Google letting app developers go back to Android 12 on Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6a

Abner Li | Aug 29 2022 - 4:27 pm PT

Android 13 for the Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6a prevents you from returning to Android 12 due to a security vulnerability. That’s still not changing for end users, but Google is now providing a path for developers to return to Android 12 on the Pixel 6 for app testing.

As we previously wrote about:

A security vulnerability exists with the previous bootloader on the Pixel 6 series, and Android 13 makes it so that the vulnerable version associated with Android 12 cannot be reinstalled.

Developers have valid reasons to return to Android 12 on their development Pixel 6 devices for continued app testing. As such, Google today released (via Android Police) Android 12 Developer Support images for Pixel. These builds are “intended to provide a system and app experience as close as possible to the behavior of Android 12 running on a typical user’s device.”

Developer Support images are system images that are based on stable, public builds of Android 12 (API level 31) and the 12L feature drop (API level 32) that also include an updated version of the bootloader with security fixes and an incremented anti-rollback counter.

However, Google emphasizes that “Developer Support builds are for developers only and aren’t suitable for general use.” In terms of security, only the bootloader has been updated with “security fixes and an incremented anti-rollback counter.” Other security patches are not included, and there will be no OTA security updates. Additionally:

Developer Support builds aren’t Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)‑approved, but they have passed preliminary testing and provide a stable set of APIs for developers. Apps that depend on CTS-approved builds or use SafetyNet APIs might not work normally on Android 12 Developer Support builds.

You can flash manually or use the Android Flash Tool:

As such, a “full device reset that removes all user data on the device” will occur when installing or returning to the latest Android 13 stable.

Google offers both Android 12 (API level 31, Feb 2022 security patch) and 12L feature drop (API level 32, Jul 2022) for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. The Pixel 6a just gets the 12L feature drop (API level 32, Jun 2022).