Softpedia >News >Mobile World >Mobile OS
Softpedia Homepage   

Android 5.1 Lollipop Factory Image for Nexus 5, 7 and 10 Now Available for Download

Nexus 4's factory image has yet to be released

Mar 10, 2015 00:30 GMT  ·  By
Android 5.0 Lollipop
   Android 5.0 Lollipop

Google formerly announced earlier today the new Android 5.1 Lollipop for Nexus devices. The search giant also detailed some of the new features included in this update and stated that it would be available for compatible Nexus devices.

T-Mobile USA also confirmed Android 5.1 Lollipop for Nexus 4, 5 and 7, which should be available beginning today, March 9.

Soon after the official announcement, Google released Android 5.1 Lollipop factory images for some of the Nexus devices that should get the update in the coming days.

So, for the time being, those who don't want to wait for the OTA (over the air) update to arrive on their smartphones will be able to download the factory images and flash them on their devices.

Unfortunately, Google hasn't released Android 5.1 Lollipop factory images for all Nexus devices. Here is what Nexus smartphones and tablets have their factory images released: Nexus 5 (GSM / LTE), Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi) and Nexus 10.

We're still waiting for Google to release factory images for the following Nexus devices: Nexus 4, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (Mobile), 2013 Nexus 7 (Mobile), 2013 Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi), Nexus 9 (Wi-Fi) and Nexus 9 (LTE).

If you own one of the Nexus devices compatible with Android 5.1 Lollipop and plan on flashing the factory image, you can head over to Google's developer webpage to download it.

Here is how you can flash your factory image on your Nexus device

For those of you who aren't into flashing factory images but would like to install Android 5.1 Lollipop on their smartphones without having to wait for the OTA, here is what you need to do.

First of all, download the correct system image for your Nexus device when it gets released by Google. Then, unzip it to a separate directory and connect your device to your computer via USB.

Start the device in fastboot mode, and if it's necessary, unlock the device's bootloader. Open a terminal and navigate to the unzipped system image directory and execute the flash-all script, which installs the necessary bootloader, baseband firmware, and operating system.