Samsung Galaxy Nexus Hacks / jailbreak / Customization Info

Instructions:


*Windows only.

*You will need to install this Samsung driver.

Samsung driver

1. Most important piece to this, is getting the Android SDK set up properly. Android SDK Instructions (BX I also posted the directions for this part way down below)[pic]


This can be one of the most difficult things to get set up, however, you cannot go forward without the SDK and adb set up and working. The instructions we linked should get you setup. Once the SDK is installed, you can move on to step 2.

2. Place a fastboot.exe file in your SDK/Tools (or Platform-Tools) folder (same as your adb.exe file) if it is not there already. [Download]


*You may also need to move AdbWinApi.dll into the same folder as your adb.exe and fastboot.exe if you are running into issues. I believe in the latest SDK, that everything defaults to SDK/Platform-Tools rather than SDK/Tools. Just depends on the version you are using. The big thing, is to get adb.exe, fastboot.exe, and AdbWinApi.dll into the same folder.

3. On your device, turn USB Debugging on.


Settings>Developer options>USB debugging

[pic]

4. Plug your phone into your computer.
5. On your computer, head into your SDK/Tools folder or wherever your adb.exe and fastboot.exe files are.
6. Hold SHIFT and right click – choose “Open command window here.”

[pic]

7. Type the following command:


adb reboot bootloader

8. Your phone will turn off and reboot to the bootloader.

[pic]

9. Type the following command:


fastboot oem unlock

10. Your phone will then ask if you want to unlock.

[pic]

11. Using the volume keys, highlight “Yes” and then press the power button to select it.

12. Your bootloader will now be unlocked.

[pic]

13. Choose to start your phone and it will factory reset itself and reboot.


*During reboot, DO NOT BATTERY PULL. The phone may loop and loop, but battery pulling will soft brick you and you will have to flash factory images to reset yourself. I was able to unplug from the computer while it was looping and the phone then rebooted itself. Or you may just have to wait a while since it is factory reseting during this first boot.

14. You are now operating with an unlocked Galaxy Nexus.

Tips:

We know that many of you are running into a “waiting for device” issue when apply the fastboot oem unlock command. This is a driver issue and one that a reader has a suggestion for:


1. Open device manager on your PC.
2. Right click on Android 1.0 with the yellow ! mark on it.
3. Choose update driver.
4. Choose browse my computer.
5. Choose Let me pick from a list.
6. Scroll down and find the Samsung driver with newest date. Should be the driver you downloaded above. (Possibly dated 11/25/2011 ).
7. It will give you a warning about installing the driver, just click yes.

Questions:

-Can I still receive OTA updates after unlocking the bootloader?

-Answer: Yes. Your phone really does not change at all when you unlock the bootloader. You will still receive updates from Google. Now, if you start putting on custom recoveries and rooting, you may run into issues with receiving OTA updates. The good news is that Google usually releases the system image files for their Nexus phones which makes it a breeze to go back to stock for updates.

Windows

1.Download the latest Android SDK (preferably the zip file not the exe).
2.Unzip the package to the root of C:\. NOTE: This will output a folder called "android-sdk-windows".
3.Open up the android-sdk-windows folder and launch the SDK Manager.
4.When you launch the SDK Manager for the first time it will ask for which packages to install. The only package we are concerned with at this time is "Android SDK Tools, revision 15", "Android SDK Platform-tools, revision 9" & "Google USB Driver package, revision 4". You can reject all the others if you are not interested in them.
5.Once that's finished installing, you can close the SDK Manager.
6.Go to the Control Panel, and select the System Properties (Windows XP) or System (Windows Vista/7).
7.Select the Advanced settings; Windows XP: Click on the Advanced tab.
Windows Vista/7: Click on Advanced system settings on the left.

8.Click on Environment Variables.
9.Under the "System variable" section, you will look for "Path". Double-click on it.
10.In the "Variable values" section, add at the very end the location of the tools & package-tools folder, with a semicolon separating these two paths from the rest, e.g. %SystemRoot%;C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools;C:\android-sdk-windows\tools.
11.The Google USB Driver package only supports select devices out-of-the-box, we will be downloading a modified file that should provide support for all CyanogenMod supported devices: 1.Download the modified driver inf file: Download
2.Unzip the file & inside you will see android_winusb.inf. Copy this file to C:\android-sdk-windows\extras\google\usb_driver\ replacing the "stock" android_winusb.inf.

12.On the device, ensure that USB Debugging in enabled (Settings » Applications » Development).
13.Plug the device into the computer via USB cable. The computer will attempt to install the drivers automatically.
14.On success, open the command prompt on the computer, and type in the following command to sure everything is setup properly: adb devices
15.If it lists any devices, everything is fine and you are finished. If not, the drivers may not be installed correctly, please continue.
16.Open the Device Manager. 1.Right-click on My Computer (Windows XP) or Computer (Windows Vista/7).
2.Click on Manage.
3.Click on Device Manager on the left.

