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Factory images for the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are now available
Now your phone just needs to arrive
The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are here, complete with glowing reviews and availability problems for both. They're quickly picking up reputations as the first "true" flagships released by Google, and that's for a lot of good reasons. With both officially out today and shipments for pre-orders underway, Google has released its official factory images for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
Rooting and ROMing is sadly declining in popularity these days, but Pixel devices remain a popular option for those that still honor the practice, given their unlockable bootloaders. For folks with that inclination that picked up the brand new Pixel 5a, Google has just published the full suite of OTA and factory images that can both make recovering from an accident a little easier and potentially offer a means for some future fun.
Google has just dumped the first set of OTA and factory images for its hot new Pixel 4a. For most of us, that doesn't mean much — these aren't new updates or anything like that — but for the intrepid root and ROM crowd, that means they've got a method of easily flashing back to stock if they need it, plus convenient images to dig through or tweak.
One of the main selling points for all OnePlus phones is the extensive custom ROM community, giving the devices plenty of OS options if the stock OxygenOS software isn't satisfactory. If you've already bought a OnePlus 7T and started experimenting with it, the stock software is now available for download, in the event you mess something up and need to go back to square one.
Following the Razer Phone 2's Android 9 Pie release late last month, the company has published updated factory images and kernel source code for the phone. The files are now available for download on Razer's site for those of you who need them.
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The pace of Android P Developer Previews marches on, and DP5 was just pushed out into the world. This marks what should be the final release candidate developer preview for Android P before its release later in Q3 of this year. Developers and enthusiasts alike should make sure they're prepared for the changes in store.
Hot on the heels of Samsung and its Oreo beta for the Galaxy S8, for which an update has already been released, Essential has posted an Oreo beta image for owners to flash. Also now present are regular factory images, which were previously unavailable. The only caveat is that you must sideload it via ADB; there's no OTA.
The September 2017 Android security update is here, and the bulletin contains the usual details about vulnerabilities that could be affecting various Android devices. Images and OTAs that include the September patches should protect against any possible issues, but so far they're only available for the Nexus 9 on Android 7.1.1. There are no Android 8.0 Oreo images with September patches for Pixel or Nexus devices live yet, but it shouldn't be too long before they are added.
Android 8.0 Oreo made its official debut a little over a week ago, but since then, only devices enrolled in the Android Beta Program have received an official OTA to 8.0. Verizon Pixel phones began receiving the official version earlier today, but it looks like other devices haven't been as fortunate. Luckily, Google has just uploaded factory images and OTAs for Nexus and Pixel devices to their respective pages.
Android 7.0 Nougat was officially released over three weeks ago, and people instantly went insane over the lack of any factory or OTA images available for the Nexus 6 (but not so much for the Nexus 9 LTE, since they didn't sell too many). We reached out to Google, and it seems like you guys are gonna have to wait for just a few more weeks.
The title says it all, really—the Nexus 6P finally has a downloadable factory image and OTA, courtesy of Google. This news comes shortly after Vodafone announced that it was halting the Nougat OTA for the 6P due to unnamed issues. Earlier this month, when the September security update came out for Nexus devices, we were both puzzled and disappointed when only the Marshmallow Nexus 6P build received the security update, but both the image and OTA are finally here.
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Yesterday T-Mobile announced new over-the-air updates for the Nexus 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9. They contained security and bug-related fixes that, for the most part, aren't all that exciting. The patches amounted to under 20MB for all but the Nexus 6, which was under 30. But Google didn't promise us fun when it promised monthly Nexus updates.
Did you manage to get into the earliest part of Google's Project Fi carrier program? Good for you. Celebrate your good fortune with the factory image for Android 5.1.1 build LVY48C on the Nexus 6, which went out in over-the-air form last week. There aren't any major user-facing changes between this version and other N6 builds, just some under-the-hood changes to make Google's unique combination data system work.
We've seen an oddly isolated Nexus factory image update today, for one and only one device: the N7 2013 Wi-Fi. It's been bumped from version LMY47V to version LMY48G, with no update to the Android version number - it's still Lollipop 5.1.1. You can download the image and flash it right now, but you might as well wait for the over-the-air update, because you're not likely to see anything new in there.
One of the tools any good flashaholic should be familiar with is fastboot. Like ADB, the help screen for fastboot received some changes with the preview release of Android M. The reboot command now offers a friendlier syntax to reach the bootloader, and there is a new set of "flashing" commands designed to prevent write operations from occurring when they aren't desired. There's also a fix for the "missing system.img" error that some people experienced after trying to use the flash-all script to install factory images.
If you've been patiently waiting for Android 5.1.1 on your T-Mobile -activated N6, but can't flash the over-the-air update after applying some kind of software modifications, now you can grab the full factory image directly from Google's server. This is build LYZ28E, the latest one available specifically for phones with T-Mobile SIM cards.
The Android 5.1.1 factory image for the Wi-Fi Nexus 9 came just over a week ago, and now it's the LTE-enabled model's turn. Google has posted a factory image that bumps the tablet up to version LMY47X.
If you took the plunge on one of those new LTE Nexus 9s earlier today, you'll be happy to know there's a factory image waiting for you. That makes restoring the device to stock a snap. All you need is a computer, a USB cable, and an unlocked bootloader.
Sometimes late nights lead to interesting tips finding their way into our inbox. Tonight was just such a night. If you've been waiting to get a taste of Lollipop on your Nexus 7 2012, you're in luck. We just happen to have signed factory images for Google's original 7" tablet. The build is LRX21P, which lines up with builds we've seen on the Nexus 9 and Nexus Player (LRX21L and LRX21M respectively). Our source tells us that these images are most likely final, but as with any leak, that can't be said with certainty until we get something official. That said, the fact that these images are living on a Google server adds a lot of strength to the case for these being the ones that will be released.