More Reading

Post navigation

537 Comments

  • thank you.. everything it works like you said..and my nexus stop rebooting.. love ya!!

  • Confused by the stuff above?

    Wugfresh Nexus Root Toolkit is seriously a lifesaver for backing up, unlocking and rooting for someone like me who has not rooted a phone in over 2 years and has no idea what he is doing. I was about to walk away from the idea of rooting but my mostly android clueless ass was able to follow his instructions and app very easily.Hope this helps someone out there!Just putting it out there in hopes that more people use it!

  • hey guys not sure if anyone knows whats going on with my galaxy nexus, but after performing an unlock on my hone it’s rebooted into it’s factory default i guess, but it’s in chinese?I don’t know what to do

  • when i run ‘adb reboot bootloader’ it gives error: device not found. My phone is connected as media device and the drivers are updated and show up as Galaxy Nexus in the other drop down under Device Manager. I don’t see Android 1.0 though, but I think that’s the driver thing I already have as Galaxy Nexus. Please help

  • i got a question when i type in
    fastboot oem unlock it doesnt go the unlock the phone and in my command screen it says waiting for device please help

  • Thanks guys! Just got my Nexus Friday and just unlocked it today. Your directions are spot on. Oh and the driver update tip is priceless!!

  • Hey for ppl having problem w/ android 1.0 and/or adb. What you can do is install the drivers for the samsung galaxy (ie i897,i9000). I had the galaxy and when I plugged in my nexus, it already worked with those drivers

  • Is there a way to save all my apps before I do this? Or am I doomed to buy them all over again? 🙁

  • After i unlocked the bootloader and started the phone all my apps said error when then tried to reinstall so i went to market and tried again and it said error? so i did a factory reset and it seems to be working just fine now. so if this happens dont worry a factory reset should fix it

  • Awesome, worked like a charm.After trying for a few hours off my mac I finally moved to a PC. and of course followed all of the instructions and BAM. Boot loader is unlocked and I couldn’t be happier. 

  • Ah shoot, I think I really screwed something up.  I finally got around to unlocking my gnex (I told myself I wouldn’t touch it until I got my law school apps out of the way)…

    Anyway, I did everything (correctly, I’m pretty sure) and not its just bootlooping.  Its pulling up the Google screen with the unlocked icon.  I believe the problem was when it was booting for the first time after unlocking, my roommate accidently stepped on the cord and detached the phone from the comp.  Maybe that’s not the problem tho.  Anyway, I tried to turn it on, and its now just bootlooping.  Any help would be beyond appreciated! 

  • Question…and before i ask i know i should have unlocked my phone before i even started toying with it. Well at least now i do. I want to unlock my phone but i have pictures and music (i think that’s all) that i want to save. Some music is on the cloud so that’s fine. I’m thinking my best bet is to move them from my phone to my computer right? And what about apps. I have about 77 apps. Will they all sync when i sign back in to my Google account? Anything else i need to know about as far as things being erased from my phone? Thanks

  • Looks like I did everything right.. its unlocked and i hit “start” and it boots up but the “3g” signal doesnt appear so i can sign into my google account.. Any thoughts on this?

  • I got the “Unlock Bootlaoder?” message and I don’t want to. Unfortuantely, phone does not offer the yes or no choices when the volume controls are pressed up or down. How do i get rid of this message without unlocking bootloader? 

  • i cant get past the fastboot oem unlock… nothing happening… just “waiting for device”

  • I have some doubts if I help to do this first clarify my nexus updates will be automatically ie version 4.03 is coming to fix a bug with verizon coverage and whether to unlock my nexus can not get this update would be fatal, and another question is my nexus would be free to use any sim from another company to say at & t, thanks for your responses and apologize for my ignorance.

  • BEWARE! THIS WILL WIPE YOUR PHONE! INCLUDING PHOTOS, BACKUPS, ETC. EVERYTHING GONE!

  • Never rooted or did anything with my OG…got my GNex the day after launch and still had no plans to do any of this…finally couldn’t resist and just joined all of you in having an unlocked GNex. Very first time and worked perfectly! 😀

    Let me just point out that when I rebooted the bootloader I noticed in my taskbar that the install drivers thing came up and said it was installing Android 1.0. I waited until it was finished and it told me my device was ready to use (showed up as Android ADB Interface–I think–at that point). THEN I did the fastboot oem unlock. No problems at all.

  • Well this sucks. I have tried every damn thing and i cant get past the waiting on device part. I have installed/uninstalled everything multiple times. I dont see the yellow ! in device manager, i tried changing the usb from mtp to ptp and back nothing. 

  • So I get into the Bootloading screen and and in the command i type in the Fastboot oem unlock. It says that it is “waiting for device” and thats it ! please help!!! thanks in advance

  • I am stuck on this. I have downloaded the SDK and I am following the instructions on the Cyanogenmod Wiki but when I get to step 4 (launching SDK Manager) but instead of giving me any options it just flashes what looks like a terminal/cmd prompt screen and then nothing. Is there something that I am doing wrong?

  • You have to make the WIPE OUT part bold!!! I lost all my data by doing it.. T_T
    All I wanted is to change the boot animation…

  • Thanks for the detailed instructions; worked great. A few questions though…

    #1. 
    How can I verify that my Nexus is now indeed locked? I thought the intro screen icon will show the padlock open instead of closed… though after following the steps above I still see the locked padlock.

    #2.
    My Galaxy Nexus was over-the-air updated to 4.0.3 after activation. Now after unlock it shows 4.0.2… I clicked on “check for update” and did not find an update. Is this normal? Will my phone no longer get automatic updates?

    Thanks!!

  • I have issue where why screen is not responding to my touches.  I have already unlocked bootloader but need to return to verizon.  Is there any way for me to enable usb debugging from my computer.  Currently when I type in adb devices the list doesnt show anything.  I assume this is because usb debugging is not enabled?

  • Worked liked a charm for this unlock/root newbie. I’m so exited to have found this community (a close second to the excitement of having my new Nexus!) Thanks.  

  • The SDK instructions need updating……

    Installing SDK

    The only package we are
    concerned with at this time is “Android SDK Tools, revision 15”,
    “Android SDK Platform-tools, revision 9” & “Google USB Driver
    package, revision 4”. You can reject all the others if you are not
    interested in them. All these version numbers are increased by one now but for the Google driver, its still 4, but I continued.Unzip the file & inside you will see android_winusb.inf. Copy this file to C:android-sdk-windowsextrasgoogleusb_driver replacing the “stock” android_winusb.inf. There is no “android_winusb.inf”
    to be found. There is no such path as “extrasgoogleusb_driver”.
    There is an empty “add-ons” folder. I put the recommended .inf in
    there.

