Chapter 18. Rooting Your NOOK

At the beginning this book, I mentioned that B&N used Google’s Android operating system in your NOOK. Choosing Android makes business sense because it’s an open-source operating system, and B&N didn’t have to pay a small fortune to use it. However, the most exciting thing about Android for you is that it lets you easily root the NOOK and add new and exciting features.

Note

To complete the steps in this chapter, you must have at least a 128MB microSD card installed in your NOOK.

Caution

B&N released later versions of the NOOK that altered the hardware configuration. If your NOOK has a serial number 10030 and above (tap Settings, Device, and go to the second page for Device Information to see the serial number for your NOOK), rooting your NOOK could brick it—that is, make it as useful as a brick for reading books, and so on.

The people at nookdevs.com, who figured out the softrooting method described next, may have a potential workaround (nookdevs.com/Rooting_New_Hardware), but beware because this is for advanced users and extreme caution should be taken. If you have a NOOK with a serial number less than 10030, softrooting as described in this chapter is not an issue.

Note

Rooting is another term for hacking, though without the illicit connotation of hacking.

An Introduction to Rooting Your NOOK

B&N locked down Android on your NOOK to prevent you from accessing some of Android’s capabilities. However, by following a process called rooting your NOOK, you can open up these capabilities to make your NOOK more powerful and useful.

In the Android OS, root is the superuser who has access to everything in the OS. By rooting your NOOK, you can become the superuser on your NOOK.

Following are just a few of the things you can do after you root your NOOK:

• Use a new program to browse and launch your ebooks.

• Use Trook to read news stories, browse ebook libraries, download ebooks, and access your own Calibre library via Wi-Fi.

• Add Crossword and Minesweeper games.

• Use alternative browsers, PDF readers, and media players.

• Add calculator and note-taking apps.

• Listen to music using Pandora.

These are just a few examples of the power unleashed by rooting your NOOK.

Is It Risky to Root My NOOK, and Does It Void My Warranty?

When instructions for rooting the NOOK first appeared, they involved taking the NOOK apart and messing with the actual hardware. It wasn’t for the squeamish. However, you can now root your NOOK using a process called softrooting, which involves installing a special software update for your NOOK. Therefore, rooting your NOOK is no more risky than installing a software update, and it’s a completely reversible process.

With that said, rooting your NOOK is not sanctioned by B&N and doing so likely does void your warranty. (When I asked B&N about this, it wouldn’t specifically tell me whether it would void the warranty.) Rooting is one of those things you must do at your own risk, but in my opinion, the benefits far outweigh the downfalls.

How to Root Your NOOK

The experts on rooting your NOOK all hang out at nookdevs.com. Everything you need to know about rooting your NOOK, installing applications, and hacking the NOOK in general is available on this site. All the files required to root your NOOK are freely downloadable from nookdevs.

Because you obviously can’t root your NOOK while reading your NOOK, use a NOOK app on another device to read, and follow the instructions in this chapter.

After you decide to experience the new functionality of your NOOK by rooting it, the steps required are quite easy:

  1. Downgrade your NOOK to the factory fresh 1.0 software.
  2. Install a rooted version of the 1.4 software.
  3. Install any additional applications you want on your NOOK.

Now look at each of these steps in detail.

Tip

The steps I walk you through are documented at http://nookdevs.com/Softroot. However, there are a few points of possible confusion on that page, so although you can use it as a reference, follow my steps here for a successful rooting experience.

Downgrading to Factory Fresh NOOK 1.0

Caution

When you install the 1.0 software onto your NOOK, all the files on your NOOK will be erased. Before you begin this process, be sure you back up any files you want to keep. After they are erased, you cannot get them back.

You can’t root your NOOK unless you have the original 1.0 software installed. You can download the original 1.0 NOOK software from nookdevs by browsing to www.multiupload.com/10EOGCL46N. When you get there, click Download File, as shown in Figure 18.1.

Figure 18.1. The Download File button lets you download the 1.0 version of your NOOK’s software.

image

The file you download for the 1.0 software is signed_bravo_update.dat. When your NOOK starts up, it looks for a file called signed_bravo_update.dat. If it finds one, it recognizes it as a software update and begins installing it. If the filename is not exactly right, your NOOK won’t install it. So don’t change the filename from signed_bravo_update.dat.

Caution

Before you proceed any further, make sure that your NOOK has at least a 50% battery charge. You don’t want your NOOK to shut down during an update because it can cause problems.

