Hi guys and girls 
Ok well i've been lurking around on these forums for some time now. Recently I rooted my Nexus 5 and I must say I love it! I'm aiming to make this thread somewhat of a one stop for people who have just rooted or are considering rooting to see what is possible once you root your phone!
Alright so first things first, before you go any further you are going to need:
A rooted Nexus 5!
A fair amount of time.
if you are unsure of how to go about doing this please read through this thread made by the wonderful Chromium_:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2507905
OK, so from this point on i'm going to assume you have all the requisites you need so lets get into it shall we
Block adverts while browsing the web.
So i'm pretty sure that most of us have been blocking those frustrating pop ups and banner adverts while browsing the web on our PCs or Macs for years now right? (Yes, I am looking at you Mr. 888 Poker!) But for some reason this is not possible to do on our phones. Not anymore! With your rooted phone you can install the superb adaway and wave those adverts goodbye!
Adaway is not however available from the playstore. Don't fear though you can get it here!
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2190753
NB: If for some reason you are not currently blocking ads on your PC or Mac. I recommend the add on - adblockplus.
https://adblockplus.org
Install custom Lockrings, softkeys and more.
Bored of the standard android lockscreen? Don't want to have to mess around with apps such as widgetlocker which often prove to be quite unstable at times? Now you don't have to!
Check out this thread created by matthew0776
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2514238
With the files included in that thread you can have whatever look you could possibly want! As the thread states however, in order to flash them on your device you will need the application ZipThemer.
ZipThemer is a simple enough application to use and is available from the playstore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kellinwood.zipthemer
In order to use ZipThemer the steps are as follows:
1) Open the ZipThemer application and press Update Edify, you will find this in the drop down menu which appears when you press the 3 dots in the top corner of the right hand side of the screen.
2) Once you press Update Edify you should be greeted with this screen:
3) Press 'Browse'
4) Select the firmware file you are currently using. It could be called, for example, pa_hammerhead-4.0-BETA6-20140217.zip
5) Press 'Configure' A message at the bottom of the screen should pop up at this point which says 'success'.
6) Press the back key once. You should end up at this screen:
7) Once at the screen above press '+Theme' You should then be presented with this screen:
8) Press the green back arrow on the screen above and browse to the location of your lockring/sofkey .zip file you downloaded and placed on your device earlier.
9) Press 'Build It!' and make sure you select the option to make a backup/undo so you can always switch back to stock easily or if there is any issues.
10) Boot device into recovery (CWM or TWRP) Select install Zip from SD card and install it! You will find your file in the root of your SD card for easy access.
ZipThemer not working? Don't worry all hope is not lost! The method above works for the vast majority but if you are one of the unfortunate few there is a solution!
Follow the steps above as usual but when you get to step #4 (Browse for firmware file) Select this file:
http://d-h.st/CgG
Instead of whatever firmware file you are currently running on your device.
Again all credit goes to matthew0776 here. I have simply tried to rephrase the instructions he provided in the thread here:
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39572221&postcount=18&nocache=1&z=5376182028558105
To make them easier to understand
Change your boot animation.
Alright so did you know now that you've rooted your phone you can change the boot animation to whatever you like? Well you can! And below i'm going to try my best to explain how.
Ok, now there are a few ways to do this. Personally I like to do things manually however so that's the way i'm going to demonstrate here. If however you don't fancy doing the legwork yourself though (and don't mind paying a small sum) I am aware of a option in the awesome ROM Toolbox pro which does pretty much the same thing. You can get ROM Toolbox pro from the playstore here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.liberty.toolboxpro
So, you've decided to stick with me then?! Alright cool, well here is how to do it the good old fashioned way then
You will need:
Root Explorer: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer
A custom boot animation: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2577081 (Thanks to thor6577)
1) Open Root Explorer and navigate your way to: system/media.
2) Here you will find a file called bootanimation.zip Select this file (press the tick to the right of it) and rename it. To do this press the 3 dots in the top corner of the right hand side of the screen once you have selected it and press 'Rename' You may be greeted with a warning at this stage asking if you wish to change the file system from read-only to read-write the answer is YES.
