How To Use adb sideload To Update Nexus Devices

Nov 14, 2014

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You can use adb sideload to update Nexus device without rooting or custom recovery. The newest version of adb from the Android SDK, one could update their Nexus device through stock recovery, without having to root or flash a custom recovery.

It’s something we wish was there from day one, however, at least we have it now. And I know that many of you feel that Nexus devices shouldn’t ever have a stock recovery and that they should be hacked on daily, but try to keep in mind that some like Nexus phones and tablets because of constant updates and a 100% stock version of Android.

One had to do with my device ID not registering through the USB driver, requiring a manual edit of the “winusb.inf” file. The other was a Windows 8 security issue that wouldn’t allow me to install drivers that had not been signed, which is something that happens after you start manually editing driver files.

Instructions are for a Nexus device when connected to a Windows 8 PC.

How to use adb sideload in Windows 8

First, you need to install the latest Android SDK (or at least steal the newest adb.exe from it). [Android SDK]
Plug in your device to your Windows machine. Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
To test that you have adb up and running, and that your device is recognized, open a command prompt.
Type the following adb devices
You should get a serial number followed by “device.” 015d182f9a0aac28 device
If you see something along those lines, your adb is working properly, for now.
Download the update.zip from Google to your PC that you would like to install on your Nexus.
Move the file into your Platform-Tools folder.
Type the following: adb reboot bootloader
Your device will now reboot to the bootloader.
Use Volume Down on your device to until you see “Recovery.”
Select it with the Power button.
Your device will boot to an Android logo with a exclamation mark.
To jump past this, press Volume Up and Power at the same time.
Depending on the phone, you may have to press Volume Up first, then Power. On the Nexus 5, though, you press Power first, then Volume Up.
You will now be in stock recovery.
With Volume Down, highlight “apply update from ADB.” Press Power to choose it.
Back to your PC, type the following command: adb sideload <filename of update.zip>
Example: I tend to rename update files to something simple when I get them. For example, the 5.0 update for the Nexus 7 I renamed to JDQ50.zip, so my command was “adb sideload JDQ50.zip”
If your adb is working properly, you should see the file transfer to your device in adb.
If you get nothing, it’s time to troubleshoot.
Once that finishes, your device will begin to update.
Once it has finished, simply reboot and enjoy the update.

Tags:

Android, Nexus, Software, update

Amarnath Natarajan

I am a freelance programmer and tech enthusiast. In my spare time, I contribute to this website.

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