How to Unlock Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

 XDA is always full of wonderful people. This time its member yassine22 shared the method on unlocking Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9.

pix source: samsung.com

Step 1: Root your tab
[ why root the tablet: unlocking the tablet requires access to hidden system files in the root. The root is not normally made accessible to the standard users]

• From the web, search a Root package (easy to find on the web, just google ‘galaxy’ ‘root zip’ you’ll get a small zip file, it may be root.zip, root2.zip, doesn’t matter)
• Download the root zip file.
• Copy it to your tab and remember exactly the folder where you paste it.
• Turn off you tab.
• Press simultaneously the volume (-) and power buttons and continue pressing until you got a system screen with two items menu (download, and …).
• Press the volume (-) again to navigate through the two items of the menu, select upgrade.
• In the top of the screen, you’ll get a list menu with 4 items. Scroll to item “install from SDCard” (use volume (-) and (-) to scroll).
• Press power button to select.
• You’ll have to select the root zip folder, navigate through the folder structure using volume (-) (+) buttons.
• Press the power button to execute the zip file.
• Rooting operation will start, you’ll see many progress messages, just wait until the whole process finishes, it takes few seconds.
• Navigate back the menu item “reboot the tab”, press power button.

[ Your tablet will reboot now, you will notice no change, but the change is there, your tablet is now rooted]

Step 2: Preparing to unlock

• From the market, install the free app “super user”.
• Open the newly created shortcut “super user” and validate any message you get, close if necessary, [the SuperUser is an app that will work in the background and grant permissions –when necessary- to other applications to access root. Without it, rooting a tab is meaningless].
• From the market, install “root manager” [root manager is now your file manager that can go deep through the folder structure and access root folders].
• Launch the “root manager”, the first time you do that, you’ll be prompted to allow “Super User” to grant permissions to “root manager”, allow that.
• Take some time to make yourself familiar with “root manager”, it’s a very simple but powerful file manager.
• Now go back to serious work, locate the folder \efs at the root, [efs folder is very important, it holds all the information to validate your tablet to the GSM/3G operator, it validates the authenticity of your IMEI].
• Just make a copy of the whole folder and save it in a safe place – your PC or a memory stick-. We’ll be back later to this copy, continue now on the tab.
• Open \efs folder, locate the file nv_data.bin.
• Make a copy of nv_data.bin in the same folder \efs and rename the file eg: ORIGINAL_nv_data.bin
• Delete all the files in the \efs folder except nv.log. Don’t delete the sub folders ( you should normally have the following sub folders .files, imei, gyro….). 
• Now leave the tablet powered on (don’t turn off) and move to your PC to continue job,

Step 3: Molding the nv_data.bin file

• In the copy of the \efs folder that you previously made, locate the original file nv_data.bin.
• Make a copy of this file somewhere in your PC. That’s the copy you will be working on.
• Edit nv_data.bin with HexEdit.[ If you are not familiar with depths of binary files, don’t be daunted by the array of codes and bytes].
• Locate the byte 0x181469, it should read 01 value, just edit it to 00 value, do nothing more, just save and exit.
• Now you have created the molded copy of nv_data.bin.
• You need to move this copy of nv_data.bin onto your tablet, either using a memory stick or by USB cable. Paste the file in the \efs folder.

Step 4: tweaking the molded nv_data.bin file

• Now that you pasted the molded nv_data.bin to \efs folder, it needs some minor adjustments before being used.
• In the “root manager”, press and hold on the newly pasted nv_data.bin.
• You’ll get a menu, select properties.
• In the properties box, check all the 9 options (read, write, execute), leave the others.
• Save and exit root manager.
• Go the market and install the free app “terminal emulator”.
• Launch the terminal emulator, accept any message for super user permission.
• In the terminal emulator, execute the following commands [press enter after each line of command]:
• su
• chown 1001:radio \efs\nv_dat.bin
• reboot
• It’s done, your tablet will reboot unlocked.

Verification to make sure everything is OK

• Go to settings, about device, status. Make sure you have a valid IMEI number, the one you have printed on the back of your tablet, not the fake one: 00004**********
• Insert a valid SIM module, you’ll be promted to enter PIN code if configured so.
• Enter PIN code.
• Enter the APN provided by your operator (necessary to access internet 3G).

Warning: unlock/root your Samsung Galaxy Tab may void the warranty as well as brick the device, do it at your own risk.


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source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26368706#post26368706