yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
If you want, you can download the latest factory image and compare the bootloader/radio versions to what you have; you can see these in bootloader mode.

To check the system version (build number), you can look at the bottom of the notification window shade:

View attachment 5591045

Alternatively, go to Settings > About Phone > Version. There you can see your baseband, kernel, and system version.
[Google Pixel 5a] SideSkroll:
Well, everything seems fine. Baseband and bootloader match. And build number as well.... So that's that I presume? No need for wiping...

Again, thank you for your help.

And IIRC you mentioned something about a fix for OTA updates in Magisk? I already updated to the latest version so this situation should not occur again, right?

Thank you man. I appreciate it very much.

One last thing, I did all of this while on the A boot slot....I imagine the B one is for OTA and the way Magisk SHOULD'VE updated it etc.? Reason I ask is because I manually switched to A thinking it might "wake up" the phone.... Or updating it through the flash tool "fixed" all of that automatically?

And with that, Im out of your hair....
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Until stable or beta are updated to 24.4, they do not have the fixes yet. Only Canary does, currently at build 24306. Beta and stable are both 24.3, build 24301.
[Google Pixel 5a] SideSkroll:
GOOD TO KNOW! Thanks. Could you take a look at my edit above please?

Thank you.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Not quite. The system does not use a specific slot for out of band updates, and it doesn't matter what slot you're on.

Here's how it works:

Say you're on the March release, on slot A. The system downloads and unpacks the April OTA to the "other" slot (Slot B), then when you select Restart to finish update, it then reboots to slot B. Slot A in the meantime is still March; the system preserves the "old" version in case there's a problem booting the updated slot, in which case it'll revert to the old one and notify you of an update failure.

When the June update comes, the system will download and unpack the update to what is now the "other" slot, Slot A.

The only purpose really of having A/B slots is this specific function - the ability to update on the fly. Devices without A/B slots have to download the OTA to storage, then reboot to recovery to unpack and install the update....and if something goes wrong, there's no way to recover.

A caveat: If you are doing ANYTHING with OTA updates (both automatic and sideload), DO NOT change slots. This can break boot, because the system does expect you to be on whatever slot was updated. If you're using the factory image on the other hand, it doesn't matter, and you can flash to one, the other, or both slots as much as you want.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Here's how I updated my Pixel 5 and wife's 5a:

Downloaded and extracted May factory image.

Rebooted device to bootloader.

Bootloader and baseband versions have not changed; skipped.

Applied factory image:

fastboot update --skip-reboot --slot all <image-device-buildnumber.zip>

When update completed, rebooted to bootloader

Booted April patched image (24305) from previous update: (I cheated here and reused the Pixel 5 boot image; bramble, redfin, and barbet hardware are identical, so the kernels are too)

fastboot boot <April patched image>

Device booted into Android with root. Opened Magisk, tap Install, tap Direct Install, reboot.

Running 24.3 Stable on wife's 5a, Canary 24306 on my 5.
[Google Pixel 5a] CarinaPDX:
Great - thanks for that.

I assume that your instruction to reboot into the bootloader can be accomplished with this command:

fastboot reboot bootloader

And IIUC both slots will end up with the current patch level, the active slot rooted and the inactive not.

Is this correct?
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Yes.

As an alternative, you could patch the boot image, then flash it to both slots:

fastboot flash boot --slot all <patched boot image>
[Google Pixel 5a] CarinaPDX:
I think there is some wisdom in having one slot being pure OEM just in case there is a problem with rooting.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Not really. You can't switch slots without a PC, which you could use to reflash the unpatched boot image if you needed to.
[Google Pixel 5a] userwaldo:
@V0latyle thanks for the all the information on installing and updating Root on the Pixel 5a "barbet" with Magisk.

I got behind and was still on Jan Update. I had tried the OTA update flow to go to May Update, but that failed, it would always fall back to the Jan Update at boot time. So I used the sideload OTA option to install the April Update. Once that was working, with root, I then tried the OTA again only this time going from the April Update to the May Update, and it updated, but root wasn't installed for some reason. I just used the master boot option and was able to do a direct install.

The one comment I have that installing the updates, both from OTA or the sideload OTA sure seemed slow compared to my late few devices when I use using Linage OS where the updates seemed to go pretty quickly. I guess its because these images keep getting bigger and bigger.

Glad to finally be on the latest update. Hope if fixes some of the stability issues I was seeing with Bluetooth.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
The updates are not incremental; you could have simply installed the May update.

It does seem like OTA is rather slow compared to the factory image. I believe it's because the OTA script has to evaluate the existing system before it updates, whereas the factory image simply extracts to the relative partitions regardless of what's already there.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
I updated my wife's 5a via automatic OTA, but she hit the Reboot button before I had a chance to get back into Magisk to patch inactive slot. No big deal, I let it boot and finish the update, then I booted the patched June boot image for my Pixel 5 (kernel is the same) and used Direct Install in Magisk.
[Google Pixel 5a] userwaldo:
So I tried the OTA for the June Update and it worked. Somehow I still ended up missing a step somewhere because even though I had updated to the latest Canary (25001) I was unable to see the option to install to the inactive slot. So I just an already patched kernel to boot and then ran Magisk install. And was up and running again.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
"Install to inactive slot" only works with the automatic OTA; if you sideload the OTA, it does not work.

You have to perform the inactive slot patch after the update has downloaded, BEFORE you reboot.
[Google Pixel 5a] userwaldo:
So I went back and figured out the problem. I rebooted after restoring image and before taking the OTA, which explains why I didn't have the option to install in the inactive slot.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Yeah. It's a pretty specific process you have to follow, and the steps have to be done in the right order.

Restore images in Magisk - "unpatches" the boot images in the /boot partitions; however, root remains active in the running kernel

Download and install the OTA - Android system downloads the package and extracts the contents to the appropriate areas of the inactive slot

When prompted to reboot, return to Magisk, and perform patch to inactive slot. Magisk patches the newly extracted boot image in the inactive slot, then commands a reboot to that slot.

Device reboots to new slot and loads patched boot image with root.

There are 3 ways this can go wrong:

If you restore images in Magisk, but forget to update and try to patch to inactive slot, the device may fail to boot due to rollback protection. I do not know how to get around this other than sideloading an OTA.

If you restore images in Magisk but reboot without doing anything else, the device will boot the now unpatched boot image, and you won't have root.

If you install the update but forget to use Magisk to patch the inactive slot, the device will reboot to the new slot without root.
[Google Pixel 5a] TheSayaMan:
Technically you can if you have twrp on your device. Advanced, reboot, and choose slot a or b. Also, you can flash magisk.apk in twrp, making patching completely unnecessary.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Except that TWRP lives in the boot image, same as Magisk, so if you take an OTA update and forget to patch, you lose both TWRP and Magisk when you reboot. Probably the one thing I don't like about moving away from a dedicated recovery partition. I haven't used TWRP since I started using Pixels.
[Google Pixel 5a] Mchlbenner51:
I'm thinking about buying this device I have a rooting question in general I don't update.

When I get this phone can unlock bootloader then can I patch boot and flash to get root? I'm aware of the magisk I need to use.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
Yes, follow the instructions in the OP
[Google Pixel 5a] Mchlbenner51:
Their is no Google Pixel 5A listed
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
This thread is for the 5a.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
So, I tried to update my wife's 5a via automatic OTA and patch to inactive slot using Magisk 25.1. No luck; after bootlooping, the device rebooted back to the old slot. Not sure why.
[Google Pixel 5a] flameshikari:
I have the same problem.
[Google Pixel 5a] V0latyle:
I was however able to successfully update using the factory image.
[Google Pixel 5a] CarinaPDX:
The last couple of monthly updates I tried to remove Magisk, take the OTA, then re-install and it didn't work. The OTA stops after download but before install; to proceed click "Reboot" and then it installs and reboots in one go - no chance to patch. If instead I went to Magisk and patched the boot image then rebooted from Magisk with its install then the OTA didn't install. Returning to the OTA installer to reboot loses Magisk. Perhaps I did something wrong but as it is I don't see how to take the OTA and patch in one go. This isn't a problem because it is really easy to 1) uninstall Magisk, 2) take the OTA with reboot, 3) shut down and reboot into bootloader (could do 2+3 with fastboot), 4) boot into a patched image from a computer with USB, and 5) use Magisk to re-install (Magisk picks up on the situation and offers to patch). It is almost like a fresh install but I don't see anything easier. The July OTA was a bit over 15MB so much less downloading than the factory image.
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] niaboc79:
Since Android 10, Sony hasn't been able to provide a decent UI.

