Back in the day, a Samsung device could be rooted by APatch with the advantage that it was a safer and faster method compared to Magisk when it comes of tricking Play Integrity, hiding root and banking apps. However, now, a thorough step-by-step guide lays out everything from unlocking the bootloader to patching and flashing the boot image, consistent with the newest 2025 best practice.
⚠️ Update (June 2025): The fact that Samsung devices can be rooted via APatch is still not the case. You may still extract and patch the boot.img, but you can’t flash it through Odin due to incompatibility. The procedure outlined below is only for reference and later use.
Unlock the Bootloader on Samsung Devices
Bootloader unlocking is a must if you want to get root access.
- Create a backup of all data — unlocking will delete everything on your device.
- Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information.
- Tap Build Number 7 times to activate Developer Options.
- In Developer Options, turn on OEM Unlocking and USB Debugging.
- Turn off the device.
- Unite the Volume Up + Volume Down buttons while plugging into PC via USB.
- After the warning screen, press Volume Up to confirm unlocking.
🔐 Note: The Knox counter will be tripped, which means that the warranty from Samsung will be voided.
Download Samsung Stock Firmware
Check if the installed version on your phone matches the firmware version that you are going to download as well as CSC.
Apps to use:
The extracted archive contains:
AP_xxx.tar.md5
BL_xxx.tar.md5
CP_xxx.tar.md5
CSC_xxx.tar.md5
HOME_CSC_xxx.tar.md5
You will use: AP, BL, CP, and CSC.
Extract boot.img from the AP File
- Install 7-Zip on your computer.
- Right-click AP_xxx.tar.md5 > Extract Here.
- Find boot.img.lz4 file.
- Convert it by downloading lz4_win64_v1_9_3 and running this command:
- lz4.exe -d boot.img.lz4 boot.img
- Move the extracted boot.img to your Samsung device.
Patch boot.img Using APatch
APatch can be used for automatic and manual flashing. The Automatic Flashing method is explained in this guide.
- Get APatch and set it up on your device.
- Launch APatch > Tap Install icon (top right).
- Tap Select a Boot Image to Patch > Locate boot.img and select it.
- Tap Set SuperKey – create a safe password with alphanumeric characters (at least 8 characters).
- APatch will fix boot.img and store the resulting file into Downloads folder.
- Send this patched file back to your PC in the platform-tools folder.
Boot Samsung Device into Download Mode
These are the steps for download mode:
- Switch off the device.
- While connecting to PC via USB, hold down Volume Up + Volume Down.
- Press Volume Up once more at the warning screen.
Odin can now be used to flash your device.
Install Odin Flash Tool on PC
- Get Odin v3.14.4.
- Unzip the file.
- Launch the folder and run Odin3_v3.14.4.exe by double-clicking it.
Flash Patched AP via Odin
- Put your device in Download Mode and connect it.
- In Odin:
- Press BL → find the file BL_xxx.tar.md5.
- Press AP → choose the file with the patched AP (patched_ap.tar).
- Press CP → find the file CP_xxx.tar.md5.
- Press CSC → find the file CSC_xxx.tar.md5 (not HOME_CSC).
- Tick Auto Reboot if it is not yet done.
- Press the Start button to flash.
If the process is successful, Odin will indicate PASS! and the device will restart by itself.
Known Limitations & Dead Ends
🚫 APatch Compatibility with Samsung Devices (2025 Status)
Even if the boot image is extractable and can be patched:
- Attempts to flash the patched boot.img or AP via Odin fail.
- Samsung’s signing checks turn off the loading of patched binaries.
- At the moment, APatch is not
Workaround Alternatives
| Method | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Magisk | ✅ Supported | Better suited for advanced root management |
| KernelSU | ✅ Experimental | Works on some custom kernels only |
| APatch | ❌ Broken | Flashing fails on stock Samsung bootloaders |
🧠 Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, it seems that this may no longer work due to the bootloader-level restrictions that are put in place on Samsung devices which prohibit flashing a root method like APatch. Even though the patching part goes smoothly, the root process cannot be finished by APatch on the Samsung devices at present. At least, we suggest you continue with Magisk or KernelSU if you have a compatible firmware or try the custom ROMs where the root solutions have been pre-integrated.
Be sure not to miss the updates — we shall re-publish this guide with the current working methods as soon as APatch supports Samsung devices.