If you are the proud new owner of the latest handset from OnePlus, the OnePlus 2, then you might be interested in knowing how to root the device. After all, OnePlus has always made it clear that they encourage users to try new ROMs and skins of Android and to do so, you will need to be rooted. Thankfully, due to the lightweight nature of OxygenOS, which comes running on the OnePlus 2, rooting the smartphone is a rather simple procedure and one which is very similar to how you would root a Nexus device. However, you do need to remember, that things can always go wrong with making changes to the system such as this. So follow this guide at your own risk.
Step 1
To get started, there are a number of prerequisites you will need to have in place to make the rooting more simple and straightforward. More specifically, you will need to have certain files downloaded and/or installed. These include an ADB Installer, Windows drivers for your OnePlus 2, TWRP and SuperSU. The following instructions are for those using Windows. For Mac, users, the instructions are relatively the same although you will need a different version of ADB.
Moving on and the first thing you will need to do is install the ADB/Fastboot tool. This is a self-explanatory process where the program will simply prompt you through the on-screen instructions. You will also be required to extract an ADB folder to your desktop. Make sure to rename this folder to something different and position the folder, where it can be easily found.
Step 2
Once finished installing the ADB/Fastboot files, pick up your OnePlus 2 and head into the settings menu. Once there you will need to head down to “Developer Options”. If you have not already enabled developer options you can do do so by clicking on “Build Number” seven times (under “About Phone”). Once in developer Options, make sure to check “Allow OEM Unlock”. At this point it is also advised to check the “Advanced Reboot” box as this will make the next step a little easier. Although, you do not have to if you prefer the older method or rebooting into bootloader mode.
Step 3
Once the boxes have been checked, it is time to reboot your device into bootloader mode. If you checked the Advanced Reboot box, then you can simply hold down the power key and hit reboot and then Bootloader. If you did not check the Advanced menu box then turn the device off and once off, hold down volume up down while powering the device on.
Step 4
Your device is now in bootloader mode and ready to be connected to your computer via the Type-C USB cable. Once connected, you will want to head to the folder that you already renamed. Once here, open a Terminal Window.
Once the terminal window is open, enter the following command (if a mac user then all commands need to come with “./” at the start).
fastboot devices
Once the command has registered and your device’s ID number is displayed, unlock the bootloader with the following command.
fastboot oem unlock
Once the bootloader has been unlocked, simply reboot your device as normal
Step 5
Once your device has rebooted, navigate to where you stored the SuperSU download on your desktop and transfer this file to your device’s internal storage. Make sure you know where it has been positioned so that you can find it when you need to. Then, once again reboot your device into fastboot mode and make sure the device is connected to your computer.
Once rebooted and back in bootloader mode, open the Terminal Window and enter the following command.
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
This will install TWRP on your device. Once complete, you can enter TWRP mode by simply using the following command prompt.
fastboot boot recovery.img
Alternatively, if you are used to rebooting to TWRP manually, then you can do this in the normal way by powering off your device, and then booting up while holding down the power and volume up buttons.
Step 6
Once TWRP loads for the first time, click on “Install”, navigate to the correct SuperSU zip location and when prompted “Swipe to Install” Once the install has completed, clear cache and then use the reboot function on the TWRP main page to reboot your phone. At which point your device should now be rooted.