In this guide, we will show you the steps to root your Android device via Magisk patched boot/init_boot.img. With the release of the fourteenth iteration of the OS, we have quite a lot of new goodies at the table. Some of the noteworthy ones include the new photo picker, lock screen customizations, Notification Flash, and Auto-Confirm Lock Screen [finally!], among others. However, as of now, our focus is on the other side of the fence aka the geeky aspects.
If you have welcomed the latest OS build and are looking to dive deep into the technicalities of the open-source ecosystem, then your best bet is to gain administrative privileges by rooting your Android device via Magisk. And in this guide, we will help you with just that. Once you checkmark this requirement, you’ll then be able to welcome abode a plethora of mods and tweaks onto your device. So without any further ado, let’s hop onto this intriguing journey.
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Benefits and Risks of Rooting Android via Magisk
Once you root your device, you will be in a position to flash a plethora of mods. These include the likes of Fox Magisk Modules, Substratum Themes, Xposed Framework via LSPosed, and Viper4Android among others. Along the same lines, you could also flash a custom kernel and implement your desired CPU profile. However, such tweaks do come with a few risks as well.
Rooting requires you to unlock the bootloader- which will wipe off all the data and could nullify the warranty as well. Likewise, SafetyNet will be triggered [FIXED] and Play Integrity will fail [FIXED] which will result in your inability to use banking apps [FIXED]. So if that’s all well and good, then let’s get started with the steps to root your Android device via the Magisk.
How to Root Android via Magisk Patched Boot/Init_Boot
The below instructions are listed under separate sections for ease of understanding. Make sure to follow in the exact same sequence as mentioned [Before starting, it is highly recommended that you go through our FAQ 1]. 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 1: Install Android SDK
First and foremost, you will have to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is the official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google and is the only recommended one. So download it and then extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Doing so will give you the platform-tools folder, which will be used throughout this guide.
STEP 2: Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
Next up, you will also have to enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on your device. The former will make your device recognizable by the PC in ADB mode. This will then allow you to boot your device to Fastboot Mode. On the other hand, OEM Unlocking is required to carry out the bootloader unlocking process.
So head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking.
STEP 3: Unlock Bootloader
Next up, you will also have to unlock the device’s bootloader. Do keep in mind that doing so will wipe off all the data from your device and could nullify its warranty as well. So if that’s all well and good, then please refer to our detailed guide on How to Unlock Bootloader on any Android Device.
STEP 4: Extract Stock Boot/Init_Boot
- Download the stock firmware [factory image/Fastboot ROM] for your device.
- Make sure to download the same version that is currently installed on your device.
- To verify the same, head over to Settings > About Phone > Build Number.
- Once downloaded, extract it to any convenient location on your PC. For Pixel devices, you can simply extract the firmware via WinZIP/WinRAR and get the boot.img from the Images folder.
- For Xiaomi, you’ll have to download the Fastboot ROM in the TGZ format > Extract it via 7 ZIP to get the TAR file > Extract it to get the Extracted ROM. Then go to the Images folder and get the boot/init_file.img.
- For other OEMs, things are a little bit different. So refer to your device-specific guides to extract the stock boot.img file for your device from the below links:
- Once you have extracted the firmware, copy the boot.img file [if your device originally shipped with an OS version older than Android 13] or init_boot.img [if your device shipped with Android 13/14 out of the box] and transfer it to your device. [See FAQ 1 for more details].
STEP 5: Patch Boot/Init_boot via Magisk
NOTE: The steps to patch the boot.img or init_boot via Magisk are the same.
- Download and install the latest Magisk APK onto your device.
- Then launch it and tap on the Install button next to Magisk.
- After that, choose ‘Select and Patch a File’, navigate to the stock boot.img/init_boot.img file, and select it.
- Then tap on the Let’s Go button situated at the top right.
- The boot.img/init_boot.img file will now be patched and placed under the Downloads folder on your device.
- You should transfer this patched boot/init_boot file to the platform-tools folder on your PC. Also, rename it magisk_patched. We will now be using this file to root your Android 14 device.
STEP 6: Boot to Fastboot Mode
- Now connect your device to the PC via USB cable. Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
- Then head over to the platform-tools folder, type in CMD in the address bar, and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt.
- Type in the following command in the CMD window to boot your device to Fastboot Mode
adb reboot bootloader
- To verify the Fastboot connection, type in the below command and you should get back the device ID.
fastboot devices
STEP 7A: Root Android using Magisk Patched Boot.img
This step is applicable for those devices that came with an OS version older than Android 13, i.e. Android 12 or below [See FAQ 1 for more details].
