How To Root Samsung Galaxy Note 10

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 without a doubt is a very powerful device, designed for the power user that needs a smartphone that ticks almost all the pillars of a great smartphone. As at the time this article was written, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 featured the latest processor and one of the best display available on a smartphone. In this article, you will learn how to make your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 more powerful. Here I will teach you how to Root the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, which will unlock a lot of features, features you won’t have access to on default.

Rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 gives you access to a lot of features, as established in the introductory paragraph. There are many reasons you may want to root this device (or root any other device of similar specs). Some apps may require Root access to access some core components of your operating system. You may also want to install a custom ROM or Clock your processor speed. This and many more are potential reasons you may wish to Root the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

It is vital for you to note that this tutorial is ONLY applicable to the Exynos variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. This tutorial won’t work for the Snapdragon Variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.  The reason is that the variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 has a locked bootloader, unlike the Exynos variant that comes with an unlocked bootloader. 

Following the information provided in the paragraph above, it is important that you clearly validate if you have the Exynos or the Snapdragon variant of the Samsung Galaxy note 10. To check the specs of your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device, you can download the CPU Z or CPU X app from the Google PlayStore. These apps give you the full specs of your smartphone. With this app, you can confirm the variant of your device.

Now that you have learned how to confirm the processor variant of your smartphone and have confirmed the variant. We can now dive into the tutorial proper. Before we dive into the tutorial, here are the needed prerequisites for you to root the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 with this tutorial.

Prerequisites To Rooting The Samsung Galaxy Note 10

1. Make sure you have confirmed your processor variant to being the Exynos variant
2. Make sure that your device has up to 50% charge
3. Backup your files
4. Install the latest version of Magisk Manager

Note: After Rooting your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device, you won’t be able to use Samsung Pay as well as the Secure Folder app. You won’t be able to update your Firmware. 

Steps To Root Samsung Galaxy Note 10

There are a plethora of steps to take in rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. To make it comprehensive and easy to understand, These steps would be broken into segments. In rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, you’d need to first Unlock the bootloader.

Unlocking the bootloader here isn’t the same thing as unlocking the bootloader on the Snapdragon variant. The second segment is preparing the patched boot image file, flashing the boot image file and finally booting into the rooted OS.

Unlocking The Bootloader

1. Enabling USB Debugging Mode: The first step to rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, is enabling USB debugging mode. To enable USB debugging on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, navigate through Settings > scroll down to build number, tap it several times until developer mode comes up. Now go back and open developer settings. Find USB Debugging and enable it.

2. Booting Into Download Mode: To boot into download mode, switch of your device. Now hold both volume keys and then connect your device to your PC via a USB cable. Press the volume up key as soon as the download warning screen appears. This will unlock the bootloader.

Note: Unlocking your bootloader will lead to loss of data. You are required to backup your data before carrying out the steps listed above.

Preparing The Boot Image File

1. Download the Samsung USB Driver: To prepare the boot image file, we would be making use of our PC. For this reason, we need to create a link between the Note 10 device and our PC. To download the driver, simply type Samsung USB driver as a search query on Google. Click on the first link. When you have successfully downloaded the driver, you can move on to the next step.
2. Downloading ODIN: ODIN is the official flashing tool for Samsung devices. You can download Odin from the support page in Samsung’s official website.
3. Download The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Firmware: This file would be used to create the bootable firmware.
4. Extract the firmware on your PC and Copy the AP.tar.md5 to your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device.
5. Download and install the latest version of Magisk Manager on your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device: Once you have installed the app, open it, and you will be asked to choose between Zip file and Patch Boot Image File. Select the Boot Image file instead.
6. In the Magisk Manager app, navigate to the folder the Boot Image file is stored, then patch the boot image file. The Patched files will be stored as patched.tar and would be stored in the same folder as the firmware.
7. Transfer the patched.tar file to your PC

Flashing the Boot Image File

Flashing the Boot Image file is the actual process of rooting your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device. The steps to flashing the patched boot image in your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device are listed below:

1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device
2. Enter Download Mode: To enter download mode, hold both volume keys and then connect your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device to your PC using a USB cable. Release the volume keys when the Samsung logo comes up.
3. Press Volume Up button to continue once the warning on Download Mode Appears
4. Launch the Odin software installed on your computer
5. Flashing the Patched Image File: Once you have Paired your Samsung Galaxy Note 10 device to Odin. Select AP/PDA button and then navigate to where the Magisk Patched file is stored and then select it. Make sure you Un-Tick Auto-Reboot.
6. Still in the process of getting the files prepared for Flashing. The next step is to select other necessary files from the Extracted firmware. The AP file is the patched file. The next files to input are three other .tar.md5 files.
7. Once these files have been successfully loaded in Odin, hit the start button in the Odin software. Once the Flashing has been completed, Hold both volume keys to exit close download mode.
8. Booting Into Recovery Mode: After exiting download mode, the next step is to boot into recovery mode. To boot into recovery mode, Hold volume up and power buttons together.
9. Wipe Data and Factory Reset: In recovery mode, select factory reset and then wipe data. Do not boot into the Operating system after the factory reset.

Booting Into The Rooted Operating System

At this stage, you may be nursing the thought of how you underestimated the length of the steps used in rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Well, not to worry, this is the final segment. After you must have successfully completed the procedures mentioned above, you can boot into the rooted operating system using the steps listed below:

1. Setup Your Device as a new device:  Hold power volume up button and the Power buttons together. Next step is to set your device as a new one.
2. Booting Into Stock Recovery: The next step is to boot into stock recovery. To boot into stock recovery, hold Volume Up and Power buttons together. Then release the power button, while still holding the Volume Up key.
3. Boot your smartphone and start enjoying the powers of a rooted device.

Wrapping it UP:

Without doubt, the steps to rooting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 are cumbersome, but following these steps meticulously, will even leave you with a rooted device. If you have any questions on this tutorial on how to root the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.