9 September 2025
Pixel 7 - Unlocking the Bootloader
by ogmini
Making progress in rooting the Pixel 7 phone that I picked up. I spent some time today just unlocking the bootloader. Pretty straightfordward process at least for a Pixel device. What follows are some of my notes on the process to unlock the bootloader.
Useful references:
- Download/Install the Android Platform Tools. I just downloaded the zip and ran the tools from the extracted folder. You could also install Android Studio or update your PATH environment variable.
- Connect phone to computer. The phone will prompt you to “Allow USB Debugging”. This is an easy step to miss.
- Update USB Drivers. This might be optional.
- Disconnect phone from computer.
- Boot phone into fastboot by restarting the phone and holding down the volume down button as it boots. Should see “Fastboot Mode” on the screen among other text.
- Connect phone to computer.
- Open command prompt to the Android Platform Tools and run
fastboot devices. This is just to verify the phone is connected. You should see a device listed.
- Run
fastboot flashing unlock. The phone’s screen should change to the bootloader unlock screen.
- Use the volume keys to choose the “Unlock the bootloader” option. This will wipe the phone as stated, restart, and leave you at the setup/activation screens.
Notes
This was performed on:
- Pixel 7 / Android 16 / Build BP3A.250905.014
- Android Platform Tools 36.0.0
tags:
#Android
#Root