four different ways to achieve this

Rooting isn’t as fashionable today as it was a few years ago, but there are still plenty of reasons to root Android phones, especially older phones that you have in drawers that may have a new use. Rooting an Android mobile can be complicatedalthough not impossible for that.

If you are thinking of rooting your mobile and you don’t even know where to start, here we summarize the four main methods. They will serve as a starting point to embark on this adventure of obtaining root access on an Android mobile.

before rooting

Before pressing the “red button”, it never hurts to remember the disadvantages of rooting a terminal. Although protection tools and services have improved over time, the likelihood of rendering the mobile unusable – commonly referred to as masonry– they are still there.

On the other hand, some root tools try to hide their existence from the system, but they are not always successful. It means that some apps may stop working if they detect that the device is rooted, such as banking applications or games like Pokémon Go. In terminals still under warranty, this can also be a problem if you have to use the official technical service.

With all this, we do not want to take away from you the desire to root your terminal. The advantages are many, although they come with disadvantages. In the end, it will be you who must weigh the pros and cons and decide what is worth it, always at your own expense and risk.

Con apps for Android

Kingo Root is one of the most popular rooting apps, although Play Protect complains if you try to install it

We’re starting our list with the easiest, but not for that reason the most recommended method: apps that grant you root permission at the push of a button. To exist, to exist, although its use is limited to a handful of models where security vulnerabilities have been found that can be exploited to gain root permissions (usually quite old models). KingRoot is compatible from Android 2.0 to 6.0.

A popular application at the time was Kingo Root, sometimes called King Root and with other variants. Technically it works -on some terminals- but it has the problem that after getting root permissions there is no control over what the app does or doesn’t do with your mobile. An alternative is to use it only for root permission, with the mobile without personal data, and then install another more reliable manager, such as an older version of SuperSu.

Using an application to root the mobile is definitely the easiest way, though only available to a handful of devices for at least five years. That said, it is important to remember that they only work on certain models, so do not fall into the trap of applications that promise to root in one click on many mobiles, especially recent terminals.

Con apps for Windows

The concept is exactly the same as the previous one, but realized from a PC instead of a mobile application. The mobile must be connected to your PC via a USB cable, the developer options must be activated, as well as USB debugging. The KingRoot we mentioned earlier has a version for Windows, although other well-known names, such as OneClickRoot.

All-in-one Windows rooting apps can do their job with a few fewer restrictions than mobile rooting, but they still have the same issues: its success is only guaranteed on a handful of models. Of course, where it works, it works pretty well: you press a button and wait for root access.

The security problem is the same as in the previous case. Unlike Magisk, which is open source, you have to trust the word of the developers of those apps that will get root access and nothing else. Again, it is recommended, if you want to try your luck, to do so with a factory restored mobile without data.

With magic

Magisk includes its own root permission manager

Magisk is one of the few root tools which is active and up to date. Root access is just part of what Magisk offers, noting that it’s technically capable of tricking SafetyNet and has modules for everything ready to download and activate with a few clicks.

Unlike the rooting resources we’ve seen before, Magisk is open source, so the user community can see exactly what it does and doesn’t do. It is therefore a relatively safe method at least with regard to the confidentiality of your data.

There are mainly two ways to install Magisk: with root and without root. Obviously, if you want to use Magisk to gain root access, the first is omitted, so you’ll need to be able to install it from custom recovery like TWRP. Similarly, it is possible to install a Custom Recovery without the need for root, for example with Odin, on Samsung mobiles.

flasheando

Speaking of recovery mode, it’s another access point to gain root access, depending on the options available. For example, on Samsung phones, you can flash patched firmware that includes root access like CF-Auto-Root directly with ODIN.

In other mobiles it will be necessary to have a custom recovery mode installed such as TWRP or the old CWM for flash a ZIP file which includes everything you need to gain root access. The problem here is that there is no universal solution, but you will have to find the exact solution for your specific model. The XDA forums are a great place to start to find instructions and files needed for a large number of Android phones.

This method is relatively most complicated of all, because you have to find the specific instructions and files and follow them precisely, even though it’s also the most common. It won’t work for you, yes, in mobiles with stuck bootloader, such as recent Huawei mobiles.