How to Root the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (AT&T)

Rooting is the process of gaining administrative rights on your Android device.  Once we root our Android device, we can then make changes to it to customize it well beyond what it normally can do.

Once you have root access on your Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (AT&T), you’ll be able to:

• Remove apps that were preinstalled by your carrier/manufacturer from your device.
• Free up storage space (because of the above benefit).
• Increase battery life (apps that might have been running constantly can be removed).
• Increase performance (after removing apps that are always running, the device will be less bogged down and run smoother).
• Update to a new version of Android (by flashing a custom recovery/ROM, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).
• Tons of other customizations when you use your new found administrative rights to flash a custom ROM (again, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).

Interested? Here’s how to root your Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (AT&T):

I. Before You Begin

1. This will void the warranty of your device. However, you can reinstate the warranty by unrooting your device if there’s any unrooting procedure available.

2. This should only work on Windows based PCs.

II. Downloading Required Files

1. Download Root Tool and save it to your Desktop.

Root Tool (Download link’s available in the first post)

III. Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (AT&T)

1. Double-click on Root Tool setup and follow the installation wizard to install it on your PC.

2. Turn ON USB debugging on your device by heading to Menu > Settings > Developer options > USB debugging.

3. Plug in your device to your PC using the USB cable.

4. Double-click on Root Tool executable and it should launch.

5. Click Root in the tool and it should start rooting your device.

6. Once rooted, your device should reboot.

7. When your device reboots, head over to the Google Play and download and install SuperSU on your device.

8. You’re now rooted!

All set! Now, you can head to our How to Flash a Custom Recovery procedure for the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (AT&T) to open up a whole new world of customizations for your Android device!

By the way, don’t be scared, you can always put your device back to stock by heading to our Rooting How To’s section, finding your device, and doing the How to Unroot listed for it there.