# Root without wipe



## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

I've had my Nexus for a few months now and I made the mistake of not rooting it day one. So now there is an app I want to use that requires root.

So, is there anyway for me to get root access with out wiping my phone. I bought the phone from the play store so its to my understanding that it is locked (unlocking is what will wipe my phone).

If there isn't a way to do this without wiping, what do you all recommend as the best way to go about doing this. Once unlocked and rooted I will probably want to give cm a try anyway.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using RootzWiki


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## brkshr (Jun 16, 2011)

I'm pretty sure that you have to unlock the bootloader to root. Theoretically, it could be possible to root without unlocking the bootloader, but I don't think anyone has figured that out because it's so easy to unlock and you HAVE to unlock for ROMs. Once your unlocked & rooted, you can lock the bootloader again & maintain root, if you need to be locked for some reason.

So if you have to unlock the bootloader. You could use Helium or TiBu to back everything up, transfer the data to a computer, unlock/root, then transfer data back to the device & restore. Personally, I prefer to start over from scratch (no backups/restores of apps or data) when going to a different ROM. Helium or TiBu should work just fine to speed things up.

Just remember to transfer EVERYTHING you need to your computer before unlocking.


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## USSENTERNCC1701E (Jul 1, 2011)

I tested djrbliss' motochopper on my Nexus 4 when it came out, I did fully lock my phone before hand. I found a post on XDA with instructions for the Nexus 7, should work just fine on N4 too. This allows for root without the need to unlock the bootloader, and *you do not lose your data*.

[Root][JB 4.2] Root your Nexus 7 without unlocking bootloader. (djrbliss motochopper)

You may be able to then unlock the bootloader from Android without losing data, this I have not tried. But if you just need root this isn't necessary.

BootUnlocker for Nexus Devices


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks.

Yeah I found the motochopper thing while searching after I asked the question, but I couldn't get it to work. I wound up unlocking and rooting, not as painful as I had expected.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using RootzWiki


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

No data wipe root/unlocking methods are alarming (to me at least). Not sure why people desire them (well obviously convenience). However, think of it this way (for anyone hasn't). If you can elevate the privileges of your device without wiping to unlock the bootloader, someone that wishes to do you harm through malware can too (and the means to do so are public info so that barrier is much lower).


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## USSENTERNCC1701E (Jul 1, 2011)

I agree in principle that is disturbing, however, my feelings on it would have no bearing on whether of not someone else would use it maliciously. Since the exploit is out there, I don't see any disadvantage to using it. And it was designed for use on devices without un-lockable bootloader, it just happens to work for 4.1+ Android devices. I do believe that djrbliss reports all exploits he discovers to the OEMs after releasing a tool.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

USSENTERNCC1701E said:


> I agree in principle that is disturbing, however, my feelings on it would have no bearing on whether of not someone else would use it maliciously. Since the exploit is out there, I don't see any disadvantage to using it. And it was designed for use on devices without un-lockable bootloader, it just happens to work for 4.1+ Android devices. I do believe that djrbliss reports all exploits he discovers to the OEMs after releasing a tool.


Yeah, I agree with you. I just find it alarming for anyone that uses it and does not proceed to update to a more recent version of Android that patches (if one exists) it afterwards


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## shiznu (Jun 14, 2012)

Unbox new nexus, charge it and fastboot OEM unlock. That will always be my procedure even if I wasn't gonna root or flash a custom ROM. My mako will be here in the morning.... Can't wait.

Edit: just in case anyone else needs to know you can make a full back up of your SD card with adb pull /sdcard/ you will need to be in recovery to use adb push and pull

Z.F.F.Z 4.13


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