{free download }Android 12 Beta 5 GSI (Generic System Image releases), AOSP is live 2021

Android 12 Beta 5 GSI Updated on October 17, 2021: The Stable Android 12 is finally live in AOSP (Android Open Source Project) by Google. However, it’ll take more time to hit the stable Android 12 update on eligible Google Pixel models. Google has officially acknowledged that the Android 12 stable rollout for Pixels will fall ‘in the next few weeks.

Currently, the stable version is available for the public and included in AOSP that means it’s the final version and ready to download if you want. However, some users may not get into the AOSP GSI build right now and may wait for the official release for Pixel devices. Those who don’t use Pixel devices can wait for the OEM update from the respective manufacturer.

Finally, the Android 12 Beta 5 goes live for the eligible Pixel devices after the release of beta 4. Meanwhile, Google has also released the Android 12 Beta 5 GSI (Generic System Image) packages for non-Pixel Android devices that support Project Treble.

If you are an Android user who is eager to get to know Android 12 early, then you can follow this guide. Google initially released Android 12 Developer Preview 1 for eligible Pixel devices in February 2021, followed by DP2, and then DP3 respectively.

As Google announced Android 12 Beta 5 for eligible Pixel models, we’re happy to tell you that GSI packages for the latest Android OS are also officially available for download. Now, if you don’t know about GSI, take a brief idea below.

read more: Solved: Android 12 App Crashing issue – Android 12 Causing Touch Response

What is GSI in Android?

Android 12 Beta 5 GSI (Generic System Image releases), AOSP is live 2021
Android 12 Beta 5 GSI

iA GSI (Generic System Image) package is obviously a system image with adjusted configurations for Android devices that’s compatible with Project Treble support. That means Google has made it possible for all the non-Pixel Android smartphone users to flash the GSI package according to the device architecture and enjoy the latest Android OS version.

Android 12 GSIs

Date: September 08, 2021
Build: SPB5.210812.003
Build type: experimental
Security patch level: September 2021
Google Play Services: 21.24.18

Generic System Image releases

Android Generic System Images (GSIs) are for app developers to perform app validation and for development purposes. You should not redistribute GSIs or use them in any other way except as specifically set forth in the license terms enclosed in each individual download.

For more information about GSI device requirements, risks, and installation instructions, refer to the GSI documentation page.

Known issues with Android 12 Beta 5 GSI

Android 12 GSI binaries have the following GSI-specific known issues:

As mentioned on the official Android Developers website, Android 12 GSI binaries have the following GSI-specific known issues that you should keep in mind:

  • Phone Audio: When using the integrated dialer, you might not hear any audio on the phone. This is due to a change in the telephony service installation location in Android 10.
  • Power Cycle: Rebooting GSI might fail on some devices. To work around it, reboot the device into recovery mode, erase user data, perform a factory reset, and then reboot the device.
  • System partition size: GSI + GMS file size (images named gsi_gms_arm64-*) might be bigger than the default dynamic system partition size on your device. To work around this issue, you can delete some non-essential dynamic partitions, such as the product partition, and flash the GSI again. For more information, see the flashing GSIs documentation.

Download Android 12 GSI (Generic System Image releases)

Here we’ve shared all the download links regarding your device architecture.

Android 12 Beta 3 GSI:

x86_64+GMS Link
ARM64+GMS Link
x86_64 Link
ARM64 Link

Beta 3.1 GSI:

Not available yet!

Beta 3 GSI:

x86_64+GMS Link
ARM64+GMS Link
x86_64 Link
ARM64 Link

Beta 2 GSI:

x86+GMS Link
ARM64+GMS Link
x86_64 Link
ARM64 Link

Note: Make sure to grab the specific GSI package according to your device’s architecture. In order to check which architecture your device has, you can run the following command on your Windows computer after connecting your handset to it using the USB cable.

adb shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi

Once you’re aware of your device’s architecture, just download the particular GSI package from the link above.

How to Install Android 12 Beta 2/3 GSI

Before heading over to the GSI flashing steps, make sure to follow all the requirements properly for a successful flashing

Pre-Requirements:

  • This GSI file and guide are only applicable for Project Treble-supported devices.
  • Make sure to check whether your device supports Project Treble or not.
  • Maintain at least 50% of battery charge.
  • Take a full data backup of the device without Root before doing anything.
  • Your device bootloader should be unlocked. [Required]
  • Enable OEM Unlocking and USB Debugging on your device.
  • Download and Install the Android USB Drivers on your PC/Laptop.
  • A PC/Laptop and a USB cable are required. (for Fastboot method)
  • Install the ADB & Fastboot tool for Windows/MAC. (for Fastboot method) process.

Installation Steps

  • First, you’ll need to perform a factory reset on your phone. [You can also reboot to Recovery mode and perform factory reset]
  • Keep in mind that OEM Unlock and USB Debugging are already enabled on your phone. If not, do that too.
  • We assume that you’ve already installed the ADB & Fastboot Tool on your PC.
  • Now, transfer the downloaded Android 11 R GSI file to your computer and extract it. Make sure to copy and paste the system.img and vbmeta.img files into the ADB & Fastboot folder for ease.
  • Simply connect your Android device to the PC/Laptop by using the USB cable and authorize the device (if prompted).
  • Now, launch a command prompt on your PC from the extracted GSI folder by typing cmd in the address bar and pressing the Enter button on your keyboard.
  • Restart your device into bootloader mode or fastboot mode by typing the following command in the command prompt and press the Enter key:
adb reboot bootloader
  • This will reboot your phone into Fastboot mode.
  • Then you’ll have to disable Android Verified Boot (AVB) by running the command below:
fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img
  • Next, type in the following command and hit the Enter button to delete the existing system partition on your device:
fastboot erase system
  • Use the following command to install the Android 12 GSI package:
fastboot flash system system.img
  • The installation process will start and will take some time. So, wait for it.
  • Once the installation process is done, you will need to enter the following command to wipe the user data partition:
fastboot -w
  • Finally, restart your device by executing the command below:
fastboot reboot
  • Enjoy! The first boot may take some time after the OS upgrade. Now, your device should boot into the Android 12 Beta 2/3 system successfully.

Although we won’t recommend you to flash the initial build of Android 12 right now as it may contain multiple bugs or stability issues, it fully depends on you whether you’ll wait for the stable release or not.