{"id":13401,"date":"2026-10-08T12:45:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hovatek.com\/blog\/?p=13401"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:45:53","slug":"how-i-tried-to-root-samsung-galaxy-a12-sm-a125f-u5-for-my-android-anonymity-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hovatek.com\/blog\/how-i-tried-to-root-samsung-galaxy-a12-sm-a125f-u5-for-my-android-anonymity-experiment\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Tried to Root Samsung Galaxy A12 SM-A125F U5 for My Android Anonymity Experiment"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Samsung Galaxy A12 Anonymity Experiment \u2014 Part 1: Getting Root Access<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This post is the first part of a larger experiment I have been planning with my Samsung Galaxy A12: how anonymous can I make an Android phone when I have full control over the device?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

My eventual goal is to investigate how much of the phone’s observable identity I can change or reduce. That includes things such as device properties, Android identifiers, location, network identity, browser and application fingerprinting, Google and Samsung services, permissions, telemetry and other signals that applications or websites may use to recognize a device.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Before attempting any of that, however, I decided that I wanted root access.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

ADB already gives me a lot of control over an Android phone, but some of the experiments I have in mind will require access beyond what normal ADB and Android settings provide. Root access would give me a much better laboratory for inspecting and modifying parts of Android that are normally protected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So this article became Part 1 of the anonymity experiment: rooting the Samsung Galaxy A12.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The phone I used was a Samsung Galaxy A12 SM-A125F<\/code> running Android 12 on bootloader\/binary revision 5. I expected the normal Samsung Magisk procedure to be fairly straightforward: download the matching firmware, patch the AP file, flash it with Odin and verify root.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That is not what happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The experiment eventually involved a successful Magisk AP patch, an Odin flash that returned PASS<\/code> but left the phone bootlooping, a complete stock-firmware recovery, an exact-build third-party boot root package that Odin rejected, and a TWRP package whose recovery image was rejected as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Instead of hiding those failed attempts, I decided to document them because they revealed some important differences in how this Galaxy A12 handles modified firmware.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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About this series:<\/strong> The aim of this project is not to claim that an Android phone can be made perfectly anonymous. I want to test, one layer at a time, which identifiers and signals I can actually control and which ones remain visible. Every conclusion in the series will be based on what I can reproduce on this Galaxy A12.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Important:<\/strong> Rooting and flashing Samsung firmware can wipe the phone, trip Knox permanently, cause bootloops and require a complete stock-firmware restore. I am using this Galaxy A12 as a lab device and backed up anything I wanted to keep before continuing.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1. Identifying the Exact Galaxy A12 Firmware<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I started by confirming the exact model, Android build and bootloader version over ADB.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

