Updating stock OS on fresh previous gen device without waiting a long time?

DeletedUser130

Hi,

The GOS install page states:

It's best practice to update the device before installing GrapheneOS to have the latest firmware for connecting the device to the computer and performing the early flashing process.

Which is fine, however:

If someone purchases a fresh 6th Gen device in 2024 for example, then three years of monthly updates would need to be installed at once, i.e. it would take 30-40 updates and 30-40 reboots when using the regular in-place OTA update mechanism from within the stock OS. Which would take a long time (probably multiple hours or even several days).

Could this not be sped up by instead using the stock full OTA update sideloading mechanism or the stock factory image flashing mechanism?

Probably the stock full OTA update sideloading mechanism would be suited best in this case?

Would it go like this:

Unboxing the fresh device.
Booting the device into the initial stock OS version for the first and only time.
Rebooting into the stock recovery mode.
Sideloading the latest stock full OTA ZIP file for the first time (for installing it on the first slot/partition).
Rebooting the device into the latest stock OS version for the first time (from the first slot/partition).
Rebooting into the stock recovery mode.
Sideloading the latest stock full OTA ZIP file for the second time (for installing it on the second slot/partition for making sure that both slots/partitions are updated to the latest stock OS version).
Rebooting the device into the latest stock OS version for the second time (from the second slot/partition).

spring-onion

Hello!

DeletedUser130 then three years of monthly updates would need to be installed at once, i.e. it would take 30-40 updates and 30-40 reboots when using the regular in-place OTA update mechanism from within the stock OS.

No, that won't happen. It will simply skip ahead and pull the latest release.

DeletedUser130

@spring-onion

spring-onion

No, that won't happen. It will simply skip ahead and pull the latest release.

Since when though?

In the past, the regular in-place OTA update mechanism from within the stock OS only could do delta updates where each monthly update needed to be installed in sequence one after another, correct?

Since when is the regular in-place OTA update mechanism from within the stock OS able to update to the latest version straight away with just one update and one reboot (regardless of how many updates there were inbetween)?

And is this documented somewhere?

de0u

DeletedUser130 In the past, the regular in-place OTA update mechanism from within the stock OS only could do delta updates where each monthly update needed to be installed in sequence one after another, correct?

Is there a source documenting this?

If the updater had code only for delta updates, and no code for pulling a full release, that behavior would be exhibited, but I would be surprised if that is the case at present.

Regardless, using Google's web flashing tool should work, and sideloading an OTA image should work as well.

DeletedUser130

@de0u

de0u

Is there a source documenting this?

It has essentially always been that way, not just for Pixel devices but also for other Android devices. And there are also various user reports on the Internet about the same, some random examples below:

Though some of these reports seem to indicate that for Pixel devices at least, the built-in OTA updater might be able to skip major OS versions, but not monthly security updates.

So if that would be the case, then for a fresh 6th Gen device, it might only require three updates and three reboots at the moment: The first update being the update from the old Android 12 to the new initial Android 15 version from October 2024. And the second and third update being the monthly Android 15 security updates for November and December 2024. But unclear.

de0u

DeletedUser130 Thanks for providing the links.

It does seem as if it might save time to just sideload Google's latest OTA image and be done with it.

fid02

Perhaps someone with a spare Pixel device they don't mind wiping could do an experiment by flashing Android 13 (generally inadvisable) using Google's web installer, then observe how the update system behaves. I wonder who would do that...

DeletedUser130

By the way, even the GOS website states the following (note the last sentence):

https://grapheneos.org/releases#about-the-releases

"GrapheneOS uses automatic over-the-air updates, but full update packages are listed below for uncommon use cases like never connecting the device to the internet. A full update package can upgrade from any past version to the new version. The over-the-air updates use delta update packages when available."

spring-onion

Well you certainly managed to sow doubt in my earlier response.

DeletedUser130 By the way, even the GOS website states the following

Yes exactly, as long as your device isn't super outdated you won't need to download the whole thing, but if it is, you can skip right ahead. I can not fathom this being something you need to deal with on stock (now), but take my initial answer with a grain of salt.