    Also know if you get stuck at with the command prompt window still open go check for splats again! Aha! Now update the driver. BAM! Continue on…….

  • when i enter adb devices into cmd prompt it says “list of devices” but lists no devices. Samsung adb onterface and galaxy nexus are both listed in device manager but no exclamation points. Does this mean Im all set?

  • I am running XP on my computer. When I try to do the Shift and right click, I don’t get the open cmd prompt option. Anyone else have this issue?

  • I’m also stuck at the waiting on device screen. I opened device manager and got to the let me pick from a list. I dont see any samsung driver on the list but i know i downloaded it. any help please?

  • Phone doesn’t recognize ADB – have used every conceivable method – downloaded Samsung drivers.  Downloaded PDANet.  Uninstalled Samsung and tried Naked Samsung.  I got the phone unlocked.  But I CANNOT get the PC 64 to recognize ADB when I am in fastboot.  HELPPPPPPP.  I’ve been working on this for TWO DAYS, and it is RUINING my Christmas holiday.

  • So I followed all the instructions, installed SDK and downloaded Samsung driver, when I enter the prompt “adb reboot boatloader” it just restarts my phone…
    any help or suggestions? first time unlocking a phone

    • Once you do that it will bring you to the Android with his chest popped open. That’s the bootloader menu.  From there you issue the other commands to actually unlock the bootloader.

      • it didn’t go to that menu, it went straight back to to rebooting the phone and to the home screen

  • like everyone else, i ran into the waiting for device message and encountered Andrdoid 1.0 in the device manager after running adb reboot bootloader.  when i went to manually update the driver from a list, i saw the samsung android phone listed, but when i clicked on it, no drivers could be found.  i tried all this on a machine running windows xp sp3.

    i tried again on a windows 7 machine and everything worked just fine.

  • Just gonna toss this out there.. but if you notice in the video he has PDANet installed on his machine. For those having driver issues, you may want to uninstall the samsung crap, reboot your PC, then install PDANet (follow the prompts) and then proceed to unlock the bootloader. Worked for me on my win xp 32bit machine. 

  • Help – I’m stuck at the bootlader screen.  I am unable to select the start button.  Actually I can’t select anything at all.  I was at the Bootloader screen and my computer failed to recognize the phone.  At this point my computer has been restarted and can’t communicate with the phone.  I’m afraid to do a battery pull, but I’m not sure what else I can do because the phone isn’t responding at all.

  • ive went through the whole process. and when my phone boots, it shows the unlocked paddlelock, but all the apps that need root access say that my phone is still not rooted? any suggestions? when i ran thru these instructions again, the phone said already unlocked?

  • Please, oh please droid life help me. What the **** is going on?!??!? I am on yet a THIRD different computer and this one is running Win7!!!! So I’ve tried Vista, XP and now Win7 all unique computers. I installed the samsung driver on my computer that was linked in the article. I then went here: 

    Howto: Install the Android SDK – CyanogenMod Wiki

    and installed the “latest” sdk and as he suggested used the .zip file. I extracted it to the root of my c drive (then later moved it to the desktop and tried it there too-no luck). I ran the sdk manager as administrator. The window popped up asking me if I was sure and I said yes, then the firewall popped up so I also said yes, but then when it didn’t work I shutdown the firewall. 

    EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME I got a small, fast black DOS screen that popped up and quickly went away. EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! and that’s it……is that all I’m supposed to get or is there something else? I thought there would be some options as what to install. Is there a different sdk I should use? Am I being punked?

  • can i re-lock the bootloader using the reverse method?  Having a problem with the phone and need to exchange for a new one!

  • Holy Sh#% I am a moron.
    For those of you getting “waiting for device” at the command prompt, go into the USB computer connection settings on your phone and change from MTP device to PTP device (like a camera). MTP device is for Mac computers – why the hell would this be the default setting?!? I was unlocked and rooted in under 2 minutes.

  • Any suggestions on how to get my PC to find my Nexus? When I plug it in
    it says “There was a problem installing this hardware: Samsung Mobile
    MTP device. An error occurred during the installation of this device.
    The required section was not found in the INF.” I already installed the
    Samsung driver on my computer.

      • I installed the one from the samsung site, and the alt one (unzipped and extracted to C:). When I plug the phone into the computer I get the error message before (with USB debugging off). With the USB debug off, nothing shows up – not even that yellow exclamation point thing. When I turn on USB dubugging, it will show up in my device manager as “Samsung Android ADB Interace” but it is still not working properly.

  • my original comments disappeared…

    i get to “waiting for device” before the computer “fails to properly install” the phone as soon as it’s in the bootloader and when i go through the “tips” section to install the proper driver, in step 6 the list where i need to choose it from is empty. on my home computer i get the same problems. i know that drivers are installed, because i can use the adb reboot bootloader command to get into the bootloader, so i’m at a total loss as to what’s happening. i’ve uninstalled and reinstalled many of the packages with no results.

  • I am stuck the bootloader screen.  The command window said “waiting for device”.  I browsed to the drivers but after installing them it says “cannot start device code 10”.  I tried the alternate drivers as well.  I since closed out the command window and unplugged the phone from the computer but it is stuck on the bootloader screen and I cannot shut it off.  What should I do from here?

  • Working on the android sdk and stuck on step 11.2 “Copy this file to C:android-sdk-windowsextrasgoogleusb_driver replacing the “stock” android_winusb.inf.”. I don’t have an”extras” folder. The only foldwrs i have in android-sdk-windows are add-ons, platforms, platform-tools, temp and tools. Do I just create the extras folder or did I do something else wrong?

  • OK, same problem on this computer. The other one was with Win Vista, this computer is Win XP. It’s all with this step:

    4. When you launch the SDK Manager for the first time it will ask for which packages to install. The only package we are concerned with at this time is “Android SDK Tools, revision 15”, “Android SDK
    Platform-tools, revision 9” & “Google USB Driver package, revision
    4”. You can reject all the others if you are not interested in them.

    It just opens a black window and then closes. I have no chance to select anything. I have it extracted to the root of my C drive as it said

  • I am getting a waiting for device error, but when I got to device manager I don’t have an android 1.0 line with a yellow exclamation point….

  • I have a few problems after unlocking/rooting the phone. I thought it was a SIM card issue, but it’s not. After I unlocked and rooted the Gnex, my 3G/4G service just disappeared, I had none. So I re-locked and unrooted it, and I got data service back. Any thoughts? (I did go to Verizon a couple hours ago to see if it was a SIM card issue)

  • Thank you so much for these instructions. Very easy to follow and the only issues I ran into were caused by me not reading the instructions closely enough. 

