Moto G 2014 Marshmallow Update – Manual Installation

Moto G 2014 users, your patience has finally yielded fruit. You can update your device to the latest available Android version now. Users at XDA-Developers have recently reported receiving the latest Android Marshmallow as an OTA-update. Well we know it’s late, but we also need to give a hand to Motorola for not overlooking its old device and supporting it on yearly basis. Oh yes! We are going to help you install Moto G 2014 Marshmallow update, by manually flashing the firmware.

Let us have a little overview of what is around the corner:

1. App Standby – Helps you preserve battery life by putting your background apps into a less memory-consuming state.
2. Better App Permissions – Marshmallow has revamped the app permissions concept, and now provides individual permissions for each app, which can be modified at any time.
3. Improved App Links – The latest update lets your phone choose smartly, which app to open when you tap on a link in the browser.
4. Expandable Storage – A big plus in Marshmallow is the expandable storage, which is not your average SD card support. But allows your phone to use the external/portable storage as internal. This way, you can reduce the space consumption on the internal storage.
5. Do Not Disturb – The feature stays intact in Marshmallow. It allows you to personalize your system profiles for calls, messages, and other notifications.
6. Now On Tap – This is an exclusive feature for people running Marshmallow and using Google Now. You can use it to Google Search the current content of your phone’s screen, and the results will be shown right-there on the app window. Just long-press the on-screen Home button.
7. Motorola App Updates – Apps like Motorola Migrate, Alert, and Assist, have been updated to accompany Android Marshmallow.

This was just a peek, you will know more once you update your Moto G 2nd Gen (2014).

You might just want to get the OTA update, by going to ‘Phone’ > ‘About phone’ > ‘System updates’. But there are people, like me, who like a fresh install. This not only helps to make a clean update but also reduces the chances of any bugs. This process will basically restore the balance by unrooting your phone (if rooted) and taking you to complete stock firmware.

So if you are someone who digs the fact, you are very much welcome to read ahead and update your Moto G 2014 to Marshmallow.

Disclaimer

Flashing the factory image could render a soft-brick on your phone if done wrong. This tutorial and all its files are to be used on the GSM-enabled Moto G 2014 3G variant only. Do not try and flash this on the 4G LTE edition. We shall not be held liable for any damage to your Moto G 2014. However, if such situations arise, we will definitely help you out.

Before You Begin

• Backup everything before proceeding ahead. This includes your phone’s internal storage, messages, contacts, apps, and other essential stuff.
• Download and install Motorola drivers.
• Enable USB debugging on your G 2014.
• Charge your phone to at least 60% battery level, to avoid any sudden shutdowns during the process.
• Install Android SDK for ADB and fastboot access. Or, you can also use 15 Seconds ADB Installer.
• Flashing factory images require your device to have an unlocked bootloader. There is a good chance that you have already done that, if not, follow this link – How to Unlock Bootloader on Moto Smartphones.

Instructions

1. Download Android Marshmallow update for Moto G 2nd Gen (XT1068) – XT1068_TITAN_RETAILDSDS_6.0_MPB24.65-34_cid7_CFC.xml.zip
2. Extract the downloaded firmware file, so that you will have the flash-able ‘.img‘ files.
3. Boot into fastboot mode – Power off your Moto G completely. Press the Volume Down and Power keys simultaneously, until you see the fastboot mode.
   
4. Once the phone is in fastboot mode, connect it to the PC using the USB cable.
5. Open the folder where the files were extracted in step #2. On an empty space inside the same folder, press the SHIFT key and right-click on an empty space. Select ‘Open command window here’ from the pop-up menu that appears.
   
6. The first step, confirm that the device is being successfully detected by fastboot. Enter the command below:

   fastboot devices

   When entered, the above command should return a device ID, confirming that the connection is successful.

7. Now, start by entering the following commands, one-after-the-other. If you do not wish to relock your phone, skip the first command.

   fastboot oem lock begin

   fastboot flash partition gpt.bin

   fastboot flash motoboot motoboot.img

   fastboot flash logo logo.bin

   fastboot flash boot boot.img

   fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

   fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0

   fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1

   fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2

   fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.3

   fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin

   fastboot erase modemst1

   fastboot erase modemst2

   fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn

8. Erase the cache and data now:

   fastboot erase cache

   fastboot erase userdata

9. When all is done, reboot the device by entering:

   fastboot reboot

10. In case if any of the files refuse to flash, make sure to use a good quality cable, or try switching the port on your PC.

Your Moto G 2014 has been updated to Android Marshmallow now. Tell us about your experience with this latest update, via the comments. If there are issues, let us know.