Google wants to tighten software downgrade protections on the Pixel 10 series. According to the Mystic Leaks Telegram channel, all Pixel 10 models except for the Pixel 10a could receive a bootloader update in a future Android release that increments the anti-rollback version.
This means your updated Android devices won’t revert to older Android builds. Once a bootloader containing approved new software is installed, it ties the version of that bootloader to hardware, preventing old software from being loaded.
When the Pixel 10 phones get this update, sideloading a full OTA image might be required to recover from issues and avoid bricking.
The change is a part of Android’s Anti-rollback protection (ARB) under the Verified Boot framework. ARB was introduced in Android 13 to prevent devices from being downgraded to older, vulnerable software. Google first implemented ARB on the Pixel 6 series, when Google prevented users from downgrading to Android 12. It recently released a security patch for Pixel devices in May 2025 that included a bootloader with an updated anti-rollback threshold.
OnePlus has also recently introduced anti-rollback protection on devices like the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 15. As for Samsung, it implemented its own security measures through Samsung Knox.
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