If you are a proud owner of the Nexus 5, then you might already have got the 5.1 Lollipop update, and currently running on it. Though the latest version update of Android comes with several bug-fixes and a few changes, you might want to play more with it. For this, you might be required to root your phone. So, we are here with a complete guide on how to root your Nexus 5 running on 5.1 Lollipop.
Note that although you will have a lot of benefits if you root your phone, but still, it will void your phone’s warranty. See our article for details: Android OS Root: Advantages and Disadvantages.
You will also have to note that to root your Nexus 5, you need to have your bootloader unlocked first. If you don’t have it, do it first and then only you will be eligible to root the device.
Follow these steps to root your Nexus 5 running on 5.1 Lollipop:
- Make sure your phone has USB Debugging enabled in Developer Options. If you don’t have this option in Settings already, go to Settings > About Phone and tap Build Number until the notification that Developer Options have been enabled pops up. Then back out a step and you’ll see it at the bottom of your Settings menu.
- Make sure you have the Nexus 5 USB Drivers installed on your PC.
- Double check your Nexus 5 battery is charged, and if not, charge that bad boy!
- Open the ADB Tools folder on your PC. If you don’t have it installed already download ADB Tools here.
- Ensure Fastboot lives in the ADB Tools folder once you’re done installing. If it doesn’t, download Fastboot for Windows.
- Download SuperSU v2.46 on your PC too.
- Copy the SuperSU zip file to the root directory of your Nexus 5 (temporarily turn off USB Debugging if your PC doesn’t recognize your Nexus 5 is connected). To do this, connect your Nexus 5 to your PC with a USB cable and copy the file to the place where all the root folders are: not in a folder.
- Download ClockworkMod custom recovery to your PC and put it in the Platform Tools directory.
- Restart your Nexus 5 in Fastboot. Turn it off, then press and hold Power and Volume Down until you see the Fastboot menu. You should still be connected to the PC with a USB cable.
- Open a Windows Explorer window and head to the Platform Tools folder.
- In a blank space in the window, hold Shift and right click your mouse. You’ll want to click on Open Command Window Here.
- Type in the following command:fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.5-hammerhead.img
- Use the volume keys to select Recovery Mode on your Nexus 5 and hit Power to enter it.
- From CWM, use the volume keys to select ”install zip” and hit Power to confirm, then select ”choose zip from SD card” – no prizes for guessing what comes next.
- Locate the SuperSU zip you copied over earlier (it should appear at the bottom of the list in /sdcard/0/) and press power to confirm your selection, reconfirm and wait until you see the notification at the bottom of the screen that says ”Install from SD card complete”.
- Back out to the main menu and reboot your Nexus 5. Make sure you tell your recovery to fix root!
- The first boot may take ages (this is why you charged your battery) – don’t freak out. Go have a cup of tea and let it do its thing. Do NOT unplug your phone from your PC or winged monkeys will fly through the window and do all kinds of terrible things to you.
- Once your Nexus 5 has rebooted, that’s it. You’re rooted and ready to roll with SuperSU installed. Install RootChecker from the Play Store to double check your root status and grant it superuser access. If you get a green confirmation message you’re all sorted.
- If you get stuck in a bootloop (meaning after a long time your phone still hasn’t booted up normally), you can switch it off, reboot into Fastboot, go to Recovery and wipe data, wipe cache partition and reboot again. That should do the trick.
You’re done. You have now successfully rooted your Nexus 5 running on Android 5.1 Lollipop, and can fully enjoy its perks now.
Good read for you:
