Google is making huge changes to Android’s core working mechanism in order to bring faster updates to all Android users. With Android Oreo, Google conceptualized Treble which promised to bring faster adoption to newer Android versions. Taking the development forward, this year Google has released the Android Q Beta GSI which can be installed on any Treble-enabled device. So in this article, we are going to learn how we can install Android Q GSI and taste the new experience of Android, way before the official release.

Google has provided the Android Q Beta GSI images here, with installation instructions and everything. However, in our testing, Poco F1 didn’t boot after flashing the official GSI. Google recommends that the device should be running Android Pie, with proper VNDK implementation. So it depends on the device makers if they have implemented the core changes as instructed by Google.

Pre-Requisites for Installing Android Q GSI

  • Unlocked Bootloader
  • Treble-enabled device. We are using Poco F1 running Pie in our testing.
  • ADB and Fastboot. You can follow our guide to set up ADB.

Required Downloads for Installing Android Q GSI

  • Download Treble Check app (free) from the Play Store and check if your device supports both Treble and Seamless updates. Treble support is a must to boot Android Q GSI while Seamless update is not. However, Seamless updates will give information as to how your device is partitioned. If your device doesn’t support Seamless updates, it means your device is A only partitioned. And if your device supports seamless updates, it’s A/B partitioned. Make note of it.
  • Depending upon the device partition, download the Generic image or Pixel-ported image from here. Make sure you download the latest version of GSI image. I would recommend downloading the Pixel-ported one as it’s more stable. After downloading, make sure to extract the .img file.
  • Now, download FixZygote and Permissiver v2 from the same MEGA link mentioned above.
  • If you are using Poco F1, download the customized vendor. The stock vendor is not working with the GSI, so developers have modified the vendor as well. Similarly, you may have to look for your device vendor in this Telegram group.
  • Finally, download the TWRP recovery for your device. As I am using Poco F1, I have downloaded TWRP from the official source. Do note, TWRP is device-specific so download the particular recovery for your device from here.
  • By the end, you should have all these files into a directory.

Steps to Install Android Q Beta on Any Android Smartphone

  1. Connect your device to the PC and type “adb devices” into the command line. Make sure your device is listed, and then type “adb reboot bootloader” and hit enter. It will boot your device into fastboot mode.

  2. Again, go to Wipe→ Format Data and type yes. It will delete all your files from your phone, so make sure to back up all your files.

Is the Android Q Beta GSI Usable?

At this moment, the Android Q GSI is unfit to be used on a daily basis. There are tons of bugs, which is expected as it’s the very first GSI released by Google. As there are lots of hacks involved, even the basic features don’t work properly. We were unable to add Google account or access the file storage on Poco F1. Even the USB access is broken and we could only access the internal storage through TWRP.

Google has released Android Q Beta 2 as of now and will release Beta 3 in the first week of May, probably at Google I/O. There will be a total of 6 Betas, and the final stable version will be released in August. So yeah, it’s a pretty long time before we get something like a daily driver. Nonetheless, booting Android Q way before the release date is pretty exciting and paves the way for faster Android updates and shows the power of Treble.

SEE ALSO: Here are the Phones that Will Get Android Q