How can I use my old Verizon note 8 without set up

I switched to a different carrier and I want to use my old Verizon Note 8 as a simple MP3 player. I did a factory reset on it and when it boots up it wants to go through a whole setup process including signing into my Google account and restoring everything. I don’t want to do this but there seems no way around it. I just want a blank phone, basically, a WiFi connection and an MP3 player (I like GMMP best) so I can have as much space for mp3 files as possible. Do I need to root the phone? Is that the best way to accomplish this? I have never rooted a phone before, so I don’t really know what that entails.