How to Change Galaxy Nexus Firmware from YAKJUXW to YAKJU

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The Galaxy Nexus is a true Googlephone with updates rolling out directly from Google, but Samsung seems to have put a wrench in the workings here too.  Users with the YAKJUXW firmware version are denied this direct link to the mothership with Samsung taking control of updates.  With this guide, you can change your version to the more Google-friendly YAKJU, so read on to get free of Samsung completely.

I.  Before You Begin

1.  You will definitely lose all your data, so be sure to back up everything important.

2.  This is a Windows-based procedure; so make sure you are running either Windows 7 or Windows XP.

3.  Download and install these necessary drivers.

4.  Download the ADB and fastboot files.

5.  Download the JAKJU firmware.

II.  Unlocking the Bootloader

1.  Put your device into bootloader mode.  To do this, hold Volume Up and Volume Down simultaneously and press power until the phone boots into the bootloader mode.

2.  Connect your device to the PC.  If you haven’t installed the drivers you downloaded above already, you may be prompted to do so now.

3.  Extract the yakju-imm76d-factory-c6e807a1.tar using a program like WinRar to a folder on your C:\ drive.  You should now have a file named yakju-imm76d-factory-c6e807a1 without an extension.  Add .zip to the end of this file’s name so it looks like this – yakju-imm76d-factory-c6e807a1.zip.  Now, extract this zip file to the same folder on the desktop.  Then, extract image-yakju-imm76d.zip to the same location.

4.  Extract fastboot-and-adb.zip to the same folder.  This folder should now contain the following files:

5.  Open up a command prompt window.  To do this, click on the Windows icon and type in ‘cmd’ in the search box.  Windows XP users can click on Start > Run, type in cmd and hit Enter.

6.  Enter the following commands in the command prompt window.

cd C:\yakju-imm76d-factory-c6e807a1\yakju-imm76d    (You should now be in the extracted folder)

fastboot devices   (This will help you confirm that your device is connected to the computer)

fastboot oem unlock  (This will unlock your bootloader and wipe all your data in the process, on the device you will have to use the volume buttons to select yes after typing in this command)

fastboot reboot-bootloader

(This will reboot your device back to the bootloader)

Your bootloader should now be unlocked.

III.  Flashing the YAKJU Firmware

Now that you have unlocked your bootloader, it’s time to flash the YAKJU firmware.  To do this:

1.  Ensure that your device is in bootloader mode after it has restarted.

2.  From the same command prompt window as above, enter the following commands:

fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot erase cache
fastboot reboot

Once the device reboots, your device will have the YAKJU firmware.  But before being eligible for updates directly from Google, you might have to flash a recovery and you can use our guide on flashing one right here.  If you run into any problems during the whole process, make sure that you have installed the drivers properly and have the files extracted to the same folder and run the above commands from that same folder.

Thanks go to eddie_gordo on XDA for the original post!! A thank you or a donation will definitely be appreciated by him, so don’t forget to do the same if you liked his work!!

24 thoughts on “How to Change Galaxy Nexus Firmware from YAKJUXW to YAKJU”

  2. Mauriat

    “Once the device reboots, your device will be eligible for updates directly from Google.” – YES, but they won’t install. The original XDA thread says that flashing “recovery.img” is optional, but this is confusing. If you don’t flash recovery than a future OTA (over the air) update will fail as the system won’t be able to apply the changes. The update will download, start but you will get a failed icon.
    I recommend you edit this howto to require flashing recovery.

    Reply
  3. Gioli

    Yes, Mauriat is right!
    I’ve got the IMM76I update over the air last night but installation failed.
    I would appreciate if you could edit this tutorial with a howto about flashing recovery…

    Reply
  4. Gioli

    In fact, the edit is very simple. Simply add
    fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
    just after fastboot flash boot boot.img 😉

    Reply
    1. darren

      thanks Gioli I have the same problem.
      do I have to go through the whole process again or can i just type in the command that you posted above?

      Reply
      1. Gioli

        Hi darren,
        No you don’t have to go through the whole process. Simply pick up the recovery.img file from the package, unlock the bootloader if it is not already done, flash the recovery image file using the command I mentioned above and reboot (without to erase cache). After that, go to Settings -> Applications -> All and reset the Framework system data. Now if you go to Settings -> About the phone -> Check for updates, you should be prompted for the new IMM76I update again (and it should work!) .
        Hope it will help. 🙂

        Reply
  5. Tudor

    By doing this process, will it cancel my warranty?
    Or can I go directly to a Samsung Service and ask them to change my phone from YAKJUXW to YAKJU?

    Thanks, Tudor

    Reply
    1. Dax Krishna

      no, it will not, since you aren’t unlocking the bootloader or doing anything that Sammy might consider nefarious!

      Reply
      1. Neil

        Uhhh, step 2 of the whole process above reads:
        “II. Unlocking the Bootloader”

        Are you sure the warranty won’t be voided?

        Reply
  8. Tony

    Will this work if I have a Canadian version? I’m with Telus so it’s the HSPA model. I’m still on 4.0.1.

    Reply
    1. David

      That’s what I’ve been looking for. I’m already rooted with CWM, there’s gotta be a way just to flash the firmware that way.

      Reply

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