  • When I plug my device in it says it can’t find the driver and before that it couldn’t set up the adb driver

  • anyone know of a way to do this on a mac yet? or is there a step by step guide on doing it 

  • Heads up, if you are getting a message that the device is offline, perhaps you should try another USB port on your computer (probably better to use one on the back).  I had this problem and was so confused, because searching around gave me no answers.

  • HELP!!!  Don’t see Android 1.0 in Device Manager, only Samsung ADB Interface and I’m stuck at waiting for device.  Not sure what to do next, please help!

    • Make sure you’re launching the command window from the folder containing adb.exe (it’s  not necessarily the Tools folder, could be in Platform Tools).

    • How lond did this one take? I have been looking at 3 or 4 different methods and got as far as
      installing adb, then I saw your post and can’t decide..
      If I’m this far which one should I use?

  • Hello Everyone, RW-1 Here …

    I finally grabed a Nexus tonight!

    ADB install went somewhat okay, got a couple of error messages related to renaming of a folder, however it did detect my Nexus, and I had installed the Samsung drivers prior.

    I did have to do the Android 1.0 manual driver find, but after that I ran it, half expecting it to boot loop.

    It sat there, and like Kellex, I decided not to panic, unplug it from the computer, and let it sit. Came up to the logon, and I’m good to go unlocked!

  • is anyone else having problems with the sound being low when you touch/select apps or type?  the keypress volume is really low?

  • Completed the unlock process without any issues. On reboot of the nexus get the Google  logo and unlock icon.  Phone pauses for a few seconds and reboots. 

    Phone is now in a continuous reboot?  What did I do wrong and how do I fix this?

  • hey guys… Got my Nexus and I just gotta say Im cvoming from an OG droid ….I cant get the SDK sto install properly.. is there anyone who would be willing to take over my computer and install it for me? you guys are such wizzes Im sure it would take u no time and thats actually how soemone rooted my Droid for me in the beginning.. Im not lazy Ive tied 6 times… all yesterday and today and Im missing something. plus Ive redownloaded everything so many times I think i messed it up.. goldenboy504@gmail.com is my email for any kind soul…

  • Ok so I’ve gotten to the point were I need to reinstate the driver for Android 1.0, and I open the Samsung USB Driver folder that was installed when I installed the drivers I downloaded from this sight, but there are like 24 sub folders named like “Simmental” and “Siberian”. Help? I don’t know what to do to update the driver. Can anyone help me step my step? O.o

  • just getting waiting for device after first command.. bootloader does come up, i have the driver installed, but no lulock screen.. wtf? Help?

  • Just finished – did it in Parallels (Windows 7) on a Mac and worked well.  After the OEM unlock portion mine took about 5 minutes on the first boot, rebooted itself and then came back up into the sign on screen.  I had it connected to the guest VM throughout that but – just a note that at least one reboot seems “normal”.

  • I’m getting the prompt. I attempted to open the device manager and right click and update driver, but there is no “update driver” option…. HELP!!

    Email me if you can, tomgillottiATyahoo.com

    Thank you!

  • When I try this,(
    Open up the android-sdk-windows folder and launch the SDK Manager. ) Command Prompt just flickers and nothing happens? 

    • Had the same problem. You need to install the Java SDK..download and try to install the installer_r16-windows.exe  from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html instead of the zip. It will tell you that you need to install the Java SDK and take you to the site.

  • just wanted to add my 2 cents. have to boot to bootloader, waiting for device, installed Samsung drivers manually, unlock, yes, start…

    went into boot loop. on second loop held volume up/down + power, went to start screen. done. 

  • Got to the end where its rebooting phone,  went to boot animation hung there for few min,  then i unplugged the usb and it was the same for a few min.   Then i removed the batt and powered back on  now its looping at the google screen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    HELP!

  • cant seem to get abd to work, keep getting “‘abd’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file..”  Help…

  • I cant seem to find the driver to update the android 1.0 device can anyone walk me through it please. when you say manually find the driver where do i go?

    thanks for any help

    • I had same problem with it waiting for device. What I did at that point was:
      1-open device manager
      2-right click on Android 1.0 with the yellow ! mark on it
      3-choose update driver
      4-choose browse my computer
      5-choose Let me pick from a list
      6-scroll down and find Samsung driver with newest date. Should be from driver you downloaded and installed from DL link. ( mine was dated 11/25/2011 ).
      7-It will give you a warning about installing the driver. just click yes.

      That should be it. It worked for me but no guarantees. I take no responsibility if you try this!
      Hope it helps.

  • I don’t understand. fastboot oem unlock doesn’t work. it says waiting for device and it does nothing. I’ve installed all the drivers, I still don’t know what “AdbWinApi.dll”. The instructions say I may have to put that into platform-tools, except it doesn’t say what it is or where it comes from. And I haven’t gotten any “AdbWinApi.dll” specific errors. But it’s installed all the drivers, so I don’t see what the problem is.Anyone?

    • I had same problem with it waiting for device. What I did at that point was:

      1-open device manager

      2-right click on Android 1.0 with the yellow ! mark on it

      3-choose update driver

      4-choose browse my computer

      5-choose Let me pick from a list

      6-scroll down and find Samsung driver with newest date. Should be from
      driver you downloaded and installed from DL link. ( mine was dated
      11/25/2011 ).

      7-It will give you a warning about installing the driver. just click yes.

      That should be it. It worked for me but no guarantees. I take no responsibility if you try this!

      Hope it helps.

      • Just to clarify.. You mean device manager  ( ie printers etc.) 
        I see the Android 1.0 with the yellow exclamation but no option to choose update driver…just trouble shoot ..then nothing…

        Maybe I did not install the driver correctly in the first place? Is this the driver link form the Samsung website ?? file version 1.4.6.0??? 

  • Can instructions for Mac OS X be added to the OP? The SDK part is easy enough (although I should update my SDK version) but it’s the fastboot.exe portion that leaves me scratching my head. As well as the face my phone won’t arrive until tomorrow.

    Thanks!
    X

  • Ok. So ive got the list of Java SE Development Kit 7u2 on my computer screen. Which one do i pick?

  • So say I had to take it in for a hardware issue. If I relock the bootloader can they tell it was ever unlocked?

    • Since more employees will simply attempt to boot the phone, and won’t see the unlocked icon, meaning its still locked, they will assume nothing. They don’t plug it in a run a diagnostic test on it.

  • Hey guys, quick question.  This is my first Android device, so I’m new at this so please bear with me!  I have the SDK all installed, and followed the directions linked above in the Wiki.  When I initially run “adb devices” it kicks back a device, but it is listed as offline.  Then, when I try to run “adb reboot bootloader” it says error: device not found.  Any ideas? Thanks!

  • For those who are stuck in the Google boot load. There are some instructions for getting out of this that might be getting burred down in the reply’s. So here it is again at the top.

