How to root a phone or tablet

HOW TO ROOT YOUR ANDROID PHONE OR TABLET 

Is the allure of being a superuser tempting you? Android rooting opens up a world of possibility, but it can also void your warranty, or even leave you with a bricked device. Yes, when it comes to rooting your Android, you’ll want to know the benefits as well as the risks.


Manufacturers and carriers have a vested interest in dissuading you from rooting. The act of rooting can be inherently dangerous. Even so, for the careful user, the risk is minimal, and the potential benefits are impressive. This guide will walk you through the necessary steps to root your phone. Some devices can be rooted in minutes. Others take a little research. One thing is clear: rooting your phone can be one of the best ways to tap into the deep potential of your Android device.

Updated on 5-06-2015 by Jeffrey Van Camp: Broke this article into a better structure and added a key to it. Added some more information about unrooting.

What is rooting?

Rooting is jailbreaking for Androids and allows users to dive deeper into a phone’s sub-system. Essentially, it’ll allow you to access the entire operating system and be able to customize just about anything on your Android. With root access, you can get around any restrictions that your manufacturer or carrier may have applied. You can run more apps, you can overclock or underclock your processor, replace the firmware.


The process requires users to back up current software and flashing (installing) a new custom ROM (modified version of Android).

How to use Kingo Android Root

The Windows based, Kingo Android Root is one of the easiest ways to root your Android device. First, check to see if your device is compatible with Kingo. Their site provides a list of compatible devices. Then, download Kingo Android Root and enable the USB debugging mode on your phone.


Once you’ve enabled USB debugging mode on your phone, run the program on your PC and connect your Android to your PC with a USB cord. The program should detect your device and a message asking if you’d like to root will appear. Select “root” and then hang tight. Kingo will only take a few minutes to grant super user privileges.
Rooting forums

No other mobile operating system parallels the diversity of Android OS. For this reason, there’s no universal way to root your device. If the above two options fail, don’t fret. There is likely a guide on how to root your specific device available somewhere online. Generally you can find a guide to your device on such as XDA developers’ forum and Phandroid Forums.

Once you have found the right guide for your phone or tablet, it’s simply a case of working through the listed steps methodically. It can be a complicated procedure and it can take a while. Here’s an example guide for rooting the Samsung Galaxy S4. It can appear intimidating at first glance, but provided you follow it step-by-step, it should be a pain-free process. You can post questions in the XDA Developers forum if you run into trouble.

DOWNLOAD ROOT CHECKER

You’ll need to download another app to make sure your device has been successfully rooted. There are several apps available on the Google Play store that, when downloaded, will tell you if you have super-rooter permission. Root Checker is a popular one. Simply downloading and running the app will tell you if your phone has super-user permissions.

INSTALL A ROOT MANAGEMENT APP

Rooting will make your phone more vulnerable to security threats. Installing a root management app will give you more peace of mind. Normally, every app that requires rooted privileges will ask for your approval. This is where root management apps, such as SuperSU, come in. SuperSU lets you allow or deny sites’ requests for super user permission. It will then keep track of the permissible apps and automatically grant permission next time you use the app. SuperSU will also keep track of how many times an app requests to root.