Last month almost all Nexus devices received the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA updates. However, some US variants of Nexus 6 were left behind and did not receive the update. However, now the updates are live for the Verizon Nexus 6. After a long wait, the OTA update is now available from the Google servers itself. It is for those devices running on Android 5.1.1 LMY48T build number. You can find the direct link of the OTA from the download section. We have also listed OTA updates for some other Nexus 6 variants.
This update was first reported on Tuesday. The over-the-air Marshmallow update comes for the Verizon Nexus 6 branded with Verizon sim and marks November 1, 2015 security patch level. Users can side load the Android 6.0 software with image captures as seen for the other Nexus devices like 9, 7, 5 and more. You can either access Software Update option to download Android 6.0 directly from their handsets or get to the manual methods listed down below.
To manually check the updates from the Settings app. Go to Settings> About Phone> Software Information/Updates. Tap the updates option and check if the update appear on your device. However, if you don’t see any action in there, then you can also apply it manually.
We have listed 2 methods using which you can install the OTA updates on your device. Both are manual methods and simple. The first one requires you to apply updates through a stock recovery and the other is a bit lengthy process and requires some setup. However, with simple and detailed instructions, this tutorial has been created for beginners. As it is a zip file its can also be flashed through a custom recovery as well. However, it has not been tested yet and could be a risk. Make sure to backup everything if you happen to use this method.
Downloads
Nexus 6 Android 6.0.0 Marshmallow OTA Update
5.1.1 LMY48T -> 6.0.0 MRA58R ( Branded with Verizon SIM)
5.1.1 LMY48M -> 5.1.1 LMY48T (International)
5.1.1 LVY48F -> 5.1.1 LVY48H (Project Fi Only)
5.1.1 LYZ28K -> 5.1.1 LYZ28M (T-Mobile USA Only)
Method 1: Install Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA For Verizon Nexus 6 through Stock Recovery
- Make sure you do not have any security updates available for your phone prior to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. If available, apply these updates to your phone.
- Download the OTA zip file from the download section for your device.
- Transfer the OTA zip file to your phone’s internal storage.
- Now, you need to boot your Nexus device into Stock Recovery mode. To boot into recovery, restart your device and press the Volume Down button while booting up. Or you can try Step 3-4 in next method.
- Once your phone boots into Recovery Mode, Select Apply Updates from phone’s storage and navigate to the OTA file you just saved on your phone. Use the volume keys to navigate and power key to confirm the action.
- The installation process will start on your device and take a few minutes.
- Once the installation is completes, it will automatically reboot. Otherwise, go back and reboot to system
If this method works for you then you can enjoy your new firmware. However, if it fails or does not gives an error, then we have another method for you given down below. If after this process the system does not boot, a factory reset might just work.
Method 2: Install Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA For Verizon Nexus 6 with adb sideload
This is another method to install OTA updates. To make this method work, you need to setup adb environment on your PC. You need to sideload the updates manually to your system.
Prerequisites
- Set up ADB and Fastboot on your computer. You can install the full Android SDK package from Google through this link, or get the quick adb and fastboot installer from here. For Mac or Linux OS, click here.
- Install latest Nexus USB Drivers on your computer. This is important to detect the phone.
- Open Settings> Developer options and enable USB Debugging on your device. To enable developer options, tap the Build Number multiple times (approx. 7 times) in About Phone.
Installation Instuctions
- Make sure you have setup ADB and Fastboot environment on your PC. Download the OTA package and place the file in the same directory where the adb is installed.
- Power off your device and keep it unplugged from your PC.
- Boot into stock recovery. To do so, press and hold volume down and the power button for 5-6 seconds.
- Now on the next screen, select the stock recovery option which will boot you into the recovery.
- Once into the stock recovery, select the option apply update from adb.
- Now plug in your device to the PC using a USB cable.
- Navigate to the location where your adb and fastboot is installed on your PC. While the folder with adb and fastboot files is open, right-click on an empty space and select “Open command window here” option to launch a command prompt window.
- Now check your adb connection by issuing the following command. It should return device information. Otherwise, you need to make sure your drivers are installed correctly.
adb devices
- Issue the following command to install the updates
adb sideload ota.zip
- This will flash the ota update to your system. “ota.zip” is the name of the file. Make sure you either rename the file to “ota.zip” or type the name of the file with proper extension.
- Once the installation completes, reboot to system.
For Mac or Linux users, setup adb and issue the “./adb sideload ota.zip” command without quotes. If you have a rooted device and a custom recovery installed, you can still flash the OTA updated provided you have the latest available stock firmware prior to Android 6.0. A nandroid backup could be found helpful in such cases.
Now that you have installed the OTA update, you can now enjoy Android 6.0 Marshmallow on your device. Do let us know about the update and if you have any queries, comment down below.
Also See:
Install Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA update on Nexus Device [OTA for Nexus 9,7,6,5 and more]
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