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Google Lollipop Bricking Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 Devices
First time accepted submitter Zape (303550) writes The Lollipop update has turned sour for me and several other Nexus 7, Gen 2 (and Nexus 5) owners. It seems that I'm not alone in having my tablet boot to the Google Logo since a couple of days after updating to Android 5.0.2. Now Nexus 5 owners are reporting a reboot loop in Android 5.1. My device, like many others, is a couple of months out of warranty, but worked great until the latest OTA update from Google. They branded it, and they updated it, but Google claims it is between the buyers and ASUS, the manufacturer.
My Nexus 5 went into a reboot loop, after a lot of research online (and taking the phone apart to see if the power switch was damaged (it appeared to be working fine with a good "click" when pressed) -- I managed to get to boot by repeatedly and rapidly hitting the power button while it was booting, then quickly unlocked the phone and rebooted into safe mode by holding down the power button.
After it booted into safe mode, I left it in the charger overnight, and in the morning, rebooted back into normal mode and it was fine. Mostly. It was no longer in the reboot loop, but kept powering itself off throughout the day.
I replaced it with a new phone, moved my SIM over, and then the Nexus appeared to be fine, no more poweroffs, no reboot loops, I used it as a Wifi-only tablet for a day and then it got a Lolipop 5.1 OTA upgrade, so I upgraded. It's been over a week since then, and it's still working fine as a wifi-only tablet, I haven't tried moving the SIM back
I still have no idea what was wrong with the phone, maybe it was a hardware problem with the switch, or maybe it was a software problem. My Nexus 7 tablet (also running lollipop) is fine.
I replaced my Nexus 5 with a Samsung Galaxy S5 -- I really like the S5 (and removable SIM), but I hate Samsung's Touchwiz interface. I really wanted to stick with the Nexus line, but am not willing to pay $700 for a 64GB Nexus 6 when the S5 cost about half that and I wasn't going to buy another Nexus 5 after what happened to this one.
The whole point of the Nexus branded devices is that they are a plain vanilla version of Android directly from Google, and yes these plain vanilla versions call home directly to Google for updates. Carriers are not supposed to alter the OS at all other than the standard provisioning info. Google designed the specs for the device and then contracted each one with a manufacturer.
It takes a few weeks for the various devices to get the update as Google does a staggered release by device. Not sure on the exact order but it does seem to be somewhat by the device's original release date.
I have a Nexus 5, with Lollipop 5.1 on it. No boot loop issues. Coworkers with Nexus 5 aren't reporting this, either. /shrug/
Not sure why you're confused. The post clearly begins with "The whole point of the Nexus branded devices." Yes, this is true for Nexus branded hardware. It's Google's Android OS with no carrier bloatware. The updates come straight from Google. I own a Nexus 7 2013. I've updated many times - comes straight from Google.
Here's the link on Google's support site to confirm it: Click on the "Nexus Devices" to expand to see the below text.
https://support.google.com/nex...
Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9, and Nexus 10 devices receive the latest version of Android directly from Google. Once an update is available, it can take up to two weeks for it to reach your device. Based on your carrier, it may take longer than two weeks after release to get an update.
Nexus devices may not receive the latest version of Android if they fall outside of the update window, which is usually around 18 months after a device has been released.
Google figured out that the carriers were a barrier so they went around them.
Google didn't, Apple did. Not one iPhone ever sold has ever been touched by a carrier before getting into the hands of the final user, where the vast majority of Android devices get crapped by carriers before they get sold.
Apple said: Carriers are crap, let's protect all of our phones (and thus users) from them.
Google said: Carriers are crap, we're going to provide users that care with phones that are untouched by them.
As always, Apple forced their views on everyone while Google offered a choice. I think Apple was right on this one.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
If you bought your device in the UK, then you entered into a contract under laws such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979 with the retailer (not the manufacturer). In my case I bought my N5 from the Google Play store, so my contract is with Google, not with LG and as such Google are solely responsible for providing a replacement, repair or refund. Alternatively, because these devices cost more than £100, if the item was either partially or fully purchased on a credit card you benefit from an additional right to seek compensation from the credit card company under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act as well as the manufacturer.
Sadly this "go to the manufacturer" response is so common from customer service staff (and their managers) in the UK who haven't been correctly trained.
Apple limited carrier choice for a very long time, that whole 5 year exclusive to AT&T.
No sir I dont like it.