Samsung A920 mobile phone root

Instructions on rooting your Samsung A920 mobile phone.

Getting Started

Step 1: Drivers

Since the Samsung A920 does not have USB drivers you will have to use Samsung A900 drivers.

• SPH-A900 Driver download

1. Unplug the phone if it's connected.
2. Install the A900 drivers.
3. Reboot.
4. Go to My Computer > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager > Modems. Your phone should be listed here. If it isn't, try reinstalling the drivers.

Step 2: MSL Code

Your MSL code, also known as Master Unlock Code, Programming Code or SPC Code, is a 6 digit numeric code. Explained below, there are three methods to get this code. If you already have this code move on to step 3.

Method 1

UNICDMA is a very powerful program and can brick your phone or cause you to lose all of your data. If you are not comfortable with this method, continue to method 2 or method 3.

• UNICDMA download.

1. Unplug your phone if it's connected.
2. Install UNICDMA then connect your phone to the computer with your USB cable.
3. Open UNICDMA and click Setup.
4. The next dialog will show a Port dropdown menu, a Baud Rate dropdown menu and a Password box. You need to find what Port (COM) your phone is connected to, this is usually COM3. Many people have an issue with trying to change the port when it is higher than what is listed. You will know when it is the correct port because information about your phone may appear on the left hand side.
5. Go to the Mode dropdown menu and select SKY IM-1200/1400/2000.
6. Click the DM button. This will put your phone in DM mode. The phone reverts to normal mode after you close the program properly.
7. Make sure you are on the Main dialog. Here you should see your ESN listed along with your SCM. The SPC box should show [unknown], this is the location of your MSL code. This is the 6 digit numeric code which is needed to do any kind of hacking on your phone.
8. Click Read All and your SPC code should appear.
9. Write down the number and store it in a few places, it will save you time in the future.

Method 2

Before you start this method, make up a name of a program that you are using to save pictures from your phone to your computer.

1. Call your service provider.
2. Tell them you have found a program that lets you take pictures off of your phone. Mention that it is asking for a 6 digit SPC code (or MSL code, or Programming Code, as Bell calls it) in order for the program to work.

Chances are they will give you the number. If they don't then move on to Method 3.

Method 3

1. Call up your provider's Customer Service department from a land-line telephone.
2. Tell them your phone is giving you a message "not registered to network" and you cannot place calls.
3. They will suggest that you try going outside and they will get you to reset the phone. Pretend that it keeps coming up with the "not registered to network" message.
4. The CSR should then start to go through the reprogramming steps. You won't harm your phone by going through the steps, so go ahead and do what they tell you.

The MSL (SPC) code you need is 6 digits long and is one of the last steps of the reprogramming process. There will be a combination lock picture above the textbox on the dialog. Be patient and make sure you write down the code when you get it.

As soon as you finish the reprogramming process, your phone will reboot and the CSR will likely have you make a test call. The call will work because your phone was already working in the first place.

Step 3: QPST

You will need a program known as QPST which is made by Qualcomm.

• QPST download

1. Open QPST Configuration. There should be three tabs labeled Active Phones, Ports and Active Clients.
2. Click on the Ports tab. Ports COM1 and COM2 are available from default, if your phone is on one of these then skip the sub-step.
   1. Click Add A New Port. You will be presented with a dialog that has two boxes Port and Port Label. If these values aren't correct then enter what COM your phone is connected to.

If everything worked out then your phone should show up under Phone Column with a name such as SURF1000-800.

1. Single click the port that your phone is connected.
2. Under the Start Clients dropdown menu select EFS Explorer, it should be first in the list.
3. Your phone should be listed, along with your phone number and the banner on your phone (if there is one). Input your MSL code in the box labeled SPC.

A loading box should appear and then EFS Explorer should open.

Installing Files

Application or Game

Download an application or game to continue with this guide.

• mSudoku download

1. Browse to Brew > shared > jas > content.
2. When you are in, take note of the highest numbered .jar and .jad file. If there are jar and jads from 1 to 10 then you would take note of the number 10.

You may find that lots of the games you download only have a .jar file and not a .jad file. In this case you need to make a .jad file yourself. JADMaker can do this for you, just drag the .jar file over and it will make a .jad file for you.

• JADMaker download

1. Rename the .jar and .jad files of your game to one higher than what you noted earlier. If your highest was 10.jad and 10.jar then rename the game to 11.jad and 11.jar.
2. Drag your renamed files to Brew > shared > jas > temp > install. It will transfer each file individually. There may be an error dialog saying there is no proper date assigned to the file, just ignore it and click OK.
3. Close EFS Explorer and your phone will reboot.
4. On your phone, browse to Menu > Downloads > Games/Applications and your new game or application should be available.

Ringtones

The install process for ring tones and other file types is the same as with an application or game, just with different file extensions. Instead of .jar and .jad you have 91.m4a and 91.gcd.

Here is an example of a gcd for an m4a file:

Content-Type: audio/mp4 
Content-URL: Far_Away_Nickelback.m4a
Content-ID: 3ginferno/audio/mp4
Content-Vendor: duggyb
Content-Name: Far_Away_Nickelback
Content-Version: 1.0
Content-Size: 110448

The content size needs to be exact size in bytes NOT size on disk.

Use GCDMaker to create the .gcd file for you.

• GCDMaker

List of Content Types

A list of all other files along with their extensions in case you may need them at some point.

qcp audio/vnd.qcelp - Compressed audio. 
wbmp - image/vnd.wap.wbmp - Wireless bitmap -- not a Windows bitmap. 
jpg, jpe, jpeg - image/jpeg - JPEG compressed image. 
png - image/png - PNG compressed image. 
pmd - application/x-pmd - Animation. 
mid, midi - audio/midi - MIDI sound sequence. 
txt - text/plain - Text files. 
gif - image/gif - GIF compressed image. 
mp3 - audio/mp3 - MP3 File. 
mmf - application/vnd.smaf - MMF Audio File. 
mp4 - video/mp4 - MP4 Video. 
m4a - audio/mp4 - M4A Audio. 
amr - audio/3gpp - AMR Audio. 
3gp, 3gpp - video/3gpp - 3GP Audio/Video/Text. 
wma - audio/x-ms-wma - WMA Audio. 
wav - audio/x-wav - WAV Audio. 
cab - application/octet-stream - CAB files. 
aac - audio/x-aac - AAC Audio. 
bar - x-pcs/theme - Sprint PCS Theme

Location of Pictures and Videos

You can find your pictures saved to the phone by browsing to Lightsurf > Mediastore. Just right click on them and select "Copy from phone" to save them, or drag-and-drop them somewhere.

Location of Memory Card

You can access your memory card by selecting the mmc1 folder.

Listening to MP3s

Create a new folder in mmc1 by right-clicking and selecting New > Directory. Name it media and just drag-and-drop all of the MP3s it.

External Links

• Original post at Howard Forums - Downloads in this link not active as of July 1st, 2007