The official Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 update has been released for the T-Mobile Galaxy S2, and only a little while back we brought you a full step-by-step guide on manually flashing the update. Now, you can also gain root access on the official Android 4.0 firmware on your phone, by following the guide given below. Rooting lets you access system files and perform many modifications and use advanced apps on the phone.

Read on to find out how you can root the Ice Cream Sandwich firmware on T-Mobile Galaxy S2.

Compatibility

This ROM and the guide below are compatible only and only with the T-Mobile Galaxy S2, model number SGH-T989. It’s not compatible with any other device. Check your device’s model number in Settings» About phone.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.

How to Root Android 4.0 UVLE1 Firmware on T-Mobile Galaxy S2

  1. Make sure your phone is on the Android 4.0 UVLE1 firmware. You can follow the guide here to flash UVLE1.
  2. Make sure you have the phone drivers installed on the computer. If not, download and install them from the link below.
    Download Drivers
  3. Download the root file.
    Download Link  |  Filename: Root.zip
  4. Copy the Root.zip file to the internal SD card on the phone. Copy the file itself, do not extract its contents.
  5. Download the Clockworkmod touch recovery file.
    Download Link  |  Filename: recovery.tar.md5
  6. Download Odin which will be used to flash the recovery on your phone.
    Download Link  |  Filename: Odin3 v1.83.exe
  7. Open Odin by double-clicking the Odin3 v1.83.exe file downloaded in step 6.
  8. Switch off your phone. Then, boot into download mode. To do this, turn off your phone. Plug in your USB cable to the computer, but not to the phone. Then, holding the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons on the phone, plug in the USB cable to the phone while holding those buttons. Once the Download mode screen shows up, let go of the buttons.
  9. After you connect the phone in download mode, you’ll notice Added!! message in Odin’s message box in the bottom left. If you don’t get the message, check that the drivers are properly installed and start from step 7 again.
  10. Now, in Odin, click the PDA button and select the .md5 file you got in step 5 — recovery.tar.md5.
  11. Important! Do not touch any other button or make any other changes in Odin except selecting the required file as given in step 9.
  12. Click the Start button in Odin to flash the Clockworkmod Touch recovery on your phone.
  13. Now, hit the START button to start flashing the recovery on your phone. When the flashing is complete, your phone will automatically reboot — and when you see the Samsung logo, you can safely unplug the cable. Plus, you’ll get a PASS message (with green background) in the left-most box at the very top of Odin. What to do if Odin gets stuck: If ODIN gets stuck and doesn’t seem to be doing anything, or you get a FAIL message (with red background) in ODIN, disconnect the phone from the PC, close ODIN, remove battery, re-insert it, then repeat the procedure from step 7.
  14. After the phone boots up, turn it off. Then, press and hold Volume Down + Volume Up + Power keys together till the screen turns on, to enter ClockworkMod recovery.
  15. Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the Root.zip file on the SD card and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – Install Root.zip on the next screen.
  16. After the installation is complete, select go back then select reboot system now to reboot the phone.

Your T-Mobile Galaxy S2 is now rooted and is also running the latest Android 4.0 firmware. Do let us know how it works for you, in the comments below.