How to Root Galaxy S9/S9+ on Android 9.0 Pie!

In this tutorial I will be showing you how to root the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9 Plus on latest Android 9.0 Pie firmware.

Step 1. Check Settings->About phone and check the model number of your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus, it should be one of the listed below:

Galaxy S9 – SM-G960F, SM-G960F/DS, Korean SM-G960N, Chinese Qualcomm SM-G9600

Galaxy S9 Plus – SM-G965F, SM-G965F/DS, Korean SM-G965N, SM-G9650 Qualcomm

NOTE: U.S. models or any Qualcomm models ending in “U” cannot be rooted using this method as the bootloader is locked. My best suggestion is to sell it and buy an international model that has unlocked bootloader, any of model numbers above will work.

NOTE 2: For Chinese Qualcomm models SM-G9600 or SM-G9650, you can follow this tutorial step-by-step only thing different is the version of TWRP recovery, which is NOT provided in this tutorial(but simple Googling should help you find it).

Step 2. Tap on “Software information” and check that you have Android version “9”. Then also tap on the “Build number” about 5 times until you have enabled developer options.

Step 3. Tap the back button TWICE and scroll to the bottom of the menus, you should see a new menu option called “Developer options”. Tap on that.

Step 4. If it has been at least 7-days since you bought your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus, you should see an option for “OEM unlocking”. If you can turn it on without wiping data, go ahead and do it. If it asks you to do a factory reset, make sure to read the instructions below and also watch my video tutorial that explains step-by-step.

IMPORTANT: If your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus wants to do a factory reset, you can do it but DO NOT LET IT REBOOT!  Then you won’t be able to flash TWRP recovery and wait 7-days MORE!  This just happened to me on my new S9 so I have to wait 7-days AGAIN.    How to fix?  When your phone reboots after selecting factory reset, IMMEDIATELY HOLD DOWN Volume Down, Bixby, and Power buttons for about 5 seconds until you see a warning screen.  Again, if you miss this new crucial step on phones that ask the user for factory reset, YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT 7 MORE DAYS!

Step 5. Hold down Volume Down, Bixby, and Power button together for about 15 seconds until your phone resets into ODIN warning mode like shown below.

Step 6. Hit the Volume Up button then connect a USB cable from your phone to a Windows computer. (Samsung ODIN software only supports Windows so if you don’t have a Windows computer, just go borrow your friends for a few hours.)

Step 7. Download the necessary files needed:

Unzip the ODIN zip file into a folder and keep the reset of files in zip format.

Step 8. Run the ODIN program(after unzipping). If you see a random COM number highlighted in sky blue color like shown above, you already have drivers installed. If not(most people), run the Samsung USB driver program you downloaded earlier and it should install the drivers for you. Once installed, you should see it. If not, try unplugging/re-plugging your USB cable.

Next choose “AP” then choose the TWRP img.tar file you downloaded for your Galaxy S9 or S9+. Before hitting start button, read below!!!

IMPORTANT: As soon as you hit Start, it only takes 5 seconds for the ODIN program to finish flashing TWRP recovery on your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus. As soon as your phone reboots(screen goes blank), YOU NEED TO HOLD DOWN VOLUME UP, BIXBY, AND POWER BUTTONS TOGETHER! If you mess up this step, YOU WILL HAVE TO REINSTALL STOCK FIRMWARE(unroot) AND HAVE TO WAIT 7 DAYS. If this is your first time, please watch the video tutorial and master the buttons before attempting!!!

Step 9. If you have successfully flashed TWRP and rebooted into TWRP, you should see a screen like above, tap on “Keep Read Only”.

Step 10. Grab some bepis and pat yourself on the back as you just finished the hardest part of the root. This is because Samsung has implemented new security measures where if the phone reboots into system, it won’t let you install TWRP recovery. We can bypass this simply by not letting the phone reboot into system rather into TWRP recovery like we did in Step 8.

Next we will wipe the device completely so tap on “Wipe”.

Step 11. Choose “Format Data” and type “yes” to wipe EVERYTHING on your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus. This is required to wipe the device and also get rid of system encryption in order to root your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus properly.

Step 12. IMPORTANT, go back to the home menu, choose “Reboot” menu then choose “Recovery” to reboot TWRP. This is VERY MUY IMPORTANTE because again if you reboot normally, you will have to re-install stock firmware and wait 7 days.

Step 13. Once rebooted into TWRP, choose “Keep Read Only” also.

Step 14. Connect your Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus to your computer and copy over the OEM Issue Devices ZIP file to your phone.

Step 15. Use the Install menu to install the OEM Issue ZIP file. For AROMA isntaller, choose ROM installer and make sure to check on “Patch for OEM issue”!!! Once installed, reboot system(finally!).

Step 16. You should see welcome screen, sign in.

Step 17. If you don’t see Magisk Manager app in the app drawer, download Magisk Manager APK on your phone and install it.

Step 18. If you see “Magisk is not installed”, re-install OEM Issue Devices ZIP file by re-booting into TWRP. If you don’t know how to do this, watch 11:25 of the video tutorial that shows you how step-by-step. If you see no errors like that skip to Step 19.

Step 19. If you see “update available” DO NOT INSTALL THE UPDATE! ONLY UPDATE Magisk Manager app(the one below it) as the Magisk used for rooting on Galaxy S9 or S9+ is different from official Magisk and it may brick your phone! But if you got to this point, you are fully rooted!

Step 20. Verify you have 100% full root by running any rooted apps such as Titanium Backup app on the Play Store and you should see a Superuser request window pop up like shown above.

Congratulations! You have fully rooted your Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus on latest Android 9.0 Pie!

 

Credits – Dr. Ketan on XDA for the OEM Issue Zip file

Have a question?

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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.