How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and Install Custom Recovery

The latest iteration in the Galaxy Tab series, the Galaxy Tab 3, has a lot going for it.  The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 specifically features a 5MP camera, 16 or 32GB of onboard memory, a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU with 1.5GB of RAM, and as its name suggests, an 8-inch touchscreen display.  The device is now rootable and also has a custom recovery ready to be flashed, so custom ROMs should also be on their way pretty soon.  The guide below should help you get ready to flash custom ROMs, by way of rooting the device and install custom recovery (TWRP Recovery in this case).

I.  Before You Begin

1.  Make sure you have backed up everything you care about from the device before you begin.

2.  Charge your device to 75% or more before you start.

3.  Install the proper drivers before you start.  Usually, installation of Kies will take care of this.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  Odin307.zip

2.  TWRP_T31x_r3.tar [or the latest version from this post under the Downloads section]

3.   ROOT_SGT3_8.0.zip

III.  Installing TWRP Recovery on the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0

1.  Extract Odin307.zip to a folder on your desktop.

2.  Copy TWRP_T31x_r3.tar to the extracted Odin307 folder.

3.  Double-click on Odin3 v3.07.exe from the extracted folder to start the Odin tool.

4.  Power down your device and put it into download mode.  To do this, press and hold the Home + Volume Down + Power buttons simultaneously for 3 to 5 seconds until you see the warning screen.

5.  Connect your device to your Windows PC using a compatible microUSB cable.  If your PC installs drivers at this point, let it do so.  Once that is done, the ID:COM field on Odin should light up yellow, signifying that Odin has recognized your device without a problem.  If not, make sure you install the proper drivers (by installing Samsung Kies) and try again.

6.  Click on the PDA button on Odin and navigate to the location of TWRP_T31x_r3.tar to load it on to Odin.

7.  Make sure that only F. Reset Time is selected under the Option section and then click on Start.

8.  Wait for the PASS message on Odin and reboot your device.

You should now have TWRP Recovery installed!

IV.  Rooting the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0

1.  Boot into recovery by powering down the device, pressing and holding the Power + Volume Up buttons until you see the Galaxy Tab 3 splash screen and letting go of the Power button once you see it.  Continue pressing the Volume Up button until you get to TWRP Recovery.

2.  Hold your device in portrait mode, and tap on Reboot on the bottom right of the screen and then select System on the next menu.

3.  You will be asked to install root.  Accept it and the device will reboot.

4.  Follow the on-screen instructions that will now appear after your device has powered on.

V.  Alternate method for Rooting

If the section IV steps failed to obtain root, here is an alternate method to get you going.

1.  Copy the ROOT_SGT3_8.0.zip you downloaded above to your internal/external SD card.

2.  Boot into TWRP Recovery as detailed in Section IV > Step 1.

3.  Tap on Install once in TWRP Recovery.

4.  Navigate to the location of ROOT_SGT3_8.0.zip and select it.

5.  Swipe to confirm the flash.

6.  Go back to the main menu, tap on Reboot and then tap on System.

You should definitely be rooted after your device reboots.  To confirm, install Root Checker Lite from the Play Store or any other root requiring app and you will prompted to grant root access via the now-installed Superuser app.

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

40 thoughts on “How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and Install Custom Recovery”

      1. Kasthuri J. Rangan

        I have the same problem. I do get a ‘Pass’ in ODIN for download mode. But later in recovery mode I don’t see TWRP. All I see are stock options. There sems to be no way to proceed unless I can install TWRP since the alternale method in section V also requires it.

        1. Kasthuri J. Rangan

          Never mind! It is important that you get into recovery mode by directly from download mode. Otherwise system will restore the stock recovery. I have root access now. Plaese add a note to your article. Thanks!

    1. Mine took 2min 03 seconds. When you get the “PASS” indicator, go ahead manually reboot the tablet. When you enter recovery mode, you should see TWRP

      Great guide, it worked like a charm.
      You should add a note to Section 3, step 7-8 saying “WAIT. This process may take several minutes. You will know it is complete when the words PASS appear. Now you can reboot your device.”

  1. First Time Rooting

    At the step where I powered down my tablet, plugged in the cable, booted it up into download mode, and it’s been stuck with an android picture that says Downloading… Do not turn off target! for a while now.
    Top left corner has:
    Odin Mode
    Product Name: SM-T310
    Current Binary: Samsung Official
    System Status: Official

    How long do I need to wait for this to finish downloading? The Odin ID:COM says 0:[COM4] and is lit up a blue/greenish colour.

  2. I want a temporary root (rooted until reboot) guide for this tablet… I really don’t want root that persists even after reboot…

  3. Sasuke Terrence Nollan

    Hey guys please help me i have installed kies in my laptop its working ok but it wont read when download mode any solutions?
    Thanks in advance

        1. for you !! “his did not work for me without slightly modifying the procedure in the
          first post. After the device auto-rebooted following ODIN success, I
          rebooted the tablet by powering it down and then holding VOL UP and
          POWER to go into recovery as the instructions said. The problem is that
          Android stock recovery started and not TWRP. You will know this is
          occurring because you’ll see the large yellow Android Icon in the middle
          of the screen, together with a “no command” message.

          What is apparently happening is that the tablet has a “safety” feature
          which restores the stock recovery as it is auto-rebooted by ODIN.

          I was able to bypass this by unchecking “Auto Reboot” in Odin. Therefore
          only “F. Reset Time” should be checked when performing the procedure in
          the first post. Then, after you see ODIN report success, manually
          reboot the device by pressing VOL UP and POWER. This rebooted the tablet
          straight into TWRP and I had no further issues. I was just very careful
          and made sure that ODIN completed it’s flash before I manually
          rebooted.”

          it’s work now !!! tell me if it’s good for you !

          1. You’re welcome no problem ! I found solution on xda and if it can help you it’s good ! We must help when we can !

          2. Thanks so much for this information. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what I was doing wrong. I just could not get TWRP to boot. However, I have found that on my Galaxy Tab 3 8 at least, I must wait for the “Samsung Galaxy” splash screen to appear TWICE before releasing the power button. If I release it after the first splash screen, it goes into the normal android recovery screen. I hope this information is of help to others.

  4. hello every body i’m new on android and french so it’s not easy for me lol

    on odin my window is blue and not yellow and i don’t have TWRP Recovery but the Android system recovery;(((
    can you help me pleaseeee

  5. Romy Perdana Putra

    I want to know if this root the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and Install Custom Recovery process will wipe the device or not? is it possible to root without wipe data & application? thanks.

    1. it depends on you. I have done both if you follow the directions here than it wont wipe the device. when installing or flashing roms you would need to pick the option to erase all content. usually only done for other things

  6. If I pay someone to do this for me. Who would like to do it??? All I want to do is root hack my copy of hill climb racing omfg why is this stuff so hard…ok it might not be or im doing something wrong but damn!

  7. Hey guys, I have problem. I have done all the stuff and it seams like everything went perfectly. When I checked with Rook Checker Pro, app informed me that: “… does not have proper root access…” What I should do now?

  8. I currently rooted my galaxy tab 3 8 using the cf auto root method and it worked but only to find out that I cant go in to supersu because every time I do im brought up with a message saying that I have to update binary for supersu to work I cant update it because it fails every time please help!

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