After you rename the downloaded file, connect your NOOK to your computer using the USB cable. Open the NOOK drive that appears on your computer. (The NOOK drive is your NOOK’s main memory.) Copy the signed_bravo_update.dat file from your computer to the root of your NOOK’s main memory. In other words, copy it to the drive, but don’t put it in any of the folders on the drive.

After the file finishes copying itself to you NOOK, eject your NOOK from your computer, and unplug the USB cable. When you do, you should see a message in the lower-right corner of the reading screen that says Preparing Update. This message indicates that your NOOK is installing the 1.0 software.

Installing the 1.0 software can take a few minutes. Be sure that you don’t mess with your NOOK or turn it off while the update is installing. When the update finishes installing, your NOOK reboots. You’re now ready to move to the next step.

I Copied the 1.0 Software to My NOOK, but the Update Never Installed. What’s Wrong?

First, make sure that the file you are copying to your NOOK is named signed_bravo_update.dat. The filename must be exactly as shown here; otherwise, your NOOK won’t recognize it as an update.

Second, be sure you copy the file to the root of your NOOK’s main memory. You can’t put it inside of a folder because it won’t work otherwise.

If you’ve checked both of these and it still won’t work, it’s possible that you’ve unintentionally copied the file to the root of the microSD card installed in your NOOK. If your computer shows two drives for your NOOK, copy the file to the root of the other drive and try that.

Install a Rooted Version of the 1.4 Software

To root your NOOK, you must install a special version of the NOOK software. As of this writing, the latest version of NOOK root software is 1.4.

Note

If B&N releases a new version of software for your NOOK (for example, 1.5), nookdevs will probably follow with a similar rooted release to use third-party applications on your NOOK. At the time of this writing, the rooted version for 1.5 was not available; however, I successfully softrooted, installed, and used the softroot version 1.4. I had 1.5 of the B&N NOOK software running alongside the nookdevs 1.4 version—I let the 1.5 version install after completing the following softroot process.

To download the rooted 1.4 software, browse to www.multiupload.com/3XA0O6849N. Click the Direct Download button to download the bravo_update.dat file.

After you download the 1.4 update, connect your NOOK to your computer with the USB cable. Copy the bravo_update.dat file to the root of the microSD card on your NOOK. This is not the same drive to which you copied the 1.0 update. The 1.4 update must be on the root of the microSD card and not your NOOK’s main memory.

When the file finishes copying to your NOOK, eject your NOOK from your computer and unplug the USB cable. You are now ready to install the 1.4 update. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off your NOOK by pressing the Power button and holding it until the display turns off.
  2. Press and hold the Previous Page button on the right side of your NOOK. This is the button with the < arrow on it.
  3. While still holding down the Previous Page button, press the Power button to turn on your NOOK.
  4. After your NOOK’s reading screen displays a message that says Installing Software Update, immediately release the Previous Page button.
  5. Wait for the update to complete. Your NOOK reboots itself after the update finishes.

That’s it! You have now successfully rooted your NOOK.

Using mynook.ru Launcher

One of the applications contained in the rooted 1.4 update you just installed is mynook.ru Launcher, which can replace the Home screen on your NOOK’s touchscreen; it lets you customize the touchscreen by rearranging buttons, removing buttons, and adding buttons for new applications. To add icons, press and hold one of the icons. Tap the + button and then scroll through to the icon you want. Tap to add it. Some of these icons are NOOKlets (HTML and Javascript applets for the NOOK); others offer quick access to features. For example, rather than tapping Games and then tapping Chess, mynook.ru Launcher offers a Chess icon. Tap that icon and Chess starts.

To remove icons, press and hold the icon you want to delete. Tap the Trash Can button. (The icon to be deleted will be highlighted.) You can tap another icon to delete and so on.

To reorder the icons, press and hold the icon you want to move. The icon appears highlighted. Tap the appropriate arrow button to move it left or right.

Tip

To get back to the “normal” B&N NOOK Home screen icon, tap the B&N Home icon.

To switch back and forth between the two Home screen, press the Home button. The touchscreen shows two buttons: Home and Launcher. Home is the “normal” B&N Home screen. Launcher is the mynook.ru Launcher.

This is just the start of rooting your NOOK though. To do more, you need to install ADB over USB. The bad news: This is a lengthy series of steps for most casual users of smartphones, computers, and such. The good news: You have to do this only once, and then adding apps becomes so much easier. Now I know when you look at the following procedure, you’ll think, “All this to install some apps?” Yes, but to make the installation of apps easier, it is necessary. So a bit of patience and careful following of the steps, and you’ll be on your way to have Pandora, Minesweeper, Crosswords, and more on your NOOK.

