[Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Guides, News, & Discussion] AHE_XDA:
Requirements & Instructions

HARDWARE & SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Windows Laptop/PC with more than 25GB of available storage space

SM-T720 Tablet (Galaxy Tab S5e)

Samsung USB Type-C Cable (as found in the original packaging)

WIFI connection (and if necessary, login details)

SECTION ONE - LOG-OUT & BACK-UP YOUR DATA

Log out of your

Samsung

and

Google

account(s).

Back-up ANY and ALL data as following this guide will result in COMPLETE data loss.

SECTION TWO - DOWNLOAD THE RIGHT UTILITIES

In order to root, you require several utilities.

They are as followed:

Samsung USB Drivers

- Provides connectivity between Laptop/PC and your device.

7-Zip

- An open-source file archiver.

Odin 3.13.1

- Used to flash original or custom Samsung firmware.

Frija

- Downloads the latest available Samsung firmware.

Magisk Manager (APK)

- Helps obtain/manage and extend root options. Download the latest .APK (Application Package).

Click on the

UNDERLINED NAME

of the above utilities to download them to your local Laptop/PC.

PRO-TIP: Create sub-directories, like pictured below, and organize your downloads accordingly:

PRO-TIP: Consider a donation to Frija, Magisk or your favorite developers as a token of goodwill and to help ensure future development efforts.

SECTION THREE - DOWNLOAD THE RIGHT FIRMWARE

In order to root or, at a later time, return to original factory settings; you MUST have a local copy of firmware.

This requires knowing our CSC; a three letter code that Samsung devices use to comply with local telecommunication standards and determine device-specific features or updates.

To locate your CSC, perform the following:

On your device, go to 'Settings'

From 'Settings', scroll down to 'About Tablet'.

Press on 'About Tablet' followed by a press on 'Software Information'

Scroll downwards until you see 'Service Provider SW Ver.'

There are three lines.

The third line will read similar to the following:

TUR//

Those three characters (e.g., TUR) represent the CSC code for your region.

PRO-TIP: Your CSC may OR may not be the same as the example; that's expected and perfectly normal.

Open Frija, which you downloaded under 'Section One', and input your model and CSC.

Make sure 'Auto' is selected and click on 'Check Update'.

If the right values are inputted, Frija will look similar to the following:

Click on 'Download' and select a location on your Laptop/PC.

When the download is complete, Frija will verify and decrypt the firmware.

Once finished, Frija will look similar to this example:

PRO-TIP: If you can't get Frija to open or download, right click and select 'Run as administrator'.

SECTION FOUR - UNLOCK THE BOOTLOADER

THIS STEP WILL REMOVE ALL DATA FROM YOUR DEVICE. PLEASE REFER TO 'SECTION ONE' FOR MORE DETAILS.

Power off the device.

Power on your Laptop/PC and login into your Windows account.

Connect the USB cable to your Laptop/PC but NOT to your device.

On the device, hold the 'Volume Up' and 'Volume Down' keys at the SAME time.

Connect the USB Cable from your Laptop/PC to the device.

You MUST hold BOTH keys during AND after inserting the USB Cable to receive the following warning:

PRO-TIP: In SOME cases, you may also need to hold 'POWER' as well.

To continue towards unlocking your bootloader, hold the 'Volume Up' key for approximately 4 to 5 seconds (or until the screen goes black).

After 4 to 5 seconds have passed (or if the screen went black), release the 'Volume Up' key and you will be presented with one last warning:

Press and click on the 'Volume Up' key to finalize your decision.

The device will factory reset and from now on, until the bootloader is re-locked, you will receive this warning:

Leave the device to reinitialize. This will take approximately three minutes. The device will erase itself and you will notice several reboots. Afterwards the only activity you'll see is a pulsing 'SAMSUNG' logo. Eventually you will be presented with the 'Let's Go!' set-up screen. Set the device aside for now.

SECTION FIVE - INSTALLING 7-ZIP

If you correctly followed the first FOUR sections, you now have the required utilities, firmware and an unlocked bootloader.

In order to proceed, you MUST install 7-Zip to extract and manipulate key files required for root.

If you have prior experience with 7-Zip or an alternate compression manager, SKIP this step and proceed to 'SECTION SIX'.

It IS enough to double-click the EXECUTABLE and install it; you need NOT configure anything.

However, for a visual reference, follow this

LINK

to see 7-Zip in use.

Alternately, for technical support and assistance

SPECIFIC

to 7-Zip, use this

LINK

. Search thoroughly before posting.

SECTION SIX - EXTRACTING FIRMWARE

Like the CSC code, mentioned in 'SECTION THREE', the name of your download will differ slightly but 'SM-T720' and 'AP_T720' will be in the file name:

Using 7-Zip, you must extract the following file:

AP_T720XXU1ASF1_CL15813856_QB24038915_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT_meta_OS9.tar.md5

From the following ZIP container:

SM-T720_1_20190603182427_gegcc1ebw1_fac.zip

Right click on your ZIP container, navigate to '7-Zip' and, from the sub-menu, select 'Extract Here'.

