Rooting a Motorola XOOM Android Tablet

Rooting your Motorola Xoom allows you to access the root file system of your device and run privileged commands that are unavailable to standard users. Android is based around Linux and has security features that prevent the average user from accessing areas of the file system that are critical to normal operation. Rooting enables you to install custom ROMs, remove bloat-ware and use powerful applications that require super user access. This method of enabling super user access will work for any Xoom tablet, including the EU and 4G versions.

Open "Settings" on your Xoom tablet, then open "Developer Options" and check the box for "USB debugging." USB debugging allows your computer to send commands over USB to your Xoom.

Download and install the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) (link in Resources) to the root of your C:\ drive; e.g. C:\SDK_Tools. Download and extract SDK_Tools.zip (link in Resources) to C:\SDK_Tools.

Enter "cmd" into the search box of Windows 8 to open a command prompt. Navigate the command prompt to the Android SDK folder using the command "cd" to change directories. For example, "cd C:\Android SDK" (without the quotes) will change the directory to C:\Android SDK.

Type "adb.exe" in the command prompt and then press "Enter." Connect your Xoom with your computer with the USB cable. Type "adb devices" into the command prompt and then press "Enter." Verify that your Xoom tablet is listed.

Download Xoom-Universal-Root.zip (link in Resources) and copy the file to your Xoom's internal storage. Download recovery-Tiamat-R4c-100511-1150-cwm.img (link in Resources) and copy the file to your Xoom's internal storage. These files modify the recovery image of the Xoom.

Type "adb reboot bootloader" into the command prompt and press "Enter" to reboot the Xoom into bootloader mode. Type "fastboot oem unlock" into the command prompt and press "Enter" to unlock the Xoom's bootloader. Type "fastboot reboot" into the command prompt and press "Enter" to reboot the tablet.

Type "adb reboot bootloader" into the command prompt and press "Enter" to get back into bootloader mode. Type "fastboot flash recovery recovery-Tiamat-R4c-100611-1150-cwm.img" into the command prompt and press "Enter." This will load a modified recovery image to your Xoom, enabling you to perform new actions on the tablet's file system, such as installing zip packages.

Reboot your Xoom by holding down the volume up and power button when the recovery image finishes installing. Wait for the Motorola logo to appear, count to three, then press the volume down button. This button combination causes the Xoom to boot into recovery mode.

Press volume up or volume down to highlight "Install zip from sdcard" and press the power button to select. Press volume up or volume down to highlight "Choose zip from sdcard" and press the power button to select. Press volume up or volume down to highlight "Xoom-Universal-Root.zip" and press the power button to select. Wait for the root file to install. When your Xoom reboots, your tablet is rooted.