Even earlier than expected, the first Android 12 Developer Preview is available to download for the Pixel 3 and newer. As the name implies, it’s a Developer Preview build of Android 12 that is available to download so it’s almost certain that it’s not viable for use on your main device.
Just to reiterate, the Android 12 Developer Preview is meant for developers to poke around in, not Joe Public.
If you have a Pixel device that you don’t mind crashing randomly with unusual bugs, glitches, and non-functioning staple features, we’ve got the download links for you below. You’ll need to have a Pixel 3, 3a, 4, 4a, 4a 5G, or Pixel 5 to hand, which means it’s confirmation for Pixel 2 users that it’s no longer getting official OS upgrade support.
Just so you know, installing the Android 12 Developer Preview build on your Pixel handset is a manual process whereby you’ll need to download and manually flash the factory image or OTA file.
Flashing the full factory image brings additional risks and hassle because you’ll need to unlock the bootloader while the process can break SafetyNet certification (no mobile payments for a start), and will wipe your handset. Sideloading the OTA file onto your Pixel handset is the less risky approach in that you won’t lose all your data and there’s no need to unlock the bootloader.
The easiest, least risky method of flashing the OTA is via the Android Flash Tool with no fiddling required. Just enable Developer Mode and toggle USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on, hook your Pixel up to the PC, add the appropriate device and then select the firmware (OTA File) you want to download and install. Click Install and that’s it. Easy-peasy.
If you want to go old-school and have the thrill of not being sure if installing the Android 12 DP1 will brick your device, Google has provided the manual flashing instructions on the Android Developer site.
Let us know how it goes in the comments below.
[Google]
