• GeneralPixel 8a

  • Pixel 8a - fastboot and adb don't recognize device (bootloader 12059390))

Hello everyone,

I have purchased several brand-new Pixel 8a devices and I am trying to install GrapheneOS on them for myself and friends, but I am encountering serious problems when connecting the phones to computers. I will try to describe the situation and the steps I have already attempted as accurately as possible.

Problem:

The phone is not recognized in fastboot mode – fastboot devices shows nothing.
ADB occasionally recognizes the device in regular Android mode, but as soon as I enter fastboot, it disappears.
lsusb in regular Android mode shows "Google Inc. Nexus/Pixel Device (MTP + debug)", but in fastboot mode, there is no USB device.
When I use the GrapheneOS Web Installer, the phone, with much effort and not every time, is occasionally seen as “Pixel 8a - Paired”, but after I click Connect, I receive an error:
Error: Failed to execute 'claimInterface' on 'USBDevice': Unable to claim interface

This issue occurs on two different brand-new Pixel 8a devices, which rules out the possibility of a hardware defect on one phone.
What I have already tried:

Different cables and ports – including the original cable from the box, various USB ports on both a laptop and a desktop computer.
Two operating systems – tested on both Windows and Ubuntu, with the same results.
Driver installation and update (Windows) – manually downloaded and installed the Google USB driver.
Udev rules (Linux) – added rules for Pixel devices, executed udevadm control --reload-rules.
ADB and fastboot reinstallation - installed the latest android-tools-adb and android-tools-fastboot packages.
ADB debugging and USB configuration – enabled USB debugging and File Transfer mode in Developer Options.
Restarting the ADB server (adb kill-server && adb start-server) – did not help.
Running the stock OS and updating the system – I performed an update through System Update, but the problem still exists.
Checked in dmesg (Linux) – with much effort, the phone briefly appeared but then disappeared again.
Additional suspicion:

It is possible that the problem is related to the version of the bootloader:

Bootloader version: 12059390 (after System Update it is 12474670)
OS version: Latest stock update downloaded via System Update

On devices with bootloader versions 11693900 and 11388194, everything is going smoothly.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

    pierre01 you can try a different cable and/or USB port (assuming the two OSes were running on the same computer)

    Alternatively, since you have multiple Pixels, you can use them to flash each other.

        other8026
        I have two laptops - Windows and Linux, I tried with both. I tried multiple cables (USB A to USB C and USB C to USB C) and all available USB ports. I even tried flashing one of the problematic Pixels from another working Pixel, but without success, it does not recognize it.

          pierre01 Different cables and ports

          Whoops. Rereading your OP, I see you already said and tried this.

          Also rereading again it looks like you've managed to install GrapheneOS on other devices? I think I read too quickly the first time around, so I missed that detail. If so, I'm not sure what to suggest you try.

              other8026

              Yes, I managed to install GrapheneOS on other devices.

              I have a problem with two brand new devices—I personally opened the box, unlocked OEM, and tried to install GOS. Whatever I try, the devices don't communicate with the computers, as if data transfer is disabled by default. Otherwise, the USB port is functional in the sense that the devices charge. It's a very strange situation.

              • de0u replied to this.

                  pierre01 Whatever I try, the devices don't communicate with the computers, as if data transfer is disabled by default. Otherwise, the USB port is functional in the sense that the devices charge.

                  Does the USB port work in general? Does plugging in an external storage device work?