How to Root Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Veteran Android modder Paul O’Brien, AKA “Modaco”, is one lucky duck. He’s gotten his hands on the Galaxy Nexus before its release in the UK, currently set for November 17th. And like any good Android developer and/or ROM maker, he’s set to rooting that sucker. The first step in the process is a bit of code called a superboot, which executes from a desktop computer and roots the device with a bootloader work-around.

Since the Galaxy Nexus is a Google developer phone, there was never any doubt that a root was coming, and soon. You can even unlock the bootloader on the phone without any external tools. But it’s nice to see the the process for gaining root on Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t become any more difficult. This is a technique for advanced users, and easier methods will certainly come about after the Galaxy Nexus is released. Now we’ve just got to wait… and wait… and wait for the device to arrive.

Procedure

1- Download Superboot r1 Zip file and extract to a directory.

2- Switch off your phone then turn on with the ‘volume up’ and ‘volume down’ buttons both pressed which will put your device in bootloader mode.

3- Now jump over to your system and RUN Command depending upon your operating system.

WINDOWS – double click ‘install-superboot-windows.bat’
MAC – Open a terminal window to the directory containing the files, and type ‘chmod +x install-superboot-mac.sh’               followed by ‘./install-superboot-mac.sh’
LINUX – Open a terminal window to the directory containing the files, and type ‘chmod +x install-superboot-linux.sh’ followed by ‘./install-superboot-linux.sh’

Note: If you are using a retail Galaxy Nexus, you may need to unlock the bootloader first, using ‘./fastboot-windows oem unlock’ (or the appropriate version for your machine). Note that the OEM unlock sequence wipes your device.