How To Sideload Android 10 Onto Your Pixel Instead Of Waiting For The Automatic Update

Android 10 has been available for Pixel phones for a few days now, but some users may not have received it as an automatic update yet. You can check for pending updates by going to Settings > About phone > System updates on your Pixel.

Chances are the update will hit your Pixel in the coming days, but if you’re eager to install Android 10 and don’t feel like waiting on Google, you can sideload the new OS version manually instead. This method works for any and all pixel models, and we’ll show you how it works .

Setup

There a few things you should do before updating to Android 10, such as backing up important files. While updating to Android 10 using the steps outlined in this guide should keep your files intact, it’s still worth taking a few extra minutes to back things up just in case something goes wrong or you wind up needing to rollback due to bugs.

With your files backed up, here’s what you’ll need in order to sideload Android 10 onto your Pixel:

• Your Pixel phone.

• USB-C charging cable.

• A PC (our guide follows steps for Windows, but Google also has alternative steps for Mac and Linux).

• ADP and Fastboot tools downloaded and installed onto your PC. We’ve covered how to do this elsewhere, but the easiest method is to use this all-in-one 15-second installation package from the XDA forums.

• The correct Android 10 OTA file for your handset. These are available from Google — just make sure you’re downloading the latest update that corresponds to your device. You should save the file in an easily accessible location, and be sure to make note of the file’s name as we’ll need it later to perform the update commands.

Sideloading Android 10 on Pixel phones

1. Turn off your Pixel phone.

2. Press and hold the power and volume down buttons simultaneously until the phone restarts and the bootloader screen is displayed.

3. Use the volume buttons to scroll to Recovery mode then tap the power button once to select it.

4. Wait until you see the Android mascot laying down, then press the power and volume up buttons simultaneously to enter the recovery mode.

5. Once again using the volume buttons to scroll through the menu, highlight Apply update from ADB, then press the power button to select.

6. Connect your pixel phone to your PC via USB.

7. On your PC, open Command Prompt by tapping “Windows key+R” then typing “CMD” to find and run the program. In the Command Prompt window execute the following command: adb devices. Your device should be listed with “sideload” next to its name.

8. Next, type adb sideload [filename], using the name of the OTA image you downloaded earlier, and press Enter. You should see some dialog on your device, and then the update should begin. Wait for the installation to complete.

9. After the update is wrapped, highlight “Reboot now” then use the power button to select it. When your pixel starts up again, it should be running Android 10.