How to Root Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini I8190

Samsung Galaxy S3 mini root is possible. Galaxy S3 mini I8190 has been released not long ago which is a smaller version of Samsung’s most popular smartphone Galaxy S 3. Due to its popularity, Galaxy S3 mini, unlike other Galaxy smarthphone, was a challenge for developers to root it because it lacked a custom recovery which is a crucial component to gain root access. However, avicohh of XDA has successfully managed to root Galaxy S3 mini I8190 using pre-rooted firmware flashed via Oding tool.

Galaxy S3 mini root process involves flashing a pre-rooted stock firmware on the device using Odin desktop application. The process will not wipe your personal data and the firmware used in the rooted process is based on build XXALL2.

A rooted system means that all the factory restrictions from the OS were removed and you can gain control over the Android OS, install custom recovery (however it’s not yet possible for Galaxy S3 mini), flash custom ROMS. In short, ROOT is the first step to personalize, optimize and take control of your Samsung Galaxy S3 mini performances

How to Root Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini I8190

1. Download the following required files, tools and drivers:
   Pre-rooted firmware (XXALL2) for Galaxy S III Mini – Download Link
   Odin 3 Flashing Tool – Download Link
   Samsung USB drivers – should already be installed if you have Kies installed.
2. Extract both the pre-rooted firmware for your Galaxy S3 Mini and Odin 3 files to a convenient directory on your computer.
3. Run Odin 3 as administrator and then click the PDA button. Browse and select the rooted firmware .tar file that you extracted in step 2. *Make sure that Re-partition option is unchecked*
4. Now turn OFF your Galaxy S3 Mini and put it into Download Mode (Press and hold Volume Down + Home + Power buttons, and then pressing Volume Up once).
5. Now connect your S3 mini to your computer using a USB cable, Odin should detect it (COM box at the top will turn yellow if Odin has successfully detected your device. If not, make sure the drivers are installed correctly).
6. Once the device is detected by Odin, click Start button to flash the pre-rooted custom firmware on your Galaxy S3 mini. Wait and let Odin do its job.
7. After the completion of flashing process, your phone should reboot. Once the phone is ON, you will have SuperSU application in the app drawer. That’s it! have fun with your rooted Samsung Galaxy S3 mini I8190!

Note: For some reason it’s impossible in this device to boot into recovery mode (by combination of buttons). If you want to do wipe data do it from the settings menu (factory reset) or if your Galaxy S3 mini is stuck in a boot loop, flash the WIPE_I8190.zip (the tar file in zip) via odin in pda, it will do wipe data automaticly. (file can be found in the source link below)

For updates, technical support and more details, checkout the source link below.

[Source: XDA-Developers]