3) Rename the file to bottanimation.zip1 . This is essentially making a backup
4) Browse to wherever you have saved your new custom boot animation and copy it over to this directory (system/media)
NOTE: Your custom boot animation MUST BE called bootanimation.zip or it will not work.
5) Reboot and enjoy
Change your LCD screen density.
The Nexus 5 has absolutely gorgeous 5" display but in my opinion it does not make the most of it out the box! With a rooted phone however you can change the LCD density of the screen to whatever you like!
In simple terms changing the density effects how large icons and widgets will appear on your screen. This means the lower the density the more you can fit on one screen
Changing the screen density on a rooted phone is an incredibly simple Build.prop tweak. Certain custom ROMs come with this feature already nicely packaged into the ROM for example the ROM I am using AOSB 1.3.1 does.
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2615590
But, if your ROM doesn't or you have decided to stay on stock don't worry To change you LCD Density follow the steps below:
1) Open Root Explorer and navigate your way to system.
2) Select build.prop (Press the blue tick)
3) Click on the three dots on the top right of the screen and select 'Open in Text Editor' You may be greeted with a prompt here which 'WARNING' file system read-only, switch to read-write? (I'm paraphrasing) The answer is of course YES.
4) Find the entry ro.sf.LCD_density.
5) Change the number directly after the '=' to what you want the screen density to be. You can go anywhere from 300 - 480 before apps such as the Playstore start to break. Personally I use 340 dpi and I think its perfect, its all personal preference though
6) Press the three bars in the top right corner and select save changes.
7) Reboot your phone and enjoy
For more information on LCD density and discussion please check out this thread:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2517311
mmmm PIE!
PIE is a nice little feature you may have stumbled across browsing these forums. If you haven't already it looks like this:
Pretty cool right?! Well I thought so anyway. Well with your rooted phone now you can have it to Now there are two ways (which I know of) how you can get this. The first way is the simplest by far. Many ROMS come with this nice feature already installed. To find out if yours does just check out the features page. Often you don't even have to do that its actually written in the title of whatever ROM you are using. To check out all the custom ROMs available for the Nexus 5 on XDA check out these two forums:
http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5/development
http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development
Now if your ROM does come with PIE baked into it. Your already all set, just go to your settings page and you will find the options for it in there. However if you are still running stock don't worry you can have PIE too thanks to noname81. To get it visit here:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1330150
noname81's app couldn't be simpler to use either, simply download the latest build and place it somewhere easily accessible on your device, for example, Download. Then browse for it using whatever file manager you like (there's loads on the Playstore) however personally I like ES File manager the most if you just cant make your mind up. Its free and you can get it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop
Once you've found it click on the apk and hit install.
NOTE: YOU MUST ALLOW INSTALLATION OF APPS FROM UNKNOWN SOURCES.
To do this:
1) Go to settings.
2) Scroll down to 'Personal' and press on 'Security'.
3) Scroll down to 'Device Administration'
4) Press the check box located to the right of the entry 'unknown sources'.
AppBar (Xposed Framework)
Ok, well the options really are somewhat limitless with this so i'm not going to go through all of them. Instead i'm just going to focus on one of my personal favorites, The AppBar. If you are wondering what AppBar is, it's a little feature which looks like this:
AppBar is not permanently on show like the picture above however. It simply slides into frame when you touch a certain area of the screen which you can personally set up to your liking (much like PIE above).
Ok, so i'm going to put in a slight warning here, in terms of actually installing the app, this one is slightly more work than the others I have mentioned. It's still nothing to challenging though, I promise!
To get AppBar. The first thing you are going to need to do is install the Xposed Framework. You can get it here:
http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.installer
1) Once, you've installed the apk above you should be greeted with this screen (if you are not, navigate your way to it):
2) Once at the screen above, press Install/Update and let it do its thing.
3) Reboot phone.
4) Once you've rebooted, go back into the Xposed installer and press the tab on the top left of the screen.
5) Select 'Download' from the drop down menu which appears. You should be landed at this screen:
6) Scroll down until you find XBlast Tools and install the correct version for whatever version of android you are running.
7) Press on the entry and hit download.
8) Once it's finished you will get a notification which says something along the lines of 'Xposed module is not active yet'
9) Open your notification bar and press on the notification.
