How to manually update your GSM Galaxy Nexus with the Android 4.0.2 OTA

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So Android 4.0.2's starting to roll out to the GSM version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. But maybe you don't want to wait? (We sure don't.) Here's how to easily flash the update to your phone, same as we did for the volume bug update. Note that this won't erase anything, and it's really no different than if you sat back and waited.

Note that this is for stock phones, and for people who want to update without really doing any real  hackery but don't mind a little command line work. Nothing we do here is permanent, other than the update itself. If you've already flashed CWM, then you probably already know what you're doing anyway. And with that ...

Thanks, Scott, for the OTA location

The prerequisites:

  1. You need a GSM Galaxy Nexus with the product codename 'yakju'. NOT the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, or 'yakjuxw', or 'yakjusc' or any of the other variants we've heard about. Check your product name before you begin using this app.
  2. You need the Android SDK installed. Note the path.
  3. You need fastboot. (Windows | Mac)
  4. You need to unlock your bootloader. If you haven't done that (and you really should), here's how.
  5. Download the Android 4.0.2 update from Google here.
  6. Download the latest ClockWorkmod recovery image from here.

Now, the instructions:

  1. Copy the OTA package above to the /sdcard folder on your Galaxy Nexus
  2. Drop the ClockworkMod file in the same folder you have fastboot in on your computer in the SDK folder (either /tools or /platform-tools).  Rename it to cwm.img to make things easy.
  3. Reboot your Galaxy Nexus to bootloader mode (hold volume-up and volume-down, then press power).
  4. Plug your phone into your computer, and open a command prompt or terminal.  Navigate to the folder with fastboot and the cwm.img inside it.
  5. At the command line, type the following: fastboot-windows.exe boot cwm.img (or just fastboot.exe if that's what you've got)
  6. Use the ClockWorkMod recovery menu to flash a zip file from the SD card, and choose the OTA zip file you downloaded earlier.
  7. Let things run their course.

Presto, you've now got Android 4.0.2 on your GSM Galaxy Nexus. It seems like a lot of steps. But once you get the hang of it and understand what's going on (you're booting into ClockworkMod recovery instead of flashing it to your phone first, you're good to go.

Now, Google, bring on Android 4.0.3.

Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson