How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: October 27, 2022

Preparing the Tablet

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Installing Odin

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Rooting Your Tablet

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Q&A

This wikiHow teaches you how root your Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 using free tools called Odin and SuperSU. Rooting requires a bit of technical know-how and is not supported by Samsung or Google. You'll need a PC running Windows and a USB cable to complete the rooting process.

Things You Should Know

To root a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, you'll need a Windows PC, a USB cable, and the applications Odin and SuperSU.
Install Odin and SuperSU to your PC before connecting your tablet.
When connecting your tablet, run the Odin file as an administrator and install SuperSU in recovery mode.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing the Tablet

1
Charge your tablet to at least 75%. The rooting process may take up to several minutes to complete and requires near-full battery life.^{[1]
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- Rooting is not supported by Android or Samsung. It is also not guaranteed to work successfully on all tablets. Keep this in mind when attempting to root and do so at your own risk. If your Galaxy Tab 3 becomes bricked or inoperable after rooting, see this wikiHow for more information.
- Rooting your Galaxy Tab 3 will void the manufacturer’s warranty. To reinstate your warranty, or to undo rooting, follow these steps to unroot your Android and restore the original factory settings.
2
Back up your personal data. Rooting erases all of your data, so you'll probably want to back up everything on your tablet. You can use Google’s servers, an SD card, your computer, or a third-party cloud storage service to back up your data.
- See this wikiHow for more information on backing up your Samsung Galaxy.
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3
Open your tablet's Settings
. You'll find it in the app drawer.
4
Tap About Device. It's at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
5
Tap Build Number 7 times. After the 7th tap, you'll see a message that says you are now a Developer.
6
Tap Developer options. This menu appears only after tapping the build number 7 times.
7
Check the box next to "USB Debugging." This allows you to make changes to your tablet after connecting the device to your computer via USB.
8
Find the exact model of your Galaxy Tab 3. There are three different versions of this tablet: 7.0, 8.0, and 10.1. The model numbers refer to the tablet's screen size in inches. If you're not sure of your tablet's size, you can find it in the About device section of the Settings app.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Installing Odin

1
Go to https://odindownload.com in your PC's web browser. This is a download site for Odin, a tool you'll need to install to root your tablet.
2
Click the version of Odin you want to install. The version you select depends on the version of Android that's running on your tablet.^{[2]
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- If you're using Jellybean or KitKat, select 3.09.
- For Lollipop, select 3.10.7.
- For Marshmallow, select 3.11.1.
3
Follow the on-screen instructions to download Odin. Depending on the version, you may have to click Download now or select the version again first. This downloads a ZIP file containing Odin to your computer.
4
Extract the Odin ZIP file. You can do this by right-clicking the downloaded folder, selecting Extract All, and then choosing a destination.
5
Download the root package for your Galaxy Tab 3 model. The package you'll need varies depending on whether you have the 7.0, 8.0, or 10.1 model.
6
Go to https://www.samsung.com/us/support/downloads on your computer. Now you'll need to install some files on your computer that allow you to connect to the tablet via USB.
7
Select your Galaxy Tab 3 version. To do this, select Mobile, click Tablets, then Galaxy Tabs, and then choose your version from the "MAKE SELECTION" drop-down menu.
8
Click Confirm. A list of downloads will appear.
9
Click Download next to "Software." This downloads the drivers as an installation program.
10
Run the downloaded file to install the drivers. Double-click the downloaded file (it should begin with "SAMSUNG_USB_Driver" and end with ".EXE"). You may have to give the app permission to run. Once you do, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
11
Download SuperSU to your PC. You can download the latest version of SuperSu zip here. This saves a ZIP file to your PC. You won't need to unzip it, but remember where it's located.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Rooting Your Tablet

1
Put the tablet into Download Mode. Follow these steps to do so:^{[3]
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- Turn off your tablet by pressing and holding the Power button.
- Press and hold the Volume Down + Home + Power buttons on your tablet.
- After about 2-3 seconds, lift your fingers from these buttons.
- Press the Volume Up key when you see the warning screen with an exclamation point. The tablet is now in Download Mode.
2
Run the Odin file as an administrator. You can do this by right-clicking the file called Odin.exe on your PC, selecting Run as administrator, and then following the on-screen instructions.
3
Connect the tablet to your computer with a USB cable. Odin will take a moment to detect your tablet. Once detected, it'll appear as “Added” in the Odin message box.
4
Click the PDA or AP button and select your root package. This is the file you downloaded earlier that's specific to your model.
- The name of this button varies depending on the version.
5
Select “Auto Reboot” and “F.Reset Time” in Odin.^{[4]
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6
Remove the checkmark next to "Re-Partition" and click Start. Odin will begin rooting your tablet, which may take several minutes to complete. When the installation is finished, you'll see "Pass" in the Odin message box.
7
Press and hold the power button to turn off your Tab 3. Don't unplug the USB cable, as you'll need to flash SuperSU next.
8
Boot into recovery mode. Follow these steps to do so:
- Press and hold Volume Up + Home + Power buttons on the tablet.
- When you see the Samsung logo, release the Power button but continue holding down the Volume Up and Home buttons.
- Lift your fingers from the remaining buttons when you see the screen with "TWRP" at the top-left corner.
9
Tap Install on the tablet. A list of files will appear.
10
Select the SuperSU ZIP file you downloaded. A confirmation message will appear.
11
Slide the confirmation slider to confirm. This flashes SuperSU to your tablet, which will give you root access. Once the flash is complete, move to the next step.
12
Reboot your Galaxy Tablet. You can do this in the Reboot section under System. Once your tablet reboots, the SuperUser app will appear in your app drawer, which indicates that the rooting was successful.
- You can disconnect the tablet from your computer now as well.

Community Q&A

Question

What happens if it says fail in the box that is supposed to say pass?

ThomasM10

Community Answer

If the process initiated through Odin fails, your phone or tablet will most likely restart (because of auto restart feature being checked by default). If you can see the lock screen, good news, your device has survived the failed process. If it bricks, however, meaning that it becomes unusable, renew the procedure via Samsung's own recover utility: Samsung Smart Switch.
Question

I'm at part 3 step 10. I see a supersu folder on the tablet but no file.

Ben Tuitama

Community Answer

The "11 Download SuperSU to your PC" requires you to copy the file from your PC to the tablet either into the internal storage or SD card.