How to Root NVIDIA Shield Tablet (with Tegra K1)?

One of many ways to get the best out of your tablet or smartphone is by rooting your device. I know that rooting can be such a risky process to apply on your tablet, especially if you got no clue and no experience whatsoever about it.

But rooting is actually a pretty safe to do and not as dangerous as many people thought it would be.

It goes the same with NVIDIA Shield Tablet. If you want to unlock the full potential of this powerful gaming device, one of them is of course by rooting it.

Not only are you able to enhance the experience and even performance of this tablet, but there are many possibilities that are just waiting to be unlocked once you managed to get it rooted.

Yesterday, I’ve already showed you how exactly to root one powerful gaming tablet powered by Tegra K1 processor – Xiaomi MiPad Tablet.

However, despite having the official permission from Xiaomi to root this device, the rooting process of Xiaomi MiPad Tablet is actually pretty tricky and not as simple as on other tablets.

How to Root Nvidia Shield Tablet?

Right now, as mentioned in the title, I want to show you how to root another Tegra K1 tablet, but this time, it’s from Nvidia itself – Nvidia Shield Tablet.

However, despite having the same Tegra K1 quad-core processor just like Xiaomi MiPad Tablet, the rooting process of NVIDIA Shield Tablet is of course way different given that their Android UIs are completely different here – Xiaomi MiPad Tablet comes with heavily-customized MIUI, while NVIDIA Shield Tablet is running on pure stock Android UI.

Well, if you’re interested to learn more about how to root this device, then here check this one out, my step-by-step guide to root NVIDIA Shield Tablet.


Before attempting to root your tablet, it’s worth mentioning that rooting your tablet will automatically void the warranty. So you must know that you are doing this at your own risk. And I’m not responsible for anything wrong that might happen on your tablet, including your device’s warranty.


Okay, before proceeding to the next step, you need to firstly allow your NVIDIA Shield Tablet to accept any 3rd party apps on its system. So by doing this, you will be able to install 3rd party apps that you get from somewhere else on internet outside Google Play Store.

It’s actually pretty simple. You just need to go to Setting > Security and then scroll down to the middle and check off the box that says “Unknown Sources”.

But be always careful when installing 3rd party apps from some random websites because some of them probably contain some kind of virus that might ruin your tablet. So always make sure that you download 3rd party apps only from trusted websites.


The rooting process of NVIDIA Shield Tablet is actually pretty similar with many Android tablets out there. So basically, you just need to download a specific rooting app that is compatible with NVIDIA Shield Tablet > install the app > open the app > and finally run the rooting process until your device is rebooted.

This is actually way different with the rooting process of Xiaomi MiPad Tablet that is more complicated than NVIDIA Shield Tablet, which I’ve already showed you in my previous article.

Anyway, the rooting app that is compatible with NVIDIA Shield Tablet is called “TowelRoot”. And you can get this app from TowelRoot’s website at www.towelroot.com.


On TowelRoot’s website, there is one giant red logo right on the center of the homepage. Now click that logo to download this app. It’s not heavy by the way in size, so you don’t need to worry about your internet data when downloading this app.


Okay, after finish downloading the app to your tablet, now install the app on your tablet.


In default, when you try to install any rooting app to this tablet, the system usually will prompt you the warning that says “Google recommends that you do NOT install this app”.

Okay, don’t worry, this is just a normal notification from the system which usually will pop up when users try to install rooting app like TowelRoot for the very first time.

Now allow your NVIDIA Shield Tablet to install this rooting app by checking off the small box that says “I understand and still want to install it”. And then select “Install Anyway” to start installing the app to your device.

The process usually doesn’t take very long to finish, so be patient for a few seconds.


After successfully installing TowelRoot to your NVIDIA Shield Tablet, now run the app to start the rooting process. Right when you open the app, you will be shown with one button on the center that says “Make it Rain”.

To start rooting your NVIDIA Shield Tablet, now press the “Make it Rain” button. This rooting process usually takes a couple of minutes and even a half an hour to complete, so be patient until your Nvidia Shield Tablet is rebooted automatically.


Okay, once you press the “Make it Rain” button, the rooting process of NVIDIA Shield Tablet will begin. Now wait for a few minutes until this app finishes rooting your tablet.

Usually, if you click “Make it Rain” and your device reboots, its means the rooting process FAILS.

On the other hand, if it doesn’t reboot after pressing the “Make it Rain” button, then the rooting process has been successfully done, which means your NVIDIA Shield Tablet has been successfully rooted.

At the end of the process, usually there will be a message that says “You should have root, no reboot required”. On other devices, usually the device will reboot itself once the rooting process is complete.


Even though NVIDIA Shield Tablet has been successfully rooted, but it’s actually not a 100% rooted because you still need to reboot your device manually.

And this is really important to do in order to let the system fully root the tablet and grant the root permission on this device.

Okay, now reboot your NVIDIA Shield Tablet manually by pressing the power button for a few seconds and then select “Reboot”.


In order to get the full root access or permission on this tablet, you firstly need to have an app called “SuperSU” installed on this device. You can download this app for FREE on Google Play Store by the way.

But it’s worth mentioning that the SuperSU app that you should download on NVIDIA Shield Tablet is the one that is developed by ChainFire. So make sure that you download this app from the right developer because probably there are many similar apps that also use the same exact name.

Anyway, if this is your first time hearing about SuperSU app, this app is actually a must-have app for any rooted tablet or smartphone.

Usually, on the normal rooting process of other tablets, for example Xiaomi MiPad Tablet, when you finish installing the rooting app called “update.zip”, a SuperSU app will be automatically installed right after you reboot the tablet.

I don’t understand why TowelRoot doesn’t straightly install this SuperSU app when NVIDIA Shield Tablet is rebooted manually. Maybe it’s because this TowelRoot app doesn’t include SuperSU inside it. So this is why you need to download it separately from Google Play Store.

Okay, now download “SuperSU” on Google Play Store and then install it on your NVIDIA Shield Tablet.


Once the installation process is complete, now launch the app. However, in order for this SuperSU app to work on this device, you need to firstly update this app in order to download the right and compatible binary specifically for NVIDIA Shield Tablet.

So make sure that your internet connection is activated during this updating process.

Okay, once you open the app, the system will automatically ask you to update the app. Now select “Continue” and then choose “Normal” in the prompted options.


After the updating process is complete, now you need to reboot your tablet manually in order to let the tablet fully install the SuperSU app into the system.


After rebooting your tablet, the rooting permission on this device has finally been granted. If you want to check whether your tablet has been rooted or not, you can actually use one popular app called “Root Checker” which you can download for FREE on Google Play Store.


Well, that’s it for now guys my step-by-step guide to root your precious NVIDIA Shield Tablet. I know that many of you here don't want to root your NVIDIA Shield Tablet because it will void the warranty, which you don’t want to happen, right?

So if you have a lot of hesitations whether you want to root or not, then don't root your device! It's best to let your tablet run on the normal unrooted conditions. Besides, when the software updates arrive for this device, you can easily update your tablet without any problem at all.

But when you suddenly change your mind, then don’t hesitate to come back here on this page. I really hope my tutorial in this post will come in handy for you in the near future.

Okay then, hope you like what I've shared in this tutorial guys. And if you like it and want to share it, don't hesitate to press the share buttons on this page. I would totally appreciate your help here.

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