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Hacker Zøne

gDo’sandDon’ts

Oread the instructions fully

eforeyougetstartedonanyhack.

Ifyoureadthemrightthroughyou

won’t fi nd any nasty surprises and

you’ll be sure you have everything

that you will need!

DO check the user feedback

when applying a modifi cation from

forums. It’s useful to see that other

people with the same device have

succeeded with the hack without

any problems before you start.

DO remember that no matter

what hack you apply, you can always

fl ash the factory images that you

downloaded to get back to stock.

You can experiment until you fi nd a

setup you like!

DO be aware that there is an

increased possibility of instability

when using software hacks. They

are obviously not tested as

extensively as the factory build, so

be on the lookout for issues.

DON’T interrupt a fl ash that is

underway on your device.

Particularly when fl ashing full

images, this can result in a bricked

(unrecoverable) device. If you’ve

done something wrong, let it fi nish,

revert, then start again!

DON’T use hacks that aren’t

intended for Nexus. Hacks are very

specifi c for different phones and

tablets – if it doesn’t say it’ll work on

your device then it probably won’t!

DON’T forget to post feedback if

you are using a hack from a forum

and you’ve had a successful

experience! It lets others know that

the hack is safe to use and it’s polite

to say thank you to the developer!

DON’T expect over-the-air

updates to apply on hacked devices.

The safest option is to not accept

updates, but at the very least

ensure you back up fi rst as you may

well end up with a boot loop.

Prepare your Nexus

Make sure your Nexus

and computer are ready

for all kinds of hacks

Lots of different hacks are available

for your Nexus devices that require

varying levels of expertise. You c a n

smoothen the hacking process by

ensuring that your Nexus device and

your computer (which is needed for a

lotofthehacks)aresetupwiththe

necessary chan have the

appropriate talled. Good

preparati risk of

thing

It may sound obvious,

but when you are applying

hacks to your device they can

often take a long time to

complete, and it can also be

particularly power intensive.

For this reason, you should try

and start applying your hack

with a fully charged battery

and ideally with a device

connected to mains power.

A lot of Nexus hacks

require the ADB and Fastboot

tools for your computer. The

easiest way to install these is

to visit https://developer.

android.com/sdk/ to

download the developer

toolkit. This also gives you the

ability to auto-update the

tools as new versions become

available for your Nexus.

Some hacks will wipe

your device and some won’t,

but if things do go wrong then

the recovery process will

more than likely involve a

factory reset. It’s a good idea

to back up any important data

efore you start so that you

’t lose anything. You can

by using a tool such as

‘adb backup’.

Unlocking the

bootloader is one of those

tasks that we referred to that

will erase your data, so it’s a

good job you did a backup

after all. On Lollipop-based

devices you need to check an

option in developer settings

as well as using the ‘fastboot

oem unlock’ command from

your computer too.

to revert

oa

k version, then

ed to perform a

of the factory images.

eseimagesarevery large

downloads for modern devices,

so it’s worth keeping them to

hand so that you can get it

back up and running quickly if

it is needed!

You should ensure that

ADB and fastboot works

between your phone and your

computer and you will also

need to make sure that you’ve

installed any drivers that you

might need. Enable USB

debugging on your phone and

use adb devices, then use

adb reboot bootloader and

fastboot devices.

Charge the battery Download the latest SDK

Back up your data Unlock the bootloader

wnload the factory images Check connectivity

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