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Feb 6, 2024 · Switch back to your computer. Copy boot.img in the folder you unzipped and place it in your ADB folder, C:android-sdk. Connect your phone to your computer via USB. Open your computer’s command ...
- Rooted Phone
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Sep 15, 2022 · Root is also a user. The difference is the root user (superuser) has permission to do anything to any file anywhere in the system. This includes things we want to do, like uninstall application ...
May 7, 2024 · The service will check compatibility first, then root your device for you. There’s another semi-easy way to root your device. You can root your Android phone using Magisk. And unlike other ...
- 6 min
- Overview
- Rooting: the cons
- Rooting: the pros
- How to root: the basics
- How to root: connecting your phone to your computer
- How to root: using TWRP
- How to root: using Magisk
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How-to
By Andrew Williams
published 14 July 2021
Unlock your phone's bootloader to unlock its potential
(Image credit: TechRadar)
When you run out of things to watch on Netflix, have played every game on Xbox Game Pass and have read every iPhone 13 rumor on the internet, you might decide to root your phone.
You can easily brick your phone during the root procedure, or at least send it into what’s called a boot loop. This is where Android doesn’t load properly, likely sending you into a spiral of headaches that might, if you’re lucky, end up back where you started after hours of effort.
The best way to avoid this is to follow installation instructions very carefully. Doing this doesn't guarantee that things will go well, but usually allows you to navigate around unfortunate events caused by sheer carelessness.
A rooted phone is also more susceptible to certain security threats. You give third-party software deeper access to the phone, bypassing security layers Google put into the Android OS for good reason.
This is why banking apps can’t be used with most forms of rooted Android. A few methods still allow for this sort of access, but banks don’t block rooted Androids because they are party poopers. It’s because it’s unsafe, and using an unusually exposed device for this sort of stuff can prove costly to both the bank and you. Don’t be stupid.
Rooting your phone will also invalidate its warranty, which is why we tend to only recommend trying it out on older Androids. Ideally your ‘old’ phone, not your current one - in case something bad does happen in the process.
Some types of root will also stop your phone receiving official OTA (over-the-air) software updates. And the first step of the process, unlocking the bootloader, will also completely erase your data. So make sure to back up anything you don’t want wiped before you start.
Not put off yet? There are some decent enough reasons to root your phone.
The first is for the pedants. You can remove bloaty system apps in rooted phones. These are the ‘junk’ apps manufacturers pre-install, but don’t let you uninstall.
We don’t find these particularly annoying anymore. The majority take up barely any space, and the manufacturers that shovel on the most will often have an option to ‘hide’ apps without uninstalling them. They may take up a few megabytes of storage, but won’t take up a space in your app drawer.
Custom ROMs are potentially more interesting. These are alternative Android-based operating systems, replacing the one installed by default on your phone.
They may look different, and will usually have an at least slightly different layout and additional features. Some let you run the CPU at a faster clock speed. And, the most important bit, these ROMs have been updated years after your own old Android stopped receiving updates.
LineageOS is a good example. The version available for the Moto G (2015) is based on Android 10, whereas the last official update for that phone is Android 6.
The rooting process varies depending on the phone you use and the method. Rooting is not as simple as it once was, in part because Android is a more secure system than it was back in the pre-Android 7 days.
We’re going to guide you through the most common method in 2021. It can be broken down into three stages, and you will need a Windows computer.
First, we prep the phone so it can connect to your computer properly. Then we unlock its bootloader, the starter motor of your phone that gets the actual Android software running. This lets us fiddle with what goes on before Android is loaded.
We wedge another piece of software in before this Android loading happens and use it to modify the Android kernel, the bridge between the phone’s hardware and the operating system.
First, we need to unlock your phone’s developer mode. Go to Settings > About Phone and tap Build Number seven times to add a Developer options section to its Settings menu.
In this Developer section, which should now appear in Settings, we need to enable OEM Unlocking and USB Debugging, which have separate entries in the menu. If you can’t find the new Developer section, use the search box in Settings.
