The Samsung Galaxy S series is one of the most popular smartphone lines on the market and is packed with useful features, but one of the drawbacks of Samsung devices, at least for enthusiasts, is that they typically take many measures to prevent users from being able to gain root access. Fortunately, after a long wait, a new method was recently discovered to root the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge for both AT&T and T-Mobile. Reddit users have recently reported that this method will also work on the Sprint and Verizon variants. There are, however, a few extra steps required as these versions appear to have some issues with activation.
After following the required steps to achieve root access, it is recommended to do at least one factory reset of the device. You can reset it by going into the settings menu and navigating to the “Backup and Reset > Factory Data Reset” section. After resetting the device, complete the initial setup without activating it, which can be done by holding the back button once on the activation screen. Use WiFi to link a Google account to get access to the Google Play Store, and then find an app called Package Disable Pro+ Samsung. It should be noted that the app costs $1.49, but this appears to be the only workaround available at the moment, so take that into account before taking the plunge. Once the app is installed, go ahead and activate your device by choosing the “Activate this device” option in the settings menu. Once the device is activated, find and disable Samsung DM Service. Lastly, be sure not to update SuperSU, even if prompted, as doing so may cause problems. Keep in mind that once your device is rooted, you will lose functionality of some of the secure features of your device, like Samsung Pay. This process is a bit more complex than the root method used for the AT&T and T-Mobile versions because of these extra steps, so take care to follow each step carefully. As always, do this at your own risk, and don’t do it if you don’t feel completely comfortable with the process; if one step goes wrong, you may potentially damage your device beyond repair.
Although these methods are far from perfect, now that the developer community has discovered a root method that works on all major carriers we should start to see some tweaks as they continue to fine-tune the process and find workarounds for any bugs. If you are feeling brave, check out the XDA thread for detailed instructions.