Galaxy Nexus Rooting Question

[HIMAN1998]

I am getting a Galaxy Nexus tomorrow in a trade. My S3 for a Galaxy Nexus 32GB plus $90 cash. It's the Verizon i515 model. I was thinking about rooting it when I got it. I also have some questions about it, though.
1) I heard from a friend that has the Galaxy Nexus Sprint model, and he said I have to unlock the phone before rooting it. Is this true?
2) What is the process to root the Galaxy Nexus? Is it easier than the GS3? I accidentally bricked my GS3 while trying to root it.
3) What are some advantages and disadvantages of rooting the Verizon Galaxy Nexus?
4) Do I still get the updates straight from Google or does Verizon have to send the update out?
5) If I root and/or unlock it, can this bypass Verizon's update and get them from Google?

I know, my trade isn't something most people would do. I just want to try a phone that I haven't before, and I really like the Galaxy Nexus design and feel. I'm definitely buying an extended battery (Amazon.com: Samsung ETC-I515BBGSTA Verizon Galaxy Nexus Extended Battery Bundle - Retail Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories). I just want something that works and I like. I am OK with the 1GB RAM vs. 2GB RAM, or different processor clock speeds.

 

[Paul627g]

1) I heard from a friend that has the Galaxy Nexus Sprint model, and he said I have to unlock the phone before rooting it. Is this true?

Yes you have to unlock the bootloader before rooting. This is very simple. You can do it manually or with the many One Click pgms out there... We have stickys in the Verizon Galaxy Nexus forums to help you out.

2) What is the process to root the Galaxy Nexus? Is it easier than the GS3? I accidentally bricked my GS3 while trying to root it.

Rooting is very simple and pain free on ANY Nexus.. Unlocking is simple and then you place a custom recovery on the device and flash the Super User (root access). DONE

3) What are some advantages and disadvantages of rooting the Verizon Galaxy Nexus?

IMO everything is an advantage. You can run whatever you want then with custom ROMs and much more...

4) Do I still get the updates straight from Google or does Verizon have to send the update out?

Usually the rule of thumb is once you root (install the custom recovery/super user) you give up the right to OTA updates. At that stage you look to your favorite ROM developer to provide you with an updated custom ROM. There is easy methods to unroot and flash/receive the OTA update and then root again if you like.

5) If I root and/or unlock it, can this bypass Verizon's update and get them from Google?

All your updates will come straight from Google. Yes Verizon " approves " them for release once they are done toying with them after Google hands them over but ideally it goes back to Google and they push the update out to the device.

 

[HIMAN1998]

So is there a way to get the updates before Verizon messes with them?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums