A Guide To Getting Root Access On The Google Nexus One

Despite its very recent release, the Google Nexus One has already been hacked and rooted by enthusiasts in the altering community. Hacking and gaining root level access is not recommended for those who have not previously hacked an Android device before; the instructions assume the reader has done this at least once before. The process should not take more than half an hour and is relatively simple.

Before beginning the process of hacking and rooting the Google Nexus One, make sure a few things have been done first. From Google or XDA, get the USB drivers necessary to connect the phone to the computer. Check with XDA to make sure the device in question is recognized by ADB.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, back up any important data before proceeding.

Step One – Unlock the Bootloader

Before flashing a new recovery image, which will wipe out the phone completely, one must unlock the bootloader first.

1. Begin by turning off the phone.
2. Hold down the trackball while turning the phone back on. This will boot the phone into fastboot. Fastboot is indicated by the screen showing the Androids on skateboards.
3. Connect the phone to the computer.
4. Open a command prompt on the computer and navigate to the Nexus One's SDK tools folder.
5. In the command prompt, type in fastboot devices to ensure the device is connected.
6. Type fastboo oem unlock in order to unblock the bootloader.
7. Using the volume keys to navigate, use the power button to confirm.

Step Two – Flash the New Recovery Image

1. Visit XDA and download Amon_RA's recovery image for the Nexus One.
2. Copy the file after downloading into the SDK folder.
3. If the command prompt is still open, make sure it is still on the SDK folder.
4. Type in fastboot flash recovery recovery-RA-nexus-v1.5.3.img but keep in mind the file name may change as the file is updated.

Step Three – Boot into Recovery Mode / Flash N1 Add-on

It is now time to flash the drive after booting into recovery mode. With the phone just recently wiped, it may be necessary to re-enable USB debugging so that the commands work.

1. Visit XDA and download Cyanogen's N1 Addon.
2. Copy the .zip file to the root directory of your SD card.
3. In the command prompt, type adb reboot recovery to reboot the phone into recovery mode.
4. Use the trackball to navigate to Flash zip from sdcard and then select the zip file you wish to flash.
5. Follow the on screen instructions.
6. Press the trackball to begin the flash when prompted.
7. When the flash is complete, navigate to reboot and press the trackball to reboot.

With this, root access to the Google Nexus One is granted.