The root is finally here for the US variants of Galaxy Note 8 running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon CPUs actually. This basically includes AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and probably many others too. The root method/exploit has also been named SamFAIL, and it basically comes from XDA member part cyborg who actually discovered the exploit and another member me2151 who also tested and facilitated root on the US Note 8. In this article, we are going to talk about How to Root Note 8 Snapdragon Variants with At&t. Let’s begin!
The SamFAIL root actually works in such a way that it doesn’t trip the KNOX flag on your device. But, it does trigger SafetyNet check, so if you guys plan on using any apps that need passing Safety Net. Then it’ll most likely fail to run on your device rooted along with SamFAIL.
Also, the SamFAIL root method uses factory binary boot.img, the developer also says it’s important to boot the modified system on your Note 8. However, unfortunately, using a factory binary means that your Note 8’s battery would charge more than 80%. This is actually a major concern if you’re planning on root your Note 8 via SamFAIL. Because it’ll only leave you along with a 2640mAh battery power on your Note 8.
SamFAIL also doesn’t unlock the bootloader on your Note 8, and neither does it SIM unlock your phone. It only provide you root access via installing modified system files, nothing else.
Contents
How to Root Note 8 Snapdragon Variants with At&t
The SamFAIL Galaxy Note 8 root method is basically a lengthy process. Make sure you guys have ample battery juice on your Note 8 (at least 40%) before you start that. Also, you’ll need a Windows PC to be able to flash or install modified system files to your Note 8 via the Odin software.
Instructions
- Unzip the odin.zip file and run or also open the Odin PrinceComsy.exe file from the extracted files on your computer.
- Now unzip the N8_SamFAIL_System.zip files to a separate folder on your PC as well.
- Boot your Galaxy Note 8 into Download Mode:
- Switch off your phone.
- Tap and hold the “Power + Volume down + Bixby” buttons for a few seconds until you guys see a warning screen.
- tap on Volume Up on the warning screen in order to accept it and boot into Download mode.
- When your Note 8 is in download mode, connect it to the PC along with a USB cable. The Odin window on the PC should also detect the phone and show an “Added!!” message.
- Tap on the AP tab in the Odin window and choose the pre-rooted system.tar you extracted in Step 2 above.
- Now choose the Pit tab in Odin (on the left side) » tap on the PIT button and select the GREATQLTE_USA_SINGLE.pit from the files you extracted in Step 2 above.
- Select the Options tab in Odin (on the left side), and then tick the following checkboxes Auto Reboot, Re-Partition, F. Reset Time, and Nand Erase All.
- Click the Start button to begin flashing the modified system.tar file and the Pit file.
- When Odin is done flashing the files, it’ll then show a FAIL message on Odin. This is okay.
Further
- You can disconnect your phone from the PC. And then close the Comey Odin window.
- You can boot your Note 8 back into Download mode:
- Tap and hold the “Power + Volume Down + Bixby” buttons together for a while. Then this will get you in order to upload mode or download mode, either of them.
- Again, press and hold the “Power + Volume Down + Bixby” buttons together and you’ll boot into download mode as well. It’ll show you Emergency mode, however, this is okay.
- Now unzip the N8_SamFAIL_Firmware.zip file that you guys downloaded above to a separate folder on your PC.
- Run or Open the PrinceComsy.exe file as you did in Step 1 above.
- Connect your Galaxy Note 8 to the PC as well. You should see the “Added!!” message on the Odin window.
- Choose the Firmware files in Odin as follows:
- BL → bl.tar
- AP → ap.tar
- CP → cp.tar
- CSC → choose the CSC file you downloaded for your device from the links above.
└ This is different for all carrier variants so just make sure you download the CSC for your carrier only.
What’s more
- This time we’ll NOT add a Pit file or also change anything under the Options tab. Only the Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time checkboxes should actually be ticked in Odin.
- Tap on the Start button in order to begin flashing the firmware files.
- When you finished, your Note 8 will reboot into Recovery mode. If you guys followed the instructions above carefully, then you should not see any error on the recovery screen and you’re good in order to reboot to system from the recovery menu.
└ But, if you see a “Failed to mount /system(Invalid Argument)” error anywhere on the screen. Then you’ve to start over from the beginning actually. - When your Note 8 boots up, then you can set it up normally.
- Once setup is complete, then just open the SuperSU app from the app drawer. It’ll ask you to update the SU binary actually. Select the Normal method and then let the app do its stuff. You’ll see a popup to turn off KNOX, follow its instructions, and SU it was successfully updated and needs a reboot as well.
└ You may have to do it 2-3 times, however, it should succeed eventually.
One final step:
As per the developer, the system partition is not really closed during install because of the nature of the SamFAIL exploit. In order to fix any issues caused via that, you have to add the fsck.ext4 file to the /tmp/ directory and run it as well. This can be done easily via our newly found root (su) powers on the device. Just follow the instructions below:
- Just download fsck.ext4 from the downloads section above and then save it to a separate folder on your PC.
- Set up ADB and Fastboot on your PC.
- Turn on USB Debugging on your Note 8:
- Go to device Settings » About phone » Software information » and tap on the Build number field seven times in order to enable Developer options.
- Go back to Settings » choose Developer options (below About phone) » scroll down a bit. And click on the USB debugging toggle to turn it on.
- Connect your Note 8 to the PC, you guys may see a pop-up asking for your permission to authorize USB debugging, make be sure to allow it.
Further
- Open the folder where you guys saved fsck.ext4 file in Step 1 above, and then open a command window inside this folder as well. In order to do that, “Shift + Right click” on any empty white space inside the folder. And then choose “Open command window here” from the context menu as well.
- On the command window, you have to issue the following commands:
su
└ When you type SU, you may get a prompt on the screen in order to allow root access. Accept it.
chmod 755 /tmp/fsck.ext4 mount -o ro,remount /system /tmp/fsck.ext4 -f $(find /dev -name system)
Conclusion
Alright, That was all Folks! I hope you guys like this article and also find it helpful to you. Give us your feedback on it. Also if you guys have further queries and issues related to this article. Then let us know in the comments section below. We will get back to you shortly.
Have a Great Day!
Also See: Install Lineage OS 15.1 For Galaxy Grand Prime – Tutorial
