How to Install Android 6.0 Marshmallow on Nexus 5/6/7/9!

howto-install-android6.0-marshmallow-nexus5-6-7-9

Want to install the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow official firmware on your Nexus 5, 6, 7, or 9?  You can use this method if you already have a rooted device with unlocked bootloader.

Step 1. Download fastboot.zip, USB drivers (for Windows), 7Zip (for extracting the firmware files), and the latest Nexus firmware for your model.

Download:

Download fastboot.zip

Download USB drivers

Download 7Zip

Download Nexus firmware

Step 2. Unzip both fastboot.zip and USB drivers zip files.

Step 3. Unzip the Nexus firmware ending in .tgz.  You should get a file ending in .tar, unzip that also and you should end up with a folder with firmware image files.

Step 4. Unzip the zip file inside the firmware folder starting with “image” and ending with “.zip”.  This should give you a bunch of files ending in .img.  Copy both “boot.img” and “system.img” file to the “fastboot” folder.

Step 5. Also copy over “bootloader-xxx.img” and “radio-xxx.img” file from the firmware folder to the fastboot folder.  (Note: “xxx” means that part of the filename may be different depending on your device of Nexus.)

Step 6. Open up a command prompt/terminal and type:

For Windows:

cd Downloads
cd fastboot
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-xxx.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio radio-xxx.img
IMPORTANT: Replace “xxx” with the actual filename!!! Or you can also type the first 3 letters and hit the Tab key on your keyboard as it will fill it out for you automatically!
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash system system.img
IMPORTANT: If you get error for fastboot in this line, try using “mfastboot flash system system.img” instead!!!

For Mac:

cd Downloads
cd fastboot
chmod 755 *
./fastboot-mac flash bootloader bootloader-xxx.img
./fastboot-mac reboot-bootloader
./fastboot-mac flash radio radio-xxx.img
IMPORTANT: Replace “xxx” with the actual filename!!! Or you can also type the first 3 letters and hit the Tab key on your keyboard as it will fill it out for you automatically!
./fastboot-mac reboot-bootloader
./fastboot-mac flash boot boot.img
./fastboot-mac reboot-bootloader
./fastboot-mac flash system system.img
IMPORTANT: If you get error for fastboot in this line, try using “./mfastboot-mac flash system system.img” instead!!!

For Linux/Ubuntu:

cd Downloads
cd fastboot
chmod 755 *
./fastboot-linux flash bootloader bootloader-xxx.img
./fastboot-linux reboot-bootloader
./fastboot-linux flash radio radio-xxx.img
IMPORTANT: Replace “xxx” with the actual filename!!! Or you can also type the first 3 letters and hit the Tab key on your keyboard as it will fill it out for you automatically!
./fastboot-linux reboot-bootloader
./fastboot-linux flash boot boot.img
./fastboot-linux reboot-bootloader
./fastboot-linux flash system system.img
IMPORTANT: If you get error for fastboot in this line, try using “./mfastboot-linux flash system system.img” instead!!!

Step 7. That’s pretty much it. If you are coming from a stock ROM, you will not need to do a factory reset/wipe and it should reboot with all of your user data. However, if coming from a custom ROM, you may need to do a factory reset/wipe in TWRP or CWM recovery.

Have a question?

Please post all your questions at the new Android Rehab Center at HighOnAndroid Forum, thank you for understanding!

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Max Lee

Max Lee is the founder of HighOnAndroid.com. Max makes Android tutorials and review videos for people who want to get high on Android over at his YouTube channel and Korean YouTube channel.