This guide will show you how to root the popular Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone from Samsung.

Disclaimer: Digital Endpoint is not responsible for rooting the Android device in any way. Before performing any of these steps make sure you back up your Android device completely.

Rooting is done entirely by you at your own risk.

What is needed to root the Samsung Galaxy Nexus?

In order to root the Samsung Galaxy Nexus you will need the following.

• The Samsung Galaxy Nexus you want to root in your hand.
  
• A PC.
  

Step 1 – Download the USB drivers for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for your PC

In order for your PC to recognise the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as part of the rooting process you first must download and install the USB drivers on to your PC.

You can download the USB drivers for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus from here.

Once you have downloaded them run the main program file to make sure the drivers are installed.

Step 2 –Download the Galaxy Nexus rooting toolkit

To root the phone you need to download the toolkit to your PC which you can get from here. Save it in an easy to find location and extract it to its own folder.

Step 3 – Enable USB debugging on the Galaxy Nexus

In order for your PC to recognise the Samsung Galaxy Nexus when you plug it in to perform rooting you must first enable USB debugging on the phone itself. This is done by doing the following.

1. Tap the Settings option.
   
2. Tap the About Phone option.
   
3. Keep tapping the Build Number option (seven times) until it says you are a developer.
   
4. Tap the new Developer Options menu that appears.
   
5. Make sure that the USB Debugging option is checked.
   

Step 4 – Root the phone

Rooting the phone requires two steps. Unlocking the bootloader and rooting the phone. To do both of these follow the steps here.

Connect the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to your PC and make sure it is recognised.

Run the Nexus toolkit program you downloaded and extracted in step 2.

Under the Unlock section click the Unlock button and follow the steps.

The phone will reboot. Using the volume buttons select the option to unlock the bootloader and wait for it to finish.

Once the bootloader has been unlocked, using the Nexus toolkit, under the Unlock section select Root.

Follow the instructions and wait for it to finish. The phone will reboot once done.

Once the phone has rebooted look for the new SuperSU icon. This means that you have successfully rooted the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.