How to Root the Nexus 10 on Android 5.0

The Android 5.0 Lollipop update has arrived for the Nexus 10, and so has a root method for it. If you had some root-only apps on your Nexus 10 that were working fine before the update and stopped working after you updated to Lollipop, here’s how you can regain the root-access on your device and make those apps work again:

Rooting is the process of gaining administrative rights on your Android device.  Once we root our Android device, we can then make changes to it to customize it well beyond what it normally can do.

Once you have root access on your Nexus 10, you’ll be able to:

  • Remove apps that were preinstalled by your carrier/manufacturer from your device.
  • Free up storage space (because of the above benefit).
  • Increase battery life (apps that might have been running constantly can be removed).
  • Increase performance (after removing apps that are always running, the device will be less bogged down and run smoother).
  • Update to a new version of Android (by flashing a custom recovery/ROM, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).
  • Tons of other customizations when you use your new found administrative rights to flash a custom ROM (again, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).

Interested? Here’s how to root your Nexus 10:

I. Before You Begin

1. This’ll void the warranty of your device, however, you can unroot your device and it’ll reinstate the warranty. We won’t be held responsible if you end-up bricking your device. Do it at your own risk.

2. This only works for the Nexus 10 device.

II. Downloading Required Files

1. Download CF-Root and save it to your desktop.

CF-Root

III. Rooting the Nexus 10 on Android 5.0

1. Unzip files from CF-Root over to your desktop by right-clicking on it and selecting Extract here. Don’t launch any files just yet.

2. Enable USB debugging on your device by heading to Menu > Settings > Developer options > USB debugging.

3. Turn OFF your device.

4. Turn your device back on in bootloader mode. To do that, hold down Volume UP, Volume DOWN, and Power buttons together.

5. Your device should reboot into bootloader mode.

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

7. Double-click on root-windows.bat available on your desktop and it’ll launch.

8. The instructions for rooting your device will be shown on your screen. Just follow them until it’s done.

9. Once rooted, head over to the Google Play store and download and install Busybox on your device.

10. You’re now rooted!

Awesome! Your Nexus 10 running Android 5.0 is now rooted and has SuperSU and Busybox to help you manage root-only apps on your device.

While some users get what they want using the root-only apps, others have that strong urge to flash a custom ROM (as they know what it could bring for them!). If you wish to flash a custom ROM, you’ll first need to have a custom recovery. Here’s how you can flash CWM Recovery on your Nexus 10:

IV. Flashing a Custom Recovery on the Nexus 10

1. Head over to the Google Play store and download and install ROM Manager app on your device.

2. Once installed, launch the app from your app drawer.

3. Tap on Flash ClockworkMod Recovery.

4. Select your device from the list.

5. Let it flash the recovery on your device.

6. Reboot your device when the recovery’s flashed.

7. You’re all set!

Brilliant! Your Nexus 10 now has CWM Recovery that’ll help you enjoy many of the custom ROMs available for your device. Have fun!

You can click here to find all of the Nexus 10 How To’s.

You can also find all of the Nexus 10 ROMs we have here.

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19 thoughts on “How to Root the Nexus 10 on Android 5.0”

      1. Same happened to me. Rotating balls never stops… Tried again and still doesn’t work! Did I brick my device…???

          1. I tried booting into recovery mode but all I get is an Android on its back the a red triangle with an exclamation mark in it.
            HELP!!! Did I brick this thing?

          2. No, that’s normal. Click all keys, power key+volume up and some other combinations until you’re in the actual menu.

          1. well. had same problem…go to recovery mode (power+UP+DOWN) and wipe all you can. worked for me

          2. I tried booting into recovery mode but all I get is an Android on its back with a red triangle with an exclamation mark in it.
            HELP!!! Did I brick this thing?

          3. dwaine_dibbly

            that happened to me after update. so i did restart couple of times and everything went back to normal..

      2. Same problem. The procedure seemed to go well, except maybe the mounting failed? It says:

        Mounting…
        – System
        – Cache
        — Fail

        I tried it several times now.

  1. I tried this about 20 times on my Nexus 10. All I get are spinning balls. I cannot get back to the Recovery Mode to try wiping the cache again. The rooting appears to go well, but I see the same message Hass noted.

  2. Thanks guys, you’ve just bricked my Nexus 10 now. It won’t boot up at all. That’s £400 down the drain.

  3. FINALLY unbricked! Couldn’t tell you exactly what I did because I tried so many things. Watched a YouTube video on how to unbrick your Nexus 10, sent something by adb and ‘sideways’, finally booted into startup from factory reset. AND it is unlocked.

  4. I had the same problem as many posters here. What I had to do was enter the recovery menu. It shows the android robot on its back with a red triangle and exclamation point. You then hold power + volume up to see the menu options. I did a factory reset and then ran the root procedure again. This time I didn’t have a cache fail error and the device booted up fine.

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