So, you recently picked up the Samsung Stratosphere on Verizon and want to get the most out of your new toy. It's no secret that when it comes to getting the most out of any Android device, root access it the key. Fortunately, KnightCrusader over at RootzWiki just dropped the info on how to gain root on the Stratosphere.

The process seems to be pretty straightforward: a little ODIN action, some adb commands, and a kernel flash -- that's pretty much it. If you're feeling up to it, check out the instructions below. If you happen to hit any snags along the way, hit up the source thread over at RootzWiki for help.

Good luck!

Instructions

Setup: I'm using Windows XP 32-bit, but unlike most devs, I use Heimdall in order to flash firmware to my phone. (Long story short: I've had less issues with using Heimdall than I have with Odin - that, and Odin only works in Windows where as Heimdall works in Windows/Linux/Mac. But, its up to you, feel free to use whatever tool you want as long as you know what you are doing with these files.)

Also, make sure you have adb set up and working. You'll need this to push the actual superuser binaries. Download and more info on adb at Android Developers.

First things first: Let's get your system set up to flash the kernel to the phone.

NOTE: If you have data encryption turned on, its been warned that you might want to turn it off before attempting this. Not sure if this is related to custom kernels or not, but better be safe than sorry. (And I think its off by default, mine wasn't on... so if you didn't turn it on, you should be fine.)

Download Heimdall 1.3.1 and extract the zip contents to a folder. Make sure to install the C++ distributable mentioned in the download section or the tool won't run (Windows only).

Put your phone in download mode. There are many ways to do this, easiest being holding the Vol - key while powering the phone on. It will warn you about flashing custom firmware, yadda yadda. Accept it anyway, then you'll see a green Andy that says "Download Mode Do Not Turn Off Target". Now plug your phone in. (Linux/Mac users can skip the rest of this paragraph. Yay us Windows users.) Set up the drivers from the zagig.exe app in the Drivers folder. The dropdown box will say something like 'Gadget Serial'. Click 'Install Driver'. I can't remember if I had to replug the phone or not, or reboot the machine, but you might want to for good measure if it isn't working.

Next, download the zip attached to this post below and unzip its contents to a working folder. To make things easier, just extract the zip contents to the same directory that heimdall is living in. You should have the following files from the zip:

root-zImagesubusyboxSuperuser.apk

Now, fire up a command window in this directory. I use the command-line utility in order to push the kernel instead of the GUI, but if you know how to use the GUI, be my guest.

First make sure the device is detected. Type:

heimdall detect

If it works, you'll get 'Device detected'. Now you are good to go:

heimdall flash --kernel root-zImage

You'll see it say uploading kernel, and a progress bar will appear on the phone. It goes pretty quick. On success, you'll see the phone reboot, and then a new yellow '!' triangle will flash under the SAMSUNG logo on the boot screen. This means the system detected a custom kernel. If you see/hear the boot animation, then you were successful! You are now sporting a working insecure kernel ready for rooting!

;)

Wait for the phone to boot back up and make sure everything is in working order. Make sure USB Debugging is on. (Settings->Applications->Development)

Now, in the command window, make sure your phone can be seen:

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb devices

List of devices attached

3235A3CA0D8400EC device

now, remount the file system.

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb remount

remount succeeded

Push the following files to the phone:

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb push su /system/bin

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb push busybox /system/bin

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb push Superuser.apk /system/app

Change the permissions on su and busybox:

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su

F:Downloadsheimdall-suite-1.3.1-win32>adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/busybox

Now, download something from the market that needs root privileges to test. I bought Root Explorer, so I used that to test. I also tried to su from ConnectBot in a local connection and it also worked for me.

If you get the Superuser Request popup, then you are rooted!! Congrats!

If you want to put the stock kernel back on, or just want to have it for safety sake, I attached it in a zip by itself as well. Flash it using the same method listed above. Thanks again goes to jcase and tbh for providing that.

[RootzWiki]