Root and unlock Samsung Captivate running Android 2.2 - Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking

I'm starting this to help those who want to root and/or unlock their Samsung Captivate 2.2. I had to search so many forums and didnt find a thread with all the instructions in one place. There maybe other ways to do this, but here's how it worked for me.
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DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PHONE AS A RESULT OF YOU TRYING OUT ANY OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES.
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First, if you're running Android 2.2, you need to root your phone in order to unlock it. I dont know if reverting back to 2.1 using ODIN, unlocking and then upgrading to 2.2 will keep it unlocked or not. I didnt try.
You need to ensure that the phone is in USB debugging mode and connected to the PC. Drivers may be needed, and this is covered in other posts.
Step 1: Root the phone. The program I used was SuperOneclick, from shortfuse.org. I used the default settings to run the program (i.e. On the Universal tab, select exploit = "psneuter" and click "root".
(choosing the "get unlock code" in this application didnt do the trick for me)
Now your phone is rooted. You will see an app called "Superuser", confirming this. This should NOT be uninstalled. Should you wish to un-root your phone for warranty purposes, SuperOneClick allows for that too... though I havent tried it.
Reboot.
Step 2: I needed to update Busybox, and while there maybe easier ways, here's what I did. On the phone, go to Android Market and download the free version of Titanium Backup. Open this program, and click the "Problems?" button at the bottom center of your screen. Choose update busybox (and you can update superuser if needed, as well).
Reboot.
Step 3: Finally, lets unlock it. Using the update.zip process, or the adb shell commands + a hex editor to read the codes from ~/efs/nv_data.bin did NOT work. The only gimmick that did work for Android 2.2 was a Market application called "Galaxy S Unlock". Its free. When you launch it, there will be a separate popup asking if superuser rights should be granted to this app. Answer yes. You might get several prompts like this. I dont recommend you tell it to remember your answer and automatically grant superuser rights to all such requests in future.
Just follow the steps when you launch it and you should be unlocked. This cool app even allows you to re-lock the phone, should you need to obtain service while under warranty. I havent tried re-locking it though.
From your phone numeric keypad, dial *#7465625#
If you see the following:
Personalization Status
Network Lock [OFF]
Network Subset Lock [OFF]
SP Lock [OFF]
CP Lock [OFF]
You have successfully unlocked your phone. Reboot and try a SIM card from a different carrier. Should boot up seamlessly, without asking for any codes.
Now that the phone is rooted, you might want to remove some of the preinstalled bloatware. FREEZE unwanted apps, do not uninstall. Otherwise, I'm told, you lose your ability to obtain future over-the-air updates.
The program I used for freezing unwanted apps is "AntTek App Manager", available free from Android Market. The free version of Titanium Backup doesnt allow you to freeze apps, only the paid version does. So I uninstalled it after updating Busybox.
When you launch AntTek app manager, there will be several prompts asking if Superuser rights should be granted to the requesting program. Choose the apps you dont want ATT Maps, ATT Navigator ($10/month to use), ATT Music etc are good candidates.
I hope this proves helpful. Feedback welcome.

thanks alot bro i did with this method really appriciate that i tried alot of method didnt work any but with your method i did it thanks

I get a "no code found unknown error" message my phone is a Captivate running 2.2 rooted. Any suggestions?

Did you first upgrade busybox and superuser using titanium backup? This step must be performed after rooting and before unlocking.
Can't think of anything else though.... except repeating the whole process from start to finish.

This worked great! Thanks for the step by step. Did it on my Captivate i896 Rogers.

question
I'm a noob, had my captivate for a few months and I am hesitant to root because I don't want to brick my phone (as cool as a few hundred dollar paperweight sounds it can't be better than a working phone) and i was wondering what the chances of bricking my phone are using this method. i have done a lot of research on rooting and i have found that sites often contradict themselves, and i figured if there was a site i could trust it would be xda, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

I can offer no guarantees, so you assume the risk for whatever you do to your phone. All I can say is that it worked fine for me, and a few others on this forum seem to have had the same experience. Good luck!

will this method work for vibrant also ???

No idea. Only tried it on a Samsung Captivate running Android 2.2.

Thanks
Worked great for me, thanks a lot man!

Tried tto unlock on an Infuse, but step one keeps telling me to fix busybox or unplug my phone. Phone isn't plugged in and I've upgraded and down graded Busybox.
Any suggestions?

