Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is like giving yourself full administrator rights over your operating system. Like any computer without administrator permissions, there will be certain restrictions in place and consequences to not having those permissions. These restrictions are usually reserved for advanced Android users who want to tinker with the operating system in some way. Thanks to the wonderful freedom we have in many countries in the world, being able to do what you want with your device are perfectly legal.

Anyone who plans on rooting the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone using Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root tool might be interested in checking out the Triangle Away application made by the same developer. The Triangle Away app was developed with the intention of helping out those who root to flash custom firmware on a Samsung device. Now root access won’t usually allow you to run custom firmware alone, but it is a requirement to run custom firmware which is how it directly related to Chainfire’s work. Furthermore, installing a custom ROM or custom firmware is one of the most popular reasons to root a smartphone or tablet running Android, so there should be a few of you out there interested in using the Triangle Away app.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow

The rooting package in this guide is based on the MMB29M.G900FXXU1CPD3 firmware. The firmware build ID just mentioned never rolled out to all regions and probably will not be available for all languages. That doesn’t matter to you though because you do not need to be running that same firmware on your smartphone. All you need to understand is that some of the older images will not boot on some of the Samsung smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S5, and that’s why Chainfire gives that information.

Files You Need

  • Download the new CF-Auto-Root tool for the S5 with the model number SM-G900F running the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software update from here.
  • Download the Samsung USB Drivers for the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone to the computer from here.
  • Using the CF-Auto-Root to gain administrator permissions over the Android operating system will void the Samsung warranty. Further, it always trips Knox security if your device is one of those that comes pre-loaded with Samsung’s Knox software. We can tell you that every flagship under the Samsung name — as well as anything remotely close to a premium device from Samsung — does come with Knox security. Tripping Knox means that your device cannot be unrooted to get the warranty working again. You can unroot like usual, but the warranty remains out of action.
  • New firmware updates — usually reserved for the large updates that jump up to a new number — can bring new bootloaders with them. When that happens, you need Chainfire to update the files before you attempt to root the device or else you could get a device that does not boot or flash. It has not bricked your device, and these problems can be fixed by flashing the stock ROM. Check forums for more details. Anyone experiencing a device that does not boot and thinks it might be because of the same problem can let the developer know by posting the issue at the official XDA-Developers thread created for the CF-Auto-Root tool.

Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900F smartphone running the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update

  1. Enable the USB Debugging Mode for the Galaxy S5 with the SM-G900F model number before you connect it to the computer.
  2. Extract the rooting file to the desktop of the computer.
  3. Install the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer.
  4. Double-click the Odin executable file that is on the desktop of the computer.
  5. Boot the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone into the download mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  6. Check you can see the yellow or blue color coming from the ID: COM port available from the Odin user interface.
  7. Do not adjust any of the default settings you get from the Odin app.
  8. Click the AP button and browse the desktop for the S5’s rooting file that is ending in the tar.md5 extension.
  9. Click the Start button.
  10. Wait until you can see the display of your S5 says that it is about to install the SuperSU application, followed by clean up the cache and then flash your stock recovery back on the device.
  11. Now look up at the computer again and check that you can see a green box with a message inside letting you know that your device has passed.

In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900F smartphone running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. You should find this guide works for every version of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, but we recommend finding a new guide when the next major update arrives over the air for your device. You can easily confirm your S5 smartphone is now rooted by installing the root checker application from the Google Play Store.

Anyone who is not getting the guide to work should try installing a different version of the Odin application because it comes in a few versions and sometimes one version might not work for any given device. You can counteract that problem by just trying a different version instead. Eventually, one of them will work for your Galaxy S5 smartphone.

Furthermore, the developer of the rooting tool states that your Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone must get into the recovery mode for the rooting to work. As someone who has used the CF-Auto-Root tool myself, I can tell you that picking up on the recovery mode isn’t easy. However, if your device is not rooted, then that might be why. You can fix that problem by booting the S5 up into recovery mode manually by pressing the hardware button combination for the recovery mode after your CF-Auto-Root file is flashed.

Now that you have rooted the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone using Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root tool, you can start doing everything that everyone keeps on talking about doing with a rooted Android operating system. We are talking about installing a custom recovery and then getting a custom ROM or kernel running, overclocking the CPU or GPU for better performance, making the battery last longer, install any root apps you have ever read about, removing the bloatware and a bunch more cool stuff. You can read about it in more details by reading our dedicated post on everything you can do after your Android operating system is rooted.

Rooting smartphones and tablets that run on the Android operating system allow us to do things like getting full file system access. Rooting is the only way we can get full access to the system, so it should be no surprise that people who need full read/write permissions need to get root access. The way we enhance this is by using better file manager apps. Applications are what rooting is all about, and users can find some of the best file managers available for root users, as well as just the best root apps in general from our best root application for Android article that goes into more details about what apps are available. The list does not show every app that is out there. In fact, there are thousands of more root applications than one our list, but we show some of the better ones that many people love to use.