How to Root and Unroot the Galaxy Note (GT-N7000) running Ice-Cream Sandwich

The international version of the Samsung Galaxy Note recently saw itself updated to ICS, much to the delight every owner, but for those who were rooted on Gingerbread, this meant that they would have to lose root and in turn, ClockworkMod Recovery, which is what enables us to flash custom ROMs.  This guide will show you how to root your N7000 again, but with Android 4.0 this time.

I.  Before You  Begin

1.  This solution is only for the international version Galaxy Note that has updated recently to ICS.

2.  This solution will not increase your flash counter and does not void your warranty.  You will still have to unroot or reflash a stock ROM if you want to take your device to a service center though.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  ClockworkMod Recovery (Touch based) [Download link available under the Rooting section in the first post of this thread].

2.  Superuser and Busybox Installer [Download link available under the Rooting section in the first post of this thread]..

3.  Superuser Uninstaller [Download link available under the Unroot section in the first post of this thread].

III.  Rooting the Galaxy Note

1.  Connect your device to your computer using a microUSB cable in MTP mode.

2.  Copy CWM.zip and SU-Busybox-Installer.zip to your SD card.

3.  Power down your device and reboot to stock recovery.  To go to recovery, with the device powered down, press and hold Volume Up + Home buttons and then press the Power button until you see the Galaxy Note logo.  Once you see the logo, let go of the power button but continue to hold the Volume Up and Home buttons until you enter recovery.

4.  From the recovery menu, select ‘Apply update from external storage.’  Navigate to the CWM.zip file that you copied to your SD card above using the Volume Up and Down keys, and press the Home button to select and apply the zip file.  (This will take your device to the touch-based ClockworkMod Recovery temporarily so you can flash the Superuser and Busybox files needed to enable root access).

5.  Once you are in ClockworkMod Recovery, select ‘Apply update from external storage‘.  Use your finger to touch the screen and select this option as the Volume Up/Down navigation will stop working as long as you are in CWM Recovery.

6.  Navigate to the location you copied SU-Busybox-Installer.zip to select and flash it.

7.  Once the zip file is flashed, select ‘Reboot system now‘.

Your device should be rooted once it reboots!!

III.  Unrooting the Galaxy Note

1.  Connect your device to your computer using a microUSB cable in MTP mode.

2.  Copy CWM.zip and SU-Uninstaller-signed.zip to your SD card.

3.  Power down your device and reboot to stock recovery.

4.  From the recovery menu, select ‘Apply update from external storage.’  Navigate to the CWM.zip file that you copied to your SD card above using the Volume Up and Down keys, and press the Home button to select and apply the zip file.

5.  Once you are in ClockworkMod Recovery, select ‘Apply update from external storage‘.  Use your finger to touch the screen and select this option as the Volume Up/Down navigation will stop working as long as you are in CWM Recovery.

6.  Navigate to the location you copied SU-Uninstaller-signed.zip to select and flash it.

7.  Once the zip file is flashed, select ‘Reboot system now‘.

Your device should be unrooted once it reboots!!

Warning:  Do not use the Nandroid backup option present on this temporary ClockworkMod Recovery as it is known to have bricked many devices!! Just use it to root or unroot your device until there is a safer solution to back up your ROMs.

All thanks go to Rachmat3 on XDA for providing the original solution for the Galaxy S II!!  Be sure to to donate or thank him if this worked for you!!

This is part of our Android How To’s. We have how to’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 To’s, head here.

1 thought on “How to Root and Unroot the Galaxy Note (GT-N7000) running Ice-Cream Sandwich”

  1. It isn’t working on a Samsung Note kernel 3.0.15-N7000UBLPD-CL576295.
    Cloclwork Recovery runs cwm.zip OK AND SHOWS EVERYTING OK but SU-Uninstaller-signed.zip didn’t worked.

    Rebooted ok

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.