General :: How To Root Samsung Epic 4G Galaxy SPH D700

In the end I found it fairly easy to root my samsung epic 4g galaxy sph-d700 but the documentation was a bit tricky (because some of it was based on odin rather than heimdall, it wasn't always clear where to get ROM's, how ClockWorkMod Recovery (CWM) fits into the picture, etc.).

(1) Install heimdall on the computer running ubuntu (heimdall is a program that will flash ROM's to the phone) apt-get install heimdall-flash

(2) Download to the computer the latest CWM and an appropriate, i.e., pre-rooted, ROM from an archive such as that of kennyglass123. BML ROM's may be easier for beginners than are MTD ROM's. The ROM should be matched to the phone, which means both the hardware and the system it is replacing. I used cwm-5.0.2.7-epic4g.tar (ClockWorkMod Recovery; extract its contents) Deodexed-FC09-BML.zip (a ROM and system for the android phone; leave the file zipped)

(But ThePeoplesROMv2.22_BML.zip has also been recommended and there are others in circulation).

(3) Connect the android phone to the computer via USB cable; the phone should show up on the desktop as a removable disk. Transfer the ROM file (Deodexed-FC09-BML.zip) from the computer to the sd card of the phone (just as you would transfer any file, e.g., an mp3, by drag and drop or by copying from the command line from/to the appropriate directory).

(4) On the computer extract recovery.bin from the CWM tarfile tar xvf cwm-5.0.2.7-epic4g.tar (I renamed recovery.bin to cwm5_recovery.bin to remind myself what it is.)

(5) Disconnect and turn off the phone and restart the phone in Download mode by turning off the phone and turning it on while holding down the number "1" on the physical keyboard. "Download" mode starts (black screen with yellow triangle with worker digging).

(6) Connect the phone to the computer by USB cable. From the computer use heimdall to flash the CWM file to the phone as a recovery file. Flashing is not the same as file transfer: phone must be in Download mode and the heimdall program must be used to flash the file onto the phone's ROM. The command is:

heimdall flash --recovery cwm5_recovery.bin

(7) Disconnect the phone and restart phone with on/off, camera, and volume-down buttons ("three-fingered salute"). Hold all three buttons until the lighted buttons at the bottom of the phone turn on. Phone will start in "Recovery" mode with a menu of 7-10 items.

(8) Navigate the Recovery menu with the volume up/down keys and select items with the camera button. Select item "Install zip from sdcard". Navigate file menu to choose Deodexed-FC09-BML.zip (or another zipped ROM file you have selected). ROM will install.

(9) When the Recovery mode menu returns, select "Reboot phone" and the phone should boot (slowly the first time) to the new ROM and be rooted. There will be a new "Superuser" app on the phone and you should be able to install apps from the Play Store that require root privileges.