Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Snapdragon) rooted without tripping Knox

A root method for the Snapdragon (US) variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has now been provided thanks to team from the XDA Developers forums. The method is known as SamFAIL and the team behind it have even managed to achieve it without tripping Knox.

The procedure is based on a modified boot image which can be flashed using Samsung’s ODIN utility software, and you can re-flash the stock Note 8 software at any time (again, without tripping Knox). It won’t unlock your bootloader or SIM unlock your Note 8, it simply grants it root privileges.

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Knox is Samsung’s security system that can, among other things, void your device warranty and prevent Samsung Pay from functioning. This occurs when your device becomes “compromised” or you tamper with the system to try and prevent potential security issues.

Though your warranty would remain intact, there are some caveats with the procedure that could be deal breakers. Firstly, this root method would cause Google’s SafetyNet API to fail, and you can’t Magisk your way around it, meaning certain apps would no longer work (like Netflix). Worse still, the Note 8 will stop charging at 80%. This is something that had been seen in a previous root method, and it was possibly implemented by Samsung to avoid any potential issues (Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7’s battery resulted in problems that ultimately ended its production). That said, XDA Developers notes that this may be just a visual indicator, and the device may charge as normal.

If you want to check this out, visit the dedicated SamFAIL XDA thread here.