Force update to 4.0.4?

[sting7k]

Hello all,

I just got a Galaxy Nexus off ebay yesterday in the mail. While setting it up I see it currently is running v4.0.2 and I know v4.0.4 is out. But when I check for updates it says my phone is update to date.

Is there anyway to force update v4.0.4?

 

[font1975]

Is this a Verizon or GSM phone?

For GSM, you most likely are not on a Google build of the OS. The Galaxy Nexus can come with several different builds of Android. But most of the builds come from the manufacturer, not Google directly.

There used to be an app in the market called something like GN Official Update Checker, or something similar. It would tell you which build your phone has. You can also install Astro and copy the file /system/build.prop and look inside it. There will be line that will display the build name.

The build names that come from Google are YAKJU and TAKJU. If your phone doesn't have one of those, it will be on 4.0.2 for awhile. There are a lot of varients, of YAKJU out there. The ones in Europe or something like YAKJUWX or something like that. So far as I know, none of the non-Google builds have been updated.

I would recommend flashing the stock Google build to your phone. The Google factory images work with any GSM phone. It's not that difficult to do, but will wipe your phone. However, it is somewhat technical. There's a bit of work getting the usb drivers installed, and the Android toolkit. I believe there's a Windows app that makes it as easy as clicking a button. (But you still would need to get the usb drivers going.)

There's a post here on AC from Jerry Hildenbrand that walks through the process. I wish I could remember the article name to help point you there better.

 

[ajonesma]

Using this tool from XDA (link below) you can install the factory image for the GSM Nexus as well as the Verizon one.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1614827

 

[sting7k]

It's the GSM unlocked version yes, using on AT&T.

This is my first Android phone, how can I tell what specific build I have other than just 4.0.2? Is there anyway to know if I have the EU or US version? Is there really a difference?

The seller was from CA, I assumed unless you got the Verizon version they were all "Google" versions.

 

[ajonesma]

At the bottom of the About screen there is a build number, for my Sprint GNex its IMM76D.

As far as telling which version (EU or US) I'm not sure since mine isn't a GSM one.

 

[sting7k]

Build number
ICL53F.I9250XWKL2

What is that build?

Maybe I should just forget 4.0.4, how long might it take for 4.1 to be released. Assuming of course it's announced tomorrow.

Edit - According to the app Android system info I have YAKJUXW

 

[font1975]

Build number
ICL53F.I9250XWKL2

What is that build?

Maybe I should just forget 4.0.4, how long might it take for 4.1 to be released. Assuming of course it's announced tomorrow.

Edit - According to the app Android system info I have YAKJUXW

A couple of things:
- It may be announced, but that doesn't mean it's released. It may be a month or two yet
- On the XW build, it may not be updated on any timely manner. If you're thinking of reflashing, do it now. Once on the Google build it will automatically update to 4.1 when it's made available.

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Build number
ICL53F.I9250XWKL2

What is that build?

Maybe I should just forget 4.0.4, how long might it take for 4.1 to be released. Assuming of course it's announced tomorrow.

Edit - According to the app Android system info I have YAKJUXW

So because you're not on a straight "yakju" build, but rather a region-specific "yakju**" build, you won't receive the updates as fast. Those builds are updated by Samsung and not Google directly, so you kinda have to wait for them unfortunately. Now I'm not sure what the status is of each of the builds, but I do know that some have started rolling out.

Luckily, you can flash to a "yakju" build without much trouble at all. It involves unlocking the bootloader and a complete wipe of the device. After that bit of hassle, you'll be on 100% stock ICS 4.0.4 and will receive all updates directly from Google. Something to think about.

Something to keep in mind about 4.1 is that that update would be delayed as well. These region-specific builds will be behind yakju a bit on every release. On top of that, although we'll pretty definitely see an announcement of Jellybean at I/O, that doesn't necessarily mean release. I guess we'll find out what their plan is.

 

[sting7k]

Ok, so what would be the easiest method to flash the yakju build? Could I just flash a 4.0.4 version? I'm using Win7 x64 if that matters for the tools I need.

Will this flash of the other build be permanent if I had to restore the phone down the road?

Finally are there any risks involved in flashing these builds?

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Ok, so what would be the easiest method to flash the yakju build? Could I just flash a 4.0.4 version? I'm using Win7 x64 if that matters for the tools I need.

Will this flash of the other build be permanent if I had to restore the phone down the road?

Finally are there any risks involved in flashing these builds?

The best way to flash it is to manually download the images from Google, open the packages and use Fastboot to flash via the command line. It gives the lowest possible chance of messing things up. Unless you mistype something, theres literally no chance of issues.

 

[sting7k]

I need a little more assistance than that, I don't know what any of that means. Long time iPhone user here and I never had interest in jailbreaking it.

Is this where I can get the factory images direct from Google?

https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

There are two 4.0.4 builds there, which one do you recommend?