I recall some tips on using SuperOneclick, either at shortfuse.org or on XDA, that mention what you need to do with the USB cable if you get an error message when rooting. Hopefully appropriate search terms might point you to the correct resource. Good luck!

worked great for me too...thanks a ton

I have an AT&T Samsung Captivate running 2.2 and im trying to use it with my Verizon Sim card..... i completed the process and my network says unlocked when i type in *#7465625# ...however when i reboot and put the sim card in..i go to "settings">"about phone">"status" and under "phone number" and "network" it says unknown..and i am unable to call or text on the phone because it shows i have no signal...also after rebooting, a message saying "Sim not provisioned MM#2" pops up....please help?

Is there like a setting i need to change or what?? Anybody have a solution?

Does your Verizon Sim card work on another phone? The "SIM not provisioned" error usually appears when the SIM card has not been activated yet, or has been deactivated. Confirm that the Verizon SIM is working first. Also try throwing in a different SIM (borrow one from a friend who has a T-Mobile connection, for instance) and confirm that the unlocking was successful.
Good luck!

Alright, thanks!! I will try that!

Man, This is another thread of people kanging my code and ideas. How about show some respect to the dev that did this unlock? Rather then spit in his face.
Last time i EVER put a unlock on this site.

Kang my code
rhcp0112345 said:
Man, This is another thread of people kanging my code and ideas. How about show some respect to the dev that did this unlock? Rather then spit in his face.
Last time i EVER put a unlock on this site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man I hate it when people kang my code!!!

I also have a Rogers Captivate unlocked and I am using it on the Telus network. I have found that I can not use the mobile ap (wifi hotspot) because Rogers has blocked it. Does anyone know which apk file this is or in and how to remove it so I can use my phone as a wifi hotspot?
Thanks in advance.

Related

Help 'App unlock' I want to snap my phone in two!

Trinity handset:
On my original ROM the phones stopped allowing me to run 3rd party apps. They will install and run OK straight away but afetr a soft reset they all cahnge to the generic icon and the error message "The file'...' cannot be opened either it is not signed with a trusted certificate or one of it's components cannot be found. You might need to reinstall or restore this file".
I've Hard Reset and run the Orange unlock from France Telecom website but no Joy. It was working fine previously.
Help!
I'm pulling my hair out now - I feel like slinging the phone! Nothing I do changes the phones app locked status I'm now running WM6.1 and that hasn't sorted it, what am I doing wrong?
Come on someone must know, I'm not exactly a noob asking a silly question. I think I've done all the obvious things I've noticed the wiki links don't work but I've trudged through the forum and tried the SDA unlock too.
It can't be this difficult
Perhaps with some added information we could help?
You could just try a different ROM. Perhaps there's a problem with your SD-card or something?
Unlock the phone using wiki or use links to unlock guide in ROM threads and install a new ROM. Easy as that and you already hard reset your device so who cares?
Good luck.

SGS Unlock code issues

Afternoon all, first time post-er, long time reader.
I'm tired of waiting for the official update from Orange for 2.2 so I have taken it upon myself to root my phone and unlock it, with the vain hope that this will allow my Kies to provide me with the update.
I have successfully rooted my phone as I have a little ninja man in my apps, and I have downloaded the SGS Unlock App from DaGentooBoy, but it tells me my unlock code is 00000000. This isn't correct as I have tried it, twice, with a 3 sim card and I only have 1 attempt left. Anyone have any ideas what has gone wrong? I am new to this, and although I'm not afraid to try most things, I would rather have a straight forward response or link provided so that I am filled with confidence
I have seen some posts about an Odin method, but I have no idea what that is
Any ideas??? Please??
If your talking about unlocking and going to a diff. Company I would call t mobile and tell then I bought the phone for someone else and need to unlock the phone as they are with a diff company maybe they won't charge if its a gift for someone else I mean you already bought the phone so they got your money
Unlocking so you can use other provider's sim cards and flashing a different rom are two different things. If your Orange branded phone isn't allowing you to update you can do this kies registry hack
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=835628
If you're looking at unlocking as well you can check out this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=761045, or whatever other methods you can find to unlock. I read a thread on here about the unlock codes for the galaxy series actually being stored in the system directory somewhere but I can't find the thread. I'll update this post if I can find it again.
Edit - Found it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=867331 apparently it wasn't specific to the Galaxy series, just samsung in general. Hope it works for you.
Thanks for the help people. It hasn't worked for me, but thats because I've no idea what I am doing!! Guess I'll just wait for Orange to send the official update.........

