Root Nexus 6 on Android 5.0 Lollipop via Chainfire's One-click Root
Root Nexus 6 on Android 5.0 Lollipop via Chainfire's One-click Root Android Soul

Chainfire, the developer of popular rooting tools for Android, has just rolled out his popular One-click rooting tool aka CF Auto Root (CFAR) on Google's flagship Nexus 6, which has surprisingly been the last among Nexus devices to receive this privilege.

Though the CF Auto Root was available much earlier than Google's official release of Android 5.0 Lollipop update, it took some time for Chainfire to fix inherent bugs with root apps before releasing the final build of his one-click rooting tool across all the Nexus devices.

It is imperative to unlock your device's bootloader before you proceed, although the rooting tool will attempt to unlock the bootloader prior to installing root access on your Nexus 6.

However, you must remember to enable OEM unlock via Settings > developer options before the bootloader can be unlocked.

Note: Rooting any device will void its hardware warranty, as you will be modifying system files to unlock OEM restrictions on the device. Nevertheless, you can easily unroot the device and restore it back to factory settings to regain your warranty status.

How Does CFAR Work or Enable Root Access on Nexus 6?

CFAR flashes a modified boot image (included in the package) to inject root and install SuperSU app into the system folder.

During the process of flashing the modified boot image, you might notice a red Android icon on your Nexus 4 screen that stays on for around 10 seconds before rebooting.

It must be noted that the device may reboot a couple of times before the root installation completes, and this is normal.

Downloads Required

Nexus 6 CF Auto Root for Android 5.0 Lollipop

Steps to Root Nexus 6 on Android 5.0 Lollipop with Chainfire's One-Click Root

  1. Boot the Nexus 6 into bootloader mode via adb or hardware buttons (press and hold Volume Down and Power buttons until Fastboot/Bootloader menu and START icon appear on the screen).
  2. Connect the Nexus device to computer via USB cable.
  3. Unzip the CF-Auto-Root-shamu-shamu-nexus6.zip file on your computer.
  4. For Windows: Run the root-windows.bat file.
  5. For Mac and Linux: Launch Terminal and go to the location where you extracted the contents of CF Auto Root and then enter the following commands (without quotes) for Mac and Linux respectively:
  • For Mac: "./root-mac.sh"
  • For Linux: "./root-linux.sh"

[Source: The Android Soul]