The T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone is one of the most popular versions of S6 handsets to root. The Verizon phone carrier network is still by far the largest network, but they also ramp up the security on the smartphones to make rooting difficult most times. That puts a significant dent of people with rooted Android phones. It does not come close to making such a large impact in the rooting Android community that it does not make it worthwhile for us to write posts like this. Thankfully there other smartphone carrier networks out of the US and many other places around the world are not as strict on rooting the smartphone as the Big Red, and they still allow for us to do it.
One of the great things about using a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S6 that comes with the Android operating system is the fact that Android is owned by Google and not by Samsung. If our Android operating systems were to be belonging to a manufacturer like Samsung, we could very well see the end of being able to root a device–just like we saw with Jailbreaking on the iOS software that is owned by Apple. It is not difficult to understand why these companies want to stamp out rooting: it does not maximize their profits so therefore when given the chance they will make it tough. By Apple stopping jailbreaking, they are keeping you in the environment they had planned for you to be stuck in which continues to make them more money after you originally buy the handset for a large sum of money. These Android manufacturers also like to keep you in their unique environments–HTC would love for you always to use the Sense UI, Samsung would love for you to have a device that always has the Samsung system apps permanently on the phone and so forth.
These additional services make an enormous amount of money for these companies. Ethically, though, we should be able to do what we want with our smartphones or tablets when we have already paid for them because we are the rightful owner. It is just a case where for the first time in history we are met with something that can offer these companies a way in which they could potentially make more money from our faces. That is after the fact that we had bought the item unlike if we shopped for a t-shirt, a table, pot, a pan, et cetera which are always just the same as when you first bought them.
It is paramount that we stand our ground now and stand up for being able to do what we want to do with our devices after we have paid for them in full. That is because there will be a time in the future when we will have other things that will give manufacturers the chance to make more money from our faces. Think of buying a new kitchen twenty years from now which allows you to have an internet and screen sitting on top of the tiles. That will open the avenues for web pages to load so people can do things like search for the weather while they are cooking. This thing can be practical for people to use–who does not want to know the weather? However, they can also offer a significant revenue stream for the manufacturers of the kitchen that you bought if they forced you into viewing the weather from a particular app that is made by them and hosts their unique set of advertisements et cetera.
The following guide is made for the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone with the SM-G920T model number when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates.
The CF-Auto-Root tool that was used in this guide is based on the MMB29K.G920TUEU3DPD6 firmware that was part of an Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software update that rolled out to some regions. It does not matter if your phone got it over the air or if it did not. It does not even matter if your phone is in the same language as that firmware not because you do not need to be running the same firmware on your smartphone for it to work. All you need to do is be running on a firmware that is on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and the guide will work for you.
Files You Need
- Download the CF-Auto-Root tool for the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow updates from here.
- Download the Samsung USB Drivers for the Windows computer you are using from here.
Note that by flashing the CF-Auto-Root tool on your phone you agree on tripping the Knox security on your device. It will always trip Knox when you use this tool, the only difference will be whether your smartphone has the Knox security available or whether it does not. We can tell you that all flagships like the Galaxy S6 smartphone do come with Knox security as do any of the other most popular models from the Sammy range of devices.
You must have a computer that is running a version of the Windows operating systems before you can use this guide. The Odin flashing application will not flash anything to your device unless yo allow it to run on Windows. It can be any version of Windows from Windows XP and above.
The CF-Auto-Root tool is made available for just about every Samsung smartphone and tablet out there o the market; however, there are many unique versions f the tool that is usually specific to the model number. As such, the file in this guide is only made for the SM-G920T model numbered version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone–the model number for T-Mobile only.
There could be some software updates that roll out for the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone that brings new bootloaders wit them along for the ride. According to the developer of this rooting tool, the new bootloaders can stop the CF-Auto-Root from working until he updates the files to include the new recovery images that are found in the new firmware files. Chainfire relies on you guys to submit the new recovery image files that are located in the new firmware files to the official CF-Auto-Root tool thread at the XDA-Developers website so he can use them to update the rooting files on his end, so they start working again. Common problems that suggest the CF-Auto-Root file needs updating is if a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S6 does not boot after flashing the CF-Auto-Roto package or if the phone does not flash the file. Once Chainfire has updated the CF-Auto-Roto file, so it is ready to use again, those changes will be automatically reflected in our guides, so you never have to worry about whether our guides are up to date or not.
