The very first look at Android 12 has just arrived thanks to the release of the developer preview. The beta app, which is intended for the public, has not been available for several months, but if you just can not wait to get your hands on the next version of Android, you can preview Android 12 Developer Preview install on Google Pixel devices. .
Note: As a preview of developers, Android 12 is likely to be unstable and unsuitable for daily use. Install at your own risk. This article is about how to install the preview without wiping your smartphone clean. If you are using a custom ROM, you will need to install a Factory Image instead of an OTA.
How to download a preview for Android 12 developers on Google Pixel
- Download the required files
- Enable recovery mode
- Navigate to ADB Sideload
- Connect the device to a computer with ADB tools
- Enter the sideload command
- Restart your phone
1. Download Android 12
To get started, you must first download the necessary files to place Android 12 on your Pixel. There are two ways to do this. First, you can install a Factory Image, which will wipe your phone and start over. Alternatively, and as we will outline here, there is an OTA file that installs your current version of Android without deleting your phone.
You can download the beta OTA file from Google’s full OTA Image website. That site contains OTA downloads to download various updates, including Android 12, on each Pixel and Nexus device, so you need to download to ensure that you download the file associated with your device. OTA downloads are available here.
For the Android 12 developer preview, only Google Pixel 3 / XL, Pixel 3a / XL, Pixel 4 / XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 are available. You will not be able to install it on the original Pixel / XL or Pixel 2 / XL.
2. Start after recovery mode
Then start your Pixel in recovery mode. Turn off your handset completely to do this. Then keep the Power button and the Volume down button exactly at the same time until you get to the Bootloader page. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see an Android figure lying on the screen.
Use your volume buttons to scroll to Recovery mode. Select it by clicking the on / off button. Alternatively, if you are already connected to a computer using ADB, you can use the reload recovery order.
Now you should see a smaller Android lying with an exclamation mark over it. Click on the Power button and the Volume up button for about a second to fully enter recovery mode. The release of the Volume up button will send you to Recovery.
3. Navigate to ADB sideload
Scroll down with the volume buttons to Apply the update from ADB and select it with the on / off button. It will launch a mostly blank screen with text at the bottom that guides you how to sideload an OTA, like this one for the Android 12 Developer Preview.
4. Connect the device to a computer with ADB tools installed
This step is important as it is the only way to transfer the downloaded OTA file to your phone. You need to have ADB and Fastboot tools in a convenient place. You can download ADB tools from the Android Developer website. You can also use the ClockWorkMod Universal ADB drivers, which can make the process a bit easier on Windows devices.
5. Enter the sideload command
As long as everything is in place, you can now set aside the OTA file. On Windows, make sure your command prompt is directed to the ADB Tools folder and type ADB sidebar. If you are using MacOS or Linux, do the same in Terminal (use the “cd” and “ls” commands to make sure your Terminal is on the correct file, Google it if you need help), but type ./adb sylaaier. You will then need to insert the filename of the .zip folder that you downloaded from Google and press enter to begin the process.
If all goes well, you should see a dialog on your computer and handset that shows the process of the side load and installation process.
6. Restart your phone
Once the OTA is installed, you will be taken back to recovery mode. The last step to jump to the new update is to Restart now option with your on / off button.
Note: this process will not delete your device, but it is a good practice to back up any irreplaceable data if something goes wrong.
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