In this tutorial, we will show you how you can easily install TWRP recovery and root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018) running Android Pie and Oreo.
The recently launched Samsung Galaxy A6 is a mid-range smartphone, which continues in the footsteps of the A-series. It sports a 5.6″ Super AMOLED display, powered by an Exynos 7870 chip, coupled with 3/4GB of RAM, and comes with storage options of 32GB/64GB, running Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box.
Despite the decent hardware configuration, I’m personally not a big fan of the amount of bloatware Samsung saddles all its devices with. You would be pleased to know that, an unofficial TWRP recovery for Galaxy A6 and A6+ is now available, thanks to XDA senior member BlackMesa123 and ashyx.
Updated on 19 June 2019: KG/RMM Bypass v3 zip is now available, thanks to XDA Developer corsicanu! With this available, you can now easily prevent KG/RMM Prenormal State on your Galaxy A6/A6+ running Android Pie and Oreo. If you do not understand what KnoxGuard (KG)/RMM state is, we recommend that you go through this post.
Here’s a handy guide that will help you install TWRP recovery on Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+. Post that, you can easily use Magisk to root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018) and get rid of all the unwanted apps, use root-enabled apps or mods like Dolby Atmos, or just to get some additional features.
Disclaimer & Warning
- This guide is ONLY meant only for the SM-A600* and SM-A605* models. Please do not attempt to use these files or steps if your model is different.
- Rooting will void the warranty permanently. KNOX dependent apps like Samsung Pay and Secure Folder will no longer function, even if the device is unrooted/flashed back to stock later.
- Installing TWRP and rooting your Galaxy A6/A6+ on Android Pie will break Samsung Account and secure lock screen (PIN, Fingerprint, etc) functionality. This issue might be fixed in the future. So, only follow the procedure if you can cope up with the said issue.
Table of Contents
Before You Begin
Make sure that you fulfill all the requirements before you head down to the instructions and root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018).
- First and foremost, ensure that you take a full backup of all the data on your phone. This includes messages, contacts, and everything else that you feel necessary. We also have a tutorial that will help you backup your data with ease.
- Charge the battery to at least 70%, so as to avoid the device shutting down during the process.
- Download and install the latest Samsung USB drivers.
- Enable USB debugging on Galaxy A6: To do so, go to the device ‘Settings’ -> ‘About phone’ -> ‘Software information’. Then tap on the ‘Build Number’ continuously until ‘Developer mode has been enabled.’ message appears on the screen.
- Also, enable OEM Unlocking in Developer Options. For that, go to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Aditional settings’ and tap on ‘Developer options’. Scroll down and enable the ‘OEM Unlock’ toggle. If the OEM unlock toggle is missing, then you also check out this tutorial.
- Download and extract the Odin 3.13.1 on your PC.
Downloads
- TWRP Recovery for Samsung Galaxy A6 (SM-A600): TWRP-3.2.3-TwrpBuilder-a6ltexx-2018-11-26_20-43.tar
- TWRP Recovery for Samsung Galaxy A6+ (SM-A605): twrp_3.2.3-2_sm-a6plte_191118.tar
- RMM Bypass: RMM_Bypass_v3_corsicanu.zip – This fixes the KG/RMM State – Pre-Normal issue (OEM unlock disappearing after reboot) on Samsung devices
- DM Verity fix: no-verity-opt-encrypt-6.1.zip
- Latest Magisk Installer zip: Magisk-v20.0.zip (Optionally, check for the latest available version here)
- Latest Odin flash tool: Odin v3.13.1.zip
Install TWRP Recovery on Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018)
- Download TWRP Recovery image for Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+.
- Switch off your phone completely.
- While the phone is powered down, hold the Volume Down, Volume Up and Power button to enter Download Mode.
- With the Galaxy A6/A6+ in Download Mode, connect it to the PC via the USB cable.
- Launch Odin Flash tool by double-clicking on the ‘Odin3 3.13.1.exe’ file. Make sure the device is detected, and the COM port at the top left of the screen is blue.
- Click on the ‘AP’ button and select the ‘TWRP-3.2.3-TwrpBuilder-a6ltexx-2018-08-21_14-37.tar‘ file for the Galaxy A6 (SM-A600) or ‘twrp_3.2.3-2_sm-a6plte_191118.tar‘ file for the Galaxy A6+ (SM-A605).
- Make sure that ‘F.Reset Time’ and ‘Auto-reboot’ options are selected in Odin’s options.
