Root Nexus noob here :)

[funkylogik]

Hey guys. Just kinda saying hello and a quick question.
Im getting a 1st gen N7 tomorrow and will be rooting and putting a rom on.
Im guessing it will be on JB out of the box so should i root it while on JB or update to KK first or does it not matter either way?
Thanks guys. Im pretty experienced at modding my sgs3 but this will be my first Nexus.
Thanks for having me :beer:

 

[funkylogik]

A quick other question.
The only reason i dont want to keep it stock rooted is that stock doesnt have ART.
Does ART make a big performance improvement on the N7? (It does on the s3 and if any device could benefit from ART id have thought it would be the nexus7)
Cheers

 

[argedion]

I'm rooted but running stock kitkat right now. with my choice of launcher it to me doesn't matter whats behind the scenes. I have only read a little about art and don't know a lot about it. I'm more the hands on when it comes to using that kind of thing. I learn best by doing

Welcome to the Nexus crowd enjoy your stay

 

[John Bean]

Any update kills root as a side effect, so root last after all the updates to save having to do it more than once.

That said rooting a Nexus is trivially simple so it doesn't really matter either way

 

[funkylogik]

Thanks buddy :beer:
Im still undecided about whether to rom or not until i find out how good ART is on the N7. It makes a huge difference to the s3 but a downside is you cant use Xposed Framework which i love.
So im either gona stay stock rooted, use Xposed and wait till the kitkat roms get more features or flash something probably CM based and run ART.
Ps, is the 2012 N7 16gb wifi codenamed "grouper"?
Cheers :beer:

 

[El Presidente]

Yeah, it's grouper.

ART hasn't officially made it to the 2012 N7 yet, are there def ROMs out there that have ART included?

And funky, as per your question here, I've the 2012 version

 

[funkylogik]

Any update kills root as a side effect, so root last after all the updates to save having to do it more than once.

That said rooting a Nexus is trivially simple so it doesn't really matter either way

Sorry bro i missed your reply. So rooting kk is as simple as rooting jb on the N7? Cool.
Have you tried running apps in ART?

 

[funkylogik]

.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah, it's grouper.

ART hasn't officially made it to the 2012 N7 yet, are there def ROMs out there that have ART included?

And funky, as per your question here, I've the 2012 version

Hey bro. Sorry missed your post. Thanks.
Tbh i dont know if there are grouper roms with ART option. Id have thought CM11 would but ill have to look into it.
Ill have a good read through the threads here before asking any more questions :beer:

 

[WoohooGuy]

Welcome Funky to the Nexus line of devices!

I have a Nexus 7 and have rooted it, modded it, flashed it upside down and 7 ways north of Sunday, mauled the OS requiring a nandroid backup and it's incredibly robust to handle it all.

You are going to have a ton of fun with it, there are so many readily available tools that make it easy as all hell.

Screen

The N7 screen glass is made by Corning, but it is not Gorilla Glass. It can and will scratch under abuse, get and install a quality screen protector.

I use Tech Armor brand protectors available from Amazon, they have a matte finish so glare isn't an issue and the one time I dropped it on its face (last week about a year since I got it Christmas 12) I picked it up and it had some serious scratches in the protector.

I was extremely relieved when I removed the protector to replace it, every single nick and scratch went with the film when I peeled it off the screen. I just ordered another pack of 3 of the same brand.

Charging

The Grouper N7 has a large battery, you need a charger and cable that is robust enough to handle the extra power the N7 or any similar larger tablet requires. The N7 comes with a very high quality Asus cable and wall charger that puts out 2 amps, it needs every bit of that to recharge especially when it is severely discharged.

You will never fully charge the N7 connected to a common USB port of a computer or typical android phone charger, the power provided will just about provide the power the N7 needs to function without even charging the battery. If your N7 didnt come with the factory charger than make sure you buy the factory charger or one with a solid 2amp output.

I actually find a lot of the chargers and cables that come with premium HTC devices charge the N7 very well, pay attention to the output specs.

Normally the shorter the cable the better (typically they are 3 feet), I have bought the Amazon essentials gold plated 6 foot cable and tested it with my Charger Doctor, it is a good brand to buy if you have the choice.

Rooting/Flashing

Anytime you start to root and mod the device you should be using the Asus factory cable or a very high quality replacement, the most common issue people have with root, rom, and general flashing/mod work is solved when they try a "different" hence better quality cable.

You should always have your device of any maker plugged directly into a computer and not a USB hub with 5 other things plugged into it, I'm sure you already know that.

You are going to want a "On The Go" (OTG) cable right away if you dont have one -

Amazon.co.uk: otg cable

The Nexus 7 has full USB host support, using the USB OTG cable that changes the Nexus 7 micro USB to a full size USB port you can do so many things.

Having a OTG cable will allow you to fully flash/restore/backup using a single USB thumb drive for all the files.

I highly suggest you buy one with a thinner more flexible cable as it will not stress the micro USB port on the Nexus 7.

A must have for the Nexus 7 is Wug's Nexus Root Toolkit, It makes rooting, tooling, and managing your nexus utterly fool proof.

Nexus Root Toolkit v1.8.0 | WugFresh

Make sure you set your correct device in Wug's and it's a proven reliable tool.

Using Wug's you can restore a factory image, root the device, and so much more awesomesauce it is impossible to list.

Install Wug's, follow the driver install, set your device properly and away you go. Everything else is simply a click away.

