In this guide, we will show you the steps to use the DSU Sideloader feature to flash GSI ROMs on your Android device. The fanfare surrounding the flashing of a custom ROM is on a downward spiral, with many factors contributing to it. Some of the noteworthy reasons include the fact that OEMs themselves have started providing most of the customization tweaks that were earlier limited to this customized firmware.
Moreover, the caveats of SafetyNet and Play Integrity Tests failing as well as complications involved in the flashing process have further prevented users from trying out these ROMs. With that said, the tech enthusiasts are still willing to accept all these drawbacks and welcome abode a custom ROM on their devices. However, that could prove to be easier said than done as not every Android device is lucky enough to get blessed with a custom ROM.
Whether the device is not popular, the developer doesn’t have any incentive to develop a ROM, or just due to the complications in the device’s architecture, there could be quite a few reasons why the device might be left behind. This is where the role of a Generic System Image comes into the fray. Since these are generic images, you could install them across all the Project Treble devices i.e. devices launched with Android 8+ out of the box.
However, flashing these GSI is quite challenging in itself. Generally, you have to disable the verification check by flashing the vbmeta.img, reboot to FastbootD, delete the product partition, and finally flash the GSI ROM. However, this process might not work across all Android devices and for such devices, the DSU Sideloader might be the only way out when it comes to installing a GSI ROM.
What is DSU Sideloader on Android?
DUS Sideloader is an open-source app that makes use of the built-in DSU Sidelaoder functionality of the Android OS to allow users to sideload a compatible system image of their choice. It even allows you to dual boot two OS simultaneously! By default, you’ll have a GSI ROM on one slot and a stock OS on the other, but you could flash another GSI in the other slot and have two different ROMs across both slots. Moreover, the app supports all the popular GSI formats, such as IMG, GZ, XZ, and ZIP.
And the best part is that you don’t even need to extract them, the app will do this job for you as well. If we talk about its compatibility, then all the devices running Android 10 or higher versions and having Dynamic Partition are supported, which encapsulates most of today’s devices. So with this, you would have gained a decent idea regarding this feature, let’s now make you aware of the steps to install a GSI ROM on your device using this DSU Sideloader. Follow along.
How to Use DSU Sideloader to Flash GSI ROMs on Android
While the process does not wipe off any data from your device, still take a complete device backup beforehand. Thedroidwin will not be held responsible if something happens to your device and/or data after performing the below steps:
- First off, unlock the bootloader on your device [this will erase the data].
- After that, download, install, and set up the Shizuku app on your device.
- For that, enable USB Debugging and connect your device to PC via USB.
- Then download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
- Go to the platform-tools folder address bar, type in CMD, and hit Enter.
- Now launch Shizku and type in the below command in the CMD window:
adb shell sh /sdcard/Android/data/moe.shizuku.privileged.api/start.sh
- You’ll now get the message that Shizuku is running along with ADB.
- Now, launch a File Manager app, create a new folder, and name it GSI.
- Then download the desired GSI ROM and transfer it to that GSI folder.
- Once done, download and install the DSU Sideloader app from GitHub.
- Then launch it and tap on “Allow all the time” in the Shizuku prompt.
- Now tap on Setup, navigate to the GSI folder, and tap Use this folder.
- After that, tap on Allow in the subsequent prompt that appears.
- Go back to the app and you’ll get a Missing Permission prompt, tap Grant.
- Once done, tap on Select a file to be installed and select the GSI ROM file.
- Now click on Install > Proceed and wait for the extraction and processing.
- Once done, it will ask for the Device Logs, tap on Allow one-time access.
- You’ll now get a prompt in the notification panel that the GSI is installed.
- Tap Restart next to that notification and your device will boot to GSI ROM.
What Should be the UserData Partition for GSI ROM?
By default, the UserData partition is allocated 2GB. To expand it, enable the toggle next to it and then type in the desired value. While increasing the value, do keep in mind that some Android device limits the userdata partition size to 40% of the total storage value. So to be on the safer side, only expand it to that limit, if needed.
What Would be the Image Size for the GSI ROM?
You should not change the Image Size of the GSI ROM, leave that option turned off and let the app do its job.
Are Data Between GSI and Stock Firmware Shared
No, the data between the GSI ROM and the stock firmware aren’t shared, each of them has its own data partition. So when you are booted to GSI, you won’t be able to access the data from the stock OS and vice versa.
How to Remove the GSI ROM?
Simply uninstalling the DSU Sideloader app or deleting the GSI ROM from the GSI folder will not uninstall the GSI ROM from your device, instead, you’ll have to do a format data to remove the ROM. This process will wipe off all the data from your device, so take a complete device backup beforehand.
That’s it. These were the steps to use the DSU Sideloader feature to flash GSI ROMs on your Android device. 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.
