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Help [Official] OTA update thread

Geez CS, take the worms out of your mouth (baited breath?).

I'll put it together for you @shalemail and post it here for all to rudicule and mock see. Just to be sure, we're talking about flashing the Nexus 6 and not the cute little thing that lives in 4B, because I can't give you those instructions (as a condition of my probation. ;) )
 
lunatic59 said:
Geez CS, take the worms out of your mouth (baited breath?).

I'll put it together for you @shalemail and post it here for all to rudicule and mock see. Just to be sure, we're talking about flashing the Nexus 6 and not the cute little thing that lives in 4B, because I can't give you those instructions (as a condition of my probation. ;) )
Click to expand...

To be sure one of the few things in this world I DO know a little about (maybe a little more than a little) is how to take care of the B that lives in 4G. ;)
That would be voondaba.
AAAAANNNNDDDDD codesplice, I will check that link, thank you sir. :D
 
Like painting a house, planting a garden or building a working model of a Los Angeles Class submarine from macaroni, preparation is everything.

So that I can tailor the steps specifically to you, @shalemail, tell me what PC/laptop and OS you will be using to brick flash your phone. It would also be helpful if you could let me know if you've ever had any oddball apps or head-scratching problems with the computer, in case there is something that might be a problem. It's okay if you don't know and something rears it's ugly head, we can deal with it then. But, not to worry, nothing actually happens to your phone until the connection is established and that's more then halfway home already. :D
 
lunatic59 said:
Like painting a house, planting a garden or building a working model of a Los Angeles Class submarine from macaroni, preparation is everything.

So that I can tailor the steps specifically to you, @shalemail, tell me what PC/laptop and OS you will be using to brick flash your phone. It would also be helpful if you could let me know if you've ever had any oddball apps or head-scratching problems with the computer, in case there is something that might be a problem. It's okay if you don't know and something rears it's ugly head, we can deal with it then. But, not to worry, nothing actually happens to your phone until the connection is established and that's more then halfway home already. :D
Click to expand...

Well lets see, I have an apple 2 GS (the newer one) and an abacus. My laptop, well that's where my wife sits.

Sorry couldn't resist.
I have a home built PC running Windows 7 and a horrible laptop that runs (please don't hate me) Vista. UGH.
I will use the PC as my laptop would need to be pulled out of the tar pits - dinosaur get it- So there ya go.
 
Flashing the factory firmware with Dick and Jane.

First thing we need to do is decide where you are going to do this. I recommend doing it in the bedroom where there are a lot of soft things like pillows and comforters so if you get frustrated and throw the phone, it has someplace soft to land. Oh, and no hammers in the room either.

Now we need to allot the time necessary to do this. I can do this in a little under an hour, but you’ll want to take things slow so give it two. And, if you have a lot of apps installed, you have to give it time afterwards for downloading and re-installing.

These are the things you are going to need:

  • The internet. Pretty obvious, but I just want to be thorough. It’s for getting all the stuff that comes next.
  • Drivers for the device so the PC can talk to it. Go get the Google drivers. Never had a problem with them. And if you have drivers installed now, they’ll need to go. (Don’t worry, I’ll cover that in detail too.)
  • You’ll need fastboot which is the utility that does the flashing. I always wanted to call it “trench coat”, but fastboot will have to do. You will need the latest so I’d recommend getting the Mini-SDK which will get you just where you need to be.
  • You will need the factory firmware and a utility to verify it’s integrity.
  • You will need a good quality USB cable.
  • A martini wouldn’t be a bad idea either. :D

You’ll also need to know how to read, how to type and how to follow instructions. Knowing how to make a really dry martini can come in handy, too.

First step: Go get your stuff.

Google Drivers.

Mini-SDK

Firmware. You'll want to find the latest firmware for your phone. The Nexus 6 is "Shamu", the N5 is "Hammerhead", the N4 is "occam" and so on. Right-click the link that says "link" and save target as whatever long impossible-to-remember file name that pops up.

