Last Updated on April 10, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake
As you know Google showed off the first Developer Preview for the Android 5.0 Lollipop. Since mid-year we have seen it in the testing phases and today it is still to be released as an official build. We know that the first ever smartphone to see the real Android 5.0 is the Nexus 6 and the first tablet is the Nexus 9. However, Google still have not unveiled either device. After the official launch of the newfangled Nexus range we will see a slew of handsets start to see the Android 5.0 Lollipop software. The Nexus 5 won’t be far away from the top of the list since it is a Nexus-based smartphone. However, since it is last year’s model we know it won’t be at the start of the roll out phase.
The Developer Preview is great for developers who wish to start optimizing their application with the new software iteration that will take up the next 12-month period. We expect the Nexus 5 to begin seeing the official stuff sometime during early November. That means you don’t have much time to get your work done. Therefore you want to start this download as soon as you can so get cracking.
Android 5.0 comes with the new API number 21. API 21 comes with camera 2.0, DNG support, better performance, JobSchedule improvements, additional material design elements making it better than the last and more. We know material design is the next-generation graphics that enhance our displays in others ways than just looking at a Quad HD display and the extreme pixel density. The Material design gives a flat 3D effect and brings out the most from shadows to ripples, making it more lifelike.
Being developers, you can likely skip ahead and start the steps instead of reading the pre-requisites. However, if you are suffering from memory loss since you have not updated a phone manually in a while, you are more than welcome to check them out. For everyone else, it might be better to look in another direction or wait until the stock stuff comes out. I do not endorse installing this on your daily drive, especially if you use it for work purposes. It can have bugs, suffer from lag issues, and is still in the experimental stages. However, if you are young without many responsibilities and want to have some fun this is a great idea for you.
- The final Developer build comes with new APIs, Material Design UI theme, OpenGL ES3.1, improved Notifications, Android Runtime (ART) and more.
- Make all of the necessary backups since it does wipe your device. The only way to avoid data loss is to edit the fastboot update image-hammerhead-lpx13d.zip script file and take away the -w value. For everyone else you want to backup the phone contacts, call logs, market applications, SMS texts, videos, music files, pictures and more. backup the SMS texts by using the SMS backup app from Google Play.
- Use apps such as Helium for those running stock Android and Titanium for those of you who already have root access. However, obviously root is taken away by flashing this file listed below.
- Make sure you have the up-to-date LG USB Drivers and turn USB Debugging Mode on by stopping over at the Developer options menu.
- We are installing the Dev Preview the same way that all of the other Android factory images are flash and that’s by using Android SDK 5.0 on your PC.
- Factory images are more complicated than flashing updates with Odin; therefore we recommended leaving this for advanced users only. if you do not know the technical side it’s best to search for somebody who does.
- Important: You must have fastboot pre-installed and working on the computer before starting the steps or else they will not work.
- You need a Windows-based PC running Windows XP through to Windows 10. A notebook, laptop or desktop computer are all applicable so long as there is a working USB slot mounted so we can plug the handset into the slot. Most people will notice USB charging taking over the battery concerns so there’s no reason to worry about the charge levels. However, if USB charging is not working for you , you want to start with no less than 505 battery charge. You can check the battery levels by turning the smartphone on and unlocking the pass code and finally observing the battery icon in the status bar menu from the home screen.
How to update The Google Nexus 5 with Android 5.0 LPX13D Lollipop Developer Preview
1. Turn the computer on and log in to your account.
2. Download the hammerhead-lpx13d-preview-f7596f51 package from here.
– use the desktop so you can locate the file easily.
– use the C: Drive is you wish to keep the file long-term.
Extract the content from the folder. You should notice the hammerhead file
3. Boot the Nexus 5 into fastboot mode (otherwise known as bootloader mode to some).
– press the Volume Down + Power + Volume Up buttons at the same time.
4. Copy the hammerhead file from the desktop to the fastboot directory.
5. Run the flash-all.bat file for Windows users from the directory.
– look for flash-all.sh files on both Mac OS X and Linux-based operating systems.
6. Do not touch any buttons until the flashing stops.
7. It will reboot automatically when it finishes. the initial boot process can take longer this time compared to a standard time due to the additional processes.