Saturday, February 27, 2010

Rooting & other goodies on the Samsung Galaxy SPICA I5700 (2.1 Firmware) - Updated


(DO NOT use this guide with the 1.5 firmware)
for Rooting the Galaxy SPICA 1.5 Firmware click here.


Pre-Requisite : Basic knowledge of windows and linux commands (DO NOT try this if you are uncomfortable with the command line interface)


Step 1 : Download Android SDK from here.
Step 2 : Extract the SDK to a folder.
Step 2 : If you are using windows, right-click on My Computer, and select Properties. Under the Advanced tab, hit the Environment Variables button, and in the dialog that comes up, double-click on Path (under System Variables). Append the full path to the tools/ directory to the path (for eg if you have extracted the SDK under d: drive add ;d:\android-sdk_r04-windows\tools Path variable).

for other OS follow the steps here.

Step 3: Download init.spica.sh from here. and copy it to the /tools folder under the SDK.
Step 4a: Enable USB debugging mode : Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging.  (forgot this step.. thanks to yudha.)
Step 4b: Connect the phone using the USB cable and run the following commands using the command prompt.

adb devices > it should list your device with a serial number,if not the phone is not connected properly.





then run the following commands : 
adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system
adb shell rm /system/xbin/su
adb shell ln -s /xbin/su /system/xbin/su
adb push init.spica.sh /system/etc/
adb shell chmod 0550 /system/etc/init.spica.sh
adb shell reboot

The phone will reboot at this point and after it reboots you should have root access to the phone.

To check 

adb shell
su
the prompt should change from the $ to a # ..thats it now you have root access to your android kernel :-)
Type "exit" to get back to your windows command prompt.

Alternatively you can download an application like Better Terminal and try running the commands from your phone itself.

Once you have gained root access you can remove pre-installed applications you do not like or want or install files like the LiveWallpapersPicker.apk

Backup System Files : 

Connect phone on USB
Backup all system files before making any changes by running the following command
adb pull /system/app < path the backup folder >

Mounting the system: 

adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system (this mounts the system and allows you to modify system files)

One easier way to do this is by adding the Remount script to the system/xbin
Download Remount and copy to /tools folder under the SDK
mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system







adb push remount /system/xbin/
adb shell chmod 0755 /system/xbin/remount

Now you can type "remount rw" when you want to mount the system in read/write mode and "remount ro" when you want to put it back as read only.

Remove files you don't need : (for eg myspace.apk)

cd /system/app
rm myspace.apk

Please make sure you have a backup before you try to remove any apk file.

Install Live Wallpapers (Just like the Google Nexus One)

Download LiveWallpaperPicker.apk and copy to the tools/ folder under the SDK

Open the command prompt and type :

adb install LiveWallpapersPicker.apk

You should now have an option for picking a live wallpapers on your phone.
There are a lot of nice looking live wallpapers on the market for you to download and try.

Thanks to mrJohn and Mallik_Raj @ samdroid.net

63 comments:

skyzen said...

Hi, I have purchased new I5700 a nd new to android. pl let me know is it worth migrating to 2.1 before official release. any pitfalls???

GREAKY said...

@ edwin - no serious pitfalls.. but you should know what you are doing since this is kinda of a beta release. the phone can tend to hand at times and there is a known issues with the APN's.

jiahong said...

having problem to get adb to recognize the device. Care to share tips on connecting?

GREAKY said...

@ jiahong - you should check the drivers.

Shortcut said...

@Sameer:

Thanks for your very helpful guides,
Rooting the device worked like a charm, also the implementation of the LiveWallPaperpicker.

BUT when i pick a Wallpaper (i.e, the Starfield one) it gets shown and i can customize the options but when i press USE Wallpaper i only see the normal wallpaper in home screen, i can only see the livewallpaper in the lockscreen.

Thanks in advance for any advice how to solve this.

GREAKY said...

@ Andreas - you need a modified launcher for that... I installed it but I found it very boring..
head here for more details ..

http://forum.samdroid.net/threads/112-i5700-The-first-firmware-Android-OS-2.1-(Unofficial)

Unknown said...

hi SAMEER

THANKS FOR AWESOME TUTORIAL

I GOT 2.1 ON 25 FEB, BUT SOME REASON I CAN T POST COMMENTS

NOW U POST ROOTING,
I REQUEST U TO POST TUTORIAL FOR "HOW TO INSTALL APPLICATION ON SD CARD ON 2.1 FIRMWARE"

THERE ARE TO MANY TUTORIAL AVAILABLE BUT I CAN T UNDERSTAND

U ROCK
REGARD
VISHAL GALA-MUMBAI

GREAKY said...

@ vishal - thanks man :-)
APPS2SD is not yet ported to 2.1 on the Galaxy.. as soon I find something I will post it.