WinMD5 (Utility to verify the MD5 checksum)

Save it all into the same folder. For ease of typing, make a folder under your C: volume called “stuff”. You can press the Windows key + E and double-click on your C: volume. Then in the empty space right-click your mouse and select NEW>FOLDER … name it “stuff” (No quotes, but you knew that, right?) Or, if you want to be really geeky and impress your wife, press the Windows key + R. A run box opens and you type “cmd” (no quotes … I’ll tell you when you need quotes). Then a DOS prompt opens in a black window that looks into the soul of your PC and give you the power of God … okay, maybe not God, but a really nerdy Saint. Is there a Saint Poindexter? Because that would be him. Now with one command you do all the work of the clicks.

Type this:
Code: 
mkdir c:\stuff
and then press ENTER. Did you just get the urge to buy a pocket protector? Yeah, it can do that.

Got it all? Good.

Step B: No, wait. I was doing numbers. Better make that Step 2, but don’t confuse it with a 2-step. It’s not time to dance yet.

Backup your phone.

The thing is, one of the very first things we do is going to wipe your phone back to the Stone Age. Okay, a factory reset isn’t technically the Stone Age, it’s just a figure of speech. When you unlock the bootloader, it wipes everything. It’s a security thing. Already got your bootloader unlocked? Backup anyway. The firmware flash will wipey-wipey too.

Of course copy your files like pictures and music. Make sure you got it all, because it might all go bye-bye. Next you’ll want your email and text messages. Email really depends on how you have your accounts setup. If it’s IMAP, then fuggedaboudit … it’s on the server, not your phone. (Gmail is imap … sorta) If it’s POP3, you’ll need to copy the messages you want to keep to files or forward them to an account for retrieval later. Backup your text messages using SMS Backup & Restore. It will create an .xml file with your messages that you can put back once flashed. Copy that file, along with everything else to your PC.

If you use a launcher like Nova or Apex, you can back up launcher data and settings so that once you got the phone flashed you can restore your home screens just the way you have it now.

Any settings you might not remember like email server config’s, write them down, you’ll need to set them back up.

All Backed up now? Great! Now go put a martini glass on ice. We’re getting ready for the fun part.

… to be continued
 
Step 3 was dinner.

Step 4: Installing all that shi ... um ... we decided on "stuff", right?

  • First the drivers. Unzip (or expand, if you're using the Microstoft unstufferator) the file "latest_usb_driver_windows.zip" in the stuff folder. It will create a sub-folder called "usb_driver".
  • Next, the mini-SDK. Do the same deal to "sdk-tools.zip" and you get an "sdk-tools" subfolder (Staples had a special on quotation marks, so I'm going to keep using them so they don't go bad in the box.)
  • Now, WinMD5. No, I didn't skip the firmware, we just need this utility to verify that the firmware was downloaded in perfect, pristine, ready-for-flashing form. Unzip the "winmd5free.zip" and double click on WinMD.exe. On the right, click browse and go to your stuff folder and select the firmware file. The green bar will creep over and then a long string of gibberish will show up. If you remember when you downloaded the firmware there was a similar string of gibberish ... oh, wait. my bad. I gave you a direct link to the file so you never saw that. No wonder you are confused. Okay, well go here and in the group for the Nexus 6 "Shamu" (those are Googles quotes, not mine) The third from the top is the second from the bottom. It is listed as "5.1.0 (LMY47D)" (Those are my quotes) and under the MD5 Checksum column, copy the gibberish and paste it into the box in WinMD5where it says to paste it. It should look like this.

  • winMD5.jpg

  • As long as the first gibberish matches the second gibberish, then you're good to go. If it doesn't match, you'll need to delete the firmware file in "stuff" and download it again ... all 900MB of it! A martini would be good now.
  • Let's assume that the checksum's matched. Now you'll need to decompress this file too. But wait, it's not a zip file! Nope, it's a g-zipped tarball. Without the proper utility, it might as well be a swedish meatball. So, if you don't have that utility you'll need to get 7-zip. Winzip handles .tgz files too, but that ain't free. Once you finish your martini and figure out how 7-zip works, you'll have yet another sub-folder in "stuff". This one is "shamu-lmy47d".
We're now ready to insert tab "A" into slot "B"

.... to be continued.
 
Chapter 5: The case of the missing Driver.

Let's cut to the chase. You've been around the block. You've had Android phones (nudge -nudge, wink-wink, say-no-more). You might already have a driver that works so let's see ... we're going to have to do this anyway, so why not now.