- While holding the Volume Up and Power buttons together, click on the ‘Start’ button to install TWRP recovery on Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ 2018.
Important!: Keep holding the buttons even after the flashing process finishes. This will make sure that your phone directly boots into TWRP. If not, then DM-Verity and Prenormal RMM/KG State will trigger and you will have to wait for another 7 days until you can flash something.
Your phone should now enter the TWRP recovery mode. Now head down to the next section to finally root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018) using Magisk.
Root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018)
- On the ‘Unmodified System Partition’ screen, swipe to allow modifications.
- Now go to ‘Wipe‘ -> ‘Format Data‘. Type ‘yes‘ in the field to confirm the wiping of /data partition and hit Enter. This will completely erase all the data on the device.
- Go back to the TWRP home screen, then tap on ‘Reboot‘, and then on ‘Recovery‘.
- Next, go to ‘Mount’ and press the ‘Enable MTP’ button.
- Connect the Galaxy A6 to the PC using the USB cable.
- Transfer the RMM Bypass, DM Verity fix and the latest Magisk installer zip files to the internal storage.
- In the TWRP main menu, tap the ‘Install’ button and first select the ‘RMM_Bypass_v3_corsicanu.zip‘ and swipe to confirm the installation
- Press the back button once, and flash the ‘no-verity-opt-encrypt-6.1.zip‘ file.
- Lastly, flash the ‘Magisk-v20.0.zip‘ file to root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018).
- When the flashing process finishes, tap the ‘Reboot System’ button.
Once your Galaxy A6 boots set it up by following the on-screen instructions. You should now see Magisk Manager among other apps. If you want to verify if your device has been successfully rooted, download and run the Root Checker app from the Play Store. Now that your phone is rooted, you can start using root-enabled apps, install Magisk modules to add extra features or use MagiskHide to hide root from certain apps.
Rooting via Magisk also makes it easier to install OTA updates on your rooted phone. To know more, check out the instructions in this guide.
So, this was our tutorial on how to install TWRP recovery and root Samsung Galaxy A6/A6+ (2018). If you have any questions or get stuck at any step, feel free to drop a comment below, and we will try our best to help you out.
Carlo
AIUTOOOOOOO….Ciao,io ho fatto tutti i passaggi sul mio samsung a6 ma quando lo vado a riavviare mi lampeggia scritta samsung ma non si accedende.Se invece tengo premuto tasto power+vol su si accende in modalita’ TWRP.Come devo procedere?
Grazie
Dhananjay Bhardwaj
Carlo, is your Galaxy A6 running Android 10?
Anonymous Automatic
ok so my phone just got bricked *redacted by moderator*
you can transfer $300 to my paypal
if not i ddos your shit
Dhananjay
Hello. That’s not a kind way to approach someone I guess. Our moderation team has edited your comment and made it much more appropriate to be shown on our website. If you feel like doing a DDOS, you are welcome.
Should you have just mentioned the problem, I would have worked out freely to recover your device. If you would like to proceed with the recovering process, I am here.
Ashish
Most useless tutorial. Waste of time. Why on this earth someone would want to install TWRP on their working phone? One generally need to do this on non-working (bricked) phones to recover data. And on bricked phones we cannot enable USB debugging (if not already), because phone is BRICKED. Period.
Dhananjay
Hi Ashish. Well, people install TWRP not to recover data primarily, but because they want to install custom ROMs, kernels, other flashable mods, root binaries, take NANDroid backups, etc. Custom recoveries like TWRP, ClockWorkMod, etc were developed for this purpose alone.
Yes, users who are new to the modding scene, would consider “TWRP Recovery” as a data recovery tool as it includes the word “recovery” in it. However, that isn’t the case.
As for the thing you pointed out about USB debugging, there’s no need to enable it when flashing TWRP or rooting your phone. The only purpose USB debugging can serve is to allow you to boot your phone into Download Mode using ADB commands. If the phone’s bricked, one can simply use the button sequence as mentioned in the instructions above to boot their phone into Download Mode.
EDIT: You can also refer to Wikipedia to know what TWRP is.
Robert
I have done everything. But the Magisk Manager isn’t installed and my phone is still not rooted. I don’t know where i did wrong.
Dhananjay
Hi Robert. I am sorry, but I will need more information than that to analyze what’s gone wrong and where.
So, answer me this: Were you able to complete all the instructions without any errors? And did your phone properly booted into the OS after performing the instructions?
mwaka
hi guys thanks for all your job!!!
but i’ve faced a problem with this TWRP when flashing it. Odin shows failed so i want to know if it’s also compatible with the samsung A600P SPR
thanks
Dhananjay
Hi mwaka. The ones provided here are for the International variant running Exynos 7870 SoC, while your phone has 7874.
