Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

You need to get in control of the root user account that exists on Android if you are going to use the device with the full administrative permissions. The Android operating system runs on the Linux kernel. Most versions of the Linux operating system come with the root user account available by default when you first set up the computer. You can then log into the root user account anytime you want with the credentials you used to set up the account much the same way you can always log into the Windows operating system with the admin password to use the admin account.

The difference with Android is that you don’t get to use the root user account by default. It is locked away, so there is no way to access it because Android doesn’t want you to have the chance to be in control of what is installed and uninstalled on the operating system from the settings on the OS they create. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t want you ever to be in control of the root user account. They are aware that millions of people are following how-to guides out there to get root access and they are fine with that.

Becoming the root user requires flashing the SuperSU from a custom recovery image or installing one of the one-click rooting tools that are out there for your device. When the device is coming from Samsung, that usually means flashing the CF-Auto-Root tool by Chainfire. Once you are in control of it, the root applications become available for you to install. These are the applications that would not run unless they could get access to the root directory of the operating system which is what the CF-Auto-Root tool offers them when it installs the SuperSU on the smartphone or tablet.

Notes:

  • Chainfire had the MMB29K.T817R4TYU1BPD5 firmware build number running on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 tablet when he created the rooting file available to use in this guide. It doesn’t mean he is suggesting you need to be running on the same firmware as him when he gives you that information. It is there so you can use it as an indicator only.
  • You can only follow this guide when you have the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet that comes with the SM-T817R4 model number. Any of the other models cannot flash this rooting file in this guide, or it bricks the device and require the right stock ROM flashed on it to get it working again.
  • You need to have a computer that runs on Windows before you can use this guide. The Odin flashing tool is the only thing out there that can flash the CF-Auto-Root tool and unfortunately for Mac and Linux owners, is only available for Windows operating systems.
  • You can let Chainfire know if the rooting file is causing your device not to boot by leaving messages on the CF-Auto-Root tool thread made over at the XDA-Developers web forum. Your message must contain the recovery image from the firmware that you are running before Chainfire can fix the issue. You can find your firmware files that have the recovery images from the Sam Mobile website.

Download Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 CF-Auto-Root and Drivers

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Using CF-Auto-Root

  1. Log into the Windows PC using the admin account, so you are logged in as the admin otherwise Odin does not work.
  2. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 tablet so you can use the set of options that become available to you from the menu.
  3. Turn on the USB Debugging Mode on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 tablet, so the Android software that is running on your tablet allows for the required changes to be made to it.
  4. Install the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer so the Odin flashing application has no issues detecting your device when you connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  5. Extract the rooting file to the Download folder and then run the Odin flashing tool that becomes available from the Downloads folder.
  6. Boot the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 tablet into its Download Mode that is built into the tablet and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  7. Check that Odin is showing you the added message from its user interface and the ID: COM box lights up with a blue or yellow color, so you know that the Samsung USB Drivers that you connected earlier are working.
  8. Do not adjust anything from the Odin Options tab that is available for you next to the Log.
  9. Click on the AP button from Odin and then browse through to the Downloads folder and click on the rooting file ending in the MD5 extension to have it uploaded to the Odin.
  10. Click on the Start button when you are ready for the rooting of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet to begin.
  11. Read everything that shows up on the display of the tablet, so you know what is going to be happening over the next few minutes.
  12. Wait until you get a message that says it is going to reboot in ten seconds and then check that Odin shows a pass message inside a green box after the tablet reboots.

That is how to root the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817R4 tablet when it is running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates by flashing the SuperSU application from the CF-Auto-Root tool that has just completed installing a modified cache and recovery temporarily so that it could then install the SuperSU. The tablet is left the same way it was before the rooting begun, so you have the same chance and recovery as you did before because it is programmed to delete its own work once the SuperSU has been installed and enabled.

You can see the SuperSU application available from the app drawer when the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet reboots but nothing needs adjusting from within the app before you can start installing the root applications. All you need to do now is found out where the root apps are and what apps you want to install that require access to the root file system before they will run.

You can read our article that lists most of the best root applications out there for you to install on the Android operating system. All of the mare compatible with your version of Android and your device. There might be a few on the list that requires some research such as the Xposed Installer that sometimes only works for a particular software version and for that reason you might need to find the correct link of Xposed before it will install. You can often find out how to install Xposed for your device from the XDA-Developers web forum. Additionally, XDA-Developers is also one of the bets sources for the root applications. Most of the root applications that are not available from the XDA-Developers web forum are available for the same Google Play Store that you already use for the stock apps.

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