adb devices\r\nadb shell getprop ro.product.model\r\nadb shell getprop ro.build.display.id\r\nadb shell getprop ro.bootloader\r\nadb shell getprop ro.boot.flash.locked\r\nadb shell getprop ro.boot.verifiedbootstate<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The phone reported:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Model: SM-A125F\r\nBuild: SP1A.210812.016.A125FXXS5CXE3\r\nBootloader: A125FXXS5CXE3\r\nro.boot.flash.locked: 0\r\nro.boot.verifiedbootstate: orange<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The 5<\/code> in A125FXXS5CXE3<\/code> was important because this phone was on Samsung binary \/ bootloader revision 5.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"ADB<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
2. Confirming the CSC and Region<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Before downloading firmware, I checked the Samsung CSC information so that I could match the phone as closely as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
adb shell getprop ro.boot.sales_code\r\nadb shell getprop ro.csc.sales_code\r\nadb shell getprop ro.csc.country_code\r\nadb shell getprop ro.csc.countryiso_code\r\nadb shell getprop ro.build.display.id\r\nadb shell getprop ro.bootloader<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The results were:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
ro.boot.sales_code: SEB\r\nro.csc.sales_code: SEB\r\nro.csc.country_code: BALTIC\r\nro.csc.countryiso_code: LV\r\nBuild: SP1A.210812.016.A125FXXS5CXE3\r\nBootloader: A125FXXS5CXE3<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
That gave me a clear firmware target: SM-A125F<\/code>, CSC SEB<\/code>, Android 12, binary 5 and build A125FXXS5CXE3<\/code>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"ADB<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
3. Confirming That the Bootloader Was Already Unlocked<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The ADB results strongly suggested that the bootloader was already unlocked, but later checks made this even clearer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
adb shell getprop ro.boot.flash.locked\r\nadb shell getprop ro.boot.verifiedbootstate\r\nadb shell getprop ro.boot.vbmeta.device_state<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The phone returned:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
0\r\norange\r\nunlocked<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Download Mode later gave the strongest confirmation with:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
OEM LOCK: OFF (U)<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
So I did not need to repeat the Samsung bootloader-unlock procedure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
4. Downloading the Exact Stock Firmware<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I downloaded the exact matching SM-A125F \/ SEB \/ A125FXXS5CXE3<\/code> firmware package.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The firmware set contained the normal Samsung Odin files:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
AP_A125FXXS5CXE3_....tar.md5\r\nBL_A125FXXS5CXE3_....tar.md5\r\nCP_A125FXXS5CXE1_....tar.md5\r\nCSC_OXM_A125FOXM5CXE3_....tar.md5\r\nHOME_CSC_OXM_A125FOXM5CXE3_....tar.md5<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The AP file was by far the largest of the firmware files and was the file I would later patch with Magisk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Samsung<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
5. Extracting AP, BL, CP and CSC<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
After the firmware download completed, I extracted the archive to a folder on the Windows desktop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I kept the original AP, BL, CP and CSC files untouched because I knew I might need them later if the root attempt failed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Samsung<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
6. Installing Magisk and Checking Ramdisk Support<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I installed Magisk 30.7 on the Galaxy A12 and opened its home screen before patching anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Magisk reported:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Installed: N\/A\r\nZygisk: No\r\nRamdisk: Yes\r\nApp: 30.7 (30700)<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The important value was Ramdisk: Yes<\/code>. I therefore did not enable Magisk’s Recovery Mode option when patching the AP firmware.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Magisk<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
7. Copying the Stock AP Firmware to the Phone With ADB<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Rather than transferring the multi-gigabyte AP file through MTP, I used ADB.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I first confirmed the AP filename on the PC:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
dir \/b \"C:\\Users\\Enlightenment\\Desktop\\A125F-root\\AP_*.tar.md5\"<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Then I pushed it to the phone’s Download folder:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
for %F in (\"C:\\Users\\Enlightenment\\Desktop\\A125F-root\\AP_*.tar.md5\") do adb push \"%~fF\" \/sdcard\/Download\/<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
ADB reported a successful transfer of 4765757646<\/code> bytes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I verified the file on the phone:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
adb shell ls -lh \/sdcard\/Download\/AP*<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The AP appeared as approximately 4.4G<\/code>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Before patching, I also checked free internal storage:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
adb shell df -h \/data<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The phone had about 15G<\/code> available, giving Magisk enough room to create another large firmware archive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"ADB<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
8. Patching the Samsung AP File With Magisk<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Inside Magisk, I selected:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Install\r\nSelect and Patch a File\r\nDownloads\r\nAP_A125FXXS5CXE3_....tar.md5\r\nLET'S GO<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Magisk unpacked the AP archive, processed the images inside it and repacked the result.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The operation completed with:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
All done!<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Magisk created:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\/storage\/emulated\/0\/Download\/magisk_patched-30700_7AO2R.tar<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Step<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
9. Pulling the Magisk-Patched AP Back to the PC<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I verified the patched file first:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
adb shell ls -lh \/sdcard\/Download\/magisk_patched*<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The result showed:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
magisk_patched-30700_7AO2R.tar\r\n3.5G<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
My first pull attempt failed because the destination folder did not exist, so I created the folder and tried again:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
if not exist \"C:\\Users\\Enlightenment\\Desktop\\A125F-root\" mkdir \"C:\\Users\\Enlightenment\\Desktop\\A125F-root\"\r\n\r\nadb pull \"\/sdcard\/Download\/magisk_patched-30700_7AO2R.tar\" \"C:\\Users\\Enlightenment\\Desktop\\A125F-root\\magisk_patched-30700_7AO2R.tar\"<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The successful transfer reported:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1 file pulled, 0 skipped\r\n3782518272 bytes<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
A final dir<\/code> check confirmed the patched AP on the PC at 3,782,518,272<\/code> bytes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"ADB<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
10. Preparing Odin With the Patched AP<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
For the first root attempt, I loaded Odin with the matching stock files and the Magisk-patched AP:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
BL  - original BL_A125FXXS5CXE3_....tar.md5\r\nAP  - magisk_patched-30700_7AO2R.tar\r\nCP  - original CP_A125FXXS5CXE1_....tar.md5\r\nCSC - original CSC_OXM_A125FOXM5CXE3_....tar.md5<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I used the normal CSC<\/code> rather than HOME_CSC<\/code> for this initial Magisk installation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Odin detected the phone on a COM port and accepted all four files.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Odin<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Samsung<\/a>\r\n
The Galaxy A12 in Samsung Download Mode.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
11. Odin Successfully Flashed the Magisk-Patched AP<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I started the Odin flash and watched it write the firmware partitions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The Odin log showed entries including:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Firmware update start..\r\nNAND Write Start!!\r\nboot.img\r\nvbmeta.img\r\nrecovery.img\r\ndtbo.img\r\nsuper.img<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Odin<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Samsung<\/a>\r\n
The phone-side Download Mode progress indicator during firmware transfer.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Odin eventually displayed a large green:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
PASS!<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The final log also showed:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
RES OK !!\r\nRemoved!!\r\nAll threads completed. (succeed 1 \/ failed 0)<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
At this point, the flashing stage itself looked completely successful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Odin<\/a>\r\n
Odin reported PASS after 03:29, but the phone subsequently bootlooped. This result confirmed the flash completed, not successful root access.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
12. The Phone Bootlooped After Odin PASS<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The successful Odin result did not mean the phone could actually boot the modified firmware.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
After the flash, the Galaxy A12 entered a bootloop instead of completing the Android first boot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I initially tried to enter Recovery so that I could perform the expected factory reset, but Recovery was not opening reliably from the bootloop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
This was the first major lesson from the experiment: Odin PASS only proved that Odin and the phone accepted the flash operation. It did not prove that Android would successfully boot afterward.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
13. What Download Mode Revealed After the Bootloop<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I returned to Samsung Download Mode and finally got a screen containing detailed device information.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The important lines included:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
PRODUCT NAME: SM-A125F\r\nCURRENT BINARY: Custom\r\nFRP LOCK: OFF\r\nOEM LOCK: OFF (U)\r\nWARRANTY VOID: 0x1\r\nRP SWREV: B5 ...\r\nSECURE DOWNLOAD: ENABLE<\/code><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
This confirmed several things at once.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n