There are two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone from T-Mobile. The rooting file in this guide is for the zeroflteue name and not the other version. The other version comes with the zerofltetmo name and it will brick if you have that smartphone and flash the file found in this guide.
Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S6 SM-G920T smartphone running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow updates
- Unlock the Developer Options menu if it is hidden on your T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone, so you can use the settings available inside.
- Enable the USB Debugging Mode on your Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone from the Developer Options menu that you just unlocked which you can access from the settings menu.
- Extract the rooting file to the desktop of the computer so you can see the flashing app and the rooting file on the desktop of the computer.
- Run the Samsung USB drivers on the computer so your smartphone can be detected when you need it to be picked up by the flashing app later during the guide.
- Press the Power button and select the option to switch off your T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone from the menu.
- Hold down the hardware button combination that will boot your phone into the download mode so it is ready to be connected to the computer and then make the connected with the USB cable that you would usually use to charge the battery.
- Once your phone has been connected to the computer for more than a few seconds, check that you can see a yellow or blue ID: COM port color coming from the Odin user interface along with the newly added message which is letting you know that your phone is connected securely. (No connection means you need to get those Samsung USB Drivers working or else the device will not get the rooting file flashed. You might need to either log out and back in again or turn the computer you are using off and on before they will work, but on most occasions they should work for you directly after you install them).
- Do not change any of the default settings from the ID: COM port found on the Odin user interface.
- Click the AP button found on the Odin user interface and then browse the desktop location for the rooting file that is ending in the tar.md5 file extension.
- Click the Start button from the Odin user interface and then focus your attention on the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone.
- In just a few seconds you should see some text starting to roll down the display stating that it is getting the SuperSu installed, cleaning up the cache partition and the flashing the stock recovery on your handset.
- Once you see that text on the Samsung Galaxy S6’s display, focus your attention back on the computer and the Odin user interface and check that you get a pass message coming inside a new green box that wasn’t there before.
In conclusion, that is how to root the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone when you have it running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. You should find the guide works well for just about every version of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow; it is not just for a few firmware build numbers. About the only problem you may face and the time when that does not prove true is if your device needs to have the CF-Auto-Root tool updated as we mentioned in the files section above with regards to the recovery image files after new software updates if they have brought new bootloaders along with them.
Everyone can check whether the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 phone is rooted or not by installing one of the many root checker applications that are available to install from the Google Play Store. You will find a free version that is called the basic root checker app, and the free version of the app is all you need to check whether or not your smartphone is rooted or not. The paid versions are there for anyone who wants the advanced features which are not directly related to checking root access at all. You will also not need to pay for any app to check whether or not your device is unrooted because you can just use the same root checker app and if it says your device is not rooted then you already know that it has been rooted successfully.
Anyone that is unable to get the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone rooted can try holding the hardware button combination for the recovery mode once the flashing has completed from the Odin flashing tool. It is understood that each device must get into the recovery mode for the rooting to have worked correctly. That is one of the reasons people see the success message, but the root checker app says that the device is not rooted. Chainfire makes it clear that you can boot into the recovery mode manually if it doesn’t happen automatically for you and it will result in the same thing which is the device rooted correctly.
Those of you who have tried getting the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone into the recovery but are still finding that the smartphone is not rooted can install one of the other versions of the Odin flashing application. The Odin app comes in a few versions and the latest version if the one that comes bundled together with the CF-Auto-Root tool. However, we can see cases online where the latest version doesn’t work for everyone and what does work eventually for them is when the install one of the other versions. You can head over to our Odin download page to get your hands on another version of the flashing app, and it should fix your problem. Keep trying unique numbered versions until one of them works for you.
Once you have established that your handset is getting into the recovery mode, and no version of the app seems to be the problem, try installing different firmware. It is true you can install firmware from other phone carrier networks as long as your device is unlocked and the firmware you are downloading is still for the same model number.