You might have slapped the Android 13 developer preview on your Google Pixel and are missing a few things or not having the best experience. Luckily, you can downgrade your OS to a stable version of Android 12 if you’re having major issues or just don’t like the current incarnation.
Although it’s not highly recommended given that it’s a developer-focused release for a bit longer, we’ve shown you how to install the Android 13 developer preview on your Pixel. For that reason, it’s only fair that we show you how to downgrade from this build if you just don’t like it or run into issues you didn’t foresee in advance.
This process has barely changed since the launch of the Google Pixel series in 2016, so it may be familiar to long-time users and Android fans, but it’s not necessarily as familiar to newcomers to the mobile platform – hence this walkthrough. That said, thanks to the Android Flash tool, it’s easier than ever to flash factory images to Pixel hardware.
Before you begin, it’s important to note that you’ll need to do a few things before you can downgrade to a stable version of Android 12. First, make sure to back up all your data before you even try this. You WILL lose your device data, because this method requires a FULL wipe of the device, and it will be erased several times during this process. We’ve also added Android Flash Tool instructions for those who want to use the Chrome browser-based flash tool.
To note: This guide is also suitable for Windows users, which means the process may vary for those using macOS or Linux.
Video – How to Downgrade from Android 13 Developer Preview on Google Pixel
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You will need to use ADB or Android Debug Bridge to downgrade your current version of Android 12 to an older version. We recommend installing the unzipped Platform Tools package on your desktop for quick access when running commands. You can download the latest Platform Tools zip file from here.
Alternatively, Corbin Davenport’s Nexus Tools offers a very easy way to ensure that you have the very latest version of Platform-Tools on your Windows, Mac or Linux machine at all times. Nexus Tools was written in Dart, so it can run on Linux, macOS, Windows, Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Chrome OS. When Nexus Tools is finished, you can run adb, fastbootand other orders without problems or problems.
2. Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlock
First, make sure you have developer options enabled on your Pixel. You can do this by heading to your device’s settings > About phone, then tapping “Build number” until you see a message confirming that Developer options are enabled.
Now you need to head to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options (you may need to expand a hidden menu for this). Before we’re ready to move on, you’ll need to scroll down and enable “OEM Unlock” as this is an integral part of the following steps. Now scroll a little further down to the “Debugging” section and press the “Allow USB debugging” option.
3. Download the factory image for your device
This is required for the Android 13 downgrade process. You will need to download the correct factory image for your device. It’s basically a blank slate for your smartphone or a snapshot of that particular Android version at that time. You can grab it from Google’s Factory Image OTA hosting site, which has all the factory images for Pixel devices.
You will need to add this file and unzip its contents to the platform-tools folder to access it later.
To note: Don’t extract to an internal subfolder, just extract all files to the main platform tool folder.
4. Boot into device bootloader
This can be done in several ways. The easiest way is to connect your device to your Windows PC and open the platform-tools folder and type “cmd” in your file manager’s address bar. This will open a command prompt window in the right place. Now enter the following command to start the adb daemon:
adb reboot bootloader
Your Pixel device will now load into the bootloader, where we’ll need to be to send some commands.
You can also press and hold the power button and volume down key until you see the Android figure lying down. Now you will need to press the power button and the volume up button for a short while before releasing the volume up key. Using the volume up and down buttons, you can scroll to select “enter fastboot”.
5. Unlock the bootloader
Unlocking the bootloader is necessary for the flashing process, because unfortunately you cannot flash a factory image and downgrade your Android version using the slightly easier ADB sideloading method. It’s a pretty simple process, though. When using your command line interface, enter the following command:
fastboot flashing unlock
You will get a slightly intimidating message on your screen warning you that unlocking the bootloader can lead to device instability. Using the physical volume keys, choose the “Unlock bootloader” option and confirm your selection by pressing the power button. Restart your Pixel, as this process will erase your smartphone.
We will also need to skip the device boot process to re-enable USB debugging in preparation for the next step. Once you’ve done that, make sure your Pixel is connected to your PC, and you’ll need to re-enter the bootloader on your device with the following command:
adb reboot bootloader
6a. Enter the flash command
With all your factory image files extracted to the platform-tools folder and accessible. You can now run the following command (with your Command Prompt/PowerShell window open):
flash-all
Your Pixel will now begin the downgrade process from Android 13 Developer Preview 1 to Android 12, which can and will take a few minutes. Leave the command prompt window open and when the process is complete you will see a completion message.
6b. Access the Android Flash Tool
A slightly easier method to downgrade your device is to use Google’s Android Flash tool. This effectively mimics the command line process, but does so in a much friendlier Chrome browser window. If you followed the previous steps, the process is simple.
Connect your Pixel to your computer via a USB-C cable and navigate to the dedicated firmware page for your specific device. You can find the direct links for all eligible devices below:
Find the right version or the version you want for your specific handset and click on the “Flash” link which is next to the “Version” version. This will now launch the Android Flash Tool page and your chosen firmware will automatically be loaded ready to install on your device.
Press the “Get Started” button to launch a pop-up window that you will need to accept to allow access to ADB. This also means that your Pixel will be able to communicate with your computer and the process of downgrading from Android 13 Developer Preview 1 to Android 12 (or another available software version) can begin.
A new page will appear explaining the steps (which we detailed above). From there, click on the “Add a new device” button and provided that your smartphone is connected and in recovery mode beforehand, it should be recognized. Select your Pixel and double-check the software version if the one you want to install. Also, from here you can relock the bootloader without having to use the command line, saving you time in this process. If you are satisfied, click “Install” and then “I accept” when the license agreement dialog box appears.
This installation process should now take a few minutes, but make sure your device is connected and not disconnected during this process. You’ll be greeted with a new page that confirms “Software update successful” while your Pixel should now boot up with the software you selected.
7. Lock the bootloader again (optional)
This is an optional step, but necessary if you want to get future OTA updates. Otherwise, you will see a pop-up splash screen with a warning every time you restart your device. For those using the Android Flash tool, there is a toggle that will take care of that for you (as shown above). If you have already done this, you can skip this step altogether.
You’ll have to go through the device setup process again, which you can basically skip. From there, go back and re-enable USB debugging from step 2 – your bootloader is unlocked, so OEM unlock should be greyed out.
Plug your device back into your Windows PC and open your platform tools folder and reopen a command prompt window using the “cmd”. Enter the following command to quickly load your device’s bootloader:
adb reboot bootloader
We can now relock the bootloader by entering the following:
fastboot flashing lock
On your Pixel, using the volume keys, scroll down to the “lock bootloader” option and press the power button to accept. Once confirmed, “locked” will appear on the screen in the bootloader menu. To note: This process will erase your device once again once you restart your Pixel.
8. Restart your phone
You can now disconnect your device and reboot as you have successfully downgraded from Android 13 developer preview, beta or stable to Android 12. It should now load into the device setup process, you allowing you to register and enjoy your stable Android. to construct.
It should also be noted that this method will works if you want to upgrade from Android 13 to Android 12 on devices like Pixel 6/6 Pro, Pixel 5/5a and Pixel 4/4a. However, we do not recommend doing so because it leads to various device security risks and other potential issues. That said, if you choose to downgrade from one version of Android to another, you do. At your peril. On older versions, the Pixel 4 will also lose access to face unlock if you downgrade from Android 11 to Android 10.
Dylan Roussel and Kyle Bradshaw contributed to this guide.
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