Barnes and Noble has likely introduced a new hardware revision which bricks your unit if you install their official 1.0.0 Firmware (A step needed to root). As of right now, Nooks with serial #s starting with 1003 (running firmware 1.4.1) cannot be rooted, and should NOT be attempted. See New_Hardware_Revision for more details

From nookDevs

To start the rooting process please scroll down...

What Softroot is

The softroot is a way to enable the ADB without disassembling nook to gain root shell access on both 3g-equipped (original) and WiFi-only nooks (thanks to muchadoaboutnoth from IRC for confirming that). If you don't know what that means, you probably DO NOT want to run this updater on your nook. As of today, the nook's adb runs over WiFi, you can enable ADB over USB however. Read more on benefits and disadvantages of rooting and why rooting matters.

You can also see the video-clips of 3rd party applications in action before doing the Softroot to decide if you need it.

WARNING

While we've taken great pains to make sure that this script won't damage your expensive new eBook reader, it comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. To date, it has been tested on nooks running 1.0.0, 1.1.0, 1.1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 of the nook firmware on both the 3g-equipped (original) and WiFi-only nooks (thanks to muchadoaboutnoth from IRC for confirming that). If it breaks, you get to keep both pieces. In the unlikely event that you run this script and end up with a paperweight, please join us on #nookdevs (alternatively thru webchat) on irc.freenode.net and we'll see what we can do.

Once you run a third-party software updater on your nook, Barnes & Noble may consider your warranty null and void. It's sort of like strapping a rocket engine to your Civic -- If you hit the side of a mountain at 300mph, it's just not Honda's fault.

If you run this updater and your nook appears to have become a (very expensive) paperweight, DO NOT CALL BARNES & NOBLE. Join us on IRC and we'll do our best to help sort you out.

Barnes & Noble have built a really fantastic Android tablet for us. So far, it looks like it's going to be an amazing platform for third-party experimentation and development. To make sure that that stays true, there are some things you should keep in mind:

• 3G is for B&N resources only, if you truly think you spent $259 $199 for unlimited 3G for life, you're delusional. You can, however, use your own SIM-card for browsing thru 3G on a softrooted nook.
• A number of nook owners have asked us about the nook's DRM. Don't steal books.

If we haven't scared you off, it's time to get your new rocket engine set up.

A word about 1.4 update

The instructions below will help you downgrade to 1.0.0 (which will wipe your nook settings clean) and then upgrade to the 1.4 update with the pre-installed softRoot + nookLauncher + nookLibrary + nookWifiLocker + Trook + VNC + busybox (update file courtesy of perfinion and poutine; the apps are by kbs, hari and hazymind). This streamlined rooted update retains the turboboot/uboot as is, so you will not have to downgrade prior to upgrading to rooted images in the future.

If you have already updated to the stock 1.4 (either manually or via OTA update), you can still softroot your nook following the same steps below (you will however lose your settings when you downgrade to 1.0.0).

If you currently have a nook with 1.1.1 B&N software or 1.2/1.3 softRoot software, you can skip the section about downgrading to 1.0 again and go directly to the How do I do it? section to upgrade to the rooted 1.4. You should not lose any settings during the update.

IMPORTANT: You will need to REBOOT after you get to the nook "home screen" on the first initial boot!

If you want more visual instructions how to root your nook, please check this flowchart by poutine.

Known issues with softRooted 1.4 update:

• none

IMPORTANT: You will need to REBOOT after you get to the nook "home screen" on the first initial boot!

Pre-requisites

• You need a B&N nook.
• You need a 128MB-or-higher microSD card with a single, FAT32-formatted partition.
• You need to download the rooted 1.4 update (do not forget to rename file to bravo_update.dat):
  • Full softRoot (root/ADB + apps) download | mirror (SHA1 hash: 5a62a2a3ad4ffa5ea6fe2c93ebe241ead5376cd0)
• You'll also need the 1.0.0 image download | mirror (you won't need this if you have softrooted/streamlined 1.2 or 1.3 on your nook).

  MD5 hash: c752fa57f7253d4c499398630c27bdab

  SHA-1 hash: 84287d73b70e98da6a6af9f362b31e96d4e6eea4

  SHA-256 hash: a22bbbf1cc61a81fd812abc5b75f5c713cab3471be36219897aeb91b26405b35

• You won't need any tools or a clean work surface. Unlike our initial efforts, this tool is a simple software updater. There's no need to crack your nook open.

  Should you want to use older version of the nook software, you can download one of the obsolete versions.

How do I do it?

Here is an overview of the process you'll go through. These are not step-by-step instructions. This is only an overview. Follow the instructions in the following sections.

1. Back up any files on your nook, as it WILL be erased during this process.
2. Manually install nook software 1.0.0 (downgrade)
3. Manually install modified nook 1.4 software (upgrade & root)
4. Use the Android Debug Bridge to access your nook's root shell over Wi-Fi.

If you already have softrooted 1.2 or 1.3 update on your nook, you just need to apply softrooted 1.4 update, no need to downgrade to 1.0.0 first.

Step 1: Prepping your nook (downgrade to 1.0.0)

You only need to do this if you have applied the B&N 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4 update. If you are currently running softrooted/streamlined 1.2 or 1.3 by poutine, skip this section.

1. Make sure your nook has sufficient battery to complete the procedure without turning off (at least 20%).
2. BACK UP ANY FILES ON YOUR NOOK. This bears repeating: you WILL lose your data if you do not.
3. Download the original nook 1.0.0 software image (see the Pre-requisites section).
4. Rename the file you downloaded, if necessary, to signed_bravo_update.dat.
5. If you haven't already, connect your nook to your computer via USB. The "nook" drive should appear—this is your nook's internal microSD card.
6. Copy the 'signed_bravo_update.dat' file to the "nook" drive.
7. Eject/unmount the "nook" drive. Remove USB cable. (Note: The B&N Home screen should show some indication that it's unpacking and checking the update after this step)
8. The update procedure should begin automatically—look at the lower-right corner of your nook's e-ink screen and there should be a small box that says "Preparing update" with a percent-complete indicator.
9. DO NOT turn off the power during this procedure. The nook will reboot itself when it is done.

Step 2: Rooting your nook (upgrade to modified 1.4)

Warning: This process requires that you are running the original bootloader (nook 1.0.0 software). Odds are that unless you followed the directions in Step 1: Prepping your nook above, you probably aren't. In order to get the original bootloader installed, downgrade to the full 1.0.0 image via sideloading as explained above before proceeding with the softroot.

1. Make sure your nook has sufficient battery to complete the procedure without turning off (at least 20%).
2. Download the rooted nook 1.4 software (see the Pre-requisites section).
3. If you haven't already, insert a microSD card in your nook (see Inserting extra storage in your nook if you need help with that).
4. Plug your nook into your computer via USB. You should see two drives appear: a "nook" drive (this is your nook's pre-installed, internal drive) and one more.

   Unlike in Step 1, you are going to use the second drive, not your nook's internal drive (the one named "nook").

5. Copy the file you downloaded, which should be named "bravo_update.dat", to the nook's external drive identified in the previous step.
6. Eject/unmount both drives: the one for your external card, and the internal "nook" drive.
7. Unplug your nook from your computer.
8. Turn off your nook by holding in the sleep/power button on top until the screen turns blank.
9. Press and hold the upper page-flip button on the right-hand side of your nook (the one marked with a < pointing towards the middle of the e-ink screen).
10. While continuing to hold the page-flip button, press and release sleep/power button on top. Don't let go of the page-flip button.
11. Continue holding the page-flip button until the e-ink screen displays a "checking for update" message. Release the page-flip button within a couple seconds of when you see this message.
12. Timing is key. If your nook displays the typical "Starting Up" screen, you've missed it—wait until it starts up, then turn it off and try again.
13. Wait for your nook to finish running the updater (the touchscreen will show the progress).
14. Wait for your nook to fully start up after successful update, and then manually reboot it (hold the power button for about 5 seconds so that both screens shut down and then start your nook again).
15. It is very important, so I repeat again: Wait for your nook to fully start up after successful update, and then manually reboot it (hold the power button for about 5 seconds so that both screens shut down and then start your nook again). It is very important to reboot after an update!
16. That's it! You've rooted your nook.

You can delete the bravo_update.dat file from your nook's external card; you no longer need it.

