dive into mark

Tim Bray asks how to root the Nexus One. The process is a bit complicated, but (unlike most other Android phones) it does not rely on exploiting security holes. Android and Me has a great tutorial, so I won’t repeat the gory details here. The key is in step 1, the fastboot oem unlock command. This does two important things:

1. Allows you to install custom “recovery” firmware (of which more in a moment).
2. Irrevocably voids your warranty. Seriously, this trips a “security” bit somewhere deep within the phone that no one has been able to reset. Once you run fastboot oem unlock, your carrier will be able to tell that you did it, and they can (and most likely will) deny you service if you send your phone in for repair.

(I am aware that there are other devices that give you root access from the get-go, but I find this an interesting compromise between the needs of carriers to reduce support costs and the desires of people like me to do whatever they want with their own computers. It’s not an ideal situation, but considering that the only way to root the G1 was to downgrade your OS to a vulnerable version and exploit a gaping security hole, the N1 is certainly a step in the right direction.)

The “recovery” firmware is what installs OS upgrades and other low-level packages. The built-in recovery firmware will only install packages signed by Google. Custom recovery firmwares remove this restriction, allowing you to install a multitude of custom OS packages (colloquially called “ROMs,” despite being read/write). I recommend Amon_RA’s recovery firmware; the Android and Me link has installation details.

Once you have Amon_RA’s recovery firmware installed, you can install essentially anything on your Nexus One, including replacing the entire operating system. The custom recovery firmware also has a number of useful features, including low-level backup and restore functionality (called “NAND backup”) in case you install an bad custom ROM that crashes your phone.

The least invasive thing to install is Cyanogen’s N1 Addon. This is not a full OS replacement; it simply installs the all-important su binary and a userland application called “Superuser Permissions,” which lets you manage which applications can have root access. Once Cyanogen’s N1 Addon is installed, you can search the Android Market for things that require root access. Three that I have installed right now:

• N1 Torch, which uses the camera flash bulb on the back of the phone as a super-bright flashlight. (Seriously, this alone is worth the hassle of rooting your phone.)
• AdFree, which overwrites your phone’s /etc/hosts file to remove selected in-app and in-browser advertising.
• Wireless Tether for Root Users, which turns your phone into a wireless hotspot for your laptop or other computers.

If you want to go further, you can install a complete OS replacement. I personally use Cyanogenmod. Another solid contender is Enomther’s “TheOfficial” Nexus1, which focuses on customizability. (Open the terminal app and run expsetup.) There are others, but I haven’t experimented with them.

The place to be to learn more about modding your Nexus One is the xda-developers forum. Their adb/fastboot/bootloader/android 101 newbie guide is essential reading; it explains all the terminology that modders use, as well as the most common adb and fastboot commands.

[Standard disclaimer: I work for Google, which develops Android and sells the Nexus One. Google gave me a Nexus One as a holiday gift last year, and I've been using it ever since.]

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Four comments here (latest comments)

1. Great article mark, but a quick note that accessing the market from non-signed ROMs can ban your Google account from accessing paid apps (but may not necessarily do so). Research ‘android forward locking’ for info.

   — Mike MacCana 

2. Did the same thing with my Droid, but still struggling to get my laptop to connect to the WiFi hotspot it creates.

   As for the LED flashlight trick, are you sure you had to root your phone to get that to work? There were several apps in the Android Marketplace that worked fine on my pre-rooted Droid.

   — Taylor Braun-Jones 

3. As I enter my 15th year of using Linux exclusively, I can tell you that I won’t buy any Android phone that doesn’t permit root access without voiding the warranty. You can give me one for free, since I’ll just throw it away if it breaks in that case, but not one penny for hardware that’s so delicate and fragile that ’su root’ breaks it in the eyes of its manufacturer.

   — Mace Moneta 

4. Good point, Mike. The reason is that the only “copy protection” on paid apps is that they get placed in a folder that you can’t access, either on the phone itself (through the terminal emulator or file manager) or by mounting it as a USB drive. Gaining root access gives you access to that folder, which theoretically opens the door to app piracy.

   There were complaints about the “developer” version of the G1 (which anyone could buy unlocked, contract-free, full price, and which came with root access) not being able to access paid apps in the market.

   That said, I’ve been running root-enabled custom ROMs on my G1 and now on my N1, and I’ve never had a problem with paid apps in the Market. I have several paid apps (games), and after wiping the entire phone and installing Cyanogen and re-logging into my Google account and into the Market, I was able to re-download the apps that I’d paid for. YMMV, of course.

   — Mark 

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