Installing ADB over USB

The following instructions are for Windows XP and are based on the hard work of the guys at nookdevs.com. The first thing you need to do is download the Android SDK. Browse to developer.android.com/sdk and download the SDK for Windows. After you download it, extract all the files to any directory of your choice.

Note

You can still softroot your NOOK if you have a Mac or Linux machine. nookdevs.com/ADB_Over_USB has instructions for these other versions along with the Windows version. However, the Windows installation is more complex and is now out of date (in a couple of areas), so follow the next instructions.

  1. After you download the SDK, unzip it and place it at c:androidsdk.
  2. Download the driver from here www.multiupload.com/OI0V0DB96Q by clicking the Direct Download button. After it has downloaded, unzip it to c: ookadbdriver.
  3. Go to c:androidsdk and double-click SDK Manager.exe. The program starts and wants to downloaded and install a bunch of items. Click Accept All and then click Install. (This took some time on my machine.)
  4. When it asks to restart the ADB Server, let it.
  5. Click Settings and check Force https://...Sources to Be Fetched Using http://.
  6. Click Available Packages. If SDK Platform Android 1.5 is an option, click the check box. (If you do not see that option, the SDK Platform Android 1.5 is already installed.) Click Install Selected and click Accept; it then downloads and installs the 1.5 SDK platform. You can close the setup when completed.
  7. Now, from your Windows Start menu, click Control Panel. System, Advanced System Settings, Environment Variables.
  8. Click Path in the System Variables list. Click Edit. Add and do not delete anything ;C:androidsdk ools to the end of the text there. Click OK. Click Enable.
  9. Click Start, Run Command. In the window that appears, type adb shell.
  10. Back on your NOOK, from the mynook.ru Launcher, tap Wi-Fi Locker. Make sure it says Start ADB at the bottom.

You’ve now completed the most difficult portion of softrooting your NOOK.

Installing Applications on Your Rooted NOOK

Now that you have your NOOK rooted, you want to install applications, right? Well, it is super easy. Install two apps first: FileSelector and NookMarket:

  1. On your computer’s browser, go to www.nookdevs.com/NookMarket. In the Links section on the right, click the Download link. Save the nookMarket.apk file to your desktop.
  2. On your computer’s browser, go to www.nookdevs.com/FileSelector. In the Links section on the right, click the Download link. Save the FileSelector.apk file to your desktop.
  3. Plug your NOOK in via the USB cable.
  4. Transfer the two files from steps 1 and 2 to your NOOK’s main memory or microSD card.
  5. Disconnect your NOOK from your computer.
  6. From the mynook.ru Launcher, tap File Manager. (If this icon is not available, add it.) Navigate to the file location for nookMarket.apk. Tap the Android icon. The touchscreen changes to show the Android icon and Cut, Copy, Delete, and Rename options. Tap the Android icon. Tap Install. Nook Market installs. Tap Done.
  7. Follow step 6 but for FileSelector.apk.
  8. Add these icons to your mynook.ru Launcher interface.

Simple, right? Well, now it gets even simpler. From the mynook.ru Launcher interface, tap Nook Market. Here you see a list of apps (most of the listed here: wwwnookdevs.com/Application_Directory). From now on, if you want to install an app, tap the icon in Nook Market. Tap Install. And it installs. It’s that simple.

Note

Some of the apps you can install are actually NOOKlets and appear as options under that app: Hangman, Currency Converter.

Note

If you don’t want to add icon after icon to mynook.ru Launcher, the AppManager that installs with the softrooting process is a great app to run to install apps as well while minimizing icons.

Using Trook

Trook is one of the most useful applications you can install on your NOOK (called Trook craftycoder 1.4 in Nook Market). Trook enables you to easily access news, ebook libraries, and much more via feeds. It comes configured with the following feeds:

• Lexcycle Online Catalog:An online catalog of free ebooks that you can browse and download to your NOOK right from within Trook.

• New York Times:Top news stories from The New York Times.

• Wikipedia:Featured articles and facts of the day from the world’s largest online encyclopedia.

• USA Today:Top news stories from USA Today.

• Nookdevs:Information from Nookdevs about hacking your NOOK, installing applications to your NOOK, and so forth.

