How to Root Galaxy Note 9!

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to root the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 easily and quickly using a few tools like ODIN, Magisk, and TWRP recovery.

Note: Rooting your Samsung device will VOID WARRANTY, PERMANENTLY disable Samsung Pay and Secure Folder!

Step 1. Check under Settings->About Phone to see the “Model number” of your Galaxy Note 9 and make sure it is supported below.  I am using SM-N960F/DS which is an international Exynos dual-SIM model.

The following Galaxy Note 9 models can be rooted with this root method:

  • SM-N960F International Exynos
  • SM-N960F/DS International Exynos Dual SIM
  • SM-N960X Exynos
  • SM-N960N Exynos
  • SM-N9600 Snapdragon Chinese Model

The following models have LOCKED bootloaders:

  • SM-N960U AT&T Snapdragon
  • SM-N960U T-Mobile Snapdragon
  • SM-N960U Sprint Snapdragon
  • SM-N960U Verizon Snapdragon
  • SM-N960U U.S. Unlocked Snapdragon
  • Any other SM-N960U

Note: If you want to root your Note 9 or any Samsung phones in general, you will want to AVOID U.S. Snapdragon models as they ALL have LOCKED BOOTLOADERS.  This has been the case for the LAST 3 YEARS!  If you did not know that, now you know.  I personally recommend the SM-N960F/DS model, which works flawless on both T-Mobile or AT&T 4G LTE.  For Sprint or Verizon users, you are OUT OF LUCK, try getting unlocked version of Pixel, Pixel 2, or Pixel 3, which have unlocked bootloaders and works flawless on both Sprint and Verizon.

Step 2. Go to Settings->About Phone->Software Information and tap on the “Build number” about 5 times until it says the developer mode has been turned ON.

Step 3. Next, tap on the back button twice and you will see a new menu option called, “Developer options”, tap on that.

Step 4. Make sure “OEM unlock” is checked ON.  When you do this, your phone will “factory reset” and it will erase EVERYTHING on your phone.  Once you have done that, let your phone reset and go ahead and sign back into your phone.  Then continue to Step 5. (You don’t need to do Step 4 again after reset.)

Step 5. Power off your Galaxy Note 9.  While holding down the Volume Down and Power buttons together, connect a USB cable from your computer to your Note 9.

You will see the ODIN Warning message.

Hi the Volume Up key to enter the ODIN Download Mode.

Step 6. Download the following files:

Step 7. Unzip the ODIN zip file and run the ODIN EXE program inside the unzipped folder. (DO NOT try to run the EXE program WITHOUT unzipping!)

Step 8. You should see a blue-highlighted box with a random COM number.  If you don’t see it, you need to install the Samsung USB drivers you downloaded earlier.  Simply run the program to install Samsung USB drivers then un-plug and re-plug the USB cable to your Galaxy Note 9 and you should see it.

Next, choose “AP” then choose the TWRP recovery file you downloaded earlier.

VERY IMPORTANT: Before hitting “Start”, be ready to hold down Volume Up, Bixby and the Power buttons together.  Please WATCH the video tutorial a few times before trying as if you MESS UP, you may have to start over from scratch and may even have to re-install stock firmware and wait 7-days if you have a Note 9 that has OEM Unlock jail.

After hitting Start, hold down Volume Up, Bixby and the Power buttons together IMMEDIATELY.  You can hold down Volume Down, Bixby key first then hold down Power button when the screen goes BLANK.

Step 9. If done correctly, you should be in TWRP recovery.

Step 10. Choose “Keep Read Only” to enter TWRP recovery for Galaxy Note 9.  This is a custom recovery that will allow you to flash stuff like Magisk or even custom ROM.

Step 11. Next, we will need to do a fresh wipe so select “Wipe”.

Then choose “Format Data”.

Type “yes”.  And this will ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR NOTE 9 AGAIN!

Step 12. When done, go back to the Home menu and choose “Reboot”.

Then choose “Recovery”.  This will reboot you back into TWRP recovery without letting the Note 9 reboot into system.  DO NOT LET IT BOOT INTO SYSTEM!

Step 13. Choose “Keep Read Only”.

Step 14. Next, go back to your computer and copy over the N9_S9_Root_for_OEM_issue_device_V3.zip to your Galaxy Note 9 internal storage.  If you have trouble connecting to your computer as disk drive(which should actually work automatically in TWRP recovery), you can also use a USB OTG adapter that came with your Note 9 and connect a USB flash drive to it.  (TWRP has an option to change storage to your microSD card or USB OTG, and yes you can also use a microSD card.)

Step 15. Next, go back to your Galaxy Note 9 TWRP recovery and choose “Install” and install the file you just copied over and you will enter an AROMA graphical installer.

During installation, choose “Patch for OEM issue”.  While not all Galaxy Note 9 have this issue, it does NOT HURT or affect the phone in ANY WAY to install.  It may be better to install this feature just in case you are not sure but my Note 9 did not have this issue but I still installed it.

Also choose “Root with Magisk” as this will install a modified version of Magisk that works with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Android smartphone.

When done, simply reboot and you should see a welcome sign like below.  Simply sign in.

Step 16. Once fully signed in, you should see a new app called “Magisk Manager”.  If you don’t see it, which sometimes happens, you can install the Magisk Manager APK by downloading and installing it manually.

Open the Magisk Manager app and you should see “Install version” with a checkmark.  If you see that, CONGRATULATIONS, you have fully rooted your Samsung Galaxy Note 9!

You can also verify you have 100% root by installing any rooted app such as the free Titanium Backup app(which I highly recommend for backing up all of your apps with app data) and you should see a Superuser Request window pop up like below.

Connect to the internet and open Magisk Manager app again and you can see if your Note 9 passes SafetyNet check.  If it does like on mine, you will be able to hide root from stuff like Google Pay, Pokemon Go, banking apps, Fornite, Nintendo games, and much much more.  This will allow you to keep using a rooted Note 9 even on apps that normally do not run with root, the beauty of Magisk(always huge thanks to TopJohnWu, the developer behind Magisk, please donate to him).

Credits – HUGE thanks to Dr. Ketan, who made the scripted version of modified Magisk with OEM Unlock disabler.

 

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Max Lee

Max Lee is the founder of HighOnAndroid.com. Max makes Android tutorials and review videos for people who want to get high on Android over at his YouTube channel and Korean YouTube channel.