How to Root the Samsung Galaxy S4 (Motochopper Method)(Video)(Updated 09.03.13)
UPDATE 9/3/13: AT&T’s LATEST UPDATE NOW BLOCKS THIS METHOD. UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE AT THIS TIME. WHEN ONE SURFACES, WE’LL POST IT ON THE SITE.
Maybe you’re unhappy with the amount of bloatware Samsung put on the new Samsung Galaxy S4? Maybe you want to get rid of TouchWiz? Maybe you want to overclock the device? Or undervolt it? Or change what apps can be opened using the multi-window feature on the device? There are any number of benefits to rooting a device and here at TheUnlockr, we’re pretty much convinced it’s the way to go. Here’s how to root the Samsung Galaxy S4 using a program called Motochopper.
I. Install the Drivers
1. Download the USB drivers and install them on your computer.
2. On your Galaxy S4, pull down the notification bar and click the gear at the top right to be taken to Settings.
3. Scroll down and tap More > About Device.
4. Scroll down to the bottom and tap Build Number repeatedly until it says you are a developer.
5. Hit back.
6. Click Developer Options.
7. Turn ON USB Debugging.
8.Plug in the device via USB to your computer.
II. Root the Samsung Galaxy S4
1. Download the Motochopper program.
Motochopper (link to the exploit is in the first post)
2. Extract the .zip file to your desktop on your computer.
3. Open the newly extracted folder.
4. Double click the run.bat file if using Windows | or open Terminal on Mac and type the following with hitting enter at the end of each line:
cd desktop
cd motochopper
./run.sh
5. Approve the connection on your device.
6. Wait for it to root the device.
7. Once done, you should see SuperSU in your app drawer on the device indicating it worked.
If this procedure helped you, please head to the developer of the script’s post here and thank/donate to them!
hey,
i have just ‘tried’ to root my samsung galaxy s4 GT-I19505 and i successfully did the computer side of thing like downloading and putting the Superuser app onto my android device but it says that it is out of date, so i touch the install button button and intently it comes up with an error message reading “there was an error installing Superuser. Please send log of error to developer.’ but when i go look the error log it is nowhere to be found.
what do i do?
Any luck finding an answer?
Turns out Motochopper is now broken via the latest OTA update for AT&T… Is this an AT&T device you are using?
dont worry about it dave i have found another way to root my s4.
Care to share the link so others can use the method you found?
Im getting the same msg as Arooony
Turns out Motochopper is now broken via the latest OTA update for AT&T… Is this an AT&T device you are using?
At the time it was the update prior to this update. It’s the Verizon GS4. I’m rooted now. But had to bust out the old dusty Dell to get it done.
Ah so the computer was the issue?
At the time of my post here I was under the impression the method would work with a Mac
It does not work on Mac.
I did it on mac and it worked just fine. Why don’t you post what errors you ran into and maybe someone can help?
There are steps missing… In this and will leave you hanging…
They aren’t missing, worked fine before, the latest update to AT&T version of the device broke this method. Are you using AT&T?
02:56 You can’t remove TouchWiz as it’s baked into the ROM.
I meant by flashing a different ROM.
I opened the zip file but I don’t see “run.bat” anywhere. I do however see the run.sh that you’re suppose to enter into the mac terminal.
I’m really confused. I’m not really a techie type. So I just bought the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 in Holland where I live. I have the Android 4.2.2 version. My baseband is the XXUBMGA version. Now I don’t know which method I can use to root my Samsung. Do I use this method or this one: https://theunlockr.com/2013/09/16/how-to-root-the-samsung-galaxy-s4-on-android-4-3/ or this one: https://theunlockr.com/2013/04/27/how-to-root-the-samsung-galaxy-s4-i9505/ …. Any Help would be appreciated. If you need more info about my situation just ask me…
1. A video demonstrating this root done via a Mac would be super.
2. I know I’ll sound like a newb, but still: does this root replace the Touchwiz interface? For the most part, I like I Touchwiz. I just want to add more apps to the multiwindow function.
I HAVE RUN THE RUN.bat ant it keeps tellin me error protocol fault..waiting for device..
i want to know if that is how it runs or there is a problem somewhere.
after i followed this steps, i open the superuser, and it says “The Superuser binary (su) must be updated.Please choose an installation method. Recovery mode installation is recommended for HTC devices.” and the choices are Cancel, Recovery Install, Install. After i pick Recovery Install or Install it says again ” There was an error installing Superuser. Please send a log of the error to the developer. If i pick cancel, nothing happen. What should i do, suggest please, thanks. 🙂
Will this work for the Sprint version?
hi…I”m just trying this w/sprint SPH-L720 and not getting success. Getting stuff like this:
[*]
dyld: unknown required load command 0x80000022
./run.sh: line 58: 1101 Trace/BPT trap $adb kill-server
[*] Waiting for device…
dyld: unknown required load command 0x80000022
./run.sh: line 61: 1103 Trace/BPT trap $adb wait-for-device
[*] Device found.
[*] Pushing exploit…
dyld: unknown required load command 0x80000022
./run.sh: line 66: 1104 Trace/BPT trap