You can also dual boot your Nexus 7 where you run the stable stock version of android 4.4 but can instantly reboot the device using multirom and boot into a totally separate ROM like Cyanogen for testing.

Multirom - [MOD][DEC 24] MultiROM v19 - xda-developers

I'll be here for any question or concern you have no matter how daft or minor you may think it.. fire them off at any time, if I have the answer I will gladly provide it.

 

[funkylogik]

Wow thanks Woohoo mate!!
Youve even answered questions i hadnt thought of yet (how do you do that lol?)
So do you recommend using a toolkit then? I know a lot of purists would turn their nose up at that but im really not experienced with PCs so if a toolkit means less time messing around on the laptop then thats cool with me
Thanks again mate :beer:

 

[argedion]

I have Linux so Wugs wont work for me. I did everything manually and it was very simple and easy to do. Infact it was so simple and easy I forgot how :rofl:

Seriously it is super easy

Also I find it best to charge the Nexus with it Powered off. The charge just seems to last longer to me. GET A CASE. You'll be glad you did. I still want to get an otter box for mine but I never take it anywhere and I have it in a nice leather case that also acts as a stand. I doubt its real leather (came from walmart) but its a nice enough case. I will also through in a microfiber cloth for it to keep the screen clean.

++++1 for the USB OTG definitely worth the investment. I put movies on an 8 gig thumb and can watch them for hours.(Provided enough battery life) But you get my point its really a handy thing to have.

Ok have fun and keep us posted

 

[John Bean]

Sorry bro i missed your reply. So rooting kk is as simple as rooting jb on the N7? Cool.

It is, the only differences are the actual files copied to the N7 to root it - the original JB versions didn't work with later versions of Android (but of course now do) but the process of rooting is just the same. Wugs Toolkit takes most the pain away for Windows users, but to be honest the hardest part is getting the drivers to work properly.

Have you tried running apps in ART?

No, I use the stock ROM which has no ART support. It's a shame; I use ART on my stock Nexus 4 (not even rooted) and the transformation was remarkable. I'll certainly use it on the N7 if and when Google ever includes it in the N7 build.

 

[WoohooGuy]

Wow thanks Woohoo mate!!
Youve even answered questions i hadnt thought of yet (how do you do that lol?)
So do you recommend using a toolkit then? I know a lot of purists would turn their nose up at that but im really not experienced with PCs so if a toolkit means less time messing around on the laptop then thats cool with me
Thanks again mate :beer:

Wugs really is worth it, one of its greatest features is it automatically collects all the required files you need for the android version you select.

 

[funkylogik]

Thanks peeps. One more thing while its updating (slowly), will the toolkit install recovery as well? :beer:

 

[El Presidente]

Yep, the toolkit will install a custom recovery too.

If you're unlocking the bootloader on kitkat, don't install the custom recovery straight away or you'll end up in recovery bootloop.

Unlock, reboot back to the tabs logon screen, then reboot back to the bootloader to install recovery.

PSA: Make Sure You Reboot After Unlocking Your Nexus Or GPE Device's Bootloader

 

[funkylogik]

Cool thanks buddy. that makes sense :beer:

 

[DimBulb]

Hey funkylogik, welcome aboard,

I'd like to add only one thing to all the great information, especially Woohooguy's information that all Nexus7 beginner's will want to know.

Buried down inside this threat I started, is one piece of help, that might come in handy for a boot-loop situation. It's instructions to pull the plug on the battery, so easy on a cell phone, and so (seemingly impossible) on a Nexus7. Nevermind the other problem, (so far as I know, it's only happened to me, with my PC, no longer connecting to my Tablet).

http://androidforums.com/nexus-7-gen1-2012-all-things-root/751372-pc-cant-interface-tablet.html

Good luck.

 

[funkylogik]

Hey Dim. Thanks for the welcome and the link. Great info
Im downloading wugs now which is gona take a long time tethered to a 2mb/s 3g connection lol. This is gona be a long process just because of the downloads.
Id wait and use someones broadband but i wana get it unlocked now n start putting some apps on :beer:

 

[funkylogik]

So trying to download any large file to that laptop tethered is futile lol!
Gona use my folk's broadband when i get a chance next week

 

[WoohooGuy]

A suggestion for Wugs while you have a high speed connection -

When you select/change a device in NRT for the first time it will download various associated files like the complete factory image from google but it will also download a couple other images related to the android build you selected that NRT uses for some of the advanced tool options.

I suggest you select multiple builds, one by one, of the android releases you may think you will want/need while you have a high speed connection.

When you select a new build NRT will show a popup on how to enable USB debugging on the device, OK out of that popup and NRT will then check to make sure it has all the related files. If it does not have them, because you have not selected the build before, then it will have to download them on the spot.

Im sure it'll save you some aggravation and bandwidth if you select the ones you may need while you have a faster and reliable connection available to you.

 

[funkylogik]

Good idea mate. Ill definately be doing that.
Cheers :beer:

 

[funkylogik]

Hey peeps. Just rooted using Wugs and it was completely painless.
Thanks for all the advice guys :beer:

 

[WoohooGuy]

Good to hear!

Just to let you know I gave the multirom installer app a whirl and it makes it ridiculously easy to install and update multirom, the patched kernel, and modified TWRP. It checks what current versions are available, with a couple check marks it downloads the packages, generates the scripts and sets recovery to finish the task on reboot.

It also makes it easy to change ROM names and even delete a rom .

Give it a try, really good stuff.

 

[funkylogik]

I probably will give it a go eventually mate. The only issue is storage (16gb) and i have two user accounts on the tab