Install OTA Updates on Rooted Android Device

In this guide, we will list various methods to install OTA updates on a rooted Android device.  Gaining administrative rights over your device opens the floodgates to a plethora of customizations. From installing tons of Magisk modules to flashing LSPosed Framework, and even overclocking and underclocking the device by flashing a custom kernel, the possibilities stand endless. However, one shouldn’t forget the drawbacks that a rooted device brings with itself.

While most of you might already be aware of the fiasco surrounding Play Integrity and SafetyNet Tests, they aren’t the only roadblocks that you would come across. Another quite infuriating and equally troublesome issue is when your device receives an update. Since the boot/init_boot partition is already occupied with its patched counterpart, installing the update will replace that patched file with the stock one and you will end up losing root.

As a result, all the installed modules dependent on root for their normal functioning will also start crashing. In the worst case, your device might not even boot after installing an update because it might not be able to replace the patched file with the stock one. So what else could be done? Well, there exist a few nifty methods through which one could install OTA updates on a rooted Android device. And in this guide, we will be having a look at those methods. Follow along.

Install OTA Updates on Rooted Android Device

Before starting, please take a backup of all the data on your device, just to be on the safer side. Thedroidwin will not be held responsible if anything happens to your device or data after performing the below steps.

The Prerequisite

Before starting with any of these methods, it is of paramount importance that you disable all the modules on your device. You could then re-enable them once the update has been successfully installed.

1. Launch the Magisk app and go to the Modules section.
2. Then disable the toggle next to all the modules. That’s it.

METHOD 1: Manually Flash Patched Boot/Init_boot

If your device comes with Android 12 or older version, you’ll have to use boot.img for root. On the other hand, if it comes with Android 13 or higher versions, then use the init_boot.img. We also have a detailed guide on the same, if you prefer, you may refer to it as well: boot or init_boot: Which file should you choose for rooting?

1. First off, download a text editor like Notepad++ on your PC.
2. Then download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tool.
3. Now download the latest update for your device and extract it inside the platform-tools folder.
4. Then copy the boot.img/init_boot.img file from the extracted firmware and transfer it to the platform tools folder.
5. Now launch Magisk, tap on Install next to Magisk, and tap on Select and Patch a File.
6. Now select boot/init_boot.img file and hit the Let’s Go button at the top right.
7. The file will now be patched and placed in the Downloads folder on your phone.
8. Transfer it to the platform-tools folder on your PC and rename it to magisk_patched_boot.
9. Now enable USB Debugging on your device and connect it to your PC via a USB cable.
10. Then launch CMD inside the platform-tools folder and type in the below command to boot your device to Fastboot Mode:

    adb reboot bootloader

    

11. Now go to the extracted firmware folder, right-click on the flash-all.bat file, and select More Options > Edit with Notepad++.
12. Move your cursor over to the fastboot -w update image-filename.zip and delete the -w keyword. Now hit the Ctrl+S to save the changes. The line should now look something like this:

    fastboot update image-filename.zip

13. So run this flash-all.bat file. The flashing will now start and during the process, your device will automatically reboot to Fastboot and FastbootD Modes, that’s completely normal.
14. Once done, your device will boot to the OS. So enable USB Debugging and execute the below command to boot your device to Fastboot Mode:

    adb reboot bootloader

15. Now execute the below command to flash the patched boot:

    fastboot flash boot magisk_patched_boot.img

16. Or use the below command to flash the patched init_boot:

    fastboot flash init_boot magisk_patched_boot.img

17. Finally, execute the below command to boot your device to the OS:

    fastboot reboot

Once it boots to the OS, verify if the update has been installed and the root is preserved or not. If the answer to both these questions is yes, then you may proceed ahead and re-enable the Magisk Modules, or else, move over to our next method.

METHOD 2: Using Fastboot Commands

1. To begin with, download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
2. Now download the firmware for your device and extract it inside the platform tools folder.
3. Then, rename the bootloader, image, and radio files as instructed below so that it becomes easier to type in the CMD window:

   bootloader-codename-codename-x.x-xxxxxxx.img to bootloader.img
   image-codename-xxxx.xxxxxx.xxx.xx.zip to image.zip
   radio-codename-xxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx-x-xxxxxxx to radio.img

4. Then go to the images-codename-filename.zip folder and extract the boot/init_boot.img file.
5. Now transfer this boot/init_boot.img file to your device and launch Magisk.
6. Then tap on Install next to Magisk and tap on Select and Patch a File option.
7. Now select boot.img/init_boot.img and hit the Let’s Go button situated at the top right.
8. The file will now be patched and placed in the Downloads folder on your phone.
9. Transfer it to the platform-tools folder on your PC and rename it to magisk_patched_boot.
10. Now enable USB Debugging on your device and connect it to your PC via a USB cable.
11. Then launch CMD inside the platform-tools folder and type in the below command to boot your device to Fastboot Mode:

    adb reboot bootloader

    

12. Now just execute the following commands one at a time [your device will reboot to Fastboot Mode during the process, this is completely normal]:

    fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
    fastboot reboot-bootloader
    fastboot flash radio radio.img
    fastboot reboot-bootloader
    fastboot update --skip -reboot image.zip 
    
    fastboot flash boot magisk_patched_boot.img OR
    fastboot flash init_boot magisk_patched_boot.img
    
    fastboot reboot

13. As soon as you execute the last command, your device should boot to the rooted OS. You may now re-enable the modules as well.

