How do I update to the 5.0.1 OTA on my rooted Nexus 6?

gagan

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Nexus 6 Rooted OTA update

Can someone please advise on how to update to 5.0.1 OTA on my Nexus 6 which is rooted? The ota fails to install using the phone.
I would prefer not to loose root and phone data/settings.
 

Rukbat

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Re: Nexus 6 Rooted OTA update

The "failed" notice actually means "this phone shows signs of having been rooted". There are things you can do while rooted that would cause a stock update to brick the phone, so an update will stop when it finds signs of rooting (even if you unroot). It also stops if you're running a custom ROM (for the same reason - it'll brick the phone).

You'll have to make sure your contacts are all Google contacts (that way you won't lose them) and you'll have to back up all your data (and apps if you don't want to spend the time downloading them again). App settings are usually part of the app's data, so if you save the data you save the settings. (Don't forget to save the launcher's settings.)

Then you flash a stock ROM and let it update, then try to find a way to root 5.0.1. If, after you've updated, you feel that you've been robbed and want 4.4.4 again, flash it again, set it up again and root it again. (5.0.2 is the bug fix for 5.0.1 - and it's still full of bugs. 5.0.9 may have a chance of not having too many bugs left - maybe by the end of the summer. I'll wait for Google to start writing software again - they're writing marketing blurbs now and calling them updates - before I update. A working rooted 4.4.2 is better than a buggy, non-rooted 5.anything. I don't look at anything with "Material Design" enough for that to matter to me. [In fact, I don't think I have a single MD app in the phone at the moment - Tetra was the last one to go.])
 

anon(257429)

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jj14x

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Re: Nexus 6 Rooted OTA update

Backup all critical data on your phone as a precaution before anything. If all goes well,, you won't need it.

Starting with Lollipop, Google has changed the OTA procedure, where any change on the system side (even rooting) will cause OTA to fail. You have two options - get back to stock, and then take OTA, or, the preferred/simpler method would be to just flash the new system images. Both of these can be done without wiping your userdata.

  1. Download the correct factory images from Google developers site - developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
  2. Ensure you have the fastboot drivers installed on your computer, and that fastboot can detect your phone correctly (verify using "fastboot devices" command)
  3. Unzip the factory image on your computer till you get the individual images and then, flash them in the right sequence
  • Flash bootloader
  • reboot bootloader
  • flash radio
  • reboot bootloader
  • flash system
  • flash boot
  • flash cache
 

gmermel

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Re: Nexus 6 Rooted OTA update

  1. Download the correct factory images from Google developers site - developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
  2. Ensure you have the fastboot drivers installed on your computer, and that fastboot can detect your phone correctly (verify using "fastboot devices" command)
  3. Unzip the factory image on your computer till you get the individual images and then, flash them in the right sequence
  • Flash bootloader
  • reboot bootloader
  • flash radio
  • reboot bootloader
  • flash system
  • flash boot
  • flash cache

Can you expand on the process of "flashing"? Is it done via fastboot, and what are the specific commands to type?

Can the whole process be done on by downloading to the phone using TWRP?
 

jj14x

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Re: Nexus 6 Rooted OTA update

Yes, flashing is done via fastboot.

These are the commands that need to be executed in sequence. Execute one, wait for successful completion, then the next and so on. These steps below assume that fastboot and the img files are in the current directory (or that fastboot command is in the system path variable, and that the current directory has the IMG files). If not, you'll need to enter the full path of the IMG files

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio radio.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash cache cache.img

To give credit where it is due, and for further reading before you do any of this (assuming you haven't done this in the past), read [TUTORIAL][GUIDE][HOW TO] Flash Factory Imag… | Nexus 6 | XDA Forums

Remember that the thread I linked to is for restoring to stock, so it has a step to flash userdata.img (that will wipe your data), and it also has a step for factory data reset - which will also wipe your data. So, skip those steps if you want your data retained. And if your bootloader isn't unlocked, unlocking WILL wipe your data.

There are two methods described there. Use Method 2 (that's what I described above)

No - you can't flash factory images using TWRP. You can look thru' XDA and see if there is a flashable image available from some dev. I don't know.
 

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