How bad will they screwed it up this time?
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] blackhawk:
It not Sony, it's Android 11/12.

It's base code sucks, blame Gookill...
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] niaboc79:
Not at all, the base code is perfect. Sony devs are blind. It would take 2 hours to fix everything.
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] blackhawk:
Android's implementation of scoped storage is the disaster. Minimum 1 year to fix all the broken pieces but more likely 2-3 years.

It's a fubar.

I have no love of Sony. I doubt even Samsung can tone down 11 enough. Samsung struggled mightily to make Q functional. Dozens of small apks added to plug the holes in Q.

With R the dam broke... a flood of boring, user restrictive Apple surge forward, drowning it's users in security.

&

The dumb bunnies still managed to get rootkits and viruses anyway...

Google Evolutionary Profile:

Beta like, sort of good>

near perfect>

good as it gets, mature, the zenith of perfection>

fix it anyway>

beta like, an eyesore to look at or is discontinued at any of the preceding steps🤣
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] nreuge:
I don't know, anyway I dislike Android 12 Google widgets...
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] Sohail.mohammed:
Hi Brothers, I have mnaged to build aosp 12 by following sony's guidelines at their open devices project. After flsing the build its struck at bootloop any ideas what could have gone wrong.
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] R800x_user:
did you flash the vbmeta img from google?
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] R800x_user:
actually did you flash the userdata img? sometimes the data is incompatible with older versions like 11. also erase the metadata. happened to me when i was trying to flash a rom not long ago.
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] Sohail.mohammed:
I have flashed vbmeta.img which complied in output directory incuding with rest of the files(boot, system,userdata, dtbo, vendor, vbmeta)
[Sony Xperia 1 II Guides, News, & Discussion] Sohail.mohammed:
yes i did flash userdata.img. and sorry forgot to inform that my device is sony xperia 1. I might have posted question in wrong place.
[OnePlus Nord N10 5G Questions & Answers] studdyb:
I received my OnePlus Nord N10 5G yesterday. Upon bootup, I tested the speed through speedtest.net. I was amazed! 795 Mbps download, 700 Mbps upload on T-Mobile!

I noticed the software was on Oxygen OS 10, but an update was available. I thought what the heck and updated it to Oxygen OS 11. After that, my 5G connection speed is only averaging 50-70 Mbps.

What gives? Has anyone else had a similar issue?
[Google Pixel 6] phupton:
Hi all. Got a new pixel 6

I've noted a few issues when finishing a hands free voice call.

Scenario is as follows.

Spend time on a hands free call. The display eventually times out and locks.

I get to the point where I want to end the call and have issues unlocking the phone with touch to then press the end call button.

Anyone else experienced this?
[Google Pixel 6] MaddHatt3r:
Not hands free, haven't done that yet other than in the car, but I did notice mine doesn't seem to be detecting at ear vs not; so removing the phone from ear to hit the dial pad or hang up after a call is inconvenient. I also haven't explored whether I have a setting goobered up yet though.
[Google Pixel 6] iamjimmy:
Pixel 6: Trying to unlock bootloader and flash factory images. ADB works, but in Fastboot mode the phone is NOT recognized.

Enabled USB debugging. Installed the Latest SDK ADP platform from Google's website.

Adb devices and ADB reboot bootloader works. The phone reboots fine into bootloader.

As soon as the phone goes into bootloader mode -- Fastboot does NOT show any devices.

Fastboot devices -- No results

Fastboot flashing unlock -- " Waiting for Device"

Tried - different USB cables. Different USB Port. Different PCs as well. But fastboot is not working.

