In this guide, we will show you various methods to fix the No Valid Slot to Boot error on your Pixel device. When it comes to customs development, then the devices from the Silicon Valley giant have the most active support from the developers. With tools like Pixel Flasher and mods like AOSP Mods, there are a plethora of tweaks to look forward to. However, this is just one side of the coin as carrying out these tweaks has a few downsides as well.
One among them is when your Pixel gets stuck in Fastboot Mode with a “No Valid Slot to Boot” error message. As a result of this, you wouldn’t be able to boot to the OS, and accessing the Recovery Mode is the most that could be done. If you are also stuck in a similar situation, then this guide will make you aware of some nifty workarounds that should help you rectify this error. So without further ado, let’s check them out.
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How to Fix No Valid Slot to Boot on Pixel
We have listed two different workarounds that should help you get this job done. Go through both of them and then try out the one that is in sync with your requirement. 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.
Method 1: Flash Firmware via ADB Sideload [Locked Bootloader]
If your device’s bootloader is locked, then you wouldn’t be able to unlock it now as you are not in a position to enable OEM Unlock. Therefore, your best bet is to flash the firmware via ADB Sideload to both slots. Here’s how it could be done:
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: Download Pixel 7/Pro OTA Image
- Next up, download the OTA Image for your Pixel 7/Pro (and not the Factory Image).
- Once you have downloaded the firmware, transfer it to the platform-tools folder on your PC.
- Likewise, rename the file to update, so that the complete name becomes update.zip.
- This renaming is done just to make the file name easier to type in Command Prompt.
STEP 4: Sideload Firmware to Active Slot
- Press the Volume key to bring up the Recovery option and hit the Power key to confirm it. Your device will reboot to stock recovery.
- Then press the Volume key to highlight Apply Update from ADB and hit the Power key to confirm it.
- You should now see a message along the following lines on your device.
- Now 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 verify the ADB Sideload connection:
adb devices
- If you get the sideload keyword in the Command Prompt, then the connection stands successful and you may proceed ahead.
- So go to the CMD window (that you have opened inside platform-tools) and type in the below command to install the OTA file:
adb sideload update.zip
- The installation process will now begin and could take a few minutes. Once done, use the Volume keys to select the Reboot to Bootloader option and press the Power key to confirm it. Your device will now reboot to Fastboot Mode.
STEP 5: Sideload Firmware to Inactive Slot
- To begin with, execute the below command to switch to the inactive slot:
fastboot set_active other
- Then carry out rest of the instructions in the exact same manner as listed in STEP 4.
- Once done, use the Volume keys to select Reboot System Now and press the Power key to confirm it.
- Your Pixel will now boot to the OS and the underlying “No Valid Slot to Boot” error will be fixed.
Method 2: Flash Firmware via Fastboot [Unlocked Bootloader]
If the device’s bootloader is unlocked, then you have the option to flash the firmware via Fastboot Command or the flash-all script as well. So let’s give it a try and check out the results.
- First off, grab hold of your device’s stock firmware [factory image] from below:
Pixel 7 Pro [cheetah]: Download Link Pixel 7 [panther]: Download Link
- Once you have downloaded the firmware, extract it inside the platform-tools folder.
- After that, download and install Notepad++ on your PC.
- Then right-click on the flash-all.bat file and select Show More Options >Edit with Notepad++.
- Now delete the -w keyword from the fastboot update command line.
- For example, if the command was:
fastboot -w update image-filename.zip
- Then it will change to
fastboot update image-filename.zip
- Once done, hit Ctrl+V to save the changes.
- Finally, launch this “modified” flash-all.bat file to start the flashing process.
- Once done, use the below command to boot your device again to fastboot:
fastboot reboot bootloader
- Now, execute the below command to switch to the inactive slot:
fastboot set_active other
- Then double-click to launch the flash-all.bat file. Firmware will now be flashed to this slot as well.
- Once done, you may now use the below command to boot the device to the OS:
fastboot reboot
That’s it. These were the two different methods through which you could fix the No Valid Slot to Boot error on your Pixel device. 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.
