page.title=Test on a Device meta.tags="preview", "nexus","system image" page.tags="preview", "androidn" page.image=images/cards/card-n-downloads_2x.png @jd:body

To run and test your app on the new platform you need to set up an Android N runtime environment. You can do that in either of these ways:

If you want an environment for basic compatibility testing of your app on the new platform, all you need is your current APK and a hardware device or emulator. You don't necessarily need to update your full development environment to do basic testing.

If you want to modify your app to target Android N or use new Android N APIs, you need to set up a development environment that's updated to support Android N. Set Up to Develop for Android N has details.

Set up a hardware device

The N Developer Preview offers system updates for a range of hardware devices that you can use for testing your app, from phones to tablets and TV.

If you have access to a supported device, you can update it to a Developer Preview milestone build in one of these ways:

Enroll the device in automatic OTA updates

If you have access to a supported device (see the list in the Downloads table), you can receive over-the-air updates to preview versions of Android by enrolling that device in the Android Beta Program. These updates are automatically downloaded and will update your device just like official system updates.

You can un-enroll a device at any time. The device will receive an OTA update to the most recent production version of Android available for that device (for example, Android 6.0 Marshmallow). The update requires a full device reset, so user data on the device will be removed. Make sure to back up important data before un-enrolling a device.

For more information and to enroll your device, see the Android Beta Program web site.

Note: Un-enrolling requires a full device reset. Back up important data first.

Flashing a device manually

At any time you can download the latest Developer Preview system image and manually flash it to your device. See the table below to download the system image for your test device. Manually flashing a device is useful if you need precise control over the test environment or need to reinstall frequently, such as for automated testing.

Installing a system image on a device removes all data from the device, so you should back up your data first.

After you back up your device data and download the system image below that matches your device, follow the instructions at developers.google.com/android to flash the image onto your device.

Manually flashed system images do not automatically receive OTA updates to later Developer Preview milestone builds. Make sure to keep your environment up-to-date and flash a new system image at each Developer Preview milestone.

If you decide you want to get OTA updates after manually flashing a device, all you need to do is enroll the device in the Android Beta Program. You can enroll the device at any time to receive the next Preview update over the air.

Device Download / Checksums
Nexus 5X
"bullhead"
bullhead-npc91k-factory-d09b15b5.tgz
MD5: f5aa4b0b10213435569ed4833dd973f8
SHA-1: d09b15b5f8978e2fee3fbd799554de90b7012d64
Nexus 6
"shamu"
shamu-npc91k-factory-7c9936dc.tgz
MD5: 271b758d01f61cdef71a3e4c14e90e85
SHA-1: 7c9936dca492dd9a5b279612962e3439031fcc06
Nexus 6P
"angler"
angler-npc91k-factory-dcd13c44.tgz
MD5: 3f304dc1d5044768af26c8503d3fbf18
SHA-1: dcd13c44e7254916fcf7cb7fa31e0dc03737a3f5
Nexus 9
"volantis"
volantis-npc91k-factory-ed835af7.tgz
MD5: 466a9873111a320e5a19891de61e5609
SHA-1: ed835af7bebf26d4c12b5c30c8b1a337c06c9623
Nexus 9G
"volantisg"
volantisg-npc91k-factory-6f20b9f6.tgz
MD5: 419f76cdf886b18d2e7281915b9c77b0
SHA-1: 6f20b9f6b0d77dc17793db32cd2da5a0b0aa63c9
Nexus Player
"fugu"
fugu-npc91o-factory-3b8e3f56.tgz
MD5: b88b70ecbfb80c983c90b97cb243628b
SHA-1: 3b8e3f56a4c35b559783c2928e740df2aab8b377
Pixel C
"ryu"
ryu-npc91k-factory-463030f2.tgz
MD5: 24e8981a3c95637867eb768c0f84c96c
SHA-1: 463030f2ecdcfe9e92ddf9f3a224ac7aa5ed5866
General Mobile 4G (Android One)
"seed"
seed_l8150-npc91k-factory-7026d89d.tgz
MD5: a614984799c887d9b5af2d366fefc8e3
SHA-1: 7026d89d79decd8421da8df844a1fcd9e27df163

Uninstalling the Preview from a device

If you want to uninstall the preview from a device, you can do so in one of these ways:

Note: Uninstalling a Developer Preview system image prior to the end of the program requires a full device reset and removes all user data on the device.

Set up an emulator

To use the Android Emulator to run the Android N Preview, you need to download the Android N Preview SDK and create a virtual device for the emulator.

First, download the Android N Preview SDK as follows (if you already got it while setting up to develop for Android N, you can skip this part):

  1. In Android Studio, open the Settings dialog (File > Settings on Windows/Linux, or Android Studio > Preferences on Mac). In the left panel, select Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Android SDK.
  2. Click the SDK Platforms tab, then select the Android N Preview check box.
  3. Click the SDK Tools tab, then select the Android SDK Build Tools, Android SDK Platform-Tools, and Android SDK Tools check boxes.
  4. Click OK and accept the license agreements for any packages to be installed.

You should now have Android SDK Built-Tools 24.0 0 rc1, Platform-Tools 24.0.0 rc1, and SDK Tools 25.0.9. If you do not update the SDK Tools to 25.0.9, then you won't be able to run the x86_64 system images for Android N.

Now create a virtual device with the Android N system image:

  1. Open the AVD Manager by selecting Tools > Android > AVD Manager.
  2. Click Create Virtual Device.
  3. Select a device such as Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, or Android TV, then click Next.
  4. Select the N system image (with the x86 ABI), then click Next. (Only x86 system images are currently supported with the Android Emulator for the Android N Preview.)
  5. Complete the rest of the AVD configuration and click Finish.

You can now launch the Android Emulator with the Android N Preview AVD.

For the best experience in the Android Emulator, make sure you're using Android Studio 2.1 or higher, which supports Android Emulator 2.0 with much faster performance compared to the emulator in Android Studio 1.5.

For more information about creating virtual devices, see Managing Virtual Devices.