With Android Oreo, Google conceptualized Treble which promised to bring faster adoption to newer Android versions. Taking the development forward, this year Google has released the Android Q Beta GSI which can be installed on any Treble-enabled device. So in this article, we are going to learn how we can install Android Q GSI and taste the new experience of Android, way before the official release.
Steps for Android Q Beta Installation
Considering the fact that Android Q is still in beta stage, you are not going to have a great and perfect experience while using it but you can still taste the flavor of Android Q before everyone else does.
Requirements
Your device MUST have an unlockable bootloader. Snapdragon Samsung smartphones sold in the U.S., Huawei-branded devices, Honor-branded devices, and HMD Global’s Nokia-branded devices (except the Nokia 8) don’t qualify here. You have the latest ADB and Fastboot binaries installed on your PC, which you can find here. Outdated versions of Fastboot may result in improper flashes. Your device MUST meet one of the following criteria to be considered Project Treble-compatible: The device LAUNCHED with Android 9 Pie. If this is the case, then you can skip confirming Treble-compatibility after reaching the end of this section. The device launched with Android 8.0 Oreo or Android 8.1 Oreo but was updated to Android 9 Pie with VNDK isolation and system-as-root.
You can check whether your phone supports Project Treble or not by this app.
Downloading the GSI
Download links for official builds of the Android Q beta GSI are available from Google here. You should download the appropriate version based on your device’s architecture, which you found out in the previous step. The download will be fairly large if you download the build with GMS, or Google Mobile Services, something we highly recommend so you can test your app on a build with Google Play Services.
Depending upon the device partition, download the Generic image or Pixel-ported image from here. Make sure you download the latest version of GSI image. I would recommend downloading the Pixel-ported one as it’s more stable. After downloading, make sure to extract the .img file. Now, download FixZygote and Permissiver v2 from the same MEGA link mentioned above. Finally, download the TWRP recovery for your device. Do note, TWRP is device-specific so download the particular recovery for your device from here.
Flashing the GSI
Reboot to your device’s bootloader using either a button combination or by issuing the command: adb reboot bootloader
Now, You’re in TWRP.
Now, one your smartphone tap on mount, and select Cache, System, Vendor, and Data. Further, move to Wipe and perform a factory reset. Again, go to Wipe→ Format Data and type yes. It will delete all your files from your phone, so make sure to back up all your files. Now copy all the downloaded files on your PC to your device. After that, tap on Install→ select the Vendor file and swipe to flash. Now, tap on Install and select “Install Image” on the bottom. Thereafter, select the extracted .img file and choose System from the menu. Now swipe to flash. Press the home button and tap on Install and flash FixZygote and Permissiver v2 subsequently. After you are done flashing, tap on Reboot System and then choose Do Not Install on the next screen. Your device will boot with the Google logo and it will take around 2-3 minutes for the first boot. So keep patience.
