How To Install Android 13 On Google Pixel Devices

With the OEMs catching up to the latest software Google has released the Android 12. Google is now moving to another generation of Android for its Pixel devices. Yes, Google has already unveiled the developer preview of Android 13, and all those who are interested and are eligible can install the latest upcoming Android 13 on their smartphone. However, it is advised not to install the Android 13 developer preview on your main device as there can be a lot of bugs. Below we have the links and a tutorial on how To install Android 13 on Google Pixel 4 and above devices.

Users can also install Android 13 on other OEM smartphones that support project treble, via the Android 13 Generic System Image which can be flashed on a wide variety of devices. As Google has already made the system images available for downloading and installing, you can go ahead and install on supported devices like the Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, and the Pixel 6 Pro.

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Table of Contents

How To Install Android 13 on Google Pixel Devices via Sideloading

To install the Android 13 Developer Preview 1 on your Pixel device, you need to have your particular device’s sideload OTA zip package from recovery through ADB. The good news is that this method works on google Pixel devices even if the bootloader is locked.

First, you need to download the update.zip file on your computer from the download links provided below. You can rename the file to a simpler name, that way it will be easier for you to flash via ADB commands.
Verify the SHA-256 checksum of the file you just downloaded to ensure that the file has been downloaded completely and correctly.
Now, on your device enable USB Debugging by going to Settings > About Phone > Tap Build Number 7 times, (optionally) enter your pattern, PIN or password to enable Developer Options, and then navigate to Settings > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging.
Once you have enabled USB debugging, connect your phone to the computer using a USB cable and then authorize your computer connection on your phone when prompted.
Make sure your computer has adb installed, if not then you can install adb drivers on your computer from here.
Run the command “adb reboot recovery ” on your computer.
Your phone should now be booted into recovery mode. If not then you should try again to boot into recovery.
From your phone select the option that says Apply update from ADB.
Now, on your computer, type “adb devices” and press enter.
Once you [press enter, you should see a list of adb devices connected to your computer, and it should return a serial number with the word sideload written next to its name. This shows that your phone is connected to the computer and is in sideload mode.
Finally, type “adb sideload filename.zip” (write the name of the file you downloaded replacing the word filename).
Your phone should start installing the update. Once the installation is finished you can choose to reboot to the system, and it should boot into Android 13.

Flashing Full Factory Image via Fastboot to install Android 13 (Method 2)

if you want to unlock the bootloader of your Pixel, or if you already have an unlocked bootloader on your Pixel device. Then you need to flash the factory image of the Android 13 developer preview via fastboot. In most cases, this is done via a bat file that is flash-all.sh or flash-all.bat script file. Usually, this file is included with the downloaded factory image file. Do note that flashing the factory image, will wipe the system completely, as this is its default configuration.

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In order to retain your data, you can delete the “-w” wipe attribute from the command within the script, and it will not wipe the data, this doesn’t work all the time, so make sure you take a backup of your data before you start installing the factory image.

Download the factory image.zip file on your computer and copy it to the ADB folder. You can download the file from the below links according to your phone.
Next, make sure to verify the SHA-256 checksum of the file you have downloaded to ensure that the file has been downloaded completely and is correct without any corrupt scripts.
Now, you need to extract the .zip file, and then copy and paste the extracted files into the ADB and fastboot folder on your computer.
If you want to save your data from getting wiped, you can use a text editor to open the flash-all.sh file and then inside that file delete the -w flag in the fastboot update command. However, it is recommended to wipe the data so that there is no compatibility issue.
Make sure USB debugging is enabled on your phone, if not then you can enable USB debugging by going to Settings > About Phone > Tap Build Number 7 times, (optionally) entering your pattern, PIN or password to enable Developer Options, and then navigate to Settings > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging.
Once you have enabled USB debugging, you can connect your phone to the computer, and then authorize your computer connection on your phone when prompted on your phone.
Now, on your computer open the ADB terminal and write adb reboot bootloader.
This should boot your phone into fastboot mode.
Now, on your Mac/Linux PC, run the command flash-all. it will execute the flash-all.sh script file, which will then begin the installation of the necessary files required for bootloader, baseband firmware and the operating system. While, for Windows users, you need to just double click on the file that says flash-all.bat.
Once the script is finished installing the files, you should reboot your pixel to the system, and it should boot into Android 13.

Download Android 13 OTA File For Pixel Devices

Conclusion

So, this was an extensive guide along with the required files to be downloaded in order to install Android 13 on Google Pixel devices. As this is a developer preview, you can expect a few bugs, random heating issues, or poor battery life as well. But you will be able to use the latest Android 13 which is named after the dessert Tiramisu.