ARL-TN-0706 ● SEP 2015

US Army Research Laboratory

Rooting an Android Device

by Ken F Yu

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.
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ARL-TN-0706 ● SEP 2015

US Army Research Laboratory

Rooting an Android Device

by Ken F Yu

Computational and Information Sciences Directorate, ARL

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.
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4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Rooting an Android Device

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W911QX-14-F-0020

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6. AUTHOR(S)

Ken F Yu

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US Army Research Laboratory

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ARL-TN-0706

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Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT

This document provides a step-by-step guide on how to root an Android device, which allows the user to have “superuser” 

capability with the device.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

ELIDe, Android, pcap

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Ken F Yu

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Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8/98)

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iii

Contents

1. Overview 1

2. Configurations Used 1

3. Rooting Android Devices 1

3.1 Step 1—Set Up Android ADT 2

3.2 Step 2—Set Up USB Driver on Host Computer 2

3.3 Step 3—Enable Android Debugging 2

3.4 Step 4—Get Saferoot 2

3.5 Step 5—Rooting Android 2

4. Conclusion 3

5. Notes 4

Distribution List 5
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1. Overview

The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how to gain administrative 

privileges on an Android device. The term “rooting” is defined as a process of 

gaining administrative commands and functions of an operating system (OS). In 

order to monitor live network traffic on any Linux-based or, in this case, Android 

system, it is necessary to have administrative rights to gain access to any of the 

hardware devices, such as the Wi-Fi connection.

2. Configurations Used

The following is a list of software and hardware used for development and testing:

• Operating System: Red Hat Enterprise Linux, version 6.5

• Android Development Tools (ADT), version 22.3.0-887826

• Saferoot1

• Samsung Galaxy S3

• Dell Precision T7400

o 8-GB Memory

o Intel Xeon X5472 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 64-bit quad and dual-core

 3.0 GHz

3. Rooting Android Devices

The rooting method used for the Samsung Galaxy S3 is called Saferoot1—a wellknown, open- source software. According to the Saferoot website, the process of 

rooting the device may void the manufacturer’s warranty; therefore, use this feature 

at your own risk. Because any manufacturer can have its own modified version of 

an Android OS, there is no guarantee that the Saferoot method will work with all 

Android devices. Moreover, this Saferoot rooting method is applicable for the 

Samsung Galaxy S3 as well as many other Android devices, but there are several 

steps involved in rooting an Android device (as shown on the next page). Most of 

these steps will be the same for all Android devices.
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3.1 Step 1—Set Up Android ADT

Download the Android Software Development Kit (SDK).2 Install the ADT from 

the SDK.

3.2 Step 2—Set Up USB Driver on Host Computer

Before any communication between the host and Android device can be 

established, the host computer must have the ability to “access” the Android device. 

Fortunately, the Red Hat-based system already has a built-in USB driver to access 

the Samsung device. For other OS host computers, the USB driver may have to be 

downloaded from the manufacturer’s support site. Once the USB driver is installed, 

the OS should be able to recognize the device. When the connection between the 

host client and the Android device is made, use Android Debugging Bridge (adb) 

by typing “adb devices” and it should list the device as part of the connected list.

3.3 Step 3—Enable Android Debugging

Before an Android device can be used for rooting, the debugging mode must be 

turned on. To enable this feature on an Android device, go to “Settings” and then 

“About Phone” or “About tablet”. Find “Build Number”, then tab on the “Build 

Number” 7 times or until develop mode is enabled. Once the developer option is 

visible, make sure the “USB Debugging” mode is checked.

3.4 Step 4—Get Saferoot

Download the Saferoot1 package. Unzip the archived file. 

3.5 Step 5—Rooting Android

The Saferoot package should contain scripts for installing tools that grant root

privileges for both Windows and Linux. For the Linux system, open a shell window 

and use “cd” command to change the directory where the Saferoot files are. Type 

the “sh ./install.sh” command, and the install script will ask for installation of 

BusyBox.3 BusyBox is an open-source program that provides another set of Linux 

shell utilities, which the average Unix user would expect to see on a typical 

Unix/Linux system. If the shell (terminal emulator or adb shell) is not needed, then 

you may not want to install BusyBox; however, it is advisable to install BusyBox.

SuperSU is part of the BusyBox installation:

• If SuperSU asks you to update the su binary, choose the “Normal” method. 

• If SuperSU asks you to disable KNOX, allow it.
3

This method will not set the KNOX warranty-void flag, according to the author of 

Saferoot. However, it will set the “Custom” flag, which should not affect phone 

operation.

Ensure that the phone or tablet is on and active while the rooting process is 

underway, and monitor the Android device and host computer for progress of the 

script to determine whether the installation succeeded or failed. Do not unplug the 

phone unless prompted by the rooting script. Be sure to leave the device connected 

to the host until the process has been completed. If the device is successfully rooted, 

the “su” utility should be installed and allow root access to the device using “adb”. 

To verify whether the device was properly rooted, type “adb shell” on the host 

client, then the “$” prompt should appear. Type the “su” command, and the prompt 

should change to “#” to show that root access has been granted.

4. Conclusion

This document serves as a tutorial on how to grant user administrative privilege to 

an Android device by employing the rooting method. Once it is rooted, the device 

will allow the user to freely access and manipulate all software within the device. 

Caution must be taken when employing this method.
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5. Notes

1. Saferoot: Root for VRUEMJ7, MK2, and Android 4.3. [accessed 2014 Dec 

04] http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758.

2. Get the Android SDK. [accessed 2014 Dec 04] 

http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html.

3. BusyBox. [accessed 2014 Dec 04] http://www.busybox.net.
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