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Apr 8, 2024 · Among its many features is the ability to unroot your device. The process is as simple as they get. Just open the SuperSU app and head over to the Settings tab. Scroll down and select Full Unroot ...
- Contributor
- The Many Ways to Unroot an Android Phone
- How to Unroot Basically Any Android Device with SuperSU
- How to Manually Unroot a Nexus or Other Developer Device on Marshmallow
- How to Manually Unroot a Nexus or Other Developer Device on Lollipop (or Older)
- Re-Flash Your Device for a Completely Stock Build
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Like rooting, there are a few different methods of unrooting your phone, and which one you'll use depends on your device, the version of Android you're running, and what you're trying to accomplish. In general, unrooting will involve one of these processes.
•Any Phone that has only been rooted: If all you've done is root your phone, and stuck with your phone's default version of Android, unrooting should (hopefully) be easy. You can unroot your phone using an option in the SuperSU app, which will remove root and replace Android's stock recovery. This is detailed in the first section of this guide.
•Any phone running a custom ROM or using the Xposed Framework: If you've done more than root, you've likely altered certain parts of your system heavily enough that they only way to unroot is to return to a completely stock, out-of-the-factory condition. This is different for every phone, and we can't give instructions for each one, but we discuss it in the final section of this guide.
Seems simple, right? Unfortunately, the SuperSU method doesn't always work perfectly. Maybe it fails, or maybe it can't replace your stock recovery for some reason. In those cases, you can manually unroot your phone using one of these methods:
•Nexus and other Developer Edition Phones running Marshmallow: If the SuperSU method doesn't work, you can manually unroot your device by re-flashing its boot.img. This is the main file that gets edited when you root a phone with Marshmallow, so replacing it and then re-flashing Android's stock recovery should do the trick. This is discussed in the second section of this guide.
•Nexus and other Developer Edition Phones running Lollipop and Before: If the SuperSU method doesn't work, you can manually unroot your device by deleting the su binary. This is the file that gives you root access on pre-Marshmallow phones, so deleting it and then re-flashing Android's stock recovery should do the trick. This is discussed in the third section of this guide.
SuperSU is easily the most popular and robust root management app available on Android. If you're running a rooted device, there's a very high chance that you're using SuperSU to manage which apps get superuser access. It's also the smartest and easiest way to quickly unroot your Android device, because the entire process is done within the app directly on the phone.
To fully unroot the device, the first thing you'll want to do is jump into the SuperSU app, which is found in the app drawer.
Once opened, swipe over or tap the Settings tab and scroll towards the bottom till you see the "Cleanup" section. Tap the "Full unroot" option.
This will present a dialog box with what to expect from the unroot process and ask if you'd like to continue. If you're on a device with the traditional rooting method—generally Lollipop or older—then this is the first and only step for you. Hitting continue will unroot the device, and you'll need to reboot to finish the process.
If you're on a device that was rooted with the systemless root method in Marshmallow, tapping the "Continue" option will open another dialog that asks if you'd like to restore the stock boot image, noting that this is required for OTA (over-the-air) updates. If you're hoping to download the latest Android update when it drops, or if you're getting rid of the device, then I would suggest tapping "Yes" here. If those options don't apply to your situation, it's probably fine to just leave the modified boot image by hitting "No."
The following screen may ask if you'd like to restore the stock recovery image. If you're running a custom recovery (which is likely) and you want to pull an OTA update, this option is necessary—tap "Yes" to continue. If you plan on re-rooting in the future or want to continue using your custom recovery (say, for nandroid backups), then hit "No" here. There's a chance that this option may not show up, in which case you'll have to manually flash the stock recovery. There are instructions on how to do this in the manual section below.
While the above method of unrooting with SuperSU should theoretically work just fine on devices that have been rooted using the systemless method, it's still good to know what to do in a situation where SuperSU may not be able to fully unroot the device.
Related: What Is "Systemless Root" on Android, and Why Is It Better?
The good news is that it's a simple flash—replacing the modified boot.img with the stock one--should do the trick.
I’m using a Nexus 5 for this example, but the process will be identical for all other Nexus devices. If you’re using a developer edition phone from another manufacturer, the process may vary slightly.
