As promised by Google this afternoon announced Android M Developer Preview 2 update and available as we speak. This is a gradual upgrade to Android M, which was released in May. For those who want to try it, the guide below will show users how to install Google’s latest Android M Dev Preview 2 right now.
Google is making it available to developers and enthusiasts who want to try early access to an Android M beta months before the official release later this year. They have confirmed that Android M will arrive before the end of September, but certain Nexus owners can try it right now. Google announced that those in developer preview 1 will receive an over-the-air update and anyone with a Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 or Nexus Player can download and install Android M Beta 2 factory images today.
The Android M DP2 System Image is a download that contains all the files needed to install the Android M round 2 stock version on the Nexus 5, 6, 9 or Player. This is essentially everything you would download as an OTA update for regular Android updates.
A host of new features including Android M, Doze, Android Pay, native fingerprint support, multi-window mode, Google Now on Tap, USB Type-C ports and much more for Android smartphones and tablets will offer battery life improvements. . There’s a lot going on behind the scenes and a few visual changes, and some users will want to try all of them early.
Before we begin, we need to say that this is not official software that average users should install on their everyday device. This is an early developer preview (beta) of Android M to test and prepare apps for all changes and may not be 100% stable or functional. Features are missing, some apps are broken, but overall it looks pretty neat. However, proceed with caution and at your own risk.
This guide will show you how to install the latest Nexus Android M Update. This is something you can do from Windows, Mac, Linux or ChromeOS. There are many ways to do this and many things that can go wrong, but below are the easiest steps without spending hours installing all of Google’s developer software.
How to Install ADB on Windows, Mac, Ubuntu and ChromeOS
Before installing Android M Preview 2 on Nexus 5, Nexus 6 or others, you need to install ADB and Fastboot on your computer. This is a program that runs on your PC/Mac to connect to your Android device via a USB cable and install Android software on your device.
Installing ADB and Fastboot is one of the hardest parts of installing Android factory images, but a few simple tools make it incredibly easy.
How to Install ADB on Windows
If you are using a Windows machine including Windows 8 and up to Windows 8.1, you can use the 15 second adb installer to make the process easier.
Download ADB installer for Windows. Locate the file, right-click on it and choose Run as Administrator. When prompted, you must grant access to the application to run as administrator. Once the application is started type a Y and enter to Install ADB & Fastboot, select yes to install system-wide ADB/Fastboot intsll and Drivers. When a new window opens, follow the steps to install the drivers.
Once this is installed you should be ready to install Android M Preview 2 on a supported Nexus device.
How to Install ADB on Mac, Linux, and ChromeOS
Nexus Tools makes it easy to install ADB on a Mac, Linux, or even ChromeOS. All you have to do is open Terminal on your computer and code from xda. Open terminal by going to search and typing Terminal and opening the program.
This will install ADB and Fastboot on Mac, Linux and Chrome OS without you needing to do anything else. It’s extremely easy and avoids all the ADB package mess that usually takes hours to complete.
After the script is complete, you can type ADB or Fastboot to start running any program. This is where you need to be to install the new Android M system images provided by Google on your device. Don’t forget to go into settings > developer options and enable USB Debugging first.
How to Install Android M Dev Preview 2 Now
The first thing you need to do is download the newly released Android M Developer Preview 2. System Image for your device. You can find them at the links below. You must agree to the terms that this is a preview copy only, and then continue. We’ve already noticed that a few features are missing, so proceed at your own risk.
You will need to unzip these files to a folder you can access, we just extracted them to our Mac desktop. After unzipping the Android M system image, you will need to find this folder and type cmd in the address bar on Windows or open the terminal and change the folder to this folder on Mac, Linux or Chrome OS. Reminder, if you are using a MAC, you need to make sure the terminal is running inside the folder you just opened.
If your Nexus is not bootloader unlocked, you should do this first. We were unable to load the Android M System image and update while the device was locked. This will wipe your device and remove all user data, settings, pictures, etc. will delete it. Repeat, this will delete everything!
Open a Terminal in the adb folder and type the following command and hit enter.
adb reboot bootloader
In fastboot type:
fastboot oem unlock
Then press enter. Follow the onscreen instructions and choose to wipe the device. Wait a minute or so to unlock. This removes everything from your device.
Flash the Factory Image
Now open the folder containing the uncompressed Android M Dev Preview 2System Image file you downloaded. Type cmd in the address bar. Type the following commands posted below and hit enter. On Mac, you can open Terminal in folder by enabling terminal shortcuts in settings. . Go to System Preferences and select Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services. Find “New Terminal in Folder” in settings and click the box. Now while in Finder, right-click on a folder and it will show Terminal open for you to open. Or do this from the desktop where you opened the Factory image as shown below.
Once in the terminal, simply copy and paste the commands below to install Android M Dev 2 on your Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 or even Nexus Player.
flash-all.bat
This will flash all the necessary files. If you are on one or another computer, you need to type;
sudo ./flash-all.sh
This will force all files and update your device to the newly released Android M developer preview 2. Files will start pushing and uploading and your Nexus may reboot and you’ll see an Android figure followed by an animated Android logo. The logo screen may stay for a long time. . You may run into an issue that we did and will explain below.
Many users may encounter an error and the installation is aborted. This is because of the way you are trying to flash the update. Instructions on how to overcome this, found right here. Essentially, users need to unzip the update.zip folder and move all the images to the original folder we mentioned above, then manually flash them one by one, starting with the bootloader, then the radio, and the flash-all command mentioned above. Only do this if you run into problems.
Once done, you can enter your information or Gmail account and start using Android M version 2 on your Nexus devices today. Try using Google’s Tap & Go (auto-restore) feature to use NFC to automatically restore all apps, settings, accounts, and more from another device. It was introduced with Android 5.0 Lollipop and is available here as well. We went with a clean install to start everything fresh.
For those who don’t want to linger with all this, we expect the official Android 5.2 update to arrive later this year. Google has mentioned a Q3 release date for Nexus smartphones and tablets, and we’ll update when we know more. This is the only way to try Android M right now for the foreseeable future. The new Google schedule is essentially confirming that Android M will be released before the end of September, more than a month from Android 4.4 KitKat and Android 5.0 Lollipop, so try the steps above or wait a few more months. Enjoy!
