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How to check Android 13?s new bootloader version on the Google Pixel 6 seri
How to check Android 13?s new bootloader version on the Google Pixel 6 series for anti-rollback protection
Android 13 season is officially upon us. The latest iteration of Android brings with it some fresh UI changes and many useful features. For the Google Pixel 6 family, the stable Android 13 update also incremented the anti-rollback version in the bootloader of these devices. As a result, you can’t flash back an older Android 12 build after upgrading to Android 13.
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Why does my Google Pixel 6/6 Pro/6a need an upgraded bootloader? The rollback protection on the Google Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and the Pixel 6a is materialized through electronic fuses (eFuses). An eFuse is like a write-once flash. Once you flip those bits by writing something into them, there?s no going back. After “blowing” an eFuse, it?ll stay written with that value forever. In order to nullify a number of attack vectors, Google shipped a new set of bootloader for the sixth generation Pixel phones through the stable Android 13 OTA that prevents older revisions of Android from being loaded onto these devices. The relevant eFuse should blow and increments the rollback index only after a successful boot of Android 13. The new bootloader version, the bumped-up rollback index value, and the blown eFuse state should be sufficient to block any pre-Android 13 firmware to be flashed afterward. How can I tell if my Google Pixel 6/6 Pro/6a already has the updated bootloader? A bootloader, by definition, is a program that loads an operating system, or chain-loads another bootloader when a device is turned on. Google’s Fastboot utility offers an easy way to query the bootloader variables of an Android device from a computer. To do so, we need to boot the target Pixel phone to its bootloader interface.
Device, Device Forums, Codename Stable Android 13 bootloader version Google Pixel 6 (oriole) slider-1.2-8739948 Google Pixel 6 Pro (raven) slider-1.2-8739948 Google Pixel 6a (bluejay) bluejay-1.2-8893284 It is also possible to query the bootloader version from the userspace Fastboot interface (aka fastbootd). To do so, reboot the device using adb reboot fastboot, then execute the same fastboot getvar version-bootloader command. In case you don’t have a PC nearby, then you can obtain the bootloader version right from the phone itself. First, turn off your Google Pixel 6/6 Pro/6a and press the Volume Down and Power buttons for a couple of seconds. Release them when the Fastboot mode appears. You should be able to locate the bootloader version on the screen. For command line fans, the following command on a terminal emulator app on your phone to get the bootloader version: getprop ro.bootloader It says I have a different bootloader version, so does that mean I can go back to Android 12? If the bootloader version of your Pixel 6/6 Pro/6a is different from the one shown in the aforementioned table, then you’re probably running a beta build of Android 13 or an older stable channel build of Android 12. While you may try to revert back to Android 12 with a lower version of the bootloader, it is not recommended. For the sake of security and compatibility reasons, you should take the stable Android 13 OTA to upgrade the bootloader as well as the underlying firmware bits of your device. If you’re planning to perform a manual flash, then ensure that the partition images of stable Android 13 software are flashed to both slots. A bootloader version mismatch between the A and B slots is enough to brick the device. There is no known way to revive a hard-bricked Google Tensor-powered device like the Google Pixel 6/6 Pro/6a yet, so exercise caution before attempting a manual upgrade. How to safely upgrade the bootloader on my Google Pixel 6/6 Pro/6a? To avoid a hard brick scenario, you should flash the bootloader partition to the inactive slot after successfully updating and booting into Android 13 at least once. This should eliminate the chance of a version mismatch, especially if you are flashing a Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, or Pixel 6a with a stable Android 13 build for the first time. Option 1 (using recovery/OTA images): After a successful boot into Android 13, download the full OTA image corresponding to that build. Next, sideload it from stock recovery and reboot the device to ensure that both slots have the same bootloader version. Option 2 (using factory images): People who upgraded to Android 13 by flashing the factory image after unlocking the bootloader should opt for this option. After a successful boot into Android 13 for the first time,
The post How to check Android 13’s new bootloader version on the Google Pixel 6 series for anti-rollback protection appeared first on XDA. More... |
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