Android users have long been able to flash a new kernel on their devices, but the process has always been a bit of a mystery. In this article, we will show you how to flash a kernel on Android using the official Android SDK and ADB tools. If you are new to flashing kernels on Android, be sure to read our previous article on the subject first. This guide is for advanced users only.

  1. First, download and install the Android SDK and ADB tools from Google Play Store or Apple App Store. If you don’t have them already, make sure you enable USB debugging on your device before proceeding.
  2. Next, connect your Android device to your computer using a USB cable. Make sure that your device is switched off and not in use (or else your battery might be drained while the process is running).
  3. Open the Android SDK and ADB tools folder on your computer. Then open the adb command prompt (Windows: Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt; Mac: /Applications/Utilities/Terminal). Type adb reboot bootloader (or fastboot reboot bootloader if you’re using Mac OS X). This will switch your device into bootloader mode. If you’re using Windows 10 or earlier, make sure that “Allow unknown devices” is enabled in Settings > Update & security > Windows Update (or Device Manager under Windows 8/8.1). Otherwise, you won’t be able to see any devices when typing adb . If this doesn’t work, try installing USB drivers for ADB from Google or Apple’s website first.) Type fastboot oem get_identifier_token . This will print out a long string of characters that looks like this: “4d36e9a8-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be103 ..