Learn How to Root Android Phone Manually

Rooting promises to give you complete control over your Android phone. But it also has some risks.

Let’s find out what rooting is, how to manually root an Android phone, and why click-to-click rooting tools are useless.

What is rooting ?

Rooting is like jailbreaking an iPhone. It will unlock your Android phone and grant you administrator level access to the operating system, commonly referred to as root access or superuser access.

With it, you can make any changes to your phone, bypassing the restrictions set by the operating system, manufacturers and telecom operators.

Reasons to root your smartphone

Set up something on your phone
Remove viruses or unnecessary system applications
Install apps from any source
Change the whole look of your phone
Change technical settings
Backing up your data

1. Set up something on your phone

Many settings are restricted on Android phones (similar to iOS devices) to avoid accidentally changing or deleting important settings.

But users who know Android phones would like to have control over all settings. They prefer rooting to change themes, graphics, and more.

2. Remove viruses or unnecessary system applications.

Every Android phone comes with some pre-installed apps from manufacturers that cannot be removed. You can only disable them.

And even after that, they turn back on if you ever reboot your phone. These apps are called malware because they reside on your phone due to an agreement between the phone manufacturer and the app developers.

These apps also take up a lot of storage space. So, due to malware, there will be some apps on your phone that you don’t need and they will still take up memory space because your phone won’t let you uninstall them.

With a rooted phone, removing these malicious apps is very easy. Remove malware to free up storage space and get rid of unwanted notifications from these apps.

3. Install apps from any source

Your Android phone only allows you to download and install apps from the Google Play Store.

It has millions of apps that Google checks before making your device secure, but the store may not have the apps that many power users prefer. This is why apps outside of the official store are desirable.

You can turn on unknown sources in your phone’s settings to allow installation of apps from any source if you might have trouble installing some apps.

You need root access to have complete freedom to install specialized tools and any application from any source.

4. Change the look of your phone

Stock Android on phones allows limited changes to the device’s interface. You can use many themes and launchers, but the Android version remains the same and is not updated unless allowed by the manufacturer.

Many Android devices do not receive updates and the manufacturer does not plan to update Android for these phones.

You are stuck on the version of Android that the device shipped with, or on the latest update of the device, which could be years ago.

With rooting, you can replace the pre-installed version of Android on your phone with custom ROMs (custom versions of Android operating systems) that allow you to use the new interface and updated version.

5. Change technical settings

Rooting is preferred by advanced users who want to change the technical settings of their phone, such as tweaking or replacing the kernel on the phone and overclocking the phone’s processor.

6. Back up your data

You can find many applications and methods for backing up data on Android, but they have limitations.

On rooted devices, you can set your phone to automatically back up all your settings and app data to the cloud at regular intervals. Also, you can back up any app and copy it to another phone.

Disadvantages of Rooting Android Phones

It may damage your device
Root void guarantee
A rooted phone is more vulnerable to malware and hacker attacks than a non-rooted phone
Some rooting apps contain malware
Many high security apps don’t work on rooted phones

1. It may damage your device

Rooting is a complex process that requires technical knowledge if you do it by hand. If the steps are not followed correctly, your phone will be locked.

This means your phone will be dead. Rooting steps vary by brand and model; that’s why walling up the phone is a huge risk.

There are one-click rooting apps, but they usually don’t work. So, go through the rooting process with the chances that the phone can turn into a beautiful paperweight.

2. Guaranteed troubleshooting

Manufacturers don’t like rooting, so rooting a phone will void the phone’s warranty immediately. Thus, even rooting a new phone, you cannot claim warranty after rooting.

While rooting is not illegal, it does unlock the phone and leave it vulnerable to security. That’s why manufacturers don’t recommend it.

3. A rooted phone is more vulnerable to malware and hacker attacks than a non-rooted phone

As explained above, rooting unlocks your phone and you can change any settings on your phone, including security settings.

This allows you to customize your Android phone to your liking. However, it also allows malware and hackers to easily access your phone’s security settings and extract or infect your data.

This means that your bank details and passwords can be stolen.

4. Some Rooting Apps Contain Malware

You can find many apps that claim to root your phone. Most of them will be malware and will infect your phone. This can give hackers access to your phone, who can use it for evil purposes such as stealing your data and detecting theft.

5. Many high security apps don’t work on rooted phones

High security apps such as Android Pay and banking apps check the phone’s root status every time it is launched.

If they find it’s a rooted phone, the app won’t open. Some of them will clearly show a message that they won’t work on a rooted phone, while others will display a random error.

