[Guide]How to Root Your Pixel 3a and Install Magisk - Android 9, 10 or 11

sic0048

Senior Member
Jun 25, 2010
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I followed the guide but get stuck in booting every time I flash my Magisk patched boot image. I can get the phone to boot normally by flashing the clean boot.img.
For some background I used the OTA update to go from android 9 to 10. I had magisk installed at 9 and didn't think to clear it before upgrading to 10 (I'm not sure if that is causing my problems).
Has anyone else ran into this problem and gotten past it?
I suspect you were using the normal "stable" version of Magisk under Android 9 and did not uninstall it and then install the "Canary" version of Magisk before upgrading to Android 10. You must be using the latest Canary version to modify your stock boot image if you move to Android 10. (It also works fine under Android 9, but it is not required on that OS version).
 

scyther3989

Member
Apr 21, 2011
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I suspect you were using the normal "stable" version of Magisk under Android 9 and did not uninstall it and then install the "Canary" version of Magisk before upgrading to Android 10. You must be using the latest Canary version to modify your stock boot image if you move to Android 10. (It also works fine under Android 9, but it is not required on that OS version).
I was using the stable magisk version on Android 9, upgraded the phone to Android 10 and then installed the canary version on Android 10. I used the canary version to modify the boot.img and that's what is getting me stuck at boot.

I imagine that the problem is that I didn't uninstall magisk before moving to Android 10. But now I can't uninstall it through magisk because it says not installed and TWRP doesn't work anymore. So is there something I'm missing or a workaround to uninstall/reinstall magisk?
 

Rudi154

Member
May 19, 2019
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I was using the stable magisk version on Android 9, upgraded the phone to Android 10 and then installed the canary version on Android 10. I used the canary version to modify the boot.img and that's what is getting me stuck at boot.

I imagine that the problem is that I didn't uninstall magisk before moving to Android 10. But now I can't uninstall it through magisk because it says not installed and TWRP doesn't work anymore. So is there something I'm missing or a workaround to uninstall/reinstall magisk?
You don't need to uninstall Magisk. My way:
- Android 9 August with last Magisk stable
- After OTA notification I updated only Magisk Manager to canary
- restore boot.img with Magisk
- then regular OTA update via system
- then installed Magisk canary to inactive slot + reboot
- success!
 
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scyther3989

Member
Apr 21, 2011
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You don't need to uninstall Magisk. My way:
- Android 9 August with last Magisk stable
- After OTA notification I updated only Magisk Manager to canary
- restore boot.img with Magisk
- then regular OTA update via system
- the installed Magisk canary to inactive slot + reboot
- success!
I'm already on Android 10 and I'm trying not to downgrade to Android 9 as I think that would require a full wipe.
 

koichirose

Member
Jul 26, 2010
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You don't need to uninstall Magisk. My way:
- Android 9 August with last Magisk stable
- After OTA notification I updated only Magisk Manager to canary
- restore boot.img with Magisk
- then regular OTA update via system
- then installed Magisk canary to inactive slot + reboot
- success!
Did you try this yourself? Everything done on the phone, no fastboot required?
 

sic0048

Senior Member
Jun 25, 2010
910
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Normally you don't need to uninstall Magisk, but if you are still on Pie and the stable version and are trying to move to Canary to prepare for Android 10, I would suggest using the Magisk Uninstaller zip and TWRP to completely remove the old stable version prior to installing the Canary version. It's too simple a step to skip when I've seen too many people post with issues if they just use the Magisk manager app to "uninstall" the stable version of Magisk before installing Canary.
 

scyther3989

Member
Apr 21, 2011
14
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Normally you don't need to uninstall Magisk, but if you are still on Pie and the stable version and are trying to move to Canary to prepare for Android 10, I would suggest using the Magisk Uninstaller zip and TWRP to completely remove the old stable version prior to installing the Canary version. It's too simple a step to skip when I've seen too many people post with issues if they just use the Magisk manager app to "uninstall" the stable version of Magisk before installing Canary.
What do people do when they've already gone to Android 10 WITHOUT uninstalling magisk first? And are now experiencing never-ending boot when flashing magisk_patched.img.
 

catharsis724

Senior Member
Dec 26, 2014
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I followed the guide but get stuck in booting every time I flash my Magisk patched boot image. I can get the phone to boot normally by flashing the clean boot.img.
For some background I used the OTA update to go from android 9 to 10. I had magisk installed at 9 and didn't think to clear it before upgrading to 10 (I'm not sure if that is causing my problems).
Has anyone else ran into this problem and gotten past it?
You need to uninstall magisk before you flash any OTA. If you encountered a problem, then just uninstall magisk again and flash the entire factory image in bootloader to be safe? If not, at least uninstall magisk and flash the stock boot image and boot once. After that you can install magisk through same method.

