In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to install the official Android 7.0 Nougat on any Nexus device using OTA files. Now, this method will not erase anything on your phone but just in case, PLEASE MAKE A BACKUP OF EVERYTHING. This method also DOES NOT REQUIRE ROOT or unlocked bootloaders.
This method works on all Nexus devices including Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 5, Nexus 4, Nexus 10, etc…etc…
For list of supported Nexus devices for OTA updates, please check our Android 7.0 Nougat OTA Downloads page first.
Step 1. Power off your Nexus device then hold down Power button and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for about 5 seconds until you enter the fastboot mode with the Android belly up.
Step 2. Use Volume keys to choose “Recovery mode” and hit the Power button to enter recovery.
Step 3. Once in recovery, press both Power and Volume Up keys at the same time to enter the menus.
Step 4. Choose “Apply update from ADB” then connect a USB cable from your Nexus device to your computer.
Step 5. For Windows, install drivers. You should see “Android ADB Interface” under Device Manager. If you do not know how to install drivers, please watch our video tutorial.
You can download the Android Windows drivers here – Download
Step 6. Next, go ahead and download the OTA stock firmware for your Nexus device on our Android 7.0 Nougat OTA Downloads page.
Step 7. Download fastboot.zip and unzip the files into a folder called “fastboot”. Also copy over the OTA zip file into the fastboot directory.
Step 8. Open up a command prompt for Windows or terminal for Mac/Linux and type:
For Windows/Chromebook
cd Downloads
cd fastboot
adb sideload OTA.zip
Replace “OTA.zip” with the actual OTA file name.
For Mac OSX:
cd Downloads
cd fastboot
chmod 755 *
./adb-mac sideload OTA.zip
Replace “OTA.zip” with the actual OTA file name.
For Linux:
cd Downloads
cd fastboot
chmod 755 *
sudo ./adb-linux sideload OTA.zip
Replace “OTA.zip” with the actual OTA file name.
For Chromebook, install ADB for Chromebook.
Step 9. Once done, you should see “Install from ADB complete” on your phone. Hit Power key to reboot.
Once rebooted, you should find your Nexus device has been upgraded to Android 7.0, congrats!