Android Rooting: What It Is and How to Do It

Outdated Guide

This guide is outdated. The rooting tools listed below (Kingroot, Kingo Root, VRoot, Towelroot, Framaroot) do not work on Android 8 or later. They relied on kernel exploits that were patched years ago.

For modern rooting, see:

• Rooting Android in 2026: covers Magisk, KernelSU, and APatch
• Play Integrity & Magisk Module Setup: pass Play Integrity checks after rooting

The content below is preserved for reference on legacy devices only.

What is Root?

Android is based on Linux. On Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems, the root user is equivalent to the Administrator user on Windows. The root user has access to the entire operating system and can do anything. By default, you don't have root access to your own Android device, and certain apps won't function without root access.

How to Root?

Rooting is often a simple and quick process. However, there's no single standard way to root every device. We'll cover a few useful tools that will root a large majority of devices here. If your device isn't supported, check out the XDA Developers forum and look at the subforum for your specific model of device. This is a good place to start finding out how other people have rooted your device.

Thankfully, there are some tools that make this process easy for the vast majority of Android phones and tablets out there. If one of these tools doesn't work, you can likely find instructions specific to your individual device online. You'll just have to do some searching. Bear in mind that you'll need a root process that works on your device and its current version of the Android operating system. Rooting instructions for older versions of Android on that specific device may not work.

Root Methods

1. Kingroot

Kingroot: one-click rooting tool, no custom recovery required.

2. Kingo Root

Kingo Root: Windows desktop rooting tool. Requires USB debugging.

3. VRoot

VRoot: one-click rooting app by the Mgyun team.

4. Towelroot

Towelroot: APK-based rooting tool by GeoHot. Uses a kernel exploit patched after June 3, 2014.

5. Framaroot

Framaroot: one-click rooting APK. Supports Android 2 through 4.

After Rooting

Once your device is rooted, you can use GPS JoyStick in System Mode for more reliable location mocking. Note: System Mode only works on Android 9 and below. Android 10 locked down the internal interface it relies on. For Android 10+, use the Smali method instead. See How to Make GPS JoyStick a System App for legacy device steps, or read the setup guide for all available configuration options.