Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake

The root user accounts are something that has a long history in UNIX-like operating systems. The root user account has always been a big part of UNIX due to they were designed to be multi-user systems and not personal computers for one. Thus it was important to do something that stops certain people from having access to all files on the system. Additionally, it was equally as important to allow a system administrator to perform such tasks for other users if they had the right amount of knowledge to have access to all files on the system and know how to use those permissions responsibly so that other users could have their permissions changed and also find help with things they weren’t able to do or if something had gone wrong and needed fixing.

Every user account on UNIX comes with a user identification number, and that number is always set to zero for the root user account. You can confirm that by logging into the computer as the root user and running the “echo” command.

Although the root user account is necessary on most Linux operating systems that people run on computers, you should only log into the account when it is necessary. It is not advised that people use the root user account all day long because the root user account has the chance to modify all files and thus potentially create issues. Android developers saw having the root user account as something that would cause too many problems they decided they would block it off from everyone. There is no way of getting in control of the root user account on Android by default as you can on Linux for that very reason.

Fortunately, there are many developers always working on rooting methods, and those are what is required to get root access. One of the best ways of getting in control of the root user account is by flashing the SuperSU from a custom recovery image or running a one-click rooting tool that installs and enabled the SuperSU on the mobile device for you instead. Chainfire is the man behind the SuperSU and he also develops the CF-Auto-Root tool which is the one-click rooting tool that installs the SuperSU for you. The SuperSU offers a perfect blend of not having the root access on the system all of the time and being able to use root access wen you want to use it. The way the mobile operating systems work, the root access is only granted by choice when installing applications. There is no damage you can do on the system outside of the applications that you install, and thus the damage you can do is limited in comparison to when using the root user account on a computer that runs on a Linux distribution.

Notes:

  • Chainfire had the MMB29K.T817TUVU2BPF1 firmware build number on his Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T tablet when the rooting file in this guide was created. He typically gives the firmware build numbers he had running on each device so you can see—but he is not suggesting you need that same firmware build number running on the tablet when you go to use the guide. That build number is given so you can use it as an indicator only.
  • If you flash the rooting file on the tablet and you are finding that your device is not able to boot up again, it is likely because the rooting file needs updating by the developer. You need to get the recovery image file from the firmware that is running on your device and submit it in a new message to the CF-Auto-Root tool thread made at the XDA-Developers web forum so Chainfire can see it. He then uses the file to update the rooting file so that it starts working again.
  • You need to have a computer that is running the Windows operating system from Windows XP above to use this guide. The flashing tool that you are using to flash, the rooting file is only available to run on the Windows operating system.
  • You need to have the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet with the SM-T817T model number to use the rooting file available in this guide. Any other rooting files does not work, and they might even brick the device if you follow this guide because the CF-Auto-Root files are typically only made for one device.

Download Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T CF-Auto-Root and Drivers

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Using CF-Auto-Root

  1. Turn on the computer running on Windows and log into the admin account so that you can begin to use the flashing tool that flashes the rooting file.
  2. Unlock the Developer Options menu on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T tablet so the options for developers become available for you to use.
  3. Enable the USB Debugging Mode on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T by accessing the Developer Options menu that you just unlocked so that the Android software that is running on your device can have changes made to it.
  4. Install the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer, so the flashing tool can identify the device you tr to connect to it.
  5. Extract the rooting file to the Downloads folder that is available on the PC and then run the Odin flashing tool application from the same Downloads folder.
  6. Boot the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T tablet into the Download Mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
  7. Check that Odin is showing that your device is added so you know that the Samsung USB Drivers you installed earlier are working and that the tablet you are using is read to have the rooting file flashed.
  8. Do not make any changes from the default settings that Odin offers from the Options tab.
  9. Click on the AP button from Odin and browse to the Downloads folder and then select the rooting file ending in the MD5 file extension so that it uploads to the Odin flashing tool.
  10. Click on the Start button from Odin and then read everything that starts rolling down the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2’s display.
  11. Wait until you can see that tablet say it is going to reboot in ten seconds and then check Odin for the pass message inside a green box.

That is when you know that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T817T tablet is rooted running on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates with the CF-Auto-Root tool by Chainfire. You now have the SuperSU application installed on the tablet for you to use and it is what grants the root access on the device. The SuperSU is correctly enabled on the device so you can start installing the root applications right sway without having to enter the SuperSU app and make any changes to its settings.

Rooting your Android OS means getting in control of the root user account so you can start installing any of the extra apps that needed root access before they would run. There are thousands of these root apps and it doesn’t matter what way you choose to get root access; they are all available for you to install as soon as you have root access. You can check the root status of your Samsung tablet by installing the root checker application from the Google Play Store.

Once you do know that your Samsung tablet has root access, then you can start installing any of the root apps that you wanted to try such as the Titanium Backup app. You can find most of the root apps from the Google Play Store. The rest are available online and mostly at the XDA-Developers web forum. However, there are a few that are available from the official web pages that their developers have created for their apps instead. You can check out our guide that goes into lots of details about what the best root apps that most people are installing.

Moreover, you can see all of the things that one can do with root access if you don’t know what apps you want to check out yet. If you are hoping for some ideas from us, we always tell people to look at the app available for backing up and removing the stock apps so you can get your operating system closer to the stock version of Android without having to install a custom ROM. Ironically, some backup applications help you do this, such as the Titanium Backup app. You just need to be careful you don’t remove any of the stock apps that needed to remains on your system for it to not get bricked. For that reason, it’s always best to spend a few dollars on the Titanium Backup app version that allows for you to free the apps instead of completely uninstall them so you can test the stability of the system after you freeze apps. If you remove them, then you need to install the stock ROM again to get them back. Further, sometimes installing the stock ROM again doesn’t fix the problem that you created.

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