How to Root Amlogic S905 based MINIX NEO U1 Box in Windows and Linux

MINIX NEO U1 is a great device, but if you have some apps that require root access, the firmware is not rooted by default. AndroidPC.es just posted instructions to root the device in Windows, and I’ve also adapted Daemonium’s batch script for Windows as a shell script in order root the device from Linux. Please note that this will break OTA firmware update, so you’ll have to upgrade firmware manually after rooting.

The most steps are common between Linux and Windows

Enable Developer options, by going to Settings->Advanced Settings->About Mediabox, and click 6 or 7 times in the Build number section, until the new menu is enabled.
Go back once, and access Developer options to make sure USB debugging is enabled
Now go to Settings->Network to check and note your IP address (WiFi or Ethernet)
Download and extract AndroidPC.es_MINIX_NEO_U1_root_v01_Daemonium.zip

They also asked to install WiFi adb in your system, but I did not need to do so with the Linux procedure, and it’s likely not needed on Windows either.

Windows remaining instructions:

Run root_u1.bat script with NEO U1’s IP address as argument (e.g. 192.168.1.99)
Press Enter when asking to continue, and the system will install the necessary files located in root directory
The system will then automatically reboot and MINIX NEO U1 should be rooted

Linux remaining instructions:

Download root_s905.sh shell script and copy it into the same directory as root_u1.bat
Run the script as follows with your device’s IP address as argument:

chmod +x root_s905.sh ./root_s905.sh IP_address

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chmod +x root_s905.sh
./root_s905.sh IP_address
Press Enter when asked if root access via adb is successful, and the script will copy the files on your system, and reboot it automatically
MINIX NEO U1 should now be rooted.

Both Windows and Linux scripts might also work with other devices, but they required adb root to provide a shell script with root access, which won’t be the case for all firmware.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.