    Pull your battery and boot into the bootloader by holding down down volume buttons and the power botton at the same for a few seconds. The bootloader will load up. Now go back to your tools/platform tools folder. I used put my files in the platform tools folder. Run the command prompt out of that. Type “fastboot oem lock”. Now do it again and type fastboot oem unlock. Accept to unlock your Nexus and LET THE BOOT LOADER RUN. It colorful bootload screen took a while, then it went back to the Google screen, then the colorful bootloader again and then it was fine. just let it go, it will be fine.

  • After going through a broken GNex with 4.0.2 update, using Superboot is the easiest and only method that worked.  Follow those instructions, wait for up to 10 minutes on the softboot.  Yes, it takes a very long time.  Just wait.  Once done, you are rooted.

  • when i try “adb reboot bootloader” it tells me “error: device offline” any help with that?

  • I’m having a problem after doing adb reboot bootloader. It shows the Start screen with the android on it but my computer doesn’t recognize it anymore. When I fastboot oem unlock it says waiting for device. I installed the Samsung driver and the SDK.

  • ADVICE: If you get stuck in a loop with just the Google screen and the unlock icon, DON’T freak out (I took the video to mean to reset your device manually if it keeps showing the colorful animation for a few minutes- that’s a bad idea).  Enter the bootloader by holding down both volume buttons and then the power button, lock the bootloader, unlock it again, and then just be a bit more patient for the first couple of boots and resets.

    • How did you get past the command prompt? It will not recognize that the Nexus is attached while its in the bootloader.

  • I get to the point of running fastboot oem unlock, however my computer can’t seem to find a driver for “Android 1.0”  I’m pretty sure I followed the instructions exactly even the SDK instructions.

    • I am right there with you. I followed everything to the T. Even replaced the driver file, ran the update in device manager. What the F?

      • I ran into the same problem. I ended up downloading the driver from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1362957

        “If you get “waiting for device” you might need the USB drivers: DOWNLOAD” – This is the section where you should download the driver if you get this problem. 

        Once downloaded, go to your device manager and update the driver manually using the zip (which you extracted somewhere). You can then run the “fastboot oem unlock” command and unlock your device

  • HELP! I have done EVERYTHING. My computer will see my phone as an adb device under command prompt in normal mode. When in bootloader mode, my computer will not see it. I get all the way to the “fastboot oem unlock” command and I get the “waiting for device” message.
    Can someone help me?

      • Scroll down, Nadeem has the solution. Run the first step and get into bootloader mode. The go look for the Android 1.0 under device manager. It will be there. Do the fix exactly how Nadeem says. You will get the driver to install then. Enter the “fastboot oem unlock” after. It will run. It will seem to bootloop, but just wait.
        Welcome to unlocked Galaxy Nexus baby!!!
        Thanks Droidlife!!!!!

  • I have the “waiting for device” problem as well. but in the device manager, I do not get the “android 1.0” choice. The only weird one I have says “USB Device” under “other devices”. Any advice?

    • I am right where you are. It seems the computer sees the device until its in bootloader mode, then the device is not visible.

  • Help, everything went fine, it said it was unlocked, I have the unlock symbol when the phone starts up again, but it keeps rebooting itself, never leaving the google logo screen. Please tell me I did not just throw $700 out the window

  • First off, be patient. Worked fine after a couple of glitches. MAKE SURE you have the right path, otherwise you will get the “not recognizing” command. Then, AFTER “adb reboot bootloader” install the driver dated 11/25, (thank you gentlemen for the tip!!) and then DO NOT pull battery. The phone will cycle for a couple of minutes. LEAVE IT ALONE!!! That’s what worked for me. Btw, after “fastboot oem unlock”, it wouldn’t reboot by itself. I had to turn it off and then back on. Thanks again for the tips…..

  • I did everything and I unlocked the phone, but it’s under a reboot cycle and it won’t stop even if I unplug the phone.  I held down power and volume down and it says, “Downloading…”

    Did I brick this thing already?

  • just unlocked the phone.  Had the looping issue too but just connected the phone to my computer and fired up the command prompt screen and did fastboot oem lock then fastboot oem unlock. It unlocked the bootloader again. I waited for the device to boot up and do the whole color looping thing and it was fine

  • I ended up having to install PDANet and use the drivers from there, then on reboot the phone stayed at the google screen for 20+mins.. I ended up doing adb root and finished my rooting process just fine, then did a battery pull

  • LOOPING AFTER UNLOCK….

    So jut like at the end of this video, I had to pull the USB plug, however, now all that the phone will do is loop on the black Google   screen over, and over…

    • Sinp3cadoCollapse
      In case someone else has this problem, Skillz posted a response:I was stuck at the google looping screen too, i made the mistake of taking the battery out while it was looping through all the colors. Hold the volume up and down keys at the same time along with the power button. This should take you back to the bootloader screen. Next you need to connect the phone to your computer and fire up the command prompt screen and do fastboot oem lock then fastboot oem unlock. next unlock the bootloader again. the device should boot up and do the whole color looping thing. i left mine plugged in and after 5 minutes it finally came back on. i guess the key is not to power down while its looping through the colors. just be patient and it will go to the login screen. hope this helps

    • uhhh…yeah, me too…fun, eh?  Wife: “so you’ve already wrecked your new phone?”  Me: “But I need to get my titanium backups…”
        

    • In case someone else has this problem, Skillz posted a response

      I was stuck at the google looping screen too, i made the mistake of taking the battery out while it was looping through all the colors. Hold the volume up and down keys at the same time along with the power button. This should take you back to the bootloader screen. Next you need to connect the phone to your computer and fire up the command prompt screen and do fastboot oem lock then fastboot oem unlock. next unlock the bootloader again. the device should boot up and do the whole color looping thing. i left mine plugged in and after 5 minutes it finally came back on. i guess the key is not to power down while its looping through the colors. just be patient and it will go to the login screen. hope this helps 

      • w00t!  I guess I was being too impatient…didn’t think to relock the unlock to recyle!

  • Tip, you can do this on Linux too.  I just did.  Download this: http://www.filesonic.com/file/4047388074  Then extract.  From terminal, run ‘./adb-linux reboot bootloader’.  Then run ‘sudo fastboot-linux oem unlock’.  The rest is the same.

  • i actually cant reboot to the bootloader… typie in abd reboot bootloader and “‘abd’ is not recofnized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file..

    what gives?

  • Noob here how do i open command prompt windows xp? Dont know how to open within folder? Shift and right click doesnt seem to work.

  • HOLY CRAP! just ran a speed test, im getting 32mb/s!!! Almost twice my normal internet speed!

  • Is there a list of complete updated instructions with all the changes(in instructions) that have been recommended by the posters on this topic?

