The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been around for years, but would you believe me if I told you there’s still new variants pumping out of the factories? Well, it’s true. The folks over in Korea recently have a new device in their smartphone line-up namely the Galaxy S3 LTE SHV-E210K and today I’ll show you how to open the device away from the default factory restrictions by opening up the system internals. We know this as gaining root access which allows us to customize the look of the device, boost battery performance, install custom ROMs, custom firmware and even a bunch of extra apps you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to use.

The great news is you don’t have to search through repositories like you would with Cydia for the iPhone. Everything is available from the Google play store including apps that would help you overclock the CPU for added performance, so let’s take a look at how to open the operating system.

The method we are using today is the CF-Auto-Root package from Chainfire. As you likely know already, his work is fantastic because it delivers users with an experience that’s close to the stock Android (plus bloatware), while still leaving users with the unchained OS. Furthermore, his guides are relatively easy to follow, so you don’t have to be an advanced Android user for the following.

• Backup your Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE smartphone by using the built-in feature within the OS, or by installing Samsung Kies and third-party apps. There are many apps to help you ought from Google Play including Helium for Android.
• Those of you preferring to install third-party application from Google Play can use AirDroid for backing up Android apps, SMS backup and restore for making copies of the messages you can’t live without, backup the call history using the Call Logs backup and restore app and more.
• You can back up the Google data, Gmail data and contacts by syncing the device with the Google Sync feature.
• Samsung Kies is also a great way to back up the data such as phone contacts. However, you should disable the Kies utility before starting the guide so the program doesn’t interfere with the Odin app.
• We are using the official Odin tool which is made by official Samsung developers. It’s not known as the number one tool for flashing official firmware files, but it is a common utility to use for adding root access and other customization ideas.
• Enable USB Debugging Mode from the Developer Options menu. Of course, you cannot find that until you turn on the smartphone and navigate to the settings menu.
• Have the latest USB drivers installed on your Windows computer. You’ll get them from Kies or by visiting the official website.

How to root the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE SHV-E210K

1. Download the CF-Root package from here.
2. Download the Odin program from here.
3. Extract the files to the desktop of the computer.
4. Open the Odin app and leave it there.
5. Boot the S3 LTE in download mode.
6. Connect the phone to the computer using the USB cable.
7. Wait for Odin to say “added” and change the color of the ID: COM port.
8. Search for the AP button and click the mouse.
9. Upload the tar.md5 file to this button.
10. Do not check the re-partition box.
11. Leave the Auto Reboot and F Reset Time options.
12. Click the start button.
13. Do not touch any buttons on the phone or use any computer program until the flashing completes.
    – it can take around ten minutes.
14. Wait for Odin to show you the “pass” message before disconnecting.
15. The smartphone will reboot itself; it may take several more minutes than usual or the initial boot process.