Pixel 9 Pro Fold factory images now available for download

This month, Google announced the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as its second foldable phone. The company made it part of the Pixel 9 lineup instead of promoting it as the “Pixel Fold 2.” Google even temporarily discontinued the original model to focus on the new one’s sales. Before the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is available for purchase, Google has posted its factory images. The phone will hit stores on September 4.

Android users with some experience installing ROMs know that there are a few different ways to do it. The options include factory images and full OTA images. The latter was already available for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but now you can also download the factory images. Google says that it’s “typically easier and safer to sideload the full OTA image” instead of using factory images. However, having all the options available is always excellent news.

You can now download the factory images of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold factory images will make it easier for you to reinstall your device’s software to a factory state. This is quite useful if your system gets corrupted for one reason or another. Google’s developer site offers three versions of factory images for the device: 14.0.0 (AD1A.240530.030, August 2024), 14.0.0 (AD1A.240530.030.A1, August 2024, India only), and 14.0.0 (AD1A.240530.047, August 2024). Just check which one matches your device’s build number in the OS settings to find out which one you can install.

Flashing a factory image requires unlocking the device’s bootloader. This will disable several AI-powered features on your Pixel 9 series device. However, luckily, you can fix this by re-locking the bootloader after the process. Interestingly, the dev site confirms “comet” as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s codename.

Recall that the Pixel 9 series is still running Android 14 out of the box. A recent report revealed that the first stable build of Android 15 will arrive later than expected. All clues point to a rollout in October.