yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] andyxo:
Hey, thanks :)

So today ended up installing Magisk Manager 8.0.2 which ended me up with Stable Magisk 22.1 (not 23.0 which was the goal) and redid the whole boot patch rigamarole with the stock RQ3A.2106.05.005 boot file. Have rebooted my device now a bunch of times and my sound problem seems to have gone away (for the interim).

So after that have now have reinstalled DiamondJohn's recommended Android 11 V4A file (which he has linked to many places) and that's working too (well it was working before too when I was actually able to boot properly). Have rebooted now again a few times and am cautiously optimistic...

So I guess the moral of the story is that for those who are rooting their 4a (4G) phones for the first time with RQ3A.2106.05.005 and Magisk 23.0, keep on eye out on your sounds (cuz you might not have any after reboots). I enabled Touch Sounds under Sound & Vibration as an easy check by slapping the home key after each reboot.

And of course this will all prbly change once Magisk 23.x gets released or when we get a new OTA... then we will have new problems haha
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] XDAUser1234:
so you ended up with straing/new(ish) Magisk now right? no more Magisk Manager PLUS Magisk, but just straight Magisk 22.1? Do we still need the canary version?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] andyxo:
Well, I read in this thread (ya, a lot to read) people started reporting successful rooting with stable Magisk 21.0 and since v21.0 is a single standalone app yup, no more manager.

After installing the older Manager 8.0.2 yesterday I did update only the app to the latest v23.0 but did not update the Magisk itself from 22.1 just in case coz of my sound booting problems. The app shows Magisk installed 22.1 with an "Update" blue square next to it which I'm not gonna mess with ;-)
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
But first test with the latest stable Magisk. @andyxo has issues with the latest, but its (23.0 and app 23.0) running perfectly fine on mine. NB: I do not try to get SafetyNet passing on my device.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] XDAUser1234:
will be testing combinations through the day -- right now all i seem to get is FAILED (remote: Failed to write to partition Not Found) -- ergh! :-)
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] XDAUser1234:
Option #2 got me rooted :-). Booted the patched image, and as suggested used Magisk (23.0) do the direct install. Good to go with that trick! :-).
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] camaro322hp:
Thought I'd report my experience in case it helps any newcomers like me.

Just picked up a P4a since my old phone finally died after 3+ years. Went through the rooting process as described in the first post using build rq3a.210705.001, stable Magisk v23.0, and SafetyNet fix v1.2.0. Everything seems to be working so far and TiBu is reporting root access. Magisk is also reporting successful SafetyNet.

I'll report back if I've missed anything that's not working. One thing I did have to do was manually load Android USB drivers to get my phone recognized in Fastboot mode, but maybe that's to be expected.

Thanks to @Zackptg5 for posting this guide, and for all the helpful comments throughout the thread. This is probably the smoothest rooting process I've had so far, but I am coming over from Sony devices.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Makishima:
Could I get a definitive guide on how to update to the newest security update whilst rooted? I'm currently running the April update and latest Magisk canary and reading this thread I'm none the wiser what I should actually do to update... My system says I'm up to date so I can't get OTA and then reflash Magisk. Should I disable my modules, grab the latest boot.img, patch it and flash, is that enough, or do I need to install the whole zip?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] a1291762:
Google doesn't seem to offer OTAs to people who are rooted. Maybe not even if your bootloader is unlocked? I have never been offered an OTA even after unrooting.

So you have to install a full OTA package manually, or install a factory image (after removing the -w flag) in order to update to the new image. You get these direct from Google and they're around 2Gb in size. Pros and cons to each.

Then you have to root again.

I prefer to patch boot.img myself but if you trust people, there are usually patched boot.img files floating around. Make sure you get one that matches your version and Magisk though.

I use factory images because it's simpler to get boot.img out. I patch boot.img with Magisk manager then boot the patched image before patching the real boot with Magisk manager.

But there's probably half a dozen different ways people do it...
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
I use Viper & VancedYT which is installed via Magisk. If you boot without Magisk running, you lose all your config & settings for these apps.

I manually flash my updates, and found this command line option to skip the boot, allowing me to flash the modified boot image, and then reboot.

fastboot --skip-reboot update image-sunfish-rq3a.210705.001.zip

Of course the big thing is the "-skip-reboot", and the above was for the July patch.

One way I have not tried myself, is downloading the smaller OTA image and flashing only that (ie not the full image). I think its "side loaded", the instructions are where you download it.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Makishima:
So you don't disable the modules, you just flash the zip on top of your normal setup and then the patched boot image?

EDIT: Tried it and got this

Device version-bootloader is 's5-0.3-7062598'.
Update requires 's5-0.3-7241803'.

fastboot: error: requirements not met!
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
Yep.

