Galaxy Nexus Tips: Unlock bootloader, root, recovery, more

Now that many of us have a shiny new Galaxy Nexus in our hands, I’m sure many of our readers are looking for a few tips and guides. With this being a Nexus device this will be one of the easiest phones to unlock, root, and fully enjoy but we have all the details round up just in case. Below you’ll find a few links to XDA, Google+ and more.

Pro Tip: Screenshots are simple in Ice Cream — just long press volume down and the power button for a second or two.

I’m sure iFixit will offer us a teardown soon but in the meantime you guys can crack open and enjoy the software side of things with a few very simple instructions. Almost everything will work for LTE and the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus but obviously do use caution and make sure first.

Root using Superboot by Paul O’Brien 
All the details and full instructions, downloads, zips are available from this XDA thread. You can also opt to follow Koush’s instructions for unlocking the bootloader, installing clockworkmod, and rooting with full details (and no-no’s) from this post. I’ll be doing “fastboot-windows oem unlock” later today because it’s just that simple on a Nexus (looking at you Motorola). For a hands-on video walk-through our friends from DL have made an easy bootloader unlock tutorial video you can find here. You may need the Samsung USB drivers on Windows and if so they are available here.

Reminder: Unlocking the bootloader WILL wipe your device and all your applications.

For all these links plus plenty of tips, guides, instructions, discussion, and ROM’s head to the XDA Galaxy Nexus development section. If you happen to cause an issue during your journey and would like to return your Galaxy Nexus to the original stock “out of the box” experience feel free to download the stock factory image from Google by clicking here.

Now most of the Android enthusiasts that ran out and bought the Galaxy Nexus this morning — you probably already know most of what was just mentioned above and it goes without saying that any problems or mishaps are your own fault. For anyone new to digging around inside their Android phone and rooting a device make sure to read through the entire tutorial before proceeding, and ask questions in the question section at XDA if needed. Remember that you shouldn’t hold anyone responsible if your phone goes up in flames, breaks or gets bricked, but yourself — so proceed with caution.

Enjoy!

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : GALAXY Nexus 4G [Verizon]

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : December 14, 2011

Release Date : December 15, 2011

Also Known As : Nexus Prime

Display

• Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x720
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.33 Inch
• Width : 2.67 Inch
• Depth : 0.37 Inch
• Weight : 150 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1850 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 150 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 4.0.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.264 / AVC

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4460

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution :5 MP

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• CDMA

CDMA Band:
• 900
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :