A few weeks before Android 13 launched for the Pixel series phone now there is a vulnerability that stops users go back to Android 12. This means once you flash your device like Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a with Android 13 then you can’t install Android 12. But now Google is providing a path for app developers, through that you can go back to Android 12 on the Pixel 6 for app testing.
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.
For app testing of Pixel 6 devices, developers need to go back to Android 12. As a reference, the developer of Android 12 supports 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.
The company enhances that “Developer Support builds are for developers only and aren’t suitable for general use.” If say in terms of security, only the bootloader has been updated with “security fixes and an incremented anti-rollback counter.” In this other security, patches are not included and will be no OTA security updates.
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.
If you want to flash manually or use the Android Tool:
- Flash an Android 12 (API level 31) Developer Support image
- Flash a 12L (API level 32) Developer Support image
When you install the latest version of Android 13 you need first take a backup of your phone data and then flash Android 13 stable on your device. The company offers both Android 12 and Android 12L for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.
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