[GUIDE] Unlock/Root/Flash for Nexus 6P

[Heisenberg]

[SIZE=+3]Heisenberg's How-To Guide For Beginners[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]Nexus 6P[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+1]Intro[/SIZE]

This thread will serve as a location for basic how-to guides for the Nexus 6P. I'm going to start off with a couple of the more obvious ones and go from there. If anyone has any suggestions for additions please feel free to let me know.

If you're unsure about something please read the FAQ section in post #3 before creating a post to ask a question.

[size=+1]Prerequisites[/size]:

Always update your phone to the latest build available before starting the unlocking/rooting process. This guide is always current/correct as per the requirements of the most recent build available.

You'll need a working adb/fastboot environment on your PC to get through some of these guides.

Google have finally decided to allow us to install adb & fastboot without needing to install the entire Android SDK. Hurrah! What does this mean for you? Much less mucking around. Grab the appropriate version for your OS:

Platform tools for Windows | Google USB driver for Windows
Platform tools for Linux
Platform tools for Mac
Main Page

Simply download and extract the archive (and follow the linked instructions for the Google USB Driver for Windows). Once you've extracted the download you should have a platform-tools folder, within that folder you should see fastboot and adb. I'll refer to this as your fastboot folder/directory or working folder/directory during this guide. To make sure adb is correctly installed, open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (hold shift + right click, select open command prompt here) and issue this command:

adb version

If it returns a version number for Android Debug Bridge then you're good to go.

You can test adb by connecting your device to your PC while booted into Android (making sure that adb/usb debugging is enabled in Settings>Developer Options) with the screen unlocked and issuing this command:

adb devices

It should return your device serial number, if so, adb is working.

You can test fastboot by connecting your device to your PC while booted into the bootloader (power + volume down) and issuing this command:

fastboot devices

It should return your device serial number, if so, fastboot is working.

Please see older method for installing adb/fastboot here:

You must have Java installed and up to date in order to use the SDK Manager, please ensure that this is taken care of before installing the SDK.

Please do not install adb/fastboot via any means other than the Android SDK, using other tools (like Minimal adb & fastboot) can lead to an outdated setup and various problems with flashing. You've been warned, other tools will not be supported in this thread.

Go here to download the Android SDK, which will give you most updated version of adb and fastboot. Scroll to the bottom of the page and find Other Download Options>SDK Tools Only, and grab the right version for your OS. While it's downloading create a folder in C:\ called SDK (C:\SDK). Once you've downloaded the zip you can extract it into your C:\SDK folder. Navigate to C:\SDK\android-sdk-windows and open SDK Manager.exe. In SDK Manager you need to install the following packages:

Tools> Android SDK Tools, Android SDK Platform-tools
Extras> Android Support Library, Google USB Driver

Once you have installed those, inside C:\SDK you should see some new folders, one of them will be called platform-tools, within that folder you should see fastboot.exe and adb.exe. I'll refer to this as your fastboot folder/directory or working folder/directory during this guide. To make sure adb is correctly installed, open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (hold shift + right click, select open command prompt here) and issue this command:

adb version

If it returns a version number for Android Debug Bridge then you're good to go.

You can test adb by connecting your device to your PC while booted into Android (making sure that adb/usb debugging is enabled in Settings>Developer Options) with the screen unlocked and issuing this command:

adb devices

It should return your device serial number, if so, adb is working.

You can test fastboot by connecting your device to your PC while booted into the bootloader (power + volume down) and issuing this command:

fastboot devices

It should return your device serial number, if so, fastboot is working.

By attempting any of the processes listed this thread you accept full responsibility for your actions. I will not be held responsible if your device stops working, catches on fire, or turns into a hipster and claims to have been modified before it was cool.

[SIZE=+1]Quick Tips[/SIZE]

How to boot into the bootloader:
Power off your device. Once it's powered off hold power + volume down and the phone will boot into the bootloader. You can also use the following adb command:

adb reboot bootloader

You can also use an app called Quick Boot to boot into the bootloader directly from Android (root required).

How to boot into recovery:
Boot into the bootloader (see above), use the volume keys to scroll through the options and use the power button to select the recovery mode option. You can also use the following adb command:

adb reboot recovery

You can also use an app called Quick Boot to boot into the recovery directly from Android (root required).

