Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

If you spend lots of time browsing the Google Play Store searching for apps to help better your Android operating system on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone you might have come across the occasional apps that looks amazing but when you try to open it is says that it needs root to run. That is telling you that you need to be a root user before that application operates and the root user is the person who is running a device that has root access to the internal system.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has all the same root apps available for it as every other device, so if you have any friends complimenting the work of a root app that they are using from another device, you will be able to install that on your device too. It just takes some work in becoming the root user, but luckily we have excellent developers out there today making things as easy as possible. The CF-Auto-Root tool by Chainfire installs and enabled the SuperSU on your smartphone. The process of how it works is pretty complicated, but it makes everything look very easy. The way CF-Auto-Root has worked over the years has changed now that we are running anything from Android 5.1 Lollipop and above with it no being a systemless root versions as a pose to the older options which needed to access the system partition.

The CF-Auto-Root tool that you find in this guide for Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow is the systemless root versions which mean it did not need to modify anything from the system partition. The result is a cleaner rooting method that should do your device some favors. There aren’t any differences with what this root access can do compared to the older versions; the same root applications runs, and you can build from this root access and choose to install a custom recovery followed by a ROM or kernel if you want. Moreover, all of the same custom ROMs and custom kernels are at your disposal.

Notes:

  1. Chainfire had the MMB29K.N920R4TYU2BPB6 firmware build number running on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920R4 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 as him. You can be running on any firmware. You just need to make sure that you are running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates and that you have the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 that comes with the SM-N920R4 model number.
  2. The Developer Options need to be unlocked on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone before you can use this guide. You can unlock it on the Note 5 by pointing to the Menu > Settings > About Device > Build Number seven times. Keep tapping until the screen says you are now using the device as a developer and that means that the Developer Options menu is now unlocked.
  3. Enter the Developer Options menu and turn on the USB Debugging Mode now by pointing to the Menu > Settings > Developer Options and then tapping on the box next to the USB Debugging option. Leave the Developer Options menu for Android to remember your preferences.
  4. New software updates can sometimes stop the CF-Auto-Root files from working. These issues usually come with new versions of Android which is why we base our rooting guides on Android versions—so you will not have that problem. If you do find your device does not boot faster flashing the CF-Auto-Root tool then it is likely because the file needs updating by the developer. Leave him a message on the CF-Auto-Root tool thread made at the XDA-Developers website and put the new recovery image file found in the same with your messages for him to use to fix the file. The updates are always automatically updated in our guides also because we link directly back to the Chainfire page.
  5. The Samsung USB Drivers need to be installed on the Windows computer before you get started with the guide or else the smartphone will not be connecting to the Odin flashing tool.
  6. The following guide is made for the US Cellular Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with the SM-N920R4 model number running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates.

Files We Need

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Note 5 SM-N920R4 on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Using CF-Auto-Root

  1. Log into the Windows computer using the administers account so you can use the flashing application on the computer and it works.
  2. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the US Cellular Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone so you can use it.
  3. Enable the USB Debugging Mode from the Samsung Galaxy Note 5’s Developer Options menu that you just unlocked.
  4. Extract the rooting file to the desktop of the computer and the Odin flashing app and the CF-Auto-Root package will be visible on the desktop.
  5. Run the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer so the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone can connect to the PC and the flashing tool can detect the smartphone.
  6. Double-click on the Odin file that is on the desktop so that the flashing tool runs and the user interface opens.
  7. Boot the US Cellular Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone into the download mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  8. Check the Odin app on the computer shows yellow or blue coming from the ID: COM port.
  9. Check that Odin gives the added message. (Both of these things are letting you know that the Note 5 is ready for the flashing. If you do not see those things then is usually means that the Samsung USB Drivers are not working correctly, or you are not using Windows with the administrators account).
  10. Do not make any changes from the default settings that we get from the Odin flashing app user interface or else you might end up loading data or worse.
  11. Click the AP button from the Odin app interface and the browse through to the desktop and upload the MD5 file that is there to this location in Odin.
  12. Click on the Start button that Odin has toward the bottom and the rooting begins.
  13. Check the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 display and have a read of all the information that Chainfire has programmed for the systemless root versions of the CF-Auto-Root tool to show, including the information about this version taking and it longer and also boot looping.
  14. As soon as you get the message on the smartphone display letting you know that it is rebooting in ten seconds check that Odin on the computer is showing a green pass message in a box.

In conclusion, that is how to root the US Cellular Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone that comes with the SM-N920R4 model number when it is running on any of the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. The smartphone now reboots into the normal mode, and the SuperSU app that CF-Auto-Root just installed is now available from the app drawer. You do not need to do anything with the SuperSU app, just leave it there, and when you download a root application that requires root permissions, the SuperSU prompts you with a message on the display letting you know that is requesting the root permissions. From there you just make your choice: grant the app root access or deny it. Always deny anything you do not recall installing and always give rooting permissions that you want to run. You can check out our list of some of the best root apps for Android if you need some ideas on where to begin.