Last Updated on April 9, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake

The official Android 5.0.1 Lollipop is rolling for the Nexus 4 thanks to the folks out of Mountain View. You can wait for the over the air signals to flow in your direction or skip the waiting line and flash the file manually. If it’s the latter you are interested in you can follow the steps below. Note that each Nexus device has a unique build number, so you can’t mix and match firmware.

If you open up the internal hardware with root access after updating to the original 5.0.0 Lollipop, you must understand that root access is lost. Flashing files manually is the safest way to lose the root access. We don’t endorse accepting any OTA updates unless the phone carrier specifically mentions that it’s fine.

Nexus 4 Lollipop
Whenever we make drastic changes in software such as the jump from KitKat to Lollipop, there are always bugs and stability issues. Generally they are minor and it’s fine for your daily phone. Developers and Google spend unnumbered hours trying to perfect the firmware for the live release. Google’s goal is to offer a stable ROM as we head towards 2015. After new year’s celebrations it won’t be long until we see another update. Hopefully the next installment comes with some added feature like we saw with Android 4.4.2 KitKat.

  • You do keep any remaining warranty on your device. The warranty is never effected by installing official software updates.
  • You can follow the steps for the Nexus 4  below if you have a locked or unlocked bootloader. You don’t need to research what that is if you don’t know because it covers all the options.
  • You must have Android SDK setup on your computer. It works for Linux, Mac and Windows. However, some of our specific notes may only relate to those of you with Windows.
  • USB charging is taking care of your battery, so you don’t have to charge the smartphone battery before starting. However, if yours doesn’t automatically start charging when you are plugged into the computer you should reserve at least 50% battery power before starting.
  • View the battery icon from the status bar to check how much power is left. You can’t view the status bar unless you turn on the phone.
  • Enable USB Debugging Mode from the Developer Options menu. Navigate to Menu > Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging.
  • The USB Debugging option may be hidden if you are running an earlier version of Android and not Lollipop. Make it appear by tapping on the build number seven times. You find the build number directly from the Settings.
  • Research if there are ways to open up the device away from the factory restrictions if you are planning on rooting the handset after upgrading. Sometimes a new guide takes time to release. Google often apply patches over the old exploits which means you can’t use the same guide you used before for the earlier version of 5.0 Lollipop.
  • Backup the EFS folder before flashing the firmware. There are applications available from the Google Play Store on the EFS. Our pick is the direct link here for all Nexus devices. By backing up the EFS folder it means you can restore it if you lose the data.
  • Furthermore, you ought to back up the rest of your data including the SMS texts, phone contacts, pictures, music, video, settings any anything else you would rather not risk losing. Note that we don’t predict data loss from upgrading official firmware releases from Google. However, if you do need a factory reset or a hard reset, the data is wiped. That leaves you with a phone looking like it just came out of the box.
  • Update to LRX22c is you wish to install bug fixes and stability improvements. Moreover, the ROM performs better than last time.

How to update Google Nexus 4 with Android 5.0.1 LRX22C Lollipop

  • Download Android SDK here.
  • Open the C:/ partition and create a new folder called “SDK.”
  • Transfer the files from the first step to the folder you created in the second step.
  • Launch the SDK manager from the files.
  • Install the files for the SDK manager.

It’s time to start flashing the new firmware after you finish with the SDK manager.

  1. Download the official LRX22C Lollipop file from here.
  2. Change the name of the zip file to “update.zip.”
  3. Transfer the update zip to the “platform-tools” folder.
  4. Turn off the first-gen Nexus handset.
  5. Turn on in recovery mode by pressing Volume Up and Volume Down plus the Power keys.
  6. Let go of the keys when fastboot appears on the display.
  7. Use the Volume keys to toggle through the words until it sits on “recovery mode.”
  8. Confirm you wish to enter that mode.
  9. Pick the “apply update from adb.”
  10. Connect the Nexus to the computer using the USB wire.
    – check the phone charger if you cannot find the wire.
  11. Open the Platform Tools folder and right-lick the mouse on a blank white space while holding the Shift key.
  12. Pick the “open command window here”
    – the command prompt is opening.
  13. Type “adb devices” to make sure the connection is working.
  14. Type “adb sideload update.zip” and press Enter.
  15. The firmware is flashing to the device.
  16. Pick the “reboot system now” option.
  17. Safely disconnect from the computer by stopping the USB mass Storage device.

Apply a hard reset if your device isn’t working. Wait at least fifteen minutes before making that decision. The phone takes longer to load and flashing updates is never quick. It may appear like it’s not working when it is just taking longer than you thought. Apply the hard reset by turning off the phone, holding down the Volume Down and the Power keys, scrolling to recovery mode and select Wipe data/factory reset.