Root Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE Firmware

The Open Source nature of Android makes is more open to development and gaining access to the root level of system files and this quality makes this OS far more better than all other platforms. In fact, rooting an Android device  unlocks its true potential. While any Android user with the smack of geekish instinct cannot even imagine living without root access on his/her device, there is still a larger class of users who just shudder at the thought of it. Thus, there is a mixed perception about rooting an Android devices. For a detailed discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of rooting read this article.

At a time when the Galaxy S4 has not even been released globally and people are still waiting to get it, Chainfire devised a way to root the LTE variant of the phone with model number GT-I9505. In most cases we see a root method for the international version of a Samsung device first but this time it’s the LTE version. One of the reasons why we do not have a working root access on the regular GT-I9500 is the new chipset it houses. It is said that the new Exynos processor will pose greater challenge than the Qualcomm chips used in GT-I9505 when it comes to rooting .

Anyways, if you have the Galaxy S4 LTE GT-I9505, you can root your device by installing Chainfire’s CF-Root package via Odin.

Prerequisites:

• Make sure your Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 has  XXUAMD2 firmware (check it from Settings> About)
• Charge your S4 to at least 60% of battery level
• Download and install Samsung USB Drivers on your PC: Download
• Download Odin3 and unzip it on your desktop: Odin3-V3.07.Zip
• Download CF-Auto-Root Package and unzip it: CF-Auto-Root-Jflte-Jfltexx-Gti9505.Zip
• Open phone Settings> About> Build Number and tap it 7 times to activate Developer Options. Returning back to main Settings menu, go to Developer Options and enable USB Debugging.

Rooting Galaxy S4 LTE GT-I9505:

Now here are the easy steps to install the root package to your Galaxy S4-

1. Turn off your device and boot it into Download/Odin mode: hold down Volume Down + Home + Power keys together for 3-4 seconds and press Volume Up when prompted on the warning screen.
2. Now launch Odin3 and connect the device to computer using USB cable. Wait till Odin detects the device and you see “Added!!” at the message box on Odin.
3. Do not mess with any other option on Odin and directly click the PDA button. Select the CF-Auto-Root-gti9505.tar.md5  file.
4. Finally click the Start button.
5. Installation will begin and when it finishes, you’ll see green signal with PASS!! message followed by device reboot.

Now you will see “Android is upgrading…” message on the screen and after a few moments your Galaxy S4 will boot up properly. Your device is rooted now. Since there is no custom recovery available for the phone yet, we’ll be updating the tutorial as soon as it is available. Till then enjoy the luxury of owning a rooted Galaxy S4 LTE GT-I9505.

Note: If this tutorial worked for you (and it should work), please leave a comment below. Thanks.