In this tutorial, we will show you how to install OnePlus Nord stock boot image files on your OnePlus Nord phone. The OnePlus smartphone company, known for developing high-end smartphones, dropped the budget OnePlus Nord device. Even though there were some doubts regarding the offering, the OnePlus Nord exceeded expectations by presenting high-end features that any other flagship offers, along with all the amazing aspects of the OxygenOS, and to top that, it comes with more than a reasonable price tag. Users get everything they can hope to get with the OnePlus Nord offering.
OnePlus devices are also very active in custom development and the OnePlus Nord is not an exception. There were already many tweaks, mods, and custom ROMs within the first few weeks of its launch! But in some of these tweaks and modifications, the stock boot image file was the most important requirement. Many Android users find it very hard to install a partition file. So this guide is for those who want to know how to deal with the stock boot image file. We will be discussing the OnePlus Nord stock boot image files and how to install them.
What is a Stock Boot Image and Why is it Needed?
The Boot partition of your device or the boot.img is made up of the kernel and ramdisk image. Whenever your device boots into the device’s operating system, the boot partition is the first to be loaded up. This working of the boot.img file is the same for every Android smartphone belonging to any manufacturer. So why would you want to get this file for yourself? There are various answers to this question. We have discussed some of the reasons why you would need the OnePlus Nord boot image files.
There are two different ways in which you can root your device. With TWRP or without TWRP. It is much easier to root a device with TWRP recovery, but TWRP builds are not available for every device out there. For those devices, users prefer using the method of rooting their device without TWRP recovery. In order to root your device without TWRP recovery, you will first need to obtain the stock boot.img file of the device, then it is required to patch the file using Magisk and then it is flashed using Fastboot. In addition to that, the stock boot.img file of a device is also used to remove root from a device.
To put it into simpler words, you can remove root from your device by uninstalling Magisk from your device and then flashing the stock boot.img file back on your device. Apart from that, flashing an incorrect binary to the boot partition can result in your device being soft-bricked or ending in a bootloop. But you can bring your device back to normal condition by flashing the stock boot.img file back in your device. So with these uses, you would have now gained a fair idea about the importance of the stock boot.img file of a device. Now we will discuss how to install the OnePlus Nord stock boot image file.
How to Install OnePlus Nord Stock Boot Image Files
You can install the OnePlus Nord stock boot image file on your OnePlus Nord using two different methods. The first method involves the use of fastboot commands. The second method makes use of TWRP recovery. For most users, the second method is the easier of the two. But if you want to avoid the use of custom recovery, then you should absolutely go for the first method. With that said, let’s discuss the pre-requirements for the installation of the OnePlus Nord stock boot image files before we head into the process of installation.
Prerequisites
- First of all, you need to unlock the bootloader of your OnePlus Nord device. This is required for both of those methods. For this, you can refer to our OnePlus Nord beginners guide.
- Secondly, you will also need to enable USB Debugging for your phone. For this, go to your device’s Settings> About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging.
- Similarly, you need to get hold of the OnePlus Nord stock boot image file. You can get the Stock fastboot ROMs for OnePlus Nord and from within it, extract the stock boot.img file. The credits for this ROM goes to XDA developer mauronofrio.
- In this case, you should only download the stock boot.img file which corresponds to the version of the operating system running on your phone. If you do not know the build number of your device, you can check it by heading over to your device’s Settings> About Phone and check your devices build number from there. So you should download the stock firmware file for the same build number and extract the boot.img file.
- In addition to that, the region of the stock firmware is also important to take into consideration. It is not advised to flash the boot.img file from any other region. OnePlus Nord has the following codes for regions; Global (AC01AA) Europe (AC01BA) India (AC01DA). From there, you have to download the file that matches your region.
- After that, you also need to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
- If you want to implement the TWRP method of installing the OnePlus Nord stock boot image file, then you should have TWRP recovery installed on your device. Follow our guide on How to install TWRP recovery on OnePlus devices.
So these were all the pre-requirements. Now you are all ready to proceed with the installation on the OnePlus Nord stock boot image files.
Method 1: Using Fastboot Commands
STEP 1: First of all, you should rename the boot image file you downloaded to “boot”. This way the name of the file will be “boot.img”. After that, transfer this file to the platform-tools folder.
STEP 2: Now, proceed to the Platform tools folder and type in cmd on the search bar. Then hit Enter to launch the Command prompt.
STEP 3: While your device is connected to your PC via a USB cable, type in the following command in the command prompt to boot your device into Fastboot mode.
adb reboot bootloader
STEP 4: After that, carry out the command below if you desire to flash the file to the currently active slot.
fastboot flash boot boot.img
STEP 5: Along the same lines, if you want to flash the boot image file to both the available slots, then you will have to enter the following commands:
fastboot flash boot_a boot.img
fastboot flash boot_b boot.img
STEP 6: As soon as the flashing is completed, you can reboot your device into the operating system by the following command:
fastboot reboot
So these were the steps to install OnePlus Nord stock boot image files using fastboot commands. Now let’s take a look at the method involving TWRP recovery.
Method 2: Using TWRP Recovery
STEP 1: First connect your device to your PC using a USB cable, ensure that USB debugging is active.
STEP 2: Now you need to move the boot image file to your device’s internal storage.
STEP 3: Now head over to the platform-tools folder and there, type in ‘cmd’ in the search bar to open the command prompt.
STEP 4: After that, key in the following command in the command prompt to boot your device into TWRP recovery:
adb reboot recovery
STEP 5: When you are booted into TWRP recovery, head over to install, and there, you need to tap on the install image button available at the bottom right of the screen.
STEP 6: After that, select the boot.img file and from there, choose Boot partition from the partition selection screen.
STEP 7: In the end, carry out a right swipe to confirm the flashing.
STEP 8: Once the flashing is complete, you can reboot your device to the OS. You can do so by heading to Reboot and tapping on System.
And that is it! These were the steps to install the OnePlus Nord stock boot image files. You may choose either of the two methods we have mentioned. We hope that you found this article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comment section below.
