The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are the latest additions to the Google Pixel lineup. The smartphones ship with Android 13 out-of-the-box and have plenty of customization. Google Pixel phones have always been among the favorite Android devices for custom development. This could be installing custom ROMs, kernels, CPU overclocking, or rooting the device to gain administrator privileges.
There’s a lot you can do on an Android phone. But, sometimes things may not go in your favor. While doing such things, there is always a risk that your phone might end up in a bootloop or bricked state. Thankfully, there are easy ways to fix this. In this guide, we discussed the step-by-step process to root Google Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro via Fastboot method.
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Here’s Unbrick Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro Via Fastboot: How to
If you follow this step-by-step guide, unbricking your Google Pixel should not be difficult. Without further ado, let’s jump onto the working steps.
Step 1: Backup Your Google Pixel
To prevent any data loss, backup your Google Pixel phone. You can backup your phone even when it is in bricked or boot loop state. Just boot your Google Pixel into TWRP recovery and use the backup option to take a backup.
Step 2: Install Android SDK
Download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools to your computer and extract the file to a suitable location. Fastboot commands need to be run. Once you extract the downloaded file, you will find the Platform Tools folder. Please remember the location of this folder, as we will use it throughout the process.
Step 3: Download Required Firmware File
Next, download the stock firmware file (factory image) for your Google Pixel device to your computer. Use the links from below to go directly to the download page:
- Google Pixel 7 [panther] – Download Page
- Google Pixel 7 Pro [cheetah] – Download Page
Once you’ve grabbed the firmware file, extract it inside the platform-tools folder.
Step 3: Boot Your Google Pixel to Fastboot Mode
To execute the Fastboot commands, we have to boot the Google Pixel to the Fastboot mode. It has been observed that when an Android phone is soft-bricked, it automatically boots into the Fastboot mode. If that’s not the case with your Google Pixel, let the battery drain so the device gets powered off. Now, connect the charger and quickly press and hold the power button and volume down button to boot the device to the Fastboot mode.
Step 4: Flash Firmware via Fastboot Commands
1. Extract the firmware inside the platform-tools folder. Skip if done already in step 3.
2. Rename the bootloader file, radio file, and image file as mentioned below to make the process easier:
- Rename bootloader-[device_codename]-codename-x.x-xxxxxxx.img to bootloader.img.
- Rename image-[device_codename]-xxxx.xxxxxx.xxx.xx.zip to image.zip.
- Rename radio-[device_codename]-xxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx-x-xxxxxxx to radio.img.
3. Connect your Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro to the computer via a USB cable. Make sure that the phone is booted to the Fastboot mode.
4. Go to the platform-tools folder on your PC, type CMD in the address bar, and hit the Enter button to open Command Prompt.
5. Run the following command to flash the bootloader file:
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
6. Now, run the following command to boot your device back to the Fastboot mode:
fastboot reboot-bootloader
7. Flash the radio file by running the following command:
fastboot flash radio radio.img
8. Again, you have to boot your Google Pixel to the Fastboot mode, so run the following command:
fastboot reboot-bootloader
9. Run the following command to flash all other partition files that are present inside the image.zip file:
fastboot update image.zip
10. To boot your Google Pixel to the system, run the following command:
fastboot reboot
Once you’ve executed the above command, wait a few minutes to allow the device to boot to the system.
Try These Steps if the Problem Persists
I hope you can unlock your Google Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro after following the above steps. If the problem is still present, we need to format the device.
1. Go to the platform-tools folder on your PC, type CMD in the address bar, and hit the Enter button to open Command Prompt.
2. Run the following command to flash the bootloader file:
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
3. Now, run the following command to boot your device back to the Fastboot mode:
fastboot reboot-bootloader
4. Flash the radio file by running the following command:
fastboot flash radio radio.img
5. Again, you have to boot your Google Pixel to the Fastboot mode, so run the following command:
fastboot reboot-bootloader
6. Now, you’ll have to format the device and flash the image.zip file. Both these tasks can be done by running the following command:
fastboot -w update image.zip
7. Finally, run the following command to boot your phone to the system:
fastboot reboot
That’s how you can unbrick your Google Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro via the Fastboot method. If you have any questions then feel free to comment.
