But to carry out any of these tweaks, there is a major requirement you need to checkmark- an unlocked bootloader. Until and unless you do so, you wouldn’t be able to flash any custom binary onto your device. But even when you do so, you still haven’t got access to flash files to the partition on your device. And this restriction leads to the FAILED (remote: ‘Flashing is not allowed for Critical Partitions) error. Let’s try and understand this problem in-depth and then we will show you how to fix it.
The Reason for Failed (remote: ‘flashing is not allowed for critical partitions)
So here is what really happens. When you unlock the device’s bootloader via fastboot oem unlock or fastboot flashing unlock, you have the option to flash custom binaries. However, if you try and flash stock firmware files to their respective partitions via Fastboot Commands, then chances are you might not be able to do so. For example, if you are using fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img (to disable AVB while flashing Android 12 GSI), you are instructing your device to flash the vbmeta IMG file to its dedicated vbmeta slot.
Likewise, you could also get this error while flashing the Xiaomi firmware via Mi Flash Tool. But since your partitions are locked, the files wouldn’t be able to flash to the said partition. And this is the reason why you would get the aforementioned error. While the error message doesn’t give us any hint towards the fix, but it at least lists out the issue in a well-defined manner. With that said, the fix for the FAILED (remote: ‘Flashing is not allowed for Critical Partitions) error is quite easy to execute. So without further ado, let’s check it out.
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How to Fix Failed (remote: ‘flashing is not allowed for critical partitions)
Do keep in mind that the below process will wipe off all the data from your device, so take a complete backup beforehand. Furthermore, your device’s warranty might become null and void (after unliking bootloader/partitions). Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.
STEP 1: Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlock
First and foremost, enable USB Debugging on your device. This is required so that your PC is able to interact with the device in ADB Mode. This mode will then be used to boot the device to Fastboot Mode. On the other hand, OEM Unlock is needed to unlock the device’s bootloader. So head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking.
STEP 2: Instal Android SDK
You will also have to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is the official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google and is the only recommended one. So download it and then extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Doing so will give you the platform-tools folder, which will be used throughout this guide to fix the FAILED (remote: ‘Flashing is not allowed for Critical Partitions) error.
STEP 3: Unlock Bootloader
Next up, you will have to unlock the bootloader on your device. If you haven’t done so yet, then please refer to our below guides corresponding to your device:
How to Unlock Bootloader on any Sony Xperia DeviceHow to Unlock Bootloader on any Samsung Device [New VaultKeeper Method]A Universal Guide to Unlock Bootloader on any Realme DeviceHow to Unlock Bootloader on any Motorola DeviceUnlock Bootloader on any Realme DeviceHow To Unlock Bootloader on OnePlus devices
STEP 4: Unlock Critical Partitions via Fastboot Commands
It’s now time to unlock all the critical partitions on your device. For that, we will only be using a single Fastboot Command! Follow along. So this was all from this guide on how to fix the FAILED (remote: ‘Flashing is not allowed for Critical Partitions) error. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.
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