Several users have asked me for help regarding rooting their Nokia phones. The most common requests come from the owners of Nokia 6.1 Plus (Nokia X6), Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6.1, Nokia 7.1, and Nokia 7. Unsurprisingly, Nokia develops all these phones on the same software base – GSI_SDM660. Since the base is the same, it is very similar to install Magisk and root each of these phones.
This guide is one of the easiest and most relevant to root these Nokia phones. So, you do not need to browse the XDA forums where a lot of conflicting and outdated information is present.
Before you begin: Install all pending software updates on the phone so that you are on the latest version. Updates are harder to install when rooted, so, it is better if you start from the latest version in the first place.
Root Method 1: Magisk patched boot images (recommended)
Magisk patched images make it very easy to root a Nokia smartphone. When you boot them, you get a temporary root, which is enough to push Magisk to your stock boot image and gain permanent root. The only requirement for these boot images to work properly is that the security patch installed on your phone should match the security patch indicated in the boot image.
- Make sure that your Nokia has an unlocked bootloader. (Read: How to unlock bootloader?)
- Check the installed Android security patch on your Nokia phone. Open Settings > About phone > Android version > Android security patch level.
Check Android security patch level - On your phone: Download and install Magisk APK file. Download Magisk from Github.
- On your PC: Download the Magisk patched boot image for the same Android security patch. For example, if you are on May 2019 update, then use patched image for May 2019. Download patched boot image.
- Reboot your Nokia to download mode. (Read: How to enter Recovery and Fastboot mode?)
- Boot the downloaded Magisk patched image using the following command. Warning: Do not flash it.
fastboot boot magisk-patched-boot.img
Note For devices on Android 10, you might not be able to boot the file directly and the phone will get stuck on Android One screen. In that case, go back to download mode, then first flash the file to your recovery partition (which does not exist) and then boot it. So, first, run:
fastboot flash recovery magisk-patched-boot.img
It will show an error in CMD. After that try to boot the file using the below command:
fastboot boot magisk-patched-boot.img
- Wait for the phone to start up. Then open Magisk app. Select No if Magisk asks for additional setup.
- You will see “Magisk is installed” and an Install button next to it.
Magisk Direct Install - Press on Install > Install > Direct Install (recommended).
- Wait for the installation to finish. Then press on the reboot button to finish it.
The phone will restart, and you will have permanent root. Now you can start using your root apps. Most likely you’ll start off with restroing your apps backed up using Titanium Backup.
Root Method 2: Using TWRP
If you are unable to use the pre-patched images, then you can fall back to the classic method of using TWRP custom recovery.
- Backup all critical data from the phone as we will wipe the internal storage.
- Ensure that your bootloader is unlocked.
- On your PC: Download TWRP recovery for your device from the following links.
- Nokia 6.1 – Download TWRP (by Ayush)
- Nokia 6.1 Plus – Download TWRP
- Nokia 7, 7 Plus and Nokia 7.1 – Try any TWRP from above
- On your PC: Download the latest version of Magisk zip. You can download Magisk from Github.
- Reboot your Nokia into Download Mode.
- Since most TWRP images will have issue in decrypting the userdata, we will wipe it:
fastboot erase userdata
- Now boot the TWRP recovery. Warning: Do not flash it.
fastboot boot <twrp.img>
- When the TWRP loads, copy the Magisk zip file from your PC to the internal storage of the phone.
- On your phone: Tap on Install and select the Magisk zip file. Then swipe to confirm the flashing.
- Reboot when done.
If all went right, you will have a rooted Android system and you can start using your root apps.
Feel free to comment down below
Hi! I tried the recommended method. Installed the latest Magisk APK(25.2) . Then flashed the corresponding ‘magisk-patched-boot.img’.
But it seems useless, I don’t know. When I came to step 8, the UI was different. I clicked the first ‘install’ button, I got the ‘method’ page, asked me to select and patch a file from my phone(select a raw image(*.img) or an ODIN tarfile(*tar)). What *.img file have I to select？And the label ‘superuser’ ‘Modules’ at the bottom is grey(unavailable).
May I have your advice? Should I turn to the 2nd method? :)Tks.
I mean I used boot command – ‘fastboot boot magisk-patched-boot.img’, not flash. 😀
Hi, Magisk has been updated to a new UI style since then. If you do not see the direct install option, then it most likely did not boot with a rooted shell. DId the device automatically start up once you ran the boot command?
Hi,
Bro, can you please update the Google drive link with patched images for April 2021?
Eagerly awaiting your assistance.
Bro please share patch image juli 2021 Andro 10 I want too root my device Nokia 6.1plus
April 2021 patch image ???
same here wating fr that patched img…
the security patch is of september 2021 in nokia 7.1
Hello, I have a problem, when i boot the image, it is stuck on androidone logo and doesnt do anything, ive waited for hours and still nothing, what should i do, should i clear the ramdisk somehow?
same problem. Did you get the solution
You should run the command:
fastboot flash recovery boot.img. Once it shows the error, then try the boot command –fastboot boot boot.img. The boot should work fine at this point.i have successfully flashed the magiskzip file but it got stuck on twrp recovery. I tried everthing but it got stuck on twrp recovery.