So this was the second method to install OTA updates on a rooted Android device. Let’s now check out the other two.

METHOD 3: Flashing Pathed Init_boot via Script

1. To begin with, download a text editor like Notepad++ on your PC.
2. Then download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
3. Now download the firmware for your device and extract it inside the platform-tools folder.
4. Then copy the boot/init_boot.img file from there and transfer it to the platform-tools folder.
5. Now launch Magisk, tap on Install next to Magisk, and tap on Select and Patch a File.
6. Now select boot/init_boot file and hit the Let’s Go button present at the top right.
7. The file will now be patched and placed in the Downloads folder on your phone.
8. Transfer it to the platform-tools folder on your PC and rename it to magisk_patched_boot.
9. Now go to the extracted firmware folder, right-click on the flash-all.bat file, and select More Options > Edit with Notepad++.
10. Now delete the below line from there

    fastboot -w update image-filename.zip

11. Then add the following lines [replace filename accordingly]:

    fastboot update --skip -reboot image-filename.zip
    fastboot flash init_boot magisk_patched_boot.img
    fastboot reboot

12. Then hit Ctrl+S to save the changes. Once done, enable USB Debugging on your device and connect it to your PC via a USB cable.
13. Then launch Command Prompt inside the platform-tools folder and type in the below command to boot your device to Fastboot Mode:

    adb reboot bootloader

14. Finally, launch the modified flash-all.bat file and it will flash the latest firmware along with the patched init_boot.
15. Once done, your device will automatically boot to the rooted OS. You may now re-enable the modules as well.

That’s it. This was the third method to install OTA updates on your rooted Android device. Let’s now check out the fourth method to get this job done. 

METHOD 4: Using Magisk Install to Inactive Slot

This is the shortest and easiest of the four methods listed in this guide and is the perfect method for OnePlus devices. So with that said, here’s how to put this tweak to the test right away:

1. Launch the Magisk app and tap on Uninstall Magisk > Restore Images.
2. Then go to Settings > System > System Update and download the available update.
3. Once downloaded, do not reboot your device. Rather, launch the Magisk App.
4. Then tap on Install next to Magisk. After that, select Install to Inactive Slot.
5. You will now get a prompt, tap OK. Magisk will now be installed in the inactive slot.
6. Once done, go back to the System Updater from the Settings menu and hit Install [do not update from Magisk after installing to the inactive slot].
7. Your device will now reboot to the updated and rooted OS! You may now re-enable all the modules as well.

METHOD 5: With Full OTA Access

1. Head over to Settings > System > System Update.
2. Then download the OTA update that has arrived.
3. Once downloaded, do not reboot your device.
4. Instead, launch the Magisk App and tap on Install next to Magisk.
5. After that, select Install to Inactive Slot [After OTA].
6. Then tap on Let’s Go and wait for the process to complete.
7. Once done, hit the Reboot Now button. That’s it.
8. Your rooted device will now boot with the updated OS.

METHOD 6: Using Updater APK

NOTE: This method is only applicable on OnePlus devices.

1. Launch Magisk, tap on Uninstall Magisk, and select Restore Images.
2. Now download the latest OTA and transfer it to your device’s Internal Storage.
3. Then install the OnePlus Local Update App on your device.
4. Now install the downloaded OTA via the Local Update option in the upper right corner.
5. Once installed, do not reboot your device. Instead, launch Magisk and select Install to Inactive Slot.
   
6. Now reboot your device and it should boot to the rooted OS with new a update installed!

METHOD 7: Via Full Firmware

NOTE: This method is only for OnePlus devices

1. Download and install the Oxygen Updater app from the Play Store.
2. Now launch it and download the full update via it.
3. Then download and install the OxygenOS local update app.
4. It will be installed as Software Update, open it and tap on the overflow icon.
5. Then select Local Update, browse to the update.zip file, and extract it.
6. Once the extraction is complete, do NOT click Install.
7. Instead, launch Magisk and choose Install > Install to Inactive Slot.
8. Do NOT reboot your device. Instead, go back to the Software Update app and choose Install.
9. That’s it. Your OnePlus 11 will now reboot to the rooted OS.

METHOD 8: Reinstall Magisk

If none of the aforementioned methods spelled out success, then the last course of action should be to completely remove the root from the device, install the OTA update in the stock environment, and then re-root your device. However, this is the lengthiest of all the four methods and would require you to reinstall all the modules once again. If we talk about the benefit of this method, well, it is the safest of all the approaches listed here and comes with the highest success rate.

1. Launch Magisk, tap on Uninstall Magisk, and select Complete Uninstall.
2. Your device will now reboot to the non-rooted environment.
3. Proceed ahead and install the OTA updates on your device.
4. Once done, simply root your device once again via Magisk.

That’s it. These were the various methods to install OTA updates on a rooted Android device. If you have any queries concerning these steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution as soon as possible.

---

• How to Block Ads on Android without Root
• How to Enable VoLTE and VoWiFi without Root
• Guide to Root Android 15 via Magisk
• How to Install Viper4Android on Android 14