Last Updated on July 17, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge phone is going to allow you to run more apps. More than that, it can also be half of what you need to replace the stock ROM with a custom ROM–the other half being the custom recovery you will need to use to upload the new ROM zip files. Nevertheless, when it comes to rooting with the CF-Auto-Root tool you do not have that ability for the ROMs yet, and everything is about installing new applications only.
We say only because on the Surface these apps sound somewhat dull and boring, but that is only because most people are not aware of the amount of change we can see from one app to another. Some people only know apps as programs that can run games when they have a spare five minutes on the train, while other people know apps can exist for practical reasons like offer programs that people need for work. Both of these instances are true, but apps are more than that still.
Apps can do so much these days that you can tweak the way your software appears–the thing on your display that geeks refer to as the user interface or UI for short. Apps are all responsible for being able to tweak our internal system so that it is clocked differently compared to how our manufacturers intended us to use the device. Underclocking means you are winding it down regarding hardware performance which results in having a longer lasting battery. Overclocking is the opposite and will give your hardware even better performance than when you are first opening it out of the box, but you sacrifice the battery. There are many valid arguments to being able to choose the way in which our devices are clocked because neither you nor I will want a device locked in the same way to meet our ideal needs. The exception to that is unless we were to be living the same life–and I can safely say we do not because I am usually alone.
The CF-Auto-Root tool is always based off of a particular firmware and in this instance is comes with the MMB29K.G9250ZTU2DPC5 firmware build number. That is the build number that Chainfire used on this device when he rooted it using the same tool that is in this guide. So, if you want to root your device with a guarantee, flash that same build number. However, you do not need to be running that same MMB29K.G9250ZTU2DPC5 build number on your smartphone before you root the device using this guide. You can use any firmware as long as you are running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. Chainfire tells us that it is true, and he only lets us know the build number he used because some of the Samsung handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge may not boot old images. When that happens in the future, it will be handy to be able to see roughly what time Chainfire based this rooting file from, and you can do that by looking up the build number he gave above.
Files You Need
- Download the new version of the CF-Auto-Root package for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G9250 when running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow updates from here.
- Download the Samsung USB Drivers on the Windows computer from here.
You can only use this guide with the SM-G9250 model number. Any other Samsung model number will get bricked if you use this guide. Moreover, there are two unique versions of the phone with the SM-G9250, and this file is only for one of them. More on those details below.
You must have a computer (any PC) that is running a version of the Windows operating system to use this how-to guide or else it will not work. The reason being is Odin is made by Samsung developers to work in conjunction with the Windows operating systems and not one of the other operating systems like the MasOS or even the Linux kernels.
There are two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone with the SM-G9250 model number. The rooting file in this guide is only for the zeroltezt device. Do not install this file on the other version (zeroltezc) or else you will brick the device much the same way as you would if you were to flash the wrong CF-Auto-Root tool on a faulty phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge will continue to be supported by more Android software updates in the future. One of the larger updates that this device can probably expect is the Android N software update. Any of the more extensive updates such as Android N can bring new bootloaders with them, and they cause the CF-Auto-Root tool to stop temporarily working. The way Chainfire fixes these issues is he relies on people to submit the new recovery image files found inside the new firmware files to the official CF-Auto-Root thread made for the tool over at the XDA-Developers website. He will see the message and update the files on his end so that the necessary changes are made. Those changes are automatically reflected in our guides as soon as he does that because we link directly to Chainfire’s repository.
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G9250 running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates
- Unlock the hidden Developer Options settings on your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone so that you can use the options found on the menu.
- Enable the USB Debugging Mode option on the Galaxy S6 Edge phone from within the Developer Options menu that you just unlocked.
- Run the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer before you doing anything else, so the drivers are running by the time you open the flashing app.
- Extract the CF-Auto-Root exploit to the desktop of the computer and two files will fall out: the flashing app (Odin) and the rooting file.
- Double-click the mouse on the Odin flashing app and wait for the Odin user interface to open on the desktop.
- Pick up the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone and press the Power button, followed by the option from the menu that says it will switch it off completely.
- Hold down the hardware key combination that is going to reboot the phone into the download mode and then connect it to the Windows computer with the USB cable that you would usually use to charge the battery.
- Once the phone is connected, look at the Odin user interface, and you should see a blue or yellow ID: COM port color. (A color here is letting you know that your phone is connected securely o the flashing app which is usually what happens when the drivers are working, the device is in the download mode and the USB cable is plugged in correctly. You may need to reboot the computer or at least log out and back in once again to get the drivers working if they are not working at the moment).
- Do not make any changes from the Odin user interface.
- Click the “AP” button from the user interface and then choose to browse through to the desktop location and upload your rooting file that is sending in the tar.md5 file extension.
- Click the “Start” button from the Odin app user interface.
- Pick up the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone and then look at the display and wait until you can read some text that is rolling down the screen that says it is getting the SuperSU flashed, the cache partition is getting cleaned, and then the rooting exploit is reflashing the stock recovery for you.
- Drop the phone and look back up at the computer screen and look out for a message that says your phone has passed which will appear within a new green box that has just popped up.
In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G9250 phone when you have it running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow firmware updates by using an updated version of the CF-Auto-Root tool by Chainfire. Everyone will see the phone reboot and then you are free to begin installing your apps or check out what it takes to install a custom recovery on the handset.
Those of you who would prefer checking things out to make sure they are in working order can open the Google Play Store applications and install one of the root checker applications that are available to install. The root checker app is free for the basic versions, and it is all you need to get your device checked. Once you know your phone is rooted, you can see the SuperSU app from the app drawer. That is the app that would grant root emissions to your apps when requests (after you download the app).
Those of you who do not have a rooted smartphone after checking the root status with the root checker app can try doing a few things before giving up. The first thing you ought to try to boot the phone into the recovery mode manually by pressing the hardware key combination for that mode. Chainfire writes that a Samsung phone must get into the recovery mode for the SuperSU to be installed and enabled properly. The CF-Auto-Root tool does this automatically usually but not always if something goes wrong. You can fix those occasions by booting into the recovery mode manually as soon as the flashing completes.
Moreover, another thing you can try to do is install one of the other versions of the Odin flashing application from our Odin downloads page. The Odin version that comes bundled in with the CF-Auto-Root on Marshmallow is the more recent Odin 3.10 version. However, it also comes in Odin 3.09, Odin 2.07 and other older Odin versions people can try also. It does not matter which version you try, but go with the most recent versions and work your way down until you find one that works.
Any of your Sammy S6 Edge owners who are still stuck can check out the Sam Mobile website for firmware files. Sometimes a model number is distributed across many phone carrier networks such as the Candian version of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. When that is the case you can install firmware from another phone carrier network provided that your phone is, SIM unlocked first. Install firmware from a more modern phone carrier network and then try the rooting again and it should work. Sometimes the least popular phone carrier networks people are subscribed to can create problems.