How to Install LineageOS 20 on Google Pixel 7, 7 Pro and 7a

LineageOS 20, a powerful custom ROM for Pixel 7 and 7 Pro that breathes new life into your device and provides a personalized Android experience. In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of installing LineageOS 20 on your Pixel 7 or 7 Pro, unlocking a realm of exciting features and customization options.

What is LineageOS 20?

LineageOS is an open-source Android custom ROM that empowers users to take control of their Android devices. It is built upon the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), offering a clean and streamlined user experience while providing a wealth of customization possibilities. LineageOS 20 is the latest iteration of this renowned custom ROM, tailored specifically for the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro devices.

Remember, these instructions are meant for LineageOS 20 and must be followed meticulously. It’s advisable to stop immediately if something fails during the process.

Requirements

Before diving into the installation process, let’s ensure we meet some basic prerequisites:

Read the instructions thoroughly at least once before following them. This will help you avoid mistakes and misunderstandings.
Download Google Platform Tools R33.0.3.
Enable USB debugging on your device.
Unlock the Bootloader of your device and boot it once with the stock OS. Follow the instructions to unlock bootloader on your Google Pixel.
Make sure to check all functionalities such as sending and receiving SMS, placing and receiving calls, including via WiFi and LTE.

Note: Some devices require the usage of VoLTE/VoWiFi once in stock to provision IMS. This will not work on LineageOS if it does not work on the stock OS.

Important Warning: Please ensure your device is running on Android 13.0 firmware. If it is running on an older or newer version, you should upgrade or downgrade to version 13.0 before proceeding. This platform requires additional partitions to be flashed for the recovery to work correctly. You can follow this guide to update your Google Pixel.

Downloads:

Here is the link for download all the required files to install LineageOS 20 on your Pixel 7, Pixel 7a, and Pixel 7 Pro.

Now, you’re ready to install LineageOS. Download the LineageOS installation package or build the package yourself.

Optionally, if you want to install an application package add-on such as Google Apps then download the arm64 architecture from the below link.

Gapps download link: If you want to flash the Google apps, then download from here.

Also read: How to install LineageOS on Pixel 6 Series

Flashing Additional Partitions

To get started, make sure you’ve also download the following files from the above download section.

boot.img
dtbo.img
vendor_kernel_boot.img

Move all the downloaded files in a single folder on your desktop.

Afterward, turn off your device and boot it into the bootloader mode. This can be achieved by holding the Volume Down + Power buttons simultaneously while the device is off.

Open the Platform tools folder, open the command prompt window in the same folder.

Next, flash the downloaded image files to your device by typing the following commands:

fastboot flash boot boot.img

fastboot flash dtbo dtbo.img

fastboot flash vendor_kernel_boot vendor_kernel_boot.img

Install Custom Recovery

Now, download the latest Lineage Recovery file, named vendor_boot.img. Connect your device to your PC via USB and ensure it’s in fastboot mode. You can check if the PC finds your device by typing fastboot devices.

If you don’t get any output or receive an error, ensure your device appears in the device manager without a triangle on Windows. On Linux or macOS, you may need to run fastboot as root. If you continue to face issues, consider trying a different USB port or cable.

Now flash the recovery on your device by typing:

fastboot flash vendor_boot vendor_boot.img

Reboot into recovery to verify the installation. If your recovery does not show the LineageOS logo, you’ve accidentally booted into the wrong recovery. Please start at the top of this section again!

Installing LineageOS from Recovery

To install the LineageOS:

Reboot into recovery: With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power. Then use the menu to select Recovery Mode.
Tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption, delete all files stored in the internal storage, and format your cache partition.
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the LineageOS.zip package. Do not reboot before completing the next steps. On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideloading.
On your PC, sideload the package using adb sideload filename.zip.

Note: Sometimes, even if the process succeeds, the output will stop at 47% and report adb errors. This is fine.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully install LineageOS 20 on your Google Pixel 7 or 7 Pro.