Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

Most people have been born and raised on Microsoft Windows operating systems because they are the most popular and affordable choice. Some people buy Mac devices not because they know anything about computers but because they heard they were apparently better. Then the occasional person you might know might be running Linux, and after you had asked them how expensive is it, you decided to turn away. Yes, the Linux operating systems are free but not because they are not worthy of people paying money for them but rather they are built on open source software. Even though they are open source, they do have founders, and those founders are wealthy. Don’t ask me how exactly that works, but they are. All I know is that the way they make money is different from the way I make money, and I am unable to understand their wealth fully as much as the next person. I can only assume it has something to do with endorsement deals and other things alike. It is not coming from advertising revenue or any tricks within the Linux operating system. Those are genuinely free and not free because they give you advertisements instead. Just truly free to own and operate.

Linux is particularly popular in the geek community because they are great operating systems that just do not get any exposure in comparison to the others that come from large corporations. The companies like Microsoft and Apple train you how to think without you even realizing it through active advertising campaigns that you might not even notice. Large corporations like Apple and Microsoft that make billions of dollars can advertise in ways that Linux founders cannot and therefore most people have no idea what Linux is unless they have looked into things themselves. How many people do that? Only a small percentage of the overall population and they are usually those who are interested in operating systems.

So why the long narrative on Linux you ask? Android–the operating system that is running on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5–is also a product of Linux. Google bought Android and changed it from the original Linux operating system that it was so that it fits into their corporation idealism. The main thing that Google changed and that took it away from being the Linux that we know is root access. Google took away the chance for people to be root users automatically and forced people into following a guide like below if they want to become root users. Let’s get concrete: that does not mean that Google dislikes rooting or root users. It just says they made the decision that not everybody should be one, and the only thing that made sense was to block it automatically, and those who want to be root users can unlock the operating system and become root users.

Chainfire used the MMB29K.N920GDDU2BPC4 firmware build number on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920G smartphone when he created the rooting file found in this guide. It does not mean that you need to be running the same firmware build number on your Note 5 also. All you need to do is run the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software update and make sure that you have the same SM-N920G model number, and everything should work fine.

Notes:

  • You must have the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone that comes with the SM-N920G model number if you are going to use this guide. You can check out the model number of your Note 5 smartphone by pointing to the Menu > Settings > About Device > Model Number.
  • You must have a computer that is running versions of the Windows operating system if you want the Odin flashing application to be able to root your device. The official Samsung developers make the Odin app, but they only made it for Windows since most people run Windows. There are ways you can get it running on the Windows computer but
  • The version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 the rooting file this guide is made for comes with the nobleltedd device name. Do not flash this file on the other version (noblelteub) or else you brick the device. Both versions of the SM-N920G model number are running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow at the time of writing this guide, so finding which one you have can be tricky.
  • There will be some more Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates that roll out over the air for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone with the SM-N920G model number. There is a small chance that one of these also brings a new bootloader with it. If you find your device does not boot or does not flash after using the CF-Auto-Root file, that is likely letting you know that the CF-Auto-Root file needs updating by Chainfire because a new bootloader is present in the firmware that you are running. He asks if you could please leave a new message on the official CF-Auto-Root thread created over at the XDA-Developers website with the new recovery image file that is found in the new firmware so he can use it to apply the updates to the rooting file on his servers. Those changes that he makes will always show up straight away in our guides because we link directly back to the rooting page Chainfire made for the file.

Files You Need

Rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920G running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates

1. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920G smartphone so you can use the options on that menu.

2. Enable the USB Debugging Mode from the Developer Options menu so when you connect the smartphone to the computer you can make changes to the software.

3. Extract the rooting file to the desktop of the computer so you have the Odin flashing applications and the rooting file on the desktop.

4. Run the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer so the smartphone can be detected by the flashing tool when it is running on the computer.

5. Boot the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920G smartphone into the download mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.

6. Double-click on the Odin executable file that is on the desktop of the computer and the flashing tool opens.

7. Check that you get a yellow or blue color coming from the ID: COM port that is available from the Odin user interface.

8. Check that you can see the “added” message coming from the Odin flashing app user interface.

9. Do not make any changes from the default settings that you get from the Odin flashing tool user interface.

10. Select the AP button and browse through ot the desktop and upload the rooting tar file that is there for your Galaxy Note 5 smartphone.

11. Click the Start button from the Odin app on the computer and the rooting begins.

12. Pick up the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and have a read of the text that starts running down the display and pay close attention to the important notices that it gives.

13. Wait until you can see the green pass message from the Odin user interface before unplugging from the computer.

In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920G smartphone when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates by using the systemless root versions of Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root tool. The smartphone you are using will now reboot back into the normal mode after you see the message on the display telling you that is rebooting in ten seconds, and then the SuperSU will be available from the app drawer. The versions of the SuperSU you see here has been through an extensive installation process, and it is enabled correctly; that is essentially all the CF-Auto-Root tool does. However, when we say “only” what it does, it is important to understand the difficulty in getting it to be enabled, and if you knew what just happened thanks to Chainfire, you would be impressed. Anyhow, you need to install it this way or from a custom recovery if you want the SuperSU enabled. It will not work if you just download the app from the Google Play Store and then run it on your device.

You can install any of the root checker apps for free from the Google Play Store, and it checks the root status of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 for you. Once you know, the device is rooted you are then able to check out what things can be done with a rooted Android operating system and when you are the root user on the device.

Furthermore, those of you who checked the root status and it says you are unrooted can try installing another addition of the Odin flashing applications and seeing if that fixes the problems. Additionally, you might want to try waiting until the device reboots for the last time after flashing the CF-Auto-Root tool and then holding down the hardware button combination for the recovery mode so that it boots directly into the recovery mode and not the normal mode. The recovery mode is a normal part of the rooting process, and it must get into that mode for the rooting to have successfully installed and enabled the SUperSU application. That usually happens on its own because the CF-AUto-Root one-click rooting tool is programmed to handle it, but it does not always happen.

Those are usually the ways to fix the CF-Auto-Root tool not working. There is also one more thing you can try if you need more CF-Auto-Root troubleshooting ideas. Head over to the Sam Mobile website and download a different firmware for your device. All of you need to install firmware for the same SM-N920G model number. Those of you who have the device SIM unlocked can also install firmware that is on the same model number but for another phone carrier network. If you are not SIM unlocked you always need to install the firmware for your model number and the same phone carrier network. That trick isn’t always useful because phones and tablets do not always have more than one phone carrier network using a model number, but some do, and that is when it can be useful.

CF-Auto-Root on XDA-Developers

Chainfire, the developer of the CF-Auto-Root tool available in this guide, has created a CF-Auto-Root tool thread on the XDA-Develoeprs website. You can use the CF-Auto-Root thread on the XDA-Developers site for requesting new root methods for devices that are not currently available.

Encryption

Note that flashing a CF-Auto-Root file (regardless of the device) wipes the data if the device storage is encrypted. For everyone else, there should be no data loss when rooting with the CF-Auto-Root tool.

Samsung’s Knox security

Some smartphones and tablets in the Samsung range come with Samsung’s Knox security. The CF-Auto-Root tool trips Knox which prevents you from unrooting and using the warranty again.

Flash counters

Any device with a target flash counter is triggered when using the CF-Auto-Root tool. Chainfire’s Triangle Away supports many devices for this problem.