Next up, download Android SDK Platform Tools on your computer. This lets the phone communicate properly with your PC.
Install it to a folder of your choice on your computer. We recommend a short folder title, as we’ll have to type it in manually later.
You may also need to dig out your phone's USB drivers. A Google search can help you with that one, but you may find they install automatically when you plug your phone into your laptop with a USB cable.
The next step varies depending on the phone you use. We’re about to unlock the bootloader, the one piece of interface we can access before Android proper runs.
Our next step is to get TWRP up and running. This is Team Win Recovery Project, and is the software we’ll use to flash our Android.
On the Devices page on the TWRP website you’ll find versions for stacks upon stacks of phones. They come as an ‘img’ format file, and we want to download this to the computer, not the phone, at this point.
Download the file and transfer or copy it to the folder in which you put Android SDK Platform Tools in the last step of this guide. We recommend renaming it to ‘twrp.img’, as it will have the full name of the phone in the file name as standard and - again - we’re going to have to type it out shortly.
Plug your phone into your laptop/desktop and bring up Command Prompt once more by typing CMD into the search box on the taskbar. Then navigate to our trusty Android SDK Platform Tools folder once more, the folder into which we just dropped the twrp.img file.
Power off your phone and get it to go into its own bootloader by pressing and holding down the power and volume down buttons at the same time while powering up. You can hold them down until the text-based bootloader screen appears. If this doesn’t work, your phone may need a different button gesture. Google can help.
Now, back to the laptop/desktop. In Command Prompt, type ‘fastboot flash recovery twrp.img’. The feedback on-screen may make it look like the procedure hasn’t worked, but it should have. Use the volume buttons on the phone to select ‘Recovery’, and then tap the power button. After a few seconds, the phone should boot into TWRP.
The method we’re using for this root demo calls for Magisk. This is a rooting tool that does not overwrite or edit your phone’s system. It means some things that would usually be blocked for rooted devices may not be, but we still think you should be exceptionally careful when using a rooted phone for sensitive things like online banking. In other words, don’t do it.
Download Magisk from GitHub on your phone. There are sites dedicated solely to the software, but these are reportedly unofficial sources. They may offer compromised downloads, or may just be there to make some money off display ads, but you should always download from the official source if you can.
Have that file downloaded? Turn your phone off again. Use the power/volume down (or similar) gesture to get to the bootloader screen, then use the volume buttons to select Recovery. This should take you back to TWRP again.
From here, select Install and head to the download folder to find the Magisk file. Select it, install it, and then run the Wipe Cache & Dalvik option at the bottom. We’re not 100% sure this is essential, but it seems to be the done thing. Now reboot and the phone should launch into Android once more.
Launch the Magisk app and update it to get the full app’s interface. And there you go, you’re done. You have a rooted phone in your hands. There are apps available on Google Play that can check whether your phone is properly rooted or not.
This last part sounds easy, but we actually ended up almost ruining our Moto G4 test phone here. Proof that no two Androids are identical in rooting behavior, it refused to boot at all. Just a black screen following that Magisk installation.
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Jul 17, 2017 · From your custom recovery, flash the Magisk ZIP you transferred to the phone earlier. In TWRP, that means tap on "Install," then find the Magisk file. Tap on "Install Image." Confirm all the details here, then swipe to confirm the flash. The file will take a few seconds to flash.
- Cameron Summerson
May 17, 2021 · To do this: Go to Settings on your phone. Scroll to About Phone, tap on it. Then, locate your phone’s Build Number. Tap on the Build Number for at least 7 times. It will then display the Developer Options on the settings page. Press back and then tap on the Developer Options. Enable USB Debugging.
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Jul 5, 2022 · Here's how to install Magisk and safely root your Android device. First, you’re going to need to download Magisk. Go to the XDA Magisk release thread, and download the latest stable release. Do not unpack the ZIP file. TWRP flashes whole ZIP files. Plug your device in to your computer via USB. Swipe down from the top of your phone’s screen ...