The first thing you'll need to do is download the factory image for your device. For Nexuses, this is provided by Google. Other device's images should be provided by their manufacturer.
Once you’ve downloaded the factory image for your device, you’ll first need to unzip the package.
Generally, unrooting with SuperSU is the best choice on devices with a modified /system partition, because all the changes that are done during the rooting process are cleaned up. If you'd prefer to manually take care of the process, however, it's a little more painstaking than simply flashing the boot.img like with the systemless method. The good news is that the entire process can be done directly on the device, without the need to use a computer.
The first thing you'll need is a file manager with root capabilities—ES File Explorer seems to be the most popular one out there these days, but pretty much any root explorer will work.
In ES, you'll need to open the side menu by sliding in from the left outside edge, then scroll down to the "Root Explorer" option and slide the toggle to enable it. The SuperUser app installed on your device should prompt you to grant access to the file manager at that point.
Once root access has been granted, navigate to the /system folder. Using ES, tap the dropdown that says "Homepage" (assuming you're still on the start page, of course). Select the "/ Device" option.
In the primary device partition, scroll down to the "/system" folder and open it.
This is where things can get a little tricky—depending on how your device was rooted, the "su" file (the one we'll be deleting in this process) will be located in one of two places: /system/bin or /system/xbin . Start by checking the former.
If you're running a custom ROM or the Xposed framework, you will need to completely wipe your device and flash it to an unrooted, brand new out-of-the-factory state. This is also the only way to unroot a non-Nexus or Developer Edition phone if the SuperSU method doesn't work for you.
Unfortunately, the process is pretty different for every manufacturer, and can even vary from device to device. So, with the exception of Nexus devices (which we have a guide for), we can't detail all the instructions here. Instead, you'll have to poke around a site like the XDA Developers forum for the full instructions for your phone. Here's a quick and dirty look of what the process entails for each manufacturer, though:
•Nexus and other Developer Edition devices: Nexus devices are pretty easy. You just need to download a factory image from Google or your manufacturer (much like we did in the manual unrooting instructions for Marshmallow above), then flash all the files contained within to your phone. Check out our guide to manually flashing your Nexus for the full instructions.
•Samsung devices: You'll need the full firmware file, which should be available for basically every device at Sammobile.com. You'll be dealing with a program called "Odin" on the PC, which is fairly straightforward. Just make sure find a reliable guide for your exact device.
•Motorola devices: Motorola uses a program called "RSD Lite" to push image files to devices, though the company doesn't make its images available for non-developer devices. There are copies floating around out there, but make sure you're downloading from a trusted source before taking the plunge.
•LG devices: LG uses a purpose-built "Flash Tool" to push device-specific KDZ files to its phones. Again, this can be tricky, so make sure you're using a trusted source and guide.
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- Cameron Summerson
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- Manually Unrooting: Open a root file manager on your device. There are lots of different file managers available on the Play Store that you can use to browse your Android device's root files.
- Using SuperSU: Launch the SuperSU app. If you haven't installed a custom recovery image, you should be able to use the SuperSU app on your device to unroot.
- Unrooting Samsung Galaxy Devices: Download the stock firmware for your device. In order to unroot your Galaxy device, you'll need the stock firmware for your device and carrier.
- Manually Unrooting. Open a root file manager on your device. There are lots of different file managers available on the Play Store that you can use to browse your Android device's root files.
Make sure you are connected to the internet, then open Magisk Manager from the app screen. Tap the “uninstall” button at the bottom of the home screen. You will be greeted with the option to ...
Feb 13, 2024 · Download the app and launch it. Select the Unroot option from the hamburger menu at the top left. If your device is configured to allow for root access, you should see two green symbols. Click the orange arrow at the bottom of the screen to start the process.
May 30, 2017 · Delete them all, and reboot your device. Note that you’ll first need to enable “Root Explorer” in ES File Explorer, which you can find under the three-lined menu icon at the top-left. Reboot your device, and SuperSU should be gone (use an app like Root Checker Basic to confirm your device has unrooted).
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Jun 22, 2018 · Method 1: Unroot Android using simple app approach. This is the easiest and most effective way to Unroot your device or remove root access from your Android phone. Most of the rooting apps (SU management apps), using which you originally rooted your Android phone, have an inbuilt ‘uninstall root’ option.
