How to Get Android Wear 2.0 Right Now

Google just announced the biggest update to their smartwatch operating system, appropriately called, Android Wear 2.0.

The release contains a ton of new features and changes the UI pretty significantly in some respects supposedly making the device a lot more intuitive and more of a “standalone device”. From a more functional UI, to better notifications, to a keyboard on the watch face, to the ability to download apps directly to the device (instead of having bundled Wear apps that come with the “real” app you download on the phone), it’s an update that could have a significant impact on how you use Android Wear (and, of course, how other smart devices evolve since other companies will follow suit in their own ways).

If all of this sounds fantastic, and you want to get Android Wear 2.0 a try on your smartwatch this very minute, you’re in luck.

In addition to the announcement of Android Wear 2.0, Google also released the developer versions of the OS for a few popular smartwatches and so long as you don’t mind a little quick flashing of the software, you can install them right now.

Supported Smartwatches (At The Moment)

At the moment of writing this, Google has released the developer preview of Android Wear 2.0 for the following two watches. You must have one of these to flash the OS (for now).

  • LGE Watch Urbane 2nd Edition
  • Huawei Watch

How to Install Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview

If you have one of the above watches, we can go ahead and flash the firmware onto it using good old ADB, or the Android Debug Bridge (the software developers use to communicate with a device while testing).

Enable ADB Debugging

ADB Debugging on Watch

First we need to enable USB debugging on the watch so it’ll allow ADB to talk to it, etc.

  1. On the watch, head to Settings > About > and keep tapping on Device Build until it tells you you are a developer.
  2. Then swipe back and tap on the new Developer Options under About.
  3. Tap on ADB Debugging and then select the checkmark to accept it.

Setup ADB on the Computer

ADB Devices

So after you have ADB debugging enabled on the watch, head to my how to install ADB tutorial (it’s short and has a video to help, don’t worry), complete it with the watch plugged in via USB from the charger to your computer and once you can see the serial number after typing adb devices, head back here to continue.

Flash Android Wear 2.0

Flashing Android Wear 2.0

Now that all of that is setup, we can actually flash the new software. First, download the software you need for your particular device from Google’s site and make sure to select the “preview image for testing” for your specific device.

From my mirrors here:

LGE Watch Urbane 2nd Edition

Huawei Watch

Or from Google’s own site.

Extract the file and save the .img file to the same folder as adb is (so, if you followed my tutorial I linked to above for Windows, for example, it’ll be in C:/adb).

Now, keep the command prompt open from the how to setup ADB tutorial and the device plugged in and type the following into the command prompt (or Terminal if using Mac and just put a ./ in front of each command) with hitting enter at the end of each line.

adb devices
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot oem unlock

After that, open the directory where adb and the img file is and double click the flash-all.bat file (or flash-all.sh for Mac) and wait for it to flash the device.

After that, go through the setup process and you’re all set. If you ever want to undo it, just head to Google’s site again and download the “non-preview image” and flash it to the watch in the same way you flashed the preview image but skipping fastboot oem unlock above.

Enjoy and let me know what you guys think! Full video Android Wear 2.0 walkthrough coming ASAP! Subscribe to my social networks for updates!

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177 thoughts on “How to Get Android Wear 2.0 Right Now”

  1. João Crispim

    Hi! Thanks for the detailed description! One question though: The “non-preview image” reboots the watch to android wear 2.0 “non-developer mode” or back to android wear 1.5?
    Thanks in advance!

      1. João Crispim

        Thanks once more for your quick reply! (my LG urbane 2 buzzed the notification soon enough! 😉
        Being a nag, two questions arise on my mind:
        1- If I reset the device to a “non preview” version will it “un-void” my warranty? I mean, is it detectable?
        2- Will the 2.0 developer version be upgradeable as soon as 2.1 non-developer and so on come in? Or will i have to install a non-preview version back on so that it then upgrades?
        Thank you again!

        1. No worries!

          1. Yes your warranty will be reinstated so long as after you flash the stock firmware you also relock the bootloader.

          2. That depends on how Google handles it. At the moment though it’s believed you’d have to downgrade to non-preivew to get OTA updates from then on.

