Google’s latest flagship phones, Pixel and Pixel XL, are a successor to one the most celebrated series of Android devices — Nexus. And so they feature bootloader/fastboot mode just like Nexuses does.

Bootloader mode on an Android device let’s you perform oem level operations, like unlocking the bootloader, flashing/modifying system partitions, installing a custom recovery like TWRP and many more. Essentially, bootloader mode is where all the fun stuff starts on a Pixel phone, be it custom ROMs, MODs or Root access.

Google Pixel and Pixel XL Bootloader / Fastboot Mode

  1. Power off your Pixel phone.
  2. Press & hold Power + Volume down button for a few seconds.
    └ This will boot your phone into bootloader mode.
  3. Use the Volume Up & Down buttons to navigate between options and Power button to select an option in bootloader mode.

If you’d rather prefer to boot Pixel and Pixel XL into bootloader mode from your PC. Then just get adb and fastboot setup on your PC, and the issue the following command adb reboot bootloader on your PC’s command line.

Happy Androiding!