But I do have to come clean, It has come undone and ended in tears (ie boot loop) at least once. However, just yesterday (I shutdown every night and boot every morning), I booted and didn't log into (ie unlock) my phone for a but of time, and when I did, it ended in a boot loop (stuc on something like "device is starting"). My phone is highly customised. So I think its all my other stuff ,and not skipping a non magisk enabled boot. That has worked at least twice.

PS: Disabling the modules would be irrelevant if you do not flash a magisk enabled boot image.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Makishima:
Well, it doesn't sound like the reason for this is skipping the reboot in the first command. It's pretty much dirty flashing so I guess it's expected, but I really don't want to format everything again... I also used Viper and Vanced (though the latter is no longer installed through Magisk I think) plus a few more mods so I might have similar problems.

Anyways, now I have to find out how I can update the bootloader first. Oh wait. I just did your command but not the flash-all.sh first... Will update with news.

EDIT: Managed to flash it. Took me hours to make platform-tools work on Fedora, the ones provided by the distro are way too out of date. Didn't try the skip-reboot method but had no problem with viper nor vanced. Thanks everyone.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
Regarding Vanced. It is "installed" via the manager app that explicitly creates the magisk module. So the daily running IS through magisk.

Just an FYI, this is the log of the steps I used to do my last flash. Its windows shell and I manually run each line. I do not run it as a single "flash all" and hence there are no wait steps, I simply wait.

Spoiler content hidden.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DozenMadder:
I'm having difficulty at the "fastboot flash boot magisk_patched.img" stage of this process.

I'm using a new laptop so I installed fresh platform-tools and usb drivers (in the last couple days).

My p4a (carrier unlocked) came with RQ3A.210605.005 (June) and I unlocked the bootloader at this point.

Next I downloaded and adb sideloaded RQ3A.210705.001 (July) to be sure I had A11 on both slots.

Then I downloaded factory RQ3A.210705.001 and extracted root.img with the intention of patching it.

Here is where the trouble begins:

I can't remember what version of Magisk I installed first. Sorry, I've tried so many (both with and without updating).

They all produce a patched image but none have successfully flashed to the boot partition.

I keep getting the "partition not found" message. Does anyone have thoughts on this?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
It may be helpfull if you actually post ALL your shell commands and the responses you receive. It may just be simple obvious typo. For example, in your post you say "root.img" which should be "boot.img" ;)
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] a1291762:
Just run Magisk Manager and see? The version is the same.

Your fastboot is too old. Use a newer one (that understands "boot" to mean boot_a or boot_b, depending on the active slot), or use fastboot boot patched.img to temporarily get root and then use Magisk Manager to install (DIRECT) to make it stick.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] a1291762:
Nice find. I was able to avoid booting up without Magisk using this.

Download the factory image.

Extract boot.img and push to the phone.

Use Magisk to patch it and pull back to the PC.

Change flash-all.sh to use --skip-reboot and not use -w.

Run it. Wait.

Get back to real fastboot: fastboot reboot-bootloader

Boot the patched image: fastboot boot patched.img

Use Magisk to install (direct).

(I know you can flash the image from fastboot but this way I can use Magisk to revert to stock without needing a PC).
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DozenMadder:
Sorry, I was unclear with my different versions statement. I installed and uninstalled many releases hoping for success.

I guess it doesn't matter now because your suggestion with temporary root worked flawlessly. Thanks a bunch!
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] ReservedName:
nevermind
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] thor.21:
I'm trying to unlock my new Pixel 4a. However, the OEM unlock doesn't work. When I check the option and push activate, it does nothing and is still deactivated. The option is NOT greyed out. Does anyone has an idea? Android 11 build 210805
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] tcat007:
You did all steps in OP?

Go to system settings -> About phone -> tap on 'Build number' several times until Developer Options is enabled

Back out into settings and go to System -> Advanced -> Developer Options -> Enabled 'OEM Unlocking'

Unplug your phone if it's plugged into anything and power it off

Boot into fastboot by holding Power + Vol Down

Plug into pc -> open terminal/shell/whatever

Type 'fastboot flashing unlock' -> Follow prompt on device to unlock bootloader (Note that this will FACTORY RESET device)

The bootloader is now unlocked!
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] thor.21:
The problem is that I can't enable "OEM unlocking". I have the option under developer options but if I push "enable OEM unlocking", it is not reacting. I know, that the option is greyed out for locked phones, but this is not the case here, the option is available.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] amphi66:
Do you have a Verizon version, per chance?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] newbie_or_not_newbie:
Hi everyone,

I have a Pixel 4a since few days and look for root solutions. I only have a chromebook for pc.

Is there a way to do all steps from OP with that kind of pc ?