          1. João Crispim

            Thank you very much, I’ll certainly try it! I’m an iPhone user, so yet facing a very limited use of such a powerful instrument at the moment…

  2. Hey, Thank you so much for the easy tutorial! worked brilliantly. I am afraid tough , thats once the non developer will be released, and google decide not to givee the ota to the preview developer, i wont know how to get back to the older versions. could the factory reset also solve the problem? Thanks again.

  3. Ok, ive been with the preview 2 for 6 days, and ive got to say i hate the new UI, too simple and lack of the material design, i love when i see every photo on full screen and not a little photo and solid colors for the notifications. the texting messages works pretty good, but my arm starts to hurt after awhile, its not that useful. also had problems with the connections display, it did work, but alwas showed me that its looking for connectivity. but i got to say that the ui design looks much worse than the android wear 1. theres a possibility that i will never update it to 2.

  4. can any one share a step by step guide to revert back?? I have tried for a few hours now and cant seem to figure it out.

    I tired following the same process as above with the but the file i get from google is a .tgz and not a .zip?

    please HELP!

      1. I have done all the steps you have shown in the tutorial but my Huawei watch is also stuck on Huawei logo!! please help

          1. yes its after all the steps were complete and had to reboot for the last time. now stuck on the Huawei logo

  5. ABD Devices worked fine and showed serial number. adb reboot bootloader booted into Fastboot menu on watch. tried fastboot oem unlock and it just says . Been searching for a fix….any suggestions? Running 64bit Windows 10.

      1. Tried the tutorial…Device Manager in Windows 10 shows Android Device, and under that Android ADB Interface. Tried searching for latest drivers just in case and it says latest drivers are already installed. Other suggestions?

        1. You might have the ADB drivers being used for fastboot mode (which doesn’t work). So I’d right click that in Device Manager and click uninstall, unplug and replug in and see if it installs new drivers and see if that then works. If not, then uninstall it again, unplug it again, and try reinstalling the drivers before plugging it back in.

          Also try different USB ports as that can weirdly affect it.

  6. Hey David I emailed you couple days ago. My problem is that I get to the last atep to select the flash.all-sh and nothing happens. Just wondering if you can make video on how to load wear 2.0 on Mac. Can’t seem to find anyone doing one on youtube

    1. Sorry never got the email. The tutorial is the same and you just need to use terminal instead of command prompt and put ./ in front of each command. Google adb commands on Mac for more info. For such a small change it wouldn’t make sense for me to do a video on unfortunately :/

  7. Hi David, I’m trying to install Preview 2 on my Urbane 2nd, and I get so far as “lock state – unlocked” on the device. When I try and run flash-all.bat on the command prompt I get:
    sending ‘bootloader[
    FAILED (data transfer failure (unknown error))
    finished
    rebooting into bootloaded…
    FAILED command write failed (unknown error))
    finished
    and so on until it says:
    error: out of memory
    press any key to exit.

    What am I doing wrong? I followed the instructions.

    Should the Fastboot page on the watch itself be set to RESTART BOOTLOADER, START, POWER OFF, BARCODE, RECOVERY MODE?
    Does that even make a difference?

    I am using Windows 10 Pro

  8. Hi David, I’m trying to install Preview 2 on my Urbane 2nd, and I get so far as “lock state – unlocked” on the device. When I try and run flash-all.bat on the command prompt I get:
    sending ‘bootloader[
    FAILED (data transfer failure (unknown error))
    finished
    rebooting into bootloaded…
    FAILED command write failed (unknown error))
    finished
    and so on until it says:
    error: out of memory
    press any key to exit.

    What am I doing wrong? I followed the instructions.

    Should the Fastboot page on the watch itself be set to RESTART BOOTLOADER, START, POWER OFF, BARCODE, RECOVERY MODE?
    Does that even make a difference?

    I am using Windows 10 Pro

    1. So if you have those options on your screen you are in fastboot and good to go.

      The error it is throwing is out of memory it looks like try and wipe the watch first by factory resetting it in settings then set it up again and go through these steps again and see if that helps. Also try deleting apps from it as well.

      1. Thanks for the reply!

        I did a factory reset and enabled ADB debugging again and tried the flash again and still failed.
        I am still getting mostly the same series of errors.
        Another note, the Flashboot on the screen of the watch says:
        SECURE BOOT – enabled
        LOCK STATE – Unlocked

        Wonder if the secure boot has anything to do with it?

