Android L developer preview now rooted on Nexus 5 and 7

Well that was fast. The Android “L” test firmware – a developer preview for the Android version that was revealed at the Google I/O keynote and the one that we will all probably get the full version by later this year – was released for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 devices yesterday. And today, root access is delivered by the good folks at XDA (hooray!).

Brought to you by XDA Recognized Developer “savoca” just a few hours after its release, root access will now be available for your Android L Developer Preview. The Google keynote gave us a good view of what the “L” version would look like, and it’s mostly good. Our review will give you an idea of what it looks like, but it will not be that big of a departure from Android 4.4. The keynote hints at subtle changes and new features, not far removed from what Android 4.4 Kitkat users are used to today.

The procedure to gain root is fairly straightforward, but there are a few prerequisites. Your Nexus 5 or 7 needs to have a custom recovery installed. Then you flash, flash Chainfire’s SuperSU. The pick your device’s bootloader and fastboot from the list and flash the appropriate boot.img for your device. Easy, right?

Chainfire does warn that root access in the “L” version doesn’t work quite like as it did in the past. There will be apps that can write to /system and there will be others that cannot. Chainfire attributes this to previous root app breakage and the need for new security contexts. But other than this, root access will be available to you for Android L preview, which should be pretty useful moving forward. Grab the links from this XDA post.

SOURCE: XDA

Story Timeline

• Chainfire foresees rooting problems in upcoming Android 4.4.3


• Notifications, Lockscreen security changing in Android "L" release


• What you need to know about Android "L"

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This version, however, comes in a form of a flashable zip file, so you'll need to use CWM Recovery or TWRP to do that. There are instructions for manually installing it should all else fail, but that does require root access since it involves writing into /system/app. You also have to install or delete any trace of the current stable version of Google Keyboard if you do have that installed.

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Of course, this is just from a developer preview of Android L and will be subject to much change. It might be a bit too early to jump into the fray, but if you fancy yourself as a daring adventurer, do hit the link below to get the full links and instructions to install this app on your smartphone. Tested devices include Nexus 4 with Paranoid Android, Samsung Galaxy S5 with Phoenix ROM, LG G2 with stock Android, and the HTC M8. Theoretically, it should work with any Android 4.4 device, but there is, of course, no absolute guarantee.

SOURCE: XDA

VIA: AndroidGuys

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SOURCE: Slashgear