10) You will end up at this screen:
11) Press the check box to the right of XBlast Tools [1.8.0]
12) Reboot.
Once you've rebooted you should see a new icon in your app draw called XBlast Tools, open it.
1) Scroll down to the entry AppBar .
2) Enable it using the slider.
3) To set up what you want in you appbar content go to 'Setup Appbar content'
4) You will be taken to this screen:
5) Drag and drop apps into the bar on the left
6) You can adjust the trigger position, height, width and transparency using the sliders on the first screen.
Note: Thanks to femblack (Riyajudeen Mohamed yousuf) for XBlast tools if you which to support him you can buy XBlast tools from the Playstore here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ind.fem.black.xposed.mods
Flash a custom kernel.
NOTE: You must have a custom recovery installed (Dont have one? Check the top of this thread )
Ok, well there are quite a few reasons why to install a custom kernel. In short (very short) You can install a custom Kernel for one of these 3 reasons.
1) To improve battery life. (Undervolting)
2) To improve performance. (Overclocking)
3) Fancy features such as double tab screen to wake device (My personal favorite). Swipe across screen to sleep device etc etc.
Installing a custom kernel is actually remarkably easy especially thanks to the developers who have included AROMA installers. All you have to do is put the zip file on your SDcard boot into recovery and follow the on screen instructions.
For the purpose of this post i'm going to point you towards the ElementalX as it is the Kernel I am currently running and I have had no issues with it personally. it is also incredibly easy to set up and seems like it would serve as a good starting point for newcomers. You can find it here:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2519607 (Thanks to flar2)
Please note that this is far from the only option when it comes to kernels its just the easiest in my opinion. if you want to see more kernels for the Nexus 5 and decide for yourself have a browse around this forum:
http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development
IMPORTANT: When flashing any custom kernel you must be sure you have the right build for whatever base you are running. Some ROMs are CM based others are AOSP based and so on. ALWAYS CHECK FIRST.
Thats it for now everyone! Hope this thread is of some use. Plan to add information on HALO and MultiWindow when possible as well as a few other things.
Ok well i've been lurking around on these forums for some time now. Recently I rooted my Nexus 5 and I must say I love it! I'm aiming to make this thread somewhat of a one stop for people who have just rooted or are considering rooting to see what is possible once you root your phone!Alright so first things first, before you go any further you are going to need:
A rooted Nexus 5!
A fair amount of time.
if you are unsure of how to go about doing this please read through this thread made by the wonderful Chromium_:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2507905
OK, so from this point on i'm going to assume you have all the requisites you need so lets get into it shall we
Block adverts while browsing the web.
So i'm pretty sure that most of us have been blocking those frustrating pop ups and banner adverts while browsing the web on our PCs or Macs for years now right? (Yes, I am looking at you Mr. 888 Poker!
) But for some reason this is not possible to do on our phones. Not anymore! With your rooted phone you can install the superb adaway and wave those adverts goodbye! Adaway is not however available from the playstore. Don't fear though you can get it here!
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2190753
NB: If for some reason you are not currently blocking ads on your PC or Mac. I recommend the add on - adblockplus.
https://adblockplus.org
Install custom Lockrings, softkeys and more.
Bored of the standard android lockscreen? Don't want to have to mess around with apps such as widgetlocker which often prove to be quite unstable at times? Now you don't have to!
Check out this thread created by matthew0776
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2514238
With the files included in that thread you can have whatever look you could possibly want! As the thread states however, in order to flash them on your device you will need the application ZipThemer.
ZipThemer is a simple enough application to use and is available from the playstore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kellinwood.zipthemer
In order to use ZipThemer the steps are as follows:
1) Open the ZipThemer application and press Update Edify, you will find this in the drop down menu which appears when you press the 3 dots in the top corner of the right hand side of the screen.
2) Once you press Update Edify you should be greeted with this screen:
3) Press 'Browse'
4) Select the firmware file you are currently using. It could be called, for example, pa_hammerhead-4.0-BETA6-20140217.zip
5) Press 'Configure' A message at the bottom of the screen should pop up at this point which says 'success'.
