Four Ways to Install the New Android 11 Public Beta
Since I just wrote a story about how to install the potentially more complex Developer Preview for Android 11, it’s only fitting that Google launched the public beta of Android 11 today, and install that latest beta on your Pixel smartphone – and Pixels only , by official means – it couldn’t be easier.
If you want to try out Android 11 before anyone else, with tooltips for each app, a more advanced Do Not Disturb mode, and a fun new Reset Permissions feature that blocks apps you haven’t used in a while, you (over time) canvisit this site to register your device for Android 11 beta now.
Registering your device is the easiest way to install the beta on Android. Changing the operating system will be as easy as installing a regular old system update.
If you’re already in Android 11 Developer Preview …
Those who have already followed my advice and installed Developer Preview Beta 4 on their pixels should now be able to upgrade to Android 11 Beta 1 with regular system updates . If you don’t have this option, keep checking; after all, deployments are deployments.
When you’re pulling your hair because you can’t install Android 11 beta 1
If you are unlucky with any of the methods, there is always a manual way. You can now use the Android Flash Tool to install build 6576679 on your device (from the asop-master-with-phones branch). Make sure you visit flash.android.com and not the links in this post to see the latest build.
The Hard Way: Downloading the Unpublished Android 11 Beta 1
As 9to5Google points out , you can also download the Android 11 Beta 1 OTA file to your device. It’s a little more complicated for those not used to dealing with things like the bootloader, but it’s good to know if any other methods of getting the beta on your device won’t work. While you read on how to do this, make sure you start downloading the correct OTA file for your Pixel phone, as well as some ADB drivers for your Windows system (or regular Windows ADB drivers , if you like, as well as a Mac).
To me? I would focus on the regular public beta registration first, and then the Android Flash Tool if that doesn’t work. Why bother with the command line if you don’t need it?
If you want to really fantasize and not even worry about installing Android 11 on any device, you can play with it using the Android emulator . I’ve tried this approach and it definitely isn’t for everyone; I found this confusing but helpful on those rare moments when I was a little more careful about installing a very early, pre-operating system on my primary Android device.