Last Update: 2013-2-19

Japanese can buy Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GNex) SC-04D from NTT Docomo cheaply.  Users who want to use this phone in other regions face the following problems:

  1. It is SIM locked
  2. It does not have tethering function
  3. It has a different radio baseband and lacks critical features for some other regions, e.g. UMTS 900MHz

These problems can all be solved.  Here’s a shortened (and slightly modified) translation of the original HKEPC guide to unlocking SC-04D and Flashing Stock Firmware.  Note: I’m too lazy to steal all the images there.

Disclaimer: Following this guide voids the warranty, and any mistake in this guide or following this guide could cause your phone to be unusable, bricked.  I am not responsible if anything goes wrong.  (I have done all these and my SC-04D is working perfectly though.)

0. Notes about Different Versions

When this article was published in May 2012, the latest Android factory image was 4.0.4, and the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit version 1.3 at that time contained a superuser (su) that was incompatible with 4.0.4.  If a newer Android factory image is used (which is NOT recommended for SIM unlock), or a new Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit is used, the procedures related to su need to be adapted (primarily using a correct version of su that is suitable for the version of Android OS).  By 2013 the toolkit has changed much, so the detailed steps or on-screen instructions for unlock and root will likely be different.

I. Install Necessary Drivers in Windows

This section installs the necessary drivers using PDA Net.  If for any reason this is not successful, you may try searching for “Samsung USB Driver for Mobile Phones 1.4.6.0” instead.

  1. If you already have other Android ADB drivers installed, it is highly recommended that you uninstall them first.  (This is not in the HKEPC guide, but I ran into a driver problem due to having previous Nexus One drivers).
  2. Download PDA Net and make sure you choose the correct 32-bit or 64-bit version depending on which Windows you have (Start -> right click Computer -> Properties > System Type)
  3. Make sure the phone is not connected to the PC
  4. Start PDA Net, choose to uninstall previous drivers if asked
  5. Choose Samsung as manufacturer for driver installation
  6. Ignore all warnings from Windows about untrusted driver and choose to install it – usually there will be multiple warnings
  7. When PDA Net asks you to enable USB Debugging in the phone, tick the checkbox in Galaxy Nexus Settings -> Developer Options -> USB Debugging, then connect it to the PC
  8. When asked again to install a driver, choose to install it
  9. In the final screen where there are three checkboxes “Connect PDANet after installation”, “Display incoming SMS on computer”, “Hide Tether Usage”, uncheck all of them, then click Finish
  10. If you like to verify that the previous steps have been done correctly, in Windows Start -> right click Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager, you should find “SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface” under “SAMSUNG Android Phone”.
  11. Disconnect the phone from the PC, and power it off
  12. Hold the Volume Up, Down and Power buttons to boot up the phone in Fastboot mode.  If done correctly, you’d see a large green “Start” on top and a green android image in the center.
  13. Connect the phone to the PC again, such that it installs the drivers for Fastboot mode
  14. Hopefully you don’t get any warnings or errors from this.  (If you do, uninstall all the Samsung / ADB drivers and retry, or use the alternative Samsung mobile drivers stated above).
  15. Unplug the battery from the phone to leave Fastboot mode

II. Unlock Bootloader

This section performs the unlock for Android bootloader (not unlock SIM) such that we can root it.

  1. Unlock wipes all data from the phone.  So back up all your phone data first.
  2. Download and install Wugfresh Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit
  3. Connect the phone (with USB Debugging enabled) to PC
  4. Run the installed toolkit
  5. Choose “GSM/HSPA+” as the model
  6. Press “Unlock”
  7. Following the on-screen instructions.  If everything goes well, you’ll see your device being detected so you can input 1 and press Enter.
  8. Your phone should go into Fastboot mode.  Input 1 and press Enter.
  9. The phone should show several paragraphs of text with a “Unlock bootloader?”.  Press Volume Up, then press the power button.
  10. Wait for the unlock to finish

III. Root

This sections roots your phone, installs ClockworkMod Recovery and superuser.

  1. Connect the phone (with USB Debugging enabled) to PC
  2. Run the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit
  3. Choose “GSM/HSPA+” as the model. (Note: in later versions of the toolkit there is an option to flash a custom recovery – it should be enabled.)
  4. Press “Root”
  5. Following the on-screen instructions.  If everything goes well, you’ll see your device being detected so you can input 1 and press Enter.
  6. Your phone should go into Fastboot mode.  Input 1 and press Enter.
  7. The toolkit then installs ClockworkMod Recovery.  Wait for it to finish then press Enter.
  8. Follow the on-screen instructions to boot up your phone in Fastboot mode, go into recovery and install su.zip (all using the Volume Up / Down and Power buttons).    (Note: if you’re using Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit version 1.3 and you’re repeating this section after flashing to 4.0.4, you need the su.zip in the Apps folder, not in the SD root.)  During this time do not press the PC keyboard.
  9. Finally, choose “reboot system now” in the recovery
  10. When the phone is booted up, there should be a “Superuser” app.
  11. In the Toolkit where it is still showing the previous instructions, press Enter to perform the final step.