6) Press the back key once. You should end up at this screen:
7) Once at the screen above press '+Theme' You should then be presented with this screen:
8) Press the green back arrow on the screen above and browse to the location of your lockring/sofkey .zip file you downloaded and placed on your device earlier.
9) Press 'Build It!' and make sure you select the option to make a backup/undo so you can always switch back to stock easily or if there is any issues.
10) Boot device into recovery (CWM or TWRP) Select install Zip from SD card and install it! You will find your file in the root of your SD card for easy access.
ZipThemer not working? Don't worry all hope is not lost! The method above works for the vast majority but if you are one of the unfortunate few there is a solution!
Follow the steps above as usual but when you get to step #4 (Browse for firmware file) Select this file:
http://d-h.st/CgG
Instead of whatever firmware file you are currently running on your device.
Again all credit goes to matthew0776 here. I have simply tried to rephrase the instructions he provided in the thread here:
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39572221&postcount=18&nocache=1&z=5376182028558105
To make them easier to understand
Change your boot animation.
Alright so did you know now that you've rooted your phone you can change the boot animation to whatever you like? Well you can! And below i'm going to try my best to explain how.
Ok, now there are a few ways to do this. Personally I like to do things manually however so that's the way i'm going to demonstrate here. If however you don't fancy doing the legwork yourself though (and don't mind paying a small sum) I am aware of a option in the awesome ROM Toolbox pro which does pretty much the same thing. You can get ROM Toolbox pro from the playstore here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.liberty.toolboxpro
So, you've decided to stick with me then?! Alright cool, well here is how to do it the good old fashioned way then
You will need:
Root Explorer: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer
A custom boot animation: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2577081 (Thanks to thor6577)
1) Open Root Explorer and navigate your way to: system/media.
2) Here you will find a file called bootanimation.zip Select this file (press the tick to the right of it) and rename it. To do this press the 3 dots in the top corner of the right hand side of the screen once you have selected it and press 'Rename' You may be greeted with a warning at this stage asking if you wish to change the file system from read-only to read-write the answer is YES.
3) Rename the file to bottanimation.zip1 . This is essentially making a backup
4) Browse to wherever you have saved your new custom boot animation and copy it over to this directory (system/media)
NOTE: Your custom boot animation MUST BE called bootanimation.zip or it will not work.
5) Reboot and enjoy
Change your LCD screen density.
The Nexus 5 has absolutely gorgeous 5" display but in my opinion it does not make the most of it out the box! With a rooted phone however you can change the LCD density of the screen to whatever you like!
In simple terms changing the density effects how large icons and widgets will appear on your screen. This means the lower the density the more you can fit on one screen
Changing the screen density on a rooted phone is an incredibly simple Build.prop tweak. Certain custom ROMs come with this feature already nicely packaged into the ROM for example the ROM I am using AOSB 1.3.1 does.
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2615590
But, if your ROM doesn't or you have decided to stay on stock don't worry
To change you LCD Density follow the steps below: 1) Open Root Explorer and navigate your way to system.
2) Select build.prop (Press the blue tick)
3) Click on the three dots on the top right of the screen and select 'Open in Text Editor' You may be greeted with a prompt here which 'WARNING' file system read-only, switch to read-write? (I'm paraphrasing) The answer is of course YES.
4) Find the entry ro.sf.LCD_density.
5) Change the number directly after the '=' to what you want the screen density to be. You can go anywhere from 300 - 480 before apps such as the Playstore start to break. Personally I use 340 dpi and I think its perfect, its all personal preference though
6) Press the three bars in the top right corner and select save changes.
7) Reboot your phone and enjoy
For more information on LCD density and discussion please check out this thread:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2517311
mmmm PIE!
PIE is a nice little feature you may have stumbled across browsing these forums. If you haven't already it looks like this:
Pretty cool right?! Well I thought so anyway. Well with your rooted phone now you can have it to
Now there are two ways (which I know of) how you can get this. The first way is the simplest by far. Many ROMS come with this nice feature already installed. To find out if yours does just check out the features page. Often you don't even have to do that its actually written in the title of whatever ROM you are using. To check out all the custom ROMs available for the Nexus 5 on XDA check out these two forums:http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5/development
http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development
Now if your ROM does come with PIE baked into it. Your already all set, just go to your settings page and you will find the options for it in there. However if you are still running stock don't worry you can have PIE too thanks to noname81. To get it visit here:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1330150
noname81's app couldn't be simpler to use either, simply download the latest build and place it somewhere easily accessible on your device, for example, Download. Then browse for it using whatever file manager you like (there's loads on the Playstore) however personally I like ES File manager the most if you just cant make your mind up. Its free and you can get it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop
Once you've found it click on the apk and hit install.
