Last Updated on July 18, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake
Most geeks out there who own the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone will already know about the Helium application that backs up your Android and is made by Koushik Dutta — the same guy who founded ClockworkMod. Sadly, ClockworkMod is no longer active as a custom recovery, but you can install it on your device for all the existing builds. Unlike ClockworkMod, the Helium application is still active and available for everyone to enjoy today, though.
Once you root your Samsung Galaxy Alpha, we suggest upgrading from the Helium application to something better such as the Titanium Backup app. Whenever you get an app that builds off of the original success Helium had, but then also incorporates some extra features thanks to its root functionality with your Android operating system, you know you are going to be in for a treat. And that’s exactly what the Titanium Backup does from purely a backing up of your data perspective. However, there is also more than the Titanium Backup application does.
With the Titanium Backup application, we can also uninstall the default system apps. Samsung is probably my favorite smartphone manufacturer, but they come close to committing crime with how many default applications they have running on a device. Many geeks remove these default stock apps by installing new ROMs and that’s fine for them, but you do not have to go to all that trouble. Just install the Titanium backup app and follow the instructions to remove the system app you want gone. That way you can enjoy the operating system the way Android intended, but with those apps you do not want on your device that were taking away from your overall Samsung Galaxy Alpha’s performance.
Files You Need
- The firmware the rooting file in this guide is based on comes with the RX22G.G850KKTU2COJ2 build ID number. You do not need to be flashing that same firmware on your Samsung Galaxy Alpha. The developer, Chainfire, has given us that information to use as an indicator only. The guide should work for any version of Android 5.02 Lollipop.
- Download the CF-Auto-Root file for the Alpha SM-G850K model number on Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) from here.
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850K running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop
- Enable the USB Debugging Mode on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone.
- Extract the CF-Auto-Root tool to the desktop of the computer and you will see the rooting file you can flash as well as the Odin flashing tool executable file.
- Right-click the mouse on that same Odin executable file and choose to run it as an administrator from the menu.
- Do not make any changes from the default settings when your Odin application opens and you can see the user-interface.
- You must start the next part of the guide with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha turned off first, so long-press the Power button or choose to switch it off from the Device Options menu.
- Boot the Samsung Galaxy Alpha up pressing the hardware button combination that gets you into the download mode.
- Connect the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone to the computer using the USB cable.
- Give it a few seconds and then look for a yellow or blue ID: COM port to light up from your Odin application. No light means the device is not added and you will need to get the drivers working. Install the universal Windows ADB driver and then try again.
- Click the AP button and then browse the desktop for your rooting file for the Galaxy Alpha ending in the tar.md5 extension.
- Click the Start button on the Odin application that is running on the computer.
- Wait until the Odin application on the computer gives you a green box with a pass message inside.
- Look over at the Galaxy Alpha’s display and wait until it says your device is restoring the stock recovery, cleaning up the files and then going to reboot in 10 seconds.
- The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone will now reboot to recovery mode and apply the finishing touches of your rooting method. You can boot the device back into normal mode when it’s finished and then install the root checker application to see if you have root access.
In conclusion, that’s how to root the Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850K smartphone running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop software updates. Any device that does not boot into recovery mode at the end will need to be manually booted into recovery mode instead for the rooting guide to have worked.
Furthermore, those still facing problems with the Galaxy Alpha not being rooted should just try again with a different version of the Odin flashing tool. You can use anything between versions Odin 1.85 and the latest Odin 3.10 which you should find in this guide. Just be wary of the fact that the older versions of Odin swap the AP button for the PDA button but they both effectively mean the same thing.