Root Explorer

by Speed Software
4.2 out of 5 stars1,163 customer ratings
Guidance Suggested
Price: $3.99
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Sold by:Amazon.com Services, Inc
Languages Supported: Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

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Latest updates

What's new in version 4.12.3
  • Updated target API level to 33

Product Details

Release Date: 2009
Date first listed on Amazon: June 24, 2009
Developed By: Speed Software
ASIN: B004SRWW0C
Customer reviews:
4.2 out of 5 stars1,163 customer ratings

Product features

  • Multiple tabs.
  • Network (SMB), Google Drive, Box and Dropbox support.
  • Concurrent, background processing of multiple operations with notifications.
  • Action bar and multi-select action mode support.
  • Fully customizable list icons.

Product description

Root Explorer is the ultimate file manager for root users. Access the whole of android's file system (including the elusive data folder!).

Features include multiple tabs, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and network (SMB) support, SQLite database viewer, Text Editor, create and extract zip or tar/gzip files, extract rar archives, multi-select, execute scripts, search, remount, permissions, bookmarks, send files (via email, bluetooth etc), image thumbnails, APK binary XML viewer, change file owner/group, create symbolic link, "Open With" facility, MD5, create shortcuts.

User Data Privacy

This information provided by the developer helps you understand the data this app collects from you and/or transfers to third parties.Learn what data is collected by this app and for what purpose:
User Info:
User IDs: App functionality
App activity:
Installed apps: App functionality
Files and docs:
Files and doc: App functionality
Learn what data is transferred to third party by this app and for what purpose:
User Info:
User IDs: App functionality

Technical details

Size: 4.1MB
Version: 4.12.3
Developed By: Speed Software
Application Permissions: ( Help me understand what permissions mean )
  • Access information about networks
  • ACCESS_SUPERUSER
  • Access information about Wi-Fi networks
  • FOREGROUND_SERVICE
  • Access the list of accounts in the Accounts Service
  • Open network sockets
  • Manage the list of accounts in the AccountManager
  • MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
  • POST_NOTIFICATIONS
  • QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES
  • Read from external storage
  • REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES
  • PowerManager WakeLocks to keep processor from sleeping or screen from dimming
  • Write to external storage
  • Allows installation of home screen shortcuts
  • Allows verification of Google app Entitlements
Minimum Operating System: Android 4.0
Approximate Download Time: Less than 1 minute

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,163 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the quality, performance, file management, ease of use, appearance and customization of the mobile application. They mention that it's a great piece of software, does its job well and that it does everything they want to do. They appreciate the no-nonsense user interface and layout. They also like the clean design and the excellently designed user interface. Customers also are happy with customization.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

85 customers mention78 positive7 negative

Customers like the quality of the mobile application. They say it's a great app for a rooted phone, and a nice piece of software. They also say it gets the job done and is useful for anyone trying to gain root. Customers also mention that it'll get the job.

"Awesome app. I use it a lot. Root is very useful and this app can be used for so many things...." Read more

"...It's good as a general-purpose file manager and is also useful if you have rooted your device...." Read more

"A pretty nice app overall, but I docked it one star because it doesn't show directory sizes...." Read more

"...This is a very stable explorer with a great txt editor, sqlite db editor and many great features." Read more

69 customers mention57 positive12 negative

Customers like the performance of the mobile application. For example, they mention it's functional, easy to use, and gets the job done. Some appreciate the reliable and handy nature of the app. Overall, most are happy with the performance and functionality of the product.

"very useful" Read more

"...Epic 7 runs very smoothly. But has a low quality mode enabled. It's very reliable and very handy. Root Explorer gets a 8/10 rating by me." Read more

"...bookmarks- extract, move- create new files- Works extremely well- Best file manager for androidCons:-..." Read more

"...as long as I've been on Android this is, was, and has been unbelievably useful and a great value for what it does, should you need to be in there." Read more

53 customers mention53 positive0 negative

Customers find the file management of the application great, simple, yet powerful. They say it's good as a general-purpose file manager and useful for rooted devices. They also say it works great to query deep file structure and allows them to browse through folders that were otherwise not accessible.

"Awesome app. I use it a lot. Root is very useful and this app can be used for so many things...." Read more

"I got this app over a year ago during an app sale. It's good as a general-purpose file manager and is also useful if you have rooted your device...." Read more

"...But has a low quality mode enabled. It's very reliable and very handy. Root Explorer gets a 8/10 rating by me." Read more

"...Root Explorer does exactly that, gives me full control of my phone, The way it was, The way it used to be! Thank you for a great piece of software" Read more

36 customers mention36 positive0 negative

Customers find the mobile application intuitive, with a no-nonsense user interface. They say it's a fast file explorer app with root support that has easy access controls. Customers also say the app has a better interface than all the rest, making editing the Android file system easy. They mention that the user interface allows for streamlined file navigation.

