the Android Market icon now? My x10 mini pro was imported from China, where Google has no market presence and the icon is missing out of the box. Any ideas how I can add it now?

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  28. Figured it out, found the android market apk and pushed it as per above instructions. Works a charm...

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  29. everytime i put in $ chmod 755 exploid it says no such file found

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  30. when i write
    ./busybox cp /sdcard/Superuser.apk /system/app/
    in cmd its says

    ./busybox cp /sdcard/Superuser.apk /system/app/
    cp: cannot stat '/sdcard/Superuser.apk': No such file or directory
    help please

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  31. Awesome. Too easy, such a good blog.
    Linux rocks.

    Anonymous 13th Aug. Try ls /sdcard and see where Superuser.apk is. I mistyped it as Supreuser.apk.

    Just mv /sdcard/Supreuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk if you have the same issue.

    It is just simple linux commands.

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  32. Thanks for such a nice method. I have not tried it yet, but will do it in a couple of days. I have a question :

    " My main aim to root my Xperia X10 Mini Pro is to have the Android Market, because my phone was exported from Dubai, which has no Android Market. Will rooting up my xperia x10 mini pro solve this problem of activating Android Market on my phone?

    Thanks in advance !

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  33. Hi,

    thanks a lot for the superb procedure. Its easy and understandable.

    I have successfully rooted my xperia x10 mini pro u20i using your procedure. It works fine.

    Now i have two question:

    1)How to remove pre installed applications from this rooted xperia x10 mini pro u20i?

    2)Because my mobile was bought from UAE, it contains no android market, how to install android market on my xperia x10 mini pro u20i?

    thanks,

    Hassan

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  34. Hi,

    I got the pre-installed applications deleted I have used this procedure and it works:

    1) Using a rooted xperia x10 mini pro u20i enter adb shell
    2) use SU command
    3) adb shell mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock2 /system
    4)Delete the application required using:

    rm /system/app/roadsync.apk

    etc etc.
    5) to know the name of the exact name of the pre-insalled app use any file explorer e.g, AndExplorer and goto root/system/app to check the name of the application
    6) to verify that application has been removed goto settings applications and check

    thanks, Hassan

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  35. If i do this ,will it break warranty of mobile?

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  36. I think YES! But you can "unroot" it. (Google it)

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  37. pls help..i'm not really a computer literate. everytime i put adb push Superuser.apk/sdcard/Superuser.apk

    it always says:
    Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.26
    accompanied by the instruction of adb...

    plss help.. am i doing this correct?

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  38. Hi,

    Just check if you are following the instructions correctly,

    use adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk

    and the folder should be : C:\exploid_x10mini>

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  39. yeah I followed everything but when I type adb push Superuser.apk/sdcard/Superuser.apk I just get the list of commands that adb has.... what is going wrong?

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  40. try copy/pasting the text... you will notice you need a space before /sdcard...

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  41. Yeah that was it much thanks!

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  42. hello, is it possible to return the phone to the orignal settings after its been rooted...i want to do it but i am afraid that i would not be able to restore the orignal settings if needed..

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  43. hy . please help !

    i tried to do the adb shell, and it says device not found. what shld i do?

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  45. I got it all, but after i do ./exploid and turn wifi off immediatly after the command, it just does nothing and all i write after that is written double.

    Like,
    Adb shell
    Adb shell

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  46. Hello. Thanks for the easy step by step procedure. i have done the rooting properly. Now if I want to install some applications, how do I do that?

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  47. Hey,
    Does this method suppose to work on xperia x10 mini pro Android v 2.1 ?

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  48. Getting Permission denied on running the rootshell command!!
    Help me plzzzzz.....

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  49. I have just got an X10 mini pro. There is no android icon. I think it may have been imported :( Is there any way that I can get the android working so I can download apps? Please help. Thanks

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  50. Can i install applications into my mini pro from the computer and then install???.....please help....reply on my mail plz
    the_outlaw_44@yahoo.co.in

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  51. it would be great if you could show us via youtube. thanks

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  52. Hi RimA,

    Thanks for your very simplest and easily understandable tutorial.

