Do you want more control over your smartphone? Android rooting opens up a whole new world of possibility, but it can also void your warranty, leave you with a broken smartphone or tablet, or worse.
Before proceeding, it is important to understand that rooting is not always a straightforward process and you may encounter hiccups along the way.
If you decide that you absolutely need to root your Android device, continue below, but know that it isn’t for the faint of heart or technology-inexperienced.
Preparing for root
Back up everything you cannot live without before you start. You should also always back up your phone’s current ROM before you flash a new one.
You will also want to ensure that your device is fully charged before you begin.
You will need to turn on USB debugging, as well as OEM Unlocking. Do this by opening Settings on your device.
If you do not see Developer Options toward the bottom of the Settings screen, follow these steps to activate it.
1.Tap on About Phone and find the Build Number. The exact path depends on your phone, but it’ll usually be found with other software information.
2.Tap on the Build Number seven times and the Developer Options will appear on the main page of the Settings. You may need to confirm your security passcode to enable this.
3.Tap on the Back key to see your new developer options.
4.Tap Developer Options.
5.Check to enable USB Debugging.
6.Check to enable OEM Unlocking.
How to root your Android device with multiple programs
There are a lot of different ways to root your phone or tablet. Here are a few of our favorites.
Framaroot is a newer one-click rooting service, and it aims to make the process of rooting easy for everyone with a simple one-click “root” button. However, you might have to jump through a couple of hoops to get it started.
1.Download the APK.
2.Install it — you may need to tap the Unknown sources button in your Android Security settings to complete the installation.
3.Open the app, and tap Root.
4.If the app finds it’s able to root your device, it will do so. If it can’t you’ll need to try another method.
5.If your device can be rooted, you can go ahead and root your device.
6.You’ll then need to download and run SuperSU to manage your root access.
Firmware.mobi, an unlocking utility by developer Chainfire, isn’t the easiest way to root your Android smartphone, but it is one of the most stable.
It works on more than 300 devices and provides step-by-step instructions that make the rooting process as seamless as it possibly could be.
You will need to download the appropriate ZIP file for your device.
Once you have done that, follow these steps:
1.Extract the folder.
2.Navigate to it, and find the root-windows.bat file. Double-click it.
3.Wait for the script to execute, and press any key.
4.When the process is complete, your phone will automatically reboot, and you will be rooted.
CF-Auto-Root
Created by XDA Senior Recognized Developer Chainfire, CF-Auto-Rootis a root for “rooting beginners” and those who want to keep as close to stock as possible.
CF-Root is meant to be used in combination with stock Samsung firmwares as well as Nexus devices, and be the quickest and easiest way for your first root.
In essence, it does nothing but install and enable SuperSU on your system, so apps can gain root access.
The easiest way to use KingoRoot is to install the app version, which literally performs the root process with just one tap.
In fact, the only complicated part is actually getting that app onto your Android device. That's because it's not available in the Google Play Store; instead, you must download the KingoRoot APK and manually install it.
ideally, you'll just point your device's mobile to the KingoRoot Android page and download it directly. If that doesn't work for some reason, or you're working from your PC, download the APK and email it to yourself as an attachment.
Then, on your device, open that e-mail and download that attachment.
To install it, however, you'll need to make sure your device is set to allow apps from unknown sources.
In most versions of Android, that goes like this: Head to Settings, tapSecurity, scroll down to UnknownSources and toggle the switch to the on position.
Now you can install KingoRoot. Then run the app, tap OneClickRoot, and cross your fingers.
If all goes well, your device should be rooted within about 60 seconds. (On my aforementioned Galaxy S6, the process made it to 90 percent, then the phone crashed and rebooted. Luckily, no harm done.)
The desktop version
Kingo's support pages suggested I might have better luck with the Galaxy S6 if I tried the Windows version of KingoRoot. Here's that process:
Step 1: Download and install KingoRoot for Windows, making sure to leave unchecked the option to "Install Yahoo powered Chromium browser" and then click Decline to prevent any other adware incursions.
Step 2: Enable USB debugging mode on your phone. If it's running Android 4.0 or 4.1, tap Settings, Developer Options, then tick the box for "USB debugging."
(You may need to switch "Developer options" to On before you can do so.) On Android 4.2, tap Settings, About Phone, Developer Options, and then tick USB debugging." Then tap OK to approve the setting change.
On Android 4.3 and later (including 5.0, though this also applies to some versions of 4.2), tap Settings, About Phone, then scroll down to Build Number.
Tap it seven times, at which point you should see the message, "You are now a developer!"
With that done, tap Settings, About Phone, Developer Options, and then tick USB debugging." Then tap OK to approve the setting change.
Step 3: Run Android Root on your PC, then connect your phone via its USB sync cable. After a moment, the former should show a connection to the latter.
Your device screen may show an "Allow USB debugging?" pop-up. Tick "Always allow from this computer," then tap OK.
Step 4: Click Root, then sit back and wait while the utility does its thing. After a few minutes, my Galaxy S6 got to 70 percent, and then the phone once again crashed and rebooted. Again, your mileage can (and most likely will) vary.
And that's all there is to it. If you decide you want to reverse the process, just run Android Root again, connect your phone, then click Remove Root. (Same goes for the app version, more or less.)
Now, what should you do with your rooted phone? Hit the comments to share your favorite options.
