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[Guide] Nexus 7 Bootloaders/Recoveries/Root/Back to Stock

190961 Views 124 Replies 66 Participants Last post by  superwrench1, 
k.electron
Thanks to:
Google
birdman
CWM
Team Win
chainfire
and any others whom I am unaware of (please pm and I will include you)

OEM UNLOCK:
WARNING: This will wipe your device. Backup all your photos and whatnot.
  1. Boot device into bootloader.
  2. Open a command prompt in the folder where your fastboot.exe lives. Typically this is the platform-tools directory in the SDK.
  3. Type in
    Code: 
    fastboot oem unlock
    and press enter.
  4. Follow prompts on device to unlock bootloader.
  5. Profit!
BOOTLOADERS:
See Post 2 -> here

RECOVERIES:
See Post 3 -> here

BACK TO STOCK:
See Post 3 -> here

ROOT:
  1. Load CWM onto your device as described in the RECOVERIES section
  2. Download the SU binary for JB
  3. Put it onto the device
  4. Boot into recovery
  5. Install zip from sd card
  6. Choose zip
  7. Navigate to the file you downloaded and put onto the device
  8. Flash
  9. Profit!
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k.electron
BenLand150 said:
Is there a way to get Recovery to stick? It truly is annoying having to connect it to my computer all the time, lol. The instructions here and on the official site don't work.
Click to expand...
have u tried the "PREVENT RECOVERY OVERWRITE:" section of
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/28544-guide-nexus-7-bootloadersrecoveriesrootback-to-stock/#entry764329
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M
Hey everyone this is my first post on here have always skimmed around the atrix and nexus forums but today I ran into a really big jam with my nexus 7. I cant get out of this bootlop when i try to turn it on. I cant get past the black google screen it just turns on and off every 10 seconds. I try holding both volume keys with power button but it wont do anything different.

I have had it hooked up to usb and labtop as well as ac adapter to wall but I cant get into bootloader for the life of me. I was just trying to update twrp from 2.2.0 to 2.2.1. I tried to flash the new zip and it just restarted in a bootlop from there. Please is there anything I can do to save my device I am already unlocked and rooted so sending it in to asus I am sure would be a no go.
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A
Whenever i try step 10. it says "error: cannot load fastboot flash bootloader nakasi-jro03d/bootloader-grouper-3.34.img" trying this on my nexus 7
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m4sterch3f said:
Hey everyone this is my first post on here have always skimmed around the atrix and nexus forums but today I ran into a really big jam with my nexus 7. I cant get out of this bootlop when i try to turn it on. I cant get past the black google screen it just turns on and off every 10 seconds. I try holding both volume keys with power button but it wont do anything different.

I have had it hooked up to usb and labtop as well as ac adapter to wall but I cant get into bootloader for the life of me. I was just trying to update twrp from 2.2.0 to 2.2.1. I tried to flash the new zip and it just restarted in a bootlop from there. Please is there anything I can do to save my device I am already unlocked and rooted so sending it in to asus I am sure would be a no go.
Click to expand...
Here's what worked for me.......so try turning it on. Then, once it's on the black google screen, press the power button for 10 seconds.after that, hold on to the power button and volume up and down. It's a certain way you have to do this....if it still doesn't work, then plug it in to your pc or the wall and try the exact same thing again.
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M
I will give it a try on the pc and wall charger b/c on its own its still just rebooting and when it does it does it so quickly
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M
yea even connected to the pc or wall its same story. There really is nothing else I can do is there. My pc wont recognize it for the life of me I can't get it to bootloader I kinda don't know where to go from here.
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m4sterch3f said:
yea even connected to the pc or wall its same story. There really is nothing else I can do is there. My pc wont recognize it for the life of me I can't get it to bootloader I kinda don't know where to go from here.
Click to expand...
Don't panic. Just stay calm. This may be easily fixable. Let me come up with a solution.
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A
Help! Whenever I try step 10, it says error, cannot load bootloader-grouper-3.34........i already have the bootloader installed. Can i just skip this step or....?
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k.electron
AndroidNinjaReview said:
Help! Whenever I try step 10, it says error, cannot load bootloader-grouper-3.34........i already have the bootloader installed. Can i just skip this step or....?
Click to expand...
have u fastboot oem unlock?
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k.electron said:
have u fastboot oem unlock?
Click to expand...
Yeah! I have bootloader unlocked and had aokp until it started bootlooping. and i have the factory image downloaded and fastboot.exe.......but it still just says waiting for device.
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k.electron
AndroidNinjaReview said:
Yeah! I have bootloader unlocked and had aokp until it started bootlooping. and i have the factory image downloaded and fastboot.exe.......but it still just says waiting for device.
Click to expand...
try "fastboot devices" and see if it is even connecting.
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S
k.electron said:
RECOVERIES:
PREVENT RECOVERY OVERWRITE:
  1. After flashing recovery as described above, BEFORE you boot into device, boot into recovery.
  2. mounts and storage
  3. mount system
  4. Open a command prompt in the folder where your adb.exe lives. Typically this is the platform-tools directory in the SDK.
  5. Type in
    Code: 
    adb shell
    and press enter.
  6. Type in
    Code: 
    cd /system
    and press enter.
  7. Type in
    Code: 
    mv recovery-from-boot.p recovery-from-boot.bak
    and press enter.
  8. Profit!
Click to expand...
Thanks for this guide. I am having the same problem as a few others here, and it is the same problem I had here http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=1741395 After flashing CWM from bootloader mode, I have to boot into recovery. Then neither adb nor flashboot can access the N7 (insufficient permissions for "adb shell'; no devices for 'adb devices'; no response from 'flashboot devices', just a new command prompt). Using 'sudo' doesn't help. And killing and restarting adb works, but there is still no Nexus 7 connected as far as the PC can see.

