Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

If you are using one of the Linux distributions from a desktop environment, then chances are you already know about the root user account. The root user on Linux is the person who sets up the computer for the first time much the same way the first person who sets up the Windows computer gets to be in control of the admin account. Both the admin account and the root user account on a computer—depending on your operating system—give people the permissions to install and uninstall anything they want, plus roam the file systems and make changes to any files.

If you have ever been in a position in life where your parents were in control of the admin or root user account on a computer and your account had fewer permissions, then you might already know how frustrating a time that can be having to deal with it.

Unfortunately for mobile operating system users, it is becoming the normal thing not to give people the admin or root user permissions by default. They claim to do this for security reasons, but there is little difference between the security on your mobile operating systems and a desktop operating system, i.e., you can still download malware with root permissions from a Linux distribution also.

One of the main differences is that people tend to install more apps from mobile operating systems than they do apps or programs on a computer and therefore the chances are more likely of people installing apps that are not genuine and are malware. Since having to deal with worrying about malware on a mobile operating system can prove to be a pain for some the companies like Android are choosing to act as if the root user account doesn’t exist and is not necessary by blocking it off altogether.

Notes:

  • Chainfire has the MMB29K.T817JVU2BPE2 firmware build number running on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 tablet when the rooting file in this guide was developed. He gives you that information so you know the firmware he had running, but that isn’t the suggestion you need to be necessarily running on the same as he was when the rooting file was created. It just means you can use it as an indicator if ever you need it.
  • You can let Chainfire know if the device you flashed the rooting file on is not booting up after the flashing has occurred because that typically means that the rooting file needs updating. He can only update the files when you leave the recovery image files found in the firmware that is running on your device that is not booting up after the flashing. You can send the recovery image files in along with the model number you are using to the official CF-Auto-Root tool thread made by Chainfire over at the XDA-Developers web forum and he sees your messages and the updates the rooting files so that they start working again.
  • You need to have the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet that comes with the SM-T817 model number to use this guide. Any of the other model numbers get bricked if you flash the version of the rooting file found in this guide because they only come with working for one model number each.
  • You need to have a computer that is running on a version of the Windows operating system if you are going to use the rooting tool in this guide because you need to flash it with Odin and the Odin application only runs on the Windows operating system.

Download Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 CF-Auto-Root and Drivers

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Using CF-Auto-Root

  1. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 tablet so the options that are available built into the operating system for developers become available for you to use.
  2. Enable the USB Debugging Mode for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 tablet from the Developer Options menu so that the Android software then allows you to make the changes that are needed to it for the rooting to work.
  3. Install the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer running on a version of Windows so that the flashing tool you are going to use for the flashing can detect the tablet you are connecting to the computer with its USB cable.
  4. Extract the rooting file to the Downloads folder and then run the Odin flashing tool that is available from the Downloads folder so that the Odin user interface opens on the computer.
  5. Boot the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 tablet into its Download Mode that it has available and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  6. Do not make any changes from the default settings that you get from the Odin Options tab.
  7. Click on the AP button and then navigate to the Downloads folder on the computer and click on the rooting file that then uploads to the Odin application.
  8. Click on the Start button and then check the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 tablet’s screen for the text messages rolling down the display that let you know what you can expect from the rooting tool over the next few minutes.
  9. Wait until you get a message on the screen saying that it is rebooting in ten seconds and then check that Odin shows a pass message from its user interface.

In conclusion, that is how to root the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817 tablets running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates by flashing the CF-Auto-Root tool by Chainfire. The SuperSU application is now installed and enabled on the smartphone, and you will see it sitting there amongst your other apps. You can open it up and take a look around and just certain settings if you ever want to do that, but you don’t have to do anything at all to get the root apps installed and working. All you need to do is download the root apps and then run them, and the SuperSU applications give you a message making you confirm that you do want to grant that particular app the rooting permissions over the operating system that is necessary for the root application to run.

Most people think that rooting the Android operating system isn’t very safe and that it is a security risk, but they fail to realize that rooting alone doesn’t change anything with the security. The SuperSU applications block root access to everything automatically which means your device is just as secure as it was before. The only time when your system is less secure is when it becomes up to you to decide what passes through the SuperSU because the SuperSU listens to your decisions and does not give additional security should you purposefully let malware into the system and have root access. For most of guys like us, that isn’t an issue anyhow because we already know what malware is and what isn’t based on the source that we are downloading it from. For example, the Google Play Store rarely has malware sitting in one place for a significant amount of time, so if malware does get onto the Play Store, it will likely be removed in a week or two. Therefore, if you see an app that is five years old and has 500 million downloads with an average user rating of 4.7, then you know that app is, of course, not malware or anything to worry about.

As long as you continue to download your root applications from all of the right sources, then there is no reason for you ever to have malware on your system. However, the way root access with SuperSU is set up means that you do have given a chance to make mistakes because if you download it onto the device, then it is not given root access to the pop-up message appears from the SuperSU making you confirm your choice to grant it root access. Thus, nothing has root access until you make the same mistake twice which is far rarer a thing to do that making it once.

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