The latest rooting tricks solved this problem by introducing systemless rooting. If you randomly root your phone, high security apps won’t be able to detect it and you can continue to use them on your rooted phone.

But it’s not reliable. This method is working now, but we don’t know how long it will work. We have reports that Google Pay has also stopped working on systemless rooted devices.

What is system root and non-system root?

System root
unsystematic root
Advantages of Hapless Root

1. System root

Years ago, before Android 4.3, the typical rooting method unlocked the phone’s system partition by installing a su.

This allowed the user to switch from a normal user to a superuser (administrator). When you switch to superuser, you can access any part of the Android system and make any changes you want.

After Android 4.3, the developers made the process that handles user permissions run when Android starts up.

These processes are called daemons. It also requires special permission to continue working properly.

In those days, rooting was required to change the phone’s system files, so the old methods of rooting were called system rooting or simply rooting.

2. Unsystematic root

When Android 5 was released, the boot image handled the permission processes. So the root developers have found a way to change the Android boot image to run a su daemon (or su process) that can give you superuser access or root privileges on the Android system.

Since this process does not require changing the phone’s system partition, it is called a systemless root.

It is considered the modern and most popular rooting method for Android devices. If you are rooting your Android phone today, you will be using the systemless rooting method.

3. Advantages of Hapless Root

3.1 Obtaining OTA updates

If you have rooted your phone systemlessly, you can still get updates over the air (OTA) on your Android.

Whereas, when using the older method of rooting the system, you cannot update your phone. The only way to update with a rooted phone is to install (flash) a newer version of the custom ROM you are using.

3.2 Running high security applications

High security apps easily detect system rooted phones and stop working when they detect they are installed on a rooted device.

Since systemless root does not make any changes to the Android system partition, root detection also becomes difficult.

This means that high security apps like banking apps and even some games that don’t work on rooted phones can work just fine.

This is possible because haphazard roots may go unnoticed by Google SafetyNet checks. This is the API that applications use to check the security and integrity of the phone. A rooted phone is considered dangerous and vulnerable to online threats.

That’s why apps use SafetyNet to check if the phone is rooted. If it is rooted, the app stops working.

But we are getting reports that Google has also fixed this issue and some apps like Google Pay don’t work on systemless rooted devices.

3.3 Easily disable your phone

Again, since the system partition files were left intact, you can go back to an unrooted phone if you change your mind.

System rooted devices can be detected even when you unroot your phone, but detecting root when removing systemless root is difficult.

Android Rooting Conditions You Need to Know Before Rooting Your Device

Root
Loader
Recovery
Custom ROM
superuser
ADB
core
Brick

1. Root

Android is a Linux-based operating system. Root access in Linux means gaining administrator or superuser access to the operating system to make any changes to the system.

2. Loader

This downloads the boot process of the phone. It is responsible for starting system and operating system recovery.

3. Recovery

The bootloader starts the recovery process. So, when you start your phone, the bootloader starts its process and starts the recovery. Custom recovery is used to backup your phone and install new modified android systems.

4. Custom ROM

Modified Android operating systems are called custom ROMs. At a basic level, they are identical to Android, but have additional features, permissions, and apps that many users prefer.

With custom ROMs on rooted devices, you can get a newer version of Android on an older phone that isn’t scheduled for the Android update planned by the manufacturer.

5. Superuser

SuperUser is the administrator user for Android devices. The rooting process installs the su file on your phone. In this regard, you can use SuperSU or similar applications to get superuser access.

6. ADB

This is the android debug bridge. It is used from a computer to run commands on an Android device.

7. Core

A kernel is a communication medium used between hardware and software to work together.

When rooting, you have the option to replace the system kernel with your own kernel.

8. Brick

Due to some bug or other reasons, it is called a bricked phone when your phone stops responding and won’t turn on.

There is a chance to get it running again using a Nandroid backup. This is a backup that you can perform on a rooted phone.

How to root an Android phone manually?

The method to manually root an Android device depends on your model. One method for a model may not work for another model.

That’s why search the XDA Developers Forum “Root [your phone make and model]”to find the specific steps for your specific phone model. For example, “Samsung S root access [number]”.

The manual rooting guide below is based on the general steps used to root Android devices. We perform a systemless rooting process with Magisk.

Backing up your data
Prepare your phone
Install Android SDK Platform Tools
Install USB drivers on your computer
Unlock your phone’s bootloader
Get your phone’s firmware and install Magisk

1. Back up your data

Rooting will usually erase all of your storage, so back up your data and anything you want to keep. Use cloud storage or copy everything to external storage.

