How to Root OnePlus Nord CE 2 and Unlock Bootloader

OnePlus recently released a new budget phone in the Nord series. The name of the new phone is OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. It comes with a number of improvements over its predecessor, the Nord CE. And if you own a Nord CE 2 and are looking for more unlock features and speed then you can root your phone. Here in this guide, we will share how to root OnePlus Nord CE 2 and how to unlock bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 comes with some interesting specifications that make it a worthy phone. It features a big 6.43-inch full HD+ display. The display supports up to a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone comes with MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor. OnePlus Nord CE 2 is coupled with 6GB/8GB RAM and 128GB UFS2.2 storage. On the camera department, the phone dons three rear cameras 64MP main camera + 8MP ultra wide camera + 2 MP macro camera. There is a single front camera of 16MP.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 comes with Android 11 based OxygenOS 11 out of the box. And as you know OnePlus is shifting UI to ColorOS, you may not get the feel of clean OxygenOS. This can be one of the reasons to try custom ROMs or root the phone for advanced customization features. Here in this guide, we will also share how to unlock bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2 which is required for rooting.

How to Root OnePlus Nord CE 2

The rooting concept has been available for years and it is still possible, thanks to Magisk which is an advanced tool used for many purposes with Root. Rooting gives users control to change anything on the device including root level changes. Whatever be the reason for rooting in your case, you can use this guide to root your OnePlus Nord CE 2. Since unlocking bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2 is mandatory to root, let’s go through the bootloader steps first.

Unlock Bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2

Like other Android phones, OnePlus phones also come with locked bootloader. And if the bootloader is locked you can’t make changes to the phone including the root. OnePlus is among some OEMs that allow unlocking the bootloader. And luckily OnePlus follow the easy method for the bootloader. Let’s jump into the steps to unlock bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2.

  1. Take a full backup of your phone. Unlocking bootloader will wipe all the data.
  2. Install ADB & Fastboot drivers on your computer. You can also use Platform tools folder (but you need to open cmd from this folder only).
  3. Now open Settings on your OnePlus Nord CE 2 and go to the ‘About Phone’ option.
  4. Look for the Build Number in About Phone and tap 7-8 times on it. It will display ‘You are now a developer.’
  5. Now open Settings > System > Developer Options.
    How to Unlock Bootloader of OnePlus Phones
  6. In the developer option, enable OEM Unlocking & USB Debugging. Also, enable the Advance reboot option under developer options.
    How to Unlock Bootloader of OnePlus Phones
  7. Long press the Power button and it will show some options, click on three dots and select bootloader. You can also boot into fastboot by using shortcut buttons.
    How to Unlock Bootloader of OnePlus Phones
  8. The OnePlus Nord CE 2 will now boot into Fastboot Mode/Bootloader mode. Connect your phone to the computer.
  9. Now open the command/CMD window on your PC (Open from platform tools folder if you are using it). Enter the below command to check the device connectivity with the computer. It will give some device id.
    • fastboot devices
  10. Once it is connected, enter the below command.
    • fastboot flashing unlock
  11. If the above command doesn’t work, try the below command.
    • fastboot oem unlock
  12. The above command will prompt options on your phone. Now use the Volume buttons to toggle options. Select ‘Unlock the Bootloader’ and press the Power button.
  13. Unlocking bootloader process will remove all data. The device will now auto-reboot into the system after finishing the unlocking.
  14. Set up your device and enjoy OnePlus Nord CE 2 with unlocked bootloader.

After unlocking the bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2, you can verify it in the developer options and fastboot mode. And once the bootloader is unlocked, you can proceed with rooting steps.

Prerequisites:

  • Take a full backup of your phone
  • Download Magisk APK on your phone
  • Make sure bootloader is unlocked on your phone
  • Install ADB & Fastboot driver installed on your PC (Or Download Platform Tools)
  • Download firmware of OnePlus Nord CE 2 (The same version that is installed on your phone)
  • Some apps may not work including banking apps

Steps to Root OnePlus Nord CE 2 with Magisk

  1. Extract the OnePlus Nord CE 2 firmware and copy the boot.img to your phone (follow this guide to extract boot image from OnePlus firmware).
  2. Now install the Magisk app on your phone.
  3. Open the Magisk app and click on the Install.
    How to Root OnePlus Phones
  4. In the next step choose ‘Select and Patch a File’ from the option.
    How to Root OnePlus Phones
  5. Browse and select the boot.img file, and it will start patching the boot image.
  6. The output file will be stored in the download folder with the name magisk_patched.img.
  7. Copy the patched boot image file to your computer in folder C:\adb. Also, rename the patched file to boot.img.
  8. Reboot your OnePlus Nord CE 2 to Fastboot mode and connect it to your computer.
  9. In the C:\adb folder (or platform-tools folder) press Shift + Right click on an empty area and select ‘Open Command window here’ or ‘Open PowerShell window here.
    How to Root OnePlus Phones
  10. You can check if the device is connected or not by entering the below command that should return some device id.
    • fastboot devices
  11. Now enter the below command to flash Magisk and root OnePlus Nord CE 2.
    • fastboot flash boot boot.img
  12. After flashing the patched boot image, reboot your device to the system.
  13. Install Magisk Manager if it’s not already installed.
  14. Complete the in-app instructions, and the device will automatically reboot into the system.

You can check for root access using any third-party root checker. Once you have root access on your OnePlus Nord CE 2, you can use all apps and features that require root privilege. You can also customize your phone using Xposed Modules. If you want to know how to install Xposed Framework, you can check this guide.

So that’s all on how to root OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G phones and how to unlock bootloader of OnePlus Nord CE 2. If you have a OnePlus phone, you can check out more guides on OnePlus.

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AUTHOR.

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Ashutosh singh

Computer Science graduate and tech enthusiast. Love testing new tech gadgets ever since my first windows phone from Samsung. Working as a technical writer for more than five years, and I believe I have also developed good SEO skills. In my spare time, I like watching movies, and playing games.

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