How to Unbrick a Google Pixel Fold using Fastboot Commands

Google Pixel Fold was released recently amid much hype and the early signs are positive. Although the device is far from perfect, there is a good platform to start with. You can enjoy a clean stock OS experience, numerous Google apps, an impressive camera experience, and more.

Being a Pixel smartphone, it is an active custom development. After rooting your Pixel Fold, you’ll be able to enjoy a plethora of custom options.

However, rooting your Fold comes with a few risks. When rooting, there is always a risk of the device going into a soft brick or bootloop state. Even if that happens, there is a workaround to unbrick your Fold using Fastboot Commands.

In this guide, you will get to know how to unbrick a Google Pixel Fold using Fastboot Commands.

Steps to unbrick a Google Pixel Fold using Fastboot Commands

Step 1: Install Android SDK

To start off, install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC or computer. It’s the official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google. You should download it and extract it to a convenient location on your PC. Doing this will give you the necessary platform-tools folder.

Step 2: Download Google Pixel Fold Firmware

1. First, you’ll need to download the device’s stock firmware from the links mentioned below –

Pixel Fold (felix) – Download

2. Once it is downloaded, you’ll need to extract it to the platform-tools folder

Step 3: Boot your bricked Pixel Google Pixel Fold to Fastboot Mode

You’ll now need to boot your smartphone to the Fastboot Mode. In most cases, once the device is soft-bricked, it’ll automatically get booted to Fastboot. However, if your smartphone is stuck in a bootloop, allow the battery to be drained out such that the device gets powered off. After that, connect your smartphone to the charger, and as soon as you’ve done so, press and hold the Power and Volume Down keys. Your device has now been booted to Fastboot.

Step 4: Flash the firmware on Pixel Fold using Fastboot Commands

1. Start off by extracting the firmware inside the platform-tools folder
2. After that, rename the bootloader, image, and radio files so that it becomes easier to type in the CMD window –

• bootloader-codename-codename-x.x-xxxxxxx.img to bootloader.img
• image-codename-xxxx.xxxxxx.xxx.xxx.zip to image.zip
• radio-codename-xxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx-x-xxxxxxx to radio.img

3. After that, connect your smartphone to the PC using a USB cable and ensure that it is booted to Fastboot mode
4. After that, go to the platform-tools folder and type in CMD in the address bar before hitting Enter to launch the Command Prompt
5. Type the following command in the CMD window for flashing the bootloader file –

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img

6. Then, execute the below command for booting you device back to Fastboot mode

fastboot reboot-bootloader

7. After that, flash the radio file using this command –

fastboot flash radio radio.img

8. You’ll once again need to reboot your smartphone to Fastboot Mode, so you the following command –

fastboot reboot-bootloader

Now, you’ll need to decide if you want to format your smartphone or not. Generally, it is recommended that you should perform a factory reset. If you’re only installing monthly security patches without any changes in the Android version, then you could skip the format step.

9. Here are both commands that you can refer to be in sync with your requirement –

Factory Reset: fastboot –w update image.zip

Without Reset: fastboot update image.zip

10. Once you’ve flashed your device, you can use the following command to boot your smartphone to the OS –

fastboot reboot

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