Last Updated on April 5, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

Samsung Galaxy A11The Samsung Galaxy A11 was released in May of 2020 and came with Android 10 out of the box, though it has since been upgraded to Android 12. Boasting a 6.4-inch display, it was one of the better Samsung smartphones for 2020. The Galaxy A11 came with a 4000 mAh battery, which was big for 2020. Nevertheless, many people would still like to extend it further with root access.

The following tutorial demonstrates how to root the Samsung Galaxy A11 running on Android 12, Android 11, and Android 10 using Magisk. This tutorial has only been tested on the SM-A115F. It may work on other model numbers as well or it may not.

Files Required:

Unlocking the Bootloader

Though it may not be true for all versions of Android, generally you need to unlock the bootloader on the Samsung Galaxy A11 before rooting it with Magisk using the guide below. Here is how to do that:

1. Hold Volume Up + Volume Down buttons and connect the Galaxy A11 to the desktop with the USB cable.

2. Wait a few seconds for a blue screen and then press the Volume Up button to unlock.

3. After long-pressing Volume Up, press Power when it asks for confirmation.

4. The Galaxy A11 bootloader has now been unlocked.

5. Set up the Galaxy A11 so you can sign in. And then unlock Developer Options and check the option to enable OEM Unlocking. If it is grayed out, it means the bootloader is unlocked.

Rooting Galaxy A11 (SM-A115F/DSN) on Android 12, Android 11, and Android 10

Magisk is the most common way to get root access on the Samsung Galaxy A11. Here is how to do that:

Caution:
Once you have rooted the Galaxy A11 with the guide below, do not make any changes to the system partition as it is mounted as Read Only.

1. Install the Odin, Visual C+, minimal ADB and Fastboot on the desktop. Install the firmware using one of the free firmware tools as well.

2. Extract the firmware and find the file with the prefix AP_.

3. Extract the boot.img.lz4.

4. Install Magisk on the Galaxy A11 and ensure the WiFi is turned on and connected.

5. Transfer the boot.img.lz4.tar to the Downloads folder on the Galaxy A11.

6. Open Magisk, tap Install, and then upload the boot.img.lz4.tar.

7. On the desktop, open the Downloads folder of the Galaxy A11 and you will see the Magisk_Patched.tar.

8. Turn off the smartphone and disconnect it from the desktop.

9. Open Odin and uncheck Auto Reboot.

10. Click the AP file in Odin and upload the Magisk_Patched.tar to this location.

11. Boot the Galaxy A11 into Download Mode and connect it to the Desktop.

12. Start the flashing process in Odin and wait for it to complete. The Pass message means it worked. A bootloop or error message means it failed.

13. Boot the Galaxy A11 into Recovery Mode. When in Recovery Mode, perform a Factory Reset and wipe the cache partition.

14. Install Magisk on the Galaxy A11 again. After rebooting the Galaxy A11 will be rooted.

In conclusion, that is how to root the Galaxy A11 (SM-A115F/DSN) on Android 12, Android 11, and Android 10.

References:

griha41 on XDA-Developers. griha41 said to use SamFirm as the firmware tool; however, he wrote the guide three years ago and SamFirm is no longer the tool people use to download Samsung firmware. I have linked to newer tools instead.