5 Samsung Galaxy S10 must have root apps/tweaks/mods you should know about
NOTICE: We’ve created an archive of all major developments related to the Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup. We are continuously updating that page with latest S10e/S10/S10+ news so that you don’t need to search for information related to the device on daily basis. Head here to access that page.
Another Saturday, another modding article!
Power users often prefer Android over iOS due to the freedom of customizations. While it is possible to jailbreak most of the Apple devices and install tweaks/mods, the lack of mouse support in Apple’s OS can easily demonstrate the potentials of the platforms from the perspective of modding.
Native mouse support is allegedly coming in upcoming iOS 13
Shift your focus to Android, and you can virtually change every aspect of the operating system installed on your phone. Have root? Overclock the GPU to get more FPS in PUBG. Unlocked the bootloader? Install a vanilla version of Android to replace the OEM skinned version.
Heck, you can even run a full fledged Linux distribution on your phone with minimal effort.
UserLAnd is an open-source app which allows you to run several Linux distributions on your Android phone without root
Even Samsung picked the last one, polished it a bit and included an integrated part of One UI in their flagship phones and tablets.
They call it Linux on DeX, and you can just hook up a monitor and keyboard/mouse with your Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet to get a complete Linux workplace using the tech.
Galaxy Tab S4 running Ubuntu via Linux on DeX
In this article, we are mostly focused on root related customizations that you can achieve on your Galaxy S10e, S10 or S10 Plus.
FYI, only the Exynos powered global Galaxy S10 models are currently rootable. If you’re from US or Canada, you should be rocking a Snapdragon laden S10 variant. Albeit a better performer than the international variant, they are unrootable at this moment due to the presence of a locked bootloader.
Samsung Galaxy S10e: Only Hong Kong S10 Snapdragon models are bootloader unlockable
The rooting procedure for Galaxy S10 (Exynos) lineup is little bit complicated, compared to previous generations. Thanks to the elaborate writeup shared by Magisk developer John Wu aka topjohnwu, we described the technical details in this article.
The arrival of official TWRP support for Galaxy S10 series is the cherry on the cake. XDA member ianmacd devoted several hours to fix the bugs present in the early version of TWRP, and decided to maintain a dedicated support thread for the official TWRP release.
Official TWRP 3.3.0-0 on Galaxy S10
01 Change the splash screen
Now you can replace the ugly warning splash screen that appears after unlocking the bootloader of your Galaxy S10.
Galaxy S10 warning screen after unlocking the bootloader (Image credit: topjohnwu)
XDA member SoLdieR9312 has created a set of custom splash screens to replace the default warning image. You can now get a complete black screen or the typical Samsung logo or even this funky one featuring the creator’s name:
Installation is pretty simple: you just need to grab the appropriate zip file from this thread and flash it from TWRP. If someone wants to use a custom logo, then head over to this thread.
02 Customize the One UI
This one requires you to install EdXposed, the successor to popular Xposed Framework. We are talking about the the mighty Firefds Kit which has the following features:
- Fake system status to Official
- Selectable advanced power menu options:
- Power off
- Restart
- Emergency mode
- Recovery
- Download
- Data mode switch
- Screenshot
- Switch User (when multi user is enabled)
- SystemUI restart
- Flashlight
- Screen Recorder (requires Samsung screen recorder app installed)
- Disable restart confirmation
- Enable call recording
- Replace add call button instead of call recording
- Enable call recording from menu
- Auto call recording
- One UI Home transition animation selection
- Hide VoLTE icon in status bar
- Hide persistent USB connection notification
- Hide persistent charging notification
- Enable block phrases in messages app settings
- Enable native blur on notification panel pull down
- Enable navigation bar color settings in Navigation Bar settings
- Navigation bar custom color picker
- Enable multi user toggle
- Set max user value selector
- Show seconds in status bar clock toggle
- Show clock date on right of clock toggle
- Add date to status bar clock options
- Enable fingerprint unlock on reboot toggle
- Enable biometrics unlock on reboot toggle
- Add network speed menu to show network speed in the status bar
- Data icon symbol selection (4G, LTE, 4G+, 4.5G)
- Show Data usage view in quick panel
- Double tap for sleep
- Hide NFC icon
- Disable Bluetooth toggle popup
- Disable sync toggle popup
- Disable high level brightness popup
- Hide carrier label
- Carrier label size selection
- Disable loud volume warning
- Disable volume control sound
- Disable low battery sound
- Screen timeout settings
- NFC behavior settings
- Auto MTP
- Disable camera temperature check
- Enable camera shutter sound menu
- Disable call number formatting
- Disable SMS to MMS threshold
- Force MMS connect
- Bypass exchange security
- Disable signature check
- Disable secure flag
Quite long, isn’t it?
Advanced Power Menu on S10 via Firefds kit
The module unlocks hidden CSC settings and modifies the UI components. It can be downloaded from the Xposed repository while discussions can be found in this XDA thread.
03 System-wide ad blocking
No, I’m not contradicting my own suggestion to use Adhell3 – a perfect non-root adblocker for Samsung devices.
Thing is, Adhell3 depends on Samsung Knox ELM keys. The Knox Standard SDK (ELM key issuer) is being phased out in July, thus the future of Adhell3 is kinda uncertain at this moment.
However, you can still achieve system-wide adblocking using Magisk’s systemless hosts mode in conjuction with apps like AdAway.
04 App data backup and restore
Once you’re rooted, you have the power of Titanium Backup in your hand. Individual app data backup and restore – check! Automated batch backup/restore support – check! SMS, MMS, call logs, bookmarks, Wi-Fi AP list backup – check! Sync with cloud storage providers – check again!
Well, the UI is prehistoric, but it does its job!
05 Automation
Want something more powerful than Bixby Routines? Opt for none other than Tasker.
Together with a rooted environment, Tasker can truly unleash the hidden automation talent of your Galaxy S10. There are tons of triggering events to customize as per your requirements.
Take a look at r/tasker subreddit for support and guidance.
Honorable mention: Magisk modules
There are countless device independent mods and tweaks available as Magisk modules. Picking the ‘best’ ones among them doesn’t make any sense, thus readers are requested to explore the module list themselves.
Have you already rooted your Galaxy S10? Using any of the mentioned mods or apps? Let us know by commenting below.
PiunikaWeb is a unique initiative that mainly focuses on investigative journalism. This means we do a lot of hard work to come up with news stories that are either ‘exclusive,’ ‘breaking,’ or ‘curated’ in nature. Perhaps that’s the reason our work has been picked by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and more. Do take a tour of our website to get a feel of our work. And if you like what we do, stay connected with us on Twitter (@PiunikaWeb) and other social media channels to receive timely updates on stories we publish.
