Last Updated on July 17, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone is what every owner needs to do if they ever want to use the device with free control. When you get the Galaxy S6’s operating system based on Android coming to you out of the box, you get some features but also a bunch of functions that are locked away unable to be used. Those elements are made to come back to life after we unshackle the chains with a rooted operating system. Like most things in life, there is a downside to our indulgences. With regards to overindulging in an open operating system, we leave ourselves more open to viruses and being exposed to malware should be let our guards down.
There is no additional security we can install to help us with this problem. The SuperSU app or the KingUser app is the only thing we need for the safety because it does an excellent job at blocking everything in its path, but the way we need SuperSU to work relies on human choices. It is us who need to choose whether or not we want to open the gate and let an app have root access on our system. We can want to block everything, and nothing will get let through. Alternatively, we can allow everything through including potential threats if we do not know how to identify them. For the most part, identifying a risk is easy: you either installed an app a minute ago or you did not. Anything that you do not recall installing or that you do not remember the name of should be immediately stopped by clicking on the button that does not allow it to have root access when you get the pop-up message on the display. Those are the times when you could have just saved yourself from having malware on your device. Of course, there are other times when you need to be careful too. Those times I am talking about are the times when you need to figure out what is a trusted app and what isn’t before you choose to install the app. Awareness is key here. You should be researching the names of apps and reading reviews on the apps before you install anything. If you are not 100% sure that the app you are about to install is safe then do not risk it. It is not worth it.
The apps that are trusted are easy to see. These are the apps that make the lists of the best root apps for Android 2016 and so forth. These are the root apps that hold value to your Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone, and when you see some large websites writing reviews on these root apps I am talking about, you know there is nothing to worry about. For example, you are aware that installing Titanium Backup, Xposed, Greenify, ROM Manager and the ROM Toolbox are all safe to install because you trust them, and you know the developers are trustworthy. You know this because you see reviews and recommendations about these apps all over the internet. That is no coincidence. However, anything that has hardly any reviews from the app store or the official web page that it is being hosted, or any app that has not made it onto any of the listicles I am talking about floating around the internet is an app that you may need to ve wary about.
The following guide that includes the CF-Auto-Root tool is based on the MMB29K.G920R4TYU3CPB4 firmware build number. That is the build that the developer used to root the device. However, it does not mean you need to be running the same firmware build number on your smartphone before you can use this guide. Those are the words coming from the developer Chainfire himself. He just gives that build number along with the rooting file for people to use as an indicator because there are times when some Samsung devices will not boot the older images.
Files You Need
- Download the new CF-Auto-Root tool version made for the Galaxy S6 SM-G920R4 when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software update from here.
- Download the Samsung USB Drivers for the Galaxy S^smartphone on the computer from here.
The following guide is made for the US Cellular version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone that comes with the SM-G920R4 model number when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. You will need the US Cellular version with the SM-G920R4 model number to use this guide or else you will likely brick it. You can check your model number is the same by tapping on the Menu > Settings > About Device > Model Number.
Note that there may be some Android software updates that roll out to your US Cellular Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone that update it to newer versions of Android. Some of those updates can bring new bootloader with them, and a new bootloader gives us some temporary problems that need addressing by the developer of the rooting tool. Once he gets his hands on the recovery image files, he can then apply the updates, so the rooting files work again. For him to be able to do that, he relies on people who use the tools to submit the new recovery image to the official CF-Auto-Root tool thread he has made over at the XDA-Developers website. Once he sees the files, he will apply the updates. Those updates are always automatically reflected in our guides when we link directly back to the CF-Auto-Root tool repository.
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S6 SM-G920R4 running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates
- Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone so you can use it in the following step.
- Tun on the USB Debugging Mode from the Developer Options menu that you just unlocked.
- Extract the rooting bundle to the desktop of the Windows computer so you can use the files that are inside.
- Run the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer so your device can connect to the network and be detected by the flashing tool during the guide.
- Turn off the Galaxy S6 smartphone by pressing the Power button and pressing the button that says it will shut down the device completely from the menu.
- Boot the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone by pressing and holding the hardware key combination for the download mode, so it is in the download mode and ready for the flashing.
- Connect the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone to the computer with the USB cable that you would usually use to charge the battery on the smartphone.
- Wait for about five seconds and then check that you get a yellow or blue color coming from the ID: COM port on the Odin user interface along with a message that tells you that your phone is added. (These signs are letting you know that your Samsung drivers are working and that your phone is ready for the flashing so now it is time to upload your files).
- Click the AP button from the Odin user interface and browse the desktop of the computer for the rooting file that is ending in the tar.md5 file extension.
- Do not change any of the default settings coming from the Odin user interface.
- Click the Start button from the Odin user interface and then wait without touching any buttons for the smartphone to be rooted.
- Look at the display of the S6 smartphone and you should see some text rolling down the screen in a few seconds telling you that it is installing the SuperSU, cleaning up the cache partition and then reflashing the stock recovery on your phone.
- Check the Odin user interface on your computer for when it gives you a new green box with a pass message inside which is letting you know that you are safe to unplug from the computer and start using your rooted handset.
In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone from US Cellular that comes with the SM-G920R4 model number when you have it running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates by using a newer version of the CF-Auto-Rot tool by Chainfire. The version of the CF-Auto-Root tool that is available in this guide should work for all versions of the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update; however, there are no guarantees that it will work for any of the other updates that roll out in the future when it is updated to newer versions of Android, so you should look out or a new guide when it is available.You can check that everything went to plan on your Galaxy S6 phone by installing one of the many root checker apps available from the Google Play Store. The root checker app comes in a free version, and that is all you need to check if your device is rooted or not. The paid version if up for grabs by anyone who wants more features for when the time comes when you think you can make use of them.
Any Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone owners who are unable to get the guide to work for them can try out a couple of everyday things. The first thing people should check it whether to not the device is getting into the recovery mode after the flashing completes. The time between the flashing starting and the flashing ending is very quick, so it is easy not to see the part where it gets into the recovery mode. However, one of the most common issues is a device not going into recovery mode when then doesn’t allow for the SuperSU to be enabled and installed correctly. That is why the Odin app might say pass, but the root checker app says it failed. You can rectify that problem by pressing and holding the hardware button combination for the recovery mode manually after the flashing completes and that will fix the SuperSU problems much the same way the automatic recovery booting up would have during the guide.
Moreover, anyone who is still facing issues can just install one of the other versions of the Odin flashing application. The Odin app saw a few releases–each without any official changelog attached–and all versions can root your Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone. It is assumed that the later versions of the Odin app will be the best to use, but there are always reports online from sources like YouTube videos where some people try one version of Odin, it does not work, so they try another version, and it does work. You can install any of the older versions of Odin from our Odin flashing tool download page and give them a try.