"Great UI, extremely easy to use. Amazing price for something that you can have forever. Got this for Google Play Store on my Kindle Fire...." Read more

"...I think it's because of its no-nonsense user interface and layout that draw me the most...." Read more

"...Buy this and use it because it works. It's easy to use to access all of your Kindle directories...." Read more

"Simple and fast file explorer app with root support." Read more

22 customers mention22 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the appearance of the mobile application. They mention it has a good design, a clean design, and an excellently designed user interface. Some appreciate the material design and the nice layout. Overall, most are happy with the product's appearance.

"...samsung and LG but still at this price its acceptable, the front panel design is good and USB and HDMI ports can be accessed easily...." Read more

"...This app served every purpose flawlessly, it has a sleek design, and it helps for mucking about with things not directly curated by Amazon...." Read more

"Great UI, extremely easy to use. Amazing price for something that you can have forever. Got this for Google Play Store on my Kindle Fire...." Read more

"...Unlike ES explorer this doesn't have any bloatware in it. Very neat, very easy to use...." Read more

11 customers mention11 positive0 negative

Customers say the app has a lot of neat features and options. They say it has symlinks, change ownership, change attributes, edit files, expand tar/gzip, and multi-select option. They also mention it's highly customizable and can be used for so many things.

"...I use it a lot. Root is very useful and this app can be used for so many things. Even if u aren't rooted yet this is a good file manager to use...." Read more

"...like full root access for more advanced tasks, this app has a lot of neat features that I would find useful if working on one of my unix systems." Read more

"...stable explorer with a great txt editor, sqlite db editor and many great features." Read more

"...You can create symlinks, change ownership, change attributes, edit files, expand tar/gzip/zip/rar plus many more!!..." Read more

20 customers mention12 positive8 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the value of the mobile application. Some find it to be a great app for the price, while others say it's not worth the money.

"...with other brands like sony, samsung and LG but still at this price its acceptable, the front panel design is good and USB and HDMI ports can be..." Read more

"...I can get that far without this app. It was a waste of money for me.I emailed the maker for help and here is the answer I received:..." Read more

"Great UI, extremely easy to use. Amazing price for something that you can have forever. Got this for Google Play Store on my Kindle Fire...." Read more

"...Best file manager for androidCons:- Price is a little high" Read more

9 customers mention4 positive5 negative

Customers are mixed about the speed of the mobile application. Some mention it's super fast and easy to use, while others say that the updates are slow and infuriatingly slow. Some customers also say that it freezes up when transferring files.

"...They were infuriatingly slow and had a fair amount of audio cut-outs that got annoying fast...." Read more

"...To play mobile games on it. Epic 7 runs very smoothly. But has a low quality mode enabled. It's very reliable and very handy...." Read more

"...I finally uninstalled it. The update notifications drove me mad. Shortly after, my time zone returned to normal...." Read more

"Simple and fast file explorer app with root support." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Dakota
5.0 out of 5 stars very usefull app
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
Awesome app. I use it a lot. Root is very useful and this app can be used for so many things. Even if u aren't rooted yet this is a good file manager to use. In most cases you can browse the root of your phone and even copy from but not delete the files in / and its subdirectories. Of course with root you need to be careful not to move or delete anything important. You can even make custom boot animations or remove it and remove bloatware if you do have root.
5 people found this helpful
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Yehiel B.
5.0 out of 5 stars very useful for file management
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
very useful
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naveen
5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Like Anyting - Value for money product.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2014
Verified Purchase
I have been using this tv from past two days, bought this as a replacement for my 24 led tv (Sony - EX430) since 24 inch tv is too small for my room, i got this for a price of rupees - 14,260/- from amazon.in

1) Look & Feel : ( 7/10 )
The build quality of this tv is not in par with other brands like sony, samsung and LG but still at this price its acceptable, the front panel design is good and USB and HDMI ports can be accessed easily. Tv also comes with a wall mount kit.

2) Connectivity : ( 10/10 )
It comes with 2 USB & 2 HDMI inputs, other top brands provides only one USB at the higher price, it plays all video formats with ease.

3) Video : (10/10)
The video and picture quality is in par with samung (32EH4003) and better than my previously used Sony EX-430 at this price we cant ask for any better, micromax has done a great job here

4) Audio : (6.5/10)
This is where micromax could have done better, the audio quality is not acceptable if you are using the tv in a large room, for small and medium sized room audio will not be an issue. This can be overcome buy using external speakers.

5) Pricing & VMF factor : (10/10)
This tv is available at the price between rupees 14300 to 16000 in different websites and at this price tag its a real value for money.

OVERALL RATING - [ 8.7/10 ]
2 people found this helpful
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Brad
1.0 out of 5 stars *** YOU STILL HAVE TO ROOT YOUR PHONE! ***
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
*** YOU STILL HAVE TO ROOT YOUR PHONE! ***

Don't be fooled by this app, it is only a file explorer, it does nothing to root other than have the word "root" in the name.

