New tool provides root access to Samsung WP7 devices

Homebrew hackers rejoice, a new tool has just been released into public alpha that has the potential to shake up the WP7 development community.

Heathcliff74, a member of the XDA forums, has made available for download a tool that allows for root access to parts of a developer unlocked WP7 handset. Currently, the tool functions only for Samsung devices only. However, according to WPCentral, root access to Samsung handsets has been a trouble spot for the homebrew community, so this is more of a breakthrough than a restriction.

While the tool will eventually contain a registry editor, a file explorer, and certificate stores, in the current alpha release only the registry editor is functional.

The developer also warns of slow performance in the current version, something that will be presumably addressed in future releases. You can read the original forum post [pasted below] here, where you can also find the download link.

What follows is Heathcliff74’s post on the matter:

Hi hackers!

This is the first release of a tool, that I’ve been working on for the past months. With this tool you get root-access to parts of your WP7 device. The first release only contains a registry-editor. The file-explorer and certificate stores will follow.

This tool is in alpha stage. That means that it is not feature complete and it is not yet properly tested. This tool also provides you with high privileges with which you can alter low level settings and data on this device. All this may result in unexpected and undesired behaviour, which may ultimately damage your device. Use this tool with care and use it at your own risk. The developer of this tool cannot be hold responsible for any kind of damages, caused directly or indirectly by using this tool.

The current version of this tool can only be used on Samsung devices. A small part of the code uses Samsung-specific functionality. The performance of the tool may sometimes be slow. This is the result of the way access to the system is elevated. The goal is to make this tool device-independent and to elevate access more directly in the future, but that requires more research.

To install this you need a developer-unlocked Windows Phone 7 device. For questions about unlocking your device, please refer to the appropriate threads.

If you have bug-reports or feature-requests, please give a full description.

If you like this, hit the “Thanks” button.

Ciao,
Heathcliff74