Are you deciding to invest in one of the latest Samsung smartwatches? You won’t be disappointed if you root the Gear 2 after you buy the watch. There are many reasons why one would want to root a smartwatch, and the main reason is still apps. The Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch runs on the Android Wear platform which is still very much a part of the same kind of Android you get on your smartphones. That means the Android OS is capable of many of the same things, including running apps. Sadly, there are many that won’t work on your smartwatch too, but with root access, you can change that. With the help from developers and Android Wear enthusiasts, we have people out there editing the apps, so they can run on your Android Wear-based Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch.

You can source more information from places online like XDA Developers to find out exactly what you can and cannot do with root access on the Gear 2 smartwatch.

Here is how to root Samsung Gear 2 on NE5 firmware:

REQUIREMENTS

• You can only follow this guide using the Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch.
• You need to be running the NE5 R380XXU0BNE5 firmware build before you can root using this guide.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

• You are voiding the warranty by following this guide to root Gear 2 smartwatches on NE5 firmware. You can unroot the smartwatch by flashing the stock ROM back on the watch, just like you normally would with a smartphone or tablet from the Sammy range.
• You must follow this guide using a Windows PC only. The Odin we have in the guide does not work for any other operating system. You should have no problem getting the Odin flash tool to work on any Windows operating system apart from the occasional version coming from a Windows Surface tablet like Windows RT. The Windows RT OS only allows you to install apps from the Windows App Store and therefore does not allow you to install the Odin app.
• You’ll need to enable the USB Debugging Mode before you can connect the Gear 2 smartwatch to the computer with the USB cable. Do that now by tapping the Settings > About > Build Number > Tap it seven times and it will let you know that you are now using the smartwatch as a developer. Now go back to the Settings and enter the Developer Options menu and tap on the box for enabling the USB Debugging Mode.

HOW TO ROOT SAMSUNG GEAR 2 RUNNING NE5 R380XXU0BNE5 FIRMWARE

1. Download the R380XXU0BNE5rootfs_root.tar file directly to the computer and drag it over to the desktop from its default downloads location.
2. Download the Odin flash tool for your computer from here.
3. Extract both files on the desktop of the computer by right-clicking and choosing the “extract here” option.
4. Run the Odin executable by clicking over the file you just extracted.
5. Turn off the Gear 2 and reboot it in download mode by pressing the usual three button combination: Home + Power + Volume Down.
6. Connect the Gear 2 to the computer with the USB cable.
7. Click the AP button and browse the desktop for the R380XXU0BNE5rootfs_root.tar file.
8. Click the Start button and wait for the flashing to finish before you unplug your smartwatch from the computer.

Get ready to start installing your root-requiring applications from various sources around the web. Remember to install apps safely. While you might be excited and ready to dive in, always take it slow and read the reviews before downloading. Anything that is not popular and does not have many comments should be avoided as potential malware. Feel free to link any apps you want to know more about in the comments below and we can offer assistance.