To access a feed in Trook, tap the Trook button on the touchscreen, and select the feed you want to view. Trook’s menus are hierarchical. In other words, if you tap Lexcycle Online Catalog, you see a new menu that includes all the feeds available in the Lexcycle Online Catalog. Tapping one of those feeds displays another series of feeds, and so on.

As you drill down into the information you want, you can move back up a level by clicking the tab at the top of the touchscreen. This tab is always labeled using the name of the previous feed. For example, if you tap Lexcycle Online Catalog, the tab at the top of the touchscreen is labeled Trook and tapping it takes you back to the Trook Home screen. If you then tap Feedbooks, the tab at the top of the touchscreen is labeled Lexcycle and tapping it takes you up one level to the Lexcycle Online Catalog.

Downloading Books with Trook

If you drill down into the Lexcycle Online Catalog, you eventually see a list of books you can download with Trook. To download a book, tap the icon for the book. Trook displays a message that says Starting download in the background. Trook then downloads the ebook and saves it in My Documents.

To view books you’ve downloaded, tap My Library from your NOOK’s Home screen and view My Documents. If your book hasn’t finished downloading, it won’t be visible. To refresh your view, tap Check for New Content.

Reading News with Trook

Reading news with Trook is a little different from downloading books. To read news, tap an article on the touchscreen. Trook opens the content of the article directly on the E Ink screen. You can then navigate the content using the Next Page and Previous Page buttons.

When you’re reading news with Trook, you’re actually using your NOOK as a web browser. Therefore, formatting might be a little off at times. You also cannot change the font or the font size while reading news in Trook.

Accessing Your Calibre Library with Trook

In addition to the feeds that come preconfigured in Trook, you can also add your own feeds. One of the most convenient uses of this feature is to add your Calibre library as a feed and download your ebooks directly to your NOOK without connecting it to your computer.

Note

For more information about using Calibre to manage your ebook library, see Chapter 20, “Managing Your ebooks with Calibre.”

To access your Calibre library, you need to enable the content server in Calibre. To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Start Calibre.
  2. Click the Preferences button on the toolbar.
  3. Click Sharing over the Net.
  4. Click the Start Server button to start the content server.

    Tip

    If you want the content server to start automatically every time you run Calibre, check the Run Server Automatically on Startup check box.

  5. Click the Test Server button to test the operation of the server. A browser opens. If you click All Books, your books should appear in the browser. The content server is working! Close the browser.
  6. Click OK in the Sharing over the Net dialog box.

To access your Calibre library in Trook, follow these steps:

  1. Start Trook.
  2. Tap the button in the upper-right corner that looks like a gear. Tap Open. You should see your NOOK’s keyboard and see Open feed URL in the reading screen.
  3. Enter the following URL for the feed URL. Replace YOUR_COMPUTER_NAME with the name or IP address of your computer:

    http://YOUR_COMPUTER_NAME:8080/stanza


Trook loads your Calibre library feed, and you should see icons on the touchscreen that let you browse your library. If you drill down to an ebook and tap the icon for the ebook, it downloads the ebook to My Documents.

Adding Calibre to Your Feeds

You’ll likely want to add your Calibre library as a custom icon in Trook so that you can access it anytime you want. To do that, open your Calibre library in Trook. When your Calibre library is open in Trook, tap and hold the button that looks like a gear until you see a menu of options on the touchscreen. Tap Bookmark to My Feeds to add your Calibre library to your bookmarked feeds.

You can now easily open your Calibre library in Trook by tapping My Feeds from the top-level Trook menu and tapping Calibre Library.

Tip

Trook actually just uses RSS feeds for content. Many websites have an RSS feed you can use with Trook. Just look for a link for RSS or look for the orange RSS icon (the same one you see on the feeds in Trook) while browsing a site. You can then use the RSS URL in Trook.

More Hacking

What this chapter covered scratches only the surface of what you can do with your NOOK after you softroot it. Nookdevs offer several applications you can install onto your NOOK using the steps you learned in this chapter.

For more information about hacking your NOOK, check out nookdevs.com/Main_Page. You can find tips and tricks, information on hacking your NOOK and changing all kinds of settings you normally have no access to, and a list of applications you can install onto your NOOK.

Unrooting Your NOOK

Want to get rid of all those apps and just get back to the NOOK itself? The easiest and cleanest way is to place the signed_bravo_update.dat file in the main memory of your NOOK. Then remove the bravo_update.dat file from the microSD card.

This resets your NOOK to version 1.0 of the NOOK software.

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