Last Updated on July 23, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake
Sometimes smartphone companies don’t brand their devices smartly. It’s fine for them who can correct their mistakes in the future, but when it comes to the end-user looking up help guides, things get tricky. You must understand that there are two generations of the Motorola Moto X. The second was originally labelled the Moto X+1, but later changed to Moto X 2014. That follows from the first-generation with the original Moto X name. The guide we are presenting to you today is for the original first-gen handset and not this years model. You can verify the model number by turning the phone on and stopping over at the “Settings” application followed by “About Device.” Now view the model number and verify that is says XT1052. That’s the number we are using today. If yours is a different number this is not the guide for you.
You must update the phone to Android 5.0 Lolliop before starting the steps. The mobile comes pre-loaded with Android KitKat. Therefore, the out of the box software is not the software for this guide. Do not attempt to unlock the devices system internals if you are using KitKat since it can soft-brick the handset. That requires a fresh guide likely from the XDA Developers forum.
Android 5.0 Lollipop comes with lock screen notifications, Material Design UI, ‘Recents’ multi-tasking feature, Quick Settings menu toggles, multi-user support, battery saving move, Android Runtime, OpenGL ES 3.1, Google Now menu enhancements, screen pinning and a great deal more. It advances well past it’s predecessor in KitKat, so you will have no issues differentiating the two.
The XT1052 comes from AT&T, US Cellular, Sprint, Verizon, Alltel in the US and many others around the world. Motorola originally were not releasing this smartphone outside of the United States, but they later changed their minds. We know it did extend to other parts including Australia.
We know you love your phone and are enthusiastic to get down to installing the file for unchaining the internal hardware away from the default factory restrictions, but first you must read through the list of essentials. Let’s start with backing up since it’s the most important part.
Details of Note
- Nobody wants to lose any data after following a guide such as this. That’s why it’s imperative you use a service such as Google Drive for backing up the phone. You want to store all the data that you added after opening the phone out of the box. That data includes phone contacts, SMS texts, MMS messages, call logs, videos, pictures and music files. backup the music your usual way using the computer. You don’t want to download all of those songs again. There are many applications available from the Google Play Store to help you make copies of the rest of the data. The apps include Helium, Titanium for those of you who already have root access, Holo, G Cloud and more. use SMS backup+ to store the text messages you don’t want to misplace.
- Now that we have backing up out-of-the-way, you must find yourself a computer. You want to use a Windows computer since we are installing a Windows-based file. Use the obvious choices from Windows XP and up. Moreover, you want to find the USB cable that comes with the phone out of the box. We are using the same cable for connecting the smartphone to the computer.
- Correspondingly, before starting the steps, you want to stop all security programs from running. Stop the antivirus, malware protection and spyware protection on the computer and the Android operating system. It comes in application form from the Android handset.
- You must have the up-to-date USB Drivers. Most of you have these already so you don’t need to do anything. Some of you should visit the official website and find the files. If you connect the smartphone to the computer and you can get access to the data files you know the drivers are working perfectly.
- The Moto X comes with the USB charging feature by default. Nevertheless, you want to reserve battery power if the USB charging feature doesn’t operate. Most of you will find it working and such as don’t need to worry about anything since we are connecting to the computer for most of the guide. For those that don’t have it working, however, you want to have at least 50% battery power before starting. You can check the battery level by looking at the battery icon present from the Status bar.
- We rate the steps as right for intermediate levels. You don’t need to be an Android expert to follow it, but we recommend having some experience since tinkering with the OS always comes at a price. You will void the rest of the manufacturer’s warranty by installing the files. Android and Motorola do not permit the operations we are performing. That’s why when you have an issue with the phone at a later date they won’t bother to look at it for you. You can remove the root access and return the phone back to stock firmware without any custom ROM operating and the flash counter will return to zero. That way they won’t know you previously tinkered with the operating system and they will help you with repairs.
- You must visit the Settings menu from the mobile and enable the USB Debugging mode from the Developer Options menu. The menu is only hiding if you are using a version of Android Jelly Bean. Nobody should follow the steps presented here today unless you are using Lollipop. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about letting people know how to unlock the menu. Anyhow, I’ll quickly tell you that you must tap the build number seven times from the About Device menu. Now you can return to the settings menu and the Developer options is sitting there ready for your fingers.
How to root the Motorola Moto X (first-generation) On Android 5.0 Lollipop
- Download the CF-Auto-Root-ghost-ghostretgb-xt1052.zip here.
- Extract the contents to the desktop of the computer.
- Boot the Moto up in bootloader mode.
- Hold the Volume Down key and press the Power button at the same time to enter bootloader mode.
- You want to make sure you have the up-to-date USB drivers for the next step.
- Connect the Moto to the computer using the USB cable.
- Run the executable root-windows.bat file you have on the desktop.
- A set of on-screen instructions are popping up. Follow them.
- Do not touch any buttons or keys until the flashing finishes.
- Click the “safely remove hardware” icon from the Windows system tray and stop the USB Mass Storage device.
- Unplug the Moto and you are done.
That’s all.