[SIZE=+1]Index[/SIZE]

Post #1
1. How To Unlock Your Bootloader
2. How To Install A Custom Recovery On Your Device
3. How To Decrypt Your Data Partition
4. How To Make A Nandroid Backup With TWRP Recovery
5. How To Make An EFS Backup With TWRP Recovery
6. How To Root

Post #2
7. How To Install A ROM with TWRP Recovery
8. How To Install A Custom Kernel With TWRP Recovery
9. How To Update To A New Build Of The Stock ROM
10. How To Flash The Factory Images (Return To Stock)
11. How To Flash The Factory Images (Return To Stock But Leaving Internal Storage Intact)
12. How To ADB Sideload an incremental OTA update package.
13. How To ADB Sideload a full OTA update package.
14. How To Update To Android 7.0 Nougat

FAQ can be found in post #3!

[SIZE=+1]1. How To Unlock Your Bootloader[/SIZE]

• Go into Settings/About Phone, scroll down and click on “build number” continuously until you see a toast notification telling you that you've enabled Developer Options. Go back to your Settings menu and enter Developer Options, scroll down and click on the “Enable OEM Unlock” checkbox, also make sure you enable USB Debugging while you're in the Developer Options menu.
  
• Power off your phone then boot into the bootloader (power + volume down).
  
• Connect your phone to your PC via usb cable.
  
• Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here).
  
• Check your fastboot connection by issuing this command:
  
  

  fastboot devices

  It should return your device serial number, if not you need to make sure your drivers are installed correctly.​
• Once you've confirmed your fastboot connection issue the unlock command:
  
  

  fastboot flashing unlock

  This will erase all user data from the device!
  
• You should now see a screen on your phone asking you to confirm this action, use the volume keys to scroll and the power key to confirm if you're sure you want to go ahead.
  
• Allow the process to complete and then issue this command:
  
  

  fastboot reboot

• Allow everything to go ahead and once finished you can disconnect your usb cable.

Note: After unlocking your bootloader, each time your phone boots up you'll be greeted with a warning that says "Your device software can't be checked for corruption. Please lock the bootloader". This is nothing to worry about, it's normal to see this when you have an unlocked bootloader. You can't remove it, as long as your bootloader is unlocked it will stay there.

Important: do not relock your bootloader unless your phone is fully stock. You must flash the factory images first in order to remove root and custom recovery (if you have them), if this precaution isn't taken you may end up with a brick. Please see section 10 of this guide for full instructions on how to return to stock.

[SIZE=+1]2. How To Install A Custom Recovery On Your Device[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1).

• Download the latest TWRP Recovery.
  
• Make sure you check the md5 of the file to verify its integrity (where possible).
  
• Place the file in your fastboot folder (this is where fastboot.exe is located on your PC).
  
• Boot into the bootloader. Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here), enter this command:
  
  

  fastboot flash recovery <filename>.img

  (The recovery filename in the command will change depending on which recovery you're flashing)
  
• Use the volume keys to scroll and power key to select the Reboot Bootloader option. Once the phone has booted back into the bootloader you can use the volume keys to scroll and the power key to boot into your newly flashed recovery. It's now safe to disconnect your usb cable.

When TWRP boots up you'll be asked whether you want to allow system modifications or to keep it read-only, choose to allow system modifications, there's no benefit to keeping it read-only.

On Nougat you need to flash SuperSU after booting into TWRP otherwise TWRP won't stick (see section 6).

Do not flash the version of SuperSU that TWRP offers to flash for you in order to give you root, it is not compatible and will cause problems. When you attempt to reboot out of TWRP it will tell you that it's detecting that you don't have root and it will offer to root for you, skip past this.

[SIZE=+1]3. How To Decrypt Your Data Partition[/SIZE]

This is no longer necessary as long as you use TWRP 2.8.7.1 or newer, unless you are using the Android N developer preview, in which case you must decrypt.

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1).

TWRP recovery cannot decrypt your data partition at this stage. In order for TWRP to be able to read/write on your data partition (to root or create a nandroid backup) you will need to format it, a format will remove encryption.

• Boot into the bootloader and connect your phone to your PC via usb cable.
  
• Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here), enter this command:
  

  fastboot format userdata

  Please note: this will erase all user data from the device!
  
• Once the process has completed you can either reboot normally:
  

  fastboot reboot

  Or you can reboot back to the bootloader in order to undertake another task:
  

  fastboot reboot-bootloader

[SIZE=+1]4. How To Make A Nandroid Backup With TWRP Recovery[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1), TWRP recovery (section 2).

Warning: before you make a backup with TWRP you must remove all lockscreen security. If you do not do this you will not be able to unlock your device after restoring your backup (entering your pin will result in an "incorrect pin" message), you'll be forced to perform a factory reset to boot into Android. To remove lockscreen security go to Settings>Security>Screen Lock and set it to swipe/none.

A nandroid backup is a very important thing to have before installing any custom software on your device. It's basically a backup of your stock system that you can fall back on if anything goes wrong or if you just want your stock ROM back. You can also use the backup tool to create a backup of your favourite ROM set up exactly the way you like it. The backup you create can be easily restored using the restore tool in TWRP recovery.

Boot into TWRP and select the backup option from the TWRP home screen, check the system/data/boor boxes, and swipe to backup. The process will take a few minutes.

Note: If you happened to forget to remove lockscreen security (PIN/Pattern/Fingerprint) before creating your backup, and you cannot get into your OS after restoring, you can do the following to fix the issue. Boot into TWRP and use the built in file manager to delete /data/sytem/locksettings.db. This should be enough to get you into your OS again. If it isn't you can also try deleting /data/system/locksettings.db-shm and /data/system/locksettings.db-wal. If this still doesn't fix your issue you can delete /data/system/gatekeeper.password.key and /data/system/gatekeeper.pattern.key.

[SIZE=+1]5. How To Make An EFS Backup With TWRP Recovery[/SIZE]

An EFS backup is very important to have, if your EFS partition becomes corrupt you will have no IMEI, and therefore will not be able to use the phone as a phone. Making an EFS backup is insurance against this catastrophic event. Without a backup, restoring your EFS can be extremely difficult or impossible. The backup you create can be easily restored using the restore tool in TWRP recovery.

Boot into TWRP and select the backup option from the TWRP home screen, make sure only the EFS box is selected, and swipe to backup. The process will take a few seconds. Keep a copy of the backup on your phone and also keep another copy somewhere safe.

[SIZE=+1]6. How To Root[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1), TWRP recovery (section 2).

• Download the latest root version (Magisk, SuperSU) of your choosing to your phone:
  Magisk Stable
  Magisk Beta
  SuperSU Stable
  SuperSU Beta
  
• Boot into TWRP recovery and enter the install menu.
  
• Navigate to where you have the root zip stored on your internal storage and select it.
  
• Swipe to install.
  
• Once the zip has installed you'll have an option to wipe cache/dalvik and an option to reboot system. Wipe the cache/dalvik, hit the back button, and hit the reboot system button. That's it.

Do not flash the version of SuperSU that TWRP offers to flash for you in order to give you root, it is not compatible and will cause problems. When you attempt to reboot out of TWRP it will tell you that it's detecting that you don't have root and it will offer to root for you, skip past this. You do have root, ignore this every time it comes up.

FAQ can be found in post #3!

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[Heisenberg]

FAQ can be found in post #3!

[SIZE=+1]7. How To Install A ROM with TWRP Recovery[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1), TWRP recovery (section 2).

Installing a ROM is a pretty straight forward and easy process. Before you install anything you should make a nandroid backup (instructions above).

• Download a ROM and appropriate Gapps package and place on your device. You'll also need to find out what build your ROM is based on and download the vendor image for that build, you'll find the latest in my index here.
  
• Boot into your custom recovery.
  
• Perform a full wipe.
  • Select the wipe option from the TWRP home screen.
    
  • Select advanced wipe.
    
  • Check the system, data, cache, and dalvik cache options.
    
  • Swipe to wipe.
• Install the ROM.
  • Select the install option from the TWRP home screen.
    
  • Navigate to where you have the ROM zip stored on your internal storage and select it. You can hit the "add more zips" button now to queue up your gapps package to be flashed after the ROM zip.
    
