Android 11 is the latest Android version that completed its developer testing phase, and now it is available for the public as a beta. Google already shared the entire Android 11 roadmap a while ago, and as per schedule, they have released the first public beta of Android 11. It means any user with Pixel phones can enroll for beta programs. And non-Pixel users can flash Android 11 Public Beta 1 GSI on their phones. Here you get to download Android 11 Beta 1 GSI with a guide on how to install Android 11 Beta 1 on any Android phone.
Android 11 comes with many new features, and here we are going to highlight some main features of Android 11. Any user who has an Android phone with treble support can easily get the Android 11 on their phones. However, this is a very first public beta build it is not advised to use it as a daily driver. But you can still install it for testing and experiencing new features before other users.
If you have a Google Pixel device and want to test the Android 11, then you can easily enroll for the beta, and you will get the OTA update. But for the rest of the users, we have a definitive guide to flash Android 11 GSI on any Android Phones. The first-gen Pixel phones are also not officially supported for Android 11 Beta 1. So you can follow the GSI method to get it on your first-gen Pixel phone, or you can also install it with a full factory image.
Android 11 Beta 1 Features
Android 11 comes with many new features, and some of these features we have already covered in Developer Preview articles. So here, we are going to list only major highlights of the Android 11 features.
https://twitter.com/Google/status/1270794411060887552
New Power Menu – Android 11 comes with a redesigned power menu that looks better than what we get in the Android 10 or older Android versions. The new UI comes with Power Off, Restart, and Emergency buttons in a block design. There are also some quick access options in the Power menu like Google Pay, Smart home controls.
Copy Text from Recent App Screen – In Android 11, we now have the option to directly copy text from any opened apps without really going to the app. Just scroll to the app in a recent app screen and long press on the text and select to copy the text. It will be copied to the clipboard, and you can paste anywhere on your phone.
New Media Layout in Quick Settings – Android 11 Beta 1 has a new interface in the Quick Settings to control Music, which is more reliable and better in terms of controls. We can easily select the Audio output device Pixel Buds, Speaker, or other sources. We can easily swipe to change tracks directly in the quick settings.
Notifications Bubble – Google has done many changes in the Notification, and quick settings panel and Bubble feature is one of them. It is like the Facebook Messenger app, where any message comes in a bubble. It makes multitasking easy like we can access messages while playing games.
Resize PIP screen – Google introduced the PIP mode a while back, and now they have simplified its control by allowing to resize the PIP screen. In Android 11, we can easily resize the PIP screen through corners.
Customizations – The Android 11 Beta 1 comes with the option to choose custom timings for Dark Mode. It also allows us to customize the shape of icons like Circle, Square, and various shapes.
Along with these features, you will also get some more features on Android 11. Google has again shown their interest in improving privacy, and so they have changed App permission options while opening the App.
Download Android 11 Beta 1 GSI for All Android Phones
One of the best things about Google is that it provides official GSI for all Android phones with Treble support. It means any Android phone with treble support can easily install the latest Android version of their phones. But still, there are some more barriers like the bootloader must be unlocked. So if your phone allows you to unlock the bootloader, then this guide is for you. And for Pixel 2 or newer, Pixel phone users do not need to download the GSI as they can easily enroll for Android 11 Beta 1 for OTA updates.
If you want to get Android 11 immediately on your phone, then you can download Android 11 GSI using the below official links. To check the Architecture (ARM64 or x86) of your phone, download any app like Treble Info from Play Store.
- ARM64+GMS – Android 11 GSI
- ARM64 – Android 11 GSI
- x86+GMS – Android 11 GSI
- X86 – Android 11 GSI
The GSI with GMS means it contains Google Apps like Play Store, Youtube, and other Google services.
Prerequisites
- Take a full backup of your phone
- Charge your phone to at least 50%
- Make sure bootloader is unlocked (NA for Pixel phones)
- Download correct GSI for your phone (NA for Pixel phones)
- A Custom Recovery must be installed (NA for Pixel phones)
- Android 10 Custom ROM with treble support (NA for Pixel phones)
- Download DM Verity disabler (NA for Pixel phones)
How to Install Android 11 Beta on Any Android Phone
For Pixel Series:
- Make sure to login with a Google Account on your phone.
- Go to the Android 11 Beta program page. Login to the browser via the same Google account associated with your Pixel device.
- In the Android beta program page, click on ‘view your eligible devices.’
- It will show a list of Pixel phones associated with your Google Account.
- Under your device, click on ‘Enroll Now.’
- After enrolling your device, you will get the OTA update on your phone. It can take up to 24hrs. You can also check for updates manually in the software update under settings.
- When you receive the update, click on Download and Install and wait for the update process.
Alternatively, we can also sideload the Android 11 Beta 1 on Pixel phones using ADB commands.
For Non-Pixels Phones:
- Extract the downloaded Android 11 GSI zip file on your computer. In the extracted folder, you will find System.img and Vendor.img. For this method, you need System.img.
- Copy Android 11 GSI (System.img), DM Verity Disabler, and the custom ROM to your phone storage.
- Turn off your phone and boot your device into custom recovery (e.g. TWRP).
- In TWRP Recovery, go to Wipe > Advanced Wipe.
- Select Dalvik cache, Cache, System, Data, and swipe to wipe selected options.
- Go back to TWRP home, then choose Install and flash the Treble based custom ROM on your phone.
- After flashing the custom ROM go back to TWRP home then flash DM Verity Disabler (Install > Select File > Swipe to flash).
- Reboot your phone into the system and set up your device or skip the setup. Do not enter the lock screen and Google account during setup.
- Now again, boot your phone into the custom recovery.
- In the TWRP Recovery, go to Install > Install Image and select the System.img file.
- It will ask the partition where you want to install the GSI, so select System Image option and swipe to flash Android 11 GSI on your phone.
- Reboot your phone and enjoy the latest Android 11 OS.
So there you have it the complete guide on how to install Android 11 GSI on any Android phone. The method can be used to flash any upcoming Android 11 beta. If you have any queries, do let us know in the comment section below.
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