I don't get the big picture in all this, but the narrow one seems clear (on my ubuntu 12.04 system): bootloader mode is accessible by adb and flashboot. Recovery mode is not.

So, from the CWM, unless I can go into the "Advanced" menu and Reboot Recovery or something else, then my only choice seems to be to "reboot system now" which will wipe out the CWM and give me a factory fresh stock unrooted, though unlocked ROM.

Please advise m(_ _)m

UPDATE: Even though I could not complete this process, I do apparently have root! Google Play has SuperSU listed as an app "Up to date", ditto for Root Checker by joeykrim. And in Root Checker, when I click "Check root", "Verify Root Access", SuperSU does pop up and ask if it should be granted root, I say yes, and Root Checker says I have root.

I did manage to install the SuperSU app once or twice in my recent attempts. The first time I rebooted, I am sure I did not have root. Maybe the last two times I tried it, I did get root. About tablet says:
Code: 
<br />
Android version<br />
4.1.1<br />
Kernel version<br />
3.1.10-g52027f9<br />
[email protected])<br />
#1 SMP PREEMPT Thu Jun 28 16:19:26 PDT 2012<br />
Build number<br />
JRO03S<br />
As far as root goes, am I all set? I don't care about using a different ROM or bootloader. I just want to have more control in customizing -- and using Titanium Backup -- and still get the updates when they roll out. Is it all good?
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Natey2
Thanks for the step-by-step guide, k.electron!
One gotcha may be permissions on a Windows box, after you flash the cwm: see my experience at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32512291

I ended up running 'adb start-server' and 'fastboot' using sudo under linux.

Sent from my unrooted DroidX using Tapatalk
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blurlessX
I just got this device and unlocked it. I then downloaded twrp 2.2.2 to my laptop desktop. I do know how to open a command prompt window where my fastboot .exe is but I would like the exact command that I need to enter in the command prompt window to install the twrp recovery on to my device please. I got a little confused with the instructions because they talked about location and renaming of the recovery. Any help would be appreciated.
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Natey2
The rooting was short-lived

Latest OTA update (JB 4.1.2) caused me to lose root and cwm. Will the same steps (and files for the bootloader and cwm) described in the first message work with JB 4.1.2 or has the bootloader changed for 4.1.2?
Under "Prevent Recovery Overwrite", should the file /system/etc/install-recovery.sh be renamed too?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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BrttWrd
When i try to do the part that keeps the recovery from clearing, it says the file doesnt exist?
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k.electron
If the file doesn't exist you are all set
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S
In the bootloader section you have version 3.34 listed for download. My wifi nexus7 came with 4.13, I'm guessing I need to downgrade for the recovery to stick?
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mssam
shoafer0 said:
In the bootloader section you have version 3.34 listed for download. My wifi nexus7 came with 4.13, I'm guessing I need to downgrade for the recovery to stick?
Click to expand...
No, you just need the latest recovery. CWM should work (but I don't use cwm so i can't say for sure), but i know twrp's 2.3.3.0 works perfectly with the 4.13 bootloader because that's what i have right now...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
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TheTyler0013
Did all this, but now I can't boot straight to recovery. It just sits at the Google splash. I have to reboot to recovery. Does anyone know why? I have the 32gb model

Sent from my Nexus 7 using RootzWiki
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