It is said that savvy smartphone owners like to experiment with their devices. Hence, even today many of the iPhone users keep jailbreaking their devices to unlock the hidden potential of Apple’s handset.
That said you may want to experiment with your Samsung Galaxy S or some of its variants like the Captivate or Vibrant and “root your way” to full access. Thus far this process was complicated and only the select few dared to do it. However, with the new GUI it’s pretty simple and anyone can do it. Here’s how:
PC Instructions
- Download the rooting application from here (here’s the mirror link).
- dotNet Framework version 4 – you can grab it from Microsoft’s website.
- Install Samsung Drivers – download link.
- Extract the contents of GalaxyS_Vibrant_One-Click_Root.rar to a folder.
- Connect your phone in the USB Debug mode (MENU -> Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging = Checked )
- Launch the file “T-Mobile Vibrant One-Click Root.exe” file.
- Click the “One-Click Root” button.
You can watch the video for the full procedure on The Unlockr.
Mac Instructions
- First of all, it is required that your Mac runs OS X 10.5 or higher
- Download the rooting application from here (mirror link).
- Connect your phone in the USB Debug mode (MENU -> Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging = Checked)
- Click on the “Root me” button.
- After the phone has rebooted into recovery select “apply sdcard:update.zip” and choose “Reinstall Packages” for the US models using the volume keys and then press the home button for I9000 and I9000M, and the power button on the right top side for US models to start the process.
And that’s it!
Un-Rooting Instructions
If something, God forbids, goes wrong you can always un-root. The instructions are the same, except that in this case you press “Unroot” button. It is suggested that you restore the phone back to stock ROM before even needing to unroot.
The process above has been tested on Samsung Galaxy S phones with Android 2.1 Éclair. The following versions of the device should work as well: GT-I9000 (the original Galaxy S), Captivate SHG-I897, Vibrant SGH-959, GT-I9000M and Epic SPH-D700 (untested but should work just fine).
Rooting adds few files to your system and unrooting removes them:
- /system/xbin/busybox (version 1.17.1)
- /system/xbin/su
- /system/app/Superuser.apk (version 2.3.1)
- and links /system/bin/su to /system/xbin/su
WARNING: Although nothing bad should happen, you should acknowledge that neither IntoMobile nor its affiliates can be responsible for your phone and/or eventual loss of information. Moreover, you should know that rooting the phone can void your warranty.
[Via: XDA-Developers]