If you have flashed the twrp recovery to your boot partition instead of just booting it, then the twrp has overwritten your boot partiton. Hence, the phone is only booting to twrp. You should flash the backup of your boot image (if you have it), else flash the full firmware (stock rom).
Sorry, I am not a tech person . Could you please give me steps to do either of the solutions you mentioned. It would be really helpful
Kindly help me how to flash the full firmware. I can’t find required files
Yes, actually yes you have to flash twrp recovery first, an error message should appear and then you should boot twrp, then everything should work, then find in advanced adb sideload, search it up if you need help with it, and then rename magisk.apk to magisk.zip on your pc and copy it to your device with the sideload feature then reboot the device, and open the installed app, it should say either to install it fully or your device will be rooted
I unlocked the bootloader & downloaded all necessary files but, when I try to flash the files using cmd it gets stuck at “waiting for device”, I tried all sorts of steps like updating drivers, reinstalling them but, nothing seems to work btw, my laptop is on W11 is it a problem ?
Need help.
Hi, I don’t understand some passages of the guide.
I have a Nokia 6.1 with latest patch (April 2021 on Android 10) so I think I have to wait the up to date file in th GDrive link.
So, booting the patched image doesn’t work on Android 10 but if I flash to recovery and then boot I’ll get a non working wifi? (read in comments).
The only working way is using the TWRP Recovery with erase of user data?
Sorry for my english.
Does someone know when the April 1st 2021 patch boot image will be available?
This app s is good
looking forward for Jan 2021 patch boot img please…
Hi. My Nokia 7 plus is on A10. Is it still possible to unlock the bootloader with your method?
Hi, yes, the remote unlock service should work fine 🙂
Hi I have Nokia 6.1, using Magisk method to root.
While booting magisk patched image, my phone is stuck on AndroidOne Screen.
Please help
You write “Updates are harder to install when rooted, so, it is better if you start from the latest version in the first place.” Do you have a link to a guide on how to update a rooted phone? Or is all one needs to do to unroot before updating?
Hi Michael, it depends on what you did while rooted. To be able to install incremental updates, you need to ensure that you revert (temporarily) everything to the unmodified state so that update_engine can verify filesystem integrity and then proceed with the installation.
If you have been using systemless magisk modules, you should follow the OTA update documentation of Magisk (here). That’s all you’ll need to do.
Brilliant, that sounds feasible. Thanks for your answer, and guides!
Thank you! Successfully rooted my Nokia 6.1 on Android 10. You are the best 🤗
Hello, I’m Emmy you unlock my bootloader for me, also I had android 10 update and after getting so many errors i was able to boot the phone it’s now on Android 10 but it’s drain battery very fast n also I got another android 10 update of 1.36GB but have not updated yet so I want to know if I can update it because my bootloader is unlocked.
Hi, you can install the update. The updates shouldn’t have any impact on the bootloader status.
Thank you, I just updated no problems.
is nokia 7.1 still unlockable? (using june security patch)
Hi, yes it is 🙂
Is this procedure same of nokia 3 TA-1032 ?
Help to root nokia 3
Hi, this will not work on Nokia 3. You should use TWRP to flash Magisk on it 🙂
hi !
I am tech savy person. So whatever was mention here is quite difficult for me comprehend. I need to root nokia 6.1 phone . So, Narendra, can you help me please ?
i meant i am not tech savy person
Hi all. I was skeptical about this service at first but this guy is legit. I have a very basic coding understanding and was trying to determine is there anything normal phone users can do on their own. But I was wrong. Narender is the real deal. Plus he is very nice to interact with. I actually gave him a hard time but he was always joyful and supportive. Highly recommend his service. I’m all set with unlocked bootloader. Thanks Narender!
dude, are you using a custom rom after unlocking the bootloader?
So after rooting my nokia 6.1, the phone becomes very slow and unable to use. I tried both methods and got the same problem. Is it because of magisk or my phone just acting up?
It shouldn’t be caused due to root, but still, try removing the root. Do you get immediate improvements when you do that?
Sorry for slow reply.
I found out that the adb tool I used was the problem, so I downloaded another adb tool and no more lagging. Didn’t know the adb tool could cause this…
Tried the twrp method but the phone storage doesn’t appear on my pc.
nokia 6.1 bootloader unlocked. Security version June 2018.
recently downgraded to unlock boot loader.
You can try to update to a newer Android version. The latest TWRP releases won’t be compatible with Oreo which is quite old now.
None of those work. After the bootloader was unlocked, the phone updated. Is there a walk through for this instead of a description without actual command line?
