The Google Nexus 9 tablet is finally available for purchase. After you have unlocked the bootloader, you will probably want to root it. Today we’re going to go over the step by step process on how to root your Nexus 9 tablet.
A lot of people prefer to root their Android smartphone or tablet because it gives them complete access and control over the device. This enables us to modify and/or remove just about anything and everything within the Android system. Some like to use Xposed to tweak the system, some like to modify the hosts file(Adaway) to block advertisements and then some might want to install some power-user applications that simply needs root access(BetterBatteryStats).
No matter what you need root access for, today we’re going to show you how to root the Nexus 9. Before we start going through the tutorial, you will need to have a few things setup already.
You will need to have the Nexus 9 bootloader unlocked. You can follow through with that guide and make sure you have all of the required things setup for that as well. So, you will need the Android SDK installed, you will need USB debugging enabled and you will need to grant access to the PC you plan on rooting the Nexus 9 from. Once that is all completed though, and please be sure to read through it all, then we can proceed with rooting the Nexus 9 tablet.
Root Nexus 9
- Boot up the Nexus 9
- Connect the Nexus 9 to the PC
- Download Chainfire’s SuperSU v2.18
- Extract SuperSU Contents into the /sdk/platform-tools/ Folder(Android SDK)
- Open Command Prompt
- Browse to the /sdk/platform-tools/ Folder(Android SDK)
- Run the Command. . .
- adb reboot bootloader
- Wait for it to Boot into the Bootloader
- Run the Command. . .
- fastboot boot inject.img
- Wait for Completion
- Run the Command. . .
- fastboot flash boot patched.img
- Wait for Completion
- Reboot your Nexus 9 with the Command. . .
- fastboot reboot
What we’re doing here is downloading the SuperSU binaries to your PC and then putting them into the folder that contains the ADB and Fastboot executable files(Android SDK). Once this is set up, then you can open a command prompt from within this /sdk/platform-tools/ directory and start the root process. We use the reboot bootloader command to get us into the bootloader menu and then we flash two different binaries into the Nexus 9 tablet. The inject.img is actually the SuperSU binary and this command will copy it into the system partition. The second file, patched.img and this is actually a modified kernel that allows SuperSU to work properly. This is simply the stock Nexus 9 kernel with a minor tweak that allow you to gain and manage root access.
I generally suggest that you to install a custom recovery onto your smartphone or tablet before doing anything like this. However, since CWM or TWRP hasn’t been released for the Nexus 9 yet, we’ll have to wait a little while before I can type up a tutorial for it. So please, do this at your own risk. If something messes up, or if you want to revert these changes, then you will need to download the factory images from Google and use the flash-all script to get your Nexus 9 back to the original stock settings.
As always, if you have any questions or run into any issues during this tutorial, go ahead and leave a comment at the bottom of this article. I will do my best to answer any and all questions pertaining to gaining root access on your Nexus 9 tablet. Also, if the link to the SuperSU binaries doesn’t work anymore, or it becomes out of date, then don’t hesitate to leave a comment or shoot me an email. I’ll do my best to keep this updated as more versions are released but I will need your help to do so.
