Root, unlocking and updating the Galaxy and S I9000 Nexus S

Introduction

Galaxy Nexus S and S are brothers separated at the hospital. Although it was released later, the Nexus O is very similar to Galaxy S I9000. In fact, the Samsung I9000 used the project as the basis for the Nexus S, just changing some details in the layout and some of the technical specifications to suit the preferences of the staff of Google.

In summary, the Nexus O has a built a little sturdier, with a slightly better finish and the use of Contour screen, which adds a slight curvature, which makes using the device in voice calls a little more comfortable, since he it "frames" the best face. It also includes 16 GB (actually 13.31 GB once formatted) of internal flash memory, LED flash for the camera and adopts the use of capacitive buttons for functions, keeping only the power button and volume keys as buttons Physical:

Galaxy S lacks the LED flash for the camera on the other hand it offers advantages such as the fact of using a glass screen Gorilla Glass (Nexus S uses a plastic polymer, although tough), provide a 720p video output through the headphone output ear, supports removable microSD card (which lets you use cards up to 32GB), include a digital TV receiver (the national version) and is about 1 mm thinner, although the construction is a little less solid . Given the similarities, the choice between them rests more on the question of personal taste and price.

Unlike what many think, the Nexus S comes with no root access factory. Rather, the process of unlocking the boot manager and getting the root access is even more complicated than in many devices. It's easier to root and install the Galaxy S I9000 Cyanogen than the Nexus O for example.

The main advantage of Nexus S is that it gets updates directly from the Google system, which ensures that you always have on hand the latest version of Android. On the other hand, it is common for system upgrades revoke root access and Fill up the loopholes used to get it, what makes you come back to stay with the device is locked until someone discovers a new way to get root.

Thus, the Cyanogen is eventually also a good option also very popular among users of the Nexus S (as well as the old Nexus), since it also allows access to very recent versions of the system, packed with additional features and tweaks, without ever giving up root access.

He is the closest of a "universal" we have today in the Android world, as it can be installed on different machines, always offering the same system and resources, regardless of differences in manufacturers.
Let us tips on how to get full access to both and install Cyanogen, opening the doors of the wonderful world of alternative roms. As usual, it is important to emphasize that it shares voids the warranty and in some rare cases the factory unit.

Root and installation ClockworkMod Recovery

You can find general instructions for installing on multiple devices in Cyanogen http://www.cyanogenmod.com/devices . The first step in the Nexus O is to unlock the boot loader. Although the boot manager Nexus S is not encrypted, as in the case of devices from Motorola and other manufacturers, it is blocked by default. It can be unlocked with a single command, but for this you will first need to install the Android SDK and fastboot. To do this, follow these steps:

a) Access http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/ and install the Java JDK (JRE is not enough, you really need the JDK)

b) Access http://developer.android.com/sdk/ and install the Android SDK, by letting the installer download all other components required (a long list of downloads).

c) You will also need to install the USB drivers for the system to recognize the device and be able to access it in debug mode. Within the SDK, go to "Available Packages> Third Party Add-ons> Add-ons Google Inc.> Google USB Driver package" and install it.

d) In the device itself, go to "Settings> Applications> Development" and activate the "USB debugging", which is required to access various functions of the device from the SDK.

e) Install fastboot the PC following the instructions of http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Fastboot

With everything ready, the next step is to connect the device via USB port in boot loader mode. To access the recovery mode Nexus S, the steps are:

a) Unplug the appliance.

b) Simultaneously press the button to increase the volume and power button and hold down until you see the screen fastboot.

c) Connect the USB port and allow the PC to recognize it.

That done, open a terminal and run the command:

fastboot oem unlock

This will open Nexus-S in a prompt asking if you want to unlock the boot manager, warning that this will void the warranty, etc.. and you need to confirm.Unlocking the boot manager will result in a hard-reset the device, erasing all memory contents including all the files in storage memory, so make a careful backup of everything before.