It's driving me crazy. Already spend half a day on this. Any help will be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!
[Google Pixel 6] iamjimmy:
This worked. Installed drivers for Pixel 6: https://en.usb-driver.net/google-pixel-6/

Rebooted and fastboot worked. Thanks everyone.
[Google Pixel 6] psone:
Thanks for the lead. I couldn't solve my problem with those files at that link. But did with this: https://adb.clockworkmod.com/
[Google Pixel 6] refedit:
I'm on Windows 11 Pro x64. ADB commands working. But when I reboot to fastboot and type the command "fastboot flashing unlock" it shows "waiting for device" and then get all commands listed. Don't know how to solve?
[Google Pixel 6] Lughnasadh:
Do you have the latest drivers installed? https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb
[Google Pixel 6] Edmontonchef:
I'm on Linux Mint with latest platform tools and no problems here. Unlocked the bootloader right away
[Google Pixel 6] refedit:
Maybe I have to do it on Linux also
[Google Pixel 6] Nimueh:
You need to install the Google drivers as well, this site has it linked and many other sites do too.
[Google Pixel 6] bluegrass55:
Whilst I had my Pixel 6 I tried to uninstall some system apps using ADB but never managed to get the list using these commands,

adb devices,

adb shell

su

Then these commands.

adb shell pm list packages -s

or

adb shell pm list packages

Error message " not found" or "not accessible"

I'm coming from an Android 9 setup. Is the command different in A12?
[Google Pixel 6] refedit:
Well. Unlocking worked. Had to uninstall and install drivers couple times.

Dmverity didn't work. Last resource, had to use Linux. Worked straight forward
[Google Pixel 6] Aulgreg38:
Try Google pixel 6 drivers from Google that's what I did
[Google Pixel 6] iamjimmy:
That is exactly what worked for me as well. Thanks.
[Google Pixel 6] Aulgreg38:
T

That's great
[Google Pixel 6] kpirnie:
adb and drivers seem to work fine for me while the device is on. Once I run adb reboot recovery, I get nothing. No notice it's reconnected, no devices with adb devices
[Google Pixel 6] kpirnie:
Yes, I've tried different devices, different USB cables, uninstalled reinstalled the drivers multiple times. Unfortunately, I do not have a linux box handy to test on
[Google Pixel 6] kpirnie:
interesting. adb reboot sideload worked
[Google Pixel 6] JodyBreeze901:
I got this same issue. I'm unable to get anything either. I have installed the drivers multiple times from multiple places and still nothing. I'm lost on this one big time.
[Google Pixel 6] xxxxgrizz:
Mod edit - translated by https://translate.google.com/?hl=de:

I changed the network cable and it's back to normal

**************************

我换了网线又恢复正常了
[Google Pixel 6] Oswald Boelcke:
@xxxxgrizz

As courtesy, I've translated your above posts. With reference to rule no. 4 of the XDA Forum Rules, please post in English or add at least an English translation to your Chinese posts. Thanks for your cooperation!

Spoiler content hidden.

Regards

Oswald Boelcke

Senior Moderator
[Google Pixel 6] stgibson:
Same issue. I have tried a couple different drivers (including the Google official driver), multiple things and nada. I can use fastbootd (entered from recovery), but not the actual fastboot. Installing radio and bootloader doesn't work in fastbootd (see here and here for reference to that issue.) So I need to get fastboot to work, but have uninstalled and reinstalled drivers (official Google driver) to no avail. Also have swapped cables. Have not tried a different computer.

If I can't get fastboot to work, is there a way I could install TWRP and flash the radio and bootloader images from TWRP?
[Tilt, TyTN II, MDA Vario III Windows Mobile ROM De] icewhitenewyear:
My phone is stuck, in the screen "windows mobile" screen And will not move from that... any options besides hard reset?
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] V0latyle:
⚠️⚠️⚠️

WARNING! IF YOU ARE UPDATING TO ANDROID 13 FOR THE FIRST TIME,

READ THIS FIRST

!

⚠️⚠️⚠️

Official updates for this device will end October 2024.

If you are looking for my guide on a different Pixel, find it here:

Pixel 3

Pixel 3XL

Pixel 3a

Pixel 3aXL

Pixel 4

Pixel 4XL

Pixel 4a

Pixel 4a (5G)

Pixel 5

Pixel 5a

Pixel 6

For best results, use the latest stable Magisk release.

Discussion thread for migration to 24.0+.

Note: Magisk prior to Canary 23016 does not incorporate the necessary fixes for Android 12+.