  • To those confused about getting a waiting for device message:  Android 1.0 will appear in Device Manager AFTER you run adb reboot bootloader.  Once you see that, navigate through and manually add your SAMSUNG Android Phone device driver (“Let me pick”) – should be dated 11-25.  This is the driver you downloaded from Samsung.

  • Thank you so much. The combination of this tutorial and some thoughtful comments from people having the same issue I was having (“waiting for device”) has really empowered me to do some basic Android hacking. Enjoy!

  • Thank you guys, it worked great, even the FIX for the Drive issue… Android 1.0 driver could not be found, you have to PICK the Samsung driver you just installed… and I did have the reboot reboot reboot issue ever after I unplugged from the computer… but it did finally boot up .. 

    • what is the exact name of the samsung driver. I go to update driver once I see Android 1.0 and then if I select ADB Devices I can choose from 3 different sammy drivers.

    • I didn’t have one either.  Now I’m stuck after trying to move ahead (added the directories myself) because the device showed up in the list, but nothing else is happening.

  • wcdave wrote these instructions for everyone having problems. 
    OK! I’ve worked it out (much like others here)

    I had windows 7 so it made it a bit more confusing.

    if you’re stuck at the part where it says waiting for device, you’ve already downloaded the drivers, and it’s saying ‘android 1.0’ on device manager,try this

    Go to device manager, right click on android 1.0, click ‘properties’
    click ‘update driver’ 
    click ‘browse my computer for driver software’
    click ‘let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’
    click ‘show all devices’ then ‘next’
    click ‘have disk’
    click ‘browse’
    go to the folder you saved the new usb driver in (/extras/google/usb_driver) – you dont need to go into the subfolder
    it should offer 3 options – choose the top one

    that should do it!!

  • I was getting the wait for device… when i went into devices and printers ( wrong spot ) but i saw the android 1.0 with a yellow exclamation point. I clicked on it and properties/ update driver. manually browse and then choosed driver from list. I saw samsung android phone… proceeded with fastboost oem unlock etc…boom all went well

      • I installed the driver from samsungs website for the phone.
        when i found the android 1.0 =  update driver/ browse computer for selected driver/ (when directory list comes up) select: let me pick. and then chose samsung mobile MTP device for 11/25/11

        • The only way I can get to the samsumg drivers is by choosing to browse form the list. I choose ADB Devices and have 6 options for samsung – ADB Composite Interface, ADB Interface ver. 5.14.0.0 and ADB Interface Version 2.9.104.921 each appears twice. What do I choose?

          • i’m having the same prob and none of mine have a date on them and under google inc and samsung there are choices for adb interface and under samsung there are 2 

  • I am getting hung up too after typing in “adb reboot bootloader” once I type in “fastboot oem unlock” it just says waiting for device. Can anyone help?

  • Installed “Verizon_Wireless_I515_Galaxy_Nexus_USB_Driver_v1.4.6.0.exe” as linked.  Windows detects phone when first plugged in.  But after adb reboot bootloader command, windows searches for drivers again and can’t find them.  fastboot oem unlock doesn’t work because drivers don’t appear to be properly installed.  Also tried “Samsung_Mobile_USB_Driver_V1.3.800.0.msi”

    • PS, manually choosing the “android_winusb.inf” file did not work.  And yes, I followed the instructions here: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Howto:_Install_the_Android_SDK#Windows

      • I little digging turned up this: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4174784/usb_driver.zip
        This manually installing the driver works.  Thanks to the folks at Android Forums: http://androidforums.com/galaxy-nexus-all-things-root/452146-how-root-samsung-galaxy-nexus-2.html
        Rebooting to see if it works…

    • This is a guess, but I think your USB drivers aren’t properly installed.  Open up your device manager and you’ll see an “Android 1.0” device (most likely).  Update the driver and chose the option to manually update the driver.  Go to C:android-sdk-windowsextrasgoogleusb_driver and click OK.  The computer should show a few driver options.  Choose the most recent and click ok through any warnings.  Once installed, restart the phone and the ADB process and things should work.

  • Without sounding stupid, did anyone else get stuck between steps 8 and 9? it allowed me to adb into fastboot mode, but then as it restarts, it boots back up in device monitor as ‘android 1.0’ – if i try ‘fastboot oem unlock’ it says ‘waiting for device’ and just sits there.

    • it’s happening to damn near everybody. the instructions were shoddy, and nobody’s around to help. you’re supposed to update that driver, but when i point it to extras/google/usbdrivers, it does nothing.

    • OK! I’ve worked it out (much like others here)

      I had windows 7 so it made it a bit more confusing.

      if you’re stuck at the part where it says waiting for device, you’ve already downloaded the drivers, and it’s saying ‘android 1.0’ on device manager,try this

      Go to device manager, right click on android 1.0, click ‘properties’
      click ‘update driver’ 
      click ‘browse my computer for driver software’
      click ‘let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’
      click ‘show all devices’ then ‘next’
      click ‘have disk’
      click ‘browse’
      go to the folder you saved the new usb driver in (/extras/google/usb_driver) – you dont need to go into the subfolder
      it should offer 3 options – choose the top one

      that should do it!!

      • You’re awesome!  Was having a hard time with that, went as far as deleting the android sdk and reinstalling.  Thanks for post

      • I have all the drivers installed but I don’t see ”
        android 1.0″ in device manager.
        All I see is:Under “Portable Devices” >> “Galaxy Nexus”
        and Under “SAMSUNG Android Phone” >> SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface”

        any help?

        • you’ve already booted into fastboot mode right? It shouldn’t be showing you SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface if you’ve booted into fastboot mode!

          • oops I wasn’t. thanks for clarifying that out.
            So now, I’m stuck at 
            “go to the folder you saved the new usb driver in (/extras/google/usb_driver) – you dont need to 
            I have no idea where i saved it.. When i downloaded the “Verizon_Wireless_I515_Galaxy_Nexus_USB_Driver_v1.4.6.0” from the samsung website. i saved it to my desktop, and so, when I try to search for it in desktop, its not show. its asking for a “*.inf” file type??

          • Ooookk.. that isn’t the right driver. I think you’re getting a little mixed up!

            Did you follow all the instructions on the link given in step 1 above? Somewhere near the end, it has you download a zip file with a .inf file that updates the google USB driver you downloaded using the APK manager. This hasn’t got anything to do with the Samsung driver.

            The Samsung driver just makes sure your phone is recognised in the first place, allowing you to adb to it. If you’re able to go to the command prompt (following the steps above on the post by Kellex) and do adb devices, and it lists anything, then that is all good so far.

            Then, when you do adb reboot fastboot, it should reset your phone into fastboot mode, and THAT is where it should try to recognise the driver as android 1.0 in device manager.

            Until you actually have your phone sitting in fastboot mode, it won’t show you the android 1.0 driver issue, so you can’t fix it until that!