Please try this TWRP recovery image on your device. The instructions and rest of the files are the same. Let me know if you succeed.
One more thing, before everything else, boot your phone into Download mode and check the current RMM state first.
kegin
ok. so the problem im having is it wont boot into twrp recovery. ive got all the correct files and applications. after I press start it passes but when I force restart it, it stays on Samsung logo. ive read that sometimes it can take up to 20 minutes. if that’s the case should I be holding volume up and power the whole time tell I see twrp. is there a way I can install it using magisk manager. cause I have successfully rooted my device
Dhananjay
Hi Kevin. You will need to hold the Volume Up + Power buttons right from the moment when you click the ‘Start’ button in Odin and keep holding the buttons until you see the TWRP splashscreen.
Max
Hi,
Will installing TWRP and RMM bypass help to flash a lower Android version (to downgrade from 9 to 8)? Standard bootloader does not allow to downgrade.
Thanks.
Dhananjay
Hi Max. NO, it won’t allow you to downgrade. You’re will not able to downgrade because Samsung implemented a security feature (back in 2018) that prevents the firmware to downgrade if the bootloader version is lower than the one currently installed on your phone.
Neither TWRP, nor the RMM bypass zip alters anything within the bootloader too.
peter
hey guys, just a quick question,
i need the magisk root and that works fine,
but for my purposese i need smali module installed in magisk, fine so far but….. when i restart its bootloop forever….
im on stock rom on a605fn
no custom lineage or whatsoever or an other sollution?
kind regards, Peter.
Dhananjay
Hi Peter. I have tried researching the official Magisk Module thread and found some instances where certain users faced the same bootloop issue. For a majority of them, it was specific to the Samsung stock firmware. While another user was able to fix it by unticking “signature spoofing” while patching. References: 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Try going through a few posts above and below each referenced post. It might help.
I have personally never used this specific module. So, I couldn’t provide any technical help regarding it. However, it would be better if you could further take logs and provide them to the developer on the original XDA thread itself. Someone else with more expertise with the module + Samsung devices might be able to help. May be the developer himself.
Moses
It actually worked! I had to connect the usb cable to enter download mode! Now I’m rooted! Thanks for everything.
I believe you don’t need to wait 7 days if you use your gmail account.
Dhananjay
Nice to hear that Moses! Actually the seven days period is necessary unless Prenromal/KnoxGuard state is triggered. In your case, you did everything to the point, and hence, you didn’t need to wait for seven days.
Moses
Hi
Something funny is happening. When I connected to google, OEM unlock appeared again and I used it (1 day after). Then it requested my gmail again to confirm during the initial set up. Now the combo vol up+down+power to enter download mode no longer works. I did a second OEM ulocking and I can clearly see in developer mode it’s activated. But there is no way to access download mode. Please help me understand this.
Moses
Hi
I have A6 and what’s confusing is the vol up+down after flashing twrp. It basically sends the phone in download mode. Isn’t there any other key combo to achieve twrp? After successfully flashing twrp my phone rebooted and then I tried the process again that’s where it showed prenormal state. Also it should be noted that in order to activate OEM unlock all of your data will be wipped.
Dhananjay
Hi Moses. Thanks for pointing that out. Although a small, it is a very important step and it was wrong. Apologies for that.
I have correct it. Before you press the Start button in Odin, you have to press Volume Up and Power buttons together, instead of Volume Up + Volume Down + Power.
Adel Mahmoudi
Important!: Make sure that your phone directly boots into TWRP or the phone will bootloop.
but you did’nt explain how do that Sir ????
Dhananjay
Hi. I have added the required info right after the TWRP installation instructions. Make sure to hold the Volume Up and Power buttons before pressing the ‘Start’ button in Odin. Keep holding the buttons until you see the TWRP splashscreen.
Abdelaziz
It seems that it does not work for mine (SM-A600FZKNXEF). After I installed TWRP and fix for RMM, the phone loops in reboot. Luckily, I was able to flash an official ROM.
Did someone face this issue?
Thanks.
Dhananjay
Hi. It works, and has been confirmed by several users on XDA as well. Please make sure that you follow the instructions till the end.
