Yeah it says connected when tethered on my phone..just nothing on my laptop..but yet it finds the phone for windows media share..

Sounds like you go further in depth into you phone than i lol...i rooted my old droid 2 and installed gummy jar back then..i would still have it had i not fallen on the phone hunting lol...i just ge nervous loading custom roms..i really dont want to brick my phone...but i do plan on rooting...

What is the easiest way to root? And i need to create a back/restore point too right? Its been a while since i have done it

 

I know nothing of the subject

 

Ok??........

 

When I rooted my Optimus and put Gingerbread on it, I got a bunch of information from XDA-Developers - they also have a section for the Razr:

Motorola Droid Razr | xda-developers

I'm running the unofficial Cyanogenmod 7.2 rom from IHO BACKside on my phone and I'm loving it...

 

im a member of android forums but there are so many different ways to root i just wanted some opinions

 

XDA is the way to go. Pete's Root Tools should root the Razr just fine. Rooting will not brick the phone at all, it is automatic and all you need to do is check that USB Debugging is on and then plug in and hit root. As long as the proper Motorola mobility drivers are loaded anyway... Once you root you should install Clockwork and do a full backup. Really the only way to hard brick one of these phones these days is to eff with the voltages which I would not recommend. Even if you start to bootloop or softbrick it as long as you can get into the bootloader (directions are all online) you can do what is called a SBF which completely wipes EVERYTHING and reloads the entire VZW/Android programming that they come with from the factory. Its the same thing as formatting your entire computer and then re-installing an operating system from scratch.

And yeah I was pretty involved with that Epic. It is one of, if not the best phones I've ever had, I just didn't like not having insurance since it was bought used with a bad ESN for flashing to boost. Not so much not having insurance for me since I can just reflash another Epic or Evo, but if I'm deployed and my wife's Epic broke she'd be screwed until I got back or she'd have to mail me a phone and wait 2 weeks at least for turnaround. It was nice as all hell to pay $90 (would have got down to $70 eventually) for 2 lines that had unlimited EVERYTHING. I could rack up 5000 minutes calling landlines and never pay a dime extra... just no roaming so if I was ever out of range of an actual Sprint tower I would not get any service at all.

 

I got 4gb data plan. If I do this will it use my GB? I think it would.

 

Yes, any data you use will count toward your data limit.

 

The ICS roms for the RAZR don't have all the features that an official OTA will have. RAZR's are confirmed to get ICS, just don't know when.There is a leaked version of 4.0.3 that people are running with minimal complaints. You will have to root to run that also. I have OTA ICS 4.0.4 on my tablet and it's not anything spectacular compared to GB, which runs brilliantly on the RAZRs.

For something simpler, try FoxFi, Micah. It's a free wifi tethering app for non rooted phones. A wifi connection is typically faster than a USB connection anyway. I don't have any problems using it to get a connection for my Moto tablet or laptop. I have an unrooted RAZR Maxx

 

Also FWIW, Micah, there's a GB system update that started rolling out today to go from .173 to .181. Most of the changes are for social media interaction. I know there are some very small operational tweaks also. Nothing major, but you do have to stay current for any OTAs to stick.

 

actually i just downlaoded foxfi before i read your post and i am typing on my laptop right now lol..so it worked

 

Nice....

 

Any wifi tethering app used that bypasses the stock app will alert VZW. They put the hammer down some time ago on people using free wifi tethering, that's why the wifi tether app is no longer available in the market. People have had warnings and even accounts cancelled/etfs charged because of it. The ONLY way to free tether without them knowing about it is to change the NV items like I did on my D3. If you Google Droid 3 wifi tether hack you'll see the steps and it probably works on the other newer Motorola Androids but I am not sure and you may nuke a non D3 doing it... no idea. Anyway what it does in a nutshell is copy/paste the regular 3G NV item onto the tethering profile and something else. So instead of the phone knowing you are trying to tether it just thinks you are surfing on the phone itself or downloading something to the phone. This means there is no way for VZW to know because the phone itself has no idea it is tethering either.

 

I've read the scare stories, but have yet to hear from someone with first hand experience that any recourse was taken by VZW for these actions, and reasonable usage. I'm sure it's possible, but it just doesn't happen to the average user.

 

Its happened to people on XDA, TONS of ppl with the DX had it happen to them after TBH hacked the hotspot in 2010 and VZW got wise to it. You would not want to be one of the few it does happen to as it is a legal violation of your TOS. And yeah the only reason I do it is because, like I said, there is 0 way for them to see me tethering when I do it.

As for data plans, yes ANY time you are not on wifi or in airplane mode you are using data. 4GB will go away FAST especially if you are using LTE. There WAS a workaround for getting unlimited data about a month or two ago when VZW gave admin access to frontline techs in an effort to push more unlimited LTE hotspots to grandfathered unlimited customers. Problem was that the frontline techs were often untrained, unaware, or just did not care that when someone with a tiered plan asked for the unlimited hotspot it would automatically switch them to the old unlimited plan. I told a guy at work about it and it took him 5 tries with 5 different reps but the last guy he talked to pushed it through for him. Still has unlimited data on his Bionic and he's since removed the hotspot feature.

What I would recommend to anyone without unlimited data right now in the market for a new plan/phone/etc... go with Sprint or if you are close to your end of contract, consider them. VZW data tiering makes LTE pretty much useless for what it gives you which is FiOS like speed that allows you to tear through your pittance 2GB or even 4GB double data in a day. ATT is throttling EVERYONE still on unlimited and their 3G/4G HSPA+ gives basically the same problem as does T-Mobile although you get 5GB with them, have a prepaid option and only get throttled if you go over 5GB instead of charged more. Sprint is the last postpaid with unlimited data and the ONLY reason I am still with VZW is that I am grandfathered into it and everyone in my family has them so I don't burn up their minutes talking to them. Most of Sprint's phones come with the bootloaders unlocked, coverage is good, I never had a dropped call while I had boost (Sprint) and their 3G was finally as fast as VZW when I came back to VZW. 4G... they are rolling out LTE next year and Wimax is still active in major cities for 10+ MBPS downloads with a good signal.

And speaking of boost/virgin/cricket/metro etc... I'm beginning to think the prepaid carriers are going to be the way to go here in a few years if the incentives keep up especially with Android phones with half decent specs (Virgin has one that is basically a Droid X) available at reasonable prices. It was VERY nice to pay what I was paying for boost although I would not have used their service had I not been able to put a top of the line (at the time) phone onto the service...

Wow I got a bit off topic there... but these things are becoming a basic necessity and the phone companies know it. I know people who if you took away their iCrap, their whole world would literally come crashing down and that is a scary thing...