While you were sleeping, noted ChromeOS hacker Hexxeh passed the night ripping apart the software guts of his Glass unit, and discovered a method for both getting shell, and root, on Google Glass. It started with him noticing a “debug” mode.
“heh, fun. There’s a “debug mode” option on Glass that appears to enable ADB access. I got a shell on my Glass 😀 (no root yet!)
— Liam McLoughlin (@Hexxeh) April 26, 2013”
In the process, he discovered that there is a simple OEM unlock method included in the software:
“looks like root is easy too: reboot-bootloader gives you fastboot oem unlock. There is fun to be had here…
— Liam McLoughlin (@Hexxeh) April 26, 2013”
Using ClockworkMod, motivated geeks could potentially use a similar method to rooting Android phones, by creating a custom recovery partition with the bootloader unlocked.
Previously, we’ve discussed how limited the initial Mirror API is; if roll your own ROM modding becomes the norm in Glass, we’ll quickly see that fall behind us as intrepid rooters push the limits of the hardware. Rooting and modding helped drive the growth of Android, and could be a catalyst to a more rapid adoption of Google Glass.
Are you digging into the technical specs and software behind Google Glass and want to share your findings? Send an email to news at livingthruglass dot com.
UPDATE: Googler Tim Bray checks in on the conversation:
“Yes, Glass is hackable. Duh. goo.gl/HQpLC
— Tim Bray (@timbray) April 26, 2013”