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If I do a factory reset on a rooted Samsung/Android phone will it remove the root? Factory reset will return the phone to its out-of-the-box state, right?

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    Please do some basic research before asking. A simple search for android factory reset while rooted will give tons of hits which basically say that the phone will remain rooted even after the factory reset. And no, a factory reset will not put the phone to its out of box state. It will not rollback software updates etc, it will only reset user specific configurations like installed apps, accounts, remove personal data ... The phrase factory reset is misleading, it promises too much.
    – Steffen Ullrich
    Commented Jan 20, 2022 at 17:35
  • @Steffen Ullrich Thank you for the answer, I did google it first but I keep reading different things and I don't know what is right. Sorry if this was an unnecessary question.
    – mario8
    Commented Jan 20, 2022 at 17:44
  • In this case it might be useful to show your previous research, explain that you got confusing results and link to some information you've found which seem to contradict each other.
    – Steffen Ullrich
    Commented Jan 20, 2022 at 17:58

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If your rooting process made changes to system partition (SuperSU used to do that) or to the boot image (Magisk does that) then those changes would persist after a factory reset. However, superuser manager apps such as Magisk reside in data partition so these superuser manager apps would get deleted during factory reset.

These superuser manager apps are responsible et al. for authorizing processes and apps to gain superuser (root) privileges. So after a factory reset you might end up in a situation that you do have a binary named su accessible but you still cannot gain root access because the corresponding superuser manager app to which it is tied to is missing.

Over and all, your device would remain rooted even after a factory reset but the functionality of gaining root access might get botched due to missing superuser manager app. If your intention is to completely unroot your device or revert to a Google-certified Android OS status, then this path of doing a factory reset alone is incorrect to pursue.

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