  • Swipe to install.
    
    Most ROMs will run an installer script at this point but some ROMs have what is called an Aroma Installer which allow you to choose some install options before the script runs.​
  • Hit the home button once everything has finished installing.
• Install the appropriate vendor image.
  • Select the install option from the TWRP home screen.
    
  • Click the "install image" button in the bottom-right corner.
    
  • Navigate to where you have the vendor image stored on your internal storage and select it.
    
  • You'll now be asked which partition to flash the image to, select vendor.
    
  • Swipe to install.
• Once you've installed all necessary zips/images you'll have an option to wipe cache/dalvik and an option to reboot system, hit the reboot system button and you'll boot into your new ROM.

[SIZE=+1]8. How To Install A Custom Kernel With TWRP Recovery[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1), TWRP recovery (section 2).

A custom kernel can open up a new level of control over your device, such as overclocking/underclocking, undervolting, changing governors, changing I/O schedulers, adjusting colour calibrations, adjusting sound calibrations, and many other options.

• Download a kernel that is compatible with your current ROM.
  
• Check the md5 to verify its integrity.
  
• Enter TWRP recovery.
  
• Select the install option from the TWRP home screen.
  
• Navigate to the kernel and select it.
  
• Swipe to install.
  
• You'll have an option to wipe cache/dalvik and an option to reboot system, hit the reboot system button.

Once your phone has booted up you can use a kernel tuning app to change governors, I/O scheduler, clock speed, and other options. Some of the popular kernel apps are Kernel Auditor, Trickster Mod, No Frills, Kernel Tuner, and many more.

[SIZE=+1]9. How To Update To A New Build Of The Stock ROM[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1).

This method does not wipe your data, so you will keep your apps and settings. You should have no problems, however, if you experience problems you may need to perform a factory reset and flash again. Make a backup first and transfer it to your PC.

• Download the latest build via the appropriate factory images for your model (Nexus 6P/Angler) here.
  
• Unzip the angler-xxxxxx-factory-xxxxxxxx (x's replace variables) into a directory on your PC (for this guide we'll use C:\angler\).
  
• Once unzipped you should have a folder named angler-xxxxxx (x's replace variables). Open it and move the following files to a new directory named C:\angler\images\:
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  (Please note that radio and bootloader naming changes from build to build so the filenames and below commands will change with them)
  
• Within C:\angler\angler-xxxxxx\ you'll see another zip archive named image-angler-xxxxxx, unzip the contents of that zip into the C:\angler\images\ folder we created before. Now within C:\angler\images\ you should have the following files:
  • android-info.txt
  • boot.img
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • cache.img (not present on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • recovery.img
  • system.img
  • userdata.img
  • vendor.img
• Boot into the bootloader and connect your phone to your PC via usb cable.
  
• Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here), enter these commands to flash:
  

  fastboot flash bootloader C:\angler\images\bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash radio C:\angler\images\radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash boot C:\angler\images\boot.img
  fastboot erase cache
  (above command is unnecessary on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  fastboot flash cache C:\angler\images\cache.img
  (above command is unnecessary on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  fastboot flash recovery C:\angler\images\recovery.img
  fastboot flash system C:\angler\images\system.img
  fastboot flash vendor C:\angler\images\vendor.img

  On 7.1.2 and above you'll also need to boot into TWRP recovery and wipe cache and dalvik cache.
  
• Once all operations are complete you can reboot the device.
  
• You'll have to flash SuperSU again now, plus add any mods that you previously had.

[SIZE=+1]10. How To Flash The Factory Images (And Return To Stock)[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1).

This section will explain how to return the phone to be like it was when it came out of the box. This will wipe everything from the phone. If you wish to flash the factory images without wiping your personal data from the internal storage please move on to the next section.

• Go to Settings/Backup & Reset and perform a factory data reset. This will remove all of your user data from the device (apps, settings, photos, music, etc).
  
• Download the appropriate factory images for your model here.
  
• Unzip the angler-xxxxxx-factory-xxxxxxxx (x's replace variables) into a directory on your PC (for this guide we'll use C:\angler\).
  