        I am attaching a screen of the errors from the command prompt.

        Thanks Again!

        1. The secure boot shouldn’t matter. Try deleting apps from it to free up space. Also try redownloading the firmware in case it’s corrupt as well. If none of that works, unfortunately you might need to just try another computer. Not much else I can do from here to help :/

          1. I was running ADB on a Windows 10 hosted in VMWare on a Mac. Once I switched to an actual Win 10 machine it worked right away.
            Thanks for your help!

  9. really need your help on this. followed all the steps in the tutorial and got to the very end when you had to do the second reboot. following this step my watch is stuck o the Huawei logo. now I can hold the power button to manually enter fastboot mode but no matter what I select to “reboot” it just stays stck on the same logo.

    1. I have the same issue. I hold down the button on the watch and the logo disappears for a second then comes back and the device buzzes twice and then nothing happens. The computer cant recognize that the device is plugged in.

  10. Hey David, would you be able to help me update my dev Preview 2 to dev Preview 3? I just installed Preview 2 last night with your video’s help but now I can’t figure out how to update it to Preview 3. Google’s website has me using the “flash-all” script we used this time around but every time I launch the script, it’s trying to install Preview 2.

    1. It’s probably flashing the old files because they are in the same folder. Delete all of them out of the folder and start over from scratch and just make sure to only download the latest files.

  11. Hi, thank you for the tutorial. It worked like a charm on my Huawei watch, but then in order to finalise setup one must have Wear 2.0 on the phone.
    Can you please explain how to get this?

    Regards,

      1. Thanks, the application gets stuck with “Update Android Wear” and the watch never finishes its update cycle, it’s just stuck on “Continue update on phone”. Any idea?

        Thanks heaps!

        1. Sounds like you need to update the Android Wear app on the phone to the latest version. Go to the Play Store on the phone and look for updates and see if there is one for Android Wear and update it.

  12. Hello David, I was following your tutorial of the Huawei Watch Android Wear 2.0 install, but I seemed to have messed up and now my watch can not communicate with my computer and is stuck in the fastboot menu or the red Huawei logo screen. Now it’s charging and is on a battery symbol with a lightening bolt. I use an iPhone and a Windows 10 laptop. How can I fix my watch to stock? I try to factory reset and reboot, but the watch freezes on the logo screen. Thank you

      1. A screenshot of the terminal that you get from Shift+right click in the ADB folder? It says “List of devices” and nothing else.

          1. I get the same thing on screen and no boot loader ability. It is just stuck on the Huawei logo. I guess I am screwed unless there is a way to upload the previous version without a boot loader. Is there?

          2. Hi did you get a fix for this? I have exactly the same problem. It’s continuously rebooting and shows an android character with a exclamation mark after the Huawei logo, then reboots again. Can’t connect to it on my pc.

  13. hello David. After following your tutorial i get the third preview on the lg urbane 2nd edition. Then i changed a few permissions and now i have a white screen. Also rebooting the watch changes nothing. Do you have an idea how to solve the problem??

    1. Sorry but since I don’t know what you changed, it’s very difficult to figure out how to help other than I suggest you flash the stock firmware. You can do that by plugging it in and seeing if you can get it to fastboot mode by typing adb reboot bootloader in the command prompt. If you can get it to do that, then you can use the “non-preview image” from here to flash that (non-preview is another word for stock) in the same way you flashed the Wear 2.0 image. Good luck!

      1. I know now what i did. i set the android wear inactiv on the watch. so i did a hard reset and reinstalled the program

  14. Rodrigo Rebagliati

    Hello David. I followed your tutorial and it worked perfectly until the end, when it said FAILED (remote: data too large) in the command window. Do you have any idea on how to solve this? Thanks.

      1. Rodrigo Rebagliati

        Well, thanks anyway. I was trying on my Huawei Watch. Already flashed the original firmware back on the watch, so thanks for that!

  15. Hi,

    I’ve downloaded from google page, but it is stuck on “continue setup on phone…” Maybe there are updated firmware ? How to overcome this ?

    1. Shouldn’t hae anything to do with it. You need to continue the setup in the Android Wear app on the phone. If you can’t get it to work, you can easily flash the non-preview software which is the stock firmware to get you back to the way you were before flashing the 2.0 firmware. After that you can try again or just leave it as stock.