Sorry I just saw your problem in other posts too. To uninstall magisk completely if you can't do it through MM, grab the uninstaller zip from canary thread and sideload the zip while you're booted into TWRP.
 
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sic0048

Senior Member
Jun 25, 2010
910
465
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What do people do when they've already gone to Android 10 WITHOUT uninstalling magisk first? And are now experiencing never-ending boot when flashing magisk_patched.img.
This likely isn't the only solution, but I would suggest flashing the full factory image (not the OTA image) using your computer. You can find the images and instructions directly from Google here.This will completely wipe the phone and reinstall Android 10 which will erase all remnants of the old Magisk version. Then you can download and install the Canary Magisk manager app and reroot using the modified boot image instructions like normal.

This is certainly the "nuclear" option, but it will definitely work and give you a nice clean start.

PS - I've never heard of a solid answer to what is different about the .019 and .020 versions of Android 10. I personally have the generic pixel (not Verizon model) and am on AT&T. I installed the .020 version and it works just fine.
 
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scyther3989

Member
Apr 21, 2011
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Sorry I just saw your problem in other posts too. To uninstall magisk completely if you can't do it through MM, grab the uninstaller zip from canary thread and sideload the zip while you're booted into TWRP.
That looks like an excellent idea, wish i saw that sooner.
I ended up finding a fix after looking through the forums where I created a ".disable_magisk" file in windows. Then I opened up TWRP through fastboot and then used ADB to put the file in /persist/cache and /cache. I also reflashed stock boot and stock system for good measure. Then I booted from a magisk_patched.img and that got me into the system. I was then able to use magisk uninstaller to completely uninstall magisk. At which point I was able repatch and reinstall the magisk_patched.img and that finally gave me root on Android 10.

Thank you guys for your help!!
 
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sic0048

Senior Member
Jun 25, 2010
910
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FYI - yesterday was the first time I was able to take an OTA update (.020 C) and keep Magisk the way it is designed to work.

It's weird that it's taken this long for me to take my first normal OTA update, but I'm happy to report that it worked just fine. Normally the OTA takes forever to hit my phone and I get impatient or there is an error while updating, and I've always ended up sideloading the update. Yesterday I was notified about the update, let it install itself, and then backed out of the update screen when it asked me to reboot. I then opened the Magisk manager. I was actually concerned because there was an update to both the manager and Magisk itself showing. I had to update the Magisk manager first, and then it allowed me to install Magisk to the "second/inactive slot (After OTA)". All of this worked without a hitch and I rebooted the phone after installing Magisk. (I did not "uninstall Magisk" prior to taking the update).

The first boot took quite a while (it felt like 10 minutes), but the Google boot screen never started over (like it would in a boot loop) so I just let the phone do its thing and eventually it booted into the lock screen normally.
 

selfecce

Member
Jun 23, 2013
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FYI - yesterday was the first time I was able to take an OTA update (.020 C) and keep Magisk the way it is designed to work.

It's weird that it's taken this long for me to take my first normal OTA update, but I'm happy to report that it worked just fine. Normally the OTA takes forever to hit my phone and I get impatient or there is an error while updating, and I've always ended up sideloading the update. Yesterday I was notified about the update, let it install itself, and then backed out of the update screen when it asked me to reboot. I then opened the Magisk manager. I was actually concerned because there was an update to both the manager and Magisk itself showing. I had to update the Magisk manager first, and then it allowed me to install Magisk to the "second/inactive slot (After OTA)". All of this worked without a hitch and I rebooted the phone after installing Magisk. (I did not "uninstall Magisk" prior to taking the update).

The first boot took quite a while (it felt like 10 minutes), but the Google boot screen never started over (like it would in a boot loop) so I just let the phone do its thing and eventually it booted into the lock screen normally.
Just did exactly the same going from Android P to Android Q installing the ~1Gb OTA. All went smoothly, I also disabled all the Magisk modules before the first reboot, in order to be on the safe side. Of course Magisk was already upgraded to the latest canary version.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using XDA Labs