How to Root the Google Pixel 6 with Magisk?

In this article, we will show you how to gain root access to this smartphone and it’s Pro model. To get root access to this device, we need the canary build of Magisk Manager, as we are currently running Android 12 on our device.

Prerequisites

Before installing Magisk Manager, we need to set up some things ahead of time. The two main requirements of this step-by-step guide are that we need to have an unlocked bootloader and we will need to disable both verity and verification of the device.

We have already done tutorials showing how to do these two tasks. We have done a bootloader unlock tutorial and have also shown how to disable verify and verification. You need to do these two steps before gaining root access.

Installing Magisk Manager Canary Build

After completing these two requirements, we can go ahead and install Magisk Manager(Canary Build). You can install Magisk Canary build from it’s GitHub page. If you already have Magisk installed on your device, then you can go into the application itself and update the canary build via the update channel option.

Rooting The Google Pixel 6 with Magisk

Downloading the Necessary Files

Firmware Files: After that, we then need to download the factory images file or the firmware file of the December security update for the Google Pixel 6 or the Pixel 6 Pro if you have the Pro model. The firmware file that you download needs to match the exact same version that you are currently running on your device. You can check the firmware version of your device under the build number on the About Phone page.

Patching the Boot Image

Extract the Firmware File: Once you download the firmware file on your PC, extract it so that you can get the boot image file. When you extract the contents of the firmware file, you will get a folder with a number of files and then we need to extract another compressed file that is present in that folder. We extract the contents of that file, which gives us another folder that contains a number of files, including the “boot.img” file.

Patching with Magisk

• The “boot.img” is the file that we need to copy to our Google Pixel and patch it with the Magisk that we installed earlier.
• Once you copy that “boot.image” file to your device, open up the Magisk app.
• Tap on the install option at the top section next to Magisk.
• Then tap on “select and patch a file” at the top section. Once you tap on that option, a file explorer will open from where you need to browse and select that “boot.image” file that you just copied from your PC.
• After selecting the file, tap on the “let’s go” option again in the same top section.
• The Canary build of the Magisk app will start patching that file, and you need to wait a little while for the patching to complete.

Flashing the Patched Image File

• If everything’s done correctly, then you will get a newly patched file with the name “Magisk_patched” saved in the download folder on your device.
• Copy this file onto your PC so that we can flash it via the fastboot command.
• Once you have copied that file to your PC, the next step is to boot your device into Fastboot Mode.
• To do that, power off your device completely, press and hold the volume down, and power the button at the same time to enter Fastboot Mode.
• You can also use the command “adb reboot bootloader” in the ADB and Fastboot Mode tool while your device is connected to the PC to enter Fastboot Mode.
• You need to make sure to copy the “Magisk_patched” file to the same folder where ADB and Fastboot tools are installed.
• With that, do open up a Windows PowerShell or a Command Prompt or a terminal in that same adb and Fastboot tools folder. That is important as the file needs to be in the same adb and fastboot tool folder and the command prompt also needs to be opened within that folder.
• Next, type out the command in Windows PowerShell “Fastboot flash boot ‘and the name of that Magisk file‘“ that you just copied from your phone.
• With that all done, we simply need to press Enter on the keyboard. You should see a couple of things happen. You should see Fastboot sending that patched image to a boot partition; this could be “boot a” or “boot b”, depending on how your device is set up.
• There must be an “Okay” sign while it reads and writes that file to the boot partition.

Finalizing the Root Process

Now, with that done, the process is complete. Just make sure that the start option is highlighted on your device at the top next to the power button. If there is something else highlighted, then you need to press the volume button to change the option to “Start,” but by default, the start option should be highlighted. So, with that option highlighted, just press the power button to select that option and now we’re going to wait for the boot cycle to complete. Your Google Pixel 6 will boot like normal and fast too, as you didn’t do a factory reset. Open The Play Store on your device once it boots up and download the Root Checker app. Open the Root Checker app, give it all permissions, and tap on verify root. You will be notified whether you have gained root access or not.

Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.