ViKiD™ said...

ow im getting this :S

cannot stat 'init.spica.sh': No such file or directory

Unknown said...

a question, does the phone has to be put in download mode (vol down + cam + power) or just plug it in normally before entering the mount command on the rooting tutorial?

GREAKY said...

@ yudha - just connect using USB cable.

Unknown said...

doesnt seem to be working, im using the I5700DXBJ3 version, not the DDJB2 version, adb working, phone is detected, but everytime i run the :

adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system

all i get is

mount: Operation not permitted

different command perhaps?

GREAKY said...

@ yudha - I have updated the guide on how to put the phone in USB debugging mode. thanks mate. I totally forgot that step.

mboisker said...

hi sameer..
after enter : "adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system"

show notify : "mount: Operation not permitted"

why ? can u help me ?

GREAKY said...

@ mboisker - I guess you have not enabled the USB debugging mode. I have updated the guide to include this step. Please try and let me know.

mboisker said...

I have switch to enable, but its same.

Rasputin said...

i m getting the same error unable to mount thingy tell me somethig i read somewhere about lk10.zip file do we need to do tht step b4 goin on to execute the above mentioned linux commands for rooting

GREAKY said...

@ anwar - please post the command output here.

@

Unknown said...

hi, new to android. few question
Let say now android 2.1 and i rooted it. In the future, for example, android 2.5, can i upgrade the firmware? do i need to do rooting again for 2.5?

GREAKY said...

@ lim - Yes, flashing is akin to loading a new operating system after a complete wipe.

Rasputin said...

i agree with yudha i think yudha & me are using a diff frimware I5700DXBJ3 may b thts the reason for not able to root our phones @sameer plz bro do some digging & get us a solution waitin for a quick reply & a apps2sd solution for the I5700DXBJ3 version aswell lukin fwd

Dr. Nugroho said...

First thanks for your great post on upgrading to 2.1, but I find it very difficult to root it. Have done the following:

- remove all previous samsung USB drivers using usbdeview
- also remove i5700 disk drive driver
- put phone in USB debugging mode
connect phone with USB again
- make sure I don't mount the SDcard

adb working ok, but still did not recognize the device

I believe someday we'll be able to overcome this problem ...

GREAKY said...

@ Nugroho - the drivers are needed for this !! put the drivers back and try again.

Dr. Nugroho said...

I mean "uninstall" . The drivers should be still there, I guess. When reconnected to the phone via USB, it should reload the right driver.
Thx for the ultra fast reply ...:)

Dr. Nugroho said...

Suddenly adb recognizes the device. But like yudha and rasputin, got stuck at "not permitted"... I also use the same DX firmware. So, looks like it has to do with that version ...

voiphandbook said...

hey Sameer.
Can you please tell me what drivers do i have to use for the phone and where do i get them? I plugged in the phone and in the device manager it says Samsung_ANdroid with a question mark.

GREAKY said...

@ voip you can find the drivers here..

http://favicon.greaky.com/files/dvr5700.zip?attredirects=0&d=1

Rasputin said...

hi Nugroho & Yudha well no luck in rooting my spica yet i have the I5700DXBJ3 firmware, well guys if u find nething on it or u able to crack the mystery plz do share would really appreciate ur help moreover sameer i keep runjin low on disk space on my device any idea on how to take care of tht, i think after we root our device we can remove the preinstalled application which we do not intent to use like myspace & Chinese keyboard etc. my email is aryan.rulz@gmail.com

herman.manher said...

Hi Sameer,

I also have the same problem with voiphandbook. I've using the driver from favicon, but my spica still not recognized. I'm using vista 32bit.

Dr. Nugroho said...

In your opinion, will there be a problem if I re-flash my Samsung with the I5700DDJB2 firmware, so that perhaps I can get root ?

Will the flash tutorial (from Android 1.5 to 2.1) in previous post work, in your opinion? So, in this case, from version 2.1 to 2.1 of different firmware..

Just to make sure :)) ..

Thanks a lot

Unknown said...

Hi all, is there any easy way apart of current mentioned steps above? Currently, I'm using Spica with Android 2.1 now & wiling to enable the root function, for installing WiFi Tethering. I've been trying to use the methods above, but still founds failure. I want to use Better Terminal, but no free version available for Android 2.1. Is there any other Terminal application (free version - I hope) for Android 2.1 that I can use to run such command line to enable the root function?

Anonymous said...

does not work with dx firmware.

GREAKY said...

@ Herman - those drivers are for XP only.

@ Nugroho - yes you can reflash with I5700DDJB2 and then follow the steps to get root.

Rasputin said...

@sameer 1 more quick question just tell me if theres any difference in the latest two firmwares in working & stability bcoz i have I5700DXBJ3 & its working like a breeze no problems with wifi apn network or nething as mentioned by users at other posts i just need some motivation from u guys plz

Jenner said...