Step 3: Getting a root shell with the Android Debug Bridge

How to use your newly-rooted nook:

1. Download and install the Android SDK.
2. Find the IP address of your nook (instructions are here: How to find nook's IP address).
3. In a terminal (command line) window, navigate to the "tools" directory in the Android SDK.
4. With the NOOK_IP being the IP address of your nook, enter the following:

   adb connect NOOK_IP:5555

5. Nothing should appear to happen and you will be returned to your command prompt. This is normal.
6. You can now use the ADB tools to talk to your nook. To get a root shell on the nook, enter:

   adb shell

7. A # should appear — you now have root access to your nook's command line interface!

You can also enable ADB over USB. Complete documentation for the Android Debug Bridge is available here.

Things you may want to do with your newly-liberated nook:

• Install native Android applications. See application directory for more information. The modified 1.2 and up full softRoot updates already come with several nifty applications pre-installed.
• Develop nook-optimized Android applications. Installing the nook emulator on your computer may be of great use for you then.

Have fun!

What if I need to go back (to the island)?

If you'd like to revert to the "virgin" state of your nook, follow instructions above to flash 1.0.0 image (remember, you will lose all settings) and then upgrade to the latest available B&N update over the air or manually by downloading the latest update file (and following instructions) from the B&N Support web-site.

Obsolete Versions

You can download the obsolete versions below:

• 1.2 sotRooted update file from multiupload (SHA-1 hash: 645b4beb59bcf461c84a44675de4ff152318e6f6).
• 1.3 full softRoot (root + apps + ADB) 2.2.1 download | mirror (SHA1 hash: f120d3b40373553cca829d6b8da3e7b099b9c983)
• 1.3 light softRoot (root + apps only) 2.2.1 download | mirror (SHA1 hash: b3d462d684292f532904411951ea853f914ab3c7)

More details

For more details please read this excellent write-up by JesusFreke.

Dev Team

The nookDevs team is:

• robbiet480/Robbie Trencheny
• aschmitz
• obra/Jesse Vincent,
• JesusFreke
• perfinion
• poutine/BenB
• stangri

More information:

http://nookdevs.com irc://irc.freenode.net/#nookdevs

Flowchart

    ,-,    ,__________________________________________,
    | |   |                                           |
    O O  <  Hi! It looks like you're rooting your nook|
    |U|   | Would you like to:                        |
    |  /  | [Give up]  [Whine about it]  [Git R Done] |
    `_'   |   [Make Beef Jerky]   [Marinate Steaks]   |
          |      [Accidentally the whole thing]       |
          |___________________________________________|


 .--------------------.          .------.
 | Do you own a Nook  |----NO----| GTFO |
 |____________________|          |______|
          |
          |
         YES
          |
 .---------------------.               .--------------------------------.
 | Which Firmware Ver? |-----1.0.0-----| Run the streamlined 1.3 Update |
 |_____________________|               |________________________________|
           |
           |_____________Rooted 1.1.1__.---------------------------------.
           |                           | Backup then Run streamlined 1.4 |
           |                           |_________________________________|
           |                           .-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
           |-----------Unrooted 1.1.1--| Try running the streamlined 1.4 update, if you can't get the update screen, you need to revert to 1.0 |
           |                           |_______________________________________________________________________________________________________|
           |                           .-------------------------------------------------.
           |-----------Unrooted 1.2.0--| Revert to 1.0.0 then run 1.4 streamlined update |
           |                           |_________________________________________________|
           |                           .-------------------------------------------------.
           |-----------Unrooted 1.3.0--| Revert to 1.0.0 then run 1.4 streamlined update |
           |                           |_________________________________________________|
           |                           .-------------------------------------------------.
           |-----------Unrooted 1.4.0--| Revert to 1.0.0 then run 1.4 streamlined update |
           |                           |_________________________________________________|
           |                           .----------------------------.
           |-----------Rooted 1.2.0----| Run 1.4 streamlined update |
           |                           |____________________________|
           |                           .----------------------------.
           |-----------Rooted 1.3.0----| Run 1.4 streamlined update |
           |                           |____________________________|
           |                           .--------------------------------.
           |-----------Rooted 1.4.0----| Go watch some TV, you're done  |
                                       |________________________________|