The link above to the XDA forums isn't working right now. Where can I get these tools I will need or is there a tutorial on this site/some where?

 

[font1975]

Reflashing the phone is done via your PC. You connect your phone to your PC via a USB cable. I did warn you this is somewhat technical. A little daunting at first, but once you've done it, it is actually quite simple. Plus, you only have to do it once if you want to.

The 10,000ft overview is:

1. Download these USB drivers and unzip somewhere: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4174784/usb_driver.zip
2. Set your phone to USB Debugging. Go to Settings/Developer Options
3. Plug the USB cable from your phone into your PC
4. Load the drivers when prompted. (I can't remember if it pops a bubble up saying drivers not found or if you to go through the device manager).

Next, we have to install the Android SDK on your computer This gives us the ADB and FASTBOOT commands. For flashing, we just use FASTBOOT.

1. Download the Android SDK here: Android SDK | Android Developers
2. Install it, but don't bother installing any extra packages (unless you want to write apps)
3. Please write down what directory the program was installed in!
4. Open My Computer and click your way to that directory. On my PC it is C:\Android.
5. Open the folder ..\android-sdk
6. Hold down Shift and right-click on ..\platform-tools
7. Select "Open Command Window Here"
8. You now have a command prompt

Assuming you have done the steps above, and have the USB drivers successfully loaded, you can type in the command prompt:
adb devices
And you should see something like:
List of devices attached
0149F7510B005027 device

The numbers will be different, but if you see a number that looks like the "0149..." number, then the computer sees your phone. And you can continue with flashing. Let's stop here until we know you have your phone connected to your PC. (This is actually the hardest part in flashing your phone)

 

[sting7k]

Ok I will go through this when I get home as I am at work right now.

I'm just curious, are these specific drivers for doing this flashing and connecting to the tools?

 

[font1975]

Yes. It's needed so that your computer can communicate with your phone through the USB Debugging channel. Basically, its' the back door into the OS. You can do quite a bit, but all I've done is use ADB to backup apps and verify things are working, and FASTBOOT to flash the images onto the phone.

 

[sting7k]

OK so I am at right clicking to bring up the command prompt. But there is no platform-tools to click on.

I see;

Folders -
add-ons
platforms
tools

files-
AVD Manager
SDK Manager
SDK Readme
Uninstall

 

[font1975]

I'm about to head home from work. After you install the Android tools, you should see a folder for the platform-tools.

On my PC, the SDK was intalled in C:\Android. So the full path would be c:\android\android-sdk\platform-tools.

When you open c:\android\android-sdk, in the list of files&folders, you should see the folder "platform-tools". Hold shift key and right-click on the platform-tools folder. Select "Open Command Windows Here"

 

[sting7k]

That folder is not present. Just the things I listed above are in the android-sdk folder.

 

[sting7k]

Aha! Playing around a little here. I opened the SDK manager just to see what it does. It said sdk platform tools was not installed. I installed it with the manager. Went back to the directory, the folder was now there, and followed the steps. It appears to "see" my nexus. It said "devices attached" then there was a long number.

I think I got it!

Next please. That was pretty easy.

 

[sting7k]

In the SDK manager is there already a jellybean image up? Just curious, I don't really want a dev or beta build. I don't see 4.0.4, it stops at 4.0.3 and then goes to 4.1 on the list.

 

[font1975]

Cool. That was the hard part.... It may have JellyBean as a image for the emulator. You really don't want that on your phone.

Ok, so go to the develop page you found up above and download the TAKJU image. This image gives you Google Wallet. Same image that is on the now $349 GN from the play store. The image is .tgz. WinZip can read these and unzip. There may be other utilities out there. (I used my Linux machine to unpack it).

In any case, unzip it into the platform-tools folder. There are only five files.

Now comes the fun - and destructive - part. By following the next steps, you will be doing a factory wipe on your phone. So if you're not ready to wipe your phone, DO NOT PROCEED.

1. Connect your phone to your PC and verify it can be seen by the computer, by running the ADB devices command. [Of course you already did that]

2. Next, we'll boot the phone into the FastBoot (the recovery mode). According to Google, ADB can do this for you. The command is "ADB reboot bootloader". Phone should restart and stop booting with green Android on the screen.

3. When the phone is in the bootloader, enter "Fastboot oem unlock". Phone will display a warning message. Use volume buttons to highlight YES and power button to select.

4. Congratz, you just learned why the Nexus phones are loved by the hackers. By unlocking the boot loader, you can root your phone, flash a custom ROM, etc. etc.

5. Now, enter these commands to reflash the phone. These assume you unzipped TAKJU into the platform-tools directory:
- fastboot reboot-reloader (just to be sure it's fresh)
- fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-maguro-primela03.img
- fastboot reboot-reloader
- fastboot flash radio radio-maguro-i9250xxla02.img
- fastboot reboot-bootloader
- fastboot -w update image-takju-imm76i.zip

6. Phone should reboot into the new factory Google Android image