IV. Backup IMEI and ROM

This section is optional.  If you feel necessary to backup the IMEI and the ROM in the phone:

  1. Install EFSBackup from Play Store and run it.
  2. You may also purchase/find Root Explorer to copy the /factory folder to Internal SD.
  3. Boot up the phone in Fastboot mode and choose Recovery
  4. Choose “backup and restore”, then “backup”.  After it is complete, choose “reboot system now”
  5. Disable USB Debugging from phone settings
  6. Connect the phone to the PC
  7. Browse the phone, then copy the following 3 folders/files to PC: clockworkmod, factory, efs_backup_XXXXXX.img
  8. Eject the phone and disconnect it from the PC

V. Flash Google Stock Firmware

  1. Download a 4.0.4 Factory Image for Galaxy Nexus (GSM/HSPA+) from this Google Factory Images for Nexus Phones page.  Do not use 4.1.x or 4.2.x factory image, because this unlock SIM method works best with 4.0.4.  (If you live outside USA, choose the standard one without Google Wallet.)  Do not close this web page even after the download is completed.
  2. If you have disabled USB Debugging from the phone previously, enable it again
  3. Connect the phone (with USB Debugging enabled) to PC
  4. Run the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit
  5. Choose “GSM/HSPA+” as the model
  6. Press “Flash Stock + Unroot”
  7. Choose “Other/Browse… (Can be used with ANY factory image)”
  8. Choose “It has already been downloaded but please properly extract it for me”
  9. Press “OK”
  10. Choose the downloaded factory image with .tgz file extension, then press “Open”.
  11. Switch to the Factory Image web page and copy the MD5 Checksum string, then paste it to the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit prompt for MD5.
  12. The Toolkit should prompt “Your file is good to extract and flash! Press OK to continue”.  Press “OK”.
  13. The Toolkit should show “Please be patient while your file extracts…”.  Wait for it to finish.
  14. If everything goes well, you’ll see your device being detected so you can input 1 and press Enter.
  15. Your phone should go into Fastboot mode.  Input 1 and press Enter.
  16. This starts the firmware flashing.  It will take a while and the phone will be rebooted more than once automatically.
  17. When this is completed and you gain control of the phone, go to the phone Settings -> About Phone to check the Android version matches the factory image you downloaded.

VI. Unlock Sim

This section unlocks the SIM lock such that the phone can be used with a service provider other than NTT Docomo.  (Note: although this procedure talks about FuckDocomoV3.1 I never tried that.  I used FuckDocomoV2, Unlock(Forever), then dangerous manual steps to unlock the SIM.  The V3.1 is supposed to automate the dangerous steps so that no user error is incurred.)

  1. If you’re using Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit version 1.3 instead of anything newer, and you’ve flashed Android 4.0.4, download this newer version of su.zip that is Android 4.0.4 compatible (Note: it is NOT compatible with any newer version of Android OS).
  2. Download FuckDocomoV3.1.apk from the author page or here
  3. Check Phone Settings -> About Phone -> Status -> IMEI, if your IMEI is the generic IMEI 004999010640000 it means your phone has been unlocked previously in a way that loses your real IMEI.  If that’s the case, you’d need to read through the the author page above and find out how to restore it to the state of showing a real IMEI – it may possibly involve downloading FuckDocomoV2 and re-locking the SIM, or try the manual steps in Jup’s Grand Theory of Permanent SIM Unlock
  4. Connect the phone to PC
  5. Create a folder called “Apps” in the phone internal SD
  6. If you’re using Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit version 1.3 instead of anything newer, copy the su.zip just downloaded to this Apps folder (The su.zip must NOT be placed in the root of the internal SD because it will be overwritten by the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit version 1.3 with an incompatible version)
  7. Copy the FuckDocomoV3.1.apk to the Apps folder
  8. Perform Root again as described in section III (because your phone is unrooted in section V) but install the su.zip in Apps folder instead of the root.
  9. In phone Settings -> Security -> Unknown sources, check “Allow installation of non-Market apps”
  10. Install ASTRO File Manager from Play Store
  11. Run ASTRO and use it to install FuckDocomoV3.1.apk
  12. Run FuckDocomoV3.1 and click the button to unlock SIM forever
  13. Reboot the phone and verify voice calls and data connection with your service provider

VII. Upgrade to Jelly Bean

I followed the above procedures and got a perfectly working Android 4.0.4 factory image on my SC-04D.  When Jelly Bean over-the-air (OTA) upgrades became available, I found that my device could not proceed with the OTA update successfully, although it caused no harm either.  The cause of this is due to the custom recovery being used.

I decided to use a custom ROM to upgrade to Jelly Bean.  Here’s a brief summary of what I did to my SC-04D:

  1. Backup all my apps and data using Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit.  (Note: System apps should NOT be included in the backup).  I followed this guide.  It toke a really long time, something like 20-30 minutes for me.
  2. Upgraded my Clockwork Mod Recovery (CWM) to the latest version.
  3. Downloaded the files in the rest of this procedure using Windows, copied them to the Galaxy Nexus internal storage from Windows
  4. Boot to the CWM recovery, perform Wipe data/Factory Reset, Wipe Cache, Advanced -> Wipe Dalvik Cache.  (Many guides tell you to Wipe Battery Stats too, but I don’t see the need for it and never did it.)
  5. Flashed the following using CWM recovery, in this sequence:
  6. Xenon HD (I used 23-Oct-2012 4.1.2 version for 3 weeks and was happy with its functionality and smoothness.)
  7. JB+ICS Boot Animation – because I don’t really like the boot animation in Xenon HD
  8. Leankernel
  9. New baseband – I used XXLF1 that was meant for Android 4.1.2 for several weeks, and just upgraded to XXLH1 that came with Android 4.2 – I flashed both the cwm package of baseband as well as the Radio Interface Layer (RIL) for it.  Some may question whether running Android 4.1.2 OS with 4.2 baseband and RIL may have compatibility issues – I can only say that my voice calls, SMS, and data connection seem to work normally so far.

As of March 2013, I upgraded to the followings to have a complete Android 4.2.2:

I’ve also written a related article on Finding the Best ROM for Galaxy Nexus “maguro” and Nexus 4 “mako”.