Abdelaziz
Hello,
I recently bought a Samsung A6 ( SM-A600FZKNXEF). Before beginning to use it, I tried to install TWRP for backup ( not interested to root it for the moment). I followed the procedure but unfortunately, it did not work for me. After I installed TWRP and fix for RMM, the phone was rebooting indefinitely. Luckily, I was able to flash an official ROM.
Did someone already face this issue?
Dhananjay
Hi Abdelaziz. That’s because DM-Verity was triggered. It is supposed to be that way.
So, once you have TWRP installed, boot directly into it. Then flash the RMM/KG State bypass and no-verity-opt-encrypt zip files. The former will make sure that your Galaxy A6 does not enter Prenormal RMM/KG state and the latter will prevent DM-Verity to be triggered.
To sum up, you can simply skip the Magisk installation part and follow the rest of the instructions as mentioned.
Alberto
Hello,
in case i want to unroot an a6 + is possible later?
Think you
Dhananjay
Yes, of course. By simply flashing the stock firmware using Odin. We have a step-by-step guide for that too.
Alberto
Hi,
because the download RMM doesn’t work?
Thanks
Milan Spinka
Hey, I’ve got a little issue here, when I flash TWRP to my device (A6+), reboot and press volume up to approve “custom OS”, the device just goes into download mode and it says
“Downloading… Do not turn off target
Volume Down Key + Power Key for more than 7 secs : Cancel (restart phone)”
in the centre of the screen. What do I do? Thanks in advance.
Dhananjay
Hi. While your phone is in Download Mode, connect it to the PC and run Odin tool again. Then, select the TWRP file.
Now, pay attention to step #8 above: Make sure to hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons together and then click on the ‘Start’ button in Odin. Keep holding the buttons until your phone reboots and enters the TWRP recovery mode.
Anon
Removing the cable from phone after odin finishes worked for me
Bassem Baraya
Hi, Thanks for the detailed steps but I got stuck at the very begining:
I was on stock unrooted firmware and I waited for the OEM unlock option to show. After it showed up, i turned it one. The device wanted to reset to factory settings and it restarted.
After the first boot the OEM option disappeared.
But when I went to the download mode I found that:
FRP lock : off
OEM lock : off
RMM state : prenormal
When I tried to install twrp it said: only official binaries are allowed to be flashed.
Should I wait for another 7 days for the OEM to show up again to turn it on?
Or what should I do?
Thanks in advance.
Dhananjay
Hi Bassem Baraya, I believe you would have solved the issue by now. Sorry for the late response.
If not yet, then yes. As you have mentioned, the “RMM State” is now set to “Prernormal”. Which means you need to wait for another 7 days until the RMM state turns back to normal and the OEM Unlock toggle should re-appear.
One thing to take care of, is that during this 7 days period your phone should be connected to internet (mobile data or WiFi) and shouldn’t be powered off or rebooted.
Bassem Baraya
Hi again, thanks for the reply.
Yes, it was fixed by now, but unfortunately I can’t root my phone on android 9 because I use samsung account and I can’t give up using the lockscreen. so, I’m waiting for a fix, or else I’ll have to downgrade and re-root.
Thanks again for your reply 🙂 and thanks for the guide.
Kay
Hello, I seem to be stuck at the very first step. I’ve downloaded all required files for my A6, and followed the instructions up to holding Volume Up & Down key and clicking start on Odin. The problem is that after Odin returns a “Pass” message, the phone restarts into the normal first time setup screen, but with safe mode, not TWRP recovery mode like it should. I’ve repeated this step several times and i get the same result.
Dhananjay
Hi Kay. Here’s what I want you to do:
1) When Odin window opens untick the ‘Auto Reboot’ option
2) Then select the TWRP file and press the Start button
3) Once the flashing is complete, hold the Volume Down and Power button together to force shut down the device
4) When the screen goes black, hold the Volume Up and Power button to enter TWRP
Let me know if it works.
Manos
Hey when I flash the twrp file and boot to recovery mode, twrp fails to do anything it fails to mount so it fails to install zips and as a reasult I have to flash the stock firmware to accually boot into os am i doing anything wrong ?
Dhananjay
Hi Manos! That’s because you first need to format the userdata to decrypt the storage, so that the recovery could mount the partition. After that, you will be able to flash the zip files. To do that, go to ‘Wipe’ > ‘Format Data’ in TWRP and then type in “Yes” in the provided field.