Both methods work well with android 9, but after I upgraded to android 10 it just stuck at the android one logo when I use fastboot boot. Is there anyway to fix this issue?
Hi Ron, which device do you have? What I’ve seen is that atleast the Nokia 6.1 won’t boot images anymore. You’ll need to flash them only and for that somebody needs to extract the images every month.
If you’re using the 6.1 and are on December update, then you can hard flash the patched image i’ve uploaded. For others, I can’t say. Its hard to maintain images for each device separately.
I’m using 6.1 by the way.
After your reply, I tried fastboot flash boot and it worked. Thx for the help!
I see, I hope you were on December and used the PL2 image. The other images will work, but they will likely break your WiFi if you flash them.
How did you unlock the boot loader?
Hi, I’m on January patch, Android 10. Tried flashing (and booting) the image from Google Drive (alseo Jan, PL2) but wifi is broken. Then I tried to patch my own backed-up image via Magisk app and flashed it. No luck, it just boot-loops. Any idea why is this happening? Device model is TA-1054
Forgot to add, my rom is LineageOS
The WiFi can break due to mismatch of some code. And that’s acknowledged in the article. That is why we only boot it and not flash it. So, when the booted image loads, you should do “Direct Install” so that it can patch and writeback the actual file from the disk. This will ensure that there is no compatibility issue.
I do feel that flashing the PL2 image should have worked. But yeah maybe not working due to you being on a custom ROM.
I am not sure of which image you backed up and how. So, good idea at this point will be flash the Lineage again.
Thanks for the reply. There was no option to install in the booted image. It just said “Magisk is installed” with no install button. On Android 9 the button was there. Will try to start fresh then.
You need to have a working data connection for the Magisk manager to connect to the server and download the latest zip image. That’s why it didn’t show the update/install button for you :”)
What is the command line to flash the 2019 PL2 image? Thanks
You just need to bout it using the commands as mentioned in the article – fastboot boot. If you’re on Android 10, then you might need to flash the images instead. Remember to choose the PL2 images in that case.
Is there a way to install TWRP permanently on Nokia 6.1 (2018)? Because it is very inconvenient to wipe the internal storage everytime I want to access to TWRP.
You wouldn’t always need to wipe data to boot the TWRP. It should work on just booting too, try it out. Give it your Android password for decrypting. If it fails, then try again by removing the screen lock from Android. I added it because given slow development for Nokia phones, most TWRPs are left unmaintained at some point. And decryption can break at any point after that.
I tried all of those methods but nothing worked. It just stuck at the TWRP logo.
Are you using Ayush’s/Impulsion’s newest TWRP? The thing is if the TWRP fails to decrypt, then it won’t make a difference if it is temp booted or has a permanent install into boot image.
If it doesn’t work, then yeah wipe is the last option.
Well, that’s suck. At least now I know what can be done.
Thanks for your fast reply!
I unlocked the boot loader for my Nokia 6.1(TA-1045) early in 2019 with the paid service.
However, for some weird reason, i just could not get root with patched image + TWRP back then. So basically, I am still on Android 8.1.0(May 1,2018).
Do I have to update to Android 9.0 before I can follow the instructions or can I just grab one of the patched images and just go?
The patched images should work on any build before Android 10. But some of these images may be patched with an old version of Magisk which may not be supported anymore. So, in that case you’ll have to patch them again using the Magisk Manager app.
How do I patch for my Nokia 6.1 plus on Android 10 with June Security Patch. Thanks
You can use the June patched image which is uploaded to the Google drive folder linked in the article and follow the instructions as mentioned in the article.
Thank you but the June patch is 2019 & also it’s for Android 9 pie would it work for Android 10 June 2020??
The image for the June 2020 patch is also included in the Android 10 sub-folder. Check the file with serial number 12.
Ok, gotten it. What if I get OTA will it work or I will need to uninstall magisk before updating??
Yes, you cannot install incremental updates when rooted 🙂
Hey Mr. Singh, I’m working on trying to root my phone (Nokia 7.1). I’ve managed to hit the OEM unlock and use adb to boot to the bootloader, but now I’m stuck. I can’t get fastboot devices to work (no devices), so I can’t flash TWRP recovery.
Is the device not actually unlocked, despite the toggle moving to the right? It even required me to input my PIN. I can’t check with the dialpad method.
I already tried installing all my drivers again, using 15s, minimal, and the latest google drivers. When attempting to install drivers manually, Device Manager said that no valid drivers were found.
Solved, used the drivers that were linked elsewhere on the site.
https://www.techmesto.com/possible-fix-nokia-smartphone-stuck-on-download-mode-after-ota-update/
https://github.com/StollD/nokia-driver-installer/tree/master/out
Hi Martin, unfortunately, the OEM unlocking toggle does nothing on these phones. So, your device bootloader is not unlocked.
Sorry to necro this thread, leaving a comment here as a heads up to anyone who stumbles this way – OP here, the OEM toggle did nothing on the phone.