Thanks a lot for help
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] a1291762:
I haven't used a Chromebook but I believe you can install a Linux environment so that you can run Linux programs. From there you should be able to install adb and fastboot as you would on any other Linux device and then follow the steps to root your phone.

Here's a link that may help?

How to install Linux apps on your Chromebook

Installing Linux apps on Chromebooks is a bit more complicated than installing Android ones. Here's a guide on how to do it.

www.androidauthority.com
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] barramas:
hello it's possible root pixel 4a with chromebook or windows obliguation???
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Sinykk:
So something strange happened over night. I've had my pixel 4a rooted for about half a year now with Magisk and of course I've been using Magisk hide. I'm on Magisk 23.0 from what I can see in the app. SafetyNet suddenly fails and I can't use Google Pay.

Edit: I was able to get it working with this
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] mikkoc:
I had the same issue today when trying to pay at the shop :(

The process described in the video seems very long, I'll wait a few days to see if a quicker method can be found by the smarter people.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] bombadier:
Have you kept it in airplane mode? , from memory I had to connect to WiFi once before I could toggle the OEM unlock
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] pike-:
Same happened to me. Safetynet fail yesterday out of nowhere. I was rooted for a year. The vid Sinykk posted worked for me too but only after I also installed Universal SafetyNet Fix which I wasn't using before.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] camaro322hp:
Also lost safetynet. Haven't tried @Sinykk's posted solution as I don't really use anything that requires safetynet. Odd that we all of a sudden lost it though.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Coldtrain6989XD:
We all no longer have safety net because the magisk repo dev said he is removing the app hide feature
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] sapalot:
So guys, what is the best way to take an OTA with magisk? The method described in this thread isnt active anymore? Help would be much appreciated.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] a1291762:
I dunno if this is the "best" way...

What I do (summarised) is

1 download the factory image

2 extract it and the embedded zip until you have boot.img

3 send that to the phone and use Magisk manager to patch it. Send it back to the pc

4 replace the -w in the flash_all script with --skip-reboot. Add these 3 extra lines to the end.

fastboot reboot-bootloader

sleep 5

fastboot boot patched.img

5 run the script

6 use Magisk manager to install (direct)

This is how I installed the September update yesterday.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] frank93:
instead of "booting the patched boot.img" and then patching the installed boot.img via magisk manager afterwards, you could just as well add not those 3 lines, but only 1:

fastboot flash boot {patched-boot-image}

no need to "install" magisk via manager afterwards as well then. at least this is how it works for me. :-)
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Joojoo1993:
So with safetynet-fix v2.1.0 I am now passing SafetyNet again! :)

Release v2.1.0 · kdrag0n/safetynet-fix

Changes Fixed new SafetyNet CTS profile failures as of September 2, 2021 Added MagiskHide features that will be removed in future versions of Magisk Donate If you found this helpful, please consi...

github.com

But, unfortunately I am still unable to use Google Pay. Any ideas how to solve this?

EDIT: OMG, I just forgot to close Google Pay and delete cache. Now it is working fine...
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Codrea:
Hi how to back up application data before unlock bootloader. I will back up my media to PC
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Ethanadams642:
Any news on install to inactive slot returning soon?

One of the greatest features tbh.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] optimus7140:
Does rooting and installing magisk module for safetynet voids unlimited photo uploads?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
Hi @Zackptg5 or anyone else

How to root on Android 12, which Magisk to be used? TIA
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
To answer myself, yes the same method works. Unistalled Magisk completely, sideloaded Android 12, patched boot using Magisk 23.0 stable and rooted
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] darashikoh:
Weirdly, my Wi-Fi stops working after rooting on Android 12 using this method. After unrooting it works.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
For me it works. Maybe try all over again - unistall Magisk, sideload Android 12 update, patch
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] ukgoat:
I'm on Android 11, rooted with Magisk. How can I upgrade to Android 12 without messing something up or losing data? Can I just take the OTA via settings app or do I need to sideload it?

Everyone in Pixel 4A threads seems to be sideloading it.. is taking the OTA via settings -> system update bad?

I'm also skeptical about sideloading because Google's instructions say the Settings app should say "Your system is up to date", while mine says "System update available". Could that be a problem?

