Full Nexus 9 (WiFi) Install Procedure!!! (From Start to Finish w/ Windows 10)

This thread is for those of you having trouble getting Nethunter installed on your Nexus 9 (WiFi) device. It is a step-by-step procedure to getting Nethunter up and running on your Nexus 9 (WiFi) device using WINDOWS.


THIS PROCEDURE HAS NOT BEEN TESTED ON OTHER NEXUS DEVICES OR NEXUS 9 (LTE)!!! IT IS ONLY TESTED FOR THE NEXUS 9 (WIFI) DEVICE!!!


PLEASE read this post (and its additional sections) in its entirety before attempting these steps so that you can get familiarized with its formatting, procedures, and commands that you will be using!! Reading is fundamental!!

Due to character limits, not all instructions can be included in this post. See replies below for further instruction Sections.

Section 1

The first thing we need to do is ensure you have all the necessary files, images, and programs. Everything that you will download from these instructions will be safe and authorized software and files. All of these dowloads will be done on your PC. Let's get those files for you!


Nexus 9 (WiFi) Device

Naturally, you will need a Nexus 9 (WiFi) device for anything beyond this point to be of any use. However, do not be worried about your current version of Android (Lollipop, Marshmallow, or Nougat). We will be flashing this device with the Marshmallow ROM (6.0.1, to be exact). That process will overwrite your current android version, which is exactly what needs to happen to make this possible. Fret ye, not! For we shall get you where you wish to be, young knight. Make sure your device is charged COMPLETELY before starting anything beyond this step!!!


Android SDK

Firstly, you will need to go to here--> https://developer.android.com/studio/index.html to download the Android SDK command line tools. (Don't worry, I'll tell you every command you will need.) To get the command line tools, scroll to the bottom of the page. Under the header "Get just the command line tools", choose the package for your OS. (Mine was on Windows) Download the ZIP file for your OS and unzip it wherever you want. It doesn't matter where, as the package is very portable. I opened mine onto the C:\ Drive, which created a new directory (C:\Android).

Once that is complete, leave it be for the moment and move to the next preparatory step. When the time comes, we will discuss what folder to utilize.



Android ROM (Use the one I recommend or you may experience problems)

Go here--> https://developers.google.com/android/images
For now, pay no attention to the information or instructions contained at the above link. Scroll down until you start seeing the ROM download files. Keep scrolling until you see the ROMs for Nexus 9 Wifi devices. Selecting the correct ROM is very crucial. You want to go with Marshmallow, because Lollipop will automatically update to 7.1.1 whenever you set up your device after installing Lollipop, which negates this entire process. Marshmallow does not auto-upgrade during set up.

Locate the "6.0.1 (MMB29K)" file under the Nexus 9 (WiFi) list and click on the link next to that. This will initiate the download and save it as volantisg-mmb29k-factory-ef7c9fd9.zip. Save the ZIP file wherever you like. We will discuss what location to unzip this file to, shortly. I have not tested this with any other version of 6.0.1. I would assume that it would work, but i cannot confirm they will. Try them at your own risk.

For now, we will not do anything more with this file.


Download TWRP IMG file

Go here--> https://dl.twrp.me/flounder/ to download TWRP IMG file. There is a very specific version that we will need, so be sure to grab EXACTLY the "twrp-3.0.1-0-flounder.img" file. It should be THIRD from the top.
If the above link didn't work, go here--> https://twrp.me/devices/htcnexus9.html and click on the "Primary (Recommended)" link. This will take you the IMG page. Select the exact file mentioned above.

Once you have the TWRP 3.0.1-0 IMG file, you will need to place it into the "platform-tools" folder of your Android SDK. To do this, navigate to where you unzipped the SDK ZIP file. (For me this was C:\Android\sdk) Open the "sdk" folder and you should see the "platform-tools" folder. Place the TWRP IMG file INSIDE this folder.

>>!!RECOMMENDED!!>>While you're at it, change the name of the TWRP IMG file to "twrp.img" (this will make it easier to type into the command line when the time comes).

Next we need to download Nethunter. The next section walks you through the EXACT files you will need to download.


Nethunter Kernel and ROM

Go here--> https://build.nethunter.com/nightly/...20161217-1352/ These are the nightly, rolling updates to Nethunter and are the only ones I managed to make work.

In here there are VERY SPECIFIC files you will need to download if you want this to work with my method, so PAY ATTENTION! Reading is fundamental.

There are 2 files that we will need from this URL

First, you will need to locate this file--> kernel-nethunter-generic-arm64-3.15.3-20161217-1352.zip BE SURE TO GET THIS EXACT FILE. This is the kernel that will allow a successful install of Nethunter. No kernel (or wrong kernel); no trabajo!

The second file you will need is this one--> nethunter-generic-armhf-kalifs-full-rolling-3.15.3-20161217-1352.zip It should be the FOURTH from the BOTTOM of the list.

If you choose not to sift through the list looking for the files, the direct downloads can be found here--> https://build.nethunter.com/nightly/...61217-1352.zip
And here--> https://build.nethunter.com/nightly/...61217-1352.zip
Be mindful that these links automatically initiate the downloads of their respective files.


You should now have all of the baseline files you will need in order to complete the installation process. Let's start getting our hands dirty, shall we?


Due to character limits, not all instructions can be included in this post. See replies below for Section 2 of instructions.