Root Galaxy Nexus I9250 on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

The Galaxy Nexus is still one of the most popular phones out there, despite being superseded by the Nexus 4. Luckily, you can root it with just a few clicks thanks to a program called the Nexus Root Toolkit. Here's how it works.

For more information on what rooting is, what it can do for your phone, and what all those confusing terms mean, check out our always up-to-date guide to Android rooting.

The Nexus Root Toolkit is pretty simple to use. You will need a Windows PC (so if you don't have one, borrow one from a friend), but everything else is pretty self-explanatory. You can find more detailed instructions on the app's home page, but essentially, you'll just need to install the program, launch it, click the Drivers button, back up your apps and data if so desired (since rooting will wipe your device), then use the Unlock and Root buttons to unlock your bootloader and gain root access. From there, you can download ROM Manager from the Market, from which you can flash the ClockworkMod Recovery, make nandroid backups, and flash custom ROMs. The Nexus Root Toolkit can also unroot your phone if you decide rooting is not for you.

The Toolkit should get you pretty far, but for more info on troubleshooting, ROMs, themes, and more, check out the Galaxy Nexus forums over at XDA Developers.

We don't own every Android device out there, so there's no way we could possibly test all these methods ourselves. In addition, it's very difficult to stay up to date on which rooting methods work and which don't. So, we're relying on you to help us out! If you find that one of the methods we list is outdated please send us an email (preferably with an up-to-date method, if you've found one) and we'll get everything squared away.

How to Root Galaxy Nexus I9250 on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS

1. First, you need to download the root package (use the link from here) and the Super User file (the download link is here).
2. Save these files on your computer.
3. Connect your device with the computer and copy-paste the downloaded files from the computer to your Nexus.
4. If ADB is installed on the PC, open command prompt window (start -> run -> cmd) and on the window that will be opened enter the following commands: “ADB Device” and “ADB Reboot recovery”.
5. Unplug the USB cord.
6. If on your computer you haven’t installed the ADB tool, then turn off the phone.
7. Reboot by pressing the Volume Up, Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time.
8. From the menu that opens select “recovery”.
9. Now, from the recovery menu, select “install zip from SD card” followed by “choose zip from sd card”.
10. Pick the root package and then the Super User file you have downloaded before and start the root operation.
11. In the end, select “+++go back+++” and “reboot system now” and you are done.

Congratulations, you have managed to safely root the Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 that runs on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean firmware. Now you can look forward in installing custom ROMs on your device along with other complex apps that requires root access in order to run properly. Use the comments area from below for sharing your impressions and thoughts with us and with other users and stay close for more step by step guides and Android related news.