  16. Hello,

    I am lost at the point when the fastboot command comes into this. I am just not clever enough to update the Fastboot driver on my Mac.
    Any suggestion ?

    Best Regards

      1. Like you said in your tutorial the screen is telling me “waiting for device” forever
        you then update your fastboot driver in windows – how to solve on a MAC ?

        1. Klauss-iMac:android 2 klausbauer$ ./adb devices
          List of devices attached
          MQB7N15919000503 device

          Klauss-iMac:android 2 klausbauer$ ./fastboot devices
          Klauss-iMac:android 2 klausbauer$ ./fastboot devices
          Klauss-iMac:android 2 klausbauer$ ./fastboot oem unlock

  17. So how exactly do I go about reflashing the stock image? I was able to flash 2.0 fine but the problem is on the Google page the download is in .tgz and isn’t recognised by the flash tool. Someone please help. Thanks.

      1. Well that’s my head in hand moment for the year, thanks for your help. I DID try to unzip it first with winzip then with 7Zip and just assumed it couldn’t be done. WinRar is normally my go to software too… Thanks again.

  18. I tried to install and now watch is stuck with Huawei logo. It is wiped. PC cannot see device. ADB Devices cannot see it I mean. What can I do?

    1. You should still be able to see it in adb if it has the logo on the screen. Make sure the drivers are installed, try a different USB port, and ultimately maybe a different PC.

      Also at what step did you get stuck exactly as that can determine what you did wrong and how to fix it.

      1. I was able to get the stock added back on and working. I had to figure out how to get into the boot loader by long pressing power button, vibrates, and short press to get reboot screen. Once there, I took a sigh of relief. Since I had 5 hours to think about it, instead of typing ADB devices in terminal window (because it did come up), I opened ADB on desktop, extracted the stock non-preview version into the ADB folder. From there, I double clicked on the flash-all-bat file. Viola! It started loading and stock android rebooted from there.
        As to why Android Wear 2.0 did not work, it said it failed to load. I’m not certain if the new update on the 1st had something to do with it or not. That’s when it went downhill from there.

        1. Literally the exact same thing happened to me. THANK YOU!!!! also I wonder if it didn’t work because we didnt copy all of the files correctly?

  19. Hey man, I am trying to reinstall the stock OS on my watch but none of my computers will recognize it. The watch recognizes it as a charging device. Any idea? I’m on Dev Preview 3. Does it have some MTU mode or whatever?

  20. My watch is now stuck on the Huawei logo for about 5 minutes now… 🙁 I double checked all my steps to see if I missed anything, and it seemed to install fine. Did anyone have a long reboot time?

  21. How do you Lock the boot loader? My watch has the device message after I flashed the original ROM? Getting tired of the message.

      1. Nicholas Giannopoulos

        im trying to put android wear 1.5 back on and i cant change the tgz file from google into a zip i have the watch urbane 2

  22. when i ‘let me pick from a list of drivers from my computer’ in device manager , it does not list any android drivers . what should i do ?

  23. Nicholas Giannopoulos

    can somebody find/make how to change back to the old version this new one is messing with my watch so bad please help!

    1. Read the other comments and we all explain how to go back. It’s the same procedure basically just need to use the stock file from Google (links above in the tutorial). Good luck.

  24. Hello!
    I install 2.0 with succes. When i tried to return to old version my watch died. I follow the same procedure like for 2.0 but when i open “flash all” i received an error message “memory full”. and “boot.??? is missing”. Immediatly another message appear: Flash Restarting. From that point i can not open my watch and i can not connect to adb. 🙁

    I tried many timed to start it (LG Urbane 2) but he is restarting again and again and again.

    Please help!

    Thank you

    1. Only thing I can suggest is trying again to see if it’ll delete the stalled update. Otherwise you’ll have to contact LG for technical support and just mention it had an update you tried to install and it died while doing it. Best to leave out the whole Android Wear 2.0 thing and just see if they have a solution for you.

