It’s the first of February, which means one thing. Time for a new OTA to start rolling out to Nexus devices. Google has just posted the factory images for the February 2016 security patch – a patch that BlackBerry actually started pushing to their PRIV this morning. Currently, there is no changelog available for the security patch, we expect to see that a bit later this week. The changelog likely won’t be 100% complete, however since Google doesn’t want to disclose vulnerabilities that were found and have them exploited on smartphones that don’t have the update yet (smart on their part).
Monthly security updates became a thing in late 2015 after a number of vulnerabilities surfaced that affected almost all of the Android devices currently being used. Google, LG, HTC, Samsung and a few other manufacturers vowed to do monthly security updates for their devices. For Google, they are pushing updates to the Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player, Nexus 9, Nexus 6, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), and the Nexus 10. All of which are on Marshmallow, except fro the Nexus 10, which is currently on Android 5.1.1 (and is going to stay there), on the bright side for Nexus 10 owners, is the fact that they are still getting security updates.
For those wondering, the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and Nexus 7 (2013) are all getting the same build, which is MMB29Q and that’s based off of Android 6.0.1. The Nexus 9 is getting build MMB29R, also based off of Android 6.0.1. Build MMB29U is heading to the Nexus Player, and MXB48T for the Pixel C both of which are also based off of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Last but not least, the Nexus 10 is getting LMY49G, which is based off of Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, as mentioned earlier on.
Factory images are now available, however OTA’s have not yet begun to roll out. They should be starting in stages in the next few days – as soon as OTA links are available, we will post them so users can sideload the OTA. If you want the update right away, feel free to flash the factory image, although be sure to back up your data beforehand, as flashing the factory image will erase any and all data on your Nexus device (or Pixel C in this case).