Google Pixel and Pixel XL owners are in for some good news as XDA Senior Recognised Developer Chainfire has successfully performed a systemless root on the Pixel phone running Android 7.1 Nougat. The developer has now completed the final stage of development for the SuperSU (v2.78 SR2) rooting tool, which is finally available for public use.
The SuperSU tool enables super-user access to the phone without affecting the system partition. However, it is imperative to unlock the device's bootloader before proceeding with the root installation.
You can unlock the bootloader by downloading the adb and fastboot binaries from the XDA forum and then installing the necessary Google USB driver for Google Pixel on your computer.
If you have purchased the Pixel phone directly from Google, you can unlock the device by entering the following commands:
fastboot flashing unlock
fastboot oem unlock
However, if you bought the device from your local mobile carrier like Verizon or EE then you should unlock your device's bootloader using the dePixel8 tool.
Folks at XDA have received confirmation from SunShine developers that the bootloader exploit could soon be patched with the impending November security update from Google.
Note: Rooting your phone could void the warranty of the device. IBTimes SG will not be held responsible for any damage or bricking issues with the device after rooting it. Users are advised to proceed at their own risk.
Downloads Required
Boot-to-root image for Google Pixel
Boot-to-root image file for Google Pixel XL
Minimal ADB and Fastboot (double-click .exe to install and create a new directory on desktop)
USB drivers for Google Pixel and Pixel XL
How to install SuperSU for root access on your Pixel phone
- Power off your Pixel phone and press the volume down and power buttons together for a few seconds. Your device should now boot into fastboot/bootloader mode.
- Connect your Pixel phone to the computer via USB cable. Open the Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder you created earlier on desktop. Then press and hold Shift key on the keyboard. Now right-click the mouse and select "open command window here".
- Type 'adb devices' and hit Enter key, which will show you all connected devices on computer.
- Wait until your Pixel phone is recognised and then enter the following command: fastboot devices. Then hit Enter key to process the command.
- Now type fastboot oem unlock and hit Enter. Finally type fastboot reboot and hit Enter again.
- Now the bootloader should be unlocked on your Pixel/Pixel XL. You can go ahead and download the boot image to your device.
- Download the boot-to-root image files for the Pixel and Pixel XL from Chainfire's website, using the links provided (above).
- After the zip file is downloaded, extract it and copy the boot-to-root image file to the Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder on the desktop.
- Press and hold the Shift key on the keyboard and then right-click the mouse and choose "open command window here" inside the Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder.
- Now type fastboot devices and hit Enter. Wait until the device shows up on the screen and then type: fastboot boot boot-to-root.img and press Enter. The modified boot image will be written to your Pixel phone.
- Your device could reboot a couple of times before the Android OS boots up successfully.
- Once you have enabled root access to your device, you can access special features such as editing build.prop file to disable Google Assistant and turn on Google Now on Tap. In addition, you can also install custom recovery and flash custom ROMs.
[Source: XDA]
