The Galaxy Nexus is the first full-fledged Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone. Since the device is endorsed by Google itself, it’s naturally the strongest claimer of any upgrade to the Android operating system. In this way, the Galaxy Nexus is a privileged device . No wonder it received the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update first while others are only craving for it. It’s somewhat ironical that upgrading to he latest Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich voids your previous root privilege, and rooting again voids it’s warranty.

Anyway, rooting a privileged device has its own privileges. Thanks to XDA member adrynalyne who has created a patch that enables Galaxy Nexus CDMA users to root their device running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. This tutorial will escort you to  root your Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Warning:

Take note that rooting your device will void your device’s warranty. And if you make any mistake, there are chances that you might brick your phone. Cellcustomize/Symandroid.com will not, in any case, be responsible for any wrong done to your Galaxy Nexus. It’s, therefore, imperative that you follow the instructions carefully. One more thing; the method given here only applies to the galaxy Nexus CDMA variant.

Preparations:

  • Make sure that ADB and Fastboot drivers are installed on your computer. If not, download from these links: Android SDK,  Fastboost (Win & Mac).
  • Ensure that USB Drivers installed on you computer: Download
  • Create a full backup of your phone’s data like contacts, messages, apps, settings and Google login details.
  • Make sure that your device has at least 70% of battery left.
  • Enable the USB Debugging mode on your Galaxy Nexus CDMA: Settings > Applications > Development> USB Debugging – check the box.
  • Download the ‘su.zip‘  and copy it to the root of your SD Card: Download
  • Download the ‘recovery-clockwork-5.5.0.4-toro.img‘ (Mirror) and save this file to the folder where ‘adb.exe’ and ‘fastboot.exe’ are located on your PC.

Instructions:

  1. Connect your device to the computer.
  2. Launch a command prompt (DOS prompt) terminal on your computer and type in the following commands:
    • adb reboot bootloader
    • fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.5.0.4-toro.img
  3. With the help of Volume keys, select the ‘Recovery Mode’ option, then press the Power button to confirm the selection.
  4. Your phone will now boot into  ClockworkMod Recovery mode.
  5. Use the volume keys and  select ‘Install zip from sd card’> ‘choose zip from sd card’.
  6. Then browse to the ‘su.zip’ file that you copied earlier to the SD Card, and select it.
  7. Wait for a few moments for the installation to finish.
  8. When it completes, go back and select ‘Reboot System Now’ option. Done!

To verify that you have successfully rooted your Galaxy Nexus,  download the Root Checker Basic free app from the Android Market, and run the app. If it verifies, you have successfully rooted your Galaxy Nexus CDMA running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Feel free to drop a comment if you face any problem, or want to share your experience with us.