  25. Jarek Pawłowicz

    Very helpful guide, thanks.
    I believe, however, it would also be helpful to let people (like myself) know couple of facts before they make a mistake and go for this.
    1. the process goes more or less as described, although nowhere as smooth and it takes appx. 2 hours to complete – I appreciate the fact that the video can’t possibly last for 2 hrs but it would be nice to mention that
    2. at least half of the apps stop working after the upgrade and the ones that still work, do that in a very unpleasant fashion – keep stalling, there is no multiple screen indicator so one has to guess if there are more screens available to work with etc.
    3. that is the developers’ build so it might still have few glitches, but in fact, all you get is a new iOs-like interface and the watch virtually stripped off it’s features – I believe that is worth mentioning

    So whoever decides to take a stab at it please keep all that in mind. Huge mistake if you ask me. Wait for the official release.

    Unfortunately the author failed to mention all that while being so enthusiastic about the “break-through change”.

    1. Thanks for your feedback! I do mention that it is glitchy and to expect issues, but most people who are as impatient as I am don’t seem to care 🙂 Also, only took me an hour (as it did some others who commented), but that’ll vary by person. Thanks again though for the thoughtful comments, hopefully it’ll help others.

  26. I am stuck on the Huawei loading bootup screen. I have managed to enter the fastboot menu on my watch, but my computer now recognizes it as a sideload. How do I change that to device to flash it. Also, how do I flash the .tgz files that google has. They cannot unzip. I have tried programs like 7-Zip. Please help.

    1. You need to uninstall the drivers through device manager while it’s plugged in as fast boot then unplug it and replug it in and make sure to get the correct drivers to install. For help with the try this tutorial – https://theunlockr.com/2009/10/06/how-to-set-up-adb-usb-drivers-for-android-devices/

      As for unzipping it 7-Zip worked fine for me. Check online for help on why it isn’t working for you as it definitely is listed as a format 7-Zip supports.

      Good luck

  27. malek aloqili

    hi

    I would like to ask about andorid wear ASAP how to get img and push it the watch ? I have dragenboard 410c
    thanks any way

    1. Unfortunately it’s only available for the devices listed above at the moment. You can check Google’s developer page linked above to see if they’ve added support for your watch but if not you’ll have to just wait for the update from your manufacturer.

  28. Cristobal Nieto

    if I went back to factory, is there any trace of “voiding the warranty” is there any way to regain your warranty?

    1. So long as you are totally back to stock and have no unlock logo when you boot up etc. your warranty is reinstated as they can’t tell you did this (also keep in mind this is a thing Google themselves promotes you to do if you are developer and need to test apps on the phone so it’s not like you’re hacking the phone in the first place).

      To get back to stock, follow the steps above but flash the non-preview image listed on Google’s page instead of the preview one.
      Good luck though!

  29. Tested out 2.0 followed all instructions for my LG Urbane 2 AT&T edition. It installed but would only give me “Checking for updates” with no end to the check. If i pushed the middle button I could get to the settings menu but only gave me settings & no apps installed even after I synced to my phone. Let it sit like that for a while & still only would show checking for updates.
    Any suggestions?

  30. Do you have a link to the current version for LG Urbane 2? (The preview and non-preview)
    Or steps to how to use the .tgz file that can be downloaded from the google developer site?
    I have followed your steps and it works but just want the current build and a way to change it back.

  31. Hi, due to delay in the non preview edition I downloaded the preview version this morning and it works a treat – thanks. As the watch is unlocked (open padlock) does this mean the watch wont receive OTA updates? That said, I’ve re-locked it again just in case. Are there any difference between the latest version on Google’s page and the non preview version?

    1. As far as I know the preview version was 2.0 and the non-preview version was 1.0 (used to get back to stock). Not sure if they have released a 2.0 non-preview yet, but you can check that page you got it from for more info. And if you are on a preivew version of any kind, you most likely won’t get OTAs.

      1. Thanks. So would have to re-flash back to stock (non-preview version) then prior to the heads up the OTA. Is there any differences or is this more or less the ‘steady’ version?

        1. Correct. You’d need to be on a non-preview version to get OTAs. The steady version of 2.0 and not the preview version would get OTAs and is the latest update from the manufacturer (and would include whatever final software they wanted to add). The thing is you have to wait for that final version from the manufacturer (via OTA) and the preview one is from Google and can be flashed now.
          I’d flash it now if you want to play with 2.0 and then when you start to see that others with your model are actually getting the 2.0 full version, return to non-preview and OTA that. Good luck.

