What to do if you get the “missing system.img” error while flashing Android Lollipop factory image
We just posted our guide for flashing the Android 5.0 factory image on your Nexus. Unfortunately lot of people across the internet are running into an error when trying to do it. We addressed this problem in our guide, but wanted to mention it again in a separate post for anyone having the problem.
The TL;DR is that the typical method is failing to find the .img files from inside the image.zip. We’ll simply find and install those files manually. Here’s how to do it.
*Phandroid is not responsible for any problems you have. Proceed at your own risk.
We’ll need to extract the image.zip file into a new folder. Then move the “bootloader” and “radio” .img files into that same folder. I suggest renaming the bootloader and radio files so you get something like this:
file names will vary by device
Now all we’re going to do is flash all the .img files manually one-by-one. It’s a piece of cake. Open up the command prompt and change to the directory with all your .img files. Input the following commands in order. Allow each one to finish before moving on.
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
fastboot flash radio radio.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash system system.img (this one will take the longest)
If you’re doing this for a Nexus 6 or Nexus 9:
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
To perform a full wipe do this:
fastboot flash cache cache.img
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
That’s it. Now run command “fastboot reboot” and your phone will restart. The boot animation will last a little longer than usual, but eventually you’ll get the “Android is upgrading” message and you’re on your way to Android 5.0 Lollipop! We hope this solved your problems. I know how frustrating it was to get this error message. Did you run into the system.img error? Did this method work for you?
[via Android Forums]