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How to Extract system.new.dat.br and system.new.dat Files

In this guide, we will show you the steps to extract system.new.dat.br and system.new.dat files. Recently I covered an article on how to extract the payload.bin files and get hold of the partition files such as boot.img, system.img among others. Nowadays, some OEMs such as OnePlus pack their firmware in payload.bin file. So why would one need to extract it? Well, it’s when you are looking to root your device by patching the stock boot.img and then flashing it via Fastboot.

In continuation of that article, I published another one that instructed on the steps to flash custom ROMs without TWRP. The basis of somewhat similar, extract the custom ROM, you will get a payload.bin file, extract it via my first guide and you could then flash those files via Fastboot. I tried and verified for a lot of custom ROMs and they indeed had had their files in payload.bin. However, some users pinged me and told me that there do exists some ROMs that have their files packed inside the system.new.dat.br format.

I did some research and found out that it’s really the case. However, it doesn’t seem to depend on the ROM but rather on the device. For example, I downloaded the Pixel Experience ROM for OnePlus 7 and Redmi Note 4 and found out the former still had the firmware in payload, whereas the latter had adopted the system.new.dat.br format. And Redmi Note 4 isn’t the only device or Pixel Experience isn’t the only custom ROM following this format, there are a plethora of others as well. So with that in mind, let’s start off with this guide to extract system.new.dat.br and system.new.dat files.

How to Extract system.new.dat.br and system.new.dat Files

I can’t really comment about other files, but when it comes to Custom ROMs, both the aforementioned files are interlinked. In other words, system.new.dat is a part of system.new.dat.br. So in this guide, we will first extract the system.new.dat.br file which will give us the system.new.dat, and then we will extract the system.new.dat which would give you the system.img file. Without any further ado, let’s get started.

STEP 1: Download the system.new.dat.br Extractor Tool

First and foremost, download the extractor tool: Extract_system_new_dat_br_Tool.rar. Once downloaded, extract to any convenient location on your PC. You should get the following files: Android-Tool and System Repack Finish folders, Auto Tool, Brotli, and Instructions txt (with link to this guide). Out of all these, Brotli is a standalone tool that will be used to extract the system.new.dat.br file.

system.new.dat.br extractor tool files

When you have done that, you shall get the system.new.dat. We will then extract this file using the Auto Tool application (of which Android-Tool and System Repack Finish folders are a part). Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.

STEP 2: Download Python

  1. You will also have to install Python onto your PC. So download the Python setup from the official site.
  2. Once done, launch the setup file and tick mark the Add Python to Path option situated at the bottom.
    extract dat br files via python
  3. Then proceed with the installation setup. As for this guide, I have installed Python in its default directory.
  4. You could choose any location of your choice, but make sure to remember it as it will be used quite a lot in the coming steps.
  5. Once installed, move over to the next step to extract system.new.dat.br and system.new.dat files.

STEP 3: Extract ROM/Firmware

extracted custom ROM system.new.dat.br file

Next up, download the custom ROM of your choice, and extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Upon extraction, you might see a few BA, DR, LIST, and IMG files. Out of these, the system.new.dat.br and system.transfer.list are the two files that we would need.

STEP 4: Extract system.new.dat.br File

extract system.new.dat.br

  1. Now transfer the Brotli.exe file to the extracted custom ROM folder, where the system.new.dat.br file is present.
  2. Head over to this folder’s address bar, type in CMD, and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt window.
  3. Type in the below command in this CMD window and hit Enter:
    brotli.exe --decompress --in system.new.dat.br --out system.new.dat
  4. It will decompress the system.new.dat.br file and extract the system.new.dat file.

With this, we are done with one-half of the guide. Let’s now move to the next step and extract the system.new.dat file which will give us the system.img file.

STEP 5: Extract system.new.dat

  1. Transfer the Android-Tool folder, System Repack Finish folder, and the Auto Tool EXE file to the Python’s installation location. If you have it installed in the default directory, then the location will be:
    C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37-32

    dat br extraction tool python

  2. Now double click on the Auto Tool EXE file to launch the tool.
  3. Type in 1 and hit Enter. This will create a new Input_DAT folder where Python is installed.
    create input dat folder transfer system.new.dat.br custom rom
  4. You now have to transfer the system.new.dat and system.transfer.list to this Input_DAT folder.
  5. Then go back to the tool, and press any key to continue. The extraction process will now begin and should take around a minute or two.
    extract system.new.dat from system.new.dat.br
  6. Once done, you should see a new system_repack_finish folder created inside the Python directory.
  7. Inside that folder, there will be an IMG folder, open it and you should get the system.img file. That’s it. The process stands complete.
    extracted system.img file
  8. You may now use this file to flash onto the system partition of your device via the following command:
    fastboot flash system system.img
  9. On the other hand, if you have an A/B partition device, and you need to flash it to both slots. then use the below two commands:
    fastboot flash system_a system.img
    fastboot flash system_b system.img

With this, we conclude the guide on how to extract system.new.dat.br and system.new.dat files. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.

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