Android Oreo is finally out on the Nokia 6. Well, at least in beta. This comes just a week since the same update was made available to its smaller sibling the Nokia 5.
Since I have the Nokia 6 in for review, I’ve been fighting the urge to go rogue and put the device on test software and hope that it doesn’t affect the final view of the device that I hold and which will inform the review I eventually pen. Once I decided that I would be going ahead, the next challenge was getting the Oreo update itself.
Turns out, it’s really easy.
1. Head over to the Nokia beta labs site.
2. Sign up for a Nokia account. After signing up, confirm the email from your inbox then sign in. This is assuming you didn’t have one already. If you already have one then just sign in.
3. You will be redirected to the community/forums site.
4. Go back to the link in point number 1 above [here it is again]
5. Scroll down to validate your Nokia 6 using its IMEI. Don’t worry, there are on-screen instructions on how to go about this in case you don’t know where to find it. Be sure to key in the carrier (the mobile network operator on whose network the Nokia 6 is using) since it is necessary for the validation.
I am not so sure what really happens with the validation and if they do turn down some devices but it would be interesting to hear of any devices that get rejected. The device I have was given to me by HMD Global’s local PR so it’s definitely in their database as will surely be those that are bought via Safaricom and several other retailers selling the device but what about the many imports dotting various online marketplaces (on Facebook and elsewhere) locally? Or the validation check simply looks at the software running on these devices for compatibility and not much else?
6. Once the device is validated, as per what is set out in step 5 above, scroll further down to request for the beta to be sent to your device over the air (OTA).
That’s it!
While one is advised that the OTA will be pushed in at least 12 hours, mine arrived instantly. Download (it’s 1.1GB), install and enjoy.
Note: For a Nokia 6 to get the Android Oreo beta, it must be on these software versions: V3.700_SP02, V3.72A_SP01 or V3.73A_SP01. You can check which version from “About phone” in the device settings.
