If you have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus SPH-L700 (Sprint), there’s no doubt that people around you are green with envy. Your phone is definitely one of the best Android devices on the market, not to mention quite expensive. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to risk bricking it, especially when you don’t know much about tweaking Android phones. The good news is there’s a toolkit that allows users to unlock, root, or re-lock their Sprint Galaxy Nexus in just a few clicks.
Tweaking your phone also means that you have to follow instructions or else you might unwittingly brick it. This is very common, particularly for beginners who don’t know the commandss very well and are faced with confusing and sometimes misleading instructions. It’s not too much of a problem if you just soft-brick your phone, but when you talk about irreversible damage, you cannot risk a Galaxy Nexus.
This is why XDA Developers senior member WugFresh developed a toolkit which would allow beginners to easily root and unroot, and unlock and relock the phone’s bootloader. It can also be used to flash ClockworkMod Recovery, backup and restore SD card content, install phone drivers on the computer, and flash stock ROMs. The toolkit was originally for the international and Verizon variants of the phone, but now it’s finally available for the Sprint variant.
If you are a newbie, we suggest that you try this toolkit. If you want to know how to use it, see the instructions and requirements below.
Requirements
- Sprint Galaxy Nexus SPH-L700
- A Windows PC
- Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
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- Wugfresh Toolkit 1.4 installer file (GnexRootToolkit.v1.4.sfx.exe, MD5sum: 8e1e2219d44e3f37a89c4b15819bdf76):
- Wugfresh Toolkit 1.4 Help file (Wugfresh Toolkit v1.4 Help FIle.chm, 1.39 MB)
Disclaimer
- The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Sprint Galaxy Nexus, model number SPH-L700. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
- The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
- Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
- Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.
Instructions
- Run the toolkit installer file on your computer. When asked, specify a top directory on your computer (e.g., your C:\ drive) as the installation folder.
- Launch the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit.
- Boot your phone into Fastboot Mode, as follows: turn off the phone, then press and hold down the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Power buttons. Connect your Galaxy Nexus to your computer using a USB cable.
- A dialog screen on your computer will prompt you for the model number and build of your phone. Just provide the necessary information and it will then proceed to the main menu.
- On the main menu of the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit window, you’ll see Fastboot Mode and ADB Mode at the top. Choose the mode that best fits your purpose. If you have installed your phone’s drivers correctly, you will see your phone’s serial number under the mode you are in.
- To root your Sprint Galaxy Nexus, do the following:
- Install your phone’s drivers (if you haven’t done so yet) by clicking the Full Driver Installation Guide button.
- Under the Backup section, tick the data type (under “Include”) that you want to include in the backup. Then, click the Backup data/media button.
- Click the Unlock button to unlock your phone’s bootloader.
- Under “And” option in the Root section, specify whether you want to permanently flash ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM) or not. Then, click the Root button to root your phone.
- For other operations, just click the appropriate buttons on the toolkit window and follow the on screen instructions. You can access the Help file any time by pressing the F1 key on your computer or selecting Help from the menu bar. You can also perform advanced operations by clicking the Launch Galaxy Nexus Toolkit Advanced Utilities button on the toolkit’s main screen.
Great! With the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit, you can easily root and unroot your phone or unlock and relock your phone’s bootloader. Enjoy exploring your phone.