• Once unzipped you should have a folder named angler-xxxxxx (x's replace variables). Open it and move the following files to a new directory named C:\angler\images\:
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  (Please note that radio and bootloader naming changes from build to build so the filenames and below commands will change with them)
  
• Within C:\angler\angler-xxxxxx\ you'll see another zip archive named image-angler-xxxxxx, unzip the contents of that zip into the C:\angler\images\ folder we created before. Now within C:\angler\images\ you should have the following files:
  • android-info.txt
  • boot.img
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • cache.img (not present on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • recovery.img
  • system.img
  • userdata.img
  • vendor.img
• Boot into the bootloader and connect your phone to your PC via usb cable.
  
• Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here), enter these commands to flash:
  

  fastboot flash bootloader C:\angler\images\bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash radio C:\angler\images\radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash boot C:\angler\images\boot.img
  fastboot erase cache
  (above command is unnecessary on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  fastboot flash cache C:\angler\images\cache.img
  (above command is unnecessary on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  fastboot flash recovery C:\angler\images\recovery.img
  fastboot flash system C:\angler\images\system.img
  fastboot flash vendor C:\angler\images\vendor.img

  On 7.1.2 and above you'll also need to boot into TWRP recovery and wipe cache and dalvik cache.
  
  If you wish to you can also relock the bootloader with this command:
  

  fastboot flashing lock

  (This command will wipe all user data from the device)
  Important: do not lock the bootloader unless you have first flashed the stock images. Locking the bootloader while you have a custom recovery installed can result in a brick. Please also note that the locking procedure will wipe all user data from the device.
• Once all operations are complete you can reboot the device.

[SIZE=+1]11. How To Flash The Factory Images (Return To Stock But Leaving Internal Storage Intact)[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1).

This section will explain how to return the phone to be like it was when it came out of the box, except it will not wipe any of your personal data (photos, music, etc) from the internak storage.

• Download the appropriate factory images for your model here.
  
• Unzip the angler-xxxxxx-factory-xxxxxxxx (x's replace variables) into a directory on your PC (for this guide we'll use C:\angler\).
  
• Once unzipped you should have a folder named angler-xxxxxx (x's replace variables). Open it and move the following files to a new directory named C:\angler\images\:
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  (Please note that radio and bootloader naming changes from build to build so the filenames and below commands will change with them)
  
• Within C:\angler\angler-xxxxxx\ you'll see another zip archive named image-angler-xxxxxx, unzip the contents of that zip into the C:\angler\images\ folder we created before. Now within C:\angler\images\ you should have the following files:
  • android-info.txt
  • boot.img
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • cache.img (not present on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • recovery.img
  • system.img
  • userdata.img
  • vendor.img
• Boot into TWRP recovery and enter the wipe menu, select advanced wipe, check only the data box and swipe to wipe.
  
• Go to the TWRP main menu and enter the reboot menu, select bootloader. The phone will now boot into the bootloader, once it has you can connect your phone to your PC via usb cable.
  
• Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here), enter these commands to flash:
  

  fastboot flash bootloader C:\angler\images\bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash radio C:\angler\images\radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash boot C:\angler\images\boot.img
  fastboot erase cache
  (above command is unnecessary on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  fastboot flash cache C:\angler\images\cache.img
  (above command is unnecessary on Android 7.1.2 and above)
  fastboot flash recovery C:\angler\images\recovery.img
  fastboot flash system C:\angler\images\system.img
  fastboot flash vendor C:\angler\images\vendor.img

  On 7.1.2 and above you'll also need to boot into TWRP recovery and wipe cache and dalvik cache.

[SIZE=+1]12. How To ADB Sideload an incremental OTA update package.[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: Completely stock setup (the only modification allowed on the phone is the unlocked bootloader).

• Download the appropriate OTA zip from my index. OTA updates must be taken in order so you must select the right zip. For example, if you're currently on the MMB29Q build you must select the MMB29Q --> MHC19I zip. The filename will be quite long so to make things easier you can rename it to something easier. For the purposes of this guide let's say we'll rename it to "ota.zip". Place the file in your fastboot folder on your PC.
  
• Boot into the bootloader, use the volume buttons to scroll the options and use the power button to select recovery mode.
  
