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[Verizon] Galaxy Nexus root / un-root without unlocking bootloader

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#201
scary alien said:
ibizian,

The process is really pretty straightforward to use as long as you've got adb USB access to your device--which, unfortunately, is often the stumbling block for a lot of folks.

Take it one bite at a time and see how far along you get--there's nothing in this process that will break your device--its entire goal is to simply install the su and Superuser.apk binaries on your phone, nothing more.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Thank you for your fast reply. My issue is if the original post
 
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#203
Hi scary alien, this is my first time try rooting my gsm gnex. I have proper install the USB adb drivers, and adb devices to check and it shows my gnex number.

Then I run
c:\...> root-for-windows.bat but nothing happen to mine gnex. I check the root-for-windows.bat file and it is 0 file size. Is that file corrupted?

I try run c:\...> unroot-for-windows.bat and it works ok and my gnex reboot.
So it seens like root-for-windows.bat file is corrupted? I download the zip file from the first post of this thread.

Thanks.
 
Upvote 0
#204
archkiller said:
Hi scary alien, this is my first time try rooting my gsm gnex. I have proper install the USB adb drivers, and adb devices to check and it shows my gnex number.

Then I run
c:\...> root-for-windows.bat but nothing happen to mine gnex. I check the root-for-windows.bat file and it is 0 file size. Is that file corrupted?

I try run c:\...> unroot-for-windows.bat and it works ok and my gnex reboot.
So it seens like root-for-windows.bat file is corrupted? I download the zip file from the first post of this thread.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

archkiller,

Welcome to the AndroidForums!

Yeah, I just tried downloading it myself and it looks fine...I'm guessing you had a bad download.

Double-check the size and/or MD5 checksum (verifying the check sum will tell you for sure that you've got a whole, uncorrupt file):

Code: 
simple-gnex-root-unroot.zip: 

File size: [COLOR="Red"]946,051[/COLOR] (bytes)
MD5 checksum: [COLOR="Blue"]d562b501a37a7fbb7e4174c335f5c881[/COLOR]

Let me know! :)

edit: by the way, I just realized you said this was for your GSM GNex...this exploit should work fine and the same on both devices, but just wanted to make sure you realized you were in the VZW root section (which is fine, but sometimes matters--not in this instance, however).
 
Upvote 0
#210
Hey Scary,

I skimmed through many of the previous posts and i may have missed it but i went to the link (https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images) and downloaded the 4.0.2 zip for galaxy nexus LTE.

At the moment I've taken your root method, rooted, updated to 4.0.4, and restored root with "ota rootkeeper." I'm trying to get back to 4.0.2. stock, would i just put the zip from the nexus image site on the SD as an "update.zip" and then run clockwork and run that update?

I need to go back to stock because verizon is sending me a new Galaxy nexus due to some warranty issues i'm having.

Would this work?
 
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#211
lickwidravr said:
Hey Scary,

I skimmed through many of the previous posts and i may have missed it but i went to the link (https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images) and downloaded the 4.0.2 zip for galaxy nexus LTE.

At the moment I've taken your root method, rooted, updated to 4.0.4, and restored root with "ota rootkeeper." I'm trying to get back to 4.0.2. stock, would i just put the zip from the nexus image site on the SD as an "update.zip" and then run clockwork and run that update?

I need to go back to stock because verizon is sending me a new Galaxy nexus due to some warranty issues i'm having.

Would this work?
Click to expand...

lickwidravr,

No, the factory images from Google are not flashable .zip files. They are meant to be unpacked and the image files flashed separately (i.e., according to the contents of the included flash-all.sh script).

I'm afraid that you'll have to unlock your bootloader and re-flash the 4.0.2 factory image files if you truly want to get back to stock 4.0.2. After that, you'd re-lock your bootloader, of course, before sending it back in to VZW.

Here's the instructions for doing that: How to un-root (return to stock)

Cheers!
 
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#212
scary alien said:
lickwidravr,

No, the factory images from Google are not flashable .zip files. They are meant to be unpacked and the image files flashed separately (i.e., according to the contents of the included flash-all.sh script).

