Fastboot Commands Reference

Scans USB buses and lists all Android hardware currently running in low-level bootloader / fastboot protocol mode.

Dumps the entire set of hardware and bootloader environment variables exposed by the device firmware.

Queries whether the bootloader is currently locked ("no") or unlocked ("yes"). Unlocking is mandatory before flashing partitions.

Returns which partition slot (either "a" or "b") the device is currently configured to boot from on A/B dual-slot devices.

Displays OEM manufacturer-specific security data, including tamper status, critical unlock flag, and charger screen status.

Restarts the device normal operating system, exiting the bootloader environment.

Reboots the hardware and immediately re-enters the bootloader/fastboot interface. Useful for reloading partition tables after flashing.

Switches the device into FastbootD mode, which runs within recovery ramdisk to facilitate resizing and flashing logical dynamic partitions.

Reboots the device from Fastboot mode straight into recovery mode (TWRP, OrangeFox, or stock recovery).

Instructs the bootloader to continue loading the OS kernel without performing a full hardware power cycle.

Initiates standard bootloader unlocking on modern Android devices (Android 6.0+). Prompts on-screen confirmation and factory resets all user data.

Re-locks the bootloader and re-enables Android Verified Boot (AVB). Requires 100% stock firmware; factory resets the device.

Unlocks deeper, critical bootloader and low-level firmware partitions (e.g. bootloader, radio, abl) on devices requiring extra authorization.

Legacy command used to unlock bootloaders on older Android devices (Android 5.1 and earlier, or specific OEM implementations).

Loads and boots a kernel or recovery image (like TWRP or patched boot.img) directly into RAM without flashing or overwriting the device flash storage.

Writes a kernel boot image to the boot partition. Commonly used for rooting with Magisk or installing custom kernels.

Flashes the dedicated init_boot partition introduced in Android 13+ devices (e.g. Pixel 7/8/9, Galaxy S23/S24) for Magisk / KernelSU root.

Installs a custom recovery (such as TWRP or OrangeFox) onto the dedicated recovery partition (on legacy or non-A/B devices).

Flashes the Verified Boot Metadata partition while explicitly patching security flags to allow booting custom or modified system partitions.

Writes a complete Android operating system system image or Generic System Image (GSI) to the system partition.

Flashes all firmware images (bootloader, radio, boot, system, vendor, product) contained in the current directory matching Android factory specs.

Performs a hardware-level raw sector wipe of the userdata partition, removing all user accounts, installed apps, photos, and settings.

Standard Fastboot shortcut to erase both the userdata partition and cache partition simultaneously before installing a clean ROM.

Wipes the system partition clean prior to flashing a fresh operating system image.

Changes the active bootable slot on dual-slot A/B partition architectures. Critical for recovering from a bad update on the other slot.

Formats and creates a fresh filesystem (ext4 or f2fs) on the userdata partition. Essential when removing encryption or switching filesystem types.

Flashes the specified image to both slot _a and slot _b in one command, ensuring slot parity.

Uploads raw binary data to the bootloader buffer without writing it directly to a flash storage partition.