Back in ye olde days, rooting was a risky affair that made many an Android phone user scared to death when tampering with their devices. Nowadays, rooting is easy and can be done in one-two-three.

Developers have been churning out better and faster rooting methods for the Android community, which means that the process is becoming less time-consuming and easier so that newbies can jump on the customizing bandwagon and play around with their shiny Android phones.

While the method to root Samsung Galaxy S2 devices running on the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich XWLPG firmware update isn’t quite one-click, it’s certainly a breeze. All you need is Odin, a few minutes of your time, and XDA Developers elite member Chainfire’s CF-Root Kernel. If being able to gain root access isn’t enough for you, this handy kernel will also install ClockworkMod Recovery to your device.

Warnings

• The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Samsung Galaxy S2, model number GT-I9100. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
• The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
• Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
• Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.

Requirements

• Samsung Galaxy S2 running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich XWLPG firmware.
  • If you have not yet done so, upgrade your Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich firmware version XWLPG.
• A Windows PC
• Make sure that you have the proper drivers for your device installed on your PC:
  • If you have Samsung KIES installed on your computer, you can acquire the drivers for your Galaxy Note through KIES.
  • If you do not have Samsung KIES installed on your computer, you may download and install these drivers: 32-bit (x86) Windows | 64-bit (x64) Windows
• Disable or uninstall Samsung Kies, anti-virus and firewall programs before running Odin as they will interrupt the flashing process.
• Enable USB debugging on your Galaxy S2.
• Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
  • For backup tips, check our guides on how to sync your data to the cloud and how to create local backups of your mobile data.
• Odin 1.85 (Odin 1.85.zip, 198.85 kB)
• CF-Root Kernel (CF-Root-SGS2_XW_NEE_LPG-v5.5-CWM5.zip, 6.2 MB)

Instructions

1. Download the CF-Root Kernel ZIP file to your computer.
2. Unzip the the CF-Root-SGS2_XW_NEE_LPG-v5.5-CWM5.zip file using WinRAR, 7-Zip or any other file extraction program.  You should have CF-Root-SGS2_XW_NEE_LPG-v5.5-CWM5.tar after extraction.
3. Extract Odin 1.85.zip into a folder on your computer.
4. Turn off your Galaxy S2.
5. Put your Galaxy S2 in Download Mode. You can do this by pressing and holding down Volume Down, Home, and Power. A Warning! screen should show up. Press Volume Up to continue to enter Download Mode.
6. Double-click on Odin3 v.1.85.exe to launch Odin3.
7. In Odin3, click the PDA button and navigate to where the CF-Root-SGS2_XW_NEE_LPG-v5.5-CWM5.tar file is located. Select the CF-Root-SGS2_XW_NEE_LPG-v5.5-CWM5.tar file.
8. Do not make any other changes to Odin’s settings.
9. Connect your Galaxy S2 to your computer. On the Odin3 window, you should see an “Added!” message in the lower left message box. This means that your Galaxy S2 has successfully connected to your computer.
   • If you do not get this message, disconnect your Galaxy S2 from your computer and re-install the device drivers.
10. Hit Odin3′s Start button to begin flashing the CF-Root Kernel to your device.
11. When flashing is complete, your Galaxy S2 should automatically reboot. When you see the Samsung logo, you may disconnect your phone from your computer. You will also see a PASS message with a green background in the upper leftmost corner of the Odin3 window.
12. If Odin freezes and doesn’t seem to do anything or if you get a FAIL message with a red background in the upper leftmost corner of the Odin window, do the following:
    • Disconnect your phone from your computer.
    • Close Odin.
    • Remove and re-insert your Galaxy S2′s battery.
    • Repeat the whole process starting from step 5.

Congratulations! Your Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100, running on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich XWLPG firmware has now been rooted. You can enjoy a variety of root-enabled apps from the Google Play Store. With ClockworkMod Recovery installed on your device, you can also take your Android experience further by flashing any of the custom ROMs, mods, tweaks, and hacks available in the Android community.