This next fellow needs no introduction, as he’s relatively well known for hacking… a lot of devices. The name is Geohot, and I’m sure you recognize him.
He went to war with Sony some time ago for hacking the console and opening up the system to custom firmware and homebrew. If you don’t already know, homebrew is basically indie software and games made available for numerous systems. A lot of times, homebrew is installed on hacked devices, or devices that didn’t originally support custom software like the PS3, PSP and even Xbox console.
Geohot is also well known for jailbreaking the original iPhone.
It appears he’s back, but this time he’s moved into Android territory. He just published a root method for the new Galaxy S4 Active over at the XDA Developers forum.
Forum users actually started a collection, pledging money to entice a resourceful developer to root the Galaxy S4 Active for their benefit. Geohot responded to the independent root campaign and thus rooted his very first Android device. He released the application package to root the handset on his own website, where users can download it directly to their device. It’s called “activeroot,” and it’s quite convenient for Galaxy S4 Active users. They just visit the site, download the package to their device, and run the application to root their handset. Easy peasy.
Life does not play out without a little added drama, it seems. Some attest that Geohot was not the original source of the root exploit. Jcase, an Elite Recognized Developer at XDA has pointed out that the exploit actually surfaced earlier this year. Jcase offered some GitHub links to prove the exploit has been around for a while, and that it was discovered by someone else. As such, those same users have asked that Geohot share in the wealth and also provide credit to the original developer of the exploit.
All that aside, if you have a Galaxy S4 Active and you’d like to root your device hit up Geohot’s Activeroot site for the proper content. Hopefully, all of this geek drama will work itself out over time. No one likes to see a fellow geek get hurt.