Cherry pie, pumpkin pie, Android Pie.
Well, it's here: Android Pie is officially available, and that means finger-tapping, impatient waiting for the update to hit your phone.
Now that the update is available, there are a few things you need to know before receiving it. So read on and let's get the party started.
Android Pie review: Greater than the sum of its slices
The easy way
The harder way
Which phones are receiving the final Android Pie version?
As of today, there are just four phones receiving the Pie update directly from Google:
Pixel 2
Pixel 2 XL
Pixel
Pixel XL
That means your Nexus 5X or 6P is out of the running, unfortunately.
What about the phones included as part of the expanded Android Beta program?
For the first time ever, Google included non-Pixel or Nexus phones as part of its Android beta program. They were:
Nokia 7 Plus
OnePlus 6
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
Essential PH‑1
Sony Xperia XZ2
OPPO R15 Pro
Vivo X21
According to the company, "devices that participated in the Beta program from Sony Mobile, Xiaomi, HMD Global, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Essential, as well as all qualifying Android One devices, will receive this update by the end of this fall!" So you'll have to wait a bit longer.
What if I already have the Android P beta?
Nothing! You won't have to do anything — just wait for Google to send the over the air (OTA) update to your Pixel or Pixel 2. Once you receive the final software, you may choose to opt out of the beta program entirely to stay on the stable track.
What if I am running Oreo and want to install Pie as soon as possible?
Your Pixel or Pixel 2 will receive the Android Pie update in the next few weeks without your intervention. If you're patient (which, if you're reading this article, you're likely not), you can just sit and wait for the update to hit your phone.
If you want to fast-track your Pie update, you'll need to enroll in the Android Beta Program, which makes it super easy to opt in and out of the program. If you're more hardcore, or want to manually flash the Android P developer preview, we have those instructions, too.
The easy way — Android Beta Program
If you don't want to mess with unlocking your bootloader or the command line, you will get an update to the Android Pie if you're part of the Android Beta program. Simply visit the Android Beta portal and opt-in to the beta, which will then prompt Google to send your phone or tablet an over-the-air update. Depending on the timing, your phone will receive the latest beta and then an OTA for the final version, or it will just receive the final version of Android Pie.
Head to Android Beta program portal on your Pixel phone.
Sign into the Google account associated with that phone.
Scroll down to Your eligible devices.
Find the device you want to enroll in the Beta program and tap Opt in.
Follow the prompts to accept the over-the-air download.
Note: Once your phone receives the stable version of Android Pie, opting out of the beta program will not revert back to Oreo like it did in the beta — it will just prevent you from getting future beta updates.
The harder way — Flashing through bootloader
If you're really impatient, and don't want to wait for an over-the-air update to Android Pie, you'll need to go in through the back door — you'll need to flash the factory image or OTA update.
Before we go through the steps of sideloading Android updates, it is strongly recommended that you have previous knowledge of working with the Android SDK (software development kit) and the Terminal (OS X or Linux) or Command Prompt (Windows), as it is possible to harm your device if something were to go wrong in the following process.
If you need to download the Android SDK you can grab it from the Android Development website and follow their instructions on how to install it correctly. For the following process, all you will need is the adb and fastboot files which are located in the Platform Tools folder, so make sure to read the description at the dev site and grab the right download.
Additionally, all the following commands are written as they would be in Terminal on a Linux or OS X platform. If you are following this guide and using a Windows machine, you will not need to use the "./" seen in the guide. Just type the rest of the command line by line in the order they are listed and you'll be good.
Enable developer settings and USB debugging
Go to your Settings and scroll down to About Phone/Tablet.
Tap on the Build number seven times until the dialog box says you are now a developer.
Go back to the Settings menu and you should find a new option called Developer options. Tap into the Developer options.
Make sure that the developer options are turned on and that USB debugging is checked on.
Plug your device into your computer and tap "OK" on the dialog box asking you to Allow USB debugging while connected to the computer. You can also select to always allow access on that computer.
If done correctly, this will be everything you will need to do on your phone or tablet for the moment.
Unlocking your bootloader
Pixel phones bought from Google directly have a bootloader you can unlock. If you want to manually flash software, you'll need to do this.
To do this you must first boot into your bootloader. You can either manually turn off your phone or tablet and hold down the power button and the volume down button to enter your device's Bootloader Menu or you can enter the following commands into your terminal or command prompt.
Run the following command to make sure your device is properly connected to your computer. If it returns a string of characters it means that you are all set to start updating your device.
./adb devices
Now to enter into the Bootloader menu just run the following command.
./adb reboot bootloader
At the bottom of the screen, there will be several things listed including the lock state of the device. This should say locked unless you have unlocked your bootloader in the past and never went back and locked it again.
To unlock your bootloader, which is required only when flashing a stock firmware image (not sideloading an update), you must enter the following commands. Remember that when unlocking your phone's bootloader it will factory reset your device, so you will lose everything stored on it. If you have not yet backed up anything important on your device you can hit the power button while Start is highlighted in the Bootloader menu and this will boot you back into your device like normal. Now back to unlocking your bootloader.