A Big Thank you Sameer!

I followed both guides and installed the same firmware as your other post.

I even did it while SIMLOCKED on Orange.fr still!

Also rooted in moments!

Excellent guides!!!!!!


Only question is is there any way to return to default launcher if i go for the one that will enable live wallpapers? If so how and is the 3d gallery thing worth it or does it still run poorly

Sreejesh said...

Hi Sameer,

I want to buy i5700.I heared samsung is launched a offical update of eclair 2.1. Is there any VOIP calling software this model?

GREAKY said...

@ Sreejesh - Skype is yet to launch its version for Android. but it is on the cards.

Unknown said...

Hi!

I am trying to get root access in order to use Live Wallpapers. I managed to install the Picker-App but when I choose a live wallpaper it crashes. I think that is because it lacks root access.

I get the following output:
>adb devices
List of devices attached
5700-------b device

(Serial No is edited)

>adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no
/dev/stl5 /system
mount: Operation not permitted


The firmware version is: i570EXXJC1
(officially installed with nps; untouched, yet)

Any solution to this problem?

GREAKY said...

@ Benjamin - You don't really need root access for livewallpapers, it could be a compatibility with the picker app itself. It is crashing on me too on the XXJCB firmware. If I find a way around I will post it here.

Unknown said...

Cool. Thank you very much.

Btw. I am using the Helix Launcher (installed from market) which supports live wallpapers.

Ravi Teja J said...

sameer can u post method for rooting 1.5 cupcake..the link provided to samdroid forum does not seem to work on indian baseband I5700DDIK2

Ravi Teja J said...

nevermind got it rooted..:)

Unknown said...

hi have you found a way to get the i570eexjc1 fw rooted? i have the official on from nps, and when i try this i get the message dont have permision

Federico Rampazzo said...

Nice! The samsung spica looks like a cool device.. the only wrong things are the samsung driver.

I bought the phone few days ago but I just found out that 3D performace is not that cool.. On a damn G1 opengl runs fast but on this shiny spica it works slowly.

Googling I found that it's due to samsung proprietary 3D renderer.

On galaxy i7500 you can replace the 3d renderer (FIMG) with another one (e.g. the one from htc which has the same cpu) but on spica it doesn't look feasible.

Just want to make you know.
I will comment again if I manage to get it working

Svuppe said...

3D performance was horrible on my phone too, when I first got it.
Later came an update (official Samsung), before the Android 2.1 update, and that significantly boosted the 3D rendering.

Unknown said...

Now possible to get FULL root access on the latest 2.1 roms (e.g. JCF):

(Do a google search to get the required PDA files)

1. Flash 2.1 ROM (e.g.JCF) via Odin
2. Odin PDA flash: Root_lkupdate_v3_pda
3. Odin PDA flash: LkKernel2_v0.02_PDA.tar .7z

4. Download Superuser.apk (from http://tinyurl.com/spicafullroot)
5. adb mod:

adb shell
remount rw
rm /system/bin/su
rm /system/xbin/su
rm /system/etc/install-recovery.sh
ln -s /sbin/su /system/bin/su
ln -s /sbin/su /system/xbin/su
exit
adb push superuser.apk /system/app
adb shell
rm -R /data/dalvik-cache
reboot

Enjoy! All credit to LeshaK!

fanokia said...

Sameer,how do i use odin in Win 7 x64..Every time i start the application some wierd error msg comes on my lappy and the phone is not detected by it..pls help..

I am very new to android..previously i had been hellishly associated with symbians..did all kind of rootings there..but this android thing is not getting into me..

Yew Hang said...

is it possible to download init.spica.sh to my phone and use say a terminal emulator on the phone to do the root?

Rasputin said...

plz guys can someone plz plz help me root my samsung spica 2.1 firmware i570edxjb3 plz guys i really tried a lot of things b4 troublin u ppl plz help me wit dis & if posb some1 plz post a step by step methoad plz waitin for a quick reply post thanx all of u in advance

Unknown said...

I also get the error
mount: Operation not permitted

I'm running PDA: I570EXXJCE
Phone: I570EXXJC1
SCS: I570EXEFJC7

naynay said...

i have the same problem as VIKID.
please help. i have followed everything and treble checked. i think this is to do with the enviroment variables. but i have followed the guide.




ViKiD™ said...
ow im getting this :S

cannot stat 'init.spica.sh': No such file or directory


please help urgent

Aditya said...

Sameer,

I waited and got my spica updated to Eclair OFFICIALLY as I couldn't find a way to go back to 1.5 (scaredy cat i am :P ). Now, i'm itching to root my phone to enable mobile hotspot and get rid of the wretched behemoth Pantheon UI! But i'm again facing the same dilemma - there is not backup.

Is there any place where I can find a copy of i570EDDJC5 (Baseband, Kernel 22.6.29 sun.cho@SE-S605 #2 , Build number ECLAIR.DDJC5) .