Boot your phone into fastboot mode. Yeah, you can become a developer and enable debugging and tap 8 times and click this box and that, just so you can issue a command using adb.exe that takes two finger presses? Power down. With the phone shut the phone off, press and hold both the volume down button and the power button. It will boot to this:
Root-LG-Nexus-4-Android-4.2.2-JDQ39.jpg


Now, plug in the phone to the PC using that high quality cable. No, not that el-cheapo Chinese crap with the penguin stamped into the plastic, the other one. Yeah, that one. You should either see the windows popup saying it's installing the driver or just the USB "Bloop" sound when a device is detected.

Click on the beach ball (Windows start menu) and on the right side right-click "computer" making sure you don't accidentally click on a quotation mark. If you see one there, you may need another martini. From the pop-up menu select "manage" and click on device manager. You should see "Android Phone" listed at the top like this.

manage.jpg


(Yes, you see correctly, my PC is named "monkeyserver" :p Got a problem with that?)

If you see that, just like that, you're good. But, if you see something with a yellow triangle and it says unknown device, we gotta call Perry Mason to locate the missing driver. Or, we could double-click on it, select the driver tab and choose to update the driver. From there choose the second option, to locate the driver yourself and then browse to c:\stuff\usb_driver and click okay. It should find the adb driver and install it and then your management console will change to above.

I believe all that just happened, because i have faith in you ... and two martinis. But let's just make sure, okay?

Press the windows key + r and type "cmd" then ENTER. At the command prompt (the flashing dos terminal window thingy)
Code: 
 cd c:\stuff\sdk-tools
and then type
Code: 
fastboot devices
if all goes well you'll see a serial number and angels will sing and you're head won't explode ... yet. It will look like this:
dos1.jpg


If it doesn't, then I'll get the bucket and your wife can tell me what to do with the pieces of your exploded head.

Again, maybe it's the martinis talking, but I'm going to assume you got the connection made here and the angels are singing.

Now it's time ... contractions are only 5 minutes apart.

... to be ... y'know. ;)

Continued, man! Continued!
 
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Stepus Sixus: The Emperor has arrived!

Let me first say this about that ... to this point you have done nothing to your phone. Absolutely NOTHING. You can stop now, put down the martini and turn in your junior grade pocket protector. We won't hold it against you. No, really, we won't hold it against you. I tried holding against someone once and i guess it tickled because they decked me, so we never hold things against people unless they are tied up first. If you're into that sort of thing, then maybe the 50 shades of linux forum would be better suited?

Okay, you've got your phone backed up and the files saved on your PC? Yep? You sure? REALLY sure? because now it starts to happen. If you are double-dog Coney Island sure, then let's begin.

Unlocking the bootloader.

This will ... wait for it ... unlock the bootloader! Brilliant! You need to unlock it in order to flash stuff, and we're going to flash stuff, so, type (you're sure you're backed up?)
Code: 
fastboot oem unlock
And your phone will wake up and tell you stuff like this:
DSC02155.jpg


Use the volume keys to select "yes" and power to accept the dire warnings of impending unlockedness. Your phone will reboot and factory reset itself but you'll also see the little unlocked icon now on the boot screen. Let it do it's thing until it's back to a factory fresh welcome screen.

Don't worry about anything here, Just shut the phone off again and boot back into fastboot mode with the two-fingered salute. (Vol. down + power)

Just to be sure we're back where we need to be, from the command prompt type
Code: 
fastboot devices
and make certain the serial number is still showing up.

.... on to the actual flashing ...

tumblr_m5kpgfzvCa1qa13pro1_500.jpg


No, not that kind. :rolleyes:
 
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Step 7: This step description intentionally left blank.

Might as well give it a go. You're phone was just wiped anyway. This can be a simple three command procedure, or it can be a lot of typing. I'll give you both with some tricks thrown in ... ever see a man juggle a horse and two Jehovah's witnesses? That would be a trick, but I was referring to shortcuts with commands.

So to set the scene. Our hero has just returned from Casablanca where he has retrieved the secret microfilm and is now sitting at his desk, with his phone in fastboot mode, plugged into his Windows 7 PC and a command prompt open to the "stuff" folder.

