Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake
Android, as we know, is the most popular mobile operating system in the world due to it rolling out on nearly all phones from manufacturers not named Apple. The fruit company shot themselves in the foot in a way by not bringing out more devices for niche markets, and that is where Android managed to become so famous. Still, Android’s popularity is not all about being on a larger amount of phones; there are people out there who would choose it over any other operating system for its greatness–nothing more and nothing less.
Where Android excels is by being an open source operating system which means once you get a hold of the source code you can change it up any way you want. We see people doing this all the time, and you can often sample the work from other developers by installing what we know as a custom ROM. A custom ROM is always put together by third-party developers and not the official developers out of the Mountain View company headquarters over at Google. Moreover, often these third-party developers are just doing it for fun and do not profit from the custom ROMs apart from people shouting them a cup of coffee for one in every thousand downloads.
Third-party developers are not creating custom ROMs for the money; they do it because they can see the upside in making people happy. There is a certain level of unjust characteristics when we get a stock ROM in the sense that a lot of it comes locked so we cannot uninstall any of the system apps. One of the things people love so much about a custom ROM is the fact that they often come debloated–meaning the ROMs are no longer carrying those system default applications from the phone carrier networks or the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Samsung).
Related: How To Root The OnePlus 3 On Android 6.0 (Oxygen UI)
A custom ROM is just one way we can customize a smartphone to give ourselves more options with what we see on the display. If a custom ROMs seems like too great a risk for you to take with your Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone then why not check out something like Tasker–a total automation application for your Android? The Tasker app gives you extra features on top of the ones that you usually get by default when you are using a stock Android ROM. One of the features we get with a stock ROM these days is the ability to connect automatically to a WiFi network when we are at a distance of our homes. That is a useful feature and one that Tasker would have done if the Android developers did not incorporate it naturally. Still, Tasker has done something even better and now each time you are connected to your home WIFi it will give you the chance to disable the lock screen–a feature that many people find annoying around the house but incredibly useful when away from home. As you can see, adding new features is as much about efficiency and making your life more convenient as it is about changing the way something looks. Tasker–a rooted application for your Android–is the only way to make that happen. Moreover, of course, you must have rooted the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone before you can download and install it.
Each CF-Auto-Root file that is made for a particular device is based on firmware. In this instance, for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone, it is Chainfire who has based the rooting method off of MMB29K.N910CXXU2DPCB firmware. That is the build number, and it is given to us so we can use it as a guideline in the future if we ever run into trouble. It will allow us to check out roughly what time that firmware came out and then act accordingly. It does not mean that you need to flash the MMB29K.N910CXXU2DPCB firmware on your Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone before you follow this guide. The CF-Auto-Root version that is found in this guide should work for all versions of the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software update.
Files You Need
- Download the new CF-Auto-Root tool for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C when it is running on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow software updates from here.
- Download the Samsung USB Drivers for the Windows computer you are using the guide from here.
Related: How To Install A Custom Recovery On The OnePlus 3
You will need a computer that is running a version of the Windows operating system to use the flashing tool (Odin) that we use in this guide.
You can only flash the CF-Auto-Root tool found in this tutorial on the SM-N910C version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone and no other. Flashing the wrong rooting file with the Odin flashing tool can result in bricked device, so make sure you understand that.
There could be some more software updates that roll out for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone with the SM-N910C model number based on the same Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates that bring new bootloaders with them. If that does happen, you might find the CF-Auto-Root tool does not flash, or your smartphone will not boot up after you flash the CF-Auto-Root tool. You must submit the new recovery image files found in the new firmware that is creating the problems to the official CF-Auto-Root tool thread made at the XDA-Developers website.
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C smartphone running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates
- Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C smartphone so you can use the settings found inside.
- Enable the USB Debugging Mode on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone so you can connect the smartphone to the computer with the USB cable and allow the Odin app to perform developments.
- Extract the CF-Auto-Root tool to the desktop of the computer so you can see the Odin flashing application and the rooting exploit files on the desktop.
- Double-click on the Odin executable file that is on the desktop and wait for the user interface of your flashing tool to show itself along with all its buttons.
- Run the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer so that your smartphone can be detected when it is connected to the computer.
- Boot the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C smartphone into the download mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
- Check that you can see a yellow or blue color coming from the Odin user interface and then look for the “added” message that is available from the user interface as well.
- Click the AP button without having changed any of the default settings from the Odin flashing app’s user interface and upload the rooting file from the desktop location.
- Click the Start button from the Odin user interface and then pick up the phone.
- Check that you can see text rolling down the display that says it is flashing the SuperSU, cleaning up the cache partition and then reflashing the stock recovery.
- Now look back at the computer and check that it says that it has passed by giving a pass message inside of a green box.
In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone with the SM-N910C model number when you have it running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates by using another version of Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root application. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone reboots back into the normal mode, and you get one more application added to your device–the SuperSU that we just installed and enabled. Now you are ready to check out all the common things you can do on your rooted Android smartphone.
The SuperSU applications are always there until you unroot the smartphone, and it is going to be the app that grants root access with your permission. Each app that you install pings the SuperSU to send you a message, and everything that you choose to allow through hand has root access will get it, so make sure you do not grant root access to any apps you do not remember installing. The SuperSU is a perfect system in the sense that it blocks absolutely everything, but it also relies on you to know what you installed and what you did not. It does not detect a virus in any way, and it allows through everything that you tell it to with your fingers. That is why rooting the Android operating system is best reserved for the experienced Android users.
As soon as your Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone reboots back into the normal mode, you can start installing your root applications from the Google Play Store or perhaps you might prefer opening the web browser app like Google Chrome and browsing for then on the internet that way. You get heaps of lists of the best root applications for Android if you want to check out what the blogs have to say. Alternatively, you might just want to hit up the Google Play Store and install one of the root checker apps. There is a basic root checker app that lets you install lit for free, and it will check whether or not your smartphone is in fact rooted. If so, then you have nothing worry about, and you can start installing your apps that you have been waiting to try such as the Titanium backup application or the Dumpster app. Moreover, you can also skip[ the apps and head to a new guide that teaches you how to install a custom recovery on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone so you can check out what custom ROMs are available with your new custom recovery and root access combined. However, those who have checked with the root checker app and it tells them that the smartphone is not rooted can try troubleshooting a few things before giving up hope.
Chainfire states clearly that the Galaxy Note 4 smartphone will need to get into the recovery mode which is an important part of the rooting process with regards to using the CF-Auto-Root tool. That happens by itself usually but that is not always the case, and if it does not happen by itself for you then you can just boot the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone into the recovery mode manually instead.
Furthermore, assuming you have tried the recovery mode trick already, and it did not work, you can head over to our Odin downloader page and download one of the other versions of the Odin flashing tool instead. Odin is an application that is made to work on Windows computer, and it comes in roughly five traditional versions. The version that Chainfire packs in with the rooting bundle lately is the Odin version 3.10, but it does not necessarily work a treat for every device. Always try flashing with another version of the Odin application if you are finding your device just won’t flash and it should fix your problem.