[How To] Root Galaxy S4

[DroidXcon]

[WARN]

Android Central, djrbliss ,nor myself take any responsibility for any modification you make to your own phone. Even if your phone sprouts legs, steals your car ,uses your credit cards or sleeps with your girl. NOT OUR FAULT!

DO NOT USE ROM MANAGER TO FLASH CUSTOM RECOVERY. DO NOT USE GOO MANAGER TO FLASH CUSTOM RECOVERY. YOU MUST HAVE AN UNLOCKED BOOTLOADER TO FLASH A CUSTOM RECOVERY. FAILING TO HEED THIS WARNING WILL CAUSE DAMAGE THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECOVER FROM BECAUSE THERE IS NO RECOVER PACKAGES YET.

Please Read Directions carefully!​

This does have the potential of BRICKING YOUR PHONE.Follow Directions carefully, ask if you need help. and above all else never panic.
That being said, HAVE FUN!!​

[/WARN]​

[Note]

Motochopper, should do the trick for rooting the Qualcomm-based variants of the Samsung Galaxy S4, including the AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile branded models​

.[/Note]

How to Root Galaxy S4

Warnings:

• Rooting Will Void your Warranty
• Becarefull making modifications as there is NO RETURN TO STOCK PACKAGES
• DO NOT use Rom Manger or Goo Manager using either may leave you with an inoperable device until recovery files are available
• DO NOT factory reset
• DO NOT restore any titanium back ups from a different device
• Make sure you read all directions and ask for help if you do not understand something

Please Read First

Questions below:

What is Root? Does rooting void my warranty? Does rooting slow down my phone or drain battery? Will i lose any apps or data during the rooting process? I am rooted, can i simply flash a custom recovery from Rom manager or Goo manager?

Q: What is a Root /Exploit?

[Info]A: Root, is super user access of your phones operating system. Think of your phone as a desktop computer. Right now you are logged on as a guest account. you can browse things and use applications but if you really want to change anything in your system you can't. What gaining root does is it gives you superuser permission to alter files that you could not before; again thinking of it as a computer you now have an Administrator account. An exploit by definition is using something to take advantage. In software an exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability by means of bug or glitch. djrbliss's Motochopper root method it is possible your antivirus may flag this exploit but rest assured it is nothing malicious to your computer or device since you are the one applying the exploit and not anyone else [/info]

Q: Does rooting void my warranty?

[Info]A: Yes. If you walk into verizon with a phone that has Root access and they actually check it they have the right to say this phone was tampered with. Unrooting is simply done by using the unroot function in the superuser app by chainfire and you will be back to stock. As always you root at your own risk.[/Info]

Q: Does rooting slow down my phone or drain battery.

[Info]A: NO, root is not an application or a running process, gaining root does not do anything but give you permissions that you normally would not have. Basically all you did during the rooting process was move files around. Its what you do with this new found permission that changes things. But as far as just rooting it does not make a difference.[/Info]

Q: Will i lose any apps or data during the rooting process?

[Info]A: No, for the same reason as above. Rooting is basically just moving some files around. Of course there is always a risk of something happening in any process. I would say chances are of causing serious problems is slim to non. Its what you do with this new found permission that changes things. But as far as just rooting it does not make a difference.[/Info]

Q: I am rooted, can i simply flash a custom recovery from Rom manager or Goo manager?

[Info]A: NO, At the moment there is no way to unlock the bootloader which needs to be done before flashing a custom recovery for flashing roms make sure you stay away until a unlock method is available and there are return to stock files available
[/info]FAQ

Motochopper Root Exploit (Original content found HERE)

Download



1) Download Motochopper exploit in Download tab of this tutorial

2) Extract the entire contents of the zip file.

3) If you are using Windows, ensure you have installed the latest Samsung USB drivers available for your phone.
Lastest drivers can be found HERE Support - AT&T Cell Phones SGH-I337 | Samsung Cell Phones ,select Downloads tab then hit "EXE" button then download and install

4) Ensure USB Debugging mode is enabled on your device.
To do this go to Setting>More>about device>Scroll down to build number,tap it quickly a couple times. Until a pop up says Developer mode has been enabled. press the 'back' button once and developer options show up just above 'about'.Make sure Developer options is on, then turn on USB debugging, a pop up will show up hit "OK"

5) Connect your device to your PC via USB.

6) If you are using Windows, navigate to the extracted directory and execute "run.bat". If you are using Linux or OS X, navigate to the extracted directory in a terminal and execute "./run.sh".

7) Approve the ADB connection from your PC on your device.

8) Follow prompts in command window, Make sure you watch your device as it may ask you to hit allow on your device.

