How to root Samsung A3 (2017) - Guide

[airali]

I successfully rooted my Samsung Galaxy A320FL following more or less this guide (I know, it's a video and that's annoying, but it's also very clear. And there is a text version linked in description), with some modifications though.

I will write here what differs / is not specified in that guide.
I also attach all the files I used; they can also be found on the internet with some search.

• Make sure to have installed on your PC Samsung USB driver for mobile phones, available on Samsung website.
  
  
• I used different versions of the files needed (that guide is for Samsung 8). With the following files, everything worked well:
  • twrp-3.4.0-0-a3y17lte.img.tar
  • no-verity-opt-encrypt-6.0.zip
  • RMM_Bypass_v3_corsicanu.zip (learned this from another guide on this forum)
  • Magisk-v20.4.zip
    
• Once TWRP is installed, the guide instructs you to install no-verity, then reboot to recovery and immediately after that reboot to system; only later, transfer and install magisk. THIS MESSED UP everything, in my case at least.
  The solution was even faster: once TWRP is installed
  • plug USB and transfer all needed files (listed above) at once
  • install no-verity and reboot to recovery;
  • install RMM_bypass and reboot to recovery;
  • install magisk and reboot to recovery
  • reboot to system

Now you proceed following the rest of the guide.

After rooting, you may want to fix a few problems you may encounter: see next post.

 

[airali]

HOW TO FIX FINGERPRINT AFTER ROOT
When your Galaxy A3 is rooted, unfortunately fingerprint will not work properly to log in on your apps (but it will work to unlock your phone). To fix this:

1. install from Google Play a file manager (like Solid Explorer)
2. in the left menu select ROOT folder, then rename
   /system/priv-app/SamsungPass_1.3/SamsungPass_1.3.apk
   to
   /system/priv-app/SamsungPass_1.3/SamsungPass_1.3.apj
3. remove /data/app/com.samsung.android.samsungpass-1
4. reboot

This will remove SamsungPass. You will not be able to use SamsungPass anymore on your rooted phone, so forget the ability of saving passwords on websites and confirm them with fingerprint (you can still save passwords in browser or use google autofill; you just can't confirm them with fingerprint).
But, with the method above, at least you will be able to use fingerprint to log in those apps which natively support fingerprint login (like banking apps).

HOW TO MAKE BANKING APPS WORK ON A ROOTED PHONE
...Banking apps, though, tend to stop working when they detect a rooted phone. You can try to fix this using Magisk Hide feature.

1. Open Magisk and tap on the shield icon
2. Tap MagiskHide
3. Check your bank apps and any other app that want to prevent from detecting root. (According to the guides I read, hiding too many apps can be a problem: stick to what is really needed).

 

[airali]

HOW TO MOVE WHATSAPP MEDIA FOLDER TO SD CARD
This was the main reason why I decided to root my phone: I was running out of storage. So I bought a high-quality and fast sd card (yes, it deserves your 20 €) and did the following:

1. Download "Apps2SD" (the original by Vicky Bonick; it's free) and follow instructions on how to create partitions.
   You can create upto 3 partitions: 1st fat32/exfat/f2fs/ext4/ext3/ext2 (it's your SD card), 2nd ext2/ext3/ext4/f2fs (it is used to link the apps), 3rd swap partition (it's optional).
   
   
2. IMPORTANT: With Apps2SD you can LINK apps (they will end up in 2nd partition) or use FOLDER MOUNT (the chosen folder will end up in 1st partition, the one that looks like your normal SD card).
   Please note that for Whatsapp media folder you will use FOLDER MOUNT method: so it will end up in the 1st partition. Create the 1st partition large enough for your whatsapp media.
   
   
3. Use "folder mount (app analyzer)" feature: it's like folder mount, but it's pre-set for some common apps, including Whatsapp. With this feature, you can successfully move Whatsapp media folder to SD, in one clic.
   
   To understand what folder mount means: see FAQ.

In my case everything worked fine. When I reboot I have to re-mount folder, but it takes one second (just open Apps2SD, tap Folder Mount, slide "whatsapp other").

By the way, with App2SD you can do much more: you can move virtually any app to your SD card using the "Link apps to SD card" feature, as explained in Vicky's video.

...Hope this will save you some time!

 

[LuH]

I successfully rooted my Samsung Galaxy A320FL following more or less this guide (I know, it's a video and that's annoying, but it's also very clear. And there is a text version linked in description), with some modifications though.

I will write here what differs / is not specified in that guide.
I also attach all the files I used; they can also be found on the internet with some search.

(...)

Thank you! I successfully used your compilation for a T-Mobile branded unit, all works after some tinkering. I didn't have the fingerprint problem, possibly the Samsung security thing is not the same on the carrier-modified ROM.

I had problems first making root work because of the succession of operations - basically, everything needs to be formatted in TWRP so it can mount partitions. Once I boot up the ROM, TWRP won't mount anymore → every zip you want to install, you need to do in one go before you reboot to Android.

 

[KakiDev]

I tried to root mine, but it didn't show up in odin, it did show up in device manager but I can't do anything with it, no transfering files via usb, etc.
The drivers are installed, I reinstalled them a couple of times, tried a different USB port, etc...
No sucess so far, I hope someone here can help me

 

[vaibhav21179537]

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