This wasn’t entirely phone developers’ fault, because software updates go through a tier of processes. When Google releases an update, it actually has to be sent to the chipset makers first (Qualcomm, Mediatek, Samsung / Exynos). The updates must be applied to all the code related to the internal hardware of the phones. After that, the phone developers could begin integrating Google’s updates into their own software, tweaking it to their liking, etc. So, Project Treble was all about making it much easier for phone developers to provide users with the latest Android updates directly from Google. Of course, it actually has made pretty much zero impact on the industry – it turns out most phone companies don’t actually care all that much about providing users with the latest Android updates. Post-sale updates are barely a priority. However, Project Treble had significant benefits for the custom ROM and Android modding community. Because users of Project Treble enabled devices can flash ROMs without touching the /vendor partition, which means custom ROM developers don’t need to mess around with the device’s proprietary drivers and Hardware Abstraction Layers. To put it simply, developing and flashing custom ROMs became much simpler with Project Treble introduced. If you’d like to flash a GSI Project Treble ROM on your Android device, read this guide carefully! It’s really quite simple, but there are certain things to be aware of.

Requirements:

Unlocked bootloaderProject Treble compatible deviceStock boot/ramdisk (no Xposed, SuperSU, or Magisk installed). You can re-install these later.

For devices that are officially Project Treble compatible

For devices that can be unofficially Project Treble compatible

Flashing a GSI Image with TWRP

We recommend using TWRP as the easiest method for flashing a GSI image. If you do not have TWRP on your device, we recommend searching Appuals for a root guide for your device.

Flashing a GSI Image without TWRP

You need to factory reset your device before proceeding. You can typically do it under the Settings menu in the Android system (usually Settings > Backup). Alternatively, you can do it from your device’s stock recovery (button combinations to boot into stock recovery vary by manufacturer / device). You could also use ADB (adb reboot recovery).

Troubleshooting

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