In this guide, we will show you the steps to unlock the bootloader and then root your Samsung Galaxy S25/Plus/Ultra device. The latest flagships from the South Korean conglomerate have just been rolled out and it has managed to attract the attention of the masses. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, with a massive 6.9 inch 120Hz refresh rate screen, the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 16GB RAM/1TB storage, and a massive 5000mAh battery, there’s not much left to ask.
Not to mention the fact that you’ll be getting 7 years of OS upgrades. Likewise, there’s plenty in store for tech enthusiasts as well- all that is needed is gaining administrative privileges over their Galaxy S25/Plus/Ultra by rooting it via Magisk. Once you checkmark this requirement, you’ll be in a position to welcome abode a plethora of tweaks and carry out numerous customizations on your device. So without further ado, let’s make you acquainted with the instruction steps.
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Benefits of Rooting a Samsung Device
Once you unlock the bootloader on your device, you have literally opened the floodgates to a plethora of tweaks. These include the ability to flash custom binaries, custom ROMs, a custom recovery like TWRP, and gain access to the system partition, among others.
Moreover, once you have achieved root, you can flash Magisk Modules, Substratum Themes, LSPosed Framework, Viper4Android, and countless other mods. Likewise, flashing a custom kernel and overclocking and underclocking the GPU/CPU is also a possibility. However, there are a few risks associated with rooting your device as well, as explained in the next section.
Risks of Rooting a Samsung Device
First and foremost, your device warranty will become null and void and the unlocking process [which is a prerequisite for rooting] will reset your device. Along the same lines, apps like Google Pay and Netflix will not be able to function properly. The KNOX counter will also be tripped. This will result in your inability to use apps like Samsung Pay, Secure Folder, Samsung Health, etc. And the worst part is the fact that this Knox is hardware-related [eFuse].
So even if you return to stock and re-lock the bootloader, the Knox will stay tripped. Furthermore, the implementation of security measures such as Prenormal RMM State, DEFEX, and Vaultkeeper might further complicate the matter. So proceed ahead at your own risk. Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device by performing the below steps.
Unlock Bootloader on Samsung Galaxy S25/Plus/Ultra
The entry point for the customizations, the first requirement is that your device needs to have an unlocked bootloader. In this regard, you can either refer to our detailed guide: How to Unlock Bootloader on any Samsung Device [New VaultKeeper Method] or the shorter explanation which is given below:
- To begin with, you will have to boot your device to the Download Mode. So start by powering it off.
- Then press and hold Vol Up + Vol Down together and connect your device to the PC via a USB cable.
- As soon as you see the Warning message on your device, release the pressed keys.
- Now press the Volume Up key once and your device will be booted to Download Mode.
- Now that your device is booted to Download Mode, press and hold the Volume Up key for a few seconds.
- This will take you to the Device unlock mode (make sure you have taken a backup).
- You will now get a confirmation message, use the Volume Up button to reply to the affirmation.
- The process will now begin and should be completed within a few seconds.
- Your device should then automatically boot up with an unlocked bootloader.
- Now turn on the WiFi and go to Settings > Tap on Build Number 7 times.
- Then go to Settings > Developer Options and make sure OEM Unlock toggle is present there and greyed out.
- If that’s not the case, then close Developer Options, re-open it after a while, and then make sure it’s greyed out.
So with this, the bootloader on your Galaxy S25/Plus/Ultra is now unlocked via the VaultKeeper method and you can now proceed ahead and root it via Magisk.
How to Root Galaxy S25/Plus/Ultra via Magisk
- To begin with, download the same firmware that is currently installed on your device.
- Now extract it and get hold of the AP and BL files [named AP/BL_[device_model_sw_ver].tar.md5].
- Then install the 7 ZIP software on your PC. Now right-click on AP > Show More Options > 7ZIP > Open as Archive.
- You’ll get a file init_boot.img.lz4, transfer it to your PC.
- Likewise, right-click on BL > Show More Options > 7ZIP > Open as Archive.
- You will get a vbmeta.img.lz4 file, transfer it to your PC.
- Now select both the extracted files (init_boot.img.lz4 & vbmeta.img.lz4) > Right-click > Show More Options > 7ZIP.
- Then choose Add to Archive > Set archive format to “tar”, give it any name of your choice [let’s say iv.tar], and hit OK.
- Now transfer this tar file [iv.tar] to your device. Then download and install the Magisk app on your device and launch it.
- Now launch Magisk, hit Install next to Magisk > Select and Patch a File > Select the TAR file [iv.tar] > Patch it. Once done, transfer this file to your PC.
- Now boot your device to the Download Mode via the adb reboot download command.
- Then launch the Odin Tool and load the patched TAR file to AP, along with BL, CP, and CSC [the normal CSC, as we want to do a format data].
- Now hit Start and wait for the flashing to complete. Once done, the device might ask for a data reset, do it and your device will then boot to the OS.
- Once that happens, install the Magisk app and launch it. It will ask for a reboot, hit OK and wait for the reboot to complete. Congrats!
How to Install OTA Updates on Rooted Samsung
Now that you have rooted your device, you can no longer install OTA updates on your Samsung device the normal way out. Instead, you’ll have to carry out the steps mentioned above, with two differences- load the patched TAR file in the USERDATA slot of Odin and use the Home_CSC instead of the normal CSC as we no longer require a data wipe. The rest of the files [AP, BL, and CP] should be loaded to their respective slots and flashed along with the rest of the files.
Just to reiterate, never simply flash the new patched TAR file standalone. You should flash it along with the rest of the firmwarw files [AP, BP, CP, and Home_CSC]. Moreover, once you have pbtained root, it is highly recommended that you take a nackup of the EFS partition as well as it houses the all-important IMEI number.
So on that note, we round off this guide on how you can unlock the bootloader and root your Galaxy S25/Plus/Ultra. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution as soon as possible.