9) When finished your phone should reboot. Congrats you are rooted
Directions

Video Tutorial by Zedomax
[NOTE]

I take no credit for creating or developing anything in this guide. I simply take the time to make it as easy as possible to understand.​

[/Note]

• djrbliss for developing the Motochopper Exploit and making it available to the Galaxy S4 community

Credits

How to Root Galaxy S4

 

[JL84]

so by doing this with my phone, i can get rid of the att bloat ware and whatnot?

 

[satannik]

so by doing this with my phone, i can get rid of the att bloat ware and whatnot?

Yes, I used Uninstall Master

 

[DroidXcon]

Yes but I would not suggest uninstalling anything because there is no return to stock imagine. Instead use titanium backup to freeze unwanted applications this way you can unfreeze them in the future if needed so you can receive updates

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

 

[rion_j]

Sticky please

 

[satannik]

Yes but I would not suggest uninstalling anything because there is no return to stock imagine. Instead use titanium backup to freeze unwanted applications this way you can unfreeze them in the future if needed so you can receive updates

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

It is safe to uninstall att navigator, att messages etc. Those are the only ones I uninstalled

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Android Central Forums

 

[DroidXcon]

It is safe to uninstall att navigator, att messages etc. Those are the only ones I uninstalled

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Android Central Forums

It is safe, but if an update comes along and you want to update you may need to have someone supply you with those apps and reinstall . I'm just saying freezing the apps keeps them readily Available.

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

 

[JL84]

I'm new to android... You can't update the OS if apps are missing?

 

[Paul627g]

I'm new to android... You can't update the OS if apps are missing?

Exactly. When the OTA updates notification is sent out and your device receives it or not it will either skip it entirely or fail upon installation because of the stock apps and bloatware being removed. That is why at this stage with no factory images to restore back to if you want to eliminate bloatware then just freeze it. This way you can unfreeze it in the event an update is necessary.

 

[JL84]

Exactly. When the OTA updates notification is sent out and your device receives it or not it will either skip it entirely or fail upon installation because of the stock apps and bloatware being removed. That is why at this stage with no factory images to restore back to if you want to eliminate bloatware then just freeze it. This way you can unfreeze it in the event an update is necessary.

so can i freeze the apps or disable the apps i dont want without rooting in the meantime?

 

[kilofoxtrot]

so can i freeze the apps or disable the apps i dont want without rooting in the meantime?

You still have to root in order to freeze/disable the apps you dont want.

 

[JL84]

You still have to root in order to freeze/disable the apps you dont want.

but i cant take full advantage of rooting until the factory flash comes out, or the bootloader unlock, etc.... so i can really do the customizing.... ??

 

[DroidXcon]

but i cant take full advantage of rooting until the factory flash comes out, or the bootloader unlock, etc.... so i can really do the customizing.... ??

Yeah I would not make any crazy mods just use root for lower level stuff like backing stuff up , freezing bloat and perhaps some apps that require root in the market. But don't attempt to go messing with changing any system files just yet, especially if you are a novice.

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

 

[JL84]

Yeah I would not make any crazy mods just use root for lower level stuff like backing stuff up , freezing bloat and perhaps some apps that require root in the market. But don't attempt to go messing with changing any system files just yet, especially if you are a novice.

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

my only interest was freezing some excess apps... i heard att is good at adding stuff no1 needs....

 

[Raptor007]

I always recommend making a copy of the apps you are removing to your SD card and then put them on your computer just in case.

 

[Paul627g]

If you go to your settings/apps and pull up apps in question it may or may not have a disable option.

Otherwise you would have to root to freeze/disable or remove apps

 

[coolguy27]

I haven't rooted yet but is there and option to unroot if needed?

 

[bembol]

Including my S4 & One, I had 12 androids and still can't get myself to Root.

I'm very happy with what Nove Launcher Prime does.

 

[YoungChrisG]

Edit: Double Post

 

[YoungChrisG]

Rooting is the only option to fully uninstall/delete those apps. I posted on this in the "How To Root Your S4" thread.

Here is the post:

As far as the bloatware is concerned, if you want to wait for the recovery images and bootloader unlocking, you could always take the safe route and simply hide the apps. Sammy's stock launcher and many 3rd party launchers have this ability. This is what I did until all the exploits have been unearthed and custom recoveries and such begin to appear.

Also, when it comes to future updates, be mindful if and when you decide to accept them. Because the AT&T model's bootloader is locked, if and when exploits are found, you may be unable to flash custom bootloaders on newer firmware. The ability to backtrack and downgrade your firmware may not be available either.

So if you really intend to hack the living daylights out of this beauty, as they say, patients is a virtue.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2