The Google Nexus 7 was just announced last Wednesday, and won't be available until at least mid-July, but that hasn't put a damper on the hacking community, who have already achieved root on the device.
How did they do it? Google handily released the factory image of the Nexus 7 OS, as a recovery tool for anyone who finds they've caused irreparable harm to their new tablet by flashing custom builds onto it, or otherwise configuring its settings to their liking.
To root, you first need to unlock Bootloader and make ClockworkMod (CWM) permanent. Here are the instructions to take care of these two steps:
1. Download and install the Android SDK to your computer, found here.
2. After launching the program, enable USB Debugging, found under Settings > Developer Options
3. Connect your Google Nexus 7 to your PC via USB, and launch the Terminal or Command prompt. Direct it to the fastboot folder, located in your Android SDK installation folders.
4. Now enter the following command: fastboot oem unlock
5. When flashing has finished, enter: fastboot reboot
6. Download and place the following file in the fastboot folder, and then enter the command: fastboot flash recovery CWM-grouper-recovery.img
7. Lastly, reboot your Nexus 7 again by entering: fastboot reboot
Now to make CWM permanent, enter the following commands into Terminal:
mount system
adb shell
cd /system
mv recovery-from-boot.p recovery-from-boot.bak
You're now ready to root your Nexus 7. Download this file next, and place it under /sdcard on your Nexus 7. Now enter CWM mode by turning off your Nexus 7 by pressing and holding the volume up and down buttons, as well as the power button until you see the screen flash with the CWM logo.
Now from the main menu, go to install zip from sdcard > choose zip from sdcard > JB-SuperSU.zip. This will give you root access on your Nexus 7 (the one you don't have yet). Just go back to the main menu and reboot your Nexus 7 to complete the relatively painless procedure. You can now enjoy your root-only apps on your Nexus 7.
Oh, and you've just voided your warranty by the way. If that doesn't scare you off from rooting your Nexus 7, you can find the original post by Birdman at RootzWiki here, and leave your praise or burning questions regarding all things rooting.
