I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy J2 and I want to root the device. I know that if I take it to a shop, I can easily get it rooted but since the device that I have bought is the Dubai version of the Samsung Galaxy J2, I’m not sure if I can root the device here. The model number of the phone is Samsung J200f and not the Samsung J200h, which is common in Nepal. How do you suggest I go about rooting the phone?

—Sonam Sherpa

Dear Sonam,

I don’t think you should worry about the version of your device because you’ll find rooting options for all devices, no matter the region. I am sure if you take the device to a mobile shop, they can easily root the device but if you don’t want to put your trust on a third-person, you can also root the phone yourself since the process is not very difficult. You can root your device with the help of the Odin app, which works with almost all Samsung devices. Download the application and install it on your computer.

Also download the root package for your device J200f, I did a rudimentary search on Google for a root package for your device and I found quite a few options. Xdafiledownload.com has a root package for the J200f, you can download the package from this site or if you’d prefer, you can find a better website to download from. But once you have the root package downloaded, turn off your phone and enter download mode (hold the power, home and volume up button). Once the phone has entered download mode, fire up Odin on your computer and plug in the device. Odin should detect your phone and a box on the software should turn green or blue. Once the phone has been detected, all you need to do is identify the root package and hit start.

Make sure that the re-format partition is not checked and the software should take care of the rooting process for you. You will know that the process has succeeded once the software displays a green “Pass” message. Just a few things to note, make sure the root package is for your device (J200f) and that your computer has all the drivers for your phone. This is to make sure that your phone does not brick during the process, but apart from that, the process of rooting is pretty simple and can be performed at home if you don’t trust a third-person with your device.

I have forgotten the screen lock code for my Samsung Duos phone and I don’t have a backup password or email set-up. I can’t even flash the device because the recovery mode does not appear; it just vibrates and restarts. The developer options for the device have also been turned off, so I can’t access the internals of the phone without unlocking the device. How do you suggest I tackle this issue?

—Sabin Shrestha

Dear Sabin,

You seem to be in quite a conundrum because most of the windows that would have helped you recover your device have been shut. I would assume that you’ve signed in with a Google account on your phone because many of the phone’s features, like the Google Play Store, does not work without one. So, considering that you have an email synced with your phone, the best option would be to enter incorrect passwords until the phone locks out.

After the phone has locked, Android will provide recovery options like “forgot pattern” or “forgot pin”. Click on this button and you’ll enter a screen where you can sign into your phone by using your Google account. But since you’ve been using the phone without any email address, you can factory reset your phone with the help of the Android Development Bundle (ADB). Be warned that ADB is created for developers and using it might not be simple, you’ll need basic knowledge of coding to get by this process. Google up on the process if this is your only resort. But before you jump into ADB, try giving entering recovery one more time by holding all of the buttons together during power on (power, home, volume up and volume down). But again this process is different for different phones so try different combinations and see if that helps you enter recovery mode. Because once you boot into recovery, you won’t have so much trouble factory resetting your phone.

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