Pixel: How to Unlock the Verizon and EE Bootloader

Some carriers lock down the Pixel and Pixel XL, so if you have the Verizon Wireless or EE variant, then follow these steps to unlock the bootloader.

Note – The Android 7.1.1 for the Pixel and Pixel XL patches the hole that dePixel8 used to unlock the bootloader. So once you update to this version, you can no longer unlock the bootloader using this method. I am told by the developers that even downgrading the Pixel to an older version of Android will not let you unlock the bootloader again.

If you purchased your Pixel or Pixel XL directly from the Google Store, then you can easily unlock the bootloader with just a single Fastboot command.

If this is the version you have, then check out this Pixel Bootloader Unlock tutorial and follow that guide. However, some carriers choose to prevent this from happening for some reason or another. I won’t get into why they choose to do this, but I do want to show you how to bypass it.

At the time of writing this, the method used to break through these protections will only work on the Pixel and Pixel XL that was purchased from Verizon Wireless and EE. This method might work on other carrier locked variants, but nothing has been tested right now. I will try to keep this tutorial updated as much as possible though, but if I’m missing something then please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom.

Since I don’t own a Verizon or EE Pixel phone, I can’t do a video guide for it. I will, however, break the process down into very easy to follow steps as I always do.

Note – Unlocking the bootloader will wipe the data you have on your phone. It is advised to manually backup any important data that you have before starting this process.

Verizon Pixel Bootloader Unlock

1. Download and install the Minimal ADB & Fastboot tools
2. Then download and install Google’s Android USB drivers
3. Go ahead and reboot the PC after the drivers have been installed
4. Enable Developer Mode on the Pixel
5. Enable USB Debugging Mode on the Pixel
6. Double click on the Minimal ADB & Fastboot shortcut
7. Type the following into the Command Prompt. . .
8. adb devices
9. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
10. When the ADB service/daemon has been started, connect the Pixel to the PC with a USB cable
11. Grant USB Debugging access to the Pixel from PC
12. Unplug the USB cable from the Pixel
13. Download dePixel8
14. Copy/move the downloaded file to the same directory as your ADB & Fastboot tools are in
15. For me, that’s “C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot”
16. Plug the USB cable back into the Pixel
17. Type the following command into the Command Prompt. . .
18. adb push dePixel8 /data/local/tmp
19. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
20. Type the following command into the Command Prompt. . .
21. adb shell chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/dePixel8
22. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
23. Tyep the following command into the Command Prompt. . .
24. adb shell /data/local/tmp/dePixel8
25. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
26. Wait for the Pixel or Pixel XL to reboot into Fastboot Mode
27. Type the following command into the Command Prompt. . .
28. fastboot flashing unlock
29. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
30. Press the Volume Up button on the Pixel to highlight the ‘Yes’ option
31. Press the Power button to confirm you want to unlock the bootloader
32. Wait for 5-15 seconds while the Pixel bootloader is unlocked
33. Press the Power button to select the ‘Start’ option when you’re taken back into Fastboot Mode

Note – If the Pixel or Pixel XL doesn’t reboot into Fastboot Mode at step 26, then it’s advised to reboot and start the process all over again. I just had a conversation with someone in the YouTube comments that was getting the ‘it didn’t work, try again’ error. After advising him to keep trying, he was able to get his Verizon Pixel bootloader unlocked on the ~30th try.

Explanation

Half of this guide is simply setting up the computer so that you can actually start the unlocking process. So go ahead and make sure you have ADB & Fastboot tools installed, install the USB drivers from Google (and then restart the PC after installation), you’ll then need to enable Developer Mode so that you can enable USB Debugging Mode and then you’ll want to start the ADB service.

Once that is done, go ahead and download the dePixel8 tool from beaups and jcase. They are the ones that made this bootloader unlock possible so all of the credit goes to them. Copy or move that dePixel8 file to the same folder that your ADB & Fastboot tools are located in. You’ll then want to start executing the three ADB commands to start the Verizon Pixel Bootloader Unlock process.

After the third command has been executed, you should see the Pixel or Pixel XL reboot into Fastboot Mode (also known as Bootloader Mode). If this reboots into Fastboot Mode properly, then you can execute the fastboot flashing unlock command to bring up the bootloader unlock confirmation screen. From here, you can press the Volume Up or Volume Down button and make sure the Yes option is highlighted before pressing the Power button to select that option.

However, if the Pixel or Pixel XL does not reboot to Fastboot Mode after issuing the 3rd ADB command, then you’ll need to reboot the smartphone and start the whole process over again.