How to Root the Nexus 7 II

The much awaited Nexus 7 II has arrived and so has our root procedure for it.  Rooting your Nexus 7 II will bring you all those great goodies that you were having on your older Nexus 7 (if you had one) and you’ll even be able to flash a custom recovery on your device. So without further ado, here’s our guide on how you can root your Nexus 7 II and get the most out of it:

I. Before You Begin:

1. This will void the warranty of your device. However, you can reinstate the warranty by unrooting your device if there’s any unrooting procedure available.

2. This procedure works on Windows based PCs only.

II. Downloading Required Files:

1. Fastboot

2. TWRP Recovery Image – WiFi or LTE (Download the Image having .img as extension)

3. SuperSU

III. Unlocking Bootloader of the Nexus 7 II:

1. Download and place all three files on your Desktop.

2. Extract files from the Fastboot archive over to your Desktop.

3. Turn ON the USB debugging option on your device by heading to Menu>>Settings>>Developer options>>USB debugging.

4. Plug in your device to your PC using the USB cable.

5. Open a Command Prompt Window on your Desktop. To do that, simply hold down the Shift button and right-click anywhere on your Desktop and choose Open command window here.

6. Type in following command into the Command Prompt Window:

adb reboot bootloader

7. Your device will reboot into the bootloader mode.

8. Now issue the following command:

fastboot oem unlock

9. Follow the on-screen instructions to unlock your bootloader.

10. Reboot your device.

Great! Your bootloader’s been unlocked, let’s see how you can flash a custom recovery on your device:

IV. Flashing a Custom Recovery on the Nexus 7 II:

1. Ensure that the USB debugging is enabled and your device’s connected to your PC.

2. Open a Command Prompt Window on your Desktop by holding down the Shift button and right-click anywhere on your Desktop and choose Open command window here.

3. Type in following command into the Command Prompt Window:

adb reboot bootloader

4. Your device will reboot into the bootloader mode.

5. Next issue the following command replacing recovery.img with the actual name of the Recovery Image you have downloaded:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

6. It should flash the recovery on your device, be patient.

7. Once the recovery has been flashed, reboot your device.

8. You’re done!

Cool! You’ve successfully flashed a custom recovery on your device, let’s root it now!

V. Rooting the Nexus 7 II:

1. Copy the SuperSU zip over to the root of your SD card.

2. Turn OFF your device.

3. Turn it back on by holding down Volume DOWN+Power buttons together and then select Recovery.

4. Select Install followed by Download and choose the SuperSU zip to be installed on your device.

5. It’ll begin flashing the zip on your device, won’t take more than a few seconds.

6. Once the zip has been flashed, reboot your device.

7. You’re rooted!

Wonderful Job! You’ve successfully rooted your Nexus 7 II device and you now have access to all of those lucrative root-only apps that you’ve been waiting for!

VI. Flash a Custom ROM (Optional):

1. If you are ready to flash custom ROMs on your device, head to the How To Flash a Custom ROM on the Nexus 7 II to learn how to do that.

If this procedure helped you please thank/donate to the original developers here and here.