Kadri
Hi Sir,
I have several Samsung Live Demo Units that i have managed to flash with other firmware versions so i could remove the annoying demo, except for the A6+ …. after flash the firmware and everything looked fine and Odin showing the green pass sign the mobile rebooted and then a blue screen appeared with this text : Security Error: this phone has been flashed with unauthorized software and is locked. and another error in the top left corner says Secure fail: modem. I tried wiping the data as well as flashing the firmware again, but nothing helped. So what could be the problem?
Dhananjay
Hi Kadri. Sorry, but I don’t have much (Or should I say none at all) experience with demo units or how they work.
Although, after a little exploration, what I could tell is that Samsung got really tricky with the security (Like the Prenormal RMM State feature that prevents flashing). But still, that’s just a shot in the dark, considering I have no knowledge on the matter.
So, I wouldn’t be able to help you much. There’s nothing more than I’d suggest in a normal scenario, that you have not already tried (Flashing stock, factory reset, etc).
Yusuf
I turn on the OEM unlock and it says the phone will factory reset (i thought doing this the OEM will enable and i don’t have any choice) after factory reset then i check to developer options and the OEM unluck is missing. my question is, are the OEM unlock enable or disable?
Dhananjay
Hi Yusuf. Samsung has recently been implementing a lot of security features to tighten things up. Basically, your phone has entered the ‘Prenormal’ RMM State, you can know more about it here.
You have to make sure that phone’s connected to the network and also do not reboot it in any case for straight 7 (seven) days. After that, the OEM unlock toggle should reappear and you should be able to flash TWRP and root the phone.
Earlier, there was a method to bypass this 7 day period. The method could be found here, although the trick was patched. But a recent user reported that he succeeded by performing an extra step after the instructions mentioned in our post.
Faruk
Hello sir, after flashing twrp file in Odin in downloading…it pass but it doesn’t show teamwin in recovery…I tried everything sir…please tell what I am missing.
My OEM was unlocked by the way
Dhananjay
Hi Faruk. Are you still facing this issue? If so, then before you press the ‘Start’ button in Odin during the TWRP installation instructions, ensure that you press and hold the Volume Up button. As soon as the flashing process finishes, your phone will reboot and will enter TWRP. Just make sure not to release the Volume Up and Power buttons together until you see the TWRP screen.
Sorry for the delayed response. It’s quite hard for me to manage all the comments in various posts.
salim said
Hello there , i’ve tried this method with my Galaxy a6 plus.
When i press the flash button on odim, the whole process fails with a message “ONLY OFFICIAL RELEASED BINARIES ARE ALLOWED TO BE FLASHED” on my device.
Mind you, i pressed and held volume up and down while pressing the Start button on odim.
What am i missing ??
Dhananjay
Hi Salim. In order to flash TWRP or any custom binary, you must first enable the ‘OEM unlock’ option in Developer options.
Juan
I cant find OEM unlock in developer options please help
Dhananjay
Hi Juan. If you can’t find OEM Unlock toggle, then KG/RMM state is probably triggered on your phone.
Boot your phone into Download Mode and check if KG/RMM state is showing as “Prenormal” or “Checking”?
Did you previously try flashing a custom binary (like TWRP) on your phone via Odin?
Islam
I have an inscription when starting the phone Set warranty bit: kernel –
Susa Telbat
Hi, thanks for the instructions. However, befor I begin:
1) do these instructions cover the A6+ model (SM-A605FN)?
2) can you recommend a rom to flash to get rid of the Samsung bloatware?
Dhananjay
Hello. Initially, this guide was only for the A6 (A600). However, upon seeing your comment, I have now updated it and it now supports the A6+ (SM-A605) too. Thanks to the unofficial TWRP build posted by ashyx on XDA forums.
There aren’t any ROMs (that I could find) that support the A6+. With root, you can easily get rid of the bloatware. But if you are really interested in experimenting and since the A6+ supports Project Treble, you can try one of the ROMs available in XDA’s Project Treble section.
Alan Burns
Thank you for this! I got there in the end. Took a few attempts to get TWRP flashed through Odin, but I referred to another site for tips.
Dhananjay
You’re welcome Alan. If you could take some time out and let us know what went wrong with the TWRP instructions on our site, we could correct it.
kegin
what site did you refer to?
Dhananjay
Hi Kegin. Are you facing an issue with the instructions mentioned here? You can let us know so that we can look into it and correct it at the same time.
kegin
after I press start I cant get it to boot into twrp recovery
Dhananjay
Hi Kegin. Could you please elaborate a bit on the matter? Exactly what error do you see when you flash TWRP?
kim
external_sd 안에 작동하지않고 mount로 pc 연결도 안되고 어떻게해야하나요