Last Updated on July 18, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake

Like some of you Alpha fans will already know, the Android operating system that is running on your Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is based on the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel is an open source operating system for your computers. Windows is the most popular computer OS, followed by Mac OS X and then Linux. Where the difference lies between the three is Apple and Microsoft are companies, whereas Linux was developed by the people for the people and is available to install for free.

Linus is really cool but you need to be somewhat tech savvy to reap the benefits of such a non-user friendly operating system. Once you do know what you are doing with Linux, however, it actually performs up there with the best of them and can also easily outperform Microsoft Windows in benchmark tests for speed in most areas.

While it’s not a household name in the operating system department for the less geeky people out there, Linux gathered enough attention to be the main OS running on Android. The Android operating system was then acquired by Google. Why am I bothering to tell you all of this? Just in case you are interested in running Linux as a computer and making use of the DriveDroid application that is available for Android and Linux users. It is one of the best root applications for your Android and you can use the DriveDroid app as soon as you are done with rooting the Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850L smartphone running on the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update after the break.

The following tutorial demonstrates how to root the Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850L smartphone when it is running on the Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) Android version.

Files You Need

  • The rooting exploit for the Alpha device in this guide is based on LRX22G.G850LKLU2COJ2 firmware. You do not need to run that same firmware build ID on your Samsung Galaxy Alpha device. Chainfire gives you that build so you can use it as an indicator only.
  • Download the CF-Auto-Root for the Galaxy Alpha SM-G850L on Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop).

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850L Running on Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) Updates

You can root the Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850L smartphone on Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) by using Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root package. CF-Auto-Root is a one-click root method. Here is how to do that:

1. Enable the USB Debugging Mode on the Alpha smartphone.

2. Extract the CF-Auto-Root for the Alpha to the desktop of the computer.

3. Right-click on the Odin executable file that is on the desktop after extraction.

4. Choose to run the Odin as an administrator from the menu you get after right-clicking.

5. Do not make any changes from the default settings you get on the Odin user-interface.

6. Long-press the Power button to turn off the Galaxy Alpha completely before rebooting it up again in download mode.

7. Connect the Galaxy Alpha to the computer with the USB cable you would usually use to charge the battery on the device.

8. Wait for around ten seconds for the drivers to start working and then check that they are by witnessing a blue or yellow ID: COM port from the Odin user-interface. No color means you will want to install the universal Windows ADB driver on the computer and try again.

9. Click the AP button and browse the desktop for the Alpha’s rooting file ending in the tar.md5 extension that you extracted earlier.

10. Click the Start button.

11. Wait until you can see a green box light up from the Odin application on the computer and it gives you a pass message inside.

12. Look at the Samsung Galaxy Alpha’s display and it should say it is about to reboot in 10 seconds.

That’s all.

In conclusion, that’s all you need to root the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone with the SM-G850L model number running on the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop software update. Any device that did not get into recovery mode during the last step will need to be booted into recovery mode manually instead.