Rooting the Samsung Galaxy J5 is most commonly done via the CF-Auto-Root by Chainfire. The developer, Chainfire, has long had a stranglehold over the Samsung devices, and even though his rooting method is more of a soft rooting procedure, it’s still a respected way to root a device.

What’s more, the CF-Auto-Root tool doesn’t rely on a custom recovery to work, so you can root the Samsung Galaxy J5 smartphone without any custom recovery installed at all. Anyone wanting a custom recovery on the Samsung Galaxy J5 smartphone can install one either before or after the rooting procedure.

These are the instructions to root Samsung Galaxy J5 SM-J500M on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop:

REQUIREMENTS

• You must have the Samsung Galaxy J5 smartphone with the SM-J500M model number to follow this guide. You may check what your J5’s model number is by tapping on the Menu > Settings > About Device > Model Number.
• The rooting exploit in this guide by Chainfire is based on LMY48B.J500MUBU1AOJ1 firmware which is part of the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update in some regions. You do not need to head to Sam Mobile and flash that same build number on your device. You just use it as an indicator only. Some of the Samsung smartphone like the J5 might not boot older images.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

• There is no need to unlock the bootloader on your Samsung Galaxy J5 before following this guide with the CF-Auto-Root package.
• Enable the USB Debugging Mode from the Samsung Galaxy JK5 by tapping on the Menu > Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging Mode.
• Sometimes J5 owners might not find the Developer Options menu available from the Settings. For all of those times, you should tap on the Menu > Settings > About Device > Build Number 7 times.

HOW TO ROOT SAMSUNG GALAXY J5 SM-J500M RUNNING ANDROID 5.1.1 LOLLIPOP

1. Download the CF-Auto-Root tool for the J500M running the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update from here.
2. Download the Odin flashing tool from here.
3. Download the Samsung USB Drivers and install them on your computer.
4. Extract the files on the desktop by right-clicking on the files > extract here from the menu.
5. Double-click the Odin file and watch it open on the desktop,
6. Boot the Samsung Galaxy J5 in download mode.
7. Connect the Samsung Galaxy J5 to the computer with the USB cable.
8. Click the PDA or the AP button you get from the Odin application on the computer and browse the desktop location for the extracted rooting exploit ending in tar.md5 for your J5 smartphone.
9. Do not adjust any of the default settings from the Odin flashing tool.
10. Click the Start button when you are ready for the flashing and wait until you get the pass message from the Odin user-interface.

The Samsung Galaxy J5 will now boot automatically to recovery mode and apply the finishing touches for rooting your device. Any J5 device that does not make it to the recovery mode will not be rooted with SuperSU installed or enabled. You can make it happen by booting directly to recovery mode manually using the hardware button combination should you need to use it for booting recovery.