How to root Motorola DROID 4 on Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2)

Android 4.1.2 has come to the Motorola DROID 4, while some users were a bit disappointed with the latest OTA as they received quite a lot of problems that they experienced after the update, but there are still many users who want a Jelly Bean running on their devices.

And for those who have rooted before, installing latest JB OTA will remove your device’s root files and you will lose the ability to run apps that require root access. Such things happen because during installation operation our device’s system partition will be wiped, so superuser app and su binary will be gone.

But it seems we’re blessed, Dan J. Rosenberg (djrbliss) a talented developer, has built a root exploit for the DROID 4 running Jelly Bean update. Originally he created this exploit for Droid Razr on JB, but surprisingly this exploit can also work nicely on our smartphone.

Update!! Root Verizon DROID 4 98.72.18-9 or 98.72.18-8 root – latest OTA update, head to this post.

For those who want to get root on the DROID 4 running Android 4.1.2 firmware, here are the steps you need to look at.

1. 1. Make sure your phone has the latest drivers, in case your PC was installed with outdated drivers the root exploit will not recognize your device. Set up Motocast or Motorola Device Manager (MDM) to get the latest USB drivers.
   1. Another requirement in order to run the exploit is to enable USB debugging in Settings -> Developers option.
   1. Enable Unknown source in Settings -> Security, to allow root exploit putting a Superuser app.
   1. Grab RAZR Blade exploit by djrbliss, and then extract the zip into your PC using Winzip/Winrar/7zip.
   1. Open “razr_blade” folder and then run the exploit by double clicking “run.bat” (Windows Batch File) and a CMD window will show up.
   1. Connect your phone to the PC via USB cable, and then follow the onscreen instruction carefully.
   1. When you get a success message, now you have rooted DROID 4 on Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2) update.
   1. When necessary you can verify root privileges by installing Titanium Backup or any other apps that require root access to operate.