Step 4: Your Nexus device will now once again reboot into the stock Android recovery. Once it has booted into fastboot mode use the volume keys to select the ‘Recovery’ option, and press the Power key to confirm your selection.
Extract the contents of the ADB folder inside a “nexus” folder on your desktop and transfer the OTA update ZIP file within this folder as well. Step 1: Download the OTA update and the ADB/Fastboot files linked below. This guide is only meant for Nexus 5/6/7/10 owners who are already running Android 5.0 Lollipop on their device and are looking to update it to Android 5.1 manually.
Your device also needs to be in a completely stock state, which means rooted Nexus owners are out of luck here. While the steps below will not wipe your Nexus handset or tablet of your personal data, it is always recommended to create a backup in case things go wrong. Thankfully, the OTA update link has been captured, which means you can sideload it on your device manually via ADB. Don’t know the steps though? Worry not as we have got you covered. While Google has uploaded the Android 5.1 factory image as well, updating your Nexus device through it requires an unlocked bootloader, which wipes the handset clean of all data, which is not something that everyone prefers. Being a phased roll out, the update can take up to two weeks to land on your devices. Earlier today, Google started rolling out the Android 5.1 OTA update for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10.