Samsung devices like any other OEM’s smartphone comes with a locked bootloader. And if you are into rooting then, you should know that for rooting and gaining admin privileges, you need to have an unlocked bootloader. But, Samsung devices in the US are pretty difficult to root due to the security by Samsung Knox. Because Samsung Knox makes it annoying as it tends to break a lot of things. However, thanks to XDA developers jrkruse, users of the Snapdragon variant of Galaxy Note 8 can now root their devices.

As in this post, we will guide you on how to root your Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Snapdragon variant. Note that this post is an in-depth guide on the complete root process for the Snapdragon variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone. We would recommend you to follow the guide carefully and stepwise to avoid any issues on your smartphone. So, without any further ado, let us get straight into the article itself;

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Snapdragon variant?

Below is the list of some important points that you need to keep in mind before you go ahead and root your device.

Steps to Root

  • Firstly, download the combination ROM from the above download section and extract it.
  • Also, download the N8_Root zip file and extract it.
  • Now reboot your phone into the stock recovery. Reboot to the bootloader to make sure that your device is connected to the PC.
  • Download the Odin tool and in the AP Slot, load the downloaded combination ROM and flash it.
  • Once done, boot into the combo firmware.
  • Once your phone is connected to your PC, locate the APPS_INSTALLER .bat in the N8_ROOT folder and run the bat. This will install some apps on your phone.
  • When the apps are installed, reboot the Galaxy Note 8 phone.
  • Once the phone boots up, choose Pixel Launcher as it is easier to find stuff.
  • Open the App drawer and click on the Factory IME app.
  • Type *#9900#, which will open a new window with lots of different tests.
  • Scroll down to AUDIOCORE DEBUG and open it.
  • This will open another window where you need to select TEST HELPER. This will open another window. Select Utils.
  • In the Utils window, go to the box that says adb command and type
  • chmod -R 0777 /persist
  • (this is chmod then space then hypen then capitol R then space then 0777 then space then forward slash then persist)
  • Hit the Enter button on your keyboard then, click the send button to the right of the text box.
  • It will appear that it is doing nothing but, leave the window open and make sure that your phone is connected to the computer and is recognized.
  • Under the N8_Root folder run the ROOT_INSTALLER.bat. This will copy some stuff to your phone.
  • When done, your phone will reboot.
  • Once the phone boots up, you can check if you are rooted by running flashfire.
  • Reboot the phone again and access safestrap.
  • Now from here, you can proceed to install a rooted Nougat ROM.

Install Rooted Nougat ROM

  • Extract the system.img from the Rooted_N950USQS3BRB4.rar file.
  • Copy the extracted system.img to your phone.
  • Reboot to safestarp and flash system image.
  • Now, reboot to download and flash BL_N950_NOUGAT_V7.tar.md5 in Odin tool.
  • If you are coming from Android Pie ROM, you are required to flash Safestrap for Nougat zip to keep from bootlooping into safestrap.

Recognized Contributor jrkruse, spent countless hours working on this guide to make root possible for the Snapdragon Galaxy Note 8.

Pre-requisites

  • This trick uses the combo firmware in order to root your Galaxy Note 8 Snapdragon model.
  • Samsung Knox is not tripped in this method.
  • The bootloader of your Galaxy Note 8 will still be locked.
  • Works on latest rev’s from rev7
  • After rooting the combo firmware, from there you can flash a rooted Nougat ROM or run my Stock Pie Rom with safestrap installed.

Downloads

  • Combination ROM

  • N8_Root

  • Odin

  • Rooted_N950USQS3BRB4.rar

  • BL_N950_NOUGAT_V7.tar.7z

  • Safestrap-4.10-B03-GREATQLTE-PIE.zip

  • Safestrap-4.10-B03-GREATQLTE-NOUGAT.zip

So, there you have it from my side in this post. I hope you guys like this post and were able to root your Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Snapdragon variant using the above-mentioned methods. Let us know in the comments below if you come across any issues or errors. Until the next post…Cheers!