How to Root the Samsung Galaxy S4 (Android 4.4.2)

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 S4, 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 Galaxy S4:

I.  Before You Begin

1.  Make sure that you have a backup of everything important before you start.

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

3.  Make sure the necessary Windows 7 drivers are in place before you start; installing Kies usually takes care of this.

4.  This procedure is known to work only with the Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9500) running Android 4.4.2.  Do not try it on any other device or variant.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  philz_touch_6.12.8-i9500.tar.md5

2.  Odin 1.85.rar

3.  DE-SAMSUNGNIZER SCRIPT V5.0.0.zip [File attached to this post]

III.  Rooting the Galaxy S4

1.  Connect your device to your PC using a compatible microUSB cable and copy the DE-SAMSUNGNIZER_KNOX_REMOVAL_SCRIPT_V1.0.zip file you downloaded above.

2.  Extract the Odin 1.85.rar file you downloaded above to a folder on your desktop.

3.  From the extracted folder, double-click on Odin3 v1.85.exe to run the tool.

4.  Put your device into download mode.  To do this, with the device off, press and hold the Volume Down + Power + Home buttons until you see the warning screen.  Press the Volume Up button to continue to download mode.

5.  Click on PDA button, locate philz_touch_6.12.8-i9500.tar.md5 you downloaded aboveand click on OK to load it on Odin.  The ID:COM field on Odin should now light up yellow to signify that your device is connected and recognized properly.  If not, reinstall drivers and try again.

6.  Make sure that the Re-Partition and Flash Lock are unchecked; this is important as you might brick your device if these options are ticked!

7.  Click on Start.

8.  Once Odin says PASS! and your device reboots, you have ClockworkMod Recovery Installed.

9.  Reboot your device to ClockworkMod Recovery.  To do this, press and hold the Volume Up + Home + Power buttons with the device powered off.

10.  Once in the custom recovery, tap on Install Zip and navigate to the location of DE-SAMSUNGNIZER_KNOX_REMOVAL_SCRIPT_V1.0.zip and flash it.

11.  Next, go to Philz Options and tap on Re-root System and Yes on the next screen.

12.  Go back to the main menu and tap on Power options, then Reboot System.

13.  Once the device is on, go to the Play Store and install the SuperSU app.

14.  Open up the SuperSU app and when prompted to update binaries, choose Update as normal.

All set! Now, you can head to our How to Flash a Custom ROM procedure for the Samsung Galaxy S4 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.