7-Zip will begin to decompress the necessary files and will result in the following output:

Delete ALL files except for the following:

SM-T720_1_20190603182427_gegcc1ebw1_fac.zip

AP_T720XXU1ASF1_CL15813856_QB24038915_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT_meta_OS9.tar.md5

Rename the extension of 'AP_T720XX.....tar.md5' to 'AP_T720XX.....tar' and ignore the warning provided by Windows.

When finished, your folder contents will look similar to this:

The AP file is required for root.

PRO-TIP: Keep the ZIP container should you ever want to revert back to original factory settings. If not, delete it and download again later using Frija.

SECTION SEVEN - ENABLE WIFI, TRANSFER FILES & INSTALL MAGISK MANAGER

In 'SECTION FOUR', the device was left to reinitialize.

This means you have a device that requires set-up:

Do NOT log into your Samsung or Google account. The ONLY thing required is WIFI:

PRO-TIP: WIFI and Magisk work together to help achieve root access, provide updates and for module repository access.

Once you've arrived at the home screen, you need to enable 'Developer Options' to ensure the bootloader is unlocked.

To verify your bootloader is unlocked, perform the following:

On your device, go to 'Settings'.

From 'Settings', scroll down to 'About Tablet'.

Press on 'Software Information'.

Scroll downwards until you see 'Build Number'.

Tap 'Build Number' seven times to enable 'Developer Options'.

Press the back button on the navigation bar to return to 'Settings'.

Underneath 'About Tablet', you will now see 'Developer Options'.

Open this and locate 'OEM Unlocking'.

If you've followed the outlined steps, your screen should match this example:

PRO-TIP: If your screen does NOT match the example, it is possible you are NOT connected to WIFI or you did NOT successfully unlock the bootloader. If all these conditions are true, restart the device and check again. If the issue persists, create a NEW response in the thread.

Now connect the device to your Laptop/PC and, when prompted, 'Allow access to tablet data'.

Using Windows Explorer, copy the following files to the 'Download' folder of your device:

MagiskManager-v7.3.2.apk

AP_T720XXU1ASF1_CL15813856_QB24038915_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT_meta_OS9.tar

Due to the size of the AP file, this may take several minutes on a low-end Laptop/PC.

Once the copy is complete, go to your device and double press on 'MagiskManager-v7.3.2.apk' to initiate the install process.

PRO-TIP: Due to changes introduced in Android Oreo, you MUST allow permission to install applications (APKs) not obtained from the PlayStore.

Click on 'Settings' to open the 'Install unknown apps' screen and toggle 'Allow from this source' on.

Press the back button on the navigation bar to allow the installation:

SECTION EIGHT - PATCH YOUR AP FILE

Open your app tray by swiping up and open Magisk Manager.

You will see a RED QUESTION MARK and the following error:

'Magisk is not installed.'

Click on 'Install' and, when prompted by Magisk, select 'Install' again:

Magisk will provide another prompt:

Choose 'Select and Patch a File' to proceed.

Magisk will now prompt for device access:

Click on 'Allow' and the internal Device File Explorer will open to the 'Recent' tab:

Click on the top app bar and select 'Downloads' to find your AP file:

And then:

Once inside the 'Downloads' folder, select your AP file to begin the flash process.

Once the flash process is complete, the status on the top title bar will change from 'Flashing' to 'Done!':

SECTION NINE - RETRIEVAL & DISSECTION

With our AP file patched by Magisk, you must now locate and transfer it back to our Laptop/PC.

If you have not already done so, reconnect the device to your Laptop/PC:

Open Windows Explorer, double-click on 'Tab S5e', double-click again on 'Tablet' and open the 'Downloads' folder:

Under 'Downloads', you will see THREE files:

AP_T720XXU1ASF1_CL15813856_QB24038915_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT_meta_OS9.tar

magisk_patched.tar

magisk_install_log_2019-07-10T225845Z

PRO-TIP: 'magisk_install_log' is an output of the AP file patching process. If you encountered ANY errors, keep a copy and raise a question in the thread.

Delete 'AP_T720XX.....tar' and copy 'magisk_patched.tar' back to your Laptop/PC; preferably to the 'FIRMWARE' sub-directory suggested in 'SECTION TWO'.

Due to the size of the 'magisk_patched.tar' file, this may take several minutes on a low-end Laptop/PC.

Once the transfer is complete, let's make room in our 'FIRMWARE' folder by deleting the 'AP_T720XX.....tar' file.

This should leave you with TWO files:

SM-T720_1_20190603182427_gegcc1ebw1_fac.zip

magisk_patched.tar

Move OR delete the 'SM-T720.....fac.zip' container so you can focus exclusively on 'magisk_patched.tar'.

With NO files left except for 'magisk_patched.tar', you must now use 7-Zip again to extract its contents.

PRO-TIP: Refer to 'SECTION FIVE' if you need a refresher on 7-Zip.

Right-click on the 'magisk_patched.tar' container, navigate to '7-Zip' and, from the sub-menu, select 'Extract Here'.

