Rooting the Lenovo Vibe K5 smartphone is done by flashing a custom recovery on the smartphone and then uploading an updated version of Chainfire’s SuperSU application from within the custom recovery partition. The SuperSU is what some people might know from traditional one-click rooting tools such as CF-Auto-Root–another thing that Chainfire is made famous for around the world. CF-Auto-Root will install and enable SuperSU once you flash a file, and it does not require a custom recovery to get it done. The problem is CF-Auto-Root is mainly for Samsung and only a select few other devices. Most other people who don’t have that luxury can make a choice from another one-click rooting method or flash a custom recovery and then a SuperSU file that is made to work on the handset.

REQUIREMENTS

• You must have installed a custom recovery on the Lenovo Vibe K5 smartphone to use this guide. Any custom recovery image will do, but we have linked you through to the best custom recovery (TWRP) there is so you can install that if you need it.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

• Take a few minutes to backup your data before you root the Lenovo smartphone. Since you have not rooted the Android operating system on your phone just yet, you cannot use the likes of the Titanium backup application. You can, however, use your custom recovery for the NANDroid backup options during the guide if you want to backup that way.

HOW TO ROOT LENOVO VIBE K5 RUNNING ON ANDROID 5.1 LOLLIPOP UPDATES

1. Download the updated version of the SuperSU application that works well on the Lenovo Vibe K5 smartphone. (Do not extract the file, just have it waiting on the desktop as a zip file and keep it as a zip when you copy it to the SD card in the following steps).
2. Connect the Lenovo Vibe K5 smartphone to the computer with the USB cable.
3. Copy the SuperSU version 2.46 to the internal storage SD card and make sure it is not hidden in one of the subfolders when you paste it or else you will not find it from the custom recovery when we try to install it later.
4. Unplug the Vibe K5 smartphone from the computer.
5. Turn off the smartphone and reboot the Lenovo Vibe K5 into the recovery mode by pressing the hardware button combination for that mode.
6. Tap on the Backup option from the TWRP and take your NANDroid Backup if you have not backed up your phone yet.
7. Tap on the Install button from the custom recovery menu and then browse the SD card for the SuperSU zip file.
8. Once the SuperSU flashes, choose the option that says it reboots the system from the main recovery menu.

In conclusion, that is how to root Lenovo Vibe K5 smartphones when they are running on the Android 5.1 Lollipop software updates by flashing the right SuperSU from your custom recovery. You can head directly to the Google Play Store once your smartphone reboots and then install any of the root checker applications that are there waiting for you to test out. You will find free versions of the root checker apps that are willing to let you test whether or not your handset is rooted.