Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL owners are now able to start using Xposed Framework and its modules on their device. There have been some recent changes to Xposed too so this guide showing how to install Xposed on the Pixel 2 is much easier than before.
I’ve been showing people how to install Xposed Framework on their smartphones for years and if you’ve gone through and looked at any of them you’ll see how the process is. Or I should say, you’ll see how the process used to be. With one of its most recent updates the developer, rovo89, has made the installation process incredibly easy.
Due to how complicated the process used to be for beginners, I had created individual guides for things like how to tell which CPU architecture your smartphone uses.
The new/current method is much easier as all of that work has been done by the application itself. So, while you can still choose to install Xposed using the older methods, I will be using this newer method going forward and it has worked out very well for me. To install Xposed Framework on the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL using this method you will need to have root access to the device. While you could still choose installing it with a custom recovery using this method, having TWRP installed isn’t a requirement.
In fact, the video below shows how I installed Xposed without TWRP and by just using Magisk to grant it root access. I will say that installing Xposed Framework on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL using this method will cause your SafetyNet checks to fail. I will be showing how to install a systemless version of Xposed in a future tutorial.
How to Install Xposed Framework on the Pixel 2
- Download the attached Xposed Installer APK
- Sideload the Xposed Installer to install the application on your Pixel 2
- Launch the Xposed Installer application
- Bypass the initial warning
- Tap the Version option in the Install/Update section
- Tap the Install option when it appears
- Grant root access to Xposed Installer
- Wait for Xposed Framework to be installed
- Tap the Reboot button at the bottom right when it appears
Explanation
If you’re familiar with installing Xposed Framework using the older method then you’ll instantly see how much faster and easier this new application makes things. Again, you can still choose to grab the APK and install Xposed with a ZIP file the old fashion way if you’d like and those download links are all included in the post that I linked to in Step 1 of this guide. None of that is really needed anymore and I appreciate the world rovo89 and the rest of the developer community has done.
So this method starts off with us downloading the Xposed Installer APK file and you can find that file attached to the post that I link to in Step 1 of the guide. Once installed, sideload/install the APK however you like to but you can follow the guide linked in Step 2 if you’re unfamiliar with this process. Once installed, you’ll find the Xposed Installer application icon sitting in your device (check the application drawer if you can’t seem to find it) and then open it up.
From here, you’ll be given a warning screen that talks about how installing Xposed Framework can cause your device to bootloop (aka soft brick). This isn’t permentant and we can recover from this by uninstalling Xposed Framework flashing the emergency recovery ZIP file in a custom recovery. You can download the recovery ZIP file here and just be sure you’re downloading the newest Xposed Uninstaller for the ARM64 platform.
Now that we have that out of the way, we can bypass this warning screen to get us to the main Xposed Installer app screen. From here we just want to tap on the recommended version of Xposed that we see in the Install/Update section of the application. This will make a new popup box appear asking if we want to install it from here or install it via a custom recovery. If you truly want to install it via recovery then choose that option but the video above shows me using the regular Install method.
Tapping on Install will then prompt you to grant root access to the Xposed Installer application and then the installation can begin. It shouldn’t take more than a few seconds before you’re told the process is done and will be prompted to restart. Tap the Reboot button at the bottom right when it appears and wait until the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL restarts. This first boot cycle will take a little bit longer than normal but it shouldn’t take long at all (follow along with the video if you’re worried).
Once you are back into Android then you can open up the Xposed Installer application again and this time you should be greeted with a green checkmark saying Xposed is installed and active.
