Finding Online Support for Your Android Device

Q. Why does Google’s website only seem to offer support for Nexus hardware and not any of the other brands of Android phones and tablets?

A. Google develops the Android mobile operating system software, but in most cases, it does not provide the hardware to run it or the wireless cellular network to connect to it. The exceptions here include the Nexus line of devices that Google has created over the years with hardware partners like ASUS, LG Electronics and Samsung — as well as the company’s efforts to be a mobile carrier with its Project Fi service that uses Wi-Fi hot spots along with Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks to provide cellular signals.

Other hardware manufacturers use the Android software on their own devices and modify the system for their own uses. Google usually has little to do with those deviated versions and does not provide its own dedicated support for the variations made by other companies. (Google did own Motorola Mobility for a few years starting in 2011, but sold it to Lenovo in 2014; support for Motorola phones can be found at motorola.com.)

Google’s Android OS Help support site is focused mainly on the software and hardware it has the most control over. Along with documentation for its Nexus line, the site has guides and troubleshooting pages for Android One devices, Android Wear smart watches, Android TV set-top players and its Android Auto software.

The Android OS Help page for other Android devices contains a list of links to the support sites of other companies, so if you have a non-Nexus Android device from another company, check there for specific support. These companies also tend to control when Android updates are pushed out to users, which is why non-Nexus owners often get patches and upgrades later than those who use Google’s own gear.