WARNING: YOU AND YOU ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOUR DEVICE. THIS GUIDE IS WRITTEN WITH THE EXPRESS ASSUMPTION THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH ADB, MAGISK, ANDROID, AND ROOT. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

Prerequisites:

Latest SDK Platform Tools - if Platform Tools is out of date, you WILL run into problems!

USB Debugging enabled

Google USB Driver installed

I recommend using Command Prompt for these instructions; some users have difficulty with PowerShell.

Make sure the Command Prompt is running from your Platform Tools directory!

Android Source - Setting up a device for development

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Points of note:

The boot image is NOT the bootloader image. Do not confuse the two - YOU are expected to know the difference. Flashing the wrong image to bootloader could brick your device.

While the Magisk app is used for patching the boot image, the app and the patch are separate. This is what you should see in Magisk for functioning root:

"Installed" shows the version of patch in the boot image. If this says N/A, you do not have root access - the boot image is not patched, or you have a problem with Magisk.

"App" simply shows the version of the app itself.

If you do not have a patched master boot image, you will need to download the factory zip if you haven't already, extract the system update inside it, then patch boot.img.

If you prefer updating with the factory image, you can also extract and manually patch the boot image if desired.

Some Magisk modules, especially those that modify read only partitions like /system, may cause a boot loop after updating. As a general rule, disable these modules before updating. You are responsible for knowing what you have installed, and what modules to disable.

Credits:

Thanks to @badabing2003 , @pndwal , @Displax , @Az Biker , @ipdev , @kdrag0n , @Didgeridoohan , and last but not least, @topjohnwu for all their hard work!
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] roirraW "edor" ehT:
Thanks! Awesome write-up/explanation.
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] Ghisy:
Now THIS is a useful thread! Thanks 👍

I might try to root my P6P this week-end.

If I already took the OTA from Google, can I just go to #6? (there's no data on my phone yet, just BL unlocked)

"6. Reflash vbmeta to disable boot verification"
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] Cares:
Is it necessary to flash modified boot to "slot all"? I never did this before without issues. I always just did flash boot modifiedboot.img
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] V0latyle:
Yes. You're basically on a clean factory flash. It might still throw a "corrupted" error at you but a factory reset fixes it.

Not really; I prefer to do that after OTA because OTA is an out of band update that installs to the inactive slot. You don't really have to use the slot commands at all, but I've come into the habit of using them.
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] rickysidhu_:
The steps for a rooted update via OTA worked perfectly for me! Thank you a tonne for the guide. I was thinking I would have to factory reset for every monthly update, glad we dodged that bullet!

Thanks again.
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] Bandsalat:
Is there any way to go back to DM Verity + AVB enabled without wiping after this?
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] roirraW "edor" ehT:
See @V0latyle's more informed answer below.
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] avetny:
Thank you for your time. This thread should be sticky
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] V0latyle:
Yes - this is in fact the default state if the "disable" flags are not used. All you'd have to do is reflash vbmeta without any flags. Make sure you fully intend to do so, because 1. You won't be able to run a modified boot image, thereby preventing permanent root and 2. If you decided to disable vbmeta again, you would have to wipe data again.
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] xpdragon:
@V0latyle, Is there any downside of using Factory Update vs OTA Sideload for monthly update? Since I will need to download the factory zip anyway for both methods, I would go with the factory update.​
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] mkhcb:
For the Android flash tool method, can't you just patch the boot image and add it to the flash tool and skip the reboot to then flash the patched boot?

Someone needs to make a batch file for the above.
[Google Pixel 6 Pro] V0latyle:
Nope, no downside that I'm aware of; many people used the factory images for updates on Android 11 and prior without any problems. Just make sure you flash it with --disable-verification --disable-verity

I think you're confusing Android Flash Tool with something else. Take a look at the link - you connect your phone via USB and can install firmware direct from Google. There is no option to substitute your own files, which is a good thing.

As for adding the boot image to the flash process...I would avoid this, personally. You CAN edit the flash-all.bat to do this and some members here have. But, P6 and P6 Pro users have run into problems using a boot image they patched prior to updating, so here is my recommendation:

Flash the factory image with verity and verification disabled, and let the update complete including a boot to system. Once in system, you can then patch the boot image, reboot to bootloader, and flash it to /boot.