Android Wear 2.0: How To Update Your Smartwatch Manually

Although Google started pushing out the Android Wear 2.0 update to eligible smartwatches in February, many users are yet to receive the update, which comes with features such as a revamped UI, a Google Play Store and new watch faces.

Read: Which Smartwatches Are Getting Android Wear 2.0?

If you haven’t received the official update yet, you can try installing the update manually on your device. Here’s how you can do so, but please proceed with caution:

Note: International Business Times cannot be held responsible if anything goes wrong. Users should proceed at their own risk.

Install ADB Tools on your PC: You will need to navigate to Google’s Developer platform and install the latest version of Google’s SDK platform for your PC operating system.

• Enable ADB Debugging: You will need to enable ADB debugging in Developer options. To do so, you need to:
• Go to Settings option on your smartwatch
• Click on System > About
• Tap seven times on the build number
• Navigate back to Settings — a new "Developer Options" Button will be there. Click it
• Enable ADB debugging in the drop-down menu

Connect your smartwatch to your PC: As you connect your smartwatch to your PC, a notification will ask permission for using ADB debugging — allow it. Now, unlock your smartphone connected to the smartwatch and enable “Always allow from this computer.”

Read: Guess Announces New Android Wear Connect Line For 2017

If you haven’t already installed drivers for your smartwatch on your PC, install them from your smartwatch brand’s website.

Download Android Wear 2.0 OTA:

You can check on the Android Wear Reddit page to see if the OTA software is available for your smartwatch. Here is the list.

LG Watch Urbane: Download via Google

LG G Watch R: Download via Google

Nixon Mission: Download via Google

New Balance RunIQ: Download via Google

Software for smartwatches such as Huawei Watch are listed as “coming soon,” so you will have to keep a lookout for compatible software for your smartwatch.

Reboot your smartwatch: Once you download the OTA zip files, you need to put your watch into recovery mode. To do so, you need to run the command “adb reboot bootloader” on your PC and select recovery menu.

Tap your smartwatch screen — a green Android icon with a red warning symbol will appear. Swipe right and click on “Apply update from ADB”. This will put your device in the sideload mode.

Installing the OTA file: Type “adb sideload” in the command prompt on your PC, but do not run it. Instead, drag the OTA.zip file that you downloaded earlier to the terminal, which will paste the file’s location in your file directory. Now run the “adb sideload command" and your device will start updating.

Once the process is completed, your device will automatically reboot. Navigate to the Settings and check if your OS has changed to Android Wear 2.0.