The world of root is upon us, folks. While the LG G3 has be available for purchase for a couple of months now, rooting had been a shaky subject. International and T-Mobile variants enjoyed root from day one, while various security patches left the AT&T and Verizon Wireless variants as a mixed bag, and Sprint completely out in the cold.
Now, renowned security hacker Justin Case, with fellow developers Tyler Montgomery, Otto Prime, and Dewayne Jones, have released a new tool to root any U.S. variant of the LG G3 smartphone. That, combined with previous methods, will now allow you to root any variant of the LG G3, so let's get to it.
Know Your Root Method
While Towelroot will work on quite a few variants, for the most all-encompassing methods, we'll be focusing on two new ones—PurpleDrake and Stump.
Now there is a little device crossover between the two methods. If you have any U.S. variant, you can use Stump. For all International variants, as well as AT&T and T-Mobile, you can use PurpleDrake. You can check your phone's model number from Settings -> About phone -> Hardware information, then check out which method is appropriate for you:
Models numbers that work with PurpleDrake:
- D851, D852, D855, D855K, D855P, F400K, F400L, F400S
Model number that work with Stump:
- D850, D851, LS990, VS985, F400L, F400S, F400K, D855, D855K, D855P, D852
I'll be showing you the Stump method with the Sprint variant, but the process will be the same for the other U.S. variants. I'll also provide instructions on using PurpleDrake, although I will not actually be using that method to root.
While both methods are incredibly easy to use, Stump is just slightly simpler, so let's get that out of the way first. And as always, when you root, you can kiss your warranty goodbye—just gotta get that out there.
Update: August 19, 2014
Stump root will now work with any variant of the LG G3—this covers all US and international variants!
How to Root Your LG G3 Using Stump
Use this method for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon variants.
Step 1: Enable Unknown Sources
Stump is an app that will do all the heavy lifting for you, but it's not available on the Play Store, so you'll need to enable installation from "Unknown sources" in order to install it.
Step 2: Install Stump on Your LG G3
The app is available directly from the XDA thread, or from the download link here.
Step 3: Run Stump
Now it's just a matter of opening up the app and hitting the Grind button, then rebooting to obtain root.
Hit Grind to root.
Reboot when prompted.
Ensure that you're rooted.
Hit Grind to root.
Reboot when prompted.
Ensure that you're rooted.
And now you're rooted! After a reboot, go into the app to make sure you see the Device is rooted message, then head down to the Install SuperSU to Control Root Privileges section below to finish up the process.
How to Root Your LG G3 Using PurpleDrake
Use this method for all international variants, as well as AT&T and T-Mobile.
Step 1: Enable USB Debugging
This method will require your device to communicate with your computer, so you'll need to unlock Developer options and enable USB Debugging. The process is easy and outlined here, so get that done before moving forward.
Step 2: Ensure That Your Computer Recognizes Your Device
Plug your device into your computer to ensure that it is properly recognized. Make sure your device is in PTP mode (Internet/Ethernet mode for Verizon). If your Windows PC is not recognizing your device, unplug it, then install the drivers below:
Step 3: Download PurpleDrake
Download PurpleDrake directly to your computer here. Once downloaded, extract the file, and you'll be left with the following:
Step 4: Run PurpleDrake
PurpleDrake can be run through batch files that enable a rooting script, which will do all the heavy lifting for you. You can, of course, run commands through ADB is you so choose to, and instructions for that can be found in the app's thread.
While I'll be showing this process using a Windows PC, the steps will be just about the same for a Mac. Start by double-clicking the appropriate batch file for your computer:
Windows - purpledrake_windows
Mac - purpledrake_osx.command
This will open a terminal/command window. Plug in your device, then hit Enter on your computer keyboard to continue.
Let the script do its thing, and when it's done, you're rooted! Now to ensure that apps can't gain root access without your permission, continue below to install a Superuser access-control app.
For a short video walkthrough of the PurpleDrake process, check out the video directly below by Tony Serneels.
Install SuperSU to Control Root Privileges
Now that you're rooted, it's time to install SuperSU so that you can control which apps are allowed root permissions. Chainfire's app is available through the Google Play Store, so grab it from there and let's set this puppy up.
Open the app and follow the prompts to get the SuperUser binary installed on your system, being sure to select Normal when asked how you would like to install.
After a reboot, you're all set—you've got root access and control over it with SuperSU.
WARNING: Do Not "Full Unroot"
If you use the "Full Unroot" option in SuperSU to remove root access, you will not be able to re-root using these methods unless you're willing to reload the factory image, which means complete data loss.
Update: August 19, 2014
The latest version of Stump (linked above) has resolved this issue, so you can now unroot and reroot without having to flash stock firmware.
Start Modding Your Rooted LG G3!
Now that you're rooted, it's time to get hacking with Xposed and all its various modules. Let us know which method you used, and how it went, in the comments below.
Cover image background via Shutterstock
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