The Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone has officially started to lag behind in today’s hardware benchmarks that come with newer handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S7 by quite some margin. We can help eliminate that gap by rooting the Android operating system that is running on the S4 and installing some root apps to help with increasing the performance. There are a few ways people can improve a smartphone by rooting it, including freeing up more memory space by removing the system apps, altering the frequency coming from the CPU and just making the device run more efficiently. These sorts of tweaks can make a big difference, but nobody can take advantage of them until he or she find a way to root the device in question.

The following guide demonstrates how to root Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9515L smartphones when they are running on the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop software updates by flashing Chainfire’s brilliant one-click rooting tool that he named CF-Auto-Root.

REQUIREMENTS

• You must have the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone that comes with the GT-I9515L model number to use this guide. Any of the other Samsung Galaxy S4 model numbers will likely get bricked by following this guide.
• You must have a computer that is running on the Windows operating system before they can use this guide because the Odin flashing application does not run unless it picks up on the fact that people are trying to run it on a Windows PC. Without the flashing tool running, there is no way to flash the files. Those individuals who are desperate to get Odin working away from Windows might have some luck getting it to run on a virtual machine which is a common workaround for most situations out there when people need Windows. A Windows virtual machine can be run on Mac OS X and Linux computer to help give programs the Windows environment they need to run.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

• Chainfire was running the LRX22C.I9515LUBU1BOJ1 firmware build number when he created the rooting tool found in this guide for the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9515L smartphone. Nobody else needs to be running on that same firmware build number along with him. All Samsung Galaxy S4 owners need to do is make sure they have the GT-I9515L model number and that the phone is running on the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop software updates. Both of those details can be found by heading to the Menu > Settings > About Device menu on the phone.
• Anyone with a Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone that does not have the Developer Options menu unlocked needs to get that done now by tapping on the Menu > Settings > About Device > Build Number seven times. It should be seven times that unlocks it but continue tapping until a message appears stating that users are now using the device as a developer which, of course, means that the Developer Options menu is now unlocked.
• From within the unlocked Developer Options menu, we need to enable the USB Debugging Mode. We do that by tapping on the Menu > Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging. Once the box for the USB Debugging Mode is checked, leave the Developer Options menu, and the Android software is intelligent enough to remember the settings chosen by yourself.
• You will need to install the Samsung USB Drivers on the computer that is using the guide to run the Odin flashing tool if you don’t have them installed already. By installing the Samsung USB Drivers, we are then able to connect our Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones to the computer with the USB cable and get the Odin flashing app to detect the smartphone and understand that is it plugged in and ready to flash. Without the USB Drivers working there is no flashing.

HOW TO ROOT SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 GT-I9515L RUNNING ON ANDROID 5.0.1 LOLLIPOP SOFTWARE UPDATES

1. Download the CF-Auto-Root tool for the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9515L smartphone when it runs on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop.
2. The file you just downloaded end ups in the Downloads folder; open the Downloads folder and then extract the rooting file to the downloads folder.
3. Once the rooting file is extracted, the flashable rooting file and the Odin flashing tool that allows us to flash the rooting file are then both available from the Downloads folder. Double-click on the Odin flashing tool executable file to get the flashing tool to open.
4. Boot the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9515L smartphone into the download mode and then connect it to the computer with the USB cable that is used for charging the battery when it goes flat.
5. Provided everyone has run the Samsung USB Drivers, the Odin flashing app user interface should now light up with a blue or yellow color which is letting us know that the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone is connected securely. Any trouble here is usually because of the Samsung USB Drivers.
6. Click the AP button found on the Odin user interface and then browse through to the downloads folder and choose to upload the CF-Auto-Root file that ends in the tar.md5 file extension to this location in Odin.
7. Do not make any changes to the default settings that we get with the flashing tool buttons.
8. Click the Start button and the flashing now begins and it is rooted in just a few seconds.

In conclusion, that is how to root Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9515L smartphones when they are running on the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop software updates by flashing Chainfire’s CF-Auto-Root tool using the Odin flashing tool from a Windows computer. You can tell it is complete when the Odin app on the computer shows them a green pass message. The smartphone also reboots automatically at this point and then everyone can head to the Google Play Store and start installing the root applications like the Titanium Backup app.