Like many Cliq XT owners (TMO), I got tired of everyone in the world getting a newer OS except me…even the Cliq owners got 2.1 this past month, but Cliq XT didn’t. Yeah, well, enough of that crap. Here’s how I rooted and upgraded my Cliq XT:

1. Root the phone – instructions here
2. Install Recovery image – instructions here
3. Download ROM zip file (leave as ZIP file!) and copy to root of SD card – instructions here
4. Boot the phone into recovery mode (power button + camera button)
5. Backup your current ROM – instructions here
6. Choose *** WIPE ALL *** (very important, this step must be done before the new ROM is loaded or it will continually try to restart itself.
7. Choose Install Zip option and choose the ROM you installed in the sdcard root
8. Choose Reboot system

After restart, was prompted to set up MotoBlur. Chose existing account, entered creds, and it said there was a problem with the clock, to contact customer support.

Restored backed up ROM and tried again, making sure to *** WIPE ALL ***, and it worked! There are many Cliq XT ROMs available, and not all work the same. I tried the Froyo build and it wouldn’t load properly. I reloaded the 2.1 build and it worked fine, so I’m sticking with that one for now.

If you have a better way or have questions please add comments!

UPDATE 12/31/2010: If you use the Adlx 2.1 ROM, there’s a known issue with the need to toggle the speakerphone on incoming calls. This is fixed by applying the patch found here. Follow these instructions to apply the patch:
1. Copy the AdlxMod2.1.54-SpeakerFIX.zip file to your /sdcard root.
2. Boot the phone in recovery mode
3. Backup your current ROM
4. Install the AdlxMod2.1.54-SpeakerFIX.zip file (DO NOT WIPE!)
5. Reboot the phone when it’s finished.

I did this this morning and the speakerphone was successfully fixed. Enjoy!