2. Prepare your phone

You must enable USB debugging and OEM unlocking in the developer options on your phone. But this is only possible if you see the developer settings options. To make it appear, follow these steps:

Open “Settings”on your Android phone.
Select My phone at the top of the list.
Swipe down and find “Build Number”.
Tap “Build Number”seven times to unlock Developer Options.
Now go to Settings > System > Developer Options.
Enable “USB Debugging”and OEM Unlock.

For older versions of Android, follow these steps:

Open settings.
Go to “About”or “About phone”.
Tap “Build Number”seven times to unlock “Developer Options”.
Go to Settings > About > Developer options.
Enable “USB Debugging”and “OEM Unlock”.

3. Install Android SDK Platform Tools

You need to install the Android SDK platform tools to manage your PC. These tools will allow you to unlock your phone’s bootloader so you can flash it with a custom ROM.

For Windows, get the Windows version of the tools from this page.
Extract the zip files to a folder.

4. Install the USB drivers on your computer

In order for your phone and PC to communicate with each other via a USB cable, you must install your phone’s manufacturer’s USB drivers on your computer. Find the steps below:

Open a web browser.
Search Google for “Samsung PC USB Drivers”. Change the name “Samsung”to the manufacturer of your phone.
Your manufacturer’s website for downloading drivers should be your priority. If it is not there, download it from any other site.
Install drivers.
Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable.
Check if your computer detects the phone.

5. Unlock your phone’s bootloader

The bootloader is the first process that starts when you turn on your phone. You need to unlock it to root it. Some phones allow you to unlock the bootloader, while others do not. If your phone allows it, the process is outlined below, but if your phone doesn’t, you should head over to the XDA Developers Forum to find the correct way to do it:

How to know if your phone allows you to unlock the bootloader or not? Follow these steps:

Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable.
Navigate to the SDK tools folder. Click on the address bar, type cmd and press Enter.

A command prompt window will open showing the location of the SDK tools folder.
Copy and paste ADB devices into the command line and press Enter.
If it shows the serial number, your phone’s bootloader can be unlocked.
In a web browser, search Google for “unlock bootloader [manufacturer name]”.
Find the official website of your manufacturer in the results.
Go to the manufacturer’s website and create a developer account.
Follow the instructions given on the website.
When finished, you will receive an unlock code via email. But if you don’t, the phone’s bootloader cannot be unlocked by the official method. Try the XDA forum.

If you received a code, follow these steps to unlock your phone’s bootloader:

Make sure your phone is in fastboot mode. If not, turn off your phone. Now press the power and volume down buttons together for 10-15 seconds. (Some phones may require you to select a fast boot using the volume keys).
Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable.
Open the SDK tools folder that you downloaded and unzipped in the previous steps.
Click the address bar in the window, type cmd, and then press Enter to open a command prompt.
You will need to type in a simple command line and press Enter to unlock the bootloader. This command is different for each manufacturer. For Samsung, this is a quick firmware unlock.

6. Get your phone’s firmware and install Magisk

We need the boot.img file, which is in your phone’s firmware package. To do this, you need to download the official firmware of your phone.

Open a web browser.
Search Google for “official firmware [phone model].”
Download firmware.
Extract it to a folder.
Find boot.img. If it’s not there, there might be another zip file inside that folder. Extract it also.
Now open it, copy the boot.img file and paste it into your phone’s Downloads folder.
Download Magisk from GitHub.
Install the apk file. Go to your phone’s “Settings”> “Security”> enable “Unknown Sources”if it doesn’t install.
Open Magisk and click the install button in the top right corner.

Click next.
In the “Method”section, click “Select and fix file”.

Select the boot.img file that we copied to the Download folder.
Magisk will now create a magisk*****.img file in your Downloads folder.
Reconnect your phone to PC.
Copy the new file. img on PC using ADB by running this command:
ADB extract /sdcard/Download/magisk*****.img
Now turn off your phone. Boot into flash boot mode by holding the power and volume down buttons for 10-15 seconds.
Type this command at the command prompt and press Enter:
fast boot from flash /path/to/magisk*****.img
Your phone has been rooted.

How to Root an Android Device with One-Click Root Tools?

If you are looking for rooting online, you will find many automatic root tools or one-click root tools that claim to root your phone without executing any command. Press one button and the app will do it all.

These apps usually don’t work. Some apps may, but on older Android smartphones.

Since they usually root older phones, their method of rooting is system root. This means that you cannot use high security apps on your phone; if you change your mind and disable it, it won’t be completely removed. This way, it will be easy to tell if your phone has been rooted in the past.

