How To Hack a Nexus One

This page tells how to hack a Nexus One. Specifically, you will find a walkthrough video and three steps that detail how to unlock the HTC Nexus One phone so that Android Market applications can be installed and used. This article lists several Nexus One hack blogs, videos, news, and links that are updated daily.

Hacking a Nexus One requires a USB cable and a computer equipped with an Android development tool called the Android Debug Bridge (ADB). ADB is just one tool in the Android toolkit, which is called Android SDK. Android SDK is a free download.http://developer.android.com/index.html The process also requires downloading three files off the Internet: USB driver files, Amon_RA’s recovery image, and Cyanogen's Nexus One add on. Links to these downloads are in the numbers after the descriptions of these files below, in step 1.

The process of hacking a Nexus One is quite complex. Every site referenced in obtaining the instructions on this page warns that beginners should not attempt this process. The first time this process is done it might take half an hour. The process can be completed by expert hackers in less than ten minutes. Some of the steps detailed on this page are done on the phone itself, and others are done in this ADB application, on the PC.

Hacking an HTC Nexus One will erase all the info stored on the phone. Before getting started with a Nexus One Hack, back up all the phone files that have been created -- such as the phone book with all the stored phone numbers -- onto the computer hard drive or onto a flash drive. Part of the hack requires changing the bootload settings. As soon as bootload settings are tampered with, the hack is detected and the phone's warranty is voided. Once the warranty is voided, the user takes full responsibility for any damage that might be done to the phone.

Proceed with caution. Doing any of these steps incorrectly can brick your phone (lock it).

Step 1: Prepare To Hack a Nexus One

Back up onto the computer hard drive or onto a flash drive all the phone files that have been created -- such as the phone book with all the stored phone numbers. Hacking an HTC Nexus One will erase all the info stored on the phone.

Grab three files off the Internet:

1. the USB driver files -- The numbers at the end of this sentence link to places where you can get these.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5295937&postcount=7http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html

2. Amon_RA’s recovery image -- The numbers at the end of this sentence link to where you can get this.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611829

3. Cyanogen's Nexus One add on -- The numbers at the end of this sentence link to where you can get this.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611829

Turn off and then fast boot the Nexus One. In order to do this on the Nexus One, unlike other phones, hold down the track ball while pushing the power button. If the screen with the skateboard cartoons at the bottom comes up, then the phone is in fast boot.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKo0m0kGRYA

At this point, plug the phone into a computer again and make sure the phone is recognized by the computer. Also confirm that ADB recognizes the phone. Here are a few sites where help is available to troubleshoot if the Nexus One phone is not recognized by the computer or the Android Debug Bridge (ADB)http://developer.android.com/index.html, or if you do not know how to use ADB to use your computer to control your phone.http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Android_debug_bridgehttp://forums.androidandme.comhttp://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/ADBhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=556

Step 2: Unlock the Boot Loader and Install the Custom Recovery Image

Be aware that as soon as bootload settings are tampered with, the Nexus One hack is detected and the warranty on the Nexus One phone is voided. Once the warranty is voided, the user takes full responsibility for any damage that might be done to the phone. Procede with caution. Doing any of these steps incorrectly can brick your phone (lock it).

With the phone in fastboot mode:

Open a command prompt in ADB on the computer.
Go to the android SDK tools folder.
Make sure the phone is recognized by entering fastboot devices.
Enter the command fastboot oem unlock.

A black screen with purple lettering comes up on the phone, asking for confirmation that the boot loader needs to be unlocked. Consider what it says and choose yes or no on the phone with the volume keys and the power button. If no is chosen, then the procedure cannot continue.

Put Amon_RA’s recovery image in the android SDK folder using ADB on the computer.
Open a command prompt in ADB on the computer.
Go to the android SDK tools folder.
Enter the command fastboot flash recovery recovery-RA-nexus-v1.5.3.img

(As the new recovery image is installed, the file name will change.)

Step 3: Reboot in Recovery and Flash the N1 Addon

Find the downloaded Internet file Cyanogen’s N1 Addon on your computer. Copy this .zip file to your phone's SD card, into its root directory.

Because the phone's memory was just erased, re-enable USB debugging so that the phone will show up in ADB on the computer:

Phone Menu > Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging (Choose enable.)

In ADB on the computer:

Open a command prompt.
Go to the Android SDK tools folder.
Reboot the phone in recovery mode by typing in ADB the command adb reboot recovery.

Once the phone reboots in recovery mode (a black background with green text that says, Android system recovery) on the Nexus One phone:

Go to Flash zip from sdcard
Select the Cyanogen’s N1 Addon zip.
Follow the directions on the phone screen.
When prompted to being the flash, press the trackball.
Once the flash is done, select reboot and press the trackball.

That is how to hack a Nexus One! It is done. Use the keyword "Nexus Root" to search the Android Market for some root apps that you can now use!