The Android 9.0 Pie update is now available for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. The new update brings a number of improvements including One UI, a new custom Android-based UI developed by Samsung with one-handed usability in mind. You can update your S9 and S9 Plus to Android Pie if you haven’t already through OTA or by flashing the official firmware.
If you have already updated your phone, the chances are that it has no root and all the modifications and mods that you had on the previous version of Android are removed. If you want to root your phone again and install a custom recovery such as TWRP, closely follow the tutorial down below.
How To Root Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus on Android Pie Firmware
There are two steps when rooting your phone. The first procedure is to install a custom recovery. One of the most popular recoveries is TWRP, which is used by millions of users all around the world. The next step is to flash Magisk tool, which will enable root access on your Galaxy S9 and S9+ on Pie firmware.
Preparations
There are a few things that you need to do and a few files you need to download before beginning with the tutorial below.
- Please make sure that the bootloader of your Galaxy S9 and S9+ is unlocked. If you try this process with a locked bootloader, you will damage your phone.
- Before you will be able to enable root, we will need Odin flashing tool to flash TWRP image.
- Go to Settings > Developer Options and enable USB Debugging and OEM unlock. This is also very important.
- Download and install the proper USB drivers for the Galaxy S9. If you don’t have the proper drivers, the computer will not recognize your phone.
Download Panel
- TWRP Image | Galaxy S9 | Galaxy S9+
- ElementalX custom kernel | Download
- No-verity disabler opt encrypt | Download
- Magisk root tool | Download
- Magisk Manager app | Download
How To Install TWRP Custom Recovery on Android Pie (S8 and S8+)
- Press and hold the power button and select “Power off”.
- Once the phone is off, press and hold the Volume Down, Bixby and Power keys at the same time to go into Download Mode. Press the volume up key one more time to confirm going into Download Mode.
- Once the phone is in Download Mode, connect your phone to your computer using the provided USB cable.
- Launch Odin on your computer. the ID:COM box in Odin will turn blue. This means that the computer has recognized the device.
- Click on AP and select “twrp-3.2.3-0-starlte.img.tar” for the Samsung Galaxy S9 or “twrp-3.2.3-0-star2lte.img.tar” for the Galaxy S9+. Make sure to select the correct variant that suits your phone otherwise you might damage your phone. Once you have selected the file, disable Auto Reboot and click on Install. This will flash the file.
Wait for the installation process to finish. The phone will not reboot. Now you will have to flash Magisk in order to enable root access on your device.
How To Root with Magisk on Android Pie (S8 and S8+)
- Press and hold the Volume up, Bixby, and power keys at the same time to boot into recovery mode. You will be faced with the newly installed TWRP recovery.
- Go to Install and select “no-verity-opt-encrypt-samsung-1.0.zip” file. Swipe to flash. This will disable encryption on your phone.
- Go back to Install and this time select the ElementalX kernel. Swipe to flash the file. This will flash the new kernel which is required in order to retain security processes required for the phone such as passwords and biometric data.
- Go back to Install and select the Magisk flashing tool. Swipe one last time to flash this file. Wait for Magisk to be installed and reboot your phone.
- Once the phone has rebooted, install the Magisk Manager APK file. Magisk Manager is the app that controls certain parts of the software. Furthermore, you can download modules to enhance the experience of the phone even more.
That is it. You have successfully installed TWRP recovery and enabled root access through Magisk on your Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+ running on Android 9.0 Pie One UI firmware. If you have any questions or issues with the tutorial, please let us know below.