It is always recommended to first boot your device via the patched boot.img, rather than directly flashing it. This way you will be able to check if everything is working well or not. If everything is on the good side, then you may proceed to the permanent root. So use the below command to boot your device via magisk patched boot.img and hence attain temporary root.
fastboot boot magisk_patched.img
Now that your device is booted without any issues with a temporary root, let’s now make this root permanent. So refer to the below instruction steps to try it out.
- Launch the Magisk app and tap on Install.
- Then tap on Direct Install (Recommended) > Let’s Go situated at the top-right.
- [NOTE: If you get a Require Additional Setup prompt, then tap on OK and you’ll be automatically taken to the Install section from where you could select Direct Install > Reboot].
- Once done, hit the Reboot button situated at the bottom right.
- That’s it, your device will now boot to the rooted OS.
STEP 7B: Root Android 14 using Magisk Patched Init_Boot.img
This step is applicable for those devices that came with Android 13 or higher versions out of the box. [See FAQ 1 for more details].
- First off, make sure that the init_boot file is present in the platform-tools folder and is renamed as magisk_patched.img
- Then type in the below command in the CMD window to flash the patched init_boot.img file:
fastboot flash init_boot magisk_patched.img
- If the above command didn’t work, then you should manually flash the init_boot to both slots using the below command:
fastboot flash init_boot_a magisk_patched.img fastboot flash init_boot_b magisk_patched.img
- Your device should now boot to the rooted OS. If it doesn’t happen, then you may manually do so via the below command:
fastboot reboot
That’s it. These were the steps to root your Android device via Magisk patched boot.img/init_boot.img. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments section below. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.
FAQ 1: Rooting via Init Boot or Boot?
One of the most common queries that some users have is whether they should root their Android device via Magisk patched boot.img or init_patched boot.img? If your device comes with Android 13 or Android 14 out of the box [such as Pixel 8 and 7 series, OnePlus 11, Xiaomi 13, etc.] then you’ll have to use the init_boot.img file for root.
The init_boot.img file is present in the stock firmware and the patching steps are similar to boot.img, though the flashing steps are different. We have explained everything [extraction, patching, and flashing] in detail in the subsequent steps.
On the other hand, if your device came with Android 12 or older version out of the box [Pixel 6 series, OnePlus 10, Poco F4], then you’ll have to still use the boot.img for root. The entire rooting process is similar to how we did before- extract boot.img, patch it via Magisk, and flash it via Fastboot [all this has been explained below in this guide].
NOTE: There are a few rare exceptions to this rule. For instance, Poco F5 came with Android 13 out of the box but still uses the boot.img for rooting purposes. I’ll update this section with more devices that fall under this exception rule as and when I get hold of them. So do check out this section at frequent intervals.
FAQ 2: Patched Boot Has an Advantage over Patched Init_boot
Devices using the patched boot method, have the added advantage of first temporarily booting their device to the rooted OS. Then if everything is working well and good, they could proceed ahead and obtain permanent root [this is apart from the obvious ability to directly root as and when required]. However, that isn’t the case with init_boot as it doesn’t support temporary boot. You have no choice but to opt for permanent flashing in one go.
FAQ 3: Device Stuck While Flashing Patched Boot/Init_Boot
If your device is stuck in a bootloop or soft brick state while flashing the patched boot/init_boot, then there are a couple of approaches that you could take, depending on your initial course of action, namely:
- Temporary Boot via Fastboot Boot: In this case, just do a restart. The patched boot will be replaced with the stock one and your device will boot to the OS.
- Permanent Flash via Fastboot Flash Boot: In this case, you’ll have to force reboot your device to Fastboot Mode. Then transfer the stock boot.img file [the same version that you have used for root] to the platform-tools folder. Finally, use the fastboot flash boot boot.img command to flash it. Once done, use the fastboot reboot command to boot to the OS.
- Permanent Flash Init_Boot: In this case, you’ll have to force reboot your device to Fastboot Mode. Then transfer the stock init_boot.img file [the same version that you have used for root] to the platform-tools folder. Finally, use the fastboot flash init_boot init_boot.img command to flash it. Once done, use the fastboot reboot command to boot to the OS.
FAQ 4: Error while flashing Init_boot
If you are getting an error message such as [Flashing is not allowed in lock state], then try flashing the patched init_boot in the FastbootD Mode, as opposed to Fastboot/Bootloader Mode. The flashing commands are the same as listed above. As far as booting to FastbootD is concerned, you could use the adb reboot fastboot command if you want to do so from the OS or use the fastboot reboot fastboot if you want to do so from the Fastboot/Bootloader Mode [see this guide].
FAQ 5: Failed (remote: Flashing is not allowed for partition)
If you are getting the Failed (remote: Flashing is not allowed for partition) error, then you’ll have to flash the patched init_boot to the FastbootD Mode instead of the Fastboot/Bootloader. For that, use the fastboot reboot fastboot command to directly boot to FastbootD Mode and then use the above [or below] command to flash the file.
