Is it possible to install GrapheneOS on a device running stable Android 14?

steelblue

Hi there!
Yesterday I foolishly updated to Android 14 on my Pixel 6a and now I'm really interested in GrapheneOS (i'm a very indecisive person, i know). Is it possible to install the current Android 13 version of GrapheneOS or will I just have to wait until GrapheneOS supports Android 14? And if it's the latter, is there any estimate on how long I'll have to wait?
I believe it is technically possible to downgrade Android, but I read that there's some sort of rollback protection on the Pixel 6 series and later.
Thanks in advance and I apologize for the silly questions.

de0u

steelblue Is it possible to install the current Android 13 version of GrapheneOS or will I just have to wait until GrapheneOS supports Android 14?

I believe that if you unlock the bootloader (which will wipe all of your user data) you can flash whichever version of whichever OS you want. I believe downgrade protection blocks installation of an old version of the current OS via the OTA mechanism, which preserves user data during the installation.

Grkrz

Wait around 1 week about that long should take GraphenOS android 14 to be ready.

steelblue

Grkrz Thanks. I was hoping the wait would be a little shorter, but I understand. Certainly beats Lineage, haha.

[deleted]

steelblue Keep an eye on social media. The project posted five hours ago that GrapheneOS is now based on Android 14. Most of their changes have been ported already but they still have a lot more porting work to do. It's all going to need to be tested before they can get it all merged, and then they can start making public experimental releases based on 14.

Enas

steelblue trust me I own a pixel 6a for almost a year now and installed gos from the first day! Never looked back. And the updates are always on point and in time! One week of testing is nothing compared to the polished end product!

Relaks

Shouldn't be a problem. Just a few days ago I reverted back to the stock Pixel OS, upgraded it to Android 14 Beta, and then flashed GrapheneOS. Went smoothly.

raccoondad

de0u If I am not mistaken, the hardware also prevents a downgrade of the Android version.

So if you are on 12, upgrade to 13, you are now forever on 13 or higher.

I remember this was a big problem when 13 came out if memory serves me correctly.

de0u

raccoondad If I am not mistaken, the hardware also prevents a downgrade of the Android version.

So if you are on 12, upgrade to 13, you are now forever on 13 or higher.

I remember this was a big problem when 13 came out if memory serves me correctly.

My understanding is that the situation you describe was a one-off specific to the Pixel 6 series, and that it wasn't really about the Android version.

My understanding is that Android 13 for the Pixel 6 series required a bootloader upgrade, and that the old bootloader had a security vulnerability. So flashing Android 13 would upgrade the bootloader and permanently mark the phone as requiring the new bootloader. At that point it was not possible to reinstall the old bootloader, which was part of the typical install process for Android 12.

Here is a source: https://9to5google.com/2022/08/16/pixel-6-android-13/

This article indicates it was possible to downgrade from 13 to 12 for everything that wasn't a 6-series: https://9to5google.com/2022/12/16/how-to-downgrade-from-android-13-to-android-12-on-google-pixel/

All in all, I don't think there is a one-way hardware counter storing the Android version.