Rooting essentially taps into all of the potential that’s locked away by your manufacturer or carrier. Rooting isn’t without its risks, but we’ve already covered everything you need to know before you take the plunge. It may sound dangerous at first, but once you’ve gotten your feet wet, you’ll be happy you’re in the water. Warning: Always backup your phone and data before flashing any recoveries, or a root. These two processes can result in total data loss, and bricked devices.
Install a Custom Recovery Before You Root
Before you root your Galaxy J7, the first thing you do, besides unlocking the bootloader, is install a custom recovery. For the sake of this example I’ll show you how to install Team Win Recovery Project(TWRP). You can also use any other compatible recovery before rooting. TWRP is just my recovery of choice. To do this, you’ll need:
A working PC, Mac, or Linux enabled computerA USB cable compatible with the J7A TWRP tar fileAn Odin exeA SuperSU rar
The required parts and files for the actual root will be more or less the same.
Step 1:
Instead of trying to navigate the TWRP site above, you can go right to the J7 downloads and find the most up to date file available. Grab the most up to date .tar.img file, and .img file.
TWRP Custom Recovery
You’ll most likely only need one, but it’s better to have both.
Step 2:
Next, you need to download this version of SuperSU.
SuperSU
SuperSU is a program that will help with root access and allow you to do almost everything with the fun side of rooting. If you root using a custom recovery, this file will be your ticket in. Once you download the zip, place it inside your internal storage. The easiest place for this is in your root directory (the very first place you can access).
Step 3:
Next is the last file you need to download for your custom recovery, an updated version of Odin. If you already have an Odin exe file, that will work just fine, but an updated version is recommended. Currently, you can download Odin in several different places, but the safest bet is to download it from chainfire’s autoroot website. The file you’re looking for is highlighted below. There are a lot of phones on this list. You’ll need to look for your specific model. You can figure out which model you have in the About Phone tab of your phone’s Settings menu. It will be something like J700F or J700H. On the Odin download page linked to below, the file will have SM- in front of the device number. You’ll be looking for a device model something like SM-J700F if your phone’s model number is J700F.
Odin
In the downloaded package will be a root file, and the copy of Odin you need if you don’t already have one.
Step 4:
Next you need to prepare your phone to flash the recovery file. To do this you need to enable OEM unlock, and or USB debugging. You can find both of these settings in your Developer Options. If you don’t have these options available:
Go to About phoneScroll down to your build numberTap the number seven or more times until you get a popupBack out to your settings and scroll down to find yournew Developer Options
Step 5:
Your phone’s last job is to take a nap in download mode. To enter download mode:
First make sure your phone isn’t connected to your PC or anything elseNext power down your deviceNow press and hold: Volume Down + Power + Home for a few secondsThe J7 should show you a message that you need to confirm by pressing the Volume Up key.
Your phone is now in download mode. Set it aside for a moment, but make sure you know where your USB cable is.
Step 6:
Open your Odin exe.
Step 7:
Now connect your phone (while in download mode) to your PC. Odin will detect your phone and then you can move on to the next step. If your phone is not detected, try Step 5 & 6 again. Once your phone has been connected, click the AP button in Odin. This opens up your file directory and lets you search for the .tar file you need to flash. Find where you put your TWRP .tar file. It’ll be named in a similar style to twrp-3.0.2-0-j7elte. Once you find it, select it.
Step 8:
All of the hard parts are out of the way now, just hit Start at the bottom of the exe and your recovery will flash without any need for extra steps. Your phone will reboot automatically, and your custom recovery will be installed.
To boot into your recovery:
Press and hold: Volume Up, Power, and Home for a few secondsWhen the Samsung logo appears, let go of all of the buttons
You’re now in your custom recovery.
Method 1: Installing SuperSU with TWRP
If you followed the instructions above, or already have TWRP installed, this is by far the easiest way to root your Galaxy J7. All you need is your custom recovery, and the SuperSU zip with your rooting files.
Step 1:
If you haven’t already, download the SuperSU zip file from chainfire’s website. While you’re at it, you can follow chainfire on Twitter or Google+ to get update information and news straight from the source.
SuperSU
After you’ve downloaded the zip file, place it in your phone’s root directory. You can do this by double-clicking your phone’s storage on a PC, and dropping the zip file right beside all of your folders.
Step 2:
Next, boot your phone into recovery mode. To do this on the Galaxy J7:
Press and hold: Volume Up, Power, and Home for a few secondsWhen the Samsung logo appears, let go of all of the buttons
Once you’re in your recovery, select Install.
Step 3:
After selecting Install, scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen until you find the SuperSU zip you placed in your directory. Select it, and then confirm your selection to start the flashing process.
Step 4:
Once the flashing process is complete, you’re given the option to reboot. Select the reboot option, wait for a little bit, and then rejoice since you’re now rooted! If you want to confirm your root, download the Root Checker app to see if your root was truly successful.
Root Checker
Method 2: Root Using Odin
This next rooting option is a little harder, but is fairly easy if you’ve used Odin before. If you used the steps at the start to install TWRP, this should be a piece of cake.
Step 1:
First, download the proper files from chainfire’s website.
SuperSU
After the download finishes, unpack the zip and put all the files inside of an easy to find folder. You’ll be using most of these files in a minute, so keep the folder open and handy.
Step 2:
Next, power down your phone, you’re about to put it into download mode. If you don’t know how, to enter download mode:
Disconnect your phone from all other sourcesNow power down your device completelyAfter, press and hold: Volume Down + Power + Home for a few secondsThe J7 should show you a message that you need to confirm by pressing the Volume Up key.
After confirmation, you’re now in download mode. Set your phone down nearby, and go back to the folder you opened before.
Step 3:
Open your Odin exe. Next, connect your phone to your PC via USB cable while in download mode. You’ll see Odin recognize your phone in the top left corner; this is your sign to continue.
Step 4:
Select AP, which opens a file directory. Navigate to the folder you have your Odin exe in, and select the md5 autoroot file. After selecting the file, wait a few seconds, and then hit Start at the bottom of the Odin exe. The rooting process will start, and now all you have to do is wait.
Step 5:
When the process finishes successfully, you’ll see a green PASS message in the top left corner. Your device will reboot automatically, and when it’s been booted back up, it’ll be rooted successfully. If you want to confirm that your root was a success, you can either look to see if the SuperSU app is now on your device, or download a Root Checker to confirm.
Root Checker
Method 3: Kingroot APK (No PC Required)
I might have said that one of the earlier options was the easiest way to root the Galaxy J7, but Kingroot is a service that can root most Android phones without breaking a sweat, and without a PC. Kingroot canbe used with a PC over a data cable, but it’s not required, and I’ll show you how.
Step 1:
If you haven’t jumped the gun and downloaded it already, download the Kingroot APK.
KingRoot
If you can’t install it, you need to allow installations from unknown sources. To enable this:
Go to your SettingsScroll to Security and select itGo down to Unknown Sources and allow them by either tapping a checkbox or flipping a switch
After this is enabled, install the APK.
Step 2:
Launch the app and the first thing that’ll draw your eye is the Try It button. Don’t resist the urge to tap it. Once you push the button, the app will correctly claim that you don’t have root access, and then give you the option to fix that. Tap Get now to start the rooting process, which takes more than a few minutes. If the progress percentage hangs at a number for a few minutes, don’t panic, the process will still finish.
Step 3:
Wait for the rooting process to finish, and when it does, your phone will reboot automatically (if it doesn’t, reboot it manually.) Once your phone has booted back up, download the Root Checker app to confirm you’ve rooted your phone successfully.
Root Checker
Method 4: One Click Root
There are more than a few “One Click Root” websites, but this time I’m talking about the one that has the actual namesake. One Click Root doesn’t work for all Android phones, but it may just work for the Samsung Galaxy J7.
Step 1:
Before you download any software and give this a try, first check out the compatibility list for One Click Root. If you can’t find your model number on this list, do not use One Click Root, or you could potentially brick your device or lose data. Please note, these numbers will differ depending on which version of Android you’re currently running.
Step 2:
Once you’ve confirmed your version of the J7 is on the list, head to the website’s main page. Click the download button on the page, this takes you to a new one that starts the download automatically.
Step 3:
Quickly install One Click Root after it’s finished download, and open it up. If you didn’t believe it was one click before, you can see it for yourself now. Connect your J7 to your PC via a data cable, and wait for One Click Root to identify your device.
Step 4:
Once your phone has been identified, click Root Now to begin the rooting process. It won’t take but a few minutes, and once your phone has rebooted, you’re now rooted successfully. If you want to confirm your root yourself, download the Root Checker app to confirm your root status.
Root Checker
Conclusion
There’s thankfully more than one way to bring out the Galaxy J7’s true potential, and any of them won’t take longer than fifteen minutes. If you’ve charged your phone, and have a few minutes to kill, making your Samsung Galaxy J7 a better phone is just a few steps away. Did you have any problems rooting your J7? You can leave a comment below to get some help as soon as possible! And if you’re having other issues with your J7, we’ve covered the biggest ones here.