• Once the phone has booted into the stock recovery (you should see Andy Android with an exclamation mark) hold power and tap volume up to get into the recovery menu. Use the volume buttons to scroll and use the power button (you might need to hold it) to select "apply update from adb".
  
• On your PC navigate to your fastboot folder, hold shift and right-click your mouse, select "open command prompt here". Issue the following command:
  

  adb sideload ota.zip

• Wait for the operation to complete (it'll tell you once it's finished) and once it's all done you can reboot your phone, the first boot might take a while.

[SIZE=+1]13. How To ADB Sideload a full OTA update package.[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: Completely stock setup (the only modification allowed on the phone is the unlocked bootloader).

• Download the OTA zip that you want to upgrade to from my index. You don't need to be on any specific build prior to flashing a full OTA package. You can only move to a higher build though. The filename will be quite long so to make things easier you can rename it to something easier. For the purposes of this guide let's say we'll rename it to "fullota.zip". Place the file in your fastboot folder on your PC.
  
• Boot into the bootloader, use the volume buttons to scroll the options and use the power button to select recovery mode.
  
• Once the phone has booted into the stock recovery (you should see Andy Android with an exclamation mark) hold power and tap volume up to get into the recovery menu. Use the volume buttons to scroll and use the power button (you might need to hold it) to select "apply update from adb".
  
• On your PC navigate to your fastboot folder, hold shift and right-click your mouse, select "open command prompt here". Issue the following command:
  

  adb sideload fullota.zip

• Wait for the operation to complete (it'll tell you once it's finished) and once it's all done you can reboot your phone, the first boot might take a while.

[SIZE=+1]14. How To Update To Android 7.0 Nougat[/SIZE]

Prerequisites: unlocked bootloader (section 1).

This method does not wipe your data, so you will keep your apps and settings. You should have no problems, however, if you experience problems you may need to perform a factory reset and flash again. Make a backup first and transfer it to your PC.

• Download the Nougat factory images for your model (Nexus 6P/Angler) here.
  
• Unzip the angler-xxxxxx-factory-xxxxxxxx (x's replace variables) into a directory on your PC (for this guide we'll use C:\angler\).
  
• Once unzipped you should have a folder named angler-xxxxxx (x's replace variables). Open it and move the following files to a new directory named C:\angler\images\:
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  (Please note that radio and bootloader naming changes from build to build so the filenames and below commands will change with them)
  
• Within C:\angler\angler-xxxxxx\ you'll see another zip archive named image-angler-xxxxxx, unzip the contents of that zip into the C:\angler\images\ folder we created before. Now within C:\angler\images\ you should have the following files:
  • android-info.txt
  • boot.img
  • bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • cache.img
  • radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  • recovery.img
  • system.img
  • userdata.img
  • vendor.img
• Boot into the bootloader and connect your phone to your PC via usb cable.
  
• Open a command prompt from within your fastboot folder (navigate to where you have fastboot.exe located on your PC, shift + right click anywhere within that folder, select open command prompt here), enter these commands to flash:
  

  fastboot flash bootloader C:\angler\images\bootloader-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash radio C:\angler\images\radio-angler-angler-xx.xx.img
  fastboot reboot-bootloader
  fastboot flash boot C:\angler\images\boot.img
  fastboot erase cache
  fastboot flash cache C:\angler\images\cache.img
  fastboot flash recovery C:\angler\images\recovery.img
  fastboot flash system C:\angler\images\system.img
  fastboot flash vendor C:\angler\images\vendor.img

  You can skip flashing the recovery if you wish, but even if you do the stock recovery may be patched on the first boot anyway. So you'll need to flash TWRP and SuperSU again if you need/want those, as well as any other system modifications you may have had.
  
  Note: Do not flash the userdata.img
  
• Once all commands/flashes are complete you can reboot the device:
  

  fastboot reboot

• You'll have to flash SuperSU again now, plus add any mods that you previously had.

FAQ can be found in post #3!