            Let me know if this works for you 🙂

          • Okay, I’m having issues.  I got the .inf file replaced from above.  I right click on Android 1.0 in device Mgr and go to the file like in the instructions, but i only have the 1 option, the .inf file I replaced.  when I select it, it says “The specified location does not contain information about your hardware.”  Also, when i picked the device, the only one showing was Samsung Android Phone.  Never says Samsung ADB Interface anywhere.  Please help!

    • I’m having the same problem.. sits at 
      ‘waiting for device’ after i input  ‘fastboot oem unlock’

  • ok, i just wanna use my phone. is there a way to reboot it either from the phone or adb if i’m stuck in the bootloader and my PC won’t recognize my phone as a device?

  • i had to open the device manager, then find ANDROID 1.0, and goto properties

    then i had to manually choose the  driver from the SDK google/extras/usb_driver

    i went to the i386 because i dont use lolamd, also i had to choose from a list of 4 drivers, i did the topmost one that looked like it corrosponded with the  video above

    those stuck at waiting for device have some sort of driver problem like i did

    • I appear to be having the same issue…. wait… EDIT:  it went thru the boot animation for about 3-4 minutes, then rebooted to ‘Google’, went thru animation, now back to initial setup screen

  • Ok, I need help. stuck on bootloader screen.

    Using Win7x64, in my device manager it says “unknown device”

    After waiting 5 minutes for “waiting for device”, I X’d out the Command Prompt window, reopened a new one in the platform-tools folder because that’s where my fastboot and adb files are together. Still says “waiting for device”.

    I unplugged the USB cable and plugged it back in (still on bootloader), and retried “adb reboot bootloader” and it says “device not found” and still says “waiting for device” if i try “fastboot oem unlock”. 

    What do I do? Is there a way to reboot the device?

  • Unlocked the bootloader and now its stuck at the “google” prompt, with an unlocked lock. It won’t boot. Please help!

  • pretty sure 2.5 hours of frustration before work is enough for me to say ill wait until the process smoothes out a bit

  • Win 7 (x64) drivers installed successfully.  When I type adb reboot bootloader  the phone reboots into bootloader, but when I type fastboot oem unlock it just says .  fastboot and adb are in the same directory.  Any suggestions?

    • Read the comments just below.   When you reboot the bootloader it loads it as a different device without driver support.  You need to update this driver to the updated drivers.

  • After running the adb reboot bootloader command, my device was showing up as Android 1.0 device in my device manager, and my command window was stuck on “waiting for device”.  Just update that driver and point back to the same updated USB driver in the Extras/google/usbdriver folder and then it worked just fine.

  • Same as people below…..reboots bootloader….just waiting for device after “fastboot oem unlock” have adb and jdk installed correctly.  Have newest drivers installed from Samsung

  • I have double checked everything. Fastboot is in the right folder, new drivers downloaded, etc. I cannot get fastboot oem unlock to do anything, just sits in bootloader. 

    • my mac recognized the phone and installed the drivers in my virtual machine running Win7 but fastboot oem unlock doesnt do anything. just sits in bootloader and hangs out. yes i have fastboot in the same folder.

  • I’m getting no device connected too. It’s pissing me off.

    The USB drivers for mass storage work fine, but I’m not seeing ADB drivers in my device manager at all.

    • OK, now I have the ADB driver showing up, but no devices found when I run ADB from the cmd prompt

  • what do you guys recommend, using this method or modaco’s superboot?  also, since this is a nexus device, when installing the sdk, is it necessary to use the modified driver inf file from CM?

  • Windows computer ? Jeez,i don’t have a windows computer nor do I know anyone who owns one. This is a linux phone, how bout some instruction for linux computers.oh well never mind we will figure it out

    • Wow, you sound absolutely retarded. If you’re going to be elitist, at least pretend to not be completely technologically illiterate.

  • My anti virus does not like that download link for fastboot.  Is there another location to get it?  Thanks

  • Kellex: I recommend you add some common resources that are good to have on your “sd card” prior to doing this so it’s much easier to recover after “soft bricking” a device. Otherwise, it is HELL trying to get files onto the “sd card”. This is going to be one of the major pain points with hacking the GNex.

    Since there is no SD Card to take out and put files onto, once you bootloop it, you have to jump through a lot of hoops in order to get files on there. Additionally, because of the “media partition” instead of an internal SD Card, not all “Mount USB” type resources work in recoveries right now.

  • Well no release in the US yet. They moved it past the 9th and supposedly its going to be the 15th. That’s only two days away. I could care less when they release it because im not on Verizon and ordered the International version. However if they don’t release it soon for the holidays they will loose a lot of money.

    As far as the unlocking goes this was the case with the Nex-1 as well. Google provided a factory unlock process. (too bad i recently broke it [insert sad panda face] ). I’m not sure if this was the case with the Nex-S though. I skipped that device

  • I followed the instructions and got the phone to reboot to the bootloader screen, but when I typed in “fastboot oem unlock” it says and I don’t see the “unlock bootloader?” screen. what did I do wrong? Please help!

  • Probably a stupid question, but what about us few that are working on Macs (Intel)? I noticed that the same SDK build is on both Windows downloands and Mac as well. Do we have a option, or is it a “find a PC or Boot Camp” solution for the moment? First thing I’ll be doing when I get this is unlock, reset and root, so I’m just making sure if I can do it this way right now.  

  • The simple fact that these instructions can be published prior to the release of the phone shows how amazing having an unlocked phone will be. I’m not sure who’s more excited, me about getting the phone or my OG Droid about me no longer pushing it beyond its limits.

  • if all i want to do is unlock the gnex, do i have to instal Eclipse or JDk before downloading the SDK? (this will be on a mac if that matters)

  • So this bootloader is actually locked? Or will odin work without having to actually fastboot unlock?

  • I’m sure there will be an odin package that will make this much easier for those who want to just go straight to a custom rom. Maybe Humble Nexus, or Gummy Nexus?

  • I was under the impression that all you had to do was hit the little lock button on the bottom of the screen during bootup… Adb not needed at all. Is that completely wrong?

  • Has this method been confirmed working on a Verizon Galaxy Nexus?

    I know the one in the pictures above is the HSPA+ version…

  • Kellex, this is awesome info and the reason I come to DROID-LIFE first for all news android. thanks!!

  • Finally – a real Android dev phone on Verizon (not that the OG wasn’t)..but still damn excited. 

  • So, I’m kind of new to this whole thing, but what is the reason for unlocking the bootloader if we already have the newest stock version of Android? I’m just a little confused, can someone explain the benefits of me spending sometime doing this on Friday. 

