<![CDATA[[HowTo] Update baseband firmware]]>Motivation
Baseband firmware has a lot to do with battery life. Since the battery life on the N5 is not the latest and greatest on the planet, small improvements could have an overall bonus effect.

How

  1. Grab the latest factory image for the N5 from Googleยดs developer page: https://developers.google.com/android/images#hammerhead - currently thatยดs 6.0.1 (M4B30Z, Dec 2016)

  2. Open the archive and extract only the radio firmware, probably named like this:

0_1513955196264_dfea01ef-48c3-4108-9b16-0a15e8c8cad2-grafik.png

  1. Connect the device to USB and bring it into fastboot mode by either using adb and adb reboot bootloader from console, or by pressing and holding Vol-Down button and then powering up the device. Verify you are connected with the device:
    0_1513955359755_aa7b7c4c-2b80-4f3a-8f4f-30639b074de1-grafik.png

  2. Flash the radio firmware by using this statement:
    0_1513955458954_ecd6a287-4750-4519-b6fa-376a4aff92cf-grafik.png

  3. Reboot your device and test if it was successful: Radio and internet should work, have 3G/4G etc. Observe battery drain over the next days. Also maybe this helps WiFi hotspot, who knows ๐Ÿ˜‰

BR Florian

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/topic/815/howto-update-baseband-firmwareRSS for NodeTue, 10 Mar 2026 21:36:22 GMTFri, 22 Dec 2017 15:12:18 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:51:57 GMT]]>@domubpkm Yes currently you need to do all firmware updates manually.

BR

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/8218https://forums.ubports.com/post/8218Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:51:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:43:22 GMT]]>@flohack Thanks. Before you answered me, I have copied the file in my documents before to do the step 4 and it's work.

Is in the future will it be possible or necessary to update radio firmware or firmware for OPO ?

Regards

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/8217https://forums.ubports.com/post/8217Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:43:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:05:27 GMT]]>@domubpkm Sorry no idea, are you in the same folder?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/8216https://forums.ubports.com/post/8216Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:05:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Wed, 18 Apr 2018 21:44:11 GMT]]>Hi Florian.

I donยดt understand. 1 2 3 steps are ok,, i am in fastboot mode but for 4, i have this :

~$ fastboot flash radio radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img

error: cannot load 'radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img'

radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30 is in the folder download of my ubuntu computer.

What to do ?
Thanks

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/8214https://forums.ubports.com/post/8214Wed, 18 Apr 2018 21:44:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:08:27 GMT]]>@cherrie said in [HowTo] [N5] Update baseband firmware:

@flohack Is it possible to see what radio firmware is installed on N5 using UBport?

Yes it is.

  • open terminal app in your phone.
  • cd /usr/share/ofono/scripts
  • ./list-modems | grep Revision
]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6521https://forums.ubports.com/post/6521Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:08:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:01:56 GMT]]>@cherrie No I dont think so. But the easiest way is to boot into fastboot/bootloader mode. It is listed there ๐Ÿ˜‰

BR

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6512https://forums.ubports.com/post/6512Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:01:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Tue, 09 Jan 2018 12:45:45 GMT]]>@flohack Is it possible to see what radio firmware is installed on N5 using UBport?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6511https://forums.ubports.com/post/6511Tue, 09 Jan 2018 12:45:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Tue, 09 Jan 2018 00:52:40 GMT]]>@lakota Sounds nice. ๐Ÿ™‚ I'll try to remenber to have a look.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6492https://forums.ubports.com/post/6492Tue, 09 Jan 2018 00:52:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Mon, 08 Jan 2018 15:33:28 GMT]]>@hans1977se Thanks Hans. Using mine now as a daily driver now notifications and dekko2 are up and working and alls going well so far. Have fun and enjoy. By the way have you downloaded the ubports wallpaper from the ubports news channel on telegram. It look good and might help spread the word if others notice it. As long as you like it that is๐Ÿ˜„

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6470https://forums.ubports.com/post/6470Mon, 08 Jan 2018 15:33:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Mon, 08 Jan 2018 14:25:53 GMT]]>@lakota Thanks. It's good that you have had time to follow what's going on here. I've been too busy to follow this great project these last few months, but i do have been using my Ubuntu phone without worries except for this one in the meantime of course. ๐Ÿ™‚

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6469https://forums.ubports.com/post/6469Mon, 08 Jan 2018 14:25:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Mon, 08 Jan 2018 07:12:00 GMT]]>@hans1977se No its come up on the forum before thats how I heard of it.Glad it worked for you.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6465https://forums.ubports.com/post/6465Mon, 08 Jan 2018 07:12:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Mon, 08 Jan 2018 01:35:56 GMT]]>@lakota Awesome. It seems to be working again when switching to the release candidate channel. Thanks for your suggestion!

