Following up the launch of its current flagship smartphone, Samsung decided to add some new dimensions to the device by releasing two different variants branded as Galaxy S4 Active and Galaxy S4 Zoom. The former is the sports version that brags of being waterproof, while the latter is a dedicated camera phone. Both the devices are not much popular as the regular S4 and therefore they have not been able to attract the attention of the hacker community as much.
If you have the international version of the Galaxy S4 Active or AT&T Galaxy S4 SGH-I537, things now seem to have been changing as renowned developers as Chainfire and Geohot have finally come up with a method to root these devices pretty easily. Chainfire is the developer of SuperUser and therefore he is the man behind very rooted Android device. His CF-Auto-Root packages are available for almost all Samsung Galaxy devices. George Hotz a.k.a Geohot the infamous iPhone hacker who is credited for being the first man to carrier unlock the original iPhone. He has released one of the easiest exploits for rooting AT&T Galaxy S4 Active SGH-I537 with a simple APK file. Below we’ll take a look at both the methods.
Root Samsung Galaxy S4 Active GT-I9295
If you have the regular Galaxy S4 active with unlocked bootloader, you can easily root it using Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root. Though the developer has not released a separate root package for S4 Active, you can still root it the CF-Root file meant for the Galaxy S4 LTE. Being similar in nature, the old method goes file with this newer device too. However, before proceeding to root your S4 Active, ensure that you have done the following things:
- Also download the rooting package and extract the zip: CF-Auto-Root-jflte-jfltexx-gti9505.zip
- Make sure you have installed Samsung USB Drivers or Kies on your computer.
- Turn on USB Debugging on your phone.
- Charge your phone to have at least 60% battery.
Okay, now you can root your S4 in a few simple steps by following the steps given below:
- Turn off your S4 Active and put it in Download mode by pressing the Volume Down, Home and Power buttons simultaneously for 2-3 seconds. When the warning screen with yellow triangle, press the Volume Up key to continue to Download/Odin mode.
- Open the Odin folder and launch the program by clicking on Odin3-v1.85.exe.
- Now connect the device using USB cable and wait till you see Added!! in the message box on Odin.
- Do not mess with any other thing on Odin and hit the PDA button. Select the “CF-Auto-Root-jflte-jfltexx-gti9505.tar.md5” file.
- Then click the Start button and wait for the installation to finish. When it is done, the phone will reboot automatically reboot.
Done! SuperUser has now been installed on your device and it should have root access.
Root AT&T Galaxy S4 Active SGH-I537:
The root method for AT&T Galaxy S4 (SGH-I537) has been devised by GeoHot and it is one of the easiest ways to root an Android phone with a locked bootloader.
- Open Settings on your phone, tap on More tab and open Security.
- Now enable Unknown Sources and Verify Apps options by checking the box.
- Go to Geohot’s Website and download “ar.apk” by clicking the lambda symbol image.
- Copy this Apk file to your phone and install it. It should give you a message telling you that you have root.
- Now go to Play Store and download SuperUser app.
- Open the app and update binary when prompted.
- Done!
To verify root access on your Galaxy S4 Active, install Root Checker and run the app.
[googleplay url=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joeykrim.rootcheck”]Read Next: Decompile, Modify and Compile APK Files with APK Easy Tool
I have to be connected in wifi for this? if i dowload the the ar.apk and superuser not work?
does the root work for Galaxy S4 Active SGH-I537 still?
I’m confused about downloading the “ar.apk” file from Geohot’s website.
dear, please tell me, if i can install I9295 firmware on I537 device?
No, you can’t.
my att s4 active gets the error that it only works on s4 active…. what causes this
Hey, I did not get you. Can you be more descriptive?
Note for the page author: This guide is for the SGH-I537 not the SGH-I337.
Corrected the mistake, Gary! Thanks!
For those of us with ADD, you might break this into two separate pages.
Yes, I should have done it.
I carefully followed the instructions for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active GT-I9295, knowing all the while that I have an AT&T Galaxy S4 Active SGH-I337. Now the phone is displaying a robot icon and the message “Downloading”. Mobisynapse now identifies the phone as a GT-I9295. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can restore its configuration to that of the SGH-!337?
Seems you followed the wrong steps. Installing a new stock firmware should fix it.
hello change the volume up to down to enter the download din mode
Thanks for noticing and letting us know!