    • You now have root access to the phone. Which opens up new possibilities. For example:

      – Verizon Wireless tethering no longer requires Verizon permission (f’ck Verizon they’ve made me wait too long for this phone)
      – Remove apps like the Verizon useless garbage without the phone barking it can’t
      – Install advance ROMs that either have better file system support like AndroidRomHD with ext4 (I know it also has its disadvantages, journal tisk tisk)
      – Overclock CPU/GPU
      – endless possibilities

      These are just a few.

      • I have a question that has been bothering me ever since VZW initiated the tiered data plans.  If you purchase a phone with the tiered data plan, why should VZW make you pay extra to tether your laptop to it?  I could understand why they didn’t like people on the unlimited plans tethering, it could take up way too much bandwidth and all the problems associated with that.  But with the tiered plans, if you tether and use massive amounts of bandwidth, and that takes a large amount of data, you will eventually hit your limit and have to pay extra. 
        Are there so many people grandfathered in on the unlimited plans (who also are power users) that VZW still needs to try to control the tethering?

        • u make a great point. there certainly still are plenty of people grandfathered in like myself. but over time that number will only go down and they should certainly consider this option.

          • As someone who relied solely on a tethered LT for 6 months I can tell you it ain’t worth the time it takes to install the tether app on 3g.  VZW will throttle you down in moments and surfing will be ruined for the rest of the day on your phone and pc.

    • it basically gets ur phone ready to install cm9 when it comes out. u can customize the buttons at the bottom(ex. add the old search button and menu button permanently) and u can also install google wallet

  • Question… will wiping the Verizon software build and installing the Google System image files allow me to use Google Wallet and still maintain my Verizon Wireless account?

    • I think there is still an issue with Google Wallet. Hence why it appears nowhere in this phone or any other phone GSM/LTE for that matter.

    • Yes you should be able to use it. Google wallet has been ported to the HSPA+ version of this phone so it should work on this LTE verizon one if not needing minor tweaking.

  • Am I the only one who wants too see video on this? What happened to all the how to videos that you used to make? I remember I rooted my OG via a walk through video on this site. It used to really make sure that us dedicated readers had everything we needed to make this happen. Come on, make a video.You know you want to. You know that about 99.99999999% of us are getting a GNex, so let’s start that taping…

    • yea thats the great thing about rooting. u can do whatever u want. im sure at some point themes will be available to even change the icons and colors of those buttons thats y software buttons rock!

  • just went through my OG, and the only reason I REALLY needed root there was Overclocking and Wireless Tether (which I really never used anyway since I have Verizon Broadband on my laptop)…
    That being said, I think Im gonna stick with stock, and enjoy the experience…
    I don’t think I’ll even need Titanium Backup, since I can just disable and hide apps directly…
    This might actually be a relaxing experience….

  • Hey Kellex,

    I would have suggested adding adb devices to the list of commands. As a matter of fact is should be the first command you should run before running any other command on adb to make sure your computer sees your device.

    jamdev12

  • Just a quick question, can you tell me (or give me a link to read) about why and what unlocking the bootloader is/does? I know it allows you to put on custom roms and such, but is there anything else? 

  • Google has stated that the GSM version is the official developer device. Don’t be surprised if the Verizon version is locked up tight.

  • Glad the 1% that actually care about this are getting it.  For the rest who cares.

  • I’m not clear on why I’d want to do this. Isn’t the point of getting this phone that you get a clean slate with it, free of most bloat etc? Why would I want/need to root a stock phone like this?

    • There are many useful apps which require root, such as Titanium Back-Up.  Even if you don’t put a custom ROM on, you may want to make back-ups of your apps and/or data periodically.

  • can he have the phone first in are hands. By the time this phone is out we all are gonna be galaxy nexus pros

    • What an ass, you SBF back to stock before you turn it in for warrenty issues…

      And before you talk about a brick being turned in, if it’s bricked for you, it’s bricked for the 7.95/hr warehouse guy that tries booting it at the return warehouse, if at all ….

      • This is a Samsung phone, not a Motorola locked down POS. No SBFs here.

        The bootloader keeps track of how many times you flash unsigned firmware to it. It also does this on the SGII phones and the Stratosphere. They can tell just at the download mode screen if you hacked it.

        However, if you brick it to the point that the bootloader is fubar’ed, then they might not be able to tell… depends if they have a mechanism built in to read that part of memory. Who knows.

        • Of course if it is bricked and they can tell you can always unbrick it anyways. All you have to do is rewrite the data values on the main memory. Not hard  considering that the info needed to default the Hex values is readily available for most phones. If you don’t know how to do this all you have to do is get yourself a copy of a jig or jtag and make your connection board for the phones main board that houses the memory. Connect it the board to the computer and run the process and tah dah! Phone has been de-bricked.

          Though actually hard bricking your phone is rather difficult. Most people get soft bricks (aka boot loops, sticky booters, ect) mixed with hard bricks which means the device won’t turn on at all. (just to clarify)

  • This will be the first phone I don’t really have a need to unlock or root. A completely unlockable phone…A NEXUS…oh, the irony. I will be perfectly happy with the stock ROM…AT LONG LAST! Screen shots are built in…AT LONG LAST! Apps can be frozen…AT LONG LAST! I will just have one app to disable. OMG…this is such a dream come true. Bring it on Verizon…AT LONG LAST! : )

    • very true, other than custom rom’s, there is no reason at all to unlock or root this phone

        • Totally disagree. To be honest, most of ICS’s most lusted after features (screenshots, swiping notifications away, data management, camera from lockscreen, folders, quick response for incoming calls, etc) are borrowed from CM7 and MIUI. What makes you think android development going forward is going to be any different?

          Not saying that ICS doesn’t look amazing, but it seems like most people don’t understand that a LOT of the “new” features have already been available for a while now with custom roms.

          • I honestly couldn’t say because I haven’t used a webOS device (who does really?). Doesn’t matter where the features originated, my point is still the same.

          • Unfortunately I have been using one as a temporary phone for the last month while waiting for this phone to come to Verizon…

          • completely agree with you. two things i will dearly miss in the short time i have this till cm9 is out is the battery percentage at the top right and the notfication bar toggles. dont understand y this isnt included in ics. even iOS gives u the option to display ur battery percentage.

          • Totally agree, even if you don’t want to use a full ROM, there are small things that we will want to do, like getting rid of the constant Google search bar and adding in a search “button” at the bottom.

      • I don’t think anyone will need custom ROMs for this phone really?  They’ll just break the functionality that Google intended.  That’s the whole point of a nexus device, so you don’t have to “fix” it like you have to do every other Android phone.  I’ll root it just so I can theme, but no way is any lame custom ROM going on my Nexus

    • Even though I have no reason to unlock it, I will just so I can take in custom ROMs if I want.

  • This phones release is so messed up that the bootloader unlocking instructions come before the phone. lol. 