I'm surprised that no one else seem to have noticed this problem with the stable release. Or, i haven't looked throughly enough to find those who has problems. ๐Ÿ™‚

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6463https://forums.ubports.com/post/6463Mon, 08 Jan 2018 01:35:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sun, 07 Jan 2018 14:35:01 GMT]]>@hans1977se If your not on the development channel swop to that in update settings, update the phone and see what happens. That has fixed a few issues before. You can then swop back to whatever channel you want.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6451https://forums.ubports.com/post/6451Sun, 07 Jan 2018 14:35:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sun, 07 Jan 2018 12:52:27 GMT]]>@flohack Thanks for a very nice and simple instruction.

I have a problem with the mobile connection after installing r3, and i hoped that doing this could solve the problem. Unfortunately it didn't. The problem is that mobile data connection does not work anymore after upgrading to r3. The "4G" icon comes up when enabling mobile data, but the internet connection does not work and there is only the loopback interface in ifconfig.

Do you (or anyone else here, of course) have any solution for this or any suggestions on how to debug it?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6450https://forums.ubports.com/post/6450Sun, 07 Jan 2018 12:52:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sun, 31 Dec 2017 06:32:14 GMT]]>I have been using latest baseband over week now. Battery now lasts maybe 30% longer in my case. Much better thing is that there are no network dropouts anymore. Before a had few locations where it was almost impossible to use mobiledata, but now also those locations works very well.

I did some testing with powerstat. "3g ON" it almost doubles consumption.

Wifi on:
https://paste.ubuntu.com/26277621/

3g on:
https://paste.ubuntu.com/26277635/

I also tried to check system wakelocks but N5 kernel doesn't have "/proc/timer_stats" support. It needs "CONFIG_TIMER_STATS=y" option compiled in the kernel. N4 has it already but N5 doesn't. I want to use "eventstat" to examine wakelocks but it wont work without it..

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6287https://forums.ubports.com/post/6287Sun, 31 Dec 2017 06:32:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 30 Dec 2017 15:05:20 GMT]]>After some days of usage, I can't see any improvements in battery life with the 30 version. Maybe the 29 version which was the one I had is not so different.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6273https://forums.ubports.com/post/6273Sat, 30 Dec 2017 15:05:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 21:04:12 GMT]]>@Flohack Thank you for help. UBports rocks.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6120https://forums.ubports.com/post/6120Sun, 24 Dec 2017 21:04:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 07:09:21 GMT]]>I checked and I had radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.29, so I updated to 30 following the @Flohack instructions.

Everything seems to work as expected but the WIFI hotspot is still not working. It starts OK, but the wifi signal is not seen by nearby devices. Then when it is turned off, wifi does not work any more in the Nexus 5. A reboot is needed to get it back.

I will report on battery life if I see any change.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6097https://forums.ubports.com/post/6097Sun, 24 Dec 2017 07:09:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:16:52 GMT]]>

@hendrixxx said in [HowTo] [N5] Update baseband firmware:
@tupp you can hide keyboard by swiping down. and you can get arrow by press and hold "keypad" button and select "SCR" then slide top panel to right and there you have arrow keys.

Good to know! Thanks!

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6089https://forums.ubports.com/post/6089Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:16:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:11:24 GMT]]>@tupp Yeah there is no younger one on Android pages right now ๐Ÿ˜‰ I took the latest...

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6088https://forums.ubports.com/post/6088Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:11:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:09:07 GMT]]>

@randomuser said in [HowTo] [N5] Update baseband firmware:
Anyway, this is my output: Revision = M8974A-2.0.50.2.30
Looks like I should benefit of this firmware upgrade, correct?

Probably, there is no need to upgrade, as you seem to already have the most recent version (see image in OP showing file "radio-hammerhead-m8974A-2.0.50.2.30.img") installed.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6087https://forums.ubports.com/post/6087Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:09:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 23 Dec 2017 11:23:12 GMT]]>@flohack said in [HowTo] [N5] Update baseband firmware:

@hendrixxx swiping down? never works for me ๐Ÿ˜›

Yes. When keyboard is visible put your finger on it and swipe down. Keyboard will go down (hide). Very useful IMO.. I use that all the time. โ˜บ

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6077https://forums.ubports.com/post/6077Sat, 23 Dec 2017 11:23:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 23 Dec 2017 10:56:38 GMT]]>For anyone using the terminal quite often, it's easier to setup ssh on the phone. That way you can just run ssh phablet@<phone-ip> and use your desktop terminal.

Anyway, this is my output: Revision = M8974A-2.0.50.2.30

Looks like I should benefit of this firmware upgrade, correct?

Sidenote, this was also in the ouput:
Manufacturer = Fake Manufacturer
Model = Fake Modem Model

This is normal?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6076https://forums.ubports.com/post/6076Sat, 23 Dec 2017 10:56:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to [HowTo] Update baseband firmware on Sat, 23 Dec 2017 10:23:55 GMT]]>@hendrixxx swiping down? never works for me ๐Ÿ˜›

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/6074https://forums.ubports.com/post/6074Sat, 23 Dec 2017 10:23:55 GMT