How To Get New Android 7.0 Nougat On your Nexus Devices Right Now

How to get Nougat through the Android Beta program

Another way to get Android 7.0 Nougat right now is by opting into the Android Beta program, which has been extended beyond the initial release of Nougat.

Any Nexus device eligible for the receiving Nougat can also opt into the Beta program — Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C — any continue receiving updates past the stable version. That is because Google has announced that it will continue offering preview versions of Nougat as it prepares the first of its Maintenance Releases, which is expected later this fall.

Devices that are currently enrolled in the Beta program are the first to receive the stable version of Android 7.0, and the opt-in process is fairly easy.

1. Head to Android Beta program portal on your Nexus phone or Pixel C tablet.
2. Sign into the Google account associated with that phone.
3. Scroll down to Your eligible devices.
4. Find the device you want to enrol in the Beta program and tap Enrol device.
5. Follow the prompts to accept the over-the-air download.

Note: Once you've updated to the stable version of Nougat, you can leave the Beta program without factory resetting. (This was a requirement for leaving the program whilst on one of the developer preview builds.) To leave the program, simply press the button on the Android Beta program page.

How to get Nougat by flashing a factory image

Get the right tools to flash a factory image

Note: This portion is performed on your computer.

The first thing you need to know about flashing a factory image on top of your Nexus phone is that you need to have a portion of Android SDK installed on your computer. Specifically, you need adband fastboot, which you can download from the Android Studio portal.

1. Go to Android Studio webpage
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Find command line tools for your platform — Windows, Mac, or Linux.
4. Extract the accompanying file (.exe, .zip, .tgz)

The next thing you need to do after downloading the command line tools is to make sure that your phone is ready for flashing. This is a two-step process: you need to enable USB Debugging; and you need to unlock your bootloader. If you have already unlocked your bootloader, you can skip to flashing.

Flashing the Android 7.0 factory image

Note: This portion is performed on your computer.

1. Visit Nexus Factory Images page.
2. Scroll down to your phone and find the Android 7.0 image for your phone.
3. Once downloaded, extract the file in your Platform tools folder.
4. Put your phone into bootloader mode (see above) and plug it into your computer.
5. Open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac). Navigate to folder with Platform tools.
6. On the command line, type:./adb devices to ensure your phone is seen by your computer.
7. Type the flash-all command.
   On Windows, that will be flash-all.bat
   On Mac, that will be flash-all.sh