Rooting Samsung Devices

Words of Caution

This guide assumes you have some experience with rooting and flashing firmware. Proceed with caution, and only attempt this on your own personal devices. Remember, rooting can void warranties and potentially brick your device. I am not responsible for any damages or losses that may occur. Be responsible for your actions, and follow each step carefully.

Prerequisites

• Windows PC
• Recent backup of your tablet, as all existing data will be erased.
• Internet access via Wi-Fi, necessary for OEM unlocking.

Software Requirements

1. Magisk or Kitsune Mask (a Fork of Magisk)
2. Patched Odin 3.14.1
3. Samsung USB Driver
4. SamloaderKotlin Bifrost

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: OEM Unlock

1. Go to Settings > About.
2. Tap Software Information.
3. Tap Build Number seven times or until you see an acknowledgment that you have enabled Developer Options.
4. Go back to Settings and find Developer Options.
5. Locate OEM Unlock and enable it. If it is not there, either your device does not support this method or you need to update to the latest software and factory reset the device.

Step 2: Download Decrypted Firmware

Samsung now requires a matching IMEI or serial number to be sent with firmware requests.

1. Unzip the Odin3-*.zip and bifrost-*.zip.
2. Run the extracted Bifrost.exe inside the bin folder.
3. Input the Model (e.g., SM-X610).
4. Select the Region from the dropdown (match it to your Software Information page, e.g., XAR).
5. Enter your serial number or IMEI into the field.
6. Click 'Check for Updates' to find the latest firmware files.
7. Once it locates the firmware, save it into the Odin folder you extracted earlier.

Step 3: Unlock the Bootloader

While the firmware downloads, let's unlock the bootloader.

1. If attached, remove the USB cable from the device.
2. Power off the device using the traditional method.
3. Once powered off, press and hold both the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons while connecting a USB cable from the tablet to a PC.
4. Continue holding the two buttons until download mode appears.
5. To unlock the bootloader, press and hold the Volume Up button until the screen transitions.
6. It will ask you to confirm your choice by pressing Volume Up.
7. After you agree, the device will reboot and automatically initiate the factory reset.
8. After the reset and you're back at the 'Welcome!' screen, configure a basic setup (Wi-Fi connection required).
9. Re-enable Developer Options and make sure you see that OEM Unlock is enabled (should be grayed out).

Step 4: Patch AP

When the download and decryption are completed, you'll have a new folder containing your firmware files specific to your device.

Sometimes you may need to extract the zip file in order to create the flashable firmware files.

1. Install the driver from the 'Software Requirements' section above.
2. Plug up your device via USB to your PC.
3. Copy the firmware file that starts with 'AP_' and the APK file for Magisk downloaded from the 'Software Requirements' section to the device.
4. Once finished, open the Files app and select 'Application Files' and tap on app-release.apk or whatever the APK file is named.
5. Give the appropriate install permissions to install.
6. Open the newly installed app.
7. At the top, select 'Install'.
8. Then, press the radial button for 'Select and Patch a File'.
9. This will open the file browser; find the AP_ file and tap it.

It will take a few minutes to patch the AP file.

10. Once completed, copy the 'magisk_patched-` file from the Download directory of the device back to your PC so we can flash it in place of the original.

Step 5: Install Patched Firmware

1. Run Odin and do the following:
   • Switch tabs on the left to 'Options' and untoggle the 'Auto Reboot' option.
   • Press BL and select the BL_ file.
   • Press AP and select the magisk_patched- file.
   • Press CSC and select the CSC_ file.

Do not use Home_CSC because that will not erase all the user data, which is imperative.

2. Unplug the USB from the device and power it down.
3. After a few seconds, press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons while reconnecting the USB cable from the PC to the device.
4. Continue holding the two buttons until download mode appears.
5. Press Volume Up to confirm you want to enter download mode.
6. Back on the PC, press Start to flash the device.

Step 6: Factory Reset After Flashing

After completing the flash, we do not want the device to auto-reboot.

1. Once Odin says PASS in green, you can unplug the USB and press and hold Power and Volume Down to reboot the device.
2. When the screen blanks out, continue holding Power but switch from holding Volume Down to holding Volume Up. If done right, it'll reboot into recovery mode.
3. If not, the device will reboot a few times and boot itself into recovery automatically.
4. Select Wipe data/factory reset. The device will reboot on its own and take you to the Welcome! screen once finished.

Step 7: Finalize the Root

1. Complete the initial setup. Remember, you must connect to Wi-Fi to see if OEM Unlock is still enabled.
2. Plug the device back into your PC and copy the magisk.apk app again to it.
3. Install Magisk using the method we described above.
4. This time, when we open the app, a popup will state 'Additional Setup Required'. Click OK, and the device will reboot once again.
5. After the reboot, you are now the proud owner of an unlocked bootloader that has been rooted with Magisk. Congrats!