For a while now, SuperSU has been the best tool to manage superuser access in rooted devices. Although, the app has suffered from a lack of attention from its developers for a while now.
Not too long ago, it was removed from the Play Store without Google giving any reason, letting a lot of users lament of the demise of their favourite root management app.
And now that the app is back again on the Play Store (free), I would not recommend that you use it until you get any clear idea about the future of the app.
This sad ordeal with the root management app made us research its deserving alternatives that can replace this app for rooted devices.
And while we were unable to find many, but there is one app that sand out which equals all its features and is even better than SuperSU in my own opinion.
So, if you’re using a rooted device or thinking of rooting your device, here is the SuperSU alternative that you should be using on your device.
SuperSU Alternative That you should be using
While we were searching for SuperSU alternatives, we were amazed by the sheer lack of apps that can be its worthy alternatives.
But thankfully, we found one app which we believe is not only a good SuperSU alternative but also even surpasses it in so many levels. This is a crystal case of quality versus quantity and while you have one option. It’s the best option you could have hoped for.
The app I’m talking about is called Magisk (free) and here is why it’s the best SuperSU alternative.
Magisk is a suite of tools that are designed to manage rooting of Android devices which include processes such as superuser access, SELinux patches, boot scripts, and more. But the most significant benefit of using Magisk is that it works systemless-ly.
What it means is that Magisk does not modify or alter your system partition. It says that the Android system running on your device is not aware of the root allowing you even to use apps (for example, banking apps and apps like Google Play) that don’t work on a rooted device.
Another unique benefit of using this app is that your device can receive OTA system update as usual and updating your phone will no way result in losing root access. This is a significant benefit as no one wants to root their device repeatedly.
Magisk can achieve these feats as it does not affect the system partition. However, the modification made by Magisk are saved safely in the boot partition.
Thereby Magisk avoids detection from Google’s SafetyNet which is a tool that detects if the android system has been tampered with and it blocks certain apps from working correctly.
But since Magisk is not detectable by SafetyNet, all your apps will work just fine even when your device is rooted.
Plus, the developer is very regular with updates, so also if Google makes any change to SafetyNet that causes problems with Magisk, you can rest assured that an update will be out to sort the problem out.
That is why I find this app to be the best root management app out there, and I consider it a worthy replacement to SuperSU.
How to Install Magisk on Android?
Now that you now know about Magisk and why it is the best SuperSU alternative you could hope for, you are probably wondering how to install the root management app on your phone.
As long as you have a smartphone that is running Android 5.0 and above with an unlocked bootloader and a custom recovery running on it, you can quickly flash Magisk zip file using the recovery.
Prerequisites:
- Unlocked Bootloader
- TWRP or any other Custom Recovery
- Magisk can be installed with the help of a flashable zip. So you can get the .zip file from here. Download it and then transfer it to your device.
- Then, reboot your device to recovery mode by using your device’s specific key combinations.
Note: Before going further, you may want to create a Nandroid backup of your current ROM, just in case anything goes wrong.
Here, go ahead and tap on the ‘Install‘ button and then browse for the Magisk ZIP file that you have transferred. After you have done that, swipe right to flash the ZIP file and then continue installing Magisk.
The installer will modify the boot image of your device and then creates a new magisk.img partition in your device’s root directory. It will also place the necessary files in /cache and /data partition. Once the flashing process is completed, you will see a ‘Reboot System‘ button. Tap on it.
So finally Magisk has now been installed on your device. But to manage it, you will need to install Magisk Manager. The Magisk Manager was recently removed from the Play Store, so you will have to install it on your device through the APK file of the app.
But first, you must enable installation of apps from ‘Unknown Sources‘ in Settings >> Security. Then, download the Magisk Manager APK file into your device and install it afterwards.
So that is all, you can now use the Magisk Manager to manage the different elements of Magisk.
How to use Magisk Manager
Once you have installed the Magisk Manager, you will be welcomed with a variety of options to modify with the features of Magisk. A mere swipe from the left will show the navigation drawer that will present you with a lot of various options.
Navigate to the “Install” section to check the version of Magisk that has been installed on your device, also check if there are any updates. If there are any updates, you can easily download and install the latest version from this section only.
When you head over to the “Superuser” section, you can manage any apps you have granted or denied root access privileges, and then you can proceed to alter them if you wish.
Another is the ‘Modules‘ section. This section can be to manage the already installed modules, as well as remove any Magisk module that any third-party developer may have made but it’s not available on the Magisk repo yet.
However, the “Downloads” section is the direct link to the Magisk repo, from there you can download and install modules of your choice directly.
Moving ahead, we have the “Magisk Hide” page, that you can use to hide Magisk from being detected by any specific app. but to do that, you can toggle the button that is next to the specific app, and they won’t be able to detect any Magisk installation.
Magisk also offers a “Log” section, which primarily likes the name implies, keeps a log of all the activities involving Magisk.
And lastly, we have the Settings” option. Where you can alter the various settings of the Magisk framework, such as enable the built-in BusyBox, install support for systemless ad-blocking, and modify multiple prompt settings for Superuser.
Various Uses of Magisk
How you can use Android Pay while being rooted with Magisk?
As you might be aware of, while Android does not allow modifications and customizability to suit the customer’s choices, it does refrain some of its essential elements to be used on a stock or non-rooted device only, for security purposes only.
Once such feature is the Android Pay, the Android Pay rigorously checks the system for root access, and it does not work on any system that has a trace of root access. This can be shunned with the help of Magisk.
How you can use Pokemon Go and Snapchat while being rooted with Magisk?
Pokemon Go and Snapchat are some of the apps that make use of Google’s SafetyNet Check to verify root access on a device. If a device is found rooted, the app would automatically stop working, which is evident in these apps.
So in case, your device is rooted through the traditional SuperSU, both Pokemon Go and Snapchat would fail at the login stage only. But using Magisk will help you to go ahead and play with these apps with ease and also use additional rooted mods as well without any fear whatsoever.
Use Magisk to Install System-Less Xposed Framework
Xposed Framework is one of the most widely used systems alter methods that are available out there. It contains different sub-modules that one can use to tweak their device to suit your reference.
As such, even Xposed Framework demands root access, but this can be bypassed with the help of Magisk.
All you are required to do is go to the Download Section and download the Xposed Framework according to your Android OS version (SDK 21 – Android 5.0.x; SDK 22 – Android 5.1; SDK 23 – Android 6.x)
Install Sound Mods such as Viper4Android
Viper4Android is one of the most popular sound mods for Android, just because of the plethora of options it offers.
While Viper4Android does not require any root access though it does require one to change their SELinux Status, this is done by installing Viper4Android from the Downloads Option.
Once it has been established, you will need to install Viper’s Android app to be able to make use of the settings. You can download the app from here. Once it’s done, you can make use of the large number of mods offered by Viper4Android.
How to Uninstall Magisk?
In case you decide to uninstall Magisk from your device, download the uninstaller’s Flashable Zip file from here onto your device, then flash it through TWRP.
And make sure to wipe your cache/dalvik upon uninstallation of Magisk to avoid any conflicts.
Manage Your Rooted Android Device with Magisk?
Like I earlier said, Magisk is the best SuperSU alternative anyone could hope for. The app is open-source and also completely free to use it even better. So if you are still a SuperSU user, you should switch to Magisk.
And on the contrary, if you have any other SuperSU alternative that you want to share with us, kindly drop the name down in the comments section. And do not forget to share and tell your friends about us.
