[Complete guide with Images] Unlock Bootloader and Root Google Nexus One [Mac, Windows, Linux]
There are 2 types of Google Nexus One devices : Retail and Google’s holiday gift to its’ employees. The retail version bought from http://google.com/phone has its bootloader locked but Google lets you unlock your bootloader unlike Apple! Google warns that the warranty will be void if you unlock the bootloader but seriously, unless you install some really dumb applications, you cannot damage the device.
Rooting your Google Nexus One is a 2 step process. One, Fastboot and the other Superboot (courtesy Paul from Modaco).
Download this file (Rapidshare). or you can also download them from here(modaco). Extract them to your desktop. You will see two .zip files, extract them both.
Fastboot [Google's warning and Unlocking the bootloader]
CAUTION : All your data will be erased.
- Connect your Nexus One to your PC/Mac and turn it off.
- Hold the trackball and hit the power button (while holding the trackball). You should see the following bootloader screen.
- Now from the files you downloaded previously, you will see a folder called ‘fastboot‘ (if you extracted fastboot.zip that is!).
- On a Windows machine – launch Command Prompt and CD to fastboot folder. (Type in ‘cd ‘ (without the quotes and drag and drop the fastboot folder to the command prompt). Type in ‘cd fastboot‘ again and now type the following command ‘fastboot-windows oem unlock‘ (without quotes) and hit enter.
- On a Mac or Linux machine – launch the Terminal and CD to fastboot folder (type in ‘cd ‘ and drag and drop the folder. Now hit enter.). Now CD to the other fastboot folder and type the following (without quotes): ‘./fastboot-mac oem unlock‘ (for Mac) or ’./fastboot-linux oem unlock’ (for Linux) and hit enter. You will see the following. Ignore the error
. - This is the screen that you will see now. Use the volume button (on the side) to select ‘Yes’. (Please read the full message displayed on the screen thoroughly). Now push the Power button to select this option (weird, I know. Trackball would have been a better choice to select!).
- Great! You have successfully unlocked the bootloader! You will see the unlock image while your phone boots up.
Superboot [To actually root your Nexus One]
- Connect your Nexus One to your PC/Mac and turn it off.
- Hold the trackball and hit the power button (while holding the trackball). You should see the following bootloader screen.
- Now from the files you downloaded previously, you will see a folder called ‘1.1-nexusone-superboot’ (if you extracted1.1-nexusone-superboot.exe that is!).
- On a Windows machine – Just double click the ‘install-superboot-windows.bat’ file , pretty simple ain’t it?!
- On a Mac or Linux machine – launch the Terminal and CD to1.1-nexusone-superboot folder (type in ‘cd ‘ and drag and drop the folder. Now hit enter.). Now CD to the other 1.1-nexusone-superboot folder and type the following (without quotes):
- MAC - ’chmod +x install-superboot-mac.sh‘ and hit enter. Now type ‘./install-superboot-mac.sh‘ and hit enter.
- LINUX – type ‘chmod +x install-superboot-linux.sh‘ and hit enter and then ’./install-superboot-linux.sh‘ and hit enter.
- You have successfully rooted your Google nexus One! You can now use all those applications that require root access!
- Now head over to this post to quickly install the most famous recovery tool.
p.s : These programs were written by Paul from Modaco.com. I just made an easy to understand guide, thats it! Feel free to post a comment if you are having any issues.
[...] Update : It is already rooted! Check this step by step guide. [...]
[...] CAUTION : If you did not root your device already, you MUST first do so. Follow this step by step gu… [...]
What is the operating system you are using – XP/Vista/Win 7? It really is OS specific.
when i try to run fast boot it says ' this application has failed to start because AdbWinApi.dll was not found….' so what do i do now??
I'm getting the same error as Jessica. I'm running Windows 7 x64.
Kiran,
Great job man and herculean effort.
Really that would be an understatement. This is the only tutorial thats made sense to me. BTW, I am yet to receive my N1, Already ordered and waiting for someone to bring it to India 
I dont have enough words to thank you. You are a n00bs best friend.
I wanted to know, apart from the warranty, is there anyway of screwing up and bricking the phone when I follow the above process. You know why I ask, considering the amount of energy and time and money spent in bringing it to India.
I am thinking of rooting only because I need to install the exchange calander and exchange global address list (GAL) applictions – CorGAL.apk and MotoCAL.apk. Do I really need to root to get this installed or is there some other way without voiding the warranty?
Can you please clarify this. I am running in circles and no one has time to help out a noob.
Thanks again!
One more thing… Wouldnt it be nice to put up a new I love my 'G' phone logo
on this nice site?
