Questions about new N6 from Amazon

[bobby1125]

I will be getting Nexus 6 from Amazon in couple of days. Will be using with Tmobile.
1. Will I get 6.0 depending on Tmobile or should I try to do OTA update WITHOUT inserting Tmobile sim?
2. I am newbie for rooting/unlocking. I know phone is unlocked for carier, but do I need to root to get rid of unwanted bloatware (if there are any)?
3. How to root?
4. Any other helpful suggestions? (First time using unlocked phone).

Thanks.

 

[anon(9072051)]

You'll get the 6.0 update one way or another. When you'll get it OTA is another story.

I'd recommend just waiting for T-Mobile to finish their testing instead of pulling the sim or worrying about rooting or sideloading. MM is not a dramatic advance over the "final" versions of LP. The Nexus 6 on 5.1.1 is still smooth, responsive and a pleasure to use. If you don't run into any odd battery drains or WiFi/cell signal issues, you'll be fine on the last T-Mobile 5.1.1 build.

 

[krishnansasikumar]

If you want Marshmallow immediately, do not put the SIM in first. Do all the updates and then slot in the SIM. Biggest benefit is battery life. Now, I'm finishing the day with 41% battery , whereas earlier I would be on power saving mode(<10%)

Otherwise 5.1.1 is also very smooth and stable. I had no complaints on 5.1.1 either. I'm using an AT&T sim

 

[rickms80]

Speaking from experience. I bought mine from Amazon and used it with at&t. If you boot the phone without a sim I'm willing to bet it might go grab updates until you get to 6.0. Also, speaking from experience with 6.0 and at&t....I think there might be issues and that's why i would guess at&t is holding the update.

Things I've noticed that with MRA58K and at&t: This build didn't grab the at&t apps. I'm having group MMS issues that were present before. It's almost as if MRA58K isn't setting up at&t correctly.

 

[anon(9072051)]

I think there might be issues and that's why i would guess at&t is holding the update.

Which is also why I've backed off of sideloading the alleged LYZ28M to MRA58K zip. Too many mixed signals from one too many T-Mobile Support pages + an error message from NRT about a missing recovery image made me willing to wait out the OTA.

 

[bobby1125]

Thanks all for the suggestions. So I am NOT going to root.
But confused about OTA update? Should I do it WITHOUT inserting sim or let Tmobile decide?

If I do OTA update without Tmobile sim, will it affect any functionality related to tmobile (wifi calling, low data speed, etc....)?

 

[koam]

all the builds for Android 6 are the same version. so, no.

that said if you can trick it into giving you the OTA, i'd recommend doing a factory reset after 6.0 installs so that you have a clean OS, not an update.



Another reason to flash your N6 with M using NRT (or another method) is that there is a step in there that enables you to install it without the default encryption.

I read a couple of studies that showed a huge benefit from not having encryption enabled.... much faster.

I flashed a clean install of M on N6 using NRT with no encryption, following the instructions to wipe data and cache in the process and my N6 is ridiculously fast. Feels much faster than 5.1.1 (stock, encrypted) which was fast in any case.

I don't think there's a way to turn off encryption if it gets enabled (it's the default for LP and M). without unlocking your bootloader.


https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-disable-encryption-on-the-nexus-6

Disable Forced Encryption on Nexus 6 to Maximize Performance

 

[anon(9072051)]

If I do OTA update without Tmobile sim, will it affect any functionality related to tmobile (wifi calling, low data speed, etc....)?

Maybe yes. Maybe no. All of the major US carriers' final 5.1.1 builds were different. I'm still for leaving the SIM in.

 

[bobby1125]

I am not much techie, so little confused. To disable encryption, should I do OTA without sim card?

 

[rickms80]

I am not much techie, so little confused. To disable encryption, should I do OTA without sim card?

So running through the activation with the sim in will cause the phone to take the t mobile update path. you'll get updated up through the most recent security update for lollipop.

If you run through the activation with the sim out you'll mostly likely be updated to Marshmallow. Marshmallow is bringing together all the different update paths. They all kinda merge into this latest update.

I honestly recommend activating with the sim. You'll get the appropriate Lollipop build for t mobile that way. I've been having issues with Marshmallow on at&t with MMS. I'm not sure these are exclusive to at&t or not. Prolly why at&t hasn't officially allowed the update yet.

 

[anon(9072051)]

I am not much techie, so little confused. To disable encryption, should I do OTA without sim card?

Disabling forced encryption on a Nexus 6 has nothing to do with how you go about snagging OTA updates. At bare minimum, I think, it involves unlocking the phone's bootloader and flashing a new boot image, which you can do whenever you feel competent, as long as you're ready to do a lot more in the future than merely wait for an update to come to your phone.

Before even considering un-encrypting your phone, you'll need to do a lot of reading. You can start here:

How to disable encryption in Android Lollipop | Android Central

 

[TacoKingYo]

I will be getting Nexus 6 from Amazon in couple of days. Will be using with Tmobile.
1. Will I get 6.0 depending on Tmobile or should I try to do OTA update WITHOUT inserting Tmobile sim?
2. I am newbie for rooting/unlocking. I know phone is unlocked for carier, but do I need to root to get rid of unwanted bloatware (if there are any)?
3. How to root?
4. Any other helpful suggestions? (First time using unlocked phone).

Thanks.

1. It depends. I will come back to this point in a little bit.
2. Nexus doesn't get bloatware. You don't have to worry about that.
3. First you'll need to unlock your bootloader. This will reset ALL data, so you WILL have to set up your phone again.
I'm going to assume you own a windows machine....
You will need adb and fastboot. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48915118 to download both.
On your Nexus 6, go to settings->about phone->click on the build number box 7 times or until a little bubble says "you are now a developer!"
Then go to settings->developer options->enable OEM unlocking
Then enable USB debugging
Shut off your phone
Turn your phone on again, but hold down the down volume key until a weird screen shows up
On your computer, make sure you unzipped adb/fastboot and have it on your desktop
Open cmd and enter "cd adb" and press enter
"fastboot devices" and press enter. If it shows your phone is connected then you're good. If not, make sure all cords are good/in/etc
"fastboot oem unlock" and enter. Do the instructions.
"fastboot reboot" and your bootloader is unlocked

That's just unlocking the bootloader though. You may want to flash a custom recovery though so it's easier to flash stuff. https://twrp.me/devices/motorolanexus6.html read the disclaimers, etc and download. Unzip and put on your desktop.
Make sure your phone is in that weird screen again (you can do this through your computer by "fastboot reboot bootloader" and pressing enter)
"fastboot flash recovery " and drag the recovery.img from the shamu folder on your desktop then press enter.
"fastboot reboot bootloader" and press enter
Use the volume keys to find "recovery mode" and use your power button to open recovery
Make sure TeamWin shows up. If it doesn't, try reflashing stock recovery ( it's in https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images MAKE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE RECOVERY FOR LOLLIPOP/MARSHMALLOW, THE ONE YOU CURRENTLY HAVE FLASHED/INSTALLED) then try again.
When you set up your phone again, just make sure to download a root permissions app. SuperSU is highly recommended, but is VERY annoying to update the binaries for.
1. Now I will return to this. If you don't want to lose everything and have to set your phone up again then go ahead and get the OTA without your SIM card. Please note: you won't get OTA updates with a custom recovery; you will have to manually flash every time there is an update (I can help give instructions for that too)

Hope my unintelligible mess proved helpful