I am getting my dads old razr m and want to root it. However it was through verizon and I am not sure what I need to do to get it rooted. I still want to have verizon service as that is the only sim I have. I just want to have it so that I can put something like cyanogen 12s on it. Also if you could find a tutorial to do this on linux, that would be great as all that I could find only worked with windows.
When messing with your device it is important to acknowledge the risk of brick.
The first place you should visit when modding your phone is xda. Here is the xda page for your phone:
If you updated past OTA 183.46.15 you can not unlock your boot loader. You can probobly root your phone with TowelRoot if you are on 4.4.2. You just run the app and if it is successful you install super su on the play store. If your running and earlier version of android you can try framaroot. Same thing just run the app. Note some antivirus programs flag it as a virus, its fine I have used it many times before. If you get it rooted you can install xposed framework and you can have a lot of fun with that. I would recommend you look around that xda page for your phone first before you do anything to your phone.
So my system version is 182.46.15 so it looks like i will be good on that front. Also I guess I should have said that I have my own Moto X 2014 and just got my dad's old phone to mess around with, so if I brick it, it won't be too bad. So is there a good way to unlock the phone now that I have an version that seems to be compatible?
I made a mistake, it is the 182/183.46.15 firmware that cannot be unlocked. You can still try to root it with towelroot or framaroot methods.
ya i guess i really dont need it to be unlocked as I will still be using a verizon sim.
Having a unlocked boot loader allows you to flash custom software like recovers or roms. Having your phone carrier unlocked allows you to use different networks with the phone. I think you really need to read up on modifying your phone before you do anything to your phone.
So basically I can't get cyanogen on my phone and will not be able to get a lollipop build for the razr m. Correct?
yes
well thats dissapointing
You get used to it. Hell my HDX decided to update to 4.5.2 and block all exploits of downgrading pre 3.2.8. Maybe someone developed safestrap for that firmware version? I downgraded to 3.2.8 and am stuck on Jellybean 4.2.2, but Xposed makes it easy to make Jellybean feel and look better than that materialistic Lollipop (I honestly don't care for MD).