Root Samsung Galaxy S4

Similar to Apple devices and firmwares, the minute the Samsung Galaxy S4 made its appearance, it was subjected to some pretty enthusiastic testing by developers.  It didn’t take them long to determine how to Root Galaxy S4, with the use of a program called CF-Autoroot, developed by ChainFire.  We are going to show you how to root your Samsung Galaxy S4.

First though: While gaining root access to your Galaxy S4 will give you far more control over it, it does come with a set of risks.  You do run the risk of making your Samsung Galaxy S4 into nothing more than a very expensive ornament. You will most likely void the warranty on it as well. If you are a bit of an expert at rooting devices and/or are game to give it a go, here’s how to do it.

Steps to Rooting your Samsung Galaxy S4:

Obvious but important, back up your device before you do anything. This will need to be done manually:

• Connect your Galaxy S4 to your C and copy your files using File Explorer,  back up your contacts using Google Contacts or similar  and back up your SMS messages using something like SMS Backup+

1. Download Samsung USB drivers to ensure that your Galaxy is recognized by your operating system
2. Now Download Odin. This is a utility that enables you to flash system software, including recoveries,  across to Samsung devices.
3. You will also need to download CF-Autoroot (links next step). Together with Odin this takes a lot of the work out of rooting your device. Download the version for your specific Galaxy S4 model:
4. CF-Autoroot for GT-I9500 (International, octa-core)
   CF-Autoroot for GT-I9505 (International, Qualcomm Snapdragon variant)
   CF-Autoroot for SGH-I337M (Canadian model)
   CF-Autoroot for SPH-L720 (Sprint model)
   CF-Autoroot for SGH-M919 (Touch Mobile model)

The Bootloader for models that are from AT&T or Verizon is locked so you will not be able to carry out this procedure. If you try to you run the risk of bricking your Galaxy S4

1. Now you need to prepare your Galaxy S4 to be rooted. Open Settings, About Tablet, and navigate to the Build Number.  Tap on the number 7 times and Developer Options  will be unlocked.
2. Back to Settings, Developer Options, Enable USB Debugging
3. You now need to reboot and restart your Galaxy S4 into Download Mode. Switch the phone off and hold the volume down button together with Power  and Home
4. Launch Odin and connect your Galaxy S4 to your PC.
5. In Odin, you will see ID:Com go yellow. It will then show you the Com port of your Galaxy S4
6. Click on PDA  and choose the version of CF-Autoroot that you downloaded and unzipped (look for a *.tar.md5 extension)
7. Ensure that Repartition  has not get a check mark against it; AutoReboot  and F.Reset Time  must have check marks against them.
8. Select Start  and Odin will do its work.
9. When Odin has finished your Galaxy S4 will reboot  and a red Android logo will appear.  DO NOT TOUCH IT. Allow it to finish the procedure; It will restart a final time when it has completed the process.

That is the process you need to follow to successfully root your Galaxy S4.  To verify that you now have root access, look for SuperSU  in your program files. Install Root Checker Basic, launch it and, if you get a message from SuperSU requesting root access, the procedure has been successful.  Now you can take a look at this list of apps for rooted Android devices.

Be aware that, on a Samsung device, there will be a counter that marks down whenever non-standard firmware has been installed. This counter can be checked if you need to use your warranty and your warranty will be voided if there are any marks against the counter. If you want to reset the counter you can do so using Triangle Away. This will not affect your root access but you do have to pay for the app.

• Download Triangle Away –  it costs $2.49 from the Play Store

• Launch the app on your device and tap on Reset the Flash Counter

Note :

Triangle Away  will NOT work on the GT-I9500 model. It may brick your Galaxy S4 and it can also unmount your SD drives – these can be remounted through your Settings. Again, carry this out at your own risk.