I bought it so I could change one simple setting that was bothering me... It told me it changed it, then the system states "No changes have been made because files are read only".

I can get that far without this app. It was a waste of money for me.

I emailed the maker for help and here is the answer I received:
================================================
Unfortunately we can’t advise on modifications as we don’t have access to every Android device available so wouldn’t have tested this ourselves.
Is your device rooted? If you being prompted that the file system is read-only then you need to mount the file system as read-write as you are trying to access a protected file.
If you’re not rooted, then the best thing to do is Google "root your device name" and look through the results for a tutorial written for your device.
Many thanks,
Speed Software Support
================================================

<sarcasm>Super Helpful</sarcasm>
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars An Easy Recommendation
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015
Verified Purchase
So once upon a time (okay, last December), I got the XCOM Complete Pack on Steam. I wasn't impressed... the versions they had were DosBox, not even properly configured. They were infuriatingly slow and had a fair amount of audio cut-outs that got annoying fast. So, I manned up and got the OpenXcom mod pack.

I set it up, I enjoyed it a bit... then I learned that OpenXcom had an experimental Android port. I immediately plugged in my Kindle HDX, downloaded the mod, and realized I couldn't put the files where they needed to be.

The fix? I threw the files into downloads, then used Root Explorer to move everything to places normally blocked off, ran the APK, and played through the enhanced and modified version of Xcom UFO Defense from start to finish.

This app served every purpose flawlessly, it has a sleek design, and it helps for mucking about with things not directly curated by Amazon. While you still need to root your device to reach some areas, my HDX is still pure and this file explorer was the only tool necessary to get my task done.
21 people found this helpful
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M. Holley
2.0 out of 5 stars Bought for specific use, but should have done more research
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
I was hoping to create symbolic links to clean up my storage (HTC One doesn't have external storage but uses a portion of internal space as an "sdcard"). Only after installing the app and attempting to create links do I learn that it doesn't support the filesystem.

So, I figured I'd at least take advantage of other features. Once I added DropBox and GoogleDrive I could navigate easily. Ironically, if I try to launch a streaming video file from my Windows Home Server, Root Explorer dies regardless of the app I use to play.

If I use the free ES File Explorer (and launch using the player app which is also included for free), videos play fine. In fact, after I did a comparison between the two, I was impressed by how good ES File Explorer really is, now that I compare it against this popular paid app. FX+ File Explorer also seems to be quite a bit nicer as well, but wasn't available here in Amazon.

At the end of the day, I used free app coins I gained from promotions, so I'm not out any real money. There must be something (else) specific for which other people use this app and I'm sure it does that well. But for basic file management and using LAN & Cloud as well, this app just doesn't compare.
8 people found this helpful
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Morton Fox
3.0 out of 5 stars No updates since 2011??
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
I got this app over a year ago during an app sale. It's good as a general-purpose file manager and is also useful if you have rooted your device. However, for me, it has long since been superseded by ES File Explorer, which also has features for rooted devices. Has Root Explorer been updated to keep up with the competition? I would not know because Amazon hasn't published an update since this app was introduced in Amazon App Store in March 2011! So I can't really give it too many stars and I would suggest checking it out on Google Play Store instead.
6 people found this helpful
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Kaitlin R. Lockwood
5.0 out of 5 stars Great product for Google Play Store for Kindle Fires.
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
Great UI, extremely easy to use. Amazing price for something that you can have forever. Got this for Google Play Store on my Kindle Fire. To play mobile games on it. Epic 7 runs very smoothly. But has a low quality mode enabled. It's very reliable and very handy. Root Explorer gets a 8/10 rating by me.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Damien
5.0 out of 5 stars Root explorer
Reviewed in Italy on February 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
Root Explorer è l’app di riferimento per gli utenti con permessi di root.La sua versatilità e la vasta gamma di funzionalità lo rendono uno strumento essenziale per chi vuole esplorare e gestire il proprio dispositivo Android in profondità. Per poter utilizzare a pieno l'app, servono necessariamente i permessi di root, se non sai cosa sono, non è l'app che ti serve. Consigliata
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Wallace Miranda
5.0 out of 5 stars .
Reviewed in Brazil on August 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
Não tenho pós e contras, está dentro do esperado.
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ForeverOnwards
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent little app - wouldn't be without it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
Excellent app for rooting through your files. Very easy to use and provides all the basic functionality (I haven't looked beyond this) in a simple UI.

I got this for free as a promotion but would definitely recommend it to people looking to buy a file explorer.
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kenken
5.0 out of 5 stars rootとらなくなったが何となく使用している
Reviewed in Japan on May 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
rootとらなくなって久しいが、未だにアップデートあるのはありがたい。
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gen_angry
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
Use it quite often to move stuff around as needed. Never crashed or had issues, even on large transfers.
One person found this helpful
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