And I'm a bit rusty with linux, so is there a way to un-root the phone? So later, if something goes wrong and i have to take it to the service centre (this place has a particularly good technician who plainly refuses to flash rooted phone or part with a copy of the firmware! :( ), I can push back the damn UI apk and un-root it (assuming its possible).

Unknown said...

Yeah its more than two months now since the release of i570EDDJC5, Samir can you post this firmware? I already have updated to DDJB2 following you instructions without a problem.

Anshu said...

hi sam I have the i570eddjc5 fw. I dont know how to upload in this site.

Aditya said...

All, the India 2.1 firmware (i570EDDJC5) is now up on Samsung-firmwares.

Have a blast! :)

Aditya said...

Hi Sameer,
I have samsung galaxy Spica, updated to 2.1 Eclair, firmware here in ME. I want your support to put custom ROM on my spica which is from Samdroid. How can you do it ?

Your guide is as of Feb 2010 where default firmwares were 1.5. Since it is already come preinstalled 2.1, do i have still need to follow firmware guide which is meant for 1.5.
i want your support to root it. i am following your guide but want to be more cautious to do steps and consult people who had done it first. I want your help as Your guide is easiest one across all.
Is it necessary to flash and root your phone ?
My requirement is as follows:
1)How can i backup current ROM which is installed by Samsung
2)Uninstall default apps they sucks
3)make ROM faster
4)Install apps on app2SD card
5)Install recommended Setting and apps

There is no default guide which starts from very basic thing and move across, i mean i still find information here and there and really find it very confusing. How can i partition SDHC card. will it be done first ?
I will appreciate if you help me as i see too many Geeky things and i don't want to turn Phone into Brick.
I will follow steps as you will guide me.(responsibility lies with me, just need your help)
There is Samdroid Kitchen which allows you to choose kernal and other apps.i have downloaded samdroid update from same.
Pls help

Thanks

Unknown said...

I also get the same error
mount: Operation not permitted


Phone: I570Edxjc2


how i can fix that ???

Unknown said...

Hi Sameer,

I was using LivwWallPaper on my device with your guide to upgrade and then rooting.

Due to some reason I have to reflash my device with 2.1 firmware and after that I followed again your guide for rooting to get live wall paper on my device but I am getting following error while rooting.

C:\Documents and Settings\Riyaz>adb devices
List of devices attached
5700Edited device

C:\Documents and Settings\Riyaz>adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat
,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system

C:\Documents and Settings\Riyaz>adb shell rm /system/xbin/su

C:\Documents and Settings\Riyaz>adb shell ln -s /xbin/su /system/xbin/su

C:\Documents and Settings\Riyaz>adb push init.spica.sh /system/etc/
cannot stat 'init.spica.sh': No such file or directory

C:\Documents and Settings\Riyaz>adb shell chmod 0550 /system/etc/init.spica.sh
Unable to chmod /system/etc/init.spica.sh: No such file or directory

Getting error while pushing init.spica.sh file into device... pls help to get rid of this error.

Regards,

Riyaz M Shaikh

Unknown said...

Hi Sameer,

I found out the problem while pushing init.spica.sh file.

Basically init.spica.sh file or any application file (Like LiveWallPapersPicker.apk) has to be copied into User Name Directory in
C:\Document and Setting\User Name Directoy

This solved my problem and now I have live wall paper on my device.

Regards,

Riyaz

Unknown said...

Hi Sameer,

I found out the problem while pushing init.spica.sh file.

Basically init.spica.sh file or any application file (Like LiveWallPapersPicker.apk) has to be copied into User Name Directory in
C:\Document and Setting\User Name Directoy

This solved my problem and now I have live wall paper on my device.

Regards,

Riyaz

Unknown said...

Hi Sameer,

I found out the problem while pushing init.spica.sh file.

Basically init.spica.sh file or any application file (Like LiveWallPapersPicker.apk) has to be copied into User Name Directory in
C:\Document and Setting\User Name Directoy

This solved my problem and now I have live wall paper on my device.

Regards,

Riyaz

Culbreeze said...

Hi Sameer

I have a Galaxy i5700 already running on 2.1 eclair. But I want to install livewallpapers only. How can I do that? I also tried to check if my connection between my phone and my desktop trough USB cable is ok. But when I type the commands on the command prompt "adb devices", windows is telling me this " 'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. " What do I do now?

Regards :)

Culbreeze said...

Hi Sameer

I have a Galaxy i5700 already running on 2.1 eclair. But I want to install livewallpapers only. How can I do that? I also tried to check if my connection between my phone and my desktop trough USB cable is ok and to find if my phone is already rooted. But when I type the commands on the command prompt "adb devices", windows is telling me this " 'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. " What do I do now? Need help pls.

Regards :)