It’s no surprise how notorious Verizon is when it comes to bootloader unlocked devices. Almost all of the devices sold via Verizon comes with a locked bootloader, except for the few which also come in as developer editions, but then they are only available off-contract. So things are really sad for Verizon users when it comes to gaining root access on their devices.

But thanks to Android’s brilliant community of developers, who often find a workaround to get root access on bootloader locked devices. The last time a premium Verizon phone was rooted, it was due to the TowelRoot exploit which was developed by renowned hacker Geohot, and the exploit was so powerful that not just Verizon or AT&T phones but every Android phone running on KitKat or below Android versions could be rooted. But then it was a huge security flaw as well, and so the Towelroot was soon patched by all major Android manufacturers via firmware updates.

Anyway, the latest shiny device that is making the headlines is the Samsung Galaxy S6, and while the bootloader unlocked variants of the device have already been rooted (thanks to Chainfire!), the bootloader locked ones on Verizon and AT&T were still non-rootable. But no more!

Developer idler1984 over at XDA posted a new root tool by the name PingPong Root which can root Galaxy S6 without tripping the Knox counter. And since the tool has nothing to do with custom binaries, it doesn’t matter for it if a device has a locked or unlocked bootloader. Hence, the Verizon Galaxy S6 could be rooted with this.

However, PingPong Root is limited to only a few firmware versions as any firmwares built after 5/3 has been patched. Thankfully though, the Verizon Galaxy S6 firmware G920VVRU1AOC3 is still supported by the tool, cheers!

Using PingPong Root is as easy as using Towelroot was. You download the apk file, install it on your Galaxy S6 and hit the “Get root!” button.

→ Download PingPong Root

  1. Download the party_beta1.7z file from the link above and extract it on your PC or phone.
    └ For PC, use 7-zip to extract .7z file.
  2. Once you get the pingpongroot_beta1.apk file, install it on your S6 like you’d install any other .apk file.
  3. Once installed, open PingPong Root app and hit the “Get root!” button to root your Verizon Galaxy S6.
    └ The app might ask for some permission, give it to it and have fun with root.

Once the app is done with its magic, your Verizon Galaxy S6 should be rooted. To verify, download and install the Root Check app from Play store.