January 29, 2014

How to Root Galaxy S4 Mini (Verizon) SCH-I435 on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Without Tripping the KNOX Warranty Void Counter

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini (Verizon) SCH-I435 users who wish to root their devices running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, may follow the tutorial below.

This tutorial uses Root Exploit package released by Senior XDA-Developers, k1mu. The Root Exploit package allows Galaxy S4 Mini users to root their devices easily without tripping the KNOX warranty void counter.

Disclaimer: We and the developer of this rooting procedures shall not be held responsible if any undesirable outcomes may happen to your device. use of this root guide is solely at your own risk!

Note: This method will NOT set the KNOX warranty void flag. It will set the "Custom" flag, but that's nothing to worry about. Tested working on the Galaxy S4 Mini (Verizon) SCH-I435 with Android 4.2.2 VRUAMK5 Jelly Bean.

Pre-requisites
1. Install USB Drivers for Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini on the computer.
2. Enable USB Debugging Mode on the phone by navigating to Settings >> Developer Options.
3. Make a backup of all your important data before following the guide.
4. Ensure the battery of the phone is charged more than 80 percent.
5. The Root Exploit package works only on the Verizon version of the Galaxy S4 Mini (SCH-I435). Applying this to any incorrect variant might brick the device. Verify the model number of the Galaxy S4 Mini by navigating to Settings >> About Phone.

File Required
1. Root Exploit (saferoot.zip) - Mirror Link

Steps to Root Galaxy S4 Mini (Verizon) SCH-I435 Running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Step 1: Extract the Root Exploit package to the computer using WinRAR/7-Zip/WinZip or any other extracting tool.
Step 2: Connect the Galaxy S4 Mini to the computer using USB cable.
Step 3: On the computer, navigate to the extracted directory and double click "install.bat" file. You will see command prompt window which will detect your device and automatically run the scripts.

If you are using Linux or Mac OS X, navigate to the extracted directory in a terminal window and type "sh ./install.sh".

Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions. Once the rooting procedure completes, your phone will reboot automatically.

That's it! Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini (Verizon) SCH-I435 with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean is now rooted successfully. Open the app drawer of the phone and check for an app called SuperSU. Verify the root status of the device by downloading Root Checker app from Google Play Store.

Note: Many Samsung devices store a flash counter that keeps track of how many times you have flashed custom firmwares to your device. Triangle Away can be used to reset the flash counter to zero.

How to Fix "Unfortunately, SuperSU has stopped"?
Step 1: Download and install the latest APK of SuperSU on your device.
Step 2: Open SuperSU app (update the binary if prompted) and allow it to disable KNOX.
Step 3: Reboot your device.

Thank's to all fellas at XDA who first tried out this rooting technique. This method was originally posted via XDA-Developers original thread.

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