Type
Code: 
cd sham
but before you hit enter (which would fail, by the way) press the tab key. If there are any files or folders in that folder that starts with "sham" it will complete the string. If there are more than one, keep tapping TAB until is cycles to the correct one. Neat trick, huh? Now where's that horse? Okay, once the folder name is complete *NOW* press ENTER and you'll be in the firmware folder.

The thing is, we need those files in the sdk-tools folder. So ... type
Code: 
move *.* c:\stuff\sdk-tools\
and press ENTER. it should say "6 file(s) moved" (or however many there are, i don't remember).

Next type
Code: 
cd c:\stuff\sdk-tools
putting you in the folder with the firmware AND fastboot.exe. See? there was a point to that!

Finally ... if you've lived a clean life and never kicked a puppy or insulted a gypsy, all you need to do now is type:
Code: 
 flash-all.bat

It's a simple batch file that automates the manual commands. First it flashes the new bootloader and restarts the bootloader. Then it flashes the new radio and restarts the bootloader again. Finally it runs this command
Code: 
fastboot -w update image-shamu-lmy47d.zip
which should wipe the user data (-w option) and flash the boot image, user data, recovery, system and cache.

If it works, you're done. Boot up, log in and start the restoring process.

Are those angels still singing?

if not ... see the next post.
 
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Addendum: When things go horribly wrong.

Nah, it's not so horrible. For some reason when I tried, the flash-all.bat command got to the fastboot update command and said the zip file didn't contain the boot.img or something like that. It did, but it just wouldn't work. Now we're going to have to do it the long way, which isn't that long.

First thing you have to unzip "image-shamu-lmy47d.zip" and place the 5 .img files in the same folder as fastboot.exe (that would be the one you're in now ... c:\stuff\sdk-tools). They would be

boot.img
cache.img
userdata.img
recovery.img
system.img

Now because the flash-all.bat script failed, we're going to start with the first commands, even though they probably completed successfully. Still it doesn't hurt to be careful. See why i said "no hammers?"

Remember, just type "fastboot flash bootloader boot" and hit tab so you don't have to type the whole string. ;)

First we reflash the bootloader
Code: 
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-shamu-moto-apq8084-71.08.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader

Then we reflash the radio
Code: 
fastboot flash radio radio-shamu-d4.0-9625-02.95.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader

Now we're going to do all that stuff the update command should have done.
Code: 
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash cache cache.img
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img

The system will take the longest as it's 1.7GB so be a little patient ... it will display progress. When the final flash is complete, type
Code: 
fastboot reboot

Are the angels singing or are they all passed out from the martini's? Either way, you're now one of us. *shudder*
 
HOLY CARP @lunatic59 THAT WAS THE SINGLE GREATEST "HOW TO DO THINGS" THING I'VE EVER SEEN.

No, seriously. That was awesome. That's going in my bag of "things that do stuff."

Right after I have a much-deserved martini for learning how to flash a N6 when I don't even have one.
 
Critics rave over @lunatic59's Ode To The OTA -

"Crackerjack thrill ride!" - Kernel Bob, San Jose Mercury News

"It's 's a spectacle to see, and you need spectacles to see it...and there's pandemonium in the air!" Freddie Foureyes, Bob's Discount Vacuum and DVD Sales Monthly

"Unstoppable chain of events that will have you on the edge of your seat!" - Jeannie Usher, The Downtown Theatre Emporium News

"A roller-coaster! I was scared, elated, I cried, I laughed, and I walked away wishing I had a Nexus so I could fly the OTA for myself. Never has an installation movie become such a part of me. Instant epic!" - EarlyMon, Android Hidden Attic Daily

Srsly - very nicely done my friend!
 
I was wondering if anyone is having the same problem as I have. I have talked to two T-Mobile reps and they have not been able to help either. I just bought a Nexus 6 from T-Mobile and I cannot get the device to update past android 5.0. I know that the 5.1 update is still being rolled out, but I can not even get the 5.0.1 update. I know that I could flash an image, but I do not want to do that. The phone works fine, minus a few bugs with Bluetooth, I just want to make sure that it receives the updates. Here is what I have tried so far...

- Going into "about phone" and checking for updates manually several times over several different internet connections.
- Factory resetting the phone
-wiping the partition cache

Any other ideas or suggestions? Anyone who has had similar issues?
 
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