Earlier this afternoon, we saw a couple of places show up a Motorola Moto X 2014 soak test announcement of sorts. The best part is that this soak test, which is still being rolled out and begun, is for the latest and greatest from Google and testing it on the same from Motorola, the Moto X. Now, let us be clear here about the device’s involved. Before now, it was unclear which variant or version (carrier-locked, unlocked, or ‘Pure Edition’) is up for the soak test.
The soak test update is exclusively, at least as of right now, for the Moto X 2014 Pure Edition. The Pure Edition has no carrier garbage pre-installed (and usually non-removable, except without root), so it’s essentially Motorola’s ‘Nexus’ device, not to be confused with their actually Nexus device, the Nexus 6. The Pure Edition is the lucky device to get to be the late beta test, of sorts, for the official Android 5.0, Lollipop, software.
When we heard about the soak test, the screenshot (which is the title picture, by the way) looked too off to be the real deal. First, it is odd to see a Lollipop update that isn’t on a Nexus 4, 5, 7, or 10 (since the entire point of a Nexus is to have the first and fastest software updates). Second, it was odd to see the Lollipop softkeys (the shapes at the bottom) instead of the typical back-curving arrow, the little home, and the stacked cards. These led me, and hopefully many others, to be skeptical and take it with a grain (or shaker, if you prefer) of salt until confirmed somehow. The confirmation came a little bit ago, and here it is.
A captured OTA update. OTA, or Over-The-Air, updates are great for sending updates out both smoothly and quickly. The sender, usually the hardware manufacturer, can control how often and many get sent out to not strain their servers and such. And for us sneaky users, there are some that know how to snag those updates and put them up for grabs for those less fortunate in the update queue. The official Lollipop OTA ‘soak test’ software for the Pure Edition Moto X 2014 is up, and you can go flash it up. But let’s get some things clear before we send you off to go have fun with that.
First, we aren’t responsible for anything that might happen to your device if you do choose to flash the update. Second, you can only use the update if you are installing it on the Pure Edition of the 2014 Moto X. If you don’t have the Pure Edition, just sit tight and wait for the likely-to-come flood of custom ROMs based on it for most models of Moto X 2014. Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty of it: installation.
According to the post on XDA, which you should (if not have to) go check out for the full rundown, you have to be in perfectly stock condition. That means stock software, no custom recovery installed, and the device can never have been rooted. Yes, that’s never have rooted. The update is meant to be installed in recovery, and will only work for sure in stock recovery. Download, boot to recovery, install using ADB to sideload the update. This should work, but be warned it might not. Anyway, excited for the Lollipop update parade to set out this coming week? Which device do you think will get it next, Motorola or not? Which device do you have waiting for the update to Lollipop? HAve you joined the Lollipop-clad Moto X Pure Edition users, if you own one, yet? Let us know down below.