How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 [GUIDE]
Photo: RootGalaxyNote

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is officially confirmed to release in the worldwide markets in August, including the UK. It was announced earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress and has a striking resemblance to the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, which might often confuse users. The Galaxy Note 10.1 also comes with Samsung's exclusive S-Pen stylus like its younger 5.3in sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Galaxy Note 10.1 Availability and Price in UK

As The Inquirer notes, the UK retailer Expansys has already started receiving pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, suggesting that the tablet will be cheaper than expected. The 16GB Wi-Fi model for is priced at £399.99 with SIM free offer, while the 3G and Wi-Fi combo model will cost around £499.99. Both these models are available in black and white variants for pre-orders.

Galaxy Note 10.1 Features

Galaxy Note 10.1 also features Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, a 7,000mAh battery and available in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB models of internal storage. If you are one of those lucky users who already got their hands on Samsung's latest flagship Android tablet, then you are all set to enjoy the root access on your favourite device.

Thanks to XDA senior member zedomax, the rooting tool ports the su binary - busybox - and Chainfire's SuperSU into the stock firmware of the tablet. Although this is not a full custom ROM, it preserves the current apps, user data and settings on the tablet. It also holds the advantage of using the stock kernel, which does not increase your flash counter and hence will allow your device to receive OTA updates in the future, even after rooting. In other words, it will also allow you to fully unroot the device and preserve the hardware warranty on the device.

As XDA Developers notes, this rooting method uses ODIN to flash a firmware package and hence should work on all available variants (models) of the tablet. However, at the moment the root access is tested only on the International GT-N8000 variant (available in Europe, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and UAE). Users with other variants of the tablet may have to wait a bit longer or else install the same firmware and it should work (if you do not mind having European/Saudi Arabian or United Arab Emirates firmware).

Here is a step-by-step guide to Root Galaxy Note 10.1 [Courtesy: RootGalaxyNote].

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Step 1: Navigate to Settings > About Device and verify the build number of your Galaxy Note tablet. If the build number ends with XXALGA or XWALG7, then you have an European or Saudi Arabain/United Arab Emirates firmware.

Step 2: Reboot the device into ODIN download mode by holding down Power and Volume buttons together for about 15 seconds.

Step 3: Tap the Volume Up button, when you see the warning screen.

Step 4: Connect the tablet to your computer through an USB cable.

Step 5: Download ODIN and Stock ROM with root injected for your Build number. Unzip both files, you should get a folder with two files for ODIN and also another file that ends in ".tar".

Files to be Downloaded

XXALGA works for all European Galaxy Note 10.1 (same firmware for all, you can also use on any GT-N8000)

XXALG7 works for Saudi Arabian/United EMirates (same firmware for all, you can also use on any GT-N8000)

Step 6: Make sure that a yellow highlighted box with a random number is displayed on the screen. If not, download and install the Samsung USB drivers from the link provided above. Then unplug and plug back your Note 10.1 device and the yellow highlighted box should become visible now.

Step 7: Now tap PDA button and select the stock ROM file (.tar) you just downloaded. Then hit the Start button.

Step 8: Your Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet will start updating with the pre-rooted stock firmware. If the update fails for any reason, just reboot into ODIN download mode and repeat the steps again. Ensure that your tablet is directly connected to a USB port on your computer or laptop. Do not use a USB hub or USB 3.0 port.

Step 9: When you see the "PASS" message with green highlighted box on the screen, your Galaxy Note will begin rebooting.

Step 10: You will now find SuperSU superuser app in your app drawer, which confirms the tablet is successfully rooted.

You may try installing a rooted app like Titanium Backup app from Google Play Store to check if root access is working correctly on the tablet. You should now see a request for Superuser access and you are all set to enjoy the freedom of rooting on your Galaxy Note.

Samsung United Arab Emirates Android Congress