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  53. Hi!

    The rooting worked well till I reached the rootshell command. The command line answer: "You don't have permission"

    I recently bought x10mini Pro Sim-locked to T-Mobile Hungary (sold as factory unlocked). Updated the software to Android 2.1, and I want to use at different service provider.

    Thanks for any help.

    Lou

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  54. exploid_x10mini.zip is infected with Exploit.Linux.Lotoor.f

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  55. still cant do the root. "adb" not recognized i already extract the files from tool to C:\exploid_x10mini

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  56. I have same problem
    This exploid_x10mini folder does not include adb file at all
    cmd doesn't recognize the command
    Is this folder corrupted?

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  57. Anybody who cannot run the ADB command please take a look at the "important note" in point number 2-A.

    Hope this helps!

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  58. HI i have the same problem as lajos

    lajos said "...The rooting worked well till I reached the rootshell command. The command line answer: "You don't have permission..."

    any suggestion or help?

    thanks!

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  59. I just want to confirm with all those having problems - are you running Android 1.6 or 2.1 ?

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  60. "adb" is not recognized as an internal command or external command,operable program or batch file.

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  61. any sulotion? i already use z4root app version 1.2 and 3. still nothing happens.. do i still need to downgrade my firmware. if yes. how will i downgrade it?

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  62. Guys if you are running 2.1 then this root method will not work, please see http://xperiaminipro.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-root-android-21-x10-mini-pro.html

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  63. Hi!

    I'm sorry, I'm REALLY a newbie so I tried this but whent I type "adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk" it says "'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.". What am I doing wrong? Thanks!

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  64. Yeah, I have the same problem: 'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

    I'm running 1.6

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  65. Thanks a lot for this wonderful guide. works like a charm!!! and I will aso would like to share some fixes I found to some common problems I´ve seen many (myself included) experienced.

    1)'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command

    This is because The adb tool is not there, has moved to platform-tools/ as explained on a .TXT file on the Tools folder you extracted fro the Android SDK. you need to launch the SDK and AVD Manager (the android tool)and install "Android SDK Platform-tools" then go to C:\Users\(your user)\AppData\Local\Temp\Rar$EX10.284\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools and copy the entire contents of the folder to C:\exploid_x10mini\
    (copying but maintaining both files if it asks to replace anything). once done just start again from Step 7 should work ok.

    2) if you get message of "permission denied" while trying to push the superuser app or any other file make sure the phone is not mounted as massive data storage to PC.

    One Last thing the instructions on how to remove pre-installed applications Also works like a charm. Thanks a LOT RimA and hope this also helps others =)

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  66. Follow the link to root your Xperia X10 mini pro
    and turn your mobile to wifi hotspot(works for android 2.1 update 1)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQF0cKrMpak

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  67. Sony Ericsson introduces the latest addition in the Xperia family, namely Xperia Mini and Xperia Mini Pro are trying to follow in the footsteps of success the previous mini-series.

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  68. in the red wriying i an not passing the second one help please

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  69. c:\exploid_x10mini>adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk
    'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
    operable program or batch file.

    c:\exploid_x10mini>

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  70. nothing happens when i run exploid and turn wifi off!
    should i get $ mark, a moment after running exploid ?

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  71. hi,
    How can i manually setup GPRS setting in my xperia x10 mini pro(u20i).

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  72. Thanks for sharing your info. I really appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your further write ups thanks once again.

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  73. My dowloaded files are not shownig completely on my xperia mini pro.files are showing as apk format or from where it is dowloaded for ex. Com.kiloo.subway..what should I do now...pls help me!!!

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  74. I feel pleasure to read the content that you are posting.
    benefits of rooting android

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  75. Thanks guys, for sharing such informative data.
    check it out

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  76. Help
    I have damage my USB in phone
    how i can root my phone with wi-fi or bluetooth ??

    Please help me

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  77. LOVE YOU....... WORKED 100% GooD WorK

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