Google has launched their new Pixel series, which is the Pixel 6a. The device has been launched with a lot of features. Google has powered its chipset, which is the Google Tensor. It is one of the most powerful chipsets. Along with it, the Pixel 6a comes with an OLED display which gives a good display to the users. Though Google Pixel devices are the first to receive the latest Android OS updates and security patches, some users might need to install Google Pixel 6A firmware using fastboot factory images and OTA files.

Either your Pixel 6A has started conflicting with some issue, or the latest software update is somehow causing some issues with the performance. Sometimes the latest software update might have bugs and stability issues that can arise app crashes, glitches, lags or stutters, battery draining & charging issues, slow boot or app opening time, etc. Some users want to return to the stock firmware from custom ROM or rooting.

If you’re also one of them and want to go back to the stock firmware again by flashing the fastboot factory images or OTA files, you can follow this guide to perform it easily. Meanwhile, if you’re unfortunate enough to even boot into your device system due to the bootloop issue or the device is stuck with a black screen quite often, then the stock firmware flashing is the only efficient way to unbrick or restore your Pixel 6A device.

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Google Pixel 6a Device Overview:

The Google Pixel 6a features a 6.1 inches OLED panel with a 60 Hz refresh rate. It is an FHD+ panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Under the hood, we get the Google Tensor processor built on a 5nm manufacturing process. It is an octa-core processor with two Cortex-X1 cores clocked at 2.8 GHz, two Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.25GHz, and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.80 GHz. For handling graphics-intensive tasks, we have the Mali-G78 MP20. The smartphone comes with stock Android 12 out of the box.

In optics, we get a dual camera setup at the rear and a single selfie camera at the front. The dual camera setup consists of a 12.2 MP primary sensor paired with an f/1.7 lens and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens. The selfie camera at the front is an 8 MP primary sensor paired with an f/2.0 lens. The front and back camera systems are limited to 1080p video recording.

The smartphone comes in a single storage variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. We also do not get a hybrid microSD slot for storage expansion. In terms of communications, we get Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C 3.1. And for sensors, we get an under-display optical fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, and barometer. Powering it all is a 4410 mAh battery that can be topped up quickly using an 18W power adapter. The smartphone has three color options: Chalk, Charcoal, and Sage.

Guide to Flash Google Pixel 6A Firmware using Fastboot Factory Images

Remember that this fastboot flashing process may delete the user data from your handset. So, if your device is booted into the system, you should back up the important data from the internal storage before following this guide. It’s worth mentioning that your device will perform much better than before once you restore it to the factory default.

Before entering the firmware flashing guide below, you must check all the requirements and download links.

Warning: GetDroidTips won’t be held responsible for any kind of issue during/after the flashing process. You should know what you’re doing and proceed at your own risk.

Pre-Requisites

We’ll highly recommend you check all the requirements one by one so that the firmware flashing process can go smoothly.

  1. Install Android SDK

You’ll have to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your Windows PC. The official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google will come in handy while running adb and fastboot commands on the device.

  1. Charge the Device

Make sure to charge the device sufficiently, which is more than 50%. It’ll ensure that your device’s battery won’t die during the firmware flashing process.

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  1. Requires a PC and a USB Cable

You’ll also require a computer and a USB cable to connect your Google Pixel 6A to the PC.

  1. Install Google USB Driver

It’s worth mentioning downloading and installing the latest Google USB Driver or Android USB Driver on your PC. The USB Driver plays a major role in creating a stronger communication bridge between the device and the computer to easily run commands or transfer files.

  1. Download All Required Files or Tools

It’s also highly recommended that you download all the required files and tools on your PC before jumping into the firmware flashing guide.

Here we’ve shared download links and versions for the Factory Images and Full OTA Images of Google Pixel 6A (raven).

Note: Make sure to select the specific device variant according to the carrier and download the firmware file on the PC.

Flash Google Pixel 6A Stock ROM via Fastboot Factory Image

We assume that you’ve successfully unlocked your Google Pixel 6/6 Pro bootloader by following the abovementioned guide. Now, head over to the following steps to install the firmware file on the device.

Note: You’ll need to unlock the bootloader on the device if you follow the Factory Image flashing method via Fastboot. If you do, follow this link to unlock the bootloader first. Unlocking the bootloader will delete all the data from the device storage. It’s not required for the sideloading OTA method.

  • First, connect your device to the PC via a USB cable.
  • You’ll need to boot into the Fastboot Mode to detect.
  • Next, navigate to the platform-tools folder on the PC > Click on the address bar inside the folder.
  • Type in CMD in the address bar and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt window. If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to proceed.
  • Run the command below using the command prompt window to boot your device into the Fastboot Mode:

fastboot reboot-bootloader

  • Your Pixel 6A device will boot into the bootloader mode unless it’s already on the bootloader screen.
  • Execute the following command line to start flashing the firmware file on the handset: [Otherwise, you can directly head over to the extracted firmware folder and double-click on the flash-all.bat file to run it]

flash-all.bat

  • As the flashing process begins, wait for it to complete. Do not unplug the device from the computer or do not skip this process.
  • Once all is done, your device will reboot to the system automatically. [Otherwise, try rebooting the device manually by long-pressing the power button for a few seconds]
  • The device may take some time to boot into the system for the first time after flashing the firmware. So, you’ll have to wait for a few minutes.
  • Enjoy!

You can also consider using Google’s Android Flash Tool to automatically flash the firmware file on your Android device. It requires a web browser that supports WebUSB support like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge 79+.

  • Next, navigate to the platform-tools folder on the PC > Click on the address bar inside the folder.
  • Type in CMD in the address bar and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt window. If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to proceed.
  • Run the command below using the command prompt window to boot your device into the Fastboot Mode:

Flash Google Pixel 6A Stock ROM via OTA Image

  • To install the OTA images, ensure you’ve already enabled Developer Options and USB Debugging in the Settings menu on your handset. So, head to the Settings menu > About Phone > Tap on Build number 7 times continuously to enable Developer options.
  • Now, go back to the main settings menu and search for Developer options.
  • Open Developer options and turn on USB Debugging > Make sure to connect your handset to the PC via a USB cable.
  • Now, reboot your phone into recovery mode by following the steps below:
  • Navigate to the platform-tools folder on the PC > Click on the address bar inside the folder.
  • Type in CMD in the address bar and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt window.

adb reboot recovery

  • Your handset is now booted into the recovery mode > Select Apply update from ADB from the stock recovery mode.
  • Enter the following command line and start the process. [factory_image.zip will be the downloaded OTA image file]

adb sideload factory_image.zip

  • Once done, reboot your device, and wait for the system to boot up.
  • It may take a couple of minutes to boot. So, wait for that.
  • You’re done.

That’s it, guys. We hope this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.

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  • Type in CMD in the address bar and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt window.

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