BREAKING: US Snapdragon Galaxy S9 root access achieved via SamPWND, public release soon

The US based owners of Galaxy S9/S9+ as well as Galaxy Note 9 are quite happy now, as Samsung has started pushing the stable Android 10 update in the form of One UI 2.0 for them. The rollout is not widespread yet, but enthusiasts can manually install the new build.

Unlike the global Exynos-powered variants, the bootloader of the US Snapdragon Galaxy phones are permanently locked. As a consequence, there is virtually no possibility to root them using the regular method, i.e. directly patching the boot image using Magisk or via TWRP.

This constraint also prevents users to install an aftermarket Android distribution like LineageOS. After Samsung stops supporting the phone,  they have to deal with older (and vulnerable) software. Well, there were some nice developments in this regard.

Dubbed as SamPWND, a set of modified Samsung firmware for Galaxy S8/S8+ was generated to have root access without unlocking the bootloader. The project was initiated by XDA recognized developer elliwigy.

Back in May 2019, elliwigy extended the support further. US carrier and unlocked variants of Galaxy Note 9 could be rooted as well using the same technique. The developer also created a dedicated Telegram group for discussion. And looks like we are going to have some good news soon.

Yes, you read the right! XDA recognized contributor jrkruse has recently confirmed that SamPWND is now compatible with North American Snapdragon Galaxy S9/S9+ units (SM-G960U/U1/W and SM-G965U/U1/W).

This thread is a a continuation of @ elliwigy note 9 thread. Everything in that thread is tested and working on S9. There is a link in that thread for a telegram chat link you can join and you can ask to be a tester for either note 9 or S9. Once things are tested I will post everything here. Below is the Note 9 thread you can read through it. Once a tester you will be testing a working rooted rom. There are a few bugs but most everything works. The note 9 thread was just for combo firmware root but stuff has moved beyond this so join the telegram link and you can ask to become a tester. If we feel you can do so without your hand being held you will be added as a tester.

(Source)

According to jrkruse, most of the root things should work out of the box. The developers are still tuning the modified firmware packages, so interested users have to wait a little. You can, of course, join the Telegram group and volunteer for testing.

Do you prefer to root your phone? Let us know by commenting below.

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