Thanks Raj!
There is no way you can go wrong with this process since unlocking the bootloader is clearly a Google tool! They say that the warranty will be void but you should be able to restore to factory defaults, will post a guide for that soon.
I have no answer for GAL apps but yeah, you may root your nexus one and install those apks since rooting is fun and stable as long as you install trusted apps from trusted sources!
Time time time, I wish I had more time! Logo should follow suit soon!
Thank you Thank you! Waiting and watchin this place…. Subscribed to your feed
this application has failed to start because AdbWinApi.dll was not found
do i need to have android SDK installed on the computer first?
I'm on windows vista 64 and I am having the same issue, AdbWinApi.dll is missing.
nvm I found it. but now im on the fastboot page and my cmd says waiting for device.
Great! What did you do fix that .dll issue?
Did you select the fastboot option as described in the guide?
sorry nvm my nexus one driver was never installed on my laptop so it didnt pick up the phone
the fastboot.zip didnt have the .dll file, but the superboot folder from paul had both the fastboot file and the .dll file. thanks!
CAUTION : All your data will be erased.
what do you mean by "data" ?
contact , sms , file .. ?
is unlock boot loader = hard reset ?
Awesome, the easy step by step I've been looking for. Thanks!
[...] [...]
hi i get the following but nothing happens next:
sending 'boot' (2066 KB)… OKAY
writing 'boot'… OKAY
What do you currently see on the screen?
i see nothing, the cmd is on the folder name
and the phone is at the same screen
i don't get the screen in step 8
WinXP
So you ran the install script from step 4 (.bat file, right?)
right
and it gave this:
sending 'boot' (2066 KB)… OKAY
writing 'boot'… OKAY
but that's it
hi Kiran,
any idea what’s going on with my phone?
Hi,
From what I understand nir to be saying, I have a similar problem.
I have completed all the above steps with any issues. I have the 'Superuser Permission' icon on the programs list. When I open this, it just hangs for about 30 seconds while trying to unsuccessfully make a su request. I also cant launch any applications that require SU access such as N1 torch.
Any suggestions welcomed.
Thanks
MMM…. found thr problem. I didnt re-allow usb debugging after unlocking the boot loader. SOLVED
Wow, what an excellent tutorial. Absolutely zero issues doing this on my Mac following your guide here, and the one on installing the recovery image. I'm unlocked, rooted, and sporting a fresh nand backup in just a few short minutes.
Thanks!
I am glad you enjoyed the guide! Enjoy your Nexus One!
Actually, I did speak a little too soon. The process hosed my WiFi and it wouldn't turn on at all on the phone.
A little Googling found recommendations to use an image with the newer radio software in it. I got everything working again, plus some more memory by flashing with the "superboot hi mem" image from MoDaCo in this post: http://android.modaco.com/content/google-nexus-on...
Another slight annoyance with Google I discovered was that despite having my Nexus One set up to back up all my settings on Google serves, when I restarted the phone, the only data that synced back was actual settings like WiFi passwords. Very little synced back beyond that…this is my first Android phone, but I expected a little more seamless move after a factory reset. I give Apple the "win" here, since after you jailbreak an iPhone, resyncing restores just about everything (apps, settings, accounts, sms history, etc), whereas the Google method makes you do everything back manually, unless I did something wrong.
At any rate, yours is still an excellent and easy tutorial to follow. Thanks again.
I didn't have WiFi issues before, thanks for the tip though!
"superboot hi mem" rocks, Google should have done that from the start, not sure why they had to leave it for 3rd party devs to fix it!
Google's backup – I initially thought it was a cool service but it failed to actually perform a real backup! A nandroid backup is the only way to go and it is fast and reliable unlike Google's cloud backup anyway!
Thanks again for the tips buddy!
I keep getting the <waiting for device> message. I've downloaded the usb from the google sdk package and still nothing .. HELP
Push the power button once to select the appropriate mode and try running the command again..
Hi Kiran
Got my N1 now, and plannig to root it just to adb push the corgal.apk and motocal.apk (exchange calendar and GAL). This is the only reason to do it? I am on ERE27 and I dont know which one to install, the superboot way or the cyanogen rom. I am so overwhelmed by the forums and I value your advice on this.
OK, took about an hour to figure out how to get Nexus One USB drivers working. Having now followed all the steps my Wifi has stopped working.
Certainly not as easy and straight forward for me as others have been experiencing. Not for a non-advanced user.
Hi Raj. I totally missed this comment. Cyanogen ROM way should be better. Let me know how it goes.
I never had WiFi issues before. Did you follow this guide verbatim?
Drag and drop into command prompt doesnt work…
lzsdsbjw…
lzsdsbjw…
[...] Somebody asked last night about a method for Mac users. I rooted last night on my Macbook Pro. Here's the method I used. [...]
What other fastboot folder are you talking about in step 5 of unlocking the bootloader. when i downloaded the files it only came with fastboot and the super boot. and everytime i cd to the fastbook folder it says this shit (-bash: cd/Users/peter-jaylinton/Desktop/fastboot: No such file or directory
Peter-Jay-Lintons-MacBook:~ peter-jaylinton$) what the hell am i doing wrong ive ben trying this for ever!! and i cannto seem to get it!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes my phone has debugging on….
yeah i'm getting the same thing. no idea whats happening
@Peter
I found what went wrong, I wasn't putting a space after the cd in terminal.
Do that and it should work
smh some one needs to help us ASAP
@ Peter, Michael : Since you are on a Mac, did you follow step 5 verbatim?
I should have written that step in a different way.
All you have to do is :
Launch 'Terminal' and drag and drop the folder you downloaded at the beginning of this article.
Then type in 'ls' to list everything in there and then type in 'cd "1.1-nexusone-superboot"'. Let me know if it works.
iight cool ill try both ways
YESSSS IT WORKSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you soo muchhh!!! im freakin happy lmao
Ok i got everythign to work BUT how come after step 8 in superboot i dont see the screen like that?? didi i do something wrong again?
My debugging is allowed and i still have this same problem….so close yet so far away smh.
I dont get the screen in step 8 for superboot…whats wrong now all it says is Peter-Jay-Lintons-MacBook:1.1-nexusone-superboot peter-jaylinton$ ./install-superboot-mac.sh
sending 'boot' (2066 KB)… OKAY
writing 'boot'… OKAY
but noghitn happens it just stays on the bootloader screen…
You are all set, just reboot!
Are you sure? so how come i never got that screen?
Are you sure?? because i dont get that image after step 8 when i do it…am I supposed to get that image or does it matter? and + on the recovery image page wich i believ is the next thred when i download the imag it says it cannot mount image or unable to mount. WHat do i do then? i know sorry 2 diff questions.
To be clear – I solved this problem by copying the .dll file from the superboot folder into the fastboot folder.
i get this on my terminal screen
sending 'boot' (2066 KB)… OKAY
writing 'boot'… OKAY
however, my screen on my phone just stays the same, i am a mac user, how do i fix this?
What happens when you reboot your Nexus One?
I am experiencing the same problem – no wifi. Were you able to fix your nexus one? If so, how? Thanks!
[...] Ok sorry guys been a bit busy lately but i have been doing some searching and this is what I came up with I hope it helps. Unlock and Root a Nexus One – Nexus one – Lifehacker Google's Nexus One loaded with Android is rooted | Mac Hack PC – Hack it all you can… Root Nexus One on Android 2.1 | Redmond Pie [Complete guide with Images] Unlock Bootloader and Root Google Nexus One [Mac, Windows, Linux] | iLi… [...]
getting a message cannot execute binary file
how do i do that i got the terminal open i dont get the CD part. plese help
5.On a Mac or Linux machine – launch the Terminal and CD to fastboot folder (type in ‘cd ‘ and drag and drop the folder. Now hit enter.). Now CD to the other fastboot folder and type the following (without quotes): ‘./fastboot-mac oem unlock‘ (for Mac) or ’./fastboot-linux oem unlock’ (for Linux) and hit enter. You will see the following. Ignore the error
This may seem like a fairly silly question, but I'm on vista and I can't seem to drag the folder onto the command prompt and I can't figure out why.
Help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Hi
after i rooted my nexus 1 , my Wi-Fi unable to start
hello help me plz
thx
Did you redo the whole process on a fresh slate?
[...] Boot Loader <waiting for device> So, I was this How To, [Complete guide with Images] Unlock Bootloader and Root Google Nexus One [Mac, Windows, Linux] | iLi…, trying to Root my phone, but could not get past unlocking the boot loader. I believe I set up my [...]
hi
i'm also facing the same problem, Wi-Fi not able to start. and i did the whole process on absolutely a fresh slate.
Please Help…Thnx…
I followed instructions and now my phone is restarting every couple of minutes and i am unable to use any of the features?? I reboot it and during the boot splash is slows way down and then boots up. The phone screen comes on but all the features are deactivated and it continually force closes. Help.. Using a Mac.
i got all the steps right but nothing shows on my phone regarding it being rooted and its not rooted either. i am using mac. my current firmware version is epe76 on 2.1 update 1. please tell me what am i doing wrong. thnx
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