In this guide, we will show you the steps to download, install, and flash firmware via the Fastboot Enhance Tool. Different OEMs like to pack their firmware in different formats. While Pixel’s Factory Image has it in a ZIP format, Xiaomi’s Fastboot ROM comes in a TGZ which is followed by a TAR file.
Then we have a few unbrick EDL firmware that comes in the OFP format. If we talk about OnePlus, then their firmware comes in a ZIP followed by a payload.bin file. But why are we discussing all this here and more importantly why is there a need to know the firmware’s extension when you can directly install the update from the Settings menu on your device?
Well, there can be numerous instances wherein you will need to extract the stock firmware and along with that, want to manually flash the firmware. So in this guide, we will have a look at all these instances and then make you aware of a tool that will help you perfectly get this job done. Without any further ado, let’s get started.
Why Is There a Need to Manually Extract Firmware
While the OEM would be releasing timely OTA updates that you can directly install onto your device, however, there could be a few instances wherein you would want to manually download the firmware file and then subsequently extract it. Let’s have a look at some of the most noteworthy ones:
Root
This is perhaps the most commonly used case scenario. If you wish to gain administrative privileges by rooting your device via Magisk, then you’ll have to download the firmware, extract the boot/init_boot.img file, patch it via Magisk, and finally flash it via Fastboot.
Faster Updates
In some instances, the OEM tends to roll out the update in batches, so even if two users with the same device are living in the same region, there is a remote possibility that one gets the update whereas the other might have to wait for a few hours before being blessed with the same. Well, not anymore. You can easily cut this waiting time by manually flashing the firmware onto your device and then enjoy all the new goodies simultaneously with the rest of the early adopters.
Unbrick Device
if your device is currently in a softbrick or bootloop state, then you can force reboot your device to Fastboot Mode, download the firmware [Fastboot ROM], and then flash it onto your device. Once the flashing is done, your device will be up and running.
Disable AVB
If you are flashing a custom binary [recovery, GSI ROM, etc], then you might have to disable the Android Verified Boot. For that, you’ll have to download the stock firmware, extract the vbmeta.img, and then disable the AVB on your device by flashing the vbmeta file.
So these were some of the most important use case scenarios for the manual download and extraction of the firmware. Let’s now show you the steps to carry out this extraction using the Fastboot Enhance Tool.
What is Fastboot Enhance Tool
Fastboot Enhance is an open-source tool that allows you to extract the BIN file and get hold of all the partition files in their IMG format. Along the same lines, you can also use this tool to flash the firmware file to your device, in the Fastboot [Bootloader] as well as the FastbootD Mode. Moreover, this tool beholds a slew of nifty features, some of its most noteworthy ones are as follows:
Flash Payload.bin
The tool allows you to flash the stock firmware for devices like the OnePlus that have their firmware in the payload.bin format.
Fix Softbrick Issues
If your device is in a constant loop and is unable to boot to the OS, then you can flash the firmware via this tool and unbrick it within minutes.
Get Partition Name
You can also get hold of all the partition names that are present on your device, again thanks to this tool.
Boot to Various Modes
The tool allows you to boot to Bootloader, Recovery, and even the FastbootD Mode.
Switch Slots
Last but not the least, you can easily switch between the active and the inactive slots with just a single click of a button in this tool.
How to Use Fastboot Enhance Tool
Before starting with the process, make sure to take a backup of all the data on your device, just to be on the safer side. TheDroidwin 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.
Moreover, if you are planning to opt for the flashing process as well, then there are a few prerequisites that you need to check off the list [ADB Drivers, Unlock Bootloader, etc], so let’s first have a look at them. If you just want to extract the firmware and aren’t looking to flash it for some reason then you may skip the prerequisites part for now.
NOTE: In some cases, such as while rooting, you’ll have to download the same firmware version that is currently installed on your device. In such instances, you can verify the currently installed firmware version from Settings > About Phone/System > Build Number.
Prerequisites
- Download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
- Then go to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times.
- This will enable the Developer Options. So go to Settings > System.
- Now go to Developer Options and enable the USB Debugging toggle.
- Then unlock the bootloader on your device [this will reset your device].
Extract Firmware via Fastboot Enhance
- First off, download and extract the Fastboot Enhance Tool from GitHub.
- Then, download the stock firmware and get hold of the payload.bin file.
- Once done, transfer this payload.bin file to the Fastboot Enhance folder.
- Then launch the tool via its EXE file and go to the Payload Dumper tab.
- Now select the payload.bin file and hit Open. It will be loaded to the tool.
- Go to the Partition tab. The tool will list all the files present in payload.bin.
- Select the desired file/files, checkmark Allow Incremental, and hit Extract.
- Now choose the platform-tools folder as the extraction location and hit OK.
- The selected files will now be extracted inside the platform-tools directory.
How to Flash Files via Fastboot Enhance
Do note that flashing the firmware [Fastboot ROMs] via Fastboot Enhance has proven to be a risky bet for some devices, more so if you are on a newer device. Still, if you wish to give it a try then here’s what you need to do:
- Connect your device to PC via a USB. Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
- Then type in CMD in the address bar of the platform-tools folder and hit Enter.
- This will launch the Command Prompt window inside the platform tools folder.
- Now type the below command in the CMD window to boot to Fastboot Mode:
adb reboot bootloader
- Then download the stock firmware for your device and get hold of payload.bin.
- Then transfer it to the Fastboot Enhance folder and launch the tool via its EXE.
- Your device will be shown there along with a serial ID. Double-click to select it.
- Now go to the Payload Dumper tab, select the payload.bin file, and click Open.
- The file is now loaded to the tool. So go back to the Fastboot Virtualization tab.
- Now checkmark Ignore Unknown Partitions and then click on Flash Payload.bin.
- Do note that some devices also require flashing to the FastbootD Mode as well.
- In that case, click on Reboot to FastbootD and follow the same flashing steps.
- Once the flashing is complete, your device will either boot to OS or the recovery.
- If it boots to recovery, then reset the device and then boot your device to the OS.
So this was all from this guide regarding the Fastboot Enhance Tool. We have also discussed its features as well as the flashing steps. 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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