Just unlocked G2 (tmobile) "No service"

I just unlocked a brand new HTC G2 Tmobile phone. I used my sim card thats been active for years, Its Cincinnati Bell Wireless prepaid. Should work fine, but now its saying "No Service" and wont make calls/texts? Can anyone help plz?
Did you use gfree to unlock it? Worked fine for me. Try going into settings and manually searching for network, and restart 2-3 rimes. Worked for me.
No i went thru a service. it was unlockthatphone dot com
ill try that tho....
Well there's no need to.
And I dont want to be the one to tell you, but you might not be able to get service again, even with a T-Mo card. I've read that a lot of people had that problem with the unlock codes.
Well i couldnt figure out how to unlock it. Looked for hours and the guides here were so confusing id rather pay 30.00
How do i figure out if it will ever work again or not?
Someone mentioned I wireless might be CDMA and tmobile was not? Any clue how to check this?
As long as the carrier uses sim cards it's a GSM carrier (99% of the time, I know Verizon Global phones use simcards too.) if that's what you meant.
And for your question try some searching. I never bothered to find/read up on that since I unlocked it without a hitch.
I called the guy back that unlocked it for me, and he states "its impossible for an unlock code to damage 'ware in the phone, the guys on xda dont know what theyre talking about" and that he will work with me to fix this, he says hes pretty sure its my Baseband Version which is:
Baseband version 12.22.60.09bU_26.02.01.15_M2
Any thoughts on these?
Also this is from the HTC forums: http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/99/p/7564/33750.aspx
Actually I've unlocked my phone with an unlock code that Tmobile gave me. Customer Service said you just have to be paid up to date to get an unlock from them.
It may just be that the G2 is on a different carrier band than the carrier you were hoping to use.
Unfortunately, the onus is on you to look it up, I wouldn't expect the customer service for your company to know if your phone will work on their network or not.
so whats the deal ... If I unlock my G2 with a unlock code from TMobile; so I can use it when I head the Philippines on vacation ... I wont be able to get service even with Tmobile ???
There are reports of unlock codes not properly working on the phone all over the place. After entering in the unlock code, some phones simply cannot find a network no matter what SIM is inserted (even one that might have been working before). I met one dealer who said the same thing as your guy (unlock codes can't do that to a phone and people on the internet are stupid), so I had him try inputting in the code himself---the phone became messed up and all he could do was apologize. Some phones work fine though.
You can fix this weird state by running gfree to get subsidy unlock (there are at least two really long threads explaining this). Check out the wiki for instructions on how to do this.
Your phone unlock guy just wanted to get his $30. He knows full well that the carrier-unlock function in HTC VISION is ***DEFECTIVE***.
Problem is that the eMMC chip on the phone is write protected, so the unlock needs to be relayed through to a second mechanism and applied AFTER REBOOT, but it gets corrupted and instead of writing "0000" into the specified location on the eMMC chip, it will in some cases write it ***ENCRYPTED*** -- some function of your unlock code. Ends up being locked to a (most likely non-existent) random carrier, and the unlock code will no longer apply.
Once it has been damaged like this, the ONLY way to fix it is by running "gfree" on it, which would have unlocked you SAFELY and FOR FREE to begin with.
Find the button at the top of the page labeled "wiki" and find HTC VISION in there, and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS! This will cure your phone.
Wow Android is alot more extensive than windows phone. I'll try th e gfree but I really dont have that much experience on this phone. I barely temp rooted and overclocked this to 1427mHz. And barely reading all the perm root and s-off threads right now... I hope I can do it to mine and my wifes phone without messing something up. I tried abd and I cant seem to get it to work right. When I tried temp rooting. Can I do gfree without a computer can I do everything on the phone without abd???
Well for carrier unlocking, I think you can only do it with adb, but what do I know.
Ok so the one is carrier locked or whatever. I need adb to unlock it? and gfree to unlock my unmessed with one. Where do i find these programs and instructions to use them. Im PC literate but cell phone retarded. thanks in advance! I dont wanna pay to unlock these.....
Ok ive done a little more research. I have the JDK and the SDK kits installed. Im preparing to use GFREE. But now im stuck. my SDK MANAGER says the following error when i try to boot it up.
Failed to execute tools/android.bat:
The system cannot find the file specified
What am i doing wrong? im trying but its a slow process.
Grim4239 said:
Ok ive done a little more research. I have the JDK and the SDK kits installed. Im preparing to use GFREE. But now im stuck. my SDK MANAGER says the following error when i try to boot it up.
Failed to execute tools/android.bat:
The system cannot find the file specified
What am i doing wrong? im trying but its a slow process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Navigate to the tools folder and see if there is a file inside called adb.exe. If so, download and unzip both the temp and perm gfree zip files from the wiki into that folder. You should be ready to go. When you connect your phone to the computer via usb be sure that you have the usb debugging checked (on).
Im so lost. the company is willing to refund the amount i spend to unlock the phones, so im just gonna have it done that way. Will the one with the locked carrier be able to be unlocked by a professional?
I got the temp loaded, the ADB loaded, the tools loaded. But this is what comes up
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/Diamondx0xEyez/wqeqweqw.jpg
Ok guys. Im desperate. Here is what Id be willing to do.
Im offering $20 to whomever can help me. Heres what I need.
I have 2x HTC G2 That need the FULL UNLOCK. Not the code, THE UNLOCK.
Im told its done thru this GFREE program. I am NOT smart enough to figure this out after days if trying. If someone can do the following thing for me, Ill donate that money straight to your paypal account.
-Send me a ZIP file with ALL THE NECESSDARY folders, with ALL THE NECESSARY files already placed in them, I plug in USB unlock phones, u get paid.
(I need ADK files, JDK files, all gfree files, EVEYRTHING i know itll be a big zip, but im payin so i dont mind)
I am unable to figure out these files, I am either installing the SDK files wrong or something, but I just need the files ALREADY placed in a file and just use them since im too stupid to do so desite reading many guides. Sorry ive tried. Now i just wanna use my phones.

[Q] How to install Apps not designated for your country

Hi there,
no and then I notice, that there are Apps out there in the Market which might be interesting and are only available in the US but not for people living in other countries (in my case it's germany). My question is: is there any possibility to get access to this Apps without changing the product code, as this would lead to a full factory reset each time the product code is changed. I tried to find websites which provide the physical .apks for download and subsequent installation as a third party app, but with no luck for the apps i am interested in.
Thanks in advance informations that might help!
No one? I too am seeking a solution. Market Enabler didn't work for me.
Try this:
http://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?f=399&t=189505&view=previous
Regards
Thanks for the link miro666. Unfortunately my phone is not rooted till know, but I will do that this evening and directly install this app. Following the link and searching on the net I found no information, wether MarketAccess could be theoretically dangerous in terms of messing up the phone/IMEI or not. Do you know anything?
horst_o said:
Thanks for the link miro666. Unfortunately my phone is not rooted till know, but I will do that this evening and directly install this app. Following the link and searching on the net I found no information, wether MarketAccess could be theoretically dangerous in terms of messing up the phone/IMEI or not. Do you know anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries. I've been using Market Access with no problems at all since I got my first Android phone (a little over a year ago) and realized paid apps were not yet available to my country (Philippines). I've kept the apk handy in my phone ever since so I can always have it with me even after flashing ROMs constantly.
All it does is spoof your sim card temporarily since that's what defines your locale for the Android Market. You can easily restore the old number through the app or just reboot. It doesn't mess with imei's or anything like that.
You might however have trouble with your apn settings (which is understandable since apn stuff are linked to your sim) if you use market access before connecting to 3g or whatever if that's what you use. So just connect first, then use market access.
phone is rooted (CF-root), MarketAccess is installed and it works perfectly for me
Me a glad for you horst_o....And maybe Market Enabler wasnt work by you, because your device was unrooted. Try now, after rooting with this first apk.
Regards
it doesn'tw ork for me with galaxy tab 10.1... and rotted and marekt enabler

