Using a Magisk patched boot.img image file, we will show you how to root your Android 13 device via Magisk. Follow our guide to root your Android 13 device. As part of the thirteenth iteration of the OS, a slew of intriguing features have been added, but you will still be limited to what the OEM has to offer when it comes to features and functionality. As long as you aren’t going for the custom development, you shouldn’t be able to apply a plethora of tweaks to your device – unless you decide to take the leap into custom development.
There are a lot of Magisk modules available, including LSposed, Xpsoed, and others. In order to perform any of these tweaks, there is one significant prerequisite that must be completed first- rooting your Android 13 device via Magisk Patched init_boot/boot.img. We will show you how to do just that in this guide. Let’s get started without further ado.
Rooting Android 13: Benefits and Risks
As soon as you’ve rooted your device by flashing the Magisk patched boot.img via Fastboot commands, you can experiment with a large variety of customizations. Flashing custom ROMs, downloading a custom recovery like TWRP, or flashing a custom kernel are examples of these actions. Also, Magisk Modules, Xposed Framework, Substratum Themes, Viper4Android, and similar themes can be flashed. However, this is only one side of the story.
IMPORTANT: Rooting Android 13 is different from the previous OS!
Until Android 12, you just need to extract the boot.img from the sock firmware, patch it via Magisk, boot your device using the patched file via fastboot boot, and use Magisk’s Direct Install feature. Beginning with Android 13, this process has changed slightly. The boot.img file is not required for devices that ship with Android 13 out of the box, such as Pixel 7/Pro, Xiaomi 13, and OnePlus 11.
Instead, you need to use the init_boot.img file which can be extracted from the stock firmware. You could then patch init_boot using Magisk and flash it using Fastboot [At the moment, patched init_boot cannot be temporarily booted with Fastboot, so you can’t boot from Magisk’s Direct Install either. Through the fastboot flash command, you will have to flash the patched init_boot directly.
This rule, however, only applies to devices with Android 13 right out of the box. If your device came with an older operating system and had been updated to Android 13, such as the OnePlus 10 or Pixel 6 series, you need not use the init_boot file but rather patch the boot.img file in order to root.
How to Root Android 13 via Magisk Patched Boot.img
In order to make things easier to understand, we have separated the instructions into separate sections. Make sure you follow the sequence exactly as mentioned. By performing the below steps, AMS and its members will not be responsible if there is a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or things go wrong with your device and data.
1: Install Android SDK
The first step is to download the Android SDK Platform Tools and install them on your PC. ADB and Fastboot are provided by Google in this official binary and are the only ones you should use. To install it, download it and then extract it to any location on your PC that is convenient for you. In this guide, you will use the platform tools folder, which you will get by following these instructions.
2: Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
On your device, you will need to enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking as well. By using the first option, your device will be recognized by the PC when it is connected via ADB. Once this has been done, you can boot into Fastboot Mode on your device. Nevertheless, OEM unlocking is required to unlock a bootloader.
How To Activate Developer Options [Enable USB Debugging on Android]
3: Unlock Bootloader
In addition to unlocking the bootloader, you will have to remove the SIM card from the device. It is important to keep in mind that doing so could wipe out all the data on your device and void its warranty. That said, if that’s all well and good, then please refer to our detailed tutorial on How to Unlock Bootloader on Android Devices.
4: Extract Stock Boot/Init_Boot
- The first step is to download your device’s stock firmware [factory image].
- The version you download should match the one you currently have installed on your device. You can find the build number by going to Settings > About Phone > Build Number.
- You can extract it to any convenient location on your PC once it has been downloaded. The boot.img can be found in the Images folder for Pixel devices if you extract the firmware via WinZIP/WinRAR.
- The situation is a bit different for other OEMs, however. You can download the stock boot.img file for your device from the following links by following your device-specific instructions:
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You will need to copy the boot.img file [if your device originally shipped with a version older than Android 13] or the init_boot.img file (if your device shipped with Android 13] once you have extracted the firmware.
 5: Patch Boot/Init_boot via Magisk
- Magisk APK can be downloaded and installed from the Google Play Store.
- After you launch the program, tap the Install button next to Magisk.
- Choosing ‘Select and Patch a File’, navigate to the stock boot.img/init_boot.img file, and select it.
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Tap the Let’s Go button at the top right of the screen.
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Afterwards, your device will place the patched boot.img file under its Downloads folder.
- This patched boot/init_boot file should be transferred to the platform-tools folder on your PC. The file should also be renamed magisk_patched. In order to root your Android 13 device, we will be using this file.
6: Boot to Fastboot Mode
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The USB cable needs to be connected to the PC now. The USB Debugging feature needs to be enabled.
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Next, go to the platform-tools folder, type CMD in the address bar, and then press Enter. The Command Prompt will be launched.
- To boot your device into Fastboot Mode, type the following command into the CMD window.
adb reboot bootloader
- Use the below command to verify the Fastboot connection and you should receive the device ID.
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fastboot devices
7A: Root Android 13 using Magisk Patched Boot.img
For devices that came with an earlier version of Android and have since been updated to Android 13, this step is applicable.
It is always recommended to first boot your device via the patched boot.img before flashing it directly. As a result, you will be able to check whether everything is working correctly. Upon successful completion of this process, you may move on to permanent rooting. The following command will boot your device via magisk patched boot.img, granting you temporary root access.
fastboot boot magisk_patched.img
Let’s now make this temporary root permanent after we successfully booted your device with a temporary root. For instructions on how to use it, please refer to the steps below.
- Tap Install on the Magisk app once it has been launched.
- In the top-right corner, tap Direct Install (Recommended).
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At the bottom right, click the Reboot button.
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You are now booting to the rooted OS on your device.
STEP 7B: Root Android 13 using Magisk Patched Init_Boot.img
If your device came with Android 13 out of the box, you will need to follow this step.
- You can flash the patched init_boot.img file by typing the following command in the CMD window:
fastboot flash init_boot magisk_patched.img
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Change magisk_patched.img to the name of the patched init_boot.img file.
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In the event that the above command fails, you should manually flash the init_boot to both slots as follows:
fastboot flash init_boot_a magisk_patched_boot.img fastboot flash init_boot_b magisk_patched_boot.img
- Now that your device has been rooted, it should boot into the root OS. If it does not happen, you can manually do it by running the following command:
fastboot reboot
So with this, we conclude our guide on how you could root your Android 13 device using a patched boot.img that has been created with Magisk. It would be great if you could let us know if you have any questions regarding the aforementioned steps in the comments section below. In the shortest time possible, we will get back to you with a solution that will meet your needs.