Unlock Bootloader On Google Nexus One To Flash Custom Rom

Nexus One has been officially launched by Google on Jan 5th 2010. After a lot of anticipation and rumors about it’s specifications and prices, reviews about the Google phone are not so positive. Even before it was launched, Nexus one was rooted on Android 2.1. The same guy (from Modaco Android Forum) who rooted the phone has now given a hack to unlock Nexus One bootloader, that can be found on retail devices.

The bootloader of Nexus One supports a command, which when given via fastboot, lets you to unlock it. After unlocking, you can flash any custom ROM on your device. Here are the steps:

1. Download fastboot (includes Windows, Mac, Linux versions) and extract it.

2. Run command prompt, go to the directory where you extracted the zip file.

3. On Windows type ‘fastboot-windows oem unlock’. On a Mac, type ‘./fastboot-mac oem unlock’. If your machine is Linux, type ‘./fastboot-linux oem unlock’.

That’s it. Your device’s bootloader is now unlocked. Now you can go ahead and root Nexus One on Android 2.1.

Note: Unlocking the bootloader on your phone using fastboot gives you the freedom to install any custom cooked ROM. However fastboot deletes all your personal data (similar to a factory ‘data reset’) in order to prevent any unauthorized access to it.