Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

Most of us had experience with computers well before we had experience with smartphones since smartphones have only been around since 2007 and the Android operating system did not get popular until at least a couple of years after that.

The way desktop operating systems work is by making the person who sets up the computer for the first time be in control of the administrator’s account. That makes sense since the individual who is setting it up for the first time is usually the owner. In fact, the idea is so flawless that after all my time of knowing and working with computers, I am yet to hear any complaints about how when they turn on a computer that runs on an operating system like Windows, it is a terrible burden to be given the control of the administrator’s account.

Mobile operating systems, on the other hand, a very different. If we want to think about iOS software and operating system for a minute, we know that Apple owns iOS and it chooses to run the software and operating system that it owns on the Apple device. That gives it tremendous power over users like users because it gives Apple the chance to install anything they want on it and lock you into the environment that they want you to be locked into.

Android operating systems are different than iOS most of the time because Google and Android do not own the smartphones that it is installed on like when you find Android running on HTC, LG, Samsung and so forth. That means Android does not really care what manufacturers like HTYC, LG, and Samsung want to be able to lock you into, and Android does whatever it wants with the operating system instead.

For Android developers, it is all about safety and security when they choose not to give you access to the root user account which is the same thing as the administrators account only worded differently for the Linux kernel that Android is built on.

Notes:

  • Chainfire had the MMB29M.G900R7WWU3CPF2 firmware build number running on the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 smartphone when he made the version of the CF-Auto-Root tool that is available in this guide. He does not suggest you need the same firmware version running on the Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone as him. He just lets that information of the firmware he was running out into the public just in case you want to use it as an indicator in the future.
  • If the CF-Auto-Root tool is not working when you use it, and it is causing your device not to boot after you have flashed it, the file needs updating by the developer. Before he can do anything, he relies on the users like yourselves to let him know about it, and he also requests that you send him the recovery image from the firmware you are running because he uses it to update the file. You need to send the recovery image and your message about what device you have to the official CF-Auto-Root tool thread made at the XDA-Developers web forum.
  • You need to have the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone that comes with the SM-G900R7 model number to use this guide. The CF-Auto-Root tools are always for one model number only and flashing the wrong version results in the bricking of devices. If you are in that situation, then you just need to visit a website that has the stock ROMs such as the Sam Mobile website and download the right one for your model number and phone carrier network if you are not SIM unlocked.
  • You need to have a computer that is running on a version of the Windows operating systems if you are to use this guide with the Odin flashing tool because Odin only runs on Windows.

Download Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 CF-Auto-Root and Drivers

How to Root Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Using CF-Auto-Root

  1. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 smartphone so you can then turn the USB Debugging Mode option on that is available inside it.
  2. Enable the USB Debugging Mode on the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 smartphone, so the Android software that is running on your mobile device allows you to make changes to it which is a requirement of the rooting is going to work.
  3. Run the Samsung USB Drivers on the Windows computer so that the Odin flashing application can detect your device when you connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  4. Extract the CF-Auto-Root tool in the Downloads folder, and then you get the Odin flashing app and the flashable version of the CF-Auto-Root tool in the Downloads folder.
  5. Click on the Odin executable file, and the flashing tool opens up on the desktop.
  6. Boot the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 smartphone into the Download Mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable that is used for charging of the battery.
  7. Odin should show a blue or yellow color coming from the ID: COM port so you know that the device is connected to Odin and that the Samsung USB Driver you installed earlier is working.
  8. Do not make any of the changes to the default settings that Odin has or you might get data loss.
  9. Click on the AP button from the Odin user interface and browse through to the Downloads folder where you extracted the rooting file earlier and then select the rooting file that is there.
  10. Click on the Start button in Odin when the rooting file is loaded, and the flashing of the CF-Auto-Root tool begins.
  11. Read the text that is programmed to roll down the display of the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone when the rooting is happening so you know what to expect—the systemless root version can take several minutes to complete, and the phone can boot loop several times before finishing.
  12. Check that Odin gives a pass message inside a green box after the smartphone display shows a message alerting you to the fact that it is rebooting in ten seconds.

In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900R7 smartphone running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates by flashing Chainfire’s systemless root version of the CF-Auto-Root tool. The systemless root version means you can install all of the same root apps and you can still install a custom recovery image now after rooting if that is what you want. None of that stuff changes. What does change is that when you take factory resets now, it fully unroots the device, so you do not have to do with by flashing a stock ROM or entering the SuperSU app anymore—although both of those options are still available if you prefer them? Just keep in mind that hard resetting does now unroot so you might want to think twice before doing it.

If you attempt to learn about rooting Android online, you will struggle to get the facts because there is so much contradictory information floating around the internet, it’s hard to make sense of it all. Rooting Android is in no way related to installing custom ROMs as many people believe. For most devices, all you need is to have the bootloader unlocked and a custom recovery installed and then you can begin to upload your custom ROMs to the custom recovery image and flash them with no root access required.

You can get root access to the stock version of Android or the custom ROM that you want to install if you want to have a custom recovery also. But the main thing to understand is that rooting is about what you can do with the ROM and is not about helping install a new ROM unless you want to use a root app such as the ROM manager to help with your ROM installation.

Rooting Android is about the root apps that you can install that help you achieve a variety of different things. Some people like to use apps that help take better backups than the only that are available to non-rooted users. Other people like to try making the music coming out of their headphones sound better. Many more people do it so they can make the battery last longer and free up more internal memory by getting rid of the system apps and so forth. In fact, there are thousands of reasons why people want a rooted Android operating system, and we touch on many of those reason in our post that goes into great details about what things you can do with a rooted Android operating system.

Once you know the things that you want to do when Android is rooted, then you need to find out the names of the apps that do those things. That can be challenging because the Google Play Store doesn’t have any resources for you to use regarding the root apps like it does for the standard apps. You need to rely on the resources that are available online instead. You can check our other post that features what we think are many of the best root applications for the Android operating system as it showcases many of the best ones out there today for anyone to install.

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