But why would one prefer to downgrade to an older OS version or security patch? Well, there could be quite a few reasons for the same. To begin with, a monthly security patch update sometimes brings in a few uninvited risks and bugs. When that happens, you could either wait for the next OTA update for the fix or straightaway flash an older build that didn’t have that issue. Along the same lines, users also prefer to downgrade from one major OS upgrade to another. For example, tech enthusiasts usually try out the beta or developer’s preview builds of the latest OS release. Once they are done using it, they then prefer to roll back to the earlier stable OS version. All in all, there are quite a few reasons why you would want to perform a downgrade. Along the same lines, there exist numerous methods for this downgrade, so why settle to downgrade your Pixel device via Android Flash Tool? Well, there are numerous reasons for the same. Let’s check them out (as well as the downsides of this tool).
Perks and Downsides of Android Flash Tool
One of the most common methods for manually flashing the stock firmware is via the fastboot commands. However, that approach usually proves to be a little bit technical and complicated for the general users. On the other hand, the Android Flash Tool has completely streamlined this process. With a handy user interface, this is a web-based tool that only requires a few clicks to flash the firmware. So the perks for this tool are there for everyone to see.
However, it has a few downsides as well. To begin with, it requires you to enable USB Debugging. Hence this straightaway means that a boot-looped or bricked device is incompatible with this method. Furthermore, you also need to have an uninterrupted network throughout the flashing process. With this, you would have got a decent idea regarding the benefits and caveats. Let’s now check out the steps to downgrade your Pixel device using the Android Flash Tool.
How to Downgrade Pixel Devices via Android Flash Tool
The below instructions are listed under separate sections for ease of understanding. Make sure to follow in the exact same sequence as mentioned. 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.
Bypass Anti Rollback on Pixel 6A/6/Pro
Google has introduced the Anti Rollback Protection for the Pixel 6 series devices. So if you want to perform a downgrade from Android 13 to Android 12, you will first have to bypass this Anti Rollback mechanism, the instructions for which are given here- How to Bypass Anti Rollback Mechanism in Pixel 6A/6/6 Pro. [Just to re-iterate, this is only needed for the Pixel 6 series, the Pixel 5 and 4 series are unaffected by this. Moreover, it is only required for Android 13 to Android 12 downgrade, versions before it doesn’t need to bypass this rollback].
Install Android SDK
First and foremost, you will 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 downgrade Pixel devices via Android Flash Tool.
Install Google USB Drivers
You will also have to install the Google USB drivers so that your Pixel device is recognizable by your PC. So refer to our guide to Install Google’s Android Bootloader Interface Drivers.
Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
Next up, enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on your device. The former will make your device recognizable by the PC in ADB mode. This will then allow you to boot your device to Fastboot Mode. On the other hand, OEM Unlocking is required to carry out the bootloader unlocking process.
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.
Authorize USB Debugging
Unlock Bootloader
You will also have to unlock the device’s bootloader. Doing so will wipe off all the data from your device and could nullify its warranty as well. So if that’s well and good, then please refer to our guide on How to Unlock Bootloader Of Google Pixel Devices. Once that is done, you may move over to the next step of our guide to downgrade Pixel devices via Android Flash Tool.
Flash Pixel Downgrade Firmware via Android Flash Tool
So with this, we round off the guide on how you could downgrade your Pixel device using the Android Flash Tool. 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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