    • You said this to me last week and that is so false. Google can only release at a certain schedule. If an individual feels there is a missing aspect or something is done in a poor, user un-friendly way, they can unlock the bootloader, cook a custom ROM, and really have a device to behold.

      The reason people love pure Android over an OEM customization is because the former is very malleable. You can make your own customization (or download a popular one such as CM) based off the stock Android and have a better device as a result, something not fully possible when trying to modify an OEM-customized Android install. This malleability is also one of the many reasons geeks prefer Linux to Mac OS and Windows (just like they prefer Android to iOS).

      If you aren’t tinkering with Android (and you are the type of person who visits Android news sites and blogs), you are doing it wrong.

  • Dumb question: theres no way to do this on a mac??

    Completely unrelated but less dumb question: does the gnex have a FM radio? Haven’t heard that mentioned anywhere. (Yes, I listen to the radio and using a FM radio is much easier than streaming radio over data network, for a variety of reasons)

  • ok….I just want to root the phone…I dont think I need the bootloader unlocked for that….do I?
    I don’t plan on ROMS or anything…just my apps that require root from my OG

    Can someone help those of us that talk in plain dumb language, and NOT techie…

    • You need to unlock the bootloader in order to Root, the OG was already unlocked so it never needed it, the other Moto phones are all encrypted so no one can unlock them, thats why they need a bootstrap in order to achieve root.

  • Someone tell me when i can flash that Prime Loadscreen that was posted before http://www.droid-life.com/2011/09/07/remember-the-droid-prime-boot-animation-its-now-available-for-download/

    • I can’t give you links because I’m pressed for time atm, but the overall idea:

      Initial Android setup (not specific to unlocking):
      1) Download and extract Android SDK
      2) Run Android SDK setup to get latest set of Tools and Platform Tools
      3) Download a Mac OS fastboot binary and place it in the same folder as your adb binary (I think it’s platform-tools/)
      4) Add platform-tools/ and tools/ to your PATH

      After you do the initial Mac/Linux setup as per the 4 steps above, you can follow Keller’s guide above, starting at step 3 and skipping steps 5 and 6.

    • Mapekz is pretty much right.  Just download the SDK: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

      Download the fastboot:http://cdn.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/uploads/tools/fastboot-mac.zipCopy the fastboot-mac into the “platforms” subdirectory of the SDK.Restart your Nexus & hold both volume keys/power button on boot.  Once it has booted into the fastboot mode, connect the USB cable.From that platforms directory type:
      ./fastboot-mac devices  (This will show whether your mac recognizes the Nexus)
      ./fastboot-mac oem unlock (Unlocks the phone; use volume keys to select “yes” and power key to commit change)

      WOOO, unlocked phone via Mac!

  • This takes me back 20 months to when all the posts on here were like this…..ahh, memory lane

      • sorry, let me rephrase that, here is where i marvel at some people’s patience threshold

    • Like Tres Nugget stated there is no need for a custom ROM. Custom ROMs are only needed if you want other capabilities like NTFS support, a different file system on the device or you want USB mass storage capabilities. The only and useful app that I currently run for tethering on my OG Droid is Open Garden Wifi Tether.

    • Tethering functionality has been built in to stock android for a while now. It’s the carriers that cripple the devices and make it so you have to root to tether (for free). 

      Personally, I’d be surprised if Verizon let this phone through with the tethering functionality intact. In that case, you would need to root, no need for a custom rom though, just an app.

  • Meh, i won’t root/unlock this until … They’re no longer sending updates to the phone.  Or maybe I’ll have a new phone by then.

  • so is there any way that this can be done on my Linux Mint system??  

    could you explain what an SDK is?  It seems that assumptions are made about what all these things are

    • The SDK is the Android SDK, which developers uses to develop Android apps. It includes adb, which allows you to communicate with an Android device over USB.

        • Just Google superboot for Linux.  No need to mess with all this stuff unless you want to do it manually

  • I know this is a silly question, but can anyone confirm that it works this easily on the LTE version?  After the Razr, I have a bit of a hard time trusting Verizon. 

  • Help..I’m having trouble getting my G-nex to reboot to the bootloader, I keep getting the error message “no device connected”

    Any help on this Verizon? 😉

  • I already had all the files in place since i just got done rooting my new Xoom last week. So now i am even more ready for the g-nex and will be able to unlock the moment i make it to the house after i get the phone in my hands. So once we unlock how do we get root is it already done with this easy process?

  • Im sure the good folks at Verizon will have a little station set up so we can do this before leaving the store!

    • OTAs should come from Google since this is a Nexus, but yes, you will still receive them even after unlocking.

  • I have a problem, verizon still won’t release the phone, and I’m hearing it may be pushed back again, past December 9th…

  • Thanks for the heads up Kellex! — Be sure to set stuff up here soon. I also need to start removing a bunch of apps from my phone so I don’t have to download a bunch when I first get it!

    • Just get Titanium Backup. Makes restoring downloaded apps a breeze. Also keeps your data.

  • seriously i talked about this to my gf for like 2 hours earlier.  I just can’t quite seem to talk her into the fact that this is waaaaaaaaaaaay cooler than it is leading on to be.

    • I’m sure my wife feels the same way about it your GF does. I remember getting my Xoom and showing her how easy it was to unlock it. 

      Her response? “Is Jersey Shore on?” o_O

    • trust me if you really want to “unlock” your phones potential (nyuck nyuck) then you def wanna do this.  If anything for the free wifi tethering with no monthly $20 charge

          • so don’t ever go into the store with a rooted phone.  Its easy enough reversing the process before you take it in there so they’ll never know

          • Are we sure about that? I’ve just never heard anything definitive one way or the other. There’s not some “I’ve been unlocked” switch that gets flipped the first time, which can then be checked by the factory even if you relock it? 

          • I know I returned my formerly-rooted OGD and they replaced it without me ever hearing a word… but that required a hack, whereas a Google-sanctioned unlock (i.e., the Nexus line) might have a more permanent indicator…

          • hmmmm…I do likes my warranty…what If i drop it in the toilet cause i can’t put the phone down even while i pee

          • Not covered under warranty. Insurance still applies, though, regardless of what you do to the bootloader.

          • No, and if it does you could just say u dropped your phone in a lake and they have to replace it (at least for Asurion).

        • one small thing that delayed me a bit was when i moved my fastboot exe file to my adb folder it added a small (1) to it maybe because it was a shortcut file or something. Thus when i typed “fastboot” the prompt wouldn’t work until i deleted the (1) and just renamed the file “fastboot” then bingo everything was fine. 

          at first all the instructions seemed daunting but i just took it step by step and  viola, hello unlocked nexus!  i feel so freaking nerdy and smart now haha

Comments are closed.

Related Posts

back to top