[Windows Phone 7 Development and Hacking] Heathcliff74:
Download: www.wp7roottools.com

Today I am proud to announce the immediate availability of WP7 Root Tools 0.9 alpha and WP7 Root Tools SDK 0.1!

WP7 Root Tools 0.9 brings true Root Access to devices with stock ROM's, but it also works on devices with custom ROM's and Full Unlock. Your device needs to be Interop Unlocked to use WP7 Root Tools!

This is still an alpha-release, because there are a lot of new hacks and the tools are still not feature complete! I have rewritten about 75% of all code from the previous release. So before you install WP7 Root Tools you should make a backup of your device. WP7 Root Tools will make changes to system settings and, although this has been tested, it is still possible that a problem occurs. In that case you want to have a recent backup of your device. Installing WP7 Root Tools will be your own responsibility. The author of WP7 Root Tools and the SDK cannot be held responsible for any damages caused directly or indirectly by installing and using WP7 Root Tools or the SDK!

Windows Phone is a closed system to protect the user and his/her personal data from malware and to protect the intellectual property of the developers. The downside of this closed system is that homebrew developers are very limited in their ability to control and tweak a Windows Phone device. With WP7 Root Tools I attempt to open up the system in a gentle way, so that users stay in control of their device, while homebrew apps can get more control to get the maximum power out of your Windows Phone device!

WP7 Root Tools 0.9 now has a File Explorer, Registry Editor, Certificate Installer and a Policy Editor! Thanks to true Root Access on Windows Phone, this new version of WP7 Root Tools will work a lot faster than previous releases and it supports a lot more devices!

WP7 Root Tools should work on these devices:

- Samsung first and second generation devices

- LG devices

- HTC first generation devices with Mango v1 drivers (SPL 4.x or lower)

- Samsung first generation devices with custom ROM and Full Unlock

- HTC first generation devices with custom ROM and Full Unlock

On devices with stock ROM's WP7 Root Tools need to install Root Access. The first time it runs, a 2-phase-installation will start. The app will inform you to start the first install-phase. Then the device will reboot after a few seconds. After the reboot you need to start WP7 Root Tools again immediately! Then the second phase of the installation will start and your device will be rebooted again. After the second reboot you are ready to use WP7 Root Tools. You can use the Policy Editor to give other homebrew app a "trusted" status. With this you will give the app Root Access privileges. So be very careful to which app you give Root Access!! You are responsible for giving access to an app! If you are not sure, read the forums to decide if an app is trust-worthy.

I also created an SDK, which developers can use to profit from Root Access. It provides a way to gain access to the filesystem and the registry (and more) from their managed Silverlight application. No need to worry about COM interop and C++ anymore! The package contains a read-me with short instructions. More details and examples will follow soon! Over the last days Rafael Rivera from the Chevron WP7 team has tested the SDK and he is finishing up the first homebrew app that will use my SDK. He is planning to release his Backup-app soon.

I also need to thank some people for making this possible:

- My wife! (for having to put up with me while doing all this hacking!)

- YukiXDA (for helping me with research on policies)

- Justin Angel (for sending me a NOKIA)

- Cees Heim (for supplying an HTC device for testing)

- Rafael Rivera and Chevron WP7 team (for pioneering WP7 Unlocking)

- HD2Owner (for helping me make custom ROM's for testing)

- fiinix (for helping me with research on policies)

- Ultrashot

- xb0xm0d

- AndrewSh

- Ondraster

- Barin

- Football

- Cmonex

- GoodDayToDie

- Jaxbot

- Dennis Wilson

I will update the guides and manuals on www.wp7roottools.com and here on XDA in the next coming days. I need some time to update all of it.

Have fun with Homebrew now!

Heathcliff74