Unrooting S20 Plus

Hi all
Hope this is the correct area...
My hubby bought me a S20 plus for my birthday through a local dealer.
I noticed a few issues like not being able to use biometrics or install certain apps.
I've since found out the phone has been rooted.
I've tried to do a factory reset, but this hasn't helped.
I've downloaded root checker and it confirms the phone is rooted. I've downloaded SuperSU yet is won't work as ver 2.82 claims it's for an older Version of Android.
I've downloaded solid explorer to delete the root access files such as Busybox and SU however I cannot find these files in the system folder or the system/bin folder.
Can anyone advise on how I can unroot my phone? I am unable to install certain needed apps due to this.
Phone details below. Sorry am unable to upload pics.
UI Version = 1
Android Version = 10
Let me know if other info is needed.
I've even tried calling the Samsung Center and they are unable to assist...
Thanks all
Lee
Lee KZN said:
Hi all
Hope this is the correct area...
My hubby bought me a S20 plus for my birthday through a local dealer.
I noticed a few issues like not being able to use biometrics or install certain apps.
I've since found out the phone has been rooted.
I've tried to do a factory reset, but this hasn't helped.
I've downloaded root checker and it confirms the phone is rooted. I've downloaded SuperSU yet is won't work as ver 2.82 claims it's for an older Version of Android.
I've downloaded solid explorer to delete the root access files such as Busybox and SU however I cannot find these files in the system folder or the system/bin folder.
Can anyone advise on how I can unroot my phone? I am unable to install certain needed apps due to this.
Phone details below. Sorry am unable to upload pics.
UI Version = 1
Android Version = 10
Let me know if other info is needed.
I've even tried calling the Samsung Center and they are unable to assist...
Thanks all
Lee
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need to get hold of the stock firmware from somewhere like Sammobile and flash back to stock using ODIN. There's tons of guides knocking about on here for the step by step. The damage is done though as far as any Knox related features go, it's like a fuse that blows when you root and you can never fix that.
Having said that, biometrics should have never been affected by rooting so that's a bit unusual. Flash stock and set up from scratch then go from there, could be faulty also
Thanks for the guidance Dave. I'll search the forums for the steps.
For clarity, when I say biometrics didn't work, it works allow me to record etc, but when I tried to enable it, like on my banking app, it wouldn't allow me. This is how I eventually figured out my phone was rooted. While I know the benefits of being rooted, a normal everyday user like myself, certainly won't benefit from it.
I've had a Samsung my entire life, and always saw the secured by knox logo... When you say damage has been done, does this mean that all my security in the device, such as my banking details etc, may be compromised?
Jees. I hope not. As this would really freak me out...
Ok so Finding the firmware wasn't to difficult. Sanmobile quite easy to navigate.
Just a query please... My phone base band version lists g985fxxu1atb2 however the closest I could find to this is G985FXXU1ATBM
Is this ok or does it have to be the exact same description?
Shoo. Lol. Really hope I'm going to be able to get this right **insert nervous smile emoticon here**
Lee KZN said:
Ok so Finding the firmware wasn't to difficult. Sanmobile quite easy to navigate.
Just a query please... My phone base band version lists g985fxxu1atb2 however the closest I could find to this is G985FXXU1ATBM
Is this ok or does it have to be the exact same description?
Shoo. Lol. Really hope I'm going to be able to get this right **insert nervous smile emoticon here**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The last letters are the region/operator of the Rom. Not necessarily has to be the exact description, the really important are the first that indicate model number.
Ok. So have downloaded Odin and am busy downloading the flash firmware.
May I please be so bold as to ask someone on here to please share a link tot he step by step guide that I will need to follow in order to flash my phone back to the original boot thingie :silly::silly::silly:
I have tried to search but seem to only come up with a nexus thread with no mention of Odin.
~Sorry to ask, but little overwhelmed LOL and want to make sure I do this properly and not screw up my phone.
REAL noob here, so apologies if I come across lazy and getting others to do the work, but am really grateful for the help.
Maybe I'm searching incorrectly???
I found this somehow....
Is this it?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s20/how-to/howto-root-s20-series-upgrade-firmware-t4079353
**fingers crossed**
Can you unlock your phone with biometrics? Im guessing only the banking apps don't work because it's rooted. If i remember correctly most banking apps and maybe Google pay(not sure about that) stop working after rooting because the phone is "compromised" and it's not safe. You have to hide your root status from these apps and they will work properly then. Maybe someone else can help you with that because i do not remember how to do it.
Hi Marto
Yes, biometrics does work, although not really good. But that's probably due to the hectic screen protector.
Correctly so, it's mostly the banking / payment apps that won't work, and I can't check or download any software updates... Although I belive this can also be done manually....
But wow, there's an app that hides the root status? That might be a whole lot easier than re flashing. Truthfully I'm Sh!tting myself at the thought of attempting this ????
Hi Marto
Yes, biometrics does work, although not really good. But that's probably due to the hectic screen protector.
Correctly so, it's mostly the banking / payment apps that won't work, and I can't check or download any software updates... Although I belive this can also be done manually....
But wow, there's an app that hides the root status? That might be a whole lot easier than re flashing. Truthfully I'm Sh!tting myself at the thought of attempting this ????
if the phone was bought as new, go back to the dealer and demand a new one that is not rooted.
could also be that your husband rooted the phone and installed software that keep tabs on what you do.

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