In this guide, we will show you the steps to unlock the bootloader and root your Nothing CMF Phone 1. The OEM first made its way a few years back and had managed to grab the attention of the masses, with its Glyph interface playing a major role in the same, not to deny the fact that offering tons of features at a price affordable by the masses also made the go-to choice for the masses.
And now, it has played another masterstroke that is sure to light up the budget domain. With the addition of its sub-brand titled CMF [Colour, Material, and Finish], it has introduced its first smartphone under that brand. Holding true to its USP of providing budget devices at an affordable price, this time around you’ll be greeted with a slew of additional goodies, including hardware customizations and a well-knit ecosystem consisting of watches and earbuds in its own CMF environment.
However, for tech enthusiasts, gaining administrative access has always been at the top of their pecking order, This tends to pave the way for the entry of mods and tweaks and will give them the option to flash custom kernels as well.
But before you can carry out any of these customization tweaks and root your Nothing CMF Phone 1, there’s an important prerequisite that you need to checkmark off the list- the bootloader on your device needs to be unlocked. And in this guide, we will show you how to do just that. So without any further ado, let’s get started.
Benefits and Risks of Root & Bootloader Unlock
Unlocking the bootloader will open the floodgates for a plethora of customizations. Some of the noteworthy ones include the ability to flash a custom ROM, flash Magisk modules and LSposed Framework, overclocking the CPU by flashing a custom kernel and changing its Governor profile, and so on. However, on the flip side, it has a slew of drawbacks as well.
For starters, the unlocking process will wipe off all the data and might nullify the warranty as well. Likewise, the SafetyNet will be tripped, thereby resulting in your inability to use banking and payment apps. Not to mention the fact that the Widevine L1 certificate will be downgraded to L3 and you wouldn’t be able to watch DRM content in full HD. So if that’s all well and good, then let’s get started with the instruction steps.
Unlock Bootloader on Nothing CMF Phone 1
The below process will wipe off all the data from your device, so take a complete device backup beforehand. Thedroidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.
- To begin with, head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times.
- This will enable Developer Options. So go to Settings > System > Developer Options.
- Now enable the toggle next to USB Debugging and connect your device to the PC.
- Then download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
- Now type in CMD in its address bar and hit Enter. This will launch Command Prompt.
- Type in the below command in the CMD window to boot your device to Fastboot Mode.
adb reboot bootloader
- Now install Fastboot Drivers on your PC and verify the installation via the below command
fastboot devices
- If you get a serial ID, then you are good to go. Now type in the below command.
fastboot flashing unlock
- You’ll get a prompt on your device, use Volume Keys to highlight Unlock the Bootloader and press the Power key to confirm.
- Your device will undergo a reset and then automatically boot to the OS.
- With this, the bootloader on your Nothing CMF Phone 1 stand unlocked.
How to Root Nothing CMF Phone 1
While rooting will not reset the device, still take a backup just to be on the safer side. Thedroidwin will not be held responsible in case something happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.
- Download the stock firmware that is currently installed on your device.
- Then extract it and get hold of the init_boot.img file.
- Now transfer the file to your device.
- Then download and install Magisk on your device.
- Launch it and tap on Install next to Magisk.
- Then Select and Patch a file > choose the init_boot.img file > hit Go.
- It will now be patched and placed in the Downloads folder.
- Transfer the file to the platform tools folder on your PC.
- Now open Command Prompt inside the platform-tools folder.
- Then type in the below command to boot your device to Fastboot Mode
adb reboot bootloader
- Now type in the below command to flash the patched init_boot file:
fastboot flash init_boot patched_init_boot.img
- Then use the below command to boot your device to the OS:
fastboot reboot
- Now launch Magisk and it might ask to install additional dependencies, tap OK.
- Magisk will restart your device with the dependencies installed and the device rooted.
Fix Nothing CMF Phone 1 Stuck in Bootloop
If your Nothing CMF Phone 1 is stuck in a bootloop or a soft brick state while rooting, then all you need to do is flash the stock init_boot.img, and your device will be up and running again. Here’s how it could be done:
- Force reboot your device to Fastboot Mode via hardware keys.
- Download and extract Android SDK Platform Tools on the PC.
- Download the same firmware that is installed on your device.
- Now extract the stock firmware and get the init_boot.img file.
- Next up, transfer the init_boot.img to the platform-tools folder.
- Open CMD inside platform-tools and type in below command
fastboot flash init_boot init_boot.img
- Finally, use the below command to boot your device to the OS:
fastboot reboot
- That’s it. Your device is unbricked and the bootloop issue is fixed.
These were the steps to unlock the bootloader and then root your Nothing CMF Phone 1. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution as soon as possible.
- How to Downgrade Nothing Phone from Android 15 to Android 14
- How to Download and Install Android 15 on Nothing Phone
- Guide to Install Viper4Android on Android 14
- How to Root Android Devices via KernelSU [GKI and LKM]
