Every other Android Wear smartwatch has had their Android 5.1.1 update rolling out to them already. But Motorola had to delay the Moto 360 update. Many of us believe it’s due to the TI OMAP processor, but who knows. It is rolling out now. And if you really want it right away, you can sideload it onto your Moto 360, pretty easily. However, you do need a hacked USB cable to do it. While the other manufacturers use pins or a USB port, Motorola does Qi Wireless charging for the Moto 360, so it’s a bit harder to get that ADB mode working.
If you haven’t sideloaded anything onto your Moto 360 before, I’d urge you to stay away. Because if it loses connection while sideloading the zip file, you could seriously brick your watch. And that’s the last thing anyone wants to do. Additionally, Android Headlines is not responsible for any damage caused by sideloading this OTA onto your Android Wear smartwatch.
You can download the update by hitting the source link below. It’s about 47MB in size and brings all kinds of new features to your smartwatch. One of the cooler ones is being able to draw emoji’s on your watch and it can actually tell what emoji you’ve drawn. There’s also supposed to be improved battery life even though there are reports coming out that Android 5.1.1 does have a battery drain which Google is working on fixing. Apps can also be always on now, instead of just watch faces. Which is pretty cool, especially for running apps like Runtastic. Or even cooking apps like AlltheCooks, so you can make sure you’re following the recipe while you’re cooking. It’s a very useful update, and one that I think most Moto 360 owners are going to love.
While we do urge everyone to wait for the OTA to hit your device, feel free to flash the OTA if you’d like. Just make sure you read the instructions a few times before continuing. As this is a bit more difficult than flashing an OTA onto a Nexus device.