I'm afraid that you'll have to unlock your bootloader and re-flash the 4.0.2 factory image files if you truly want to get back to stock 4.0.2. After that, you'd re-lock your bootloader, of course, before sending it back in to VZW.

Here's the instructions for doing that: How to un-root (return to stock)

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much Scary! i believe i got it done, i went through the process a few times just to be safe because when i was flashing one of the portions there were 3 lines that came up that concerned me all stating that "boot.sig/system.sig/recovery.sig" didn't exist but it completed everything and the phone is back to 4.0.2. and i re-locked the bootloader once it was all completed. Should i worry about that?
 
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#213
lickwidravr said:
Thanks so much Scary! i believe i got it done, i went through the process a few times just to be safe because when i was flashing one of the portions there were 3 lines that came up that concerned me all stating that "boot.sig/system.sig/recovery.sig" didn't exist but it completed everything and the phone is back to 4.0.2. and i re-locked the bootloader once it was all completed. Should i worry about that?
Click to expand...

Nope, you're good :) (the expandable "Show" buttons in the link I sent you has a full example of when I did it and I got the very same messages).

Now, you are the expert :) [I'm gonna refer folks to you for help on flashing back to stock :p ;) :)]. Its actually not too hard or scary after you've done it a few times, eh?

Good luck! :)
 
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#216
I'm getting this

C:\Users\****>cd C:\Users\****\Downloads\simple-gnex-root-unroot(1)\simple-gne
x-root-unroot

C:\Users\candy\Downloads\simple-gnex-root-unroot(1)\simple-gnex-root-unroot>root
-for-windows.bat
ECHO is off.
# ==========================================================================
# Samsung Galaxy Nexus Simple Root by AndroidForums "scary alien"
#
# Written for and tested on Samsung Galaxy Nexus running stock Android 4.0.2
#
# This script will install the root binaries (su, Superuser.apk) on
# an unrooted GNex without needing to unlock the bootloader
#
# For additional details, credits, etc., please visit:
#
# http://androidforums.com/verizon-galaxy-nexus-all-things-root/499117-root-gnex
-without-unlocking-bootloader-yep.html
#
# Instructions:
#
# 1) Make sure you have the adb USB device drivers installed
#
# 2) Make sure you have USB debugging enabled on your phone
#
# 3) Connect your phone and computer via your USB cable
#
# 4) Run this script from the same directory where the rest of the
# files from the extracted .zip file are located
#
# ==========================================================================
#
The system cannot find the file specified.
Press any key to continue . . .
[*] waiting for adb USB connectivity to your device
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
error: protocol fault (status read)
#
[*] connectivity established! here we go! :)
#
[*] pushing our binaries and scripts over to the phone...
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
#
[*] securing work files...
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
#
[*] rooting the phone...
error: more than one device and emulator
#
[*] cleaning-up /data/local...
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
error: more than one device and emulator
#
[*] rebooting the phone...
error: more than one device and emulator
[*] waiting for reboot to finish
error: protocol fault (status read)
#
# Congratulations, your GNex has just been rooted :)
#
# Use your new root powers carefully and wisely.
#
# --- all done ---
Press any key to continue . . .

I bought this phone off of ebay so I'm not sure what the prev. owner did. All I know is root apps are not working. I'm on win 7 64 bit and I'll try a different computer later after I get some sleep.
 
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#217

Welcome to the AndroidForums, junaluu.

Well, my first thought is that you might not have the adb USB drivers properly setup.

Can you verify adb USB connectivity via a command like this:

C:\Users\scaryalien\Downloads\gnex-root> adb devices

That's usually the trickiest part to this.

Don't forget to make sure that USB debugging is enabled.

Cheers!
 
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#220
Scary-

Just wanna say thanks for the work you did to make this an easy process for a newb. I'm a mech engineer; me and electrons/sw don't normally get along! Had my Gnex since day one and it hasn't had many of the normal bugs aside from the 3g/4g/wifi handoff, but I did finally have the muted call issue a few days ago that put me over the top. Just rooted with your method and installed 4.0.4 ota last night (even after a few adult beverages). So far, it is working much better!
 
