{"id":413624,"date":"2026-05-05T23:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T23:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/413624\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T23:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T23:30:09","slug":"pixel-10s-latest-update-wont-let-you-install-older-android-versions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/413624\/","title":{"rendered":"Pixel 10’s latest update won’t let you install older Android versions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With the May 2026 update, rolling out now<\/a>, Google is implementing an anti-rollback measure on Pixel 10 series devices that prevents the installation of any older Android versions. <\/p>\n

In a notice available to read below, Google says that Pixel 10 series devices \u2013 specifically Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and 10 Pro Fold \u2013 won\u2019t be able to roll back to an older bootloader version and, in turn, an older Android build as well. <\/p>\n

This is far from unprecedented, as Google also currently shows the same notice for Pixel 6 series and Pixel 8 series devices from the May 2025 update. <\/p>\n

Google explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Warning:\u00a0The May 2026 update for Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and 10 Pro Fold devices contains a bootloader update that increments the anti-roll back version for the bootloader. This prevents the device from rolling back to previous vulnerable versions of the bootloader. After flashing the May 2026 update on these devices you won\u2019t be able to flash and boot older Android 16 builds.<\/p>\n

After taking an May 2026 update and successfully booting the device post update, an Android 16 build resides in the inactive slot (seamless updates<\/a>\u00a0for more information on slots) of the device. The inactive slot contains an older bootloader whose anti-rollback version has not been incremented. If the active slot is then flashed with a build that fails to boot, the fallback mechanism of seamless updates kicks in and the device tries to boot from the inactive slot. Since the inactive slot contains the older bootloader, the device enters an unbootable state.<\/p>\n

To avoid hitting this state, if you are flashing an impacted Pixel device with the May 2026 update or newer for the first time, flash the bootloader partition to the inactive slot\u00a0after successfully updating and booting into Android 16 May 2026 at least once. This can be done by following these steps:<\/p>\n

After a successful boot into Android 16 May 2026 for the first time, sideload the\u00a0full OTA image<\/a>\u00a0corresponding to that build and reboot the device to ensure that both slots have a bootable image.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for you?<\/p>\n

For the average customer, probably nothing. <\/p>\n

Rolling back from a new Android update to an older one, especially within the same core version of Android, is not common practice. But this could be a problem for developers. When building for Android, it\u2019s not out of the question for something to break and, if that happens on a device that can\u2019t be rolled back to an older version, it could lead to problems. For instance, devices can get stuck in certain recovery modes<\/a> and just left unusable if they\u2019re stuck up against a wall created by this anti-rollback measure.<\/p>\n

Again, this won\u2019t be a problem for most people, but seeing as Google has been implementing these measures a bit more often, it\u2019d be nice if tools were made available to the public (or at least to developers) to recover those devices.<\/p>\n

The May 2026 update is rolling out now.<\/a><\/p>\n

More on Google Pixel:<\/p>\n

Follow Ben:\u00a0Twitter\/X<\/a>,\u00a0Threads<\/a>, Bluesky<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

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