Despite being almost a year old, the Galaxy S10 family of phones remains one of the most popular as well as the most prominent ones available in the market. Even though Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S20 family of phones yesterday, this still remains relevant thanks to the price cut on the entire S10 family minus the S10 Lite.
If you are looking to get your hands on a Galaxy S10+ and you want to root it, the good news is that a fully functional root method is available. Granting you root access through Magisk and allowing you to customize your device the way you want to.
Root Samsung Galaxy S10+ With Magisk
Now before we begin the rooting process, you need to know that the process is slightly tricky. If you have followed our previous root guide, it is identical to that. The only difference here is that you are going to use files specific to your device.
Note: Going through with this process will wipe your device's internal storage. Therefore, make sure that you have backed up your phone. It will also trip your device's KNOX counter.
What You Need Before Rooting
As always, before beginning with the guide, we are going to list down some specifics that you should download beforehand. Having them ready will streamline the rooting process and you will not have to go back and forth to look for the files.
- Get the latest firmware for your device from SamMobile.
- Make sure you download and install the Samsung USB drivers from here.
- Download and extract the latest Odin to somewhere accessible. Download.
- Download and install the Magisk Manager APK on your device. Download.
Step 1: Unlocking the S10+'s Boot Loader
The rooting process for the Galaxy S10 lineup is going to take some time but it is not that difficult. The first step is to unlock the bootloader. Unlike previous generations, this one is a bit different thanks to Samsung's VaultKeeper service.
Still, let's have a look.
- Head over to Settings > About Phone > Software information.
- Now you have to tap on the Build number until you get a message saying "You're now a developer".
- Head back to the Settings and scroll down to see Developer options.
- In Developer options, you will see an OEM unlocking switch; turn that on.
- Once done, turn off your device.
- In order to complete the process, you will have to boot into the Download Mode. Simply press and hold the volume down and Bixby buttons together, and connect your device to your computer while doing so. The device will give you a warning message.
- Simply long-press volume up button and enter in the Device unlock mode.
- Press the volume up button once again to initiate the unlocking.
- Your phone will reboot as soon as the process finished.
Albeit these steps indicate that the process is complete, but due to Samsung's VaultKeeper services, you will have to perform another step. Just make sure that once the phone boots again, don't set it up. Go straight to the settings and repeat the steps 1 till 4. However, when you reach the 4th step, you will find that the OEM unlocking switch will be turned on and greyed out. This indicates that the bootloader is unlocked fully, and you are ready to move to the next step.
Step 2: Patching The Firmware Using Magisk Manager
You will now have to patch a specific file from the firmware that you have downloaded. To do so, extract the firmware and look for a file that begins with AP.
- Copy that file to your phone's internal storage.
- Make sure that you install the Magisk Manager on your phone.
- Launch the app and tap on the button that says Install.
- Tap on the second Install button that appears and then choose Select and Patch a File.
- Now simply navigate to the folder where you have stored the AP file in and choose it.
- Once you have done that, the app will patch the file, and will output a new file titled magisk_patched.tar. You can get this file from the Downloads folder in your internal storage.
Transfer this file to the same folder where you have extracted the firmware at.
Step 3: Flashing the Firmware Using Odin
This step should not be difficult for Samsung users since Odin is synonymous with Samsung. However, things are going to be slightly different when it comes to rooting this time around.
Note: If you are not sure if the firmware on your phone matches the firmware you downloaded, it is safer to flash the entire firmware. But if it does match, you just need to flash the magisk_patched.tar.
- Run Odin.
- Switch off your phone and boot into Download Mode.
- The ID:COM section in Odin will light up.
- Click the Options tab on Odin and turn off Auto Reboot. Make sure everything else is untouched.
- Click the button that says BL, browse to the folder where the firmware is extracted and select the file that says BL. You have to do the same for the rest of the sections. However, when it comes to AP, you will have to choose the patched file (magisk_patched.tar).
- Once you have loaded all the files, click onStart and the process will start.
Once the flashing is done, Odin will display a green signal. Normally, your device would restart, but you'd be in the Download Mode still. We are not done with the rooting process.
Step 4: Factory Resetting the Device
This is one of the most crucial parts, so be sure that you follow the steps carefully.
- Remove the cable from your phone.
- Now press the Volume Down and Power Buttons in order to exit the Download Mode.
- As soon as the device turns off, press Power, Bixby, and Volume up buttons together so you can boot into the stock recovery. Let go off these buttons as soon as you enter the recovery.
- Navigate to Wipe data/factory reset using volume buttons and press power button to make a selection.
- The process hardly takes a minute, once it is done, simply go ahead and choose Reboot system now. The moment the screen is turned off, press the Power, Bixby, and Volume up buttons together until you get a Bootloader Warning screen.
- When you reach that screen, release all the buttons and you will boot into the rooted system.
Your device will now boot up, set it up as you would normally. Once everything is set up, go to your app drawer and open Magisk Manager. If it is not there, simply install it again from the link provided above, open the app and it will run a small process, after which your device will reboot again. Once it boots back up, you'll have your Galaxy S10+ rooted.
Booting into the Rooted System
Running a rooted Galaxy S10 device is a bit tricky. This is because the root and stock recovery co-exist in the same partition. This means that you can boot into the rooted system, as well as unrooted system. Thankfully, there is a process that allows you to differentiate.
Note: These steps are only to be used when the phone is completely switched off.
- Booting into Unrooted System: Turn on your phone as you normally would using the power button.
- Booting into Rooted System: Press and hold the Power, Bixby, and Volume Up, buttons together and let go off them once the Bootloader Warning screen appears. You will be booted into the rooted system,
- Stock Recovery: The process is same, with the phone turned off, press and hold the Power, Bixby, and Volume Up buttons together and release the Power and Bixby buttons once you get the Bootloader Warning screen with the Volume Up button still pressed.
Looking to root the Galaxy S10 instead? Check out the following tutorial:
