Ben Reid on April 3, 2012, 12:34 am

Download And Install Android 4.0.4 ICS On Nexus S 4G [How-To]

Although Google seems to have sped up Ice Cream Sandwich implementation across the range of Android devices, there are still a bunch of feature-rich smartphones out there yearning for some of the Big G’s delicious mobile OS.

One such device us undoubtedly the Sprint Nexus S 4G, but the wait is nearly over because an official build (IMM76D) has leaked into the wild, and according to whispers, it’s the final release set to trickle out over the air in the coming days and weeks.

If you’re understandably impatient, then you’ve no need to worry, since we’ve got the tutorial ready and waiting for you to install the latest iteration of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4) on your Sprint Nexus S 4G!

DISCLAIMER: Proceed with caution and at your own risk. Redmond Pie is not to be held responsible for any loss of data as a result of you following this tutorial. Furthermore, the install will wipe all of your device’s data, so be sure to back up anything important.

With the formalities out of the way, let’s get started!

Step 1: Download IMM76Drelease-keys.zip. Once you have the file, unzip.

Step 2: Next you’ll need to install the NS4G drivers, which can be downloaded here.

Step 3: Download Odin, unzip and run.

Step 4: Power down your Nexus S 4 and put it into “Download Mode” by holding Volume Up and Volume Down, and then clicking the Power button.

Step 5: Connect your device to your PC, and once Odin recognizes it, the first box should be filled with “0:[COM#]”.

Step 6: Click Bootloader, followed by SPH-D720_IMM76D_KE1_BOOTLOAD_signed.tar. Then select PDA and select SPH-D720_IMM76D_PDA_signed.tar. Finally, Click Phone and then select SPH-D720_IMM76D_LC1_Modem_signed.tar and then click Start.

Step 7: Hey, presto! The NS4G drivers will reboot, and after such a long wait, you can finally tuck into Ice Cream Sandwich!

As stated earlier, the OTA shouldn’t be too far away, so if you’re not really one to tinker with your device, just sit tight and keep checking for update notifications.

With so much talk of Jelly Bean (5.0) concurrent with reports of a miserly 1% ICS reach, many suspected Ice Cream Sandwich could end up abruptly on the scrapheap – never getting the opportunity to really present itself to the many millions of Android users worldwide. With a handful of devices now either running it or awaiting that OTA update, though, there certainly seems to be life in ICS yet.