How to Manually Install Android Lollipop (5.0, 5.1) On Nexus Devices (Windows and Linux)

Android 5.0 to 5.1 Lollipop for the Nexus started rolling out few months ago, bumping up the Smartphone’s Android build from LRX22C to LMY470. Although some users have started receiving the over-the-air (OTA) update for Android 5.1, plenty of others are still waiting for the update to arrive on their phones. In this post, we’ll show you how to manually install Android Lollipop on a Nexus device.

Nexus device (Google Nexus) is a line of consumer electronic devices that run the Android operating system. Google manages the design, development, marketing, and support of these devices, but some development and all manufacturing are carried out by partnering original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The product family consists mostly of mobile devices, smartphones and tablet computers. As of April 2015, the devices currently available in the line are the Nexus 6 smartphone (made with Motorola Mobility), Nexus 9 tablet (made with HTC), and Nexus Player digital media player (made with Asus).

Android Lollipop is a version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google, spanning versions between 5.0 and 5.1.1. It wasUnveiled on June 25, 2014, during the Google I/O conference, and it became available through official over-the-air (OTA) updates on November 12, 2014, for select devices that run distributions of Android serviced by Google (such as Nexus and Google Play edition devices).

What will you need before you get started?

A Nexus device along with a USB cable to connect it to your computer.

The Android SDK installed on your machine with ADB and Fastboot command successfully working. Here’s a simple tutorial on how to do that.

You will need the appropriate factory image for your Nexus device. Go to this website to download them and make sure you get the right one for your device. It’s worth it to spend a moment to make sure you have the right one rather than have to deal with the issues of downloading the wrong one.

You’ll also need 7zip or a similar program that can handle .tgz and .tar files. You can download 7zip for free here.

You will also need to unlock your Nexus bootloader.

Beware, this will erase your data. It’s also worth noting that flashing a factory image will also erase your data. Make sure to back it up!

How to manually install Android Lollipop on a Nexus device

1. Boot your Nexus device into fastboot mode. You do this by turning it off and holding down the volume up + volume down keys and then pressing power. That should work for all modern Nexus devices but if not, you may need to Google Search how to do it on yours.

2. On your computer, use 7zip to extract the .tgz file you downloaded from the Android Developer website. Use 7zip a second time to extract the .tar file you extracted from the .tgz. When you’re done, you should have a folder with several files in it.

3. Copy all of these files and paste them in the platform-tools folder in the Android SDK on your computer. If you followed the above tutorial, this should be under the C drive, then under Program Files (x86) on Windows. Linux users, you know where you put it.

4. If you have not already done so, connect your Nexus device to your computer. ADB and Fastboot commands should already work at this point if you’ve been following along.

5. There are two flash-all files. If you’re in Windows, you’ll want to double click the one that has the gear logo and says “Windows Batch File” on the right. If you’re on Linux, you’ll want to double click the flash-all.sh.

6. At this point a box should pop up and you should see the installation taking place. While this is going on, do not unplug your device for any reason.

7. Once the installation process as finished, your device will automatically reboot and you should see the official Android Lollipop boot animation start up. You can now safely disconnect your device from your computer. Congrats, you now have Lollipop!

You can also get more details about How to manually install Android Lollipop on a Nexus device here

Good luck, have fun, and we hope you enjoy Android Lollipop!