  32. After I installed the android wear 2.0 last night, when it gets to the last reboot, my Huawei Watch was sticking on the boot screen, with a Huawei logo freezes on the center of the screen, any idea how to fix it. I tried the factory reset and everything, any solutions? Thanks!

  33. Hi, after the latest Android Wear update via the Play Store the customise hardware buttons on the Lg Urbane 2 no longer function. Any idea why this may be? I can however get them to function as before but by uninstalling the update?

    1. Hello,

      So if you updated directly through the watch and didn’t use this tutorial then you need to just contact your manufacturer for technical support like normal.

      1. For clarification, I first updated via this tutorial from 1.0 to 2.0. The update was via an app from the app store.

        1. OK, so you updated what app via the Play Store? And did that app cause the issue or did you have the issue before? Have you tried uninstalling the app update or the app entirely if that is the issue?

          1. I updated the Android Wear app. And yes the update caused the issue – it was not there before the update. The fix is to uninstall the update.

          2. Correct, so do that for now. The thing is you are running the preview version of Android Wear so the new update won’t probably work with it. To get it to work, you’ll need to revert to the non-preview image and update officially through the manufacturer (if they have the update ready for you by now). Good luck.

  34. I flashed with ADB 1.3 Version for Hwawei. But it is just showing me the Huawei’s logo after trying to reboot. And I couln’t see any of device no longer from ADB. Whan can I do for making my watch run. Your help would be appreciated.

          1. I could enter to bootloader according to this way.

            1) Hold down the power button
            2) The screen will go black for about 2 seconds and then boot into the Huawei logo. Keep holding down the power button.
            3) Wait for the first vibration, release the power button and then immediately give the power button one short press.
            now i will try to flash other one instead of first one.

  35. Okay so first android wear device, and i was able to do everything like the instructions said but after running the flash-all, i see it running and at the end it says “Failed, too large for device” and the watch stays at the reboot screen, so i reboot it and then i get stuck at the huawei logo. any assistance would be greatly appreciated

    1. Sounds like you tried to flash the wrong firmware or you have no space on the device. Google the error to see what caused it and how to fix it and in the meantime, read the comment below from someone else who got stuck on the logo and got back to bootloader mode using 3 steps (which you can do to then be able to flash it again or even flash the non-preview version on Google’s site to get back to stock).

      1. Jamie 'Black'

        Thanks for the quick reply. just doing it know, hopefully should go back to stock so I can have the play store on my device.

    1. Flash the non-preview image on Google’s page and follow the instructions again but flashing that. It’ll come in a .tgz file so you’ll need WinZip or 7Zip downloaded for free from the web to be able to extract that (Google for either program and you’ll find them).

  36. Leigh Fountain

    I’ve got an A+ cert and that was fraught with weirdness
    Still unsure…it keeps ‘waiting for device’ , and device keeps going offline

  37. David, in the tgz file I downloaded from the Google site, there were two .img files. One was “bootloader-nemo-nvf41u.img” and the other was “radio-nemo-nvf41u.img”. I installed the “bootloader…” one. What do I do with the radio one?

    1. Is there no flash-all.bat inside there? There should also be a system image and a few others. Redownload it just incase it was corrupted or didn’t finish.

  38. On my Urbane 2 I have downloaded the img files from both your site and Google’s, which show as ‘disc image files’ in the adp folder, but when installed in the watch I get a message that they are corrupted.
    Any ideas Please?

      1. Ok, finally got it to work, thanks. I know this is a developers version, so it lacks much from the version available commercially now (no assistant, no handwriting, many apps still not standalone, and no play store, for example). Is there any way to get the full version?

  39. David Weinbach

    Does the return to original image return it the a verizon build, or to a generic Goggle 1.5 build? The reason I ask is that when I rebooted, it gave the same “cannot verify image” m,essage ans when I first installed the developer build.

  40. I have recently bought Huawei Watch 2 Chinese version and tried to flash Android Wear 2.0 as described above since I want to change the OS version. Now my watch is not opening and even I cannot see the boot when power-on only black screen. Since this flash changed my bootlader, I cannot also open the boot recovery. Can somebody help me that how can I recover again my Huawei watch 2?

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