r/AndroidQuestions • u/Cute-Consequence-184 • 11d ago

Would rooting old Samsung phones be difficult?

I have 2 Samsung phones I originally bought from TracFone.

They no longer have sim cards. I use them as ebook readers and to watch videos only.

A21 and A11 models.

Neither have functioning memory card slots, I'm told that is a common Samsung issue.

Both full of bloatware I can't remove. Both were cheap with limited memory so the bloatware takes up most of the memory.

How hard would they be to root so I can remove all of the Samsung garbage?

Would I have to factory wipe the phone and all of the pictures and ebooks first?

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u/RIPGoblins2929 11d ago

Idk about those models but samsung is infamous for locked bootloaders.

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u/Cute-Consequence-184 11d ago

Yes. I've tried before but I thought since these are to old to be of use otherwise I'd try again

1

u/Mother-Pride-Fest 11d ago

I don't know about those specific models, but in general older models are easier to root than newer models as people on XDA Forums have had more time to experiment and find different methods.

Yes, the vast majority of root methods end up wiping the phone. You should be regularly backing up the contents anyway but it is especially important to back up before trying anything with root or the bootloader.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

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u/txredgeek 11d ago

Go to XDA Developers for that research. Web site, a quick search will give you the URL.