Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

When thinking about an operating system that runs on computers, none come with more heritage that Apple Macintosh OS. If you were a school kid in the early 90’s, you would have seen a Mac computer out in the hallway; they become very popular for schools to introduce to children as the first computer they ever saw. The 8-bit graphics glowing green with a dark background has been transfigured into graphics that we still see today for fun. If it’s market share you are after, nothing beats Windows with around 90% of the market share today. The other operating system that is used much less but growing as the years go on is Linux. The Linux operating system comes in many unique distributions otherwise known as Linux “distros,” and they are all available for free—not because it isn’t any good but because of the nature of open source software. And don’t worry, the people who founded them have still managed to be rich.

The Android mobile operating system that runs on your Samsung smartphone and tablets is directly related to the Linux operating system that you use on a computer because Android is based on the Linux kernel.

The Linux distributions for computers all have something called the root user account. The root user account becomes available to the first person to set up the computer and can then be used to log in for that same person each time. The person in control of the root user account has total control over all commands that are run and files that are installed. The root user account also comes with full write permissions so there is nothing that the root user cannot modify. Windows and Mac offer the same kind of master control from an account; the only difference is both Windows and Mac call this account the admin account.

Unfortunately for Android users, the root user account is blocked off by default instead of given to you when you first set up a Google account. They have chosen not to allow the root user account to try to make things safer even though the same danger is there with the desktop versions of Linux. In other words, it is an annoyance that they have chosen to block off the root user account, and you are not a bad person for wanting to gain control of it. However, the root user account should be used resposibly because it does have more power. That power can lead to you modifying system files that could not be modified without bricking the device, and it can lead to malware not being as trapped as it would’ve been without root access on the Android operating system.

As long as you know what you are doing, the root user account can choose to install and uninstall anything it wants, and that is why people want to be in control of it. There are thousands of apps out there that need access to the root user account before they will run and there are a large number of applications on your device already that you cannot choose to remove without root access either.

Notes:

  • Chainfire had the MMB29M.P555MUBU1BPF3 firmware build number running on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet when the rooting file available in this guide was a developer. It is not suggesting you need to be running the same firmware when he tells you this information. He gives up the information of the firmware that he was running so you can use it as an indicator if that information ever becomes relevant.
  • If you flash the rooting file following this guide and find that your tablet is not booting up after the flashing, then you need to let Chainfire know about it because it probably means the rooting file needs updating. You need to let him know by sending a message to him on the CF-Auto-Root tool thread on the XDA-Developers web forum that contains the recovery image file in the firmware you are running. He uses that recovery image file to updates the rooting file os that it starts working again.
  • You need to have the Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet that comes with the SM-P555M model number to use the versions of the rooting tool that is available in this guide. Many devices can use CF-Auto-Root but what most people don’t realize is that it also comes in a different version of each model number. Moreover, flashing the wrong version means that device will probably be bricked until you get the right stock ROM flashed on the device.
  • You need to have a computer that is running on a version of the Windows operating system if you are going to be using this guide because the Windows operating system is the only OS that can run the Odin flashing tool.

Download Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M CF-Auto-Root and Drivers

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Using CF-Auto-Root

  1. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet so you can start using the options that are available to developers already built into the operating system.
  2. Enable the USB Debugging Mode on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet so the Android software running on the tablet allows for changes to be made to it so that the rooting can work.
  3. Install the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer so that the flashing tool can identify the tablet that you want to connect.
  4. Extract the rooting file in the Downloads folder which is the default downloading folder when you download a file.
  5. Run the Odin flashing tool that is also available from the Downloads folder now.
  6. Boot the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet into the Download Mode and connect it to the computer with the USB cable that is there to use for charging the battery.
  7. Check Odin shows a blue or yellow color coming from the ID: COM port and gives the added message from its user interface so that you know the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet os connected to the computer correctly and ready for the flashing because the Samsung USB Drivers are working.
  8. Do not make changes to the default settings that the Odin flashing tool has from its Options tab that is available next to the Log.
  9. Click on the AP button from Odin and then navigate to the Downloads folder and then click on the rooting file to get it to upload to the Odin.
  10. Click on the Start button, and the rooting of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet begins; read the information that is now starting to roll down the display of the tablet because it is letting you know what is happening and what you can expect to happen over the next few minutes.
  11. Keep watching until the screen says that the tablet is rebooting in ten seconds and then check that Odin shows a pass message inside the green box.

In conclusion, that is all you need to root the Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-P555M tablet using the CF-Auto-Root tool when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. The one-click rooting tool has just managed to install land enable the SuperSu app on the tablet, and it is what grants the rooting permissions to all apps that need it. The SuperSU keeps your device safe at all times until you download a root applications and then the SuperSU prompts your screen with a message asking you to confirm that you do want to grant the root access to the app name that it has on the screen. At this point, it is up to you what you choose to grant root access to because the SuperSU does not automatically identify malware.

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