Have you bought the latest Samsung flagship device? Learn how to root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ Exynos and install TWRP recovery on it.
Samsung took the smartphone market this year with its latest S-series phones – Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Indeed, both the devices have significantly improved over the predecessors and have been the first one to break the Pixel 2’s DxOMark score. It seems like the company is eyeballing its position for at least one factor in the market.
To recap, both the devices come with a super AMOLED 18:5:9 ratio display, Octa-core Exynos 9810 processor, 6 GB RAM, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and more. The specs themselves are quite appealing and allows the latest S series phones to stand against the majority of competition.
Guide to Install TWRP Recovery and Root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ (Exynos)
On the software end, the S9 and S9+ come with Samsung Experience 9.0 based on Android Oreo. The updated software has some perks of its own along with the standard Oreo goodies. While it all may feel great, but there are users who’d go further with the software to get their choice of OS features. In the Android customization scene, this could be done by installing a custom ROM or by flashing individual mods. But before you even get there, it is first important build the base. So, in order to customize your device, you will first need a custom recovery and then root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+.
When it comes to custom recovery, it is “TWRP” that comes straight into the mind. In the last few days, we saw an unofficial port of the TWRP recovery for both the Galaxy S9 and S9+. However, it was just today that maintainer jesec posted the official TWRP build on the XDA forums. Indeed, that is quite enough to get the development scene started. Just like on a regular Samsung Galaxy smartphone, you can easily install TWRP recovery using the Odin flash tool. Once that is done, you can easily follow the instructions below to further root Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.
Supported Devices
It should be noted that only the Exynos variants of the stated devices are supported. These include the following devices:
- Samsung Galaxy S9: G960F/G960FD/G960F-DS/G960N
- Samsung Galaxy S9+: G965F/G965FD/G965F-DS/G965N
Do not attempt to try these on the Snapdragon variant of the device. Installing custom binaries like TWRP using Odin will trip the KNOX counter and void the official warranty depending upon the country’s law. Make sure to follow each and every step in detail.
Requirements
- Take a complete backup of your personal data including apps, messages, internal storage, etc. It is strongly advised to be prepared for any uncertain mishaps.
- Charge your Galaxy S9 or S9+ to at least 50% battery level. This would avoid the device from accidentally turning off in between the flashing process.
- Download and install Samsung USB drivers on the PC.
- Use a spec-compliant USB cable to flash the files.
- Enable Developer options: settings in Settings -> About phone -> Software information and tap 7 times on the build number.
- In order to successfully disable forced encryption and root the device, you must first install Android SDK tools on the PC.
Downloads
Download all the files from the links below before proceeding to the instructions and root Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.
- Galaxy S9 TWRP (twrp-3.2.1-0-starlte.img.tar)
- Galaxy S9+ TWRP (twrp-3.2.1-0-star2lte.img.tar)
- SuperSU ZIP / Magisk ZIP
- Odin Tool
Install TWRP Recovery on Galaxy S9/S9+
The first step to root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ is to flash TWRP recovery on the device. The custom recovery will further allow us to flash the chosen root package like SuperSU or Magisk.
- Enable “OEM Unlock” on your Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. To do so, go to Settings -> Developer options and toggle ON the OEM Unlock option.
- Power down your Samsung device completely.
- Press the Volume Down + Bixby + Power button altogether until you see a warning message on the screen.
- Simply tap the Volume Up button to enter Download Mode.
- Once your device is in download mode, connect it to the PC.
- Download Odin flash tool and extract the ZIP file to an accessible location on the PC, say Desktop.
- Run Odin3 v3.13.1.exe to launch the Odin tool.
- Click on the AP button and select the TWRP recovery (.tar) file for your device.
- Once the file is selected, hold down the Volume Up, Bixby and Power buttons together (Very important!).
- While holding the keys, click on the “Start” button in Odin.
- The process will begin and Odin will install TWRP recovery on Galaxy S9/S9+.
After the flashing process is finished, your device will automatically reboot into TWRP recovery.
Disable DM-Verity and Root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ (Exynos)
- When prompted with the “Allow system modifications” screen, swipe the button. After this step, you must flash perform the procedure below or the phone will enter bootloop.
- Go to “Wipe” -> “Format Data” and enter “Yes” in the provided field.
- The phone will be completely wiped off including the storage.
- Go back to the main screen and tap on the “Reboot” menu.
- Tap on “Recovery” to reboot TWRP.
- When back in TWRP, go to the “Mount” menu and tap on “Enable MTP”
- Connect your phone to the PC and transfer the root package (SuperSU/Magisk) to the phone’s storage
- Disconnect the device and go to the “Install” menu
- Navigate to the storage and select the SuperSU or Magisk ZIP file
- Once selected, swipe the button to root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ Exynos variant
- When the flashing process is complete, tap on “Reboot System”.
When your phone boots, you can start downloading root-enabled apps or flash some mods using the TWRP recovery. Rooting your phone gives you more control over the complete OS, which means you can use the available tools/mods to customize your Galaxy S9/S9+ to your needs. Since the development has already started, you will soon be able to see custom ROMs like LineageOS being available for the device.
So this was our extensive guide on how to root Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ Exynos and install TWRP recovery on it. If you have any questions, you can ask us via the comments.
