Pixel: How to Root [Updated]

[Updated to work with TWRP] Thanks to Chainfire, we can now gain root access to the Pixel and Pixel XL by following these steps that I’ve outlined below.

Google has made a number of changes to the Android platform with Android 7.0 Nougat. Not only have community developers had to worry about its new File Based Encryption, instead of Full Disk Encryption, which makes it difficult to make the types of changes that some modifications require. Then there’s the fact that Google has duplicated a number of the partitions that the Android OS uses.

Google has shifted to this duplicated partition system so they can offer seamless OS updates. The idea behind this is that OS updates will install in the background automatically (unless you manually disable them), and then will be automatically applied when you reboot the Pixel or Pixel XL. This is how updates are applied in Chrome OS, and Google feels it is much better than how things have been on Android.

Chainfire was able to surpass these two issues, along with some other changes and has been able to release a full systemless root method for the Pixel and Pixel XL. Before you can root your phone though, you will need to unlock the Pixel’s bootloader and you will need to install TWRP as the custom recovery for the Pixel. Verizon or EE Pixel and Pixel XL owners should follow this guide instead.

Note – It is assumed that you have all of the stuff installed and setup from the bootloader unlock and TWRP install (ADB/Fastboot, USB drivers, USB Debugging, etc).

Note 2 – To install SuperSU 2.78 SR5/2.79 on TWRP RC1, you’ll need to first boot into TWRP and then tap on Advanced, then File Manager and then delete the fstab.marlin (for the Pixel XL) or fstab.sailfish (for the Pixel) file. Then you can flash SuperSU 2.78 SR5/2.79 like normal.

Pixel Root

1. Download the SuperSU ZIP file to the Pixel
2. Download the Verified Boot Signer ZIP file to the Pixel (only on May’s security update or later)
3. Boot the Pixel into Fastboot Mode
4. So you can boot the Pixel into Recovery Mode
5. Locate and tap on the SuperSU ZIP file you downloaded (from step 1)
6. Swipe the white arrows to the right to confirm the installation
7. Wait for the SuperSU binaries to be installed
8. Tap the Home button
9. Tap the Install button at the TWRP main menu
10. Browse to and tap on the Verified Boot Signer ZIP file you downloaded (in Step 2)
11. Swipe the white arrows to the right to install
12. Wait for the installation to be completed
13. Tap the ‘Reboot System’ button once the process is completed
14. Wait for your Pixel to go through a couple of reboots
15. Check the app drawer for SuperSU when it boots back up into Android

Explanation

This is the updated method, so it is different than the boot-to-root method that Chainfire initially released. Again, you will need to have the bootloader of the Pixel unlocked, so that you can install TWRP as the custom recovery for the device. Once you have that done, you can then proceed with the step by step instructions detailed above. You’ll first need to download the latest SuperSU binaries to the Pixel phone (as of now it’s v2.78 SR4, but this will change in the future).

Once that is done, you can then boot the Pixel or Pixel XL into Fastboot Mode, so that you can boot over into Recovery Mode (which should be the TWRP custom recovery that you setup before). From here, you’ll need to tap on then Install button at the top right of the TWRP main menu, and then you can browse to where ever you downloaded the SuperSU ZIP file (this will generally be the Downloads folder).

You’ll then be asked to swipe the white arrows to the right to confirm the installation. This process will take a minute or two, but you’ll be given text feedback about what the SuperSU script is currently doing. As long as you don’t get any error messages here then everything is good to go. When completed, you’ll see a Reboot System button appear at the bottom right of the screen. Tapping this will reboot the Pixel or Pixel XL and you’ll be taken back into the Android OS.

This first boot cycle will be longer than normal, and you’ll even see it reboot the phone right as it gets to the boot animation. You can see an example of this in the embedded video above. Don’t panic and think that your phone has gone into a bootloop (unless you see this happen 5+ times). Just wait it out and you will eventually boot back into Android just like I show in the video. This first boot will be the only one that takes longer.

After you have booted back into the Android OS, you can open up the App Drawer and see the SuperSU application has been installed. Go ahead and launch it to make sure you aren’t prompted with any ‘SuperSU is not installed’ errors.