Continuing, the next step is to install ClockworkMod Recovery, it can be downloaded in http://download.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-4.0.0.2-crespo.img

Save this file in the same folder where the executable was placed fastboot, inside the folder tools / or platform-tools / folder inside the SDK. Then, plug the machine back to the USB bootloader mode (pressing the volume + button and up), and from the terminal, run the command:

fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-4.0.0.2-crespo.img

Fastboot These commands are executed from within the SDK folder where the executable is placed. On Linux, you do it through the terminal, as usual, you must open in Windows DOS prompt, access the folder using the "dir" and "cd" and then execute the commands.

Only after you unlock the boot manager, install the SDK and fastboot ClockworkMod and the device is ready to install Cyanogen or other mods.

The easy way: You may be wondering if there is an easier way to do it all. Indeed there are. Searching the XDA-developers you will find several threads with scripts and tools that automate these steps.
In the case of Nexus S, you can use the OCR-3.0-CWM-SU2.zip that you download this link:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138755

He is a zip file containing tools and a DOS batch file that runs on Windows. To use it, you only need to activate the debug mode in the Nexus S, install PdaNet (which will be in charge of installing the USB drivers), connect the device and run the run.bat file in the folder, which will take charge to perform the required steps, similar to shell-scripts for Linux:

Most steps are executed directly by the script automatically, but in many steps it asks you to perform some steps manually on the phone, installing update files through the recovery mode and so on. The steps are simple and carefully following all you must have an unlocked phone with root access and the ClockworkMod installed at the end of the process.

In S I9000 Galaxy, you can get root access easily using the SuperOneClick, which is available at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682

It is a Windows application that lets you quickly obtain root access by exploiting an exploit via the USB port. Simply connect the device with the debug mode enabled in the settings:

After obtaining root access, download and Heimdall Suite "Hardcore's Kernel with SpeedMod ClockworkMod Recovery" available through links at:http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S:_Full_Update_Guide

Unlike many, this is a utility with versions for both Windows and Linux and OSX, you have to keep avoiding a PC or a VM with Windows just to run the tool.

With Heimdall installed, you must connect the I9000 in download mode, keeping the volume button - and the home button pressed simultaneously while connecting the USB cable (you may need a few tries before you hit). Once you do, use the record for Heimdall the new kernel. You will see a blue progress bar while the transfer is being performed.

Installing Cyanogen

With the preliminary steps executed Cyanogen install is fairly simple. Download the latest version on http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Latest_Version # Nexus_S and take time to also download the latest version of Google Apps (which includes Gmail, Maps, etc.). in http://wiki.cyanogenmod .com / wiki / Latest_Version # Google_Apps
The two files should be placed in the root directory of the card (the / sdcard):

To install, plug the device into recovery mode (voluntary - I9000 in the home and power, volume and power in the nexus + S) and follow the steps:

a) Clean the caches and the current data and settings by accessing the "Wipe" and successively using the options "Wipe Dalvik-cache", "Wipe cache partition", "Wipe data / factory reset". It is also recommended to use the "Wipe battery stats" that will clean the file with the battery status, preventing the system will calculate the load incorrectly after the upgrade. Of course, this will erase all data, so make a backup first.

b) Use the "Go Back" to return to the main menu and go now "Install from sdcard zip> zip from sdcard choose." Install successively files "update-cm--NS-7.xx signed.zip" and "GAPPS-gb-xxxxxx-signed.zip" that correspond to Cyanogen and GAPPS.

c) Completed, use the "Go back" and "Reboot system now" to restart the new installation.

Wipe is needed only in the first installation, because the previous system settings are not necessarily compatible with Cyanogen and cleaning the house before you install it avoids many problems. However, once the system is installed, you can upgrade to new versions simply copying the file to the root of the card and installing it from rescue mode.

Before the upgrade, you only need to clean the caches using the options "Wipe Dalvik-cache" and "Wipe cache partition", without clearing the data.

You can for example test builds of Cyanogen-night for the S available in Nexus: http://download.cyanogenmod.com/?type=nightly&device=crespo

Although there is no guarantee of stability, they are the most bledding edge you'll find inside the Cyanogen.