When it comes to rooting a device, then we all could say in unison that Pixel devices are the easiest ones out there. Whether it’s the ease of bootloader unlocking or the fact that Google provides the Factory Image for each of its devices [yes, OEM providing firmware for its devices is considered a luxury nowadays], these devices are the tech enthusiast’s every toy.
Moreover, the support for a wide variety of modules like Pixel XPert and Pixel Flash Tool have made the Silicon Valley giant have a special place in the tech community. With that said, one cannot shy away from the fact that rooting in itself brings in uninvited risks and caveats as well. While the likes of Play Integrity and issues with banking and payment apps are well documented, there’s one domain that isn’t talked about much- the ability to install monthly updates on a rooted device.
As opposed to the stock environment, you cannot simply install the update from the Settings menu. Instead, you’ll have to take a slightly different route- which is usually a tad bit complicated and surely much more lengthy than the generic one. In this regard, some of the most used case approaches include the likes of modifying the flash-all.bat file, removing the format data parameter, and then flashing the new update followed by the patched boot/init.boot.
Likewise, you may also do a Restore Image of the stock boot/init_boot from Magisk > download the pending update > and do an Install to Inactive Slot via Magisk. Or some users wish to take the most failsafe and lengthiest route of them all- they remove the root, flash the new update > and re-root their device. While all these methods will get the job done, they all involve your manual intervention, not to mention the additional time and effort.
This is where the Pixel Updater app comes into the picture. It has completely streamlined the process of installing updates on rooted Pixel devices by automating most of the process. All you need is a couple of taps and your task stands complete. So on that note, let’s have an in-depth look at this tool after which, we will list out the usage instructions of this tool as well. Follow along.
What is Pixel Updater
Pixel Updater [Credits: Developer badabing2005] is an open-source tool that allows you to install OTA updates on your rooted Pixel device in just a few clicks. It works across all the Pixel devices that have an A/B partition and fetches the update directly from Google’s servers. Here are some of the noteworthy features of this tool:
Features of Pixel Updater App
- Supports Android 13 and newer OS versions.
- It also supports pausing, resuming, and canceling of the updates.
- Supports skipping optional post-install scripts to speed up the update process.
- Never communicates with any server besides Google’s OTA server.
- Patches with Magisk after an OTA by default.
- Syncs the verity and verification flags after an OTA by default.
Limitations of Pixel Updater
While the app beholds a slew of intriguing features, it does have its fair share of limitations as well, namely:
- The device must be rooted with Magisk. KernelSU/APatch is not supported.
- The device must be a Google Pixel and support A/B updates.
- Incremental updates are not supported.
- Pre-downloading an update to install later is not supported. This is because Pixel Updater runs
update_enginein streaming mode, which downloads and installs OTAs at the same time. - The stock OS’ Settings app on Pixel devices always launches the built-in OTA updater.
So if that’s all well and good, then let’s make you aware of the usage instructions for this tool. Follow along.
How to Install OTA Updates on Rooted Devices via Pixel Updater
- First off, download the Pixel Updater Tool ZIP file from GitHub.
- Now launch Magisk > go to Modules > tap Install from Storage.
- Select the Pixel Updater Tool ZIP file and tap on OK in the prompt.
- The file will now be flashed. Once done, tap on the Reboot button.
- Now launch the tool and you’ll get a SuperUser request, hit Grant.
- The tool will automatically search for updates at regular intervals.
That’s it. These were the steps to install OTA updates on your rooted device via the Pixel Updater Tool. 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 as soon as possible.