Once all files are extracted, your output will look similar to, if NOT exactly like, this:

Now DELETE these files:

dtbo.img.lz4

magisk_patched.tar

modem.bin.lz4

persist.img.ext4.lz4

system.img.ext4.lz4

userdata.img.ext4.lz4

vendor.img.ext4.lz4

In order to have the following:

meta-data [FOLDER]

boot.img

recovery.img

vbmeta.img

If done correctly, your folder output will look like this:

SECTION TEN - CREATE YOUR TAR

In 'SECTION NINE', you organized the following list of files/folder:

meta-data [FOLDER]

boot.img

recovery.img

vbmeta.img

Using Windows Explorer, navigate to your 'Firmware' folder (or whatever location you used).

Now, using 7-Zip, you need to compress these files into a TAR container.

This means you must select ALL files.

This can be achieved by using CRTL + A on your keyboard or simply by highlighting them all with a left-click:

Right-click on the selected files, navigate to '7-Zip' and, from the sub-menu, select 'Add to archive...':

If done correctly, the following screen will present itself:

Only THREE things MUST be done to complete our TAR:

Change the filename to 'magisk_patched'

WITHOUT

quotations

Change the 'Archive format' to 'TAR'

Click on 'OK' to confirm your decisions and begin compression:

PRO-TIP: If, for ANY reason, you don't want to keep these files, you can select 'Delete files after compression' before clicking on 'OK'.

With this step complete, you are left with the following output:

SECTION ELEVEN - DOWNLOAD MODE

Using the 'Power' key on your device , select 'Power off':

Disconnect the USB cable or the device will switch to 'Charging Mode':

On your device, hold 'Volume Up' and 'Power' together until the 'Android Recovery' screen appears:

'VOLUME UP' will navigate upwards, 'VOLUME DOWN' will navigate downwards, and 'POWER' will highlight and confirm your choice.

PRO-TIP: You may have to press 'POWER' twice.

Highlight and select 'Reboot to bootloader' to properly put your device into 'Download Mode':

Reconnect the device back to your Laptop/PC.

SECTION TWELVE - ODIN PREPARATION AND FLASH

Now, because recovery is unavailable, you must use Odin to flash your TAR file to introduce root.

In 'SECTION TWO', you downloaded Odin and created a folder for it.

You must now go to that folder, or whatever folder you opted to use, and decompress Odin.

Right-click on the 'Odin3_v3.13.1.zip' container, navigate to '7-Zip' and, from the sub-menu, select 'Extract Here'.

This will create a sub-directory called 'Odin3_v3.13.1'.

Double-click and you will be presented with the following output:

Double-click on 'Odin3 v3.13.1.exe' to launch the application.

You will receive a prompt written in both English and Korean. Click 'OK' to close the warning.

With Odin open, locate and click on the second tab called 'Options' and uncheck 'Auto Reboot':

When you click on the 'AP' button, Windows File Explorer will automatically launch.

As per 'SECTION NINE', and using Windows File Explorer, navigate to the location you created and saved 'magisk_patched.tar'.

Double-click 'magisk_patched.tar' (or alternatively, highlight the file and select 'Open') to have it load into the AP slot:

With all these steps completed and your device connected,

STOP

and read below:

A green navigation bar on Odin, and a white bar on you device, will appear.

This indicates that key files are being written to your device.

Irregardless of how quick or slow the progress bar is,

DO NOT

disconnect the device.

The device, no matter if the flash was successful or not, will do NOTHING because you unchecked 'Auto Reboot'.

Wait for 'PASS!' to appear in Odin before you disconnect your device.

If everything was done correctly, Odin will look like this:

Your device, on the other hand, will have the following bar across its screen:

Now disconnect the device,

STOP

and read below until you feel comfortable enough to execute the instructions:

Hold 'Volume Down' and 'Power' until the screen goes black (also known as a 'Soft Reset').

The moment the screen goes black, continue to hold down 'Power' but

QUICKLY

switch so now only 'Volume Up' is being held.

Do this until you enter 'Android Recovery'.

As outlined in 'SECTION ELEVEN', use the 'Volume Keys' & 'Power' to navigate the menu.

First select 'Wipe Data/Factory Reset' and, upon completion, choose 'Reboot System Now'.

Your device will reboot several times. This is expected behavior.

If everything was done correctly, your device will reinitialize and require set-up again:

SECTION THIRTEEN - ROOT VERIFICATION

Like 'SECTION SEVEN', you need WIFI to complete set-up but mustn't log into ANY accounts.

Also, like 'SECTION SEVEN', you will need to install Magisk Manager again.

Once the first two steps are complete, power-off the device:

With the device powered off AND disconnected, hold down 'Volume Up' and 'Power' until you see the following warning:

WARNING: From now on, on EVERY BOOT or REBOOT, you

MUST

do this if you want Magisk enabled.

Release all keys and allow the device to boot.

Once Android is loaded, launch Magisk from your app drawer.

If you are prompted to update, do so but select 'Direct Install (Recommended)' and remember the key sequence on reboot:

Magisk Manager, if set-up properly AND with root enabled, will look like this:

Magisk Manager, if

NOT

set-up properly OR with root disabled, will look like this:

PRO-TIP: To further validate root, you can use an application like 'Root Checker' to verify:

You may now log into your accounts and finish configuring the device.