NOTE: YOU MUST ALLOW INSTALLATION OF APPS FROM UNKNOWN SOURCES.
To do this:
1) Go to settings.
2) Scroll down to 'Personal' and press on 'Security'.
3) Scroll down to 'Device Administration'
4) Press the check box located to the right of the entry 'unknown sources'.
AppBar (Xposed Framework)
Ok, well the options really are somewhat limitless with this so i'm not going to go through all of them. Instead i'm just going to focus on one of my personal favorites, The AppBar. If you are wondering what AppBar is, it's a little feature which looks like this:
AppBar is not permanently on show like the picture above however. It simply slides into frame when you touch a certain area of the screen which you can personally set up to your liking (much like PIE above).
Ok, so i'm going to put in a slight warning here, in terms of actually installing the app, this one is slightly more work than the others I have mentioned. It's still nothing to challenging though, I promise!
To get AppBar. The first thing you are going to need to do is install the Xposed Framework. You can get it here:
http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.installer
1) Once, you've installed the apk above you should be greeted with this screen (if you are not, navigate your way to it):
2) Once at the screen above, press Install/Update and let it do its thing.
3) Reboot phone.
4) Once you've rebooted, go back into the Xposed installer and press the tab on the top left of the screen.
5) Select 'Download' from the drop down menu which appears. You should be landed at this screen:
6) Scroll down until you find XBlast Tools and install the correct version for whatever version of android you are running.
7) Press on the entry and hit download.
8) Once it's finished you will get a notification which says something along the lines of 'Xposed module is not active yet'
9) Open your notification bar and press on the notification.
10) You will end up at this screen:
11) Press the check box to the right of XBlast Tools [1.8.0]
12) Reboot.
Once you've rebooted you should see a new icon in your app draw called XBlast Tools, open it.
1) Scroll down to the entry AppBar .
2) Enable it using the slider.
3) To set up what you want in you appbar content go to 'Setup Appbar content'
4) You will be taken to this screen:
5) Drag and drop apps into the bar on the left
6) You can adjust the trigger position, height, width and transparency using the sliders on the first screen.
Note: Thanks to femblack (Riyajudeen Mohamed yousuf) for XBlast tools if you which to support him you can buy XBlast tools from the Playstore here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ind.fem.black.xposed.mods
Flash a custom kernel.
NOTE: You must have a custom recovery installed (Dont have one? Check the top of this thread
) Ok, well there are quite a few reasons why to install a custom kernel. In short (very short) You can install a custom Kernel for one of these 3 reasons.
1) To improve battery life. (Undervolting)
2) To improve performance. (Overclocking)
3) Fancy features such as double tab screen to wake device (My personal favorite). Swipe across screen to sleep device etc etc.
Installing a custom kernel is actually remarkably easy especially thanks to the developers who have included AROMA installers. All you have to do is put the zip file on your SDcard boot into recovery and follow the on screen instructions.
For the purpose of this post i'm going to point you towards the ElementalX as it is the Kernel I am currently running and I have had no issues with it personally. it is also incredibly easy to set up and seems like it would serve as a good starting point for newcomers. You can find it here:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2519607 (Thanks to flar2)
Please note that this is far from the only option when it comes to kernels its just the easiest in my opinion. if you want to see more kernels for the Nexus 5 and decide for yourself have a browse around this forum:
http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development
IMPORTANT: When flashing any custom kernel you must be sure you have the right build for whatever base you are running. Some ROMs are CM based others are AOSP based and so on. ALWAYS CHECK FIRST.
Thats it for now everyone! Hope this thread is of some use. Plan to add information on HALO and MultiWindow when possible as well as a few other things.
Last edited:
