How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Ace (S5830)

The Samsung Galaxy Ace is (now) a low-end device that was released in February 2011 and came with features like 3.5-inch touchscreen display, HSDPA network support, an 800MHz processor, and a 5MP camera.ย  Not bad, but if you want something more from this, rooting, installing ClockworkMod Recovery and flashing a custom ROM is the way to go.ย  This guide below will help you get that first step out of the way – rooting the Galaxy Ace.

I.ย  Before You Begin

1.ย  Back up everything you feel is important.

2.ย  Make sure you have your device charged to 75% or more before you begin.

II.ย  Necessary Downloads

universal_gb_root_v25.zip

III.ย  Rooting the Galaxy Ace

1.ย  Connect your device to your PC in USB Mass Storage Mode and copy the universal_gb_root_v25.zip to your SD card.

2.ย  Disconnect your device and shut it down.

3.ย  Press and hold the Home button + Power button and let them go once your device boots into recovery mode.

4.ย  Use the Volume Up and Down keys to highlight to apply update from sdcard and press the home button to select it.

5.ย  Locate and selectย universal_gb_root_v25.zip to flash the file.

6.ย  Once you see the install from sdcard complete message, highlight and select reboot system now.

Your Galaxy Ace should be rooted once it reboots!

IV.ย  Flashing Custom Recovery (Optional)

If you would like to flash a custom recovery image in order to flash custom ROMs, head to theย next procedureย to learn how to do that.

If this procedure helped you please thank/donate to the original developersย here.

If you need help with this procedure, please ask in the comments below or in theย forum.

This is part of our Android How Toโ€™s. We have how toโ€™s on rooting, loading ROMs, and tons of other tips and tricks for your specific device or for Android devices in general! For all of our Android How Toโ€™s, headย here.

81 thoughts on “How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Ace (S5830)”

  1. Hi.
    i am planning to buy this hand set. but i dont know what actually the rooting is for? whats its function. plz i wanna know that. thanks

    1. Hey ibrar,

      Rooting lets you install apps that do require access to system files. With that, you can also install custom ROMs, Tweaks, etc.

      You’ll realize the true power of Root once you get the device and root it.

      Thanks!

    1. There must be an option named as “apply update from sdcard” in your recovery.

      If you still don’t get it, just rename the ZIP file to update.zip and then try flashing it with that “apply update.zip” option.

      Thanks!

  2. This worked fine the first time, I changed my as card and tried to root my device but still getting that insufficient storage problem I aimed to get rid of

  3. i have a question my phone is galaxy ace s5830 .. when im doing the power + volume up + menu botton the settings doesnt show . it only shows RAMDUMP Mode (ARM9 mode) pls. help me thx

    1. Turn off the phone, then hold both power and home buttons only. When the Samsung logo appears, release the power button but keep holding the home button until the recovery mode screen comes up.

    1. Think I’ve sorted it for the Galaxy S5839i with these instructions….

      Recovery:
      First press and hold the Home button and the Volume Up button, then press and hold the power button. The Samsung Galaxy Ace letters appears, and then disappears. Now release the power button only… The Samsung Galaxy Ace text appears again. When the text changes to bright yellow, release the buttons, and the recovery comes up…

  4. When I try to “apply update from sdcard” on my galaxy ace by selecting universal_gb_root_v25.zip, it says “Installation aborted”. What can I do?

    1. Yes, you can root your device running 2.3.4 as the procedure’s compatible with this firmware version.

      Thanks!

  5. Where the hack can I download the .zip file I need to root my Samsung Ace ???? Please post link… Thanx. Ps. Got 2.3.6… Does it work on this version????????

  6. Hi. I’ve used the file to root the phone, but the wifi has stopped working, tried to add a further firmware (jellybean) it then came up with a cannot access root error. is there a way of restoring the original (factory reset does not work) or should I just try again

    1. Usually, rooting the device doesn’t create any problems, like your WiFi issue. Maybe you’ve installed a custom ROM on which the WiFi’s not working.

      Better you go back to the stock firmware and then re-try the rooting procedure.

      Hope it helps!

  7. hi, ive just run the procedure, but everything on the phone looks the same as before – does that mean it hasnt worked? should it have wiped everything? its an s5830, thanks

  8. I have rooted (well at least I think I have) my samsung galaxy ace and I go to use the Titanium Backup app and the Link2sd app and neither work, they just say to make sure my phone is rooted and make sure I’ve selected allow or grant but when I rebooted I didn’t get asked anything. I’ve tried everything and it’s driving me nuts. Please Help!

  9. My only concern is that I root my device but then get lost in the screen. I assume that although you lose the pretty icons, it’s is still easy to find specific files & applications. Also can you load the root & unroot files to the SD card at the same time?

    1. hello pkk, it should work on all networks as rooting doesn’t affect the way your device interacts with your carrier’s network! ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Hi I have tried over and over again to root this phone without success. (Optus Samsung Galaxy Ace GT S5830)
    The reason I am trying to root his phone is that the battery has no life (9 hours) and it has been a problem since new.
    I have contacted Samsung on several occasions and the only suggestion is “Factory Reset”
    This is making me want to smash the phone as it is useless.
    I just want to get rid of all the useless bloatware that perminently runs in the background.
    It destroys battery life.
    Regards.

  11. Hi Guys

    This Rooting also seemed to work for me , but I cannot totally delete those
    pre-installed rubbish progs ( e.g. Tretris, Bejeweled ,BB revolution ,etc )
    I also cannot gain access to the root of the mobile ,
    if I could I would consider dumping whole dir to get rid of some of them and let me manage the Storage memory as I
    want too

    KR Graham

  12. hi what could’ve happened..

    i was just finished rooting my device then suddenly my wifi doesnt work anymore..

    pls help thanks

  13. I own a Samsung Galaxy Ace on UK 3 Network, it’s full of bloatware and for a year I have battled with ‘Internal Memory running low’ nightmare. I have run this rooting file many times – it does not work.

    I get a scrolling message listing phones and people to thank – in the background I can see a progress bar which jumps briefly to the first segment after about 30s and then the phone immediately tells me that the process has been completed.

    After rebooting the phone – SuperSu is installed BUT Root Checker confirms what is obvious, that I have no root privileges.

    So, for those who may be in a similar position (and I see from the discussion below there are many) – you’re not alone:

    Here’s the stats for my phone:

    Android Ver: 2.3.6
    Baseband Ver: S5830NEKT2
    Kernel Ver: 2.6.35.7-perf-CL772922 root@DELL149 #1
    Build: GINGERBREAD.XWKT5

    I’m actually in a slightly worse position than before – since running this rooting app seems to have actually taken up a little bit of my precious phone memory.

    I notice that only “This worked thanks” type comments get a response – so this is obviously for info only (for other frustrated GT-5830 owners who have a potentially OK-ish phone that is crippled by bloatware and is apparently unrootable)

  14. I tried to see if it rooted the phone. I went to chainfire3D (an app that needs root) and i showed that it wasnt rooted. What should I do? Pls help

  15. Tried this with Samsung Galaxy Ace version 2.3.6 from the UK. After being very frustrated trying many others that didn’t work – this worked first time, thank you very much ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. I tried this, but the device is still locked to Koodo.
    Is there any other way other than paying for unlock code. The phone is not worth much to be honest.

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