Nothing Android 14 / 15 init_boot.img (GKI 2.0)

How to root the Nothing Phone (3), Phone (2a) Plus & CMF Phone 1/2 with Magisk

Fastboot rooting walkthrough for Nothing Phone (3), Phone (2a) Plus, and CMF Phone 1/2 on Nothing OS 3.0. Covers clean near-AOSP fastboot commands, payload.bin dumping, Glyph Interface compatibility, and Play Integrity Fix configuration.

At a glance

Device family	Nothing Phone (3), Phone (2a) Plus & CMF Phone 1/2
Launch software	Android 14 / 15 (Nothing OS 2.6 / 3.0, 4-Year Android OS Support)
Chipset	Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (Phone 3) / Dimensity 7350 Pro (Phone 2a Plus) / Dimensity 7300 (CMF Phone 1) \| Nothing OS 2.6 / 3.0
Root partition	`init_boot.img (Near-AOSP Architecture - Extracted from official Nothing Archive payload.bin)`
Firmware format	Official Nothing OS Full OTA Package (obtain from spike0en Nothing Archive / Nothing Developer Portal)
Bootloader unlock	Settings > Developer Options > OEM Unlocking + Fastboot (`fastboot flashing unlock`). Standard AOSP bootloader unlock behavior with zero hardware fuse penalties.
Warranty / security impact	Unlocking the bootloader wipes user data and may disable some hardware-backed features. It can usually be re-locked and re-flashed to stock.

Rooting method

Step 1. Download the stock firmware or factory image that matches your exact build (Official Nothing OS Full OTA Package (obtain from spike0en Nothing Archive / Nothing Developer Portal)).
Step 2. Extract init_boot.img from the package.
Step 3. Copy init_boot.img to the phone, open the Magisk app, tap Install → Select and Patch a File and choose it. Magisk writes magisk_patched.img to your Download folder.
Step 4. Copy the patched image back to your computer.
Step 5. Reboot to the bootloader and flash it, then reboot the device.

Flash command

fastboot flash init_boot magisk_patched.img fastboot reboot

For the full workflow and prerequisites, see the installation guide and boot image patching guide.

If the device bootloops

Recovery

Fastboot Mode -> `fastboot flash init_boot stock_init_boot.img` (from Nothing Archive).

More options: fix a Magisk bootloop.

Keeping root across updates

Nothing OS System Update -> Magisk Inactive Slot installation -> Reboot.

See the OTA survival guide for the full procedure.

Nothing rooting hub

Hub

All Nothing models covered on this site.

Play Integrity Fix

Module

Restore device integrity for Google Wallet and banking apps after rooting.

Shamiko

Module

Hide root from apps that perform detection checks.

Root method checker

Tool

Confirm which partition to patch and generate the flash command.

Independently written from public upstream documentation. Verify every command against the official Magisk documentation and your exact device firmware before flashing. Not affiliated with the Magisk project.