I’m about to buy a used Pixel 8 currently under android 16 with the intent to install /e/os on it.
I read that the Eos web installer supports this device, yet there are command line instructions there. What method should I preferably use?
The command line instructions state that I need android 15 on the device, so I would need to downgrade it first, but I read in different places that this device has an anti rollback feature. It remains unclear to me if the anti rollback only blocks versions earlier than may 2025 (a15), or any version at all.
Overall, should I just cancel this purchase while I can?
try Webinstaller first, but be prepared to drop to the cli / fastboot / adb method that allows for more precedural control. Write down or screencapture the steps you took to later retrace / communicate or do it again a few months later.
to answer: “Anti-Rollback only blocks earlier versions - irrespective of their Android major”. It’s only the date (SPL - security patch level) the version is stamped with that decides.
Write down what you have in the about device screen and compare to the /e/OS release notes where the SPL is noted as well for the version. You can flash A15 over A16 if the SPL is equal or ahead.
If you add yours, make sure to remove the Google Account cleanly from stockrom prior to flash. A regular issue users run into.
Pixels are a good idea, gives you access to all customroms for Android and (closedsource) firmware updates are timely from Google.
Thanks a lot tcecyk for the quick yet detailed reply and hints!
I now understand that the security patch level is more important than the “major” version (15 or 16 here).
I assume I should compare the current phone’s security patch level with the figures in the file names from this page.
Does that mean I can flash /e/os directly over stock android 16 without first downgrading to android 15 as long as the patch level/date of the /e/os image is equal or higher than the stock android one?
Sorry for asking so many questions, it’s obviously my first time doing this and it’s a tad intimidating.
I’m asking the seller about the current patch level of the phone.
Thanks a lot Piero, that’s a great article you have there!
Now I understand that the anti rollback feature is a problem only if I want to re-lock the bootloader, and only if the patch level version of the installed system is lower than the one of the bootloader’s index.
That means I should be able to install /e/os no matter what patch level the phone comes with, but I should only re-lock the bootloader if/when the installed patch level is equal or higher than the one from the stock android.
relocking resets your userdata, so ideally you’d flash and relock in the same process - to not setup the phone with all your apps and settigns and do it again a few days later.
Relocking makes a lot of sense if the device supports it.
As to your links to the zip images: beware, those are filename timestamps, not the patchlevel date. As piero linked to the HOWTO, the patchlevel date is noted in the settings → “about phone” and in the release notes (bottom of the page).
the slight twist: there are two patch levels for each month with a well defined meaning: 1st of month for Android system framework, 5th of month for the vendor part. You’ll notice when you scroll down the latest ASB (from march).
It doesn’t seem to matter in practice - but it wouldn’t make sense from an exploit perspective and I never looked deeper into that than what I read here on the forum. I’d wait for the next months 1st of month when the current is on the 5th of month.
Forgive me but you are getting good advice in answering your ongoing questions but bearing in mind someone else has done the updates since that date, personally I would have more of a concern for the bit about
If the active slot is then flashed with a build that fails to boot, the fallback mechanism of seamless updates kicks in and the device tries to boot from the inactive slot. Since the inactive slot contains the older bootloader, the device enters an unbootable state.
than the regular anti-rollback advice where apart from this “one off and special” warning Pixel are tolerant.
I didn’t grasp the exact meaning of the anti-rollback function at that time, hence my first questions here
I didn’t understand the part about the inactive slot at all at that time, hoped I wouldn’t be affected, and then forgot about it, so thank you for pointing it out again!
Now my understanding about this inactive slot thing is that while the phone is still under the stock Android, I should use the ADB sideload command to flash a “OTA” system image of the same version to ensure that the inactive slot is populated with a proper system image and recent bootloader.
At this point the complexity of this topic looks endless; I hope I’m close to the end of it
great! I wasn’t sure myself how I would’ve gone about @aibd note - if I’d sideload both slots just to be safe or rely on this theory:
if one does start from a slot that has a version past May 2025 already, then sideloading an /e/OS image - here the critical assumption - that has a newer bootloader partition included too, both bootloader partitions then are past the May date.
I got the phone with stock A16 with patch level 260205.001.
I first sideloaded the same stock image following Google’s instructions to be on the safe side regarding the unused slot’s bootloader version, and then I loaded /e/os 3.6-a15.
Now I see that /e/os 3.7-a15 has been released for my device, it’s currently loading the OTA update
I also wondered how to say something reassuring / take care about “Sideload”. I was drawn to a different assumption.
The manufacturer would never have deployed this anti rollback with a “fuse” said to kill the motherboard without a safe route for “ordinary users” who would never even see this developer page.
As long as users are not going anywhere near to rollback, even though the word “sideload” is used, the natural process of OTA update must cover anything needed to avoid the hazard.
First timer here, and I would like to get some info from someone who has recent experience, confirming that I understood what I read here. I am in the same situation than you: I bought a refurbished pixel 8, and it has Android 16.
If I use the command line to install e/os 3.7-a15, and I have an SPL dated November 2025, I should be ok to flash A15 over A16, based on your experience. Technically even without sideloading (albeit this is a safer option).
Finally, I did not understand if in the end you relocked on not.