Donate To Me

 

[Heisenberg]

[size=+1]Frequently Asked Questions[/size]

1. How do I boot into the bootloader?

Power off your device. Once it's powered off hold power + volume down and the phone will boot into the bootloader. You can also use the following adb command:

adb reboot bootloader

You can also use an app called Quick Boot to boot into the bootloader directly from Android (root required).​

2. How do I boot into recovery?

Boot into the bootloader (see above), use the volume keys to scroll through the options and use the power button to select the recovery mode option. You can also use the following adb command:

adb reboot recovery

You can also use an app called Quick Boot to boot into the recovery directly from Android (root required).​

3. When issuing the fastboot flashing unlock command it doesn't work, I only get a list of possible commands. What's going on?

This is usually due to having an outdated adb/fastboot setup. If you installed adb/fastboot by any means other than via the Android SDK this is probably the cause. Visit the prerequisites section in the beginning of this guide to properly install adb/fastboot and ensure that it's up to date.​

4. After unlocking the bootloader I get a message that says "Your device software can't be checked for corruption. Please lock the bootloader". What's going on? Can I get rid of it?

This is nothing to worry about, it's normal to see this when you have an unlocked bootloader. You can't remove it, as long as your bootloader is locked it will stay there.​

5. How do I take an OTA or update if I have root or other system modifications on the stock ROM?

You can't take an OTA update while you have root or any system modifications. You'd need to use fastboot to flash the system, boot, and recovery images. It's much easier to just flash the newer build with fastboot, see section 9 of this guide for full instructions.​

6. Does taking an OTA update wipe my user data?

No, it doesn't.​

7. Do I need to make an EFS backup?

Yes. Absolutely yes. An EFS backup is extremely important, if your EFS partition becomes corrupt your IMEI will disappear and you will not be able to use the phone as a phone. Without a backup it can be extremely difficult (or impossible) to restore your EFS.​

8. Do I need to flash the userdata.img from the factory images?

You should never flash the userdata image. It doesn't take into consideration the storage capacity of the device and always allocates 32gb of storage. This is ok for the 32gb model, but for the 64gb and 128gb models you'll end up with much less storage capacity than you should have. If you wish to wipe your internal storage you'd use the following command instead:

fastboot format userdata

 

[Heisenberg]

Reserved

 

[Heisenberg]

Reserved

 

[Heisenberg]

Reserved

 

[Heisenberg]

Reserved

 

[The_android_Modder]

thanks

works great

 

[Heisenberg]

works great

Lol, how?

 

[tyvar1]

Lol, how?

Magic

 

[Heisenberg]

Magic

lmao

He must be from the future...

 

[MaliceOmega]

works great

thank you for the morning lolz

 

[tf2manu994]

If we wanted, could we just go to step 4, and not do the rest? I.e just root stock and leave it as is?
Is that safe?
If it is, can I flash a rom on later?
Thanks
(I know the device isn't out yet, just getting prepared for it.)

 

[Heisenberg]

If we wanted, could we just go to step 4, and not do the rest? I.e just root stock and leave it as is?
Is that safe?
If it is, can I flash a rom on later?
Thanks
(I know the device isn't out yet, just getting prepared for it.)

No, because you need a custom recovery in order to flash SuperSU, and you need an unlocked bootloader to flash a custom recovery. Why not just unlock the bootloader?

 

[tf2manu994]

No, because you need a custom recovery in order to flash SuperSU, and you need an unlocked bootloader to flash a custom recovery. Why not just unlock the bootloader?

Ah you misunderstood me, I mean like do all steps upto 4, and then not do the rest?

Sorry for misunderstanding

 

[Heisenberg]

Ah you misunderstood me, I mean like do all steps upto 4, and then not do the rest?

Sorry for misunderstanding

Ahh ok, now I understand. Yes of course, they're not actually steps that all need to be completed, they're just numbered sections. So if all you want to achieve is to root your stock ROM then you only need to follow steps 1-4.

 

[Fentadroid]

Hemm sorry but are we talking about a phone that doesn't exist?

 

[Heisenberg]

Hemm sorry but are we talking about a phone that doesn't exist?

It certainly does exist, it just hasn't been released yet. And as it says in the OP these processes remain virtually unchanged from model to model in the Nexus line.

 

[Fentadroid]

It certainly does exist, it just hasn't been released yet. And as it says in the OP these processes remain virtually unchanged from model to model in the Nexus line.

I hope that too!!!

 

[gamzekal]

Great Job
Thanks for your Hardwork:good: