Google’s new Nexus 6 is a powerful flagship smartphone packed with impressive specs. It runs pure stock Android 5.0 Lollipop and has a huge screen. The device is already great right out of the box, but for those who want to root the Nexus 6, that’s how it is.
While the Nexus 6 is packed with features and options, many users still like to root their devices for added functionality or control. Just like jailbreaking an iPhone, many Android users root their device to gain additional control over it. I rooted my Nexus 6 to disable encryption, but to each their own.
Rooting Android is a process that allows smartphone and tablet owners to have additional control or “Root Access” over the Android operating system. This is usually done so that owners can circumvent carrier or manufacturer limitations (like hotspot blocks) by uninstalling third-party apps and bloatware, installing custom roms, themes or icon packs, or tweaking settings as per each user’s own liking.
All that being said, rooting a Nexus device and unlocking the bootloader is extremely easy, so let’s do it.
Before we begin, it’s worth noting that if you haven’t unlocked the bootloader on your Nexus 6, rooting will require the user to wipe all data. As it happens, bring the phone to a fully stocked state and delete all user data, apps and information. Restoring them all is pretty easy, so if you want to root, we’ll explain how easy it is below.
First, you will need to access the developer options menu, which is hidden in the settings. Below is a guide to enable it on Nexus 9 and the same rules apply for Nexus 6 and any android smartphones or tablets.
After enabling the developer options, you need to go to this option in the settings and turn on the “Enable OEM Unlock” switch. This is the first step and once done you can proceed below.
Again, as a reminder, OEM Unlock will unlock your bootloader and erase all data on your smartphone, so be careful and back up anything important.
Instructions
Now that you are aware of what is going on and have your smartphone ready to be unlocked and rooted, all you need to download to finish all this is a simple file. Luckily, it’s extremely easy thanks to the famous developer and hacker Chainfire, who made an easy one-click solution to do all the work.
It’s called CF-Auto-Root and as the name suggests it will allow you to automatically unlock the bootloader and root your Nexus 6.
Above is a quick video available on YouTube to help users root their Nexus 6 who would rather see it live than follow a few simple instructions above. It is, however, extremely easy, and once you enable OEM Unlock and boot into fast boot, the Chainfire root tool you downloaded does all the work.
That’s it and you’re done. You have successfully unlocked and rooted your Nexus 6. From here you can download apps that require root access, change settings and have more power over your device, or even flash a custom ROM with encryption off if you want. More details can be found XDA Thread.