17.You will probably see Unknown Device with ADB listed under it with a yellow exclamation mark.
18.Right-click on ADB.
19.Click on "Update Driver Software".
20.Click on "Browse my computer for driver software".
21.Click on "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer".
22.Click on "Have Disk".
23.Click on "Browse".
24.Navigate to "C:\android-sdk-windows\google-usb_driver" and select "android_winusb.inf".
25.Click on "Android ADB Interface". NOTE: You will get an Update Driver Warning, click on "Yes".
26.Once finished installing the driver, open the command prompt on the computer, and type in the following command to sure everything is setup properly: adb devices
27.If it lists any devices, everything is fine and you are finished. If not, you may have further issues and will have to do further research on your own.

Update: We talked too soon. Those that fear the uncertain future of a rooted handset now have a workaround. An APK is now up for grabs at XDA-Developers that will furnish your new favorite smartphone with Google Wallet goodness, hack-free. Non-US residents, however, still appear to be locked out from adding funds to their account. Let us know how it goes in the comments below.

you can install the google wallet apk on stock and it will work fine

alot of dumb people about to brick they phones [pic]

lol @ this nicca making this in the MAIN wireless forum when there is a dedicated android forum above...

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is not the first version of Android to use the GPU to accelerate 2D drawing in apps. That honor goes to Honeycomb. What is new is the option for users to force acceleration on all those legacy apps with a simple toggle. There are some risks that come along with the rewards here, though.

The setting can be found in the spiffy new Android 4.0 settings menu under Developer Options. Scroll down and activate “Force GPU rendering.” And that’s it. Apps will scroll smoother, and transitions will be prettier. That’s the reward part, but what about the risks? Well, some apps might not tolerate being forced to do anything.

We have yet to come across anything this is fundamentally broken with GPU acceleration turned on. Some apps, like Speedtest, have tiny glitches that don’t affect the usability or performance of the app. Googlers have warned that GPU acceleration could cause some serious issues in apps where the developer has not accounted for it. If you have an issue, try turning this off before you shoot off a n@sty email to the developer

Verizon has included two apps on the Galaxy Nexus. How dare they? But seriously, we know that some users take this as affront to the Nexus program. Luckily, you can disable these apps with the new Android 4.0 app management interface.

The apps are My Verizon, and VZ Backup Manager. The VZ Backup Manager is definitely out for us. It really just duplicates content that Google is already storing in the cloud. My Verizon is actually kind of useful if you like to keep track of your texts and minutes. For any apps you want to k!ll, just head to the settings and tap Apps > All.

Scroll down this list until you find the offending app, and tap on it. Deliver the [rip]blow by tapping Disable. A moment later, the app is gone from your app drawer and background services. It won’t ever start up or bother you again.

If you signed up for Verizon to get the Galaxy Nexus over the weekend, you are on the great (all things considered) double data promotion for 4GB of data each month. That’s still a far cry from unlimited bytes. To ease the transition, Android 4.0 has a phenomenal new feature that you need to take advantage of straight away. Right near the top of the settings menu is Data Usage.

On this screen there is a cool little graph with a line you can drag up and down to set your monthly data limits. Pick your plan dates, and set that orange line to a bit less than your monthly quota. We’d also suggest you activate data limits with the checkbox right above the graph. This gives you a second red line to set above the first. When your usage hits this level, data will be shut off. Individual apps are listed below the graph so you can figure out what was slurping up all your data.

We have the warning set at a few hundred megabytes under 4GB, and the shut off right below 5GB. So if all goes as planned, the phone should never incur more than one $10 overage charge. You can tap on the displayed number on the graph to easily set the exact limits in megabytes.

Quick Responses are genius. Really they are. If you get a call, you can drag the answer icon up instead of to the side and the call will be ended, and you get to immediately send the number that called you a canned SMS. The stock options aren’t bad, but they are generic by necessity. You know what you’re usually doing when you don’t want to take a call, so change them.

Open the dialer and hit the menu button up at the top to access the call settings. At the very top, hit Quick Responses. You’ve got four Quick Responses, and you can tap on any of them to edit. Hit Ok, and you’re ready to brush people off with style.

Android 4.0 has removed the menu button from the default layout. The only time a static menu button shows up is in apps that don’t use the action bar. You can’t just hit Menu > Settings like in the old days to access system settings from the home screen. Now you’ll want to keep a shortcut handy, or rely on the pull-down shortcut in the notification shade. Perhaps as penance for this inconvenience, Google has made it much, much easier to get to important sub-menus directly.

Open the app drawer, and go over to the widget section. Scroll over until you find Settings Shortcut (1x1). Drop it onto your home screen and you will be presented with a page asking you to pick its destination. There are nearly a dozen options listed including, Sounds, Wi-Fi, Data Usage, Display, and Tethering & Portable Hotspot. Just tap the one you want, and the shortcut is added.

We have a folder of several of these hanging out on the home screen for easy access to various parts of the settings. This small thing is one of our favorite hidden gems in ICS.

Take care of these tasks and your new Galaxy Nexus will be more user-friendly and useful before you know it. If you've got any more quick-start tips, be sure to drop them in the comments.