Now type:
./fastboot flashing unlock
A dialog will appear on the device asking if you are sure about unlocking. Again this will factory reset your device, so if you want to back out of the process you just need to select no with the power button. If you are ready to unlock your bootloader you press the volume up button and then the power button to confirm that you wish to unlock your bootloader.
./fastboot reboot-bootloader
It is recommended to reboot the bootloader just to give itself a check to make sure everything is working correctly before moving on to the next step.
Flashing the stock image or OTA update
Now that your bootloader is unlocked, it's time to flash the new firmware. To find the images, head on over to the Android Factory Images page, find your device, and download the latest image. It is easiest to then uncompress the file in the Platform Tools folder you downloaded (where the adb and fastboot files are) so that you don't have to type the path to the different files when flashing the firmware. (Or if you know that you can drag a file into a terminal window to copy the path, just do that.)
To begin, make sure you are still in the bootloader menu on your device and double check that your bootloader is in fact unlocked.
First, make sure that your computer is communicating correctly with your phone or tablet. As long as your device's serial number comes back as a connected device you are ready to begin updating your device.
./fastboot devices
Once you've verified that the phone and the computer can communicate they way they need to, you can get to flashing.
Flashing a full Factory Image
First, you'll need to flash the updated bootloader with the following command.
./fastboot flash bootloader [bootloader file].img
You will not see anything on the screen of your device but there should be a dialog in your terminal or command prompt. When it is done flashing the bootloader you should reboot back into the bootloader to make sure everything is still working correctly.
./fastboot reboot-bootloader
Next, you flash the updated radios. This step is only necessary if you are updating the firmware of a phone or tablet that has cellular radios built into it.
./fastboot flash radio [radio file].img
./fastboot reboot-bootloader
Finally, it's time to flash the actual system image to your phone or tablet.
Warning: The following line of code will wipe your device. Normally, you can remove the "-w" from the command but when moving to a beta version of Android it's not guaranteed to work.
./fastboot -w update [image file].zip
When this is done, your phone will restart itself and boot up normally. As this process clears all data from your device, it will take slightly longer for your device to boot up for the first time. Once you have been greeted with the device setup walkthrough process, you know you have successfully flashed a new version of the firmware.
If you do not want to enter the commands manually there are scripts included in the compressed folder containing the system image that will do most but not all of the heavy lifting for you. The flash-all script files will automate the flashing of the bootloader, radios (if needed), and the system image. The problem with this process is that you must first make sure that your phone is in the bootloader menu and its bootloader must be unlocked before starting the script. Of course, if these are not already done the script will fail to run and nothing will happen.
Flashing a Full OTA File
If you've never manually changed any part of the storage space or removed any files by hand from your Pixel or Pixel 2, you can just flash the OTA file. It's a bit more complex that flashing the Factory Image because you need adb over fastboot to work (hint — use a good cable and a primary USB 2.0 or 3.0 port on your computer if possible) but it can be safer than flashing a factory image because it's designed to be automated and not wipe your device.
First, check one last time to see if the OTA is ready for your phone and if so let it install. If not, download the file for your device from the Android Full OTA Images page and store it in the folder where you have adb installed. Note: You don't need to unzip the file.
In Fastboot mode, and after verifying that your phone and PC can communicate as noted above, you need to enter the Recovery Menu. Do this by holding the power button and pressing the Volume Up button one time.
The recovery menu allows you to enter what's called sideload mode where you can install an OTA packaged update over USB. To enter sideload mode select the option labeled Apply update from ADB.
Next, you'll need to check that your PC can see your phone through the debug bridge while in fastboot. Do this by entering the following command:
adb devices
You should see the serial number of your phone along with the words sideload in your command window. If you do, move on to the next step. If not, check that ADB works normally and that you have the latest version of the Android platform tools for your operating system and that you have the latest driver if you're using Windows.
If your PC and phone are communicating as expected, type in the following command:
adb sideload [ota file].zip
The update will be transferred and applied over the USB cable. Never unplug the USB cable during this operation even if you think something went wrong. Wait for your computer's command window to tell you it's finished successfully or finished because of an error. It will.
When the update has finished, choose Reboot system now to boot into the new version.
Going back to Oreo
If your phone is freaking out or you just want to go back to Oreo, it's definitely possible. The process is simple, and you just learned how to do it! Simply go back through the same steps above, except for two changes: you don't need to unlock your bootloader again, and you'll want to download the Oreo factory image from Google instead.
If you have any trouble along the way, be sure to hop into the forums and ask for help!
Android 9 Pie
Android 9 Pie review: Greater than the sum of its slices
Everything you need to know about Android 9 Pie!
Will my phone get Android Pie?
How to get Android 9 Pie on your Pixel right now
Join the Discussion
Update August 6, 2018: This article was renovated to explain how to upgrade to the stable version of Android 9 Pie.
source: https://www.androidcentral.com/how-get-android-pie
date: Mon, 06 Aug 2018 17:05:00 +0000
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