Google just unveiled their Nexus 5 device. According to many sources, the device has proven itself an excellent handset. Those who wish to make the Nexus 5 a friendlier device can do so by rooting it. Chainfire from XDA Developer's forum shared a successful root process for Google's latest portable device.

It is important for users to understand that they should only root their device if they are prepared to deal with the risks. The developer of the root cannot be held responsible for any damage on the device if the process damages it.

The Nexus 5 rooting procedure works with fastboot and re-booting. It utilizes a type of Chainfire's famous CF-Auto-Root intended for the Nexus 5. Before users can root their Nexus 5 handsets, they should satisfy the following requirements:

  • Google Nexus 5 with Android KitKat 4.4 Installed
  • Fastboot drivers
  • CF-Auto-Root for Nexus 5

With the requirements on hand, follow these instructions to root the device properly:

1. Download the CF-Auto-Root package. Extract the contents of the package into the desktop.

2. Power off the Nexus 5 to boot it into fastboot. Press and hold the volume and power buttons simultaneously to do this.

3. Connect the handset to the computer through USB. Install requested drivers if necessary.

4. Run the CF-Auto-Root script. The procedure and requirements depending on the OSt varies from Windows, Mac and Linux.

For Windows:

Users should double click the root-windows.bat file. They can find the file from the extracted CF-Auto-Root package.

For Mac:

Go to Terminal and open it. Proceed to the directory where the CF-Auto-Root package was extracted. Input the following commands accordingly:

chmod +x root-mac.sh

./root-mac.sh

For Linux:

Go to Terminal and open it. Proceed to the directory where the CF-Auto-Root package was extracted. Input the following commands accordingly:

chmod +x root-linux.sh

./root-linux.sh

The Nexus should provide instructions when the bootloader unlocks. Following the instructions should finish rooting the device. The user can now enjoy the rooted Nexus.

It is best to study additional information on rooting the Nexus 5.

The Nexus 5 measures 137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm (5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 in) and measures 130g. It comes with a true HD IPS Plus capacitive touchscreen offering 16M colors and 1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.95 inches (~445 ppi pixel density). It runs on Android OS, v4.4 (KitKat), Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 and Adreno 330.