What’s more, some apps contain malware that can damage your phone or steal/infect your data.

If you want to try root tools with one click, here are some popular apps. You can find them on Google by entering their name and adding “apk”next to it.

kingroot
KingoRoot
OneClickRoot
iRoot
CF Authorroot
FramaRoot

Resources you should use after rooting your device

Once you root your device, you will need some apps to verify root and manage your rooted phone. It is necessary:

Root check
Magisk Manager
AdAway
Backup Applications

1. Root check

After rooting, you would like to check with the app if your phone is properly rooted. Install the Root Checker app to make sure you have root access to your phone.

Open the Google Play Store.
Search for “root check”.
Install the app.

2. Magisk Manager

If you’ve rooted your phone with Magisk, you must have Magisk Manager in order to properly use your phone.

It works similar to SuperSu and gives you the ability to enable superuser access for any app you want.

Open a web browser.
Find “Magisk manager apk”.
Go to a trusted website and download the apk.
Enable Unknown Sources on your phone in Settings > Security.
Open the apk to install Magisk Manager.

3. AdAway

This app blocks ads on your phone. If you’ve never liked seeing ads on websites and videos, use AdAway to block them. It also has a non-root version. To get it, do a Google search for “AdAway apk”.

4. Backup Apps

Many root backup apps make it easy to back up a rooted phone. Search Google for “Rooted phone backup apps”to find them.

How to turn off your Android device?

Reset your phone
Disable with Magisk Manager
Update your phone
Install official firmware on your phone

1. Reset your phone.

Most systemless rooted devices can be disabled by performing a factory reset. This will delete all your data, so make a backup first. After backing up, do the following:

Go to settings.
Select System.
Select Reset Options.

Select Delete All Data.
Click the Reset Phone or Reset Tablet button.

Enter a password if prompted.
Your device will be reset.
When it turns on, set up your phone.
Install Root Checker to check if your phone is rooted.

2. Remove root using Magisk Manager

Magisk Manager allows you to uninstall Magisk and remove root from your phone. This is an easy and reliable way to root your phone.

Launch the Magisk Manager app.
Click the “Delete”button.
It will inform you that all modules will be removed and root will be removed from your device.
Select Complete Removal.
Magisk Manager will ask for permission to access internal storage. Select Allow.
It will download the Magisk uninstaller file, uninstall Magisk and reboot your device.
Once downloaded, install Root Checker to confirm the deletion.

If you used SuperSU instead of Magisk to root, the steps to uninstall it are also similar. Open the SuperSU app, go to settings and uninstall it to uninstall the app. This will also remove root access.

3. Update your phone

Updates usually contain part or all of your phone’s firmware. If your rooted phone is still able to receive OTA updates, disable it by updating to the latest version.

This only applies if an update is available on your phone to install. If this is not the case, use other methods from this list.

4. Install the official firmware on your phone.

The most complete method to remove root rights from a phone is to install the official firmware of the phone.

This will remove all traces of root and wipe your data. So, back up your data before moving on.

Visit the XDA developers forum to find the correct way to flash stock firmware on your phone.
Search the website for “flash stock firmware [phone manufacturer and model name]”.
Go through the various tutorials on the forum and try out the methods.

Conclusion

Rooting an Android phone gives you more control over your devices, but there are risks. Some banking apps may not work on your phone.

Use the methods above to root your phone manually and enjoy unlimited access to your Android phone.

FAQ

How easy is it to root an Android phone?

Rooting is done in two ways. Manually and with one-click tools. If you use the one-click tools, they will take care of everything and you only need to complete a few clicks. But these tools don’t usually work; even when they do, they root old phones. The manual rooting method requires an average level of technical knowledge to complete the rooting steps without any errors.

How to grant root access manually?

If you have a rooted phone and want to give the app root access, it will automatically ask for permission when needed. You will receive a pop-up request from SuperSU or Magisk showing the name of the app requesting root access. Once you allow it, the app will get root access.

How can I root my Android phone without a PC?

It is not recommended to root Android phone without PC because you need to use one-click rooting tools. These tools do not always work, and some of them may contain malware. Usually they are only suitable for older Android phones. If you’re interested, look up Framaroot, KingoRoot, and OneClickRoot.

Is it safe to root Android?

Rooting an Android device has its advantages and disadvantages. On a rooted device, you can allow apps to have root access, remove malware, and change advanced settings. But rooting comes with risks such as your device will be vulnerable to online attacks, your device may be locked if the instructions are not followed correctly, and banking apps will not work on your rooted device.