How to Root Google Pixel and Pixel XL

Google’s all new HTC built Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are out there rocking on the shelves. The smaller variant, Google Pixel comes with a 5-inch AMOLED screen. The phone is powered up with Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU accompanied by Adreno 530 GPU. A RAM of 4GB and internal storage of 32GB/128GB is there on this phone. The Pixel XL sports almost same specifications, the only difference is in the display department. Pixel XL 5.5-inch QHD display. Another difference between these two phones is of the battery. The Pixel XL equips a 3450 mAh battery and the Pixel equips a 2770 mAh battery.

When the Google Pixel and Pixel XL came out a month ago, things seemed pretty hard with the root access and custom recoveries. It didn’t take long for the root God Chainfire to get across the boundaries and break the jails on Google’s all new Pixel smartphones. Chainfire successfully rooted both new Pixel smartphones and updated his SuperSu application for all of the users across the globe. What’s cool about the new SuperSu is that, this is a systemless root. It doesn’t modify or change the system of your phone and rather modifies the boot file.

So, if you have got your hands on a Pixel phone and now you are looking around for some MODs or to install Xposed framework in order to tweak your phone, you will need the root access and it is already available. A few steps to follow and you will be done. In the upcoming guide, we will learn how to Root Google Pixel and Pixel XL running Android 7.1 Nougat.

Before rooting, follow these instructions

1. Make sure that your phone is either international Google Pixel/XL. It can be Verizon Google Pixel/XL as well since you can easily unlock the bootloader of the aforementioned smartphones.
2. The battery of your phone should be charged up to 50% to avoid power issues during rooting process.
3. Backup everything before unlocking the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader wipes off your phone, so this is a necessary step.
4. Now unlock the bootloader of your Google Pixel phone.
5. Allow USB debugging and enable OEM unlock from the developer options in your phone.
6. Download and install Google USB drivers.
7. Download and setup Minimal ADB & Fastboot drivers.  Mac users can use this guide to install ADB & Fastboot drivers.

How to Root Google Pixel and Pixel XL

1. Download the root file according to your device.
   • Google Pixel: root-sailfish-pixel.zip
   • Google Pixel XL: root-marlin-pixelxl.zip
2. Unzip the downloaded root file. You will get the boot-to-root.img file now.
3. Copy the boot-to-root.img file to C drive > Program Files > Minimal ADB & Fastboot folder.
4. Now within the Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder, press and hold shift key and right click on an empty area within the folder >  open command window here. Mac users can see in the Mac guide for the file they will be opening.
5. Turn off your phone completely. Turn it on by pressing and holding Volume Down + Power Key. This will boot your phone into bootloader mode.
6. Connect your phone to your PC now.
7. In the command window, issue the following command:

   • fastboot boot boot-to-root.img

8. This will install the boot-to-root.img file on your Google Pixel or the Pixel XL. Hold on and wait patiently. As your phone boots up, check out the SuperSu application in the app drawer and verify root access using Root Checker. That’s all.

Also learn: How to install TWRP Recovery on Google Pixel and Pixel XL

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