This is my first time doing a major Android update with unlocked bootloader / rooted, sorry for newbie questions. :oops:
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
1. Google recommendation doesn't make any difference. Logically, if you are already on latest why would you want to update? I did the same despite being more than 4 months late in updating

2. One needs to anyway download the ROM to extract the boot image, if you plan to download, so sideload is easier. You can safely install OTA update. Only if your device is rooted, make sure to uninstall Magisk completely to avoid any issues
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] themalic:
Hi, I have update my Pixel 4a, Android 12 using web Android Flash Tool and works well. But I never succes to root it like typical way during Android 11 which are patching boot using Magisk and flash it via fastboot. Do you have any idea why I have this issue since you were successfully did it?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
No idea TBH. Probably sideload and try again? Not that it should make a difference. Best of luck
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] a1291762:
Try fastboot boot patched.img and see if Magisk manager thinks Magisk is running. If it is, install (direct) to make it stick.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
I tried extracting boot image from payload.bin. I was successful last month and many times earlier

BUT

With the November update it failed. Tried a variety of payload dumper tools but couldn't succeed. It throws up some error related to python_py.

Has anyone been successful in doing this and how?

@Zackptg5 has something changed with Android 12 (though I could do this on upgrading to 12)?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
I am still on A11. I have always grabbed the boot.img from the zip file, and I can see the boot.img file in the A12 ROM zip file (sunfish-sp1a.210812.015-factory-5a1091a3.zip) as well. I use 7Zip on a Win PC and that allows browsing down into a zip within a zip.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
Thanks, I was on Linux. Will see for equivalent there
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Zackptg5:
I use superr kitchen and it works fine for me
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] beeshyams:
Thanks. Looks like something broke at my end
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] stereo007:
Hello all. I am new to the Pixel 4a. I have done everything according to instructions. However, I get at SafetyNet ctsProfile no ok. Did I miss something?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] jachu76:
which version did you use safetynet?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] stereo007:
v2.2.0 (Zygisk)​

is that what you mean?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] jachu76:
It works for me:

Magisk 23.0 stable

Riru v 26.1.3.r513...

Universal Safetynet Fix v2.1.2
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] stereo007:
yes that works, thanks ;)
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] dari-woka:
Hello I am in Android 12. I have rooted the phone following the instructions.

But when using a root epxlorer it says that SYSTEM partition is mounted as RW but I cannot delete anything.

Also when using adway it cannot write "hosts" in SYSTEM.

The Magisk promp showed up and I selected "Grant" as always.

And the magisk app it shows normal as usually when a phone is rooted. Why cannot do anything in "SYSTEM"?

Thanks
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Typhus_:
You must mount system as read write. Use other explorer. I use FX File Explorer (to me is one of the best).

Cheers!
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] dari-woka:
Nothing, same problem, cannot mount system as R/W, it gives me an error "The item system is read-only" when I try mounting it as RW.

I have to say that always I have been using root explorer, miexplorer or anything else to delete from system and no problem mounting it as R/W

And in Magisk I can see that the app is inside the "superuser" menu with root access granted as normal
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] Typhus_:
system_ext and product partitions cannot be mounted as rw. Don't know if your trying something there...system partition is able to be mounted.

Anyway, you could always just use simple magisk modules to add/replace/remove stuff wherever you want (that's what I do).

Cheers!
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] dari-woka:
I am trying the system/app to delete crap inside as I always do...

Also because I want to use adaway so it has to update the hosts file and it cannot do it.

So frustating.

By the way, I dont have TWRP, only the root thru Magisk, I dont know if it has something to do with the problem
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
To remove system apps, you can Hibernate, freeze &/or Hide them. OR remove them using Magisk. All these options can be done using TeMeFI

As for adaway, you need to use systemless hosts (ie a Magisk module). Turn it on in Magisk.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] dari-woka:
ok, besides whatever I wanted to do with system, I dont want another solution, I just want to know if I can be able to edit system as I was doing in Android 11 in my last phone?

I dont need other ways to hide apps...

Thanks
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
I dont know your specific phone. However, newer devices (such as the Pixel 4a) have read-only system partitions, which means you cannot do the same as what you use to do (possibly on anotehr device, as P4A A11 is read-only). ie you have to find new method) to do what you use to do. Only you know your device(s), and should investigate what is possible on that sppecific device / ROM. On a Pixel 4a ,the system is R/O (I have a Pixel 4A running a rooted stock A11)
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] dari-woka:
Yes, it's pixel 4a on Android 12 (with root) posted it few post before.

Ok, I didn't know it's read only, how come? Why do we cannot write on system anymore even having root?
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] DiamondJohn:
You cannot expect everyone to read all your historical posts. My bad in that I got half way through answering, before it dawned on me i was in a Pixel 4a thread.

As to why it has changed, that question is an Android universe design decision. Generally speaking, it makes for a significantly more stable and reliable OS. Its a non-modifiable base OS. If I made something aas complex as Android, I would not want every tom, **** & harry breaking it. Or even more-so someone accidentally breaking it. PS: pixel 4A running Stock A11, is also 100% non-writable system partition. Its not A12 specific.
[Google Pixel 4a Guides, News, & Discussion] stereo007:
Has anyone tried Magisk 24 yet?