Anyone who has been reading the Android news you may have heard that the Verizon Galaxy S4 comes with a locked bootloader. This means that you cannot install TWRP/CWR just by flashing a simple tar file via Odin.
This has made developers think of other ways to root the Verizon Galaxy S4 with a locked bootloader.
Developers have found an alternative way to get a custom recovery and to root the Verizon Galaxy S4. By flashing the SCH-I545_MD2_423399_Kernel Pre-Release kernel you can bypass the locked bootloader and root your Galaxy S4!
If you have a GT-i9500, T-Mobile SGH-M919, or Sprint SPH-L720 Galaxy S4 using this root guide.
Beware! A possible Verizon OTA Android update might block this exploit and make your Galaxy S4 non-rootable until a new exploit is discovered!!
Follow the steps below to root your Verizon SCH-I545 Galaxy S4!
1. Power off your phone and press the volume down, home button, and power button at the same time. Once your phone vibrates let go of the power button, but keep holding onto the volume down and home button.
2. Now press the volume up to continue. You will see "Downloading..." on your phone's screen.
3. Plug in your phone via microUSB.
4. Download Odin and SCH-I545_MD2_423399_Kernel Pre-Release kernel to your computer using the links below.
Download Odin3.07.zip
Download SCH-I545_MD2_423399_Kernel.tar.md5
5. Unzip and open Odin. You should see a yellow box at the left of the Odin application. If you do not then download and install the Samsung USB drivers.
6. Click on "PDA" and locate and select "SCH-I545_MD2_423399_Kernel.tar.md5".
7. Make sure ONLY "Auto Reboot" and "PDA" is checked marked.
8. Click "Start" and wait till your phone completely boots up.
9. Now download and extract "motochopper-supersu.zip" using the link below.
Download motochopper-supersu.zip
10. On your phone go into Settings > More > About device > Tap on "Build number" 12 times until it says "Developer mode has been enabled".
11. Go back to the "More" tab > Developer Options > Check mark "USB debugging".
12. Go back into the "More" tab > Security > Turn on "Unknown sources" and turn off "Verify apps".
13. Plug in your phone via microUSB and open "run.bat" in the "motochopper-supersu" folder.
14. Press enter on your computer and now on your phone's screen accept the USB debugging computer request.
15. Once it has finished press enter again to reboot your phone.
16. You now have a SuperSU app on your phone, open it and update the binary!
17. Unplug your phone and enter into Download Mode. Power off your phone and press the volume down, home button, and power button at the same time. Once your phone vibrates let go of the power button, but keep holding onto the volume down and home button.
18. Press the volume up to continue and plug in your phone via microUSB
19. Download SCH-I545_MDK_562219_Kernel using the link below
Download SCH-I545_MDK_562219_Kernel.tar.md5
20. Open the Odin application and you should see the yellow bar again.
21. Click on "PDA" and locate and select "SCH-I545_MDK_562219_Kernel.tar.md5"
22. Select "Start" and once your phone finishes reboot your done!
You now have a rooted Verizon Galaxy S4!
If you want to install TWRP or ClockworkMod Recovery to flash custom ROMS, Nandroid Backup, etc. Download ROM Manager (ClockworkMod Recovery) or Goo Manager (TWRP) from the Play Store. Then install the recovery within the app.
Credits - XDA
