Google makes ota files easily accessible

Google no longer requires users to unlock their bootloader to flash a firmware on a Nexus device or the Pixel C tablet. For this, the search giant puts the ota files for the various devices publicly online.

Flashing the ota files also ensures that data remains on the device, while the factory images that Google used so far forced a reset to factory settings, Google reports. Ota stands for over-the-air, the method by which updates usually arrive on smartphones, namely without the intervention of a PC.

Unlocking the bootloader poses a small security risk, making it desirable for users to be able to install updates via PCs without having to do so, says Android Police, which discovered the ota files site.

Flashing the updates works via the adb sideload function, where users restart the device in recovery mode, connect the phone to the desktop or laptop via a cable and then install the update. The files now online are firmwares based on Android 6.0.1 and not the preview of Android N, which Google released in March.

On the ota site you can find files for the Nexus 5, 6, 5X, 6P, 7 2012, 7 2013, 9, Nexus Player and Pixel C.