Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Root access - adb shell
A normal Android phone does not allow you to access certain directories and files on the
device. For example, try to access the
/data/data
folder on an Android device, which is
not rooted. You will see the following message:
C:\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb.exe shell
shell@android:/ $ cd /data/data
cd /data/data
shell@android:/data/data $ ls
ls
opendir failed, Permission denied
255|shell@android:/data/data $
On a rooted phone, you can run the adb shell as a root by issuing the following command:
C:\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb.exe root
restarting adbd as root
C:\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb.exe shell
root@android:/ # cd /data/data
cd /data/data
root@android:/data/data # ls
ls
com.adobe.flashplayer
com.adobe.reader
com.aldiko.android
com.android.backupconfirm
com.android.browser
Thus, rooting a phone enables you to access folders and data, which are otherwise not ac-
cessible. Also, note that
#
symbolizes root or superuser access while
$
reflects a normal
user, as shown in the preceding command lines.
