Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 (Android 4.3)

Those of you fortunate enough to score the Exynos 5 variant of the Samsung Galaxy S4 have yet another reason to thank your lucky stars: the XDA team has released an Android 4.3 Jelly Bean root tool for your device.

This how-to guide will show you how to root your Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500 model). Rooting your Galaxy S4 will have a number of benefits, such as allowing for the installation of third-party root apps, performance tweaks and custom ROMs. However, rooting will activate Samsung’s KNOX system and void the warranty.

As always, DroidReport assumes no liability for this root guide. Proceed with caution.

Before Getting Started

Before you get started, ensure that your Galaxy S4 is the GT-I9500 model. Attempting to root any other device with this guide will most likely result in a bricked phone.

As always, you want to backup your device and charge it to at least 80 percent. Finally, enable USB Debugging mode by navigating to Settings -> Developer Options.

How To Root Samsung’s Galaxy S4 (Android 4.3)

1) Download CF-Auto-Root for the Galaxy S4, as well as Odin3 v3.07, which can be found here and here.

2) Put your Galaxy S4 in download mode by holding the Volume Down, Home and Power buttons. When a warning prompt appears, press Power again.

3) Unzip Odin. Right click on Odin and run the application as an administrator.

4) Using your USB cable, connect your Galaxy S4 to your computer. You should see a yellow box with the message “Added!” If this does not occur, reinstall your computer’s USB drivers.

5) Within Odin, press the PDA button and select the tar.md5 file extracted from the CF-Auto-Root archive.

6) Select Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time while leaving all other boxes unchecked.

7) Click start and wait until the installation process completes. Any interruption may result in a bricked device.

8) After a PASS message appears, your phone will reboot automatically and you’ll officially be rooted. Kudos.