If you’ve upgraded your Motorola XOOM to Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich from Android 3.x Honeycomb, you’d know that the upgrade has revoked root privileges on your device. Is it possible to regain root access on your Motorola XOOM that’s now running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich?

Yes, it is possible. In this article, you will learn how to root your Motorola XOOM running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and install ClockworkMod Recovery (if you have not done so as yet when you upgraded the device to Android 4.0.3).

As usual, use this guide at your own risk. Do not hold us responsible for any damage arising from your use of the information in this guide.

Requirements

This guide assumes that your Motorola XOOM doesn’t have ClockworkMod Recovery installed on it. ClockworkMod Recovery will be used for rooting your device. That being said, here are what you need to get started:

• Install the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to your computer. You can install ADB if you install the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) to your machine. Follow the official instructions here.
• You will also be needing fastboot.exe, along with adb.exe (which will be available after you install the Android SDK). If you could not find fastboot.exe in any of the folders where the Android SDK is installed, download fastboot.exe from here and save it within the same folder as adb.exe.
• ClockworkMod Recovery Image for Motorola Xoom
• Rooting files for the Motorola Xoom

Step-by-step Instructions

First, you’re going to flash ClockworkMod Recover to your tablet, then flash the rooting files to it via ClockworkMod Recovery. Here’s how to do all that:

1. Download the rooting package file for the Motorola XOOM. Save it to the root of your device’s SD card. Get the package here.
2. Download the ClockworkMod Recovery image from here and save it to your computer.  Rename the file as “recovery.img” (without the quotes).
3. Copy “recovery.img” into the folder where adb.exe and fastboot.exe are located. (Usually, these executables are inside the /tools or /platform-tools directory within the Android SDK installation directory.)
4. Turn off your Motorola XOOM.
5. Reboot your device into fastboot mode by holding down the Volume Down key and then pressing the Power button. (If that method doesn’t work for you, try this one: Turn off your tablet. Press the Power button to turn it on. When presented with the Motorola Dual Core boot screen, press the Volume Down key several times until you see “Android Recovery.” From there, select to boot into Fastboot.)
6. Once the device has booted into fastboot mode, connect it to your computer using a USB cable.
7. On your computer, open a command prompt in the directory where fastboot.exe and adb.exe are located. To do that, press and hold the Shift key, then right-click on the folder where adb.exe and fastboot.exe are located. Click “Open Command Prompt Here” and a command prompt window will open.
8. Type this command on the command prompt window: “fastboot flash recovery.img” (without the quotes) and press the Enter key.
9. Check that the recovery image has been flashed successfully. To do that, turn off your XOOM. Switch it back on. When presented with the Motorola Dual Core boot screen, press the Volume Down key several times until you see “Android Recovery.” Press the Volume Up key to boot into recovery mode.
10. Once the device is in recovery mode, make a nandroid backup first so that you will have something to fall back on in case the rest of the procedure fails.
11. After making a nandroid backup, you can now root your device by flashing the rooting files in recovery mode.
12. On the recovery mode menu, select “install zip from sdcard”, then select “Choose zip from sdcard”, and finally select “su-install.zip” (which you copied to the root of your SD card).
13. Wait for a few moments for the flashing process to finish.
14. Reboot your Motorola XOOM into normal mode.

Congratulations! You now have root access on your Motorola XOOM running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich. You can now enjoy full ownership over your device.

Related posts:

1. How to Root the HTC Desire S and Install Custom Recovery
2. How to Install Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 on your Motorola Xoom WiFi
3. How to Root Samsung Galaxy Note and Install CWM Recovery