How to Root Nexus 5 and install Custom ROM

Nexus 5, one of the most hyped android phone of 2013. 2.23 Ghz Quadcore Snapdragon 800 processor, 8mp OIS camera, 2 GB Ram, 5 inch 1080p display, all this seems mouth watering isn't it?? But the deal breaker here is the 2300 Mah battery. Biggest complain from the Nexus 5 users is the battery life. When the devices like Moto X, Galaxy S4 give you all day use battery, Nexus 5 doesn't even last 8 hrs. So will you return back or sell your Nexus 5 due to it's poor battery life? No. Sure you might have heard about rooting and how various tweaks and mods can help you to make your phone's battery last longer.

Terrified by the idea that if something goes wrong while rooting then you might permanently damage your Nexus 5? Relax, you are in the safe hands now. Just follow the instructions below and you'll have it all under control.

Before we begin, please backup everything one your phone to your computer using (App Backup & Restore) or (Helium - App Sync and Backup)

To this point I assume you have backed up everything on your phone because we will unlock your Nexus 5 which will wipe up everything on your phone.

Download (https://copy.com/qwVWLSJnKnJo)

The zip contains everything you need including the drivers and rooting files for windows. After the download is completed, create a folder named "Nexus5Root" in the downloads folder and unzip the files in it.

STEP 1 :

On your phone, Go to Settings > About Phone. Then tap the "Build number" couple of times until your phone says, "You are now a developer".

STEP 2 :

Go back. You will now see an extra menu called "Developer options". Open it.

STEP 3 :

Make sure Developer options is ON and USB debugging is also checked.

STEP 4 :

Connect your Nexus 5 to your computer using a micro-USB cable.

STEP 5 :

Now you will need to install drivers for your phone.

Go to Control Panel on your computer. Open Device Manager. Right click the Nexus 5 icon with exclamation mark and click on Update driver. Then click on "Browse my computer for driver software" and select driver provided in the zip file you previously downloaded.

If you see something like "Android ADB Interface" you are ready for the next step.

STEP 6 :

Now disconnect your Nexus 5 from the computer and power off your Nexus 5. Then hold down the Volume Down, VolumeUp and Power buttons all three together for about 5 seconds.

STEP 7 :

Now you are in bootloader menu. Connect your Nexus 5 to your computer using micro-USB cable.

STEP 8 :

Open up Device Manager again. If you don't see "Android ADB Interface" , you will have to Repeat STEP 5 once again to install drives.

STEP 9 :

Open command prompt on your computer. Now type:

cd Downloads (and press enter)

cd Nexus5Root (and press enter)

fastboot oem unlock (and press enter)

STEP 10 :

Go to your Nexus 5 screen and hit VolumeUP button to select “Yes” and hit the Power button. This WILL ERASE EVERYTHING on your Nexus 5 and unlock the bootloader.

STEP 11 :

Your phone should reboot. Once rebooted, your Nexus 5 will show a welcome screen like the day you got it. Go ahead and set it up.

STEP 12 :

Now connect your Nexus 5 to your computer and copy the file SuperSUv1.65.zip to your Nexus 5 internal storage.

STEP 13 :

Re-boot into the bootloader like you did in STEP 6. Connect your Nexus 5 to your computer using a micro-usb cable.

STEP 14 :

Go back to command prompt and type

fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.4-hammerhead.img (and hit enter)

STEP 15 :

Go back to your Nexus 5. Use volume buttons and chose "Recovery Mode" and hit the power button.

STEP 16 :

Once in TWRP recovery, choose "Install". Then browse through your internal storage and select "UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.65.zip". This is the actual rooting file which includes Super User (SU) binaries and SuperSU app which roots our Nexus 5.

STEP 17 :

Next, choose “Reboot System” from main menu of CWM or TWRP recovery. Make sure you choose ”Yes – Disable recovery flash” if asked to disable recovery. This will make sure your TWRP recovery becomes permanent and not overridden by system.

STEP 18 :

Once rebooted, you should find an extra app in the app drawer called "SuperSU".

Now to check if you really have root, install Root Checker app from playstore (http://goo.gl/ooxKI). Open it and click on Verify Root Access.

Congratulations! You've successfully rooted your Nexus 5!

Now that you've successfully rooted your phone and installed custom recovery, you can flash custom roms on your Nexus 5.

How to flash a custom ROM on a rooted Nexus 5

STEP 1 :

Download any of the following custom roms for your Nexus 5. These are the best three custom rom available for Nexus 5.

Dirty Unicorns (http://goo.gl/S0hOQt)

OMNI Kang (http://goo.gl/GAWHMX)

Vanir (http://goo.gl/2LQQ0x)

Now you have to download Gapps (Google Apps) package. Download it here (http://goo.gl/P5WvEB)

STEP 2 :

Connect your Nexus 5 to your computer and put both downloaded zip files to your phone's internal memory. (Donot extract the zip file)

STEP 3 :

Turn off your Nexus 5. Then hold down VolumeDown and Power buttons together for about 4 seconds until you are in the bootloader menu.

STEP 4 :

Now use your Volume buttons to choose “Recovery mode” and hit the Power button to enter TWRP recovery.

STEP 5 :

Choose “Backup” to backup your current stock roms and data. Then go back. Choose “Wipe” to do a factory reset. This will wipe all settings, your apps and app data but will not erase any personal files like songs, videos and pictures. Now go back.

STEP 6 :

Choose “Install” and browse through your internal storage and select the custom rom zip file. When finished installing, go back.

STEP 7 :

Now again choose "Install" and select the Gapps package. When finished installing, reboot your phone.


Have patience. This might take a while. When your phone boots up it will ask you to setup like the day you received your Nexus 5. Finish the setup and you''ll have a powerful custom rom in your hands.

Stay High on Android. Peace!!!