• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root Is rooting possible on the Bell Mobility Vibrant?

Hey everyone! I'm a proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy S, which was just released in Canada yesterday. It's my first smart phone and I must say I am loving it!

I was wondering if any Canadian users on Bell Mobility have had any luck rooting their Vibrant. I have tried a couple methods out there, and to no avail. Holding down any combination of the buttons on a fresh restart won't open up the recovery mode screen at all!

Thanks
 
Yes, it can be rooted.
Thanks to jentech for changing the script to add the model number to the list and thanks to AllGamer for posting the tutorial over on XDA. Here is the tutorial.
Step 1. root your phone

Bell's I9000M is slightly different than the regular I9000
most of the root methods mentioned on other topics will not work.
Even the 3 button recovery mode has been disabled

After some experimentation this is the working method
download the update.zip from this topic (Thanks to jentech)
http://ip208-100-42-21.static.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7536130&postcount=11

then you need to run adb devices to make sure your phone is listed

(ADB is part of Android SDK, download it from the source http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html )

if you get something like
Code:
adb.exe devices
List of devices attached
900098c722a9    device
(if you run adb.exe devices and comes back with an empty list, then make sure you have set the phone into debugging mode Application > Settings > Development > USB Debugging)

then you are can execute
adb.exe reboot recovery

this will take you to the recovery screen

now if your device works with the Power + Volume Up + Home button, then you can skip that, however in my case the 3 button mode didn't work

select the update.zip with the volumen up down button, then hit home screen, it should say installing in yellow, then you are done, it reboots back to normal, and now you can install Busy Box
 
Upvote 0
Thanks for the link!

I followed the instructions Allgamer posted and gave it the ol' college try, but I seem to be running into some problems.

then you need to run adb devices to make sure your phone is listed

When I double click adb.exe, a prompt pops up really quickly and then disappears.

I'm not quite sure how to run "adb devices", I can't seem to find anything like that in Android SDK.

One thing I tried was using the method posted at:
http://theunlockr.com/2010/08/02/how-to-root-the-samsung-vibrant-captivate/

This at least gets me to the recovery screen.

I then try using the update.zip file that jentech posted on the xda forums, but I get a message that says

E:Error in /sdcard/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted

Phew. Good thing I don't back away from a challenge. :)
 
Upvote 0
Uh, it sounds like you are doing the ADB commands incorrectly.
You have the Android SDK in your C: right? Fire up CMD and type in cd C:\ and hit enter and then type cd C:\android(Or whatever you named your folder containing it)\tools and then hit enter.
Then adb shell and hit enter.
Then type adb devices and see if it is connected, it should be in fastboot mode while trying this.
You do not just open up adb.exe
His instructions assume you have the AndroidSDK setup already.
The SDK you downloaded, put it into the root folder of your C: drive and name it android
Then follow my instructions above.
Also you may need an account on XDA to download the update.zip that was posted above.
 
  • Like
Reactions: yakkamut
Upvote 0
After playing around with a rooted phone for the past week, I think that rooting it is fantastic.

After reading and posting on this thread Bell phones and the lack of 3 button combo - xda-developers I think I should probably take my phone back.

So, I have to unroot my phone first. I am having a world of trouble trying to do this. Does anyone have any pointers?

When I try to unroot, it takes me to the recovery screen, but I do not have the "reinstall packages" as an option to highlight. My only options are:

rebot system now
apply sdcard:update.zip
wipe data/factry reset
wipe cache partition

Am I doing something wrong? Should I attempt to re-root my phone first with the "One click Root" button, then unroot?

Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: colin6187
Upvote 0
Hey everyone! I'm a proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy S, which was just released in Canada yesterday. It's my first smart phone and I must say I am loving it!

I was wondering if any Canadian users on Bell Mobility have had any luck rooting their Vibrant. I have tried a couple methods out there, and to no avail. Holding down any combination of the buttons on a fresh restart won't open up the recovery mode screen at all!

Thanks

oh wow, another carrier has the vibrant also? just curious, whats canada like? I feel like its so close but so far away.
 
Upvote 0
Hey Yakkamut,
i am having the same problem about the error in the sd card update. zip and status 7.
What did you do to fix the problem, ive tried a bunch of things but nothing seems to work?
I really want to root it, so get back to me please :)

Thanks!

Hey Colin,

I used adb to root my phone, just follow the advice in the above thread and it should be pretty self explanitory.

I never figured out how to unroot my phone, but as far as I see it, there is no need to (unless you are bringing your phone back for warranty purposes). From what I have read, the Android 2.2 update that is officially coming out to the Bell i9000m in September will install without problems.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Good luck.
 
Upvote 0
oh wow, another carrier has the vibrant also? just curious, whats canada like? I feel like its so close but so far away.

I can't speak on behalf of the entire country, but Vancouver is a really nice place to live. The weather is quite mild compared to the rest of the country. The winters usually don't get much colder than -5 Celsius, and the summers usually don't break the 30 degree mark. It rains. A lot. Summer is a fantastic time to visit.

It is always in the top 10 for most livable cities in the world. World's most livable cities - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think the best way to see what a place is like is to see it for yourself. If you ever have an opportunity to visit, you should come up here for a vacation.

Hope I provided you with a little snapshot of Vancouver. :)
 
Upvote 0
Just tried rooting my new Bell on Froyo 2 with 3e recovery screen and no dice.

update fails signature verification.

Any ideas?

Same bell phone sgt 9000m here, been trying all day: same results... very sad...

is the update.zip file actually any good ?
funny how i cannot manage to open it either from pc, or running phone ??

...duh...


maybe we just need healty bell update.zip ?

:cool:
 
Upvote 0
Yes, it can be rooted.
Thanks to jentech for changing the script to add the model number to the list and thanks to AllGamer for posting the tutorial over on XDA. Here is the tutorial.

I have downloaded and installed all the packages,

now i just cant understand what to do.

what program to run, when to plug in the phone, what to do with update.zip file and so on. I was a Pre owner and everything seems so much easier.

a video would be great with instructions.

please help me out Vakman.

Thanks
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones