After delaying the launch of its latest Android Lollipop for its 2 year old Nexus 4, Google has released an Android 5.0 factory image (LRX21T) for it.
Please note that as it is not available via FOTA at the moment (it is expected soon) you’ll have to follow the manual procedure for flashing your phone with the latest Android OS.
Here is how you can flash the Android 5.0 factory image:
- Download the factory image for Nexus 4 and unzip it to any folder.
- Connect your Nexus 4 to your PC via USB and start the device in fastboot mode using any of these methods.
- If required, you’ll have to unlock the bootloader by running the following command:
fastboot oem unlockThe phone will show you a confirmation message as “This erases all data on the target device.”
- Now open the terminal and head to the directory (folder) where you unzipped the contents of the zipped factory image.
- Now run flash-all command.This will install all the required resources like baseband firmware and bootloader along with the core OS.
- That’s it. Your Nexus 4 will reboot after the flashing is done and welcome you to Android Lollipop.
You might also want to lock the bootloader again if you that’s what concerns you by running the following command:
fastboot oem lock
If you are uncomfortable with this method then you should wait for a few more days till Android 5.0 is available for your Nexus 4 via over-the-air update.
For a more detailed flashing process please read this post.
