This article will explain how to root the Samsung Epic, taking information found from around the web and explaining it in a way that will make even the newest of people feel comfortable with rooting their Samsung Epic. Before I get started with this guide, I want to point you towards our Disclaimer Page, which in summary lets you know that we are not responsible for any problems that arise from modifications that you perform to your phone. This is for our safety only, in the very unlikely event that something very bad would happen.

Now that that’s out there, be aware that any mistake you make poses a potential risk of bricking your Samsung Epic, so be very careful, and follow the steps that are laid out here for you. Other than that, you should not have any issues. If for some reason there is an issue with flashing a file, please try re-downloading the file and re-attempting the process before panicking!

Assuming you already have your Samsung Epic nearby, and you know how to plug it into your computer using a USB cable, we won’t explain that! Samsung and Sprint decided to make this root process a little harder than for other Android phones, so the process is a little longer than for other phones, but you can still gain permanent root access for your Samsung Epic. This process will involve downloading a few files, and moving them around, as well as a few other steps which will give you that permanent root access we just mentioned. Here it goes:

1. Follow the instruction guide on How to Install the Android SDK if you haven’t already done so.
2. Download the following file:
   • epic-root
3. Extract that ZIP file, which should result in showing either one folder with 4 files inside of it, or just 4 files, period. Move those files to your C:\Android\tools folder. It’ll be much easier to do this now, than to try to find the paths to these files later.
4. Now, open a command prompt. Follow the guide on How to Open a Command Prompt if you don’t know how to do that yet.
5. Plug your phone into your computer using the supplied USB cord. Make sure USB Debugging is on, and your phone is set to “Charge Only” if you have a menu open that asks you when you plug your phone in.
6. Inside that command prompt, if everything went correctly with your installation of the SDK, then type adb devices. This should now show up with some text, then your phone’s serial number, and say it’s online.
7. Enter the following commands, one per line, into the command prompt (you can copy and paste, one per line):
   

   cd C:\Android\tools
   adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
   adb push joeykrim-root.sh /sdcard/joeykrim-root.sh
   adb push jk-su /sdcard/jk-su
   adb push playlogo /sdcard/playlogo

8. Once you’ve completed all of that, you need to enter the following commands, one per line (you can copy and paste one per line don’t type anything in RED):
   

   adb shell     //NOTE: you should now see a $ symbol after this command//
   chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
   cd /data/local/tmp
   ./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
   exit

9. Typing exit makes you leave the shell. Now, re-enter the shell by typing adb shell. You should now see a # symbol after this command. NOTE: If you do NOT see a # symbol after this command, please repeat the exploit, shown below:
   

   cd /data/local/tmp
   ./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
   exit

   Type adb shell again, if it returns a #, continue with the guide. If it returns a $ again, repeat. This may take a few times to get it to work.

10. Now that you’ve gotten a # symbol after typing adb shell from Step 9, above, meaning you have temporary root exploit working, we will now execute commands to gain permanent root for your Samsung Epic. Enter the commands below, one per line (copy and paste is fine, but still, one line at a time):
    

    adb shell
    mount -t rfs -o remount,rw /dev/block/stl9 /system
    cat /sdcard/joeykrim-root.sh > /system/bin/joeykrim-root.sh
    cat /sdcard/jk-su > /system/bin/jk-su
    mv /system/bin/playlogo /system/bin/playlogo-orig
    cat /sdcard/playlogo > /system/bin/playlogo
    chmod 755 /system/bin/playlogo
    chmod 755 /system/bin/joeykrim-root.sh

11. Once you’ve entered all those commands, I want you to verify that you have permanent root access. Please reboot your phone. Once it fully reboots, go to your command prompt again, type the following commands:
    

    adb shell
    su

    The su command should change the $ to a # symbol. This means that you now have permanently rooted your phone! Don’t worry, though, if you need to un-root for any reason, please follow the guide on How to Unroot the Samsung Epic.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully rooted your Samsung Epic if you’ve reached this far! Leave me a comment and let me know how the process worked out for you! I am excited to hear from you!

This guide will explain to you how to unroot the Samsung Epic. This is a fairly simple process that will allow you to remove all traces of ever having rooted your Samsung Epic. Let’s get started.

Open a command prompt. If you forget how, or don’t know how, follow the Command Prompt guide.

Once the prompt is open, please enter the following commands, one per line (you can copy and paste, but still only one command per line!):

cd C:\Android\tools
adb shell
su
mount -t rfs -o remount,rw /dev/block/stl9 /system
rm /system/bin/joeykrim-root.sh
rm /system/bin/jk-su
rm /system/bin/playlogo
rm /etc/passwd
rm /etc/group
mv /system/bin/playlogo-orig /system/bin/playlogo
mount -t rfs -o remount,ro /dev/block/stl9 /system

Reboot your phone! That’s it, you’ve unrooted your phone and removed existence of ever having the phone rooted in the first place. Congratulations!