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#221
pwork said:
Scary-

Just wanna say thanks for the work you did to make this an easy process for a newb. I'm a mech engineer; me and electrons/sw don't normally get along! Had my Gnex since day one and it hasn't had many of the normal bugs aside from the 3g/4g/wifi handoff, but I did finally have the muted call issue a few days ago that put me over the top. Just rooted with your method and installed 4.0.4 ota last night (even after a few adult beverages). So far, it is working much better!
Click to expand...

LOL, you are most welcome, pwork! :)

I'm happy to hear that the time and effort I put into this (and that the efforts of the Linux kernel gurus who did the real work) were helpful and useful.

Cheers!
 
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#222
For the life of me, I could not figure this out on Windows. Spent at least an hour trying, but could do it. I've used ADB in the past (on a different phone), I'm pretty certain I had the drivers correctly installed, but whenever I typed in the file into the command prompt, nothing happened.

So... I switched over the Ubuntu. The files transferred over quickly thanks to dropbox, I opened the terminal, cd to the correct folder, typed in the script, and it worked on the first try.

Generally, I get too frustrated with Ubuntu to use it on a daily basis, but every once and a while it proves to be easier to use than Windows.
 
Upvote 0
#223
JonsConspiracy said:
For the life of me, I could not figure this out on Windows. Spent at least an hour trying, but could do it. I've used ADB in the past (on a different phone), I'm pretty certain I had the drivers correctly installed, but whenever I typed in the file into the command prompt, nothing happened.

So... I switched over the Ubuntu. The files transferred over quickly thanks to dropbox, I opened the terminal, cd to the correct folder, typed in the script, and it worked on the first try.

Generally, I get too frustrated with Ubuntu to use it on a daily basis, but every once and a while it proves to be easier to use than Windows.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hear you! :p

You really have to wonder how USB connectivity can me so simple and straightforward in Linux and so hit and miss under Windows.

Glad you had success with this, though.

Cheers and good luck! :)
 
Upvote 0
#224
scary alien,

noob here....what is the easiest way to get root access to update my galaxy nexus from 4.0.2 to 4.0.4 without unlocking the bootloader and wiping my data? i am a command line beginner, not very skilled with linux. please help! i am tired of waiting on the OTA update! i want to keep it stock for now, maybe a custom ROM later if I get pissed at the stock performance. if i missed a somewhere where this has been stated, please point me there!

thanks in advance,

simplenoob
 
Upvote 0
#225
simplenoob said:
scary alien,

noob here....what is the easiest way to get root access to update my galaxy nexus from 4.0.2 to 4.0.4 without unlocking the bootloader and wiping my data? i am a command line beginner, not very skilled with linux. please help! i am tired of waiting on the OTA update! i want to keep it stock for now, maybe a custom ROM later if I get pissed at the stock performance. if i missed a somewhere where this has been stated, please point me there!

thanks in advance,

simplenoob
Click to expand...

Welcome to the AndroidForums! :)

Your first step of getting rooted while still having your bootloader locked using this thread's method should be pretty straight-forward.

After you root, I would encourage you to use OTA Rootkeeper or my app (Android Root Toolkit) to save root so that you can easily restore/recover root after installing the 4.0.4 OTA.

This post (#41) on the first page outlines how to do what you are asking.

Here's a quick summary:

- root using this thread's method

- save root

- manually download the 4.0.4 OTA

- use a root-capable file explorer like Root Explorer for ES File Explorer to move the OTA's .zip file to the /cache folder and rename it to update.zip

- boot into the stock recovery (various ways to do this: again, via my app; via the Quick Boot app; how to enter into recovery) and apply the update.zip (4.0.4 OTA)

- restore your root via whatever method you used to save it

- enjoy root!

Also, if you want, I can carve-out these posts to a separate thread so that others might chime-in (there's certainly folks that won't visit this thread because they think it only pertains the rooting questions).

Let me know :).

Cheers!
 
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