In this guide, we will show you how to downgrade Google Pixel 6 from Android 13 to Android 12. It has been quite a while since Google released the stable build of Android 13. Many users have already installed the latest version of Android on their devices to experience the new features and goodies of Android 13. Although Android 13 brings in a lot of improvements, many users do not like the software overall. Some of the reasons behind this are stability issues and the occasional bugs in the software. If you use a Google Pixel 6 and want to downgrade from Android 13 to Android 12, you are in the right place.
In order to downgrade a Google Pixel device, it is required that you manually flash the older Android OS version that you want to downgrade to on your device. But remember that you can’t apply this process to Google Tensor-powered Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. In addition to new features and customizations, Android 13 also brought updates to the bootloader.
You can’t revert from Android 13 to Android 12 on your Google Pixel device because the usual process of downgrading a Pixel phone can not be applied due to the anti-rollback protection.
But do not worry. If you have installed Android 13 on your device, you can still downgrade to Android 12. That’s because the updated bootloader is still compatible with Android 12.
How to Downgrade Google Pixel 6 From Android 13 to Android 12
1. By Modifying the Flashing Script
You must keep in mind that if you downgrade Google Pixel 6 from Android 13 to Android 12, you will not be able to use the latest privacy and security features that are available in Android 13. Also, you will be missing out on new security patch updates.
Before you proceed to follow the steps given below, take a complete backup of your Google Pixel 6 because downgrading to Android 12 will wipe all of your data. Also, make sure that you have installed the latest ADB and Fastboot binaries on your PC.
Step 1: First of all, download the Android 12 factory image for your Google Pixel.
- Google Pixel 6
- Google Pixel 6 Pro
Step 2: Now you need to extract the downloaded ZIP file and file the bootloader image. The will be named as “bootloader-[device codename]-slider-[major version]-[minor version].img”.
Step 3: Now from the extracted folder, delete the bootloader image.
Step 4: If you are using a Windows PC for the process, open the “flash-alll.bat” file in Notepad. You can also use any other text editor. Then, remove the portion related to bootloader flashing. In its place, type “force” (without the speech marks) between the “-w” and “update” arguments in the system image flashing section. Once done, save the file.
If you are using a Linux or macOS, you are required to open the “flash-all.sh” file on a text editor application. Then, remove the portion related to bootloader flashing. In its place, type “force” (without the speech marks) between “-w” and “update” arguments in the system image flashing section. Once done, save the file.
Step 5: Now you are all set to flash the Android 12 factory image using Fastboot. But first, you need your bootloader to be unlocked. So if it is not already, unlock the bootloader.
Step 6: Once the bootloader is taken care of, open the command window on your computer and browse to the location of the Android 12 factory image. Now press Shift and Right click together to open the Windows PowerShell.
Step 7: If you are on Windows, run the following command:
.\flash-all.bat
If you are using macOS or a Linux system, key in the following command:
.\flash-all.sh
Step 8: After the flashing process has been completed, the device will automatically reboot. The first reboot may take some time, so it is nothing to worry about. Credits for this method go to XDA Developers.
2. By Flashing Official Developer Support Images
Google has offered Android 12 system images for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro based on the stable version of Android 12 and Android 12L. These were made available so that developers with an updated bootloader version. These builds come with new security fixes and incremented anti-rollback counter.
Download: Developer Support Images for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
After you have downloaded the Developer support images for the target device, you can follow the steps given below to flash the build using Fastboot commands.
Before you start the process to downgrade Google Pixel 6 from Android 13 to Android 12, you should make sure that you have an unlocked bootloader. You will also be needing the latest ADB and Fastboot binaries on your PC for this process.
Step 1: First up, extract the zip file and then paste the extracted files onto the ADB and Fastboot folder.
Step 2: Then you will have to enable USB Debugging on your device. For that, you will first have to turn on Developer Options. You can do that by going to Settings > About Phone and tapping 7 times on the build number to enable Developer Options. Now open the Settings app again and you will be able to see the USB Debugging option. Enable it.
Step 3: Now connect your phone to your computer via a USB cable.
Step 4: Type in the command below to reboot your phone into Fastboot mode.
adb reboot bootloader
Step 5: Type the command on your Mac or Linux system.
flash all
If you are a Windows user, you just need to double-click the flash-all.bat file.
Step 6: Now your device should automatically reboot into Android 12.
So